Chapter 4- To swim against the waves
Horus stands atop a hill of corpses with a sword in his hand and a cold, red in his eyes as he looks down at the bloodbath he created. These are not the bodies of mortals. A soft voice calls out to Horus from a few steps above him; a woman with a warm smile and a comforting lapis color that fills her eyes calls Horus to join her. Horus takes the woman's hand and climbs up the hill of corpses to see a rising sun, the woman's grip tightens as her smile grows wider and her eyes sparkle brighter with each passing moment while Horus watches her from corner of his eye as he pretended to watch the sunrise with her; His eyes turn to a gentle velvet color as he smiles from under his hair that flows with the winds.
Horus wakes up and the room turns black and white for a few seconds before he even opened his eyes. Standing up, Horus sees a thick chunk of paper written out in beautiful calligraphy by a quill that's still writing on the last blank piece of paper on the table. Walking up to it, Horus reviews the paper at the top of the pile and taps the rest with a single finger, turning the rest of the papers into a puff of ash and embers. He sits on the worktop while reading through the last paragraph of the paper, then, he looks at the quill making it stop with a single glance as he decides to rewrite the paperwork.
Grabbing the quill, Horus burns it to ashes and spreads the ash over the tabletop creating a spell rune; an octagonal rune surrounded by rigid lining around the sides and filled circles on each end. The ash rune glows for a few seconds before it blows up into the air turning into a thick cloud of smoke on Horus' table before revealing five stacks of papers with profiles on the front page. Erick, Quinton, Hinderfin, Alexandria, and Frieda. The five names that made up a group of the Quillion array that joined the Adventurer's guild for another source of income for the branch of the faction in the country they reside in, and the five people in the Quillion array that are considered the weakest in the entire faction. "Kanonikoi Anthropoi"
Horus reads through the papers he rewrote once again. His eyes move at an unimaginable speed as he turns every page back and forth reading through the first stack in less than a minute and did the same for the rest of them. After feeling satisfied about the second version of the plans he created, Horus heads to the bathroom to take a bath. He loosens his clothes and adds them to a small basket in the corner of his bed, drinking a glass of water as he looks at the view of the sleeping city of Aramus at 3 am in the morning, only noticing the mages at the center of the plaza constructing a travel beacon with bedrock and white chalk while another person creates a needle's end from bedrock facing the direction where the sun is supposed to rise. Horus decides to add a clause to the papers on his desk before heading over to take a bath.
Stepping out the gates of the mansion, Horus looks around the silent, foggy morning streets putting his hands in the pockets of his trench coat before he heads towards the Plaza alone; changing the color of his hair to a jet black and turning his eyes into an emerald green. At the plaza, mages work silently as they form runes around the bedrock circle and the needle. The streets are closed to prevent anyone going in without authorization and the entrances are lined with knights. This is the construction site for Aramus' travel beacon. A beacon used as a waypoint to travail vast distances around the world from country to country. They were a low-cost solution to a nation's problems concerning tourism, and travelling, because of how it only needed a moderate amount of mana to function, with the amount it takes varying from how much weight a person is carrying, and if a person has too small of a mana pool or do not wish to expend any mana, natural energy from coins is used instead.
Horus observes the construction of the runes and the placement of the pillar and gets absorbed as he looks from the top of the clock tower. Each rune is delicately made by hand using spells and scrolls when they could achieve the same result and durability simply by using a single drop of blood. Raw energy is the most uncontrollable form of mana and is found in the blood of most living things, with the amount of energy from the blood varying with strength and race. But to refine raw energy takes a few weeks or maybe even a few months to reliably refine energy under a small period of time, dragons and dragon-borns refine energy naturally, making them a species above everyone because of the strength that goes with their natural proficiency with magic.
Horus walks up to the entrance of the plaza where he is met with a line of knights standing straight with perfect posture.
"I would like to enter the plaza, if that would be allowed." Horus says as he looks at the knight in the middle of the line of guards.
"It is by your highness' decree that this place is closed off until construction is over. The construction should end shortly after 7 am in the morning." The knight says to Horus with a respectful tone.
"I'm not here to look around the plaza, I am from the Briar's association and I only wish to oversee the construction; it is only 3:40 in the morning after all." Horus responds to the knight with as he pulls out a silver lined slip from his pocket after looking at his watch. The slip given to only ten alumni a year in one of the most prestigious schools in Varian, and the watch gifted to one out of five hundred million mages that passed the hardest tests with a score of over 97% which Horus shows off so nonchalantly as if they were nothing but convenient trinkets to him.
