Chapter 6 - Books of Apollyon

As the first rays of morning light spread across the archipelago, a solitary gargantuan structure stood alone on the highest peak of the island. Its imposing presence spread far and wide, reaching the island's coast where the sea waves raged violently against it.

In the central office of this edifice, a middle-aged man dressed in a white uniform with golden accents sat on his chair, his face expressionless and grim.

He stared at the files scattered across his desk before slamming his fist down in frustration and letting out an annoyed grunt.

After releasing a final sigh, he rested his arms on the table and buried his head in them.

Suddenly, the table beamed with a thin sound. A hologram of a distinct woman appeared above the table.

When the man saw it, he straightened and performed a strict salute, "This is Chief Warden Silas Naper. To whom am I speaking?"

The woman replied, "Commander Artemis of Orion Clan. Your request was directed to me by my superiors. I heard about the breakout at Morach. How many inmates have been captured?"

Warden Silas frowned and responded, "Out of the five thousand inmates, my men apprehended fifty inmates, but—"

Commander Artemis interrupted, sensing something amiss in his tone, "But what? Speak up, officer,"

Silas hesitated, before finally admitting, "As you know, fifty percent of our inmates belong to the Ghost Protocol. None of these inmates have been captured. They remain a threat as it is, and I'm actually worried about their potential. If they escape the net we set around the archipelago, there will be chaos. It is also noteworthy that, as I have observed them during my tenure as the warden, most of these inmates have demonstrated signs of an alliance."

Commander Artemis went silent for a while before speaking, "Do you imply we should update their threat level as a combined 'Catastrophic' instead of 'Extreme'?"

"Yes."

"Very well. The Orion Clan will assist you right after they complete their current assignment."

"Thank you," Silas appreciated.

He knew very well the prestige of Commander Artemis' Orion Clan.

They were a young and impending clan in the Hunters of Iniquity, yet all their missions have been a success. Their most famous mission took them far away to subdue a cult that sought to summon a devil king. Whilst, the current one should be the case about the rebellious giant.

Silas said with a thankful smile, "Commander Artemis, there is something that has bothered me since the outbreak. While the surveillance system has no record of this, I suspect the outbreak originated from an external influence. The inmates might have been colluding with an external force."

Commander Artemis said with a sigh, "Yes, I suspect the same. Sit tight. My clan will be with you shortly."

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"Ahh, you are killing me!"

Reve's yells echoed throughout the cold cell.

He couldn't take this anymore. Day by day, he was tempted with the desire to cut Calen's tongue. Calen seemed to always be on drugs, and Reve did not need any of that energy.

Calen pouted, his face contorted with an expression of hurt, "You are no fun at all, Reve."

He finally went silent.

'Good!' Reve exclaimed in his head.

Now that Calen was not in his way, he needed time to think.

Due to the cell being in a dungeon, he couldn't tell how many days he had been locked up. He could only rely on his excellent senses and note the changes in temperature, which gave him an estimate of five days.

Goddamn five days!

During his five days, he brainstormed for a way to escape the jail, but his plans always led to the same outcome; certain death. He couldn't risk dying now, not when he had come this far.

"Thinking too much damages your brain, you know," Calen quipped, breaking the silence. "You gonna get old soon."

Reve rolled his eyes. It was easy for Calen to say. He didn't even seem like he wanted to get out of this place. It was almost like he was comfortable here.

Reve gazed at Calen meaningfully, studying him, and thought, 'Maybe he is.'

All this while, Calen spoke a lot of gibberish, but he never revealed anything private.

Just who was Calen?

"You have a way to get out of here, don't you?" Reve asked.

"Ahh, why would you think that? Me? Of course not! I kinda like this place. It's like my home now, and the people here are so lovely. I mean, ahh, I have a wonderful roommate, don't I?"

Reve's face twisted in disgust. He wasn't buying this facade at all. Calen might as well be the worst actor he has ever seen in his entire life.

Suddenly, Calen's story became interesting in his eyes, and since he had all the time in the world here, he couldn't help but ask.

"What did you do, Calen? Why are you here?"

Calen smiled. "I like this. We are getting comfortable with each other."

