皿 A Glorious Encounter 皿

Just as the grieving group had gathered to journey into the mystery of a world outside Mediopolis they heard the sound of gallops and whinnies, they looked towards the source with a sudden gasp that escaped their breaths. The sound seemed to be coming from the northern side of the city, and it was rapidly approaching them. They could barely make sense of what was happening when Naevus and two other soldiers rode into the clearing riding on horseback.

"It's them!!!" One of them screamed as he spurred his horse closer to the group of four, who were now frozen at what was happening. His voice brought a shudder to the whole group and their mouths opened agape as they took a step backwards.

"What should we do, Vitus?" murmured Rufus.

"We run!!"

Without a second thought, the group of four began to sprint away from the galloping soldiers. Their hands shook in fear as they ran while looking over their shoulders. However, hooves were quicker than heels, so in no time the group were surrounded by the horsemen, and they stood dead in their tracks. Their faces blanched in horror. The soldiers surrounded them on all sides, trapping them between two massive horses that stood tall and proud like lions that have come to eat their dinner. The riders' eyes were cold and menacing as they looked upon the terrified refugees. Naevus' horse came cantering, drawing their attention towards him. He dismounted his steed and the others did the same, he moved towards his catch and let out a mischievous and grimacing chortle.

"Valeria Pollux-Marcellus" He mentioned her name in full and stood in front of her while gripping her arm tightly in his hand. She flinched slightly and tried to pull her arm out of his grip, but couldn't break free as Naevus dragged her towards him.

"Where do you think you and your son are running to with this…" he took a contemptuous glimpse at Vitus, "…false diviner. Isn't it more dangerous out there than your beloved home?"

"You bastard, you murdered my father!!" Rufus yelled, one of the soldiers shoved him to the ground. Valeria tries to attend to her son, but couldn't get out of Naevus' grasp. Irene attended to him instead.

"Who told you that?" Naevus scoffed in amusement as his gaze fell upon the youths before him. Rufus sat up with a hand leaning on the ground and the other wiping the blood from his nose.

"Cameron told me, everything. You put your sword in him"

Naevus went silent as he recalled the white steed that fled the battlefield. That bastard! He thought to himself.

"So much reason not to keep you all alive" he announced, losing his grip on Valeria, "I need to do with the four of you before sunrise"

"Lucius was your brother…" Valeria started, but he cuts her off.

"Shut up"

She moved closer to him and whispered "He was your only family, why did you do this to him"

"I said shut up!!" he retorted, his voice expressing anger and unrest. As she was about to speak again, he thrust his palm onto her face and she trotted a step backwards holding her cheek. He grew enraged, clenching his fist. Vitus stared at him, noticing guilts lingering on his face,

"You are under pressure, Naevus, it's not too late to change"

Naevus closed his eyes for a moment trying to calm down. He slowly breathed in, then exhaled calmly.

"I am an ambitious man, I want to rule. This is not something I am willing to give up on…so I'm going to use whatever means necessary to attain it." With those words, he nodded at his men, giving them a signal to kill. The soldiers lifted their swords to strike, but were interrupted by a sound like that of footsteps.

"That won't be necessary" An old, shivering voice spoke. Everyone turned their heads towards the figure in black clothes and hood, wobbling towards them from the dark. He looked around the area and observed every person present before turning towards Naevus.

"If you really believe you can conquer the world, you are very mistaken. The greatest danger in life is always yourself"

His eyes glowed white staring at Naevus,

"I curse you" A gleam of light streamed through Naevus' temple, he screamed in pain as he fell to his knees. The others watched with jaws dropped in horror. The soldiers advanced toward the old man ready to strike a blow with their swords, but before they could, he caught their hands both and electric sparkling from his hands were channelled to their bodies, the men wailed in pain and collapsed on the ground unconscious. Their bodies were burnt to charcoal. The old man walked toward the group, who in turn were too shocked to move.

After seeing Naevus fall to his knees, the group slowly raised their heads looking behind themselves at the figure walking toward them. It was impossible to see anything because of the darkness surrounding them, but Vitus knew who it was even without being able to see his face clearly.

"My Lord, Jupiter" He exclaimed calmly.

The old man lowered his hood and revealed his aged features, he wore a dark brown robe with golden details around the sleeves. His long silver-grey hair covered the sides of his face, making it appear mysterious as ever. He glimpsed at Rufus with a sad smile, which made the prince cringe. After gazing at him for some more seconds, Jupiter walked forward, closing the distance between Vitus until they were only a few inches apart. Vitus bowed low before him with a slight smile.

"I don't have much time," the old man said, "if I stay here any longer, he would feel my presence and that would be dangerous for you all"

"Who…you mean Pluto?" Irene asked.

"Yes," he answered, "now heed my words. You will venture your way to Sicily, on the island of Cyprus and find the Nefeli twins. Once you've accomplished that, I have a solution to cure this catastrophe."

"Pardon me, my Lord," Vitus said.

The old man gave him a curious look.

"Your Lordship is our leader, but if that is what you wish for…then it shall be done, however, there is a problem."

"Go ahead, Vitus. Say what is on your mind"

"We do not know how we're supposed to travel all that way, the road is quite perilous"

A soft chuckle escaped the old man's lips,

"Vitus, you underestimate your abilities. There is nothing that you cannot do. I am sure you'll find a way to do so, though your trip will take you a very long time and might require you to go through many obstacles on the way. What happens if you fail? No redemption to this calamity? There is hope, Vitus, Trust in your instincts." And with that, he disappeared, leaving only faint glowing orbs of white magic behind him.

"Is he gone? Is he really gone?" someone asked. Vitus let out a bright smile pacing at space, "Yes, he is gone."

There were moments of silence until the horses neighed which draw their attention.

Rufus cracked up, "We have horses, three horses"

"Indeed," Vitus smiled along with the others. "What do you say?"

"Make use of them."

Fragments of happiness were plastered on their face. Without any more words, they threw the torches and climbed on the horses. Valeria on one, Rufus on the second and Vitus and Irene took the last one. They rode out into the wild as the morning light began to make way for a new day.