Chapter 72

The sunset reflected on the floating palace above Aaru, creating a brilliant image in the reveler’s eyes, capping off a full day of celebration. To drive away the coming darkness, the city was filled with light, floating orbs of a multitude of colors, burning lamps on posts lined the streets, and even with the sun gone, the city was a bright as day.

Wil and Astrid stumbled back to the inn late into the evening, their feet sore and bodies tired, but the mood still excited and joyful from the festivities. They had eaten a romantic dinner alone, just the two of them, at a fine restaurant, before walking the square once more.

The party would continue all night, with the ascension taking place at noon the following day, when the sun was directly overhead.

‘The nights were shorter in the past. Our world was illuminated by the light of a single sun.’ The voice whispered, its speech faint on the evening breeze.

Lying in bed with his wife, discussing small, insignificant things with the woman he loved, Wil felt a sense of peace. It wasn’t surprising that he fell asleep without difficulty, his dreams filled with another world, a strange place with two suns in the sky, and a ship that sailed a deep blue sea.

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Wil stood with his family, staring up from the center city square at the floating palace of the patriarch above. It was nearly noon, the anticipation of the crowd was palpable. It was the day of the ascension, and the entire city was filled with colorful banners, streamers stretched across the streets as the revelers flocked to open areas to view the Patriarch.

‘To think, we are about to witness the birth of a god!’ Wil thought, a shiver or excitement running through his body as he gripped Astrid’s hand tightly in his own.

Standing in a throng of tens of thousands, Wil’s eyes were locked on the palace, when the sun finally reached its highest point in the sky. A shaft of light pierced the heavens, shining directly down upon the palace. All throughout the city, cheers and shouting erupted, the people euphoric as they watched this historic event.

The light grew stronger, and the gold of the palace matched its intensity. Soon, a figure emerged from within the structure, a man, dressed in simple, white robes. His long, black hair glimmered in the light, his fair skin unblemished. He was lean, tall, and muscular. He looked young, like a man in his early twenties, despite Wil knowing the Patriarch was centuries old.

Beside him, he heard Astrid draw in a sharp breath at the sight of the man. Wil couldn’t blame her, he was one of the most perfect and handsome beings that Wil had ever laid eyes on. A demigod, a being only a hairsbreadth away from divinity. It felt blasphemous to even compare him to mortals.

Standing in front of the palace, the Patriarch let the light fall upon him. His head raised to the heavens, Wil could see that the man had his eyes closed, letting the divine energy of the heavens wash over him.

Above the city, figures appeared in the sky. Summoned in response to the Ascension, in order to stop it.

A Golden Eagle, its wings stretching outwards, covering most of the sky with its body. To Wil, it was faintly translucent, a creature of pure energy and mana, not part of their reality. From its body, flames shot out from beneath its feathers, burning the sky. Wil could feel the intense heat from the creature, even from where he stood.

Next to it, a massive Turtle, with the head of a Dragon coalesced next to the Eagle, staring down at the Patriarch below. Formed from a black cloud, Wil felt rain fall from its body, striking the earth, mixing with the heat until the city was unbearably humid.

The wind then began to blow, taking leaves and dust from the ground and swirling them into the air. A vortex of wind shaped itself into a large Horse, its legs carrying it across the sky, circling the city while glaring angrily at the people beneath its hooves.

Finally, the very earth itself bulged, a stone figure, made of black rock, climbed its way out of the ground outside the city. It towered above the earth, hundreds of feet into the air, and Wil saw that it was a giant Beetle, sharp pincers snapped angrily from the top of its head.

Four mythological monsters, formed from the very elements of the world and brought forth by the heavens to stop the Patriarch from ascending past the limits of mortality.

‘Behold, my tribulation…my failure, my greatest sin…hubris.’ A voice whispered, and to Wil, it was filled with sorrow and pain.

From the Patriarch, Wil could only sense his assurance and self-confidence, almost dismissing the creatures blocking his way forward, preventing him from ascending to the heavens to take his place as a god.

Without fanfare