"Alright, I'll tell you. I met a soldier once who winked at me in the most bizarre way ever. Like he was gazing at my bottom, and I don't even have that type of ass. I mean, I would expect him to look at someone with your type of ass, but not my ass–"

Reve blew off. "Ok now, what the hell is wrong with my ass? Are you delusional?"

Reve's physique was fit all the way to his leg. Last he checked, he didn't have a lazy ass.

Calen raised his hands in defeat. "Hmmm… if you say so. I'm just giving you a heads-up."

"I don't need your damn heads-up. Now, tell me, what did you do, Calen? Stop avoiding the question."

Calen's smile faded and a dark shade came over his face as he spoke, "I killed the soldier. With my bare hands, I gouged out his eyes, tore off his tongue, and then decapitated him."

Reve felt a chill run down his spine. Who was this Calen, really?

But he didn't flinch and instead asked with a sparkle in his eye, "Interesting… you did that?"

Calen's eyes darkened as he stared deeply into Reve. "Yes, I did that. I sat on his dehumanized body and waited for my punishment afterwards. Are you scared of me now, Reve? Most people get terrified at this point."

Reve took a step closer to Calen and said, "No. I'm not. I like this version of you, the honest one. Now, what is your plan to leave this place?"

Reve was no saint. His past actions were downright heinous. So he was more comfortable with evil. Whether he liked it or not, there was always a certain honesty to the aspect.

"Patience, Reve. Patience. When the time comes, you will know. It is gonna be a mess. A lovely mess," Calen smiled as whatever insidious thoughts he had crossed his mind, leaving Reve to wonder.

The two continued speaking for a while. Reve familiarized himself with Calen. Although his guards were always up, he revealed the reason why he was there, telling Calen about Val and her betrayal.

However, what caught Calen's interest was the mention of the box.

"Hold on." Calen interrupted loudly, "You found a mysterious box at Ashtown Bank?"

"Technically, I didn't find it–"

Calen cut him off once more. "But you saw it?"

"Yes."

"Now, this is really funny. This cult, they took it, right?" Calen asked.

Reve nodded, remembering the scene of days ago. "Yes, after almost killing me."

"Oh shit, it's real," Calen ranted.

Reve frowned, confused. "What are you talking about?"

Calen leaned in and said, "You don't understand. Where should I begin? You know about Apollyon, right?"

"It sounds familiar," Reve was confused.

Calen said with a serious expression, "Fair enough, most people are as ignorant as a fly. There is only a single being that I admire, and that is Apollyon, the Ancient Immortal…"

Suddenly, it dawned on him!

Reve blinked as he finally realized why the name Apollyon sounded familiar.

In Arcadia, every mage aspired for immortality. However, immortality could never be achieved through magic. It was a never-ending cycle of death and aspiration.

However, there were five beings that have been proclaimed immortals through unknown methods.

One of them was Apollyon.

It was the name of one of the five immortals his mentor, Circe, had spoken about. She was also a part of the five immortals, the Immortal Witch, so she could never be wrong.

'It is said that Apollyon vanished in the early eras of Arcadia. He became a myth, a topic of debate to the younger Arcadians,' Reve thought. 'Is it possible that he travelled to Earth before the spatial corridor collapsed?'

Reve's mind raced as it connected the dots.

In truth, Arcadia and Earth were twin worlds that were once connected, but the aftermath of a cataclysmic war called the Annihilation War caused the connection between both worlds to break. But that shouldn't stop a being on the level of Apollyon.

Finally, he understood that there was more to this story than he originally assumed.

Reve asked Calen what he knew about Apollyon, and the answers he received were shocking.

It turned out Apollyon was a mysterious entity in the supernatural world, but there were very few valid accounts of him. However, the supernatural strongly believed he existed.

"Apollyon existed at the emergence of Earth. Now, most people believe there was no Ether in the past, and, yes, that is true, but the old world was deeply supernatural. He was the master of magic and taught the prominent individuals that appear in our histories like King Solomon, and even Merlin." Calen explained.

"However, he died mysteriously centuries ago. It was said that on his deathbed, he produced his last gift to the world; the Books of Apollyon. The ultimate culmination of all his knowledge and secrets."