"Very well then, I hope you can help the mages in any way you might be able to think of, Honored mage." The knight says before he bows and is followed by the other knights in the line, creating a path soon after they had all raised their heads.
Horus walks up to the group of mages that are diligently working on creating each and every rune. With only the bright glow from a light crystal, they work in the sleeping center of a regularly bustling plaza with only themselves and the birds to fill only a small portion of open space. The smell of the morning air fills their noses as they recite every incantation and make every hand sign. Horus pricks his own finger after alerting the mages, trickling his blood onto the bedrock which proceeds to glow a bright, azure light as he requests the mages to continue casting the runes. At first the mages were surprised by the sudden sound of an unfamiliar voice walking into the closed off plaza district, but after looking up to check whom it was that entered the construction site, they were mysteriously relieved to see a random man wearing a normal black trench coat with his arms ornamented with nothing but a beautiful watch and his hand waving as if to get their attention. Even though they had never seen him before, the mages felt as if they had known this man for longer than they could remember. Horus started to take the lead, starting off by telling the mages that he was there to teach them, showing off his silver lined slip once more and guiding the mages through the proper and faster method of constructing the beacon. Teaching the mages one by one, going through the issues in their techniques and explaining it to them in an easy and understandable way as if he was a professional tutor teaching a new group of students. Thanks to his intervention, the entire team was finished by the time the blood Horus set on the bedrock dried and by the time all the mages had reconvened, Horus had already left to meet with the five at the port who should be there a little after the sun rose.
Heading to the port of Aramus is a ship painted with ivory etchings lined with gold and silver thread that envelope the windows of stained glass and an ivory angel at its tip. Only a fool would sail in such an extravagant ship unless the seas were reserved for them and them alone; this fool is the king who accompanied the heroes of his country.
The sun rises over the ships sails making the gold and silver glow brilliantly while the ivory angel rivals the glow of the sun itself as it reflects its glow, as if it was the messenger of God himself that lead the ship to its destination safely. The first to exit the ship was the king accompanied by ten knights in black armor followed by the twins, Hinderfin, Erick, and Quinton. Horus bows to the king in the form he took when he exited the mansion, speaking with formality of the highest degree to the king who looks down on the man in front of him with bored eyes.
"You are the one who commissioned my country's heroes through the adventurer's guild, correct?"
"Yes, your highness. I shall accommodate to their every need as they stay here in Aramus."
"And may you remind me of why you commissioned them in the first place?"
"The nation of Aramus does not hold enough military power to deal with a certain monster that has threatened to destroy the five continents if not given a bout. Therefore, I, a man who can only boast his intelligence in military strategy, intend to end this before it becomes a full-scale war. The enemy is in a state where it is strong enough to destroy even a large army of your personal knights. However, Holdborn's heroes are as strong as them, may I dare say stronger than them, and have been working together since their early years. Their popularity around the globe would also rise if they could accomplish this feat, boosting your country's tourism along with it." Horus says without stuttering on a single word or speaking without a respectful yet convincing tone all while his head was bowed, and his hand was placed on his chest. Even then the king looked at him with disgust, as if he was scum who was caught stealing the king's most precious artifact.
"And the king has granted you permission to act?"
"Yes, your highness."
"And how do you expect me to believe that your nation isn't simply trying to assassinate our greatest forces?"
Horus replies with nothing but silence, only closing his eyes with his head is still lowered.
A loud sound of air splitting apart gets closer and closer till it catches the attention of the king who looks up to the source of the sound. A giant ball of black magic that darkens the clouds and heats the sea to the point that its surface vaporizes, plunges forward like a falling meteorite Directly towards Horus and the King.
Horus raises his head looking at the king head on with his emerald green eyes that stain with a tinge of terrifying crimson that glow bright below the consuming ball of magic that approaches Aramus.
"Aramus would be in danger if we were to kill them." Horus pauses for a moment, lowering his arms to his waist and facing the king with a fearless expression.
"The king's blood would not allow it."
Horus says seriously to the shocked king who looks straight at him as the ball of magic crashes into an invisible wall that remains unyielding as the meteorite like spell explodes into thousands of shrapnel that burn a violet flame leaving a deafening shockwave.
The two are painted in a purple light as the king falls to his knees and struggles to breath. Now, Horus is the one who looks down on the terrified king for only a second before he lowers his hand to help the king up.
"Take them! And make sure whatever beast lays on the other side of this territory is dead by the time I come return to fetch them!" The wide-eyed king yells, forcing his voice out as he looks at Horus with an infuriated yet terrified expression which Horus responds to with one final bow of gratitude that emanated the essence of true elegance and suggested to the king to use the newly built travel beacon at the center of the plaza.
