Chapter 15

Dawn of Glory [The half-breed]



Chapter fifteen



Theme: Choose



"Looks like all hope of saving the middle land from Lord Darius is lost now," Joy complained bitterly for the fourth time. "All those endless periods of sleep, the tracking, and the near-death experience have now ended in vain." She said, wrapping her hand tightly around her body, and moving beside Dan.



The three of them are working on a lone path amidst the thick woods. Where are they going now? Joy thought, but she didn't have the answer. All she knows is that the D'arcy soldier she commanded earlier is now leading them to wherever Mrs. Sandra told him to.



After the book was burnt, they tried everything to hide from the so-called cloud tracker and avoid walking on the main road. Why? Because Mrs. Sandra had informed them that Lord Darius was watching them from above. That's insane, Joy thought. How would a normal human being trace them through the sky? She had also told them that if they could make it to Isengard, there might be a solution to their dilemma. After a lot of arguing and explaining from Dan, she finally agreed with them.



"Here we go," Mrs. Sandra said, her voice jolting her back to reality.



"That's my home!" Joy exclaimed in surprise as she examined her surroundings. "What are we doing here?" She asked.



"This is the way to Isengard." The D'arcy soldiers replied instead. "If we can't walk along the road path, then this is the only route."



"This will take us time," Dan yelled and rushed at the man. He snatched him up with one hand, brought him closer, and stared directly into his eyes. "Tell me, what's your plan? Are you trying to deliver us to Lord Darius?" He said it with rancor attached to his voice.



"I will not answer any of your questions," the man fired back at Dan's face while trying his best to be free of his grip at the same time.



"That means you are planning something bad for us," says Dan, as he punches the man in the face. He yanked him closer again, brought him up, and made an attempt to throw him away when Joy stopped him.



Mrs. Sandra joins them, saying, "He's telling the truth. Since he is commanded by Joy, then he can't answer anyone except her." She clarified. "Not only him, but anybody that's fallen victim. They will be bound to her forever and ready to serve her until death. The connection could be broken only if she was killed."



Dan took a deep breath and released his hold on the man. "Thank your star." He said and walked away from the scene. With the look in his eyes, one could easily detect that he hated D'arcy soldiers so much. Well, he can't be blamed. They were the causes of his father's death. They ruined his family and made him an orphan.



"My mom's corpse." Joy whispers as she walks towards the remaining burnt body of the woman. "Bingo!" Joy exclaimed as she saw her dog with a melancholy look sitting beside the woman's body. Hearing her voice, the dog leaped up with happiness and licked her face. "I missed you so much, Bingo." Joy said." She squatted low beside the dog, carried her, and rubbed her fur gently.



"I'm sorry about her," Mrs. Sandra said, standing beside Joy. "But I'm sorry, we have to proceed now."



"I'm not going anywhere unless we stifle her." Joy said, with a hard tone.



"I didn't say we are going anywhere now." Mrs. Sandra clarified "We are moving to the next line of action now. Since you have read the book, then you have to choose."



"What did you mean?" Joy asked in confusion.



"There are some certain tests that you must pass. Only then can you attain the full power of the half-breed." Dan replied instead. "You have to follow her now because we don't know what Darius might be planning. I and Garry will bury the body." He offered while the D'arcy soldier stared dagger at Dan.



"Don't forget, he won't answer you." Mrs. Sandra quickly steps between them, and Dan sighs in exasperation. "Garry, you will help Dan bury this body, then stay with him until I'm finished with your mistress." She ordered him.



"Yes ma'am," Garry said and bowed his head in respect before he moved towards Dan.



"How did you do that?" Dan asked, astonished.



"Don't forget, I am a scarlet witch. That gives me power over the human soul." She simply said, then returned her gaze to Joy. "So, are you ready for the test?" 



"What other choice do I have?" Joy retorted.



"Then, I will take that as a yes." Mrs. Sandra said, "Kindly do me the favor of closing your eyes." Mrs. Sandra announced, and Joy reluctantly followed her order. She closed her eyes, and she could hear Mrs. Sandra mumbling some words, inaudible. She chanted in an ancient tongue, "With il potere concessomi come prima antica strega Scarlatti, con la presente ti ho mandato nel regno di Dio dove sbloccherai il tuo potere di mezzosangue," followed by a wild whirlwind that blew throughout the entire atmosphere. "True half-breed, please open your eyes." Mrs. Sandra says after everything has gone down.



