Unwanted Guests

"𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆." 

Once, just one singular wave of black energy was discharged from the rune. The pulsating ripple of magic created a deafening thrumming noise that was so rapid it sounded more like a reverberating hum. The ability was fast but most of the sorcerers present were trained enough to react in time. But it didn't matter, Kingston wasn't just given an absurd amount of power, more importantly he was able to manipulate the very forces of existence. The unstoppable laws of nature, movement, if only his abilities came with a guide, then he could have already accomplished what he was trying to do. An array of flashing lights illuminated the throne room in a multitude of colours as everyone evoked their defensive runes. Isolda watched eyes wide as the fast approaching flow of pure, untethered and abundant soul essence swam throughout the entire chamber. Then it hit her, and she began falling backwards in... slow motion? The initial impact wasn't painful at all, but it was strong enough to push them off their feet, causing everyone to tumble backwards. But they didn't hit the ground, instead they gracefully floated away, like they were all in a pond and a large wave was pushing them back. And then it rebounded, the misty black wall of energy was sucked back into his palm, lifting up everything it passed through. Suddenly they were weightless as they hung helplessly in the air, even the dozens of knights in heavy Ceylicot armor were picked up by the ability like they were nothing. Gaius who had just regained consciousness slowly blinked his eyes open, "What in Gods-" in an instant his body was flung off the balcony. "Oh." Kingston examined his palm as if something was wrong with it, "I didn't mean to throw him." Then one by one all the knights including the old general were shot out of the palace, each body landing on the white stone bricks of the town square where the people stood. Every thud caused the shocked townspeople to scramble backwards. A small yelp sounded from one of her companions behind her as the remaining people who hadn't been launched out the window were dropped onto the floor. The black mist dissipated into the air and the inky darkness in his eyes retreated, returning the colour to its normal state. The runic glyphs on his arm sank back into colorless markings, "This is not going to get any easier is it." Not even halfway through the day and he already had to invoke two runes. What's more is that another kingdom was already aware of the situation. He grew up here and knew that many Rulers were actively trying to gain access to Lambridge's resources but just how many prying eyes were there? Whoever witnessed this would probably report to their superiors that a powerful unknown Mage was staging a coup. Not a single thing that happened today went in his favor. But on the bright side he did get to experiment with that rune. 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆, an immobilizing type ability that's main use was for large groups and defensive tactics, which was what most of his runes were for. The first charge reduces the weight, mass, velocity and to his understanding, all aspects relating to movement. Which is what created the drifting sensation they all felt, floating in the air like they weighed nothing. The second phase would be him catching the energy back into his hand like a boomerang. This would reverse the effects of the first charge and then immediately reapply them, but instead of just letting the power push them back, he could control all those who were affected freely. "THIS IS ABSURD!" A ragged voice roared from outside the terrace. "WE'LL HAVE YOUR HEADS FOR THIS." Kingston emerged from the rubble, climbing over the jagged pieces of marble and stone. Looking down from the palace's balcony that was nearly completely destroyed, he could see the old commander furiously waving his sword around, a manic grin plastered on his face. "Yes..." He chuckled deliriously, these nobles were all the same, all it took was a little jab to his pride and he was already losing it. "We will RAZE THIS TOWN, PLUNDER YOUR WOMEN AND SELL YOU CHI-." The breath was sucked out of his lungs as he shot up into the air in the middle of his enraged frenzy, his body almost immediately bulleted back towards the ground with a sickening crunch. Murky wisps of dark smoke rising from his broken limbs splayed out on the shattered stone and mortar. "𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁." The villagers who had witnessed the entire battle, if you could call it that, play out, were too shocked to react. "You fool." A weak voice murmured from underneath a pile of rubble. With a strained grunt Gaius pushed himself out of the heaps of debris, the boy's blonde hair was matted with dust and dirt, but there were no serious injuries thankfully... since Kingston did not mean to drag him inside his ability. "You killed the Deacon of a God Blooded clan-"