Horus looks at the party who stays behind as the king paces to the side of the street furiously, throwing up at the corner before a carriage could arrive to pick them up.
"Come now, we've a lot to discuss." Horus says to the group as soon as the king goes out of view.
Entering the mansion, Horus reverts his appearance back to normal as soon as he passes through the open doors with the members of Kanonikoi Anthropoi following closely behind him. Horus walks the five through the silent halls of the mansion catching them up with the situation they were called in for, the monster they had to kill, and the plan he had devised to destroy him. One week to train, one week until they had to fight. This was not just a fight meant to train the members of the faction, but rather, this was a battle against a fool who dared to aggravate someone like Horus.
"Tomorrow, I will be holding training for everyone in the faction. After that, you five are going to be training with me."
"He's that much of a threat?"
"Do not underestimate a god. But I implore you not to be terrified of one." A silence surrounds them till they reach the doors to the dining hall. Opening the doors, they find everyone in the faction located in Aramus waiting at the center of the dining hall with the tables put to the side as everyone greets the five's return in unison. Festive music play as the five runs toward the faction they hadn't seen in what felt like a century, faces that gave the five excitement, peace of mind, and joy to see once more. Every second of that small celebration in 8 in the morning they cherished, the faces of the ones they had lived with for more than half of their lives overjoyed them all to see. For the first time since the five of them became heroes, they cried tears of joy as the soft sunlight lit up the giant dining hall livening up the room even more than it already was, with the soft rivers of light warming up the hearts of everyone who stood under it.
The world feels as if it was in peace for just a few hours as commissions and requests halted their infinite flow and the world stood still in light of their celebration, the sun being the only thing changing as time passed. Jeers and laughing filled the halls of the silent mansion as everyone inside it celebrates the return of the five, catching up with stories and events that transpired while they were gone. Yet the lingering sense that they would leave once more, never left any of their hearts. Everyone knew that this blissful morning wouldn't happen in a long time after this, even so they enjoyed every moment of it, happily, and thankfully, they celebrated the return of their brethren.
The next morning the mansion was empty, not a single person was there, except for Horus. Horus who was sitting there in front of the training grounds, his eyes blank as he leans back on his armchair. Thousands of dolls are linked up to Horus' mind which he controls as if they were an extension of his own body, even though the dolls weren't even in the training hall. A white gate, visible only to him and those who wish to enter it. Horus' unchanging eyes makes it seem as if maintaining this gate was an easy task even though it would kill anyone who tried recreating the gate's first rune. To Horus, this was child's play.
The day went by as if it never even happened. The silence of the mansion's halls would drive anyone insane if it weren't for the singing birds who drowned out the deafening silence heard only by a man with still, white hair and velvet-stained eyes sitting on a chair while the sun beams its warm rays of light upon him, casting the shadow of a door in front of Horus.
Closing his eyes for a single moment that felt like an eternity, he hears the sound of a creaking door followed by footsteps. Opening his eyes, Horus is met by the faction members in Aramus in front of him; their faces are filled with cogitative expressions as they line up in front of Horus who sits on the chair as if it was a throne with the members of the faction lining up quietly after a while of chatting. The large training hall is filled with people that line up in front of Horus, silently organizing themselves as Horus watches them. Their footsteps cease as Cessil cuts through the lines and heads to the front of the crowd standing before Horus, kneeling to him as if he was a king with the rest of the men and women following suit amidst the silent halls and beaming sun above the open-air training room.
Raising his head, Cessil greets Horus and says his thanks to him as he stands up in unison with everyone behind him, bowing their heads all at the same time as if they were all connected by threads. Horus stands up from his chair, his eyes turn into a fiery red and distorts space, making the large training room as big as a small country.
"Then let us begin your assessments."
Horus removes his coat and materializes a normal sword from thin air, raising it in front of his crew and looking at someone at the center of the crowd. The man notices Horus' glance and rushes towards Horus through the crowds that split in front of him, running towards opposite ends of the training room.
"It is an Honor!" The man who wears a white cloak says to Horus, revealing a beautiful blade from under the white cloaks that turn into a deep black leaping at Horus from the front, disappearing in front of Horus like an afterimage before reappearing behind him. Horus turns his body at a normal pace, backing up and parrying the man's blow before proceeding to do the same with the man's every strike.
"This is it, Frid? How weak!" Horus exclaims as he turns his blade to its blunt side and hits Frid out of the air as soon as he appears. Frid turns to smoke as his back arches from the bludgeoning and once again he reappears behind Horus, throwing the strongest move he could muster.