Not wasting any seconds, Joy followed her order by opening her eyes. However, she was welcomed by a thick jungle. Each tree was thicker than the pillar that held the city hall. In all her life, she hadn't seen anything like this before. Right in front of her eyes, the tree started moving. They started to adopt the posture of humans.



Slowly, the tree parted away, and they formed a fighting ring around her. All the trees came to life, their loud voices booming throughout the entire forest, while their branches swung forth and back in excitement. The loud thud of their roots filled the whole atmosphere, and Joy couldn't help but shake in fear.



"Joy, the true half-breed, and savior of the middle land." Mrs. Sandra's voice booms through the entire forest. "Here is your test before you can access the true power of half-breeding."



"What the hell is this? This is insane for goodness sake." She cried out in panic. "Dan, where are you?"



"I'm sorry, Miss Joy." Mrs. Sandra retorted, and one could hear the giggle in her voice. "This is a cross for you to bear alone. This is your subconscious, and you are bound to this. Nevertheless, being in an inexistence realm doesn't mean you won't get wounded, or feel the injury that was inflicted on you by them."



"What should I do now?" Says Joy as she resigns to her fate. What choice does she have? "Besides, is this what all the former half-breeds go through?"



"None of them went through this because I wasn't in existence then." Mrs. Sandra explained. "That's why they became victims of Lord Darius. However, that's not going to happen. Not under my watch."



Joy exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, and she could hear Mrs. Sandra clearing her throat. "Look behind you. What did you see?" 





Joy turned around, and she could see a flaming sword hit the ground in the middle of the ring. "Just a sword blazing with fire." She replied.



"Great!" Mrs. Sandra said "The sword is called "Sangre," which means blood. It was the combination of the ancient sword, which was wielded by Lord Rey himself, and his sister, Franni. This sword has taken more of the titan gods' lives and shed a lot of the empire's blood, including that of Beelzebub. The second sword is the soul rune sword. The soul rune sword was used by a boy from Gaea, Rey Reed Smith. Both swords were melted together and used to forge the Sangre sword. Only the worthy can wield it." 



"So, you are daring me to pick up the sword and prove myself worthy of saving the middle people from Lord Darius's reign." With a smirk, Joy says.



"Not only that, you must return with the sword to your consciousness." Mrs. Sandra clarified "Good luck, our half-breed."



Joy cracked her knuckles and phalanges, then folded her fist as she walked towards the flaming sword. Everything seems too easy for her. She will just move towards the sword, pick it up, unlock the power of the half-breed and return to her normal state. Then she will finally set off for the crew's palace, where she will fight Darius, defeat him, and everything will return to normal. She was tired of this endless walk.



A few inches away from Joy's reaching the flaming sword, one of the trees swung its branch at her, and she narrowly escaped the incursion. She swooped out of the way on instinct, and an embryo appeared in her previous position. She twirls her body in mid-air to avoid another tributary, then lands on the floor. She took two steps forward, then swung her full body towards the sword.



She was about to touch it when she felt one of the trunks wrap around her ankle and drag her backward. She tried to resist, but the branch heaved her backward and slammed her face against the solid ground. As she collided with the hard ground, she spits out blood. Another inception sprouted out of the ground, and Joy narrowly rolled out of the way as it was about to wrap around her. 



She slammed her hands on the ground, then used the force to propel her body upward. As she landed on her feet, she took another two steps forward and leaped high again. This time, she went for her power. Thankfully, she found it there. It was still floating in her body, like an ocean flowing through the dirt. Joy imagines her hand turning into a small bowl and her power as a liquid.



She drew out water from her power, turned it into a spike, and unleashed it against one of the branches that swung at her. A different ice spike emerged out of her body and pinned the root to the ground. Still, in mid-air, Joy spins her body to avoid another root that attacks her. As her feet touched the ground, she slid downward, making another one whistle past her face.



All around her, the trees started swinging their thick green roots, which looked like rope, at her while Joy was occupied with dodging, pinning, and aiming for the sword. Left and right, they attacked her, and she did well to avoid them. All thanks to all the skills Dan had taught her.



