10 The Consequences of Causality

Kushan Emperor Ganishka, The Grand Kushan Royal Palace.

*Gasp* *Gasp* 

The emperor gasped as he shot awake from his bed, cold sweat pouring down his brow. His breathing calmed as he recognized his surroundings around him to be his familiar royal bed chambers. It was just a nightmare, a nightmare he could recall with every detail.

With a sense of urgency, he got out of bed.

"Edmon, get my quill and some parchment. And contact the High Sorcerer." He commanded his servant from a lesser noble house of the empire.

"Yes, emperor." Edmon bowed slightly, keeping his face completely void of any reaction to seeing the emperor's nightmare.

The emperor began to pace back and forth as he waited for Edmon to return to him.

"No, it can't be just a simple dream. It was too real." He murmured.

And indeed, it was too real. So real in fact, from the heat felt from the walls of hell had fed back to his real physical body. In the dream, he was only floating above the Hellwalker, but in his arrogance, he had thought it interesting to feel the white walls of hell in the cavern.

He glanced down at his right hand and caressed the blistering skin which had begun to peel off. His physical body's hand had a severe burn and blister from where he had touched the walls of hell in the dream.

*Creak*

The door was pushed open to reveal Edmon returning with a stack of parchment and a beautifully designed ink and quill along with the hooded figure of Gurma the High Sorcerer of the royal family. Emperor Ganishka paused momentarily, seeing how Gurma was wearing a cloak specifically to hide every inch of his appearance. It was... unlike him.

"My emperor," Edmon bowed, handed him the parchment, and stepped to the side quietly.

Emperor Ganishka faced Gurma and watched him perform a light bow in greeting.

"My Emperor, you called." Gurma's voice rumbled in a much deeper tone than normal.

Curious, very curious.

"Gurma... I had called you here to ask you about a dream." Emperor Ganishka rubbed his blistering palm unconsciously.

"But now I must ask... are you unwell?" Emperor Ganishka commented while looking Gurma's robed body up and down.

*Sigh*

"I am still not used to my new form, my Emperor," Gurma replied with a sigh.

"What do you mean? Show me." Emperor Ganishka commanded.

With slight hesitation, Gurma pulled back the hood covering his face.

*Gasp* 

Edmon gasped behind them softly as Gurma revealed his face.

It was covered in fish-like scales, growing from around his eyes and spread in patches across his skin. His ears were now long and frilled with fin-like appendages on them, while his teeth were jagged like a shark or piranha. Gurma didn't look much like a human anymore.

"You- Gurma, were you cursed? What happened?" Emperor Ganishka asked concerned.

Gurma's long tongue slid across the jagged edges of his teeth unconsciously and he replied.

"This is not a curse, but an evolution your majesty," Gurma replied steadily.

"This night, a significant event has happened which all sorcerers in the empire felt. A wave of change passed through the world, causing many to exhibit an 'evolution'. I am merely one of them." Gurma explained what he knew.

"My evolution is a bit frightening, so I covered myself before my arrival." He finished explaining.

"This..." Emperor Ganishka replied, speechless.

He had only wanted to consult his High Sorcerer about the dream, but now an even more important matter had come to his attention. A matter which would most likely shake the world, not to mention the Kushan Empire.

"Why did you not immediately report this to me?!" Emperor Ganishka yelled at him angrily.

"These changes only appeared more than an hour ago, my emperor. I was already on my way to wake you when your servant came to meet me." Gurma replied easily.

"My Emperor... I would like to hear about this dream you mentioned. The timing between the evolution wave and your dream... I don't think it's a coincidence." Gurma said, narrowing his eyes.

The changes caused by Marick's attack on causality continued to affect everyone and everything. After all, this attack was no different than altering the fate of all humanity. In response to this drastic change, those who were brought into the deep astral through the dream were kept safe. But those who remained awake were slowly altered into different astral creatures, united with a new fate.

In one night, one-eighth of the human population 'shifted' away from being human. A small price to pay for an uncontrollable fate at the hands of the god's hand.

...

Godot's Blacksmith Hutt, 'Blacksmith Cave'.

It had been many hours since Guts and Marick began traveling north, but Guts began to show symptoms of severe fatigue, while Marick still never felt tired. They decided to stop at Godot Hutt in the forest to wait until Casca woke. Marick himself was here specifically for a weapon now that his Sustaince Blade was broken.

The old man Godot was a gruff but welcoming old man who didn't hesitate to help them. It would seem that he had spent the entire night awake cutting lumber and wasn't caught unaware of their arrival from the woods. 

...

Marick waved a longsword around which fit his 6'4 frame with ease. Then he turned to Godot who stood watching him from the door.

"Thank you," Marick said, with gratitude in his voice.

He placed it on his right side with his broken Sustainance Blade hanging off the left. He still intended to use the broken Sustaince Blade as an offhanded dagger.

"I still don't understand why you both must use such strange weapons. That hunk of metal for him and you still use that broken blade." Godot muttered under his breath.

"I expect help with dinner while you're here," Godot added, grumbling to himself.

He paused on his way out.

"That woman might not ever wake up. Guts might not want to admit it, but you're different." He said.

"What will you do?"

***

Author's Note:

Muahaha- let there be chaos!