The sky turns dark as the beautiful blade Frid holds morphs into a grotesque blade made out of demonic bones and teeth, sharpened enough to cut the space it passes through, but only sharp enough to chip Horus' blade.
Horus flips his blade and uses the hilt to knock Frid back into the center of the crowd marking the start of Horus' "Assessment."
Leaping towards Frid as he tries to stand up, Horus gets intercepted by magic projectiles and restraining spells that Horus simply cuts through with a single swing of his sword, making it all explode as he falls down towards Frid who flees into the crowd leaving only an afterimage that Horus strikes down, splitting the ground in front of him. Cessil charges in first from the crowds turning into navy death and shooting Horus with his gun. Horus avoids the bullets and dashes towards Cessil at an incredible pace.
Their blades meet in the middle of a soon to warzone of 500 to 1. Cessil insnares Horus with tentacles as he steps back and thrusts his tentacles towards the immobile Horus. Horus dispels the tentacles coming towards him and frees himself with ease running to Cessil which results in a sword fight with the rest of the crew supporting Cessil with spells, buffs, and attacks towards Horus.
Meteors fall from the sky, only to get disintegrated by Horus without leaving his eyes on Cessil who just barely matches up with Horus in his current state. Their blades clash as they continually go faster and faster, their moves growing sharper and sharper until Cessil lands a hit, shaving off a small bit of Horus' hair and giving him a small cut on the cheek using underground spikes had set up. Cessil consumes the blood that dripped off Horus' wound using a a swarm of flies that come from Cessil's palms, merging the blood with Cessil's main body.
Cessil jumps back around 50 meters away from Horus as the tentacles from his spine start to convulse and grow bigger, consuming Cessil's body, and forming a second skin of lifeless flesh turning Cessil into a twelve-foot giant with pale skin and a featureless face. Cessil tries to open his mouth, breaking through the second skin. Rotting creatures come out from Cessil's mouth as he tries to breath, ripping off the skin over his eyes, revealing themn to have gone bloodshot with royal blue pupils.
"I'll have to take this seriously then." Horus says as he watches Cessil transform fully.
Taking a deep breath, Horus' eyes turn into a deep black as time itself seems to stop which only manages to slow the movement of everyone in the crowd. Horus dashes forward to the unfazed Cessil who sped up considerably despite time being stopped.
"Good, but not good enough!" Horus says as Cessil appears behind him in a flash, striking him in the stomach using the hilt of his sword. Cessil coughs up blood and freezes in time as he loses consciousness; Horus piercing through his collar bone and smashing him to the ground before Cessil completely freezing.
As time returns to normal, Cessil experiences all the energy that had pent up while time had stopped all at once, burning his body in a flash of violent light until his rib cage was exposed and his mouth had no more skin left. Horus heals Cessil and moves him out of the training room. Going back inside, Horus knocks out everyone in the crowd except for the members of Kanonikoi Anthropoi and calling them out for the final spar.
"Go ahead." Horus signals to the five as his eyes turn into a fiery red and he aims his sword towards them, changing it into a magnificent blade that fits Horus' hand as if it was an extension of it.
"Last 5 seconds and you shall pass." Horus states as he prepares to charge towards them
"And if we fail?" Quinton asks with a respectful tone
"I'll have you last twice the amount tomorrow." Horus responds coldly as he starts his assault.
One. Hinderfin gets split in half even with Alexandria's support.
Two. Quinton parries Horus strike at the cost of his leg and a quarter of his side.
Three. Erick tries to negate Horus' strike with his strongest move while also moving back, buying him half a second before a hole, blows through his chest.
Four. It was as if the moon fell upon Frieda while she helplessly tried to shoot an arrow at Horus as she lost her head before the arrow could even reach the ground.
Five. Alexandria casted absolute defense on herself which broke in half a second before both her arms were blown off and her head was completely destroyed.
"Six." Horus says as he wiped the blood from his blade and revived the 5 who took the heaviest breath they ever had as they recall what happened to them.
"You made it." Horus says proudly as his eyes turn to a warm velvet and the training room goes back to normal.
"Though, only by a second." Horus says warmly while his expression barely changes,
"By the end of this I'll make sure all of you can survive for atleast 20 seconds."
The faces of the five men and everyone behind them fill with a bit of frustration after losing the trial, and yet they still smile with passion and determination as they stand up all clean and nice as if nothing had ever happened. Every single one of them were humbled even more so than before, they stand up with determined smiles that drive them to move forward. The light is so extremely far away from them and yet they move forward; moving where others would give up, moving forward endlessly till death.