Finally, she managed to reach the flaming sword's position. Not wasting any seconds, Joy grabbed the sword. As her hand touched its fine ivory flaming hilt, she felt it burning her to the heart. Worst of all, she couldn't retrieve her hand. They are struck with the sword. It is either she retrieves the sword or retreats her hand, which is impossible.



Joy screamed in agony as the pain surged through her entire body. It was like a lava pool had been poured on her. She went deep down for her power once more, and she could see that it was starting to run out. Without being told, she knew it was the work of the flaming sword. She knows full well that she won't get the chance to retrieve her hand without the help of her power. Joy decided to act fast.



She went for the remainder of her power again, then grasped it. This time she wrapped it around her hand, which was still clutching tight to the flaming sword, then she used her power as a shield against the pain she was feeling. Even though it wasn't enough, it still did a lot to help. At least till she was able to snatch the sword from its striking spot.



Joy imagines herself becoming one with the sword. She heard a rustling sound behind her, and she could guess the reason for that. The spike she was using to pin down those roots was melting. She directed her gaze back to the sword and concentrated on it. Joy imagines herself holding the sword, wielding it, and absorbing its power. Instead of fighting the pain, she allows it and the power to flow through her body willingly. just like she had done when she was about to create a path for her power. She withstands the pain.



With one last effort, she pulled the sword up. With a great sound that seems to cut throughout the universe, the flaming sword gets uprooted from its struck position. Just in time, a germ appeared in front of Joy. She spins back to avoid it, then chops it down in the same motion. She could feel the power of the sword coursing through her veins. When she first unlocked her power, she felt stronger than the universe. 





But now, Joy felt as if she could move and destroy the universe itself. She could feel her power flowing in her veins again through the path she created. Joy steps aside to avoid another branch, and she whacks it down in the same motion. She dashed at the tree, and they were directing their roots at her. With her newfound speed, they couldn't catch her.



Left and right, Joy severed at the branch as they swooped at her. She would spin back and whack those roots as they came at her, then twirl her body to cut down another. Seeing this, those trees would roar out and swing their branches at her multiple times. She would feel her power lashing out involuntarily, and freezing those trees. Before she could blink her eyes, all of them had frozen.



Joy takes a deep breath and examines the damage she has done, and she smiles inwardly. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She imagined herself back in her conscious state with the Sangre sword in her hand. 



"Welcome back, true savior." Dan and Mrs. Sandra's voices welcomed her. She opened her eyes, then her dog jumped on her and licked her face. "One more stage to go." Mrs. Sandra said, and Joy reluctantly stood on her feet. She followed Mrs. Sandra as the woman walked towards a strange line that she had drawn.



"Sit in the middle with your legs crossed." She ordered her. Not wasting any seconds, Joy did as she was ordered. She sat in the middle of the strange line that was drawn with a trait. "Σε καλώ, πνεύμα του προηγούμενου σωτήρα. Σήκω, και πρόσεχε την κλήση σου. Την ευλόγησε με την αληθινή δύναμη του ημίαιμου, καθοδήγησε την πορεία της και οδήγησέ την στη Δόξα. ας μάθει η μέση γη ότι έφτασε ο Σωτήρας." Mrs. Sandra chanted in ancient tongues. 



Light flashes in the sky, the sun hides under the clouds, and darkness fills the atmosphere. "Joy, are you ready to serve the people of the middle land with your life?" Mrs. Joy implored from her. "Are you ready to leave your family, relatives, and loved ones behind? Are you ready to protect the people of the Middle Land with your last breath? "



Without thinking twice, Joy replied. "I'm ready."



"Good decision," Mrs. Sandra said with a smirk, while Dan and Garry were watching the whole scene from afar. "The power of the great half-breed shall descend on you. dal potere conferitomi da Lord Rey come to prima Antica Strega Scarlatti, con la presente ho fatto di te il Vero mezzosangue e il salvatore della terra di mezzo." Mrs. Sandra said, followed by a strange buzzing sound.





"I shall serve and protect the middle land with my life," Joy yelled and pointed the flaming sword towards the sky. Thunder descends from the sky and flashes on the sword. Then Joy felt different. She has the entire weight of the universe resting on her shoulder. Without being told, she knew her journey had just begun.



"I, Ariel Maka Rachael, named you Joy from the bloodline Darius Rucker as the true half-breed of the middle land." Mrs. Sandra elucidated. "Congratulations, Darius Rucker Joy, you are the true half-breed."



T.b.c