Chapter 221

The Legend Begins (I)

Emma roared angrily, her warhammer alighting in the colors of blood as she swung it madly forth; it exploded against the ground, sending cascading waves of dirt forward and obliterating incoming arrays of fire that were aimed at her. At the same time, Kramer cradled himself forward in front of the group, summoning a behemoth of a shield and suffocating the spear-tipped boulder of earth that exploded against it, turning into tens of thousands of pieces of debris that flew outward, kicking up even more dust.

The walls and the gates of the compound collapsed as Sigmund found himself buried underneath it all, grumbling angrily; he hadn’t been able to react as quickly as the others, leading to his current predicament. Roaring, he infused Starlight into his blade as he abruptly cut it forward, turning all stone on top of him into ash as he emerged from it, dusty.

He flew forward and joined Kramer, Emma, Jamal, and Elypso as they found themselves encircled by nearly forty people.

“So much for the warm welcome, eh?” Jamal sighed, crouching slightly into his stance. “How do we do this?”

“If we stay too long,” Kramer said. “We’ll draw unwanted attention. Let’s just withdraw.”

“Why?” a familiar sounding voice caused them to look up where they saw Cain sitting on top of one of the mansions, waving at them with a playful smile. “No need to be cautious. Raise all the hell you’d like.”

“... you sure?” Kramer asked as everyone twitched for a moment; after all, it certainly wouldn’t feel good to just run away.

“Sure, sure,” Cain said dismissively, yawning. Even though he was so far away, they heard him as though he was standing by their side. “Go ahead and raise all hell. Ain’t I here to hold it up?”

“... is this how you usually work things out?” Sera, lying beside him while Yuki hurriedly healed her countless wounds. “By making as much noise as possible?”

“... it’s the only way I know,” Cain shrugged, chuckling, as he glanced at her. “I’m a bit impatient, you see, to get out of here. When I entered, I thought it’d be a month, two at most, long expedition, but it turned into such a drag. I can’t care for the endless nuances of your Kingdom’s all-powerful. So... I’ll ignite the spark everyone seems to be terrified of.”

“And force it?” Sera asked, beginning to feel quite some ways better.

“And force it.”

“... you’re mightily confident,” she added. “If you do so, you’ll force out my brother.”

“That’s the plan,” Cain sighed, weeping inside. The reason why he was doing this was precisely because he found the Crown. If the ending was already foretold, why would he even bother going through the motions? Aside from him, the rest were more than well-equipped to handle the Quest. As for him, he had his confidence that was yet to be shaken, especially with his Awakening. “I’m assuming your brother was forcefully Awakened, right?”

“...” Sera’s eyes widened abruptly, but as though something dawned upon her a moment later, they calmed as a mild smile crept onto her lips. “All of us were,” she replied. “However... I was such a hack that I didn’t even manage the most base Awakening. Shit, even Izirdul managed to do it, the coward that he is.”

“... it will come.” Cain said, glancing at her. “’till then, you can just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.”

Down below, having been given the green light, the five, Elypso included, let go of their inhibitions. Jamal’s and Sigmund’s swords lit up like the midday suns, bursting in milky-white as the two’s figures blurred due to their speed, reaping toward the flanks. Emma and Kramer rushed forward fearlessly, their weapons slamming as the enlarged versions projected forth a massacre, while Elypso stayed the rear, excitement taking over him.

It was only the first ‘mission’ he had with this group, yet they were already causing chaos in the heart of the Desert’s greatest Kingdom -- and he wasn’t about to miss the show, unleashing all of his strength too.

Explosions rocked not only the compound, but the city at large, causing more and more eyes to converge upon the now hole-laden lands. Blood seeped into the darkened earth and harrowing corpses decorated the demolished landscape. Buildings lay in ruins, walls torn down, with the five still roaring wildly, their weapons ablaze.

Cain’s closed eyes abruptly open as he stood up, dusting off his behind. Yuki and Sera looked at him, confused, but noting his serious expression, and his eyes that were peering above, they knew something was happening.

A moment later, space rippled out as a face of a smiling man emerged forth, a dazzling crown decorating his head and a lavish, extravagant robe emerging right after, floating gently.

“You are an impatient one, aren’t you?” Eldur spoke a second later. Though he tried to hide it, Cain detected a faint trace of annoyance within his voice. “Good chaos... good chaos isn’t chaotic.”

“Ah, the palpable irony,” Cain said.

“What are you hoping to accomplish?”

“Well, I was hoping for us to have a chat,” Cain replied with a smile. “And talk our differences out. As such, would you please, kindly so, fuck out of this place so I can complete my quest in peace and reap in all the goodies?”

“... Sera,” ignoring Cain, Eldur turned toward the young girl. “You are still welcome home.”

“Oh wow I can’t believe I’m still welcome to that ungodly hell that I’d rather kill myself right here and now over ever returning to, how-ever-will-I-resist-this-undying-temptation...”

“Ah, and here I thought I’d have to teach you the magic of sarcasm,” Cain chirped in with a chuckle. Anyway, almighty Prince--no, wait, is it the King now? It’s the King now, right? Anyway, almighty King, what will it be?”

“...” Eldur glanced at the two emptily for a moment before suddenly gesturing with his left arm, pointing downward. Space fiddled out as a shimmering blade blurred out, landing squarely in-between Emma, Kramer, Jamal, Sigmund, Elypso and the merchant’s forces. The sheer force of it was enough to knock everyone back several dozen feet, digging out a massive crater at the compound’s entrance. The blade, then, flew back up and vanished within Eldur’s ‘sleeve’. “Take your urchins and leave. Protection afforded to you, Thief, isn’t all-encompassing; rules still need to be adhered, even by you.”

“Can’t say I agree, though,” Cain said. “For me, for us, the Tower is an opportunity. Once in a lifetime chance for something bigger, more ethereal. For you, though, it’s like a prison; a prison with a promise that, sometime in the future, you’ll be free and given some money as a compensation. You don’t get to have that agency, you don’t get to bend and break and ignore the rules, because those rules define you. Me? To me, those rules are just frameworks. And frameworks have loopholes, shortcuts, intended or otherwise, and ways in which I can do things that you can’t possibly replicate.”

“...”

“It’s frustrating, isn’t it?” Cain’s smile turned strange, diabolical even. “Standing there, listening to me hurl insults at you, looking down on you as though you were a child and you... you being unable to do anything about it. All you want, the only thing in the whole universe that you want to do right now... is to choke the life out of me. But... you aren’t allowed to. Instead, you’re forced to stand there and listen, putting on an indifferent front while your insides boil. I wonder, if there were a way to unchain--”

“Save your breath,” Eldur interrupted, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. “You’re right -- you have the ability to do things I can’t even dream of. You are the favored child, the forgiven. But... the story still needs to be followed. The beginning, the middle, the end. Even the Favored are not allowed to disrupt the flow or the balance of the reality.”

“... and that’s a bitch, ain’t it?” Cain spoke out after a momentary silence, his voice draped with a touch of sorrowful tone. “What’s the worth of a King who cannot reign? Of an executioner who’s not allowed to execute? Of a Thief who can’t steal?”

“You at least have your own world,” Eldur scoffed.

“That’s true,” Cain nodded, chuckling. “And yet... here I am. A fool to behold, eh?”

“... stay patient,” Eldur said, turning around and beginning to vanish. “Your crown will call out when it’s time. Until then... enjoy the last few breaths of your life.”

Cain watched the King leave, the former hanging a faint smile on his lips. Glancing sideways, he saw Yuki looking at him strangely, a million questions in the young man’s eyes, but his lips asking none. Sera, similarly, looked at him oddly, but her gaze seemed to be more understanding.

“You know an awful lot,” she commented.

“Ah, a courtesy of being such a beloved goofball that people can’t resist spilling their secrets out to me...”

“Secrets that would immediately eradicate them?” Sera said. “You’re charming, but not that charming old man. Anyway, now that you’ve pissed off my brother royally, you best be ready for it.”

“...” Cain merely grinned, glancing back at the spot Eldur vanished and sighing inwardly. Crap, I really thought he’d have a shorter fuse. Aaah, now that I saw him again... I really don’t wanna solo battle that dude... especially now that he’s not even gonna underestimate my ass but want to whoop it into oblivion immediately. Aah, me and my stupidly taunting but woefully inadequate tongue...