"I killed him?" Walking towards the mini crater that formed from the impact of the Deacon's body he peeked over the edge. The old man's jaw was unhinged from the rest of his skull, broken bones jutted out from a few of his joints, the mangled body was all but a corpse aside from the low droning that were supposedly groans of agony. Kingstons face contorted into a look of distaste which triggered unanimous gasps of terror from the people. Distressed murmurs slipped through the panic, "We're all going to die...", "No one will be able to save us from Blood Cicero..." The severity of their situation shook them out of their stupor, desperate eyes seeking for someone to blame landed on Kingston. "Hold on a second he's not dead yet, where are the healers?" Blood Cicero? Who was this guy? Although Kingston was born in the country he was raised outside of its borders. But he knew that this kingdom was not their own, and multiple states as well as individual Clans and high bloods had their hands on Lambridge. Clearly the old man was a person of high standing, and judging from the facial expressions of Isolda and her team, internally mutilating his body wasn't a good idea. "So he can't be healed?" The following silence only added on to the despair that the townspeople were experiencing right now. Gaius' still cautious eyes regarded Kingston with curiosity, "You possess great control over the Magian Arts but you do not seem to know much about it." His wounds were more or less healed as he got up and shook off the dust from the rubble. A white light outlined the runic markings on his outstretched arm which he held just over the body of the Deacon. A flurry of emotions surfaced on his face as he began healing the old general, he might have imagined it but he could've sworn he saw the blonde sorcerer smirk. "My healing rune is not strong enough to fully manifest. That is why only the outline of it was visible." Before the sudden emergence of his power he was simply a peasant orphan drafted to live in the barracks on the outskirts of Lambridge. His Magian ability was low so he knew little about the interdimensional power source. After a series of grotesque cracks and pops, the Deacon's bones sank back into their proper sockets and roughly mended themselves. Before Gaius could finish healing him the man immediately initiated a rune causing the blonde boy to jump back. Wanting to avoid any more complications Kingston activated a defensive marking and braced himself. But the attack never came, the Deacon stood there, his right hand was brightly glowing in a vividly verdant green. There was an emblem in his palm that became more visible as his hand burned brighter and brighter. Once the spell was done he slammed his open palm into the ground and released whatever incantation he had. His jaw was now back into place, but the pain was still visible on his face when he spoke, "Yours is a Kingdom of dead men. I will enjoy watching your corpse crucified for all of your people to see." 

A beacon, it must have been a signal for his clan to come to his aid. He could still feel the soul essence in the spell as it continued to travel farther away from its point of release. Everyone seemed to know what was going on, Gaius sat back and buried his face in his hands, Isolda remained emotionless, her eyes stayed glued on Kingston, Rekken shakily breathed into her mouth that was cupped by her hands and Theodore sped off. The villagers slowly began to disperse, just before the chaos was about to turn into an all out rampage the man who caused it all opened his mouth to speak, "𝗪𝗮𝗶𝘁." The low, authoritative voice rose above the panicked clamoring and commanded the attention of the people. "You all seem to have forgotten what I said." He spoke in a calm and prosaic tone, "I understand, you all have lived under the rule of multiple Kings whom had no ties to this country. Yet being the simple farmers we are we accepted the peace that came with the slavery and Oppression it entailed because you feared what would happen if we fought back." The atmosphere in the townsquare was still filled with terror and uncertainty but everyone quietly listened to him speak. "I gave my word that I would protect this Kingdom. You do not know me nor will you understand my purpose but I assure you..." His dull, piercing black gaze rested on the Deacon, "Clan Cicero or any other God Blood that tries to harm any citizen of Lambridge will be 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅."

Unsurprisingly the arrogance and confidence in his clan overruled the terror that stabbed into his gut. The Deacon began laughing hysterically as he wildly glared at Kingston, then at all the spectators around them. "AHAHAHAHA, YOU ARE JUST A NAIVE FOOL AFTER ALL." His eyes were wide with an unhinged rage, the old grey pupils danced along the crowd until they found Engeram. The cowardly King shuddered as their eyes met, a rabid grin spread across the Deacon's face, "You... WITLESS BASTARD, YOU USELESS FRAUD, YOU HAVE DOOMED YOUR ENTIRE PEOPLE." In a flash of purple light the old commander conjured a ball of dark energy in his hand. He moved with surprising swiftness despite his crumbling mental state, he flitted around the square, barreling towards Engeram, Gaius and Theodore rushed in to protect the civilians from the attack. Just before the man could reach his target his body seemingly froze in mid stride. His face drooled with delirium as he struggled to move his limbs. The strained expression he had quickly morphed into one of shock and fear as his arms and legs were bent inward, crushing his body into a ball. He was practically screaming into his crotch as both of his legs were wrapped around his shoulders and it definitely was not because he was flexible. His cries of agony were cut short as Kingston closed his fist, completely squashing the Deacon into an impossibly small size for a human. His head was turned in the opposite direction the entire time, his void black eyes coldly stared at the city walls. The Deacon's death sealed their fate and they knew it, but something about this man made the people feel like they could trust him. Well more like they could hide behind him rather than trust him. A population that grew up in fear, their protection and their future provided by a slew of unknown powers. They were always looking for something to rely on, a crutch, a shield, a man who could do things they could not even begin to comprehend doing themselves. Could this be it? Their protector, their savior, their 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐢𝐨𝐧? Who knows, but for now they would have to put all their hope in him. His gaze remained fixed on the same section of the city walls, finally breaking the silence he breathed, "𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲."