Chapter 26: The Sundered Land

Lucas awoke feeling rested for the first time in weeks. Lucas looked outside to see the sun high in the sky and the green landscape that surrounded them felt like it was in bloom as the vibrance and color filled him with hope.

"Maybe the apocalypse isn't that bad..." Lucas muttered as he turned around from the window to go on with his day. It was gonna be a very important one so he had to be at his best.

After some clean-up of the building he was staying in for the moment he noticed that it was actually rather spacious. If the washers and dryers were removed he would have enough space for what he planned on doing...

Lucas got to work. He began lifting the heavy equipment and piling it up into the middle of the street outside. It took quite a large amount of effort and work to get even half of them moved and Lucas found it close tonight by the time he was done.

"Man... I missed this!" Lucas said aloud with a satisfying breath of relief. Sure manual labor was hard on the body but it was easy on the mind. You focused on what you were doing at the moment and not on what was going on in your life. It let you release your stress in a way akin to exercise but in an equally productive manner.

Lucas went to check on Lee and Lina and found them both sleeping next to each other. Lee seemed to be curled around the leg of Lina and though it looked cute for a moment it was actually rather deeply disturbing.

'A mouse curling up to a fairy...' Lucas thought before laying down in relief.

---

Lucas awoke once more to the bright rays of the sun, though this time much earlier than the previous day.

He checked on Lina and found that the blue shine underneath her eyes had intensified and had become much more vibrant.

'I wonder what is happening to her...' Lucas thought before the sleeping Lee seemed to wake.

"Ahhh- Oh. Hey kid. How are you doing?! That was quite a nice nap." Lee said in a half-awake manner, yawning through half of the sentence.

"You sleep quite a bit!" Lucas said in surprise.

"Well... Mice sleep quite a bit. And as the god of Mice, I must uphold the sacred tradition of rest." Lee said before giving a slight bow sarcastically.

"I see someone has been busy. Whatcha up to?" Lee said after noticing the empty space they were staying in.

"Well... I suppose there wouldn't be any harm in showing you." Lucas said with a smirk on his face.

Lee seemed to cock his eyebrows in expectation as he realized Lucas was up to something.

"Nothing you do can surprise me, kid. I've been around the block more than once," Lee said with a sort of cockiness that seemed to be unshakable.

"Alright, Old Man," Lucas said without caring about his aloof behavior.

Lucas went out of the building and beckoned Lee to follow before climbing up the gigantic pile of washers/dryers he had moved from inside of the building out here.

Lee seemed rather confused at his actions but crossed his hands in amusement.

"You know what Lee? I once heard a story that has stuck with me since I was a little boy," Lucas said.

Lee nodded in response.

"I have too, little one. Who forgets their first true story?"

Lucas nodded before continuing what he was saying.

"Well, that story is something that I am about to share with you. I don't remember where I heard it, but when I heard this story it stuck to my brain like a leech. It dug its way into my skull and it's what has made me the man that I am today."

"It's the tale of The Sundered Land," Lucas said as his tone changed from one of casualness to seriousness in a matter of seconds.

Lee frowned at the beginning of the story but listened nonetheless.

"In a land far away known as Mirrak, the domain of the god Mira and Arrak, the land of Moon and Sun, there was a 'god' known as Eclypse."

Lee's frown deepened as the story continued but something in his eyes said that he was hanging off of every word that Lucas was saying.

"Eclypse was a god of many things but what he was known for most was his ability to change. He could change himself at will, people around him at well, Hell, he could even change the world around him. And it was this ability that made people call him a god though he was nothing more than a mere sorcerer."

"That was until one day. The Sorcerer Eclypse had the chance to ascend. He only had to do one thing and if he did this thing he would become the god he sought to truly be."

"That one thing, however... was something unthinkable to do to the average man. It was to destroy the land and the people in it and by doing so bring them salvation at the last moment. This would earn their faith, and in that matter, give him the power to become a true god."

Lucas seemed to get a dark look on his face as he continued after a long pause.

"He took this chance. He destroyed the land and its people from the shadows. He wore many masks and was never caught once. And when the people of the sacred land thought all was lost he showed his true face. And it was at that moment that Eclypse stepped away from becoming a man. He had become a god."

"He had fixed the plagues, the droughts, and he quelled the crowds that were rebelling from their leaders. Of course, all of this was caused by him but the people were as blind as they had always been."

Lucas paused and took a deep breath as he focused on his words very carefully.

"However Eclypse found that being a god wasn't what he wanted."

"Being a god didn't give him more power... Instead, it gave him more responsibilities. He received prayer and pleas of help yet no one gave him their faith."

"He looked at the land he was in charge of now... The land in which he was the god of... and realize he had destroyed it beyond repair and didn't have the power to fix it."

"I didn't hear this last part until too late in my life... But it has truly changed who I am," Lucas added before finishing the story.

"So instead of usurping his power as he had planned to beforehand... He decided to help his people to the best of his capability. And that was removing himself from the picture."

"He fixed what he could and then slipped into the world unseen. He became a farmer... He worked and fed those he could and was known as a humble man who only knew hard work. Unbeknownst to his neighbors, he was truly a former god."

"This story applies to me... I took it as the word of god and have dedicated my life to this story."

"I didn't know that my path of glory would end up in misery... I thought that if I were to destroy what I could, and steal what I wanted, I could become powerful by being the people's savior."

Lee looked at Lucas with a strange gleam in his eye. as Lucas continued.

"I killed. I stole. I broke families apart. I made the general people's lives worse. And worst of all... I put fear in their hearts and snuffed out their hope in the world,"

Lee nodded his head in understanding. He had felt pain in making people's lives worse and not being able to help... It was one that was often effective for those who were at the top.

"But I think I have changed... For the better, I hope." Lucas said as he cracked a smile.

"I think with this newfound strength of mine I will use it to fix this world. I know I am probably not strong enough yet but... I hope that one day I might have the strength to fix this broken world and help the people who have lost the loved ones that they cherished so much."

A tear dropped from his eye as he pulled out <Indissolubilis> and raised it above his head.

"I name this place The Sundered Land. Split apart once but never again. I vow to make it whole once more!" Lucas said as he slammed down the bat into the pile he was standing on and activated one of his new skills.

<<Basic Stamina Sense> has leveled up to LV: 3>

<-200 stamina for the activation of the skill <<The Hammer of The gods>>

<User has used the skill <Miracle> in conjunction to <The Hammer of The Gods>>

<How many points of Divinity would you like to spend on this Miracle?>

'All of them!' Lucas thought as he targeted the entire city with his skill.

<3 points of divinity have been consumed to increase the strength of the conjoined skill by 300 times. Are you sure you want to do this?>

<Yes? or No?>

"YES!" Lucas shouted as an explosion could be heard as his bat hit the top of the pile of washers/dryers.

It was at this point in time that Lucas felt the world fade to black. Little did Lucas know... The city of Ironwrought that he had only known for 2 months... had become his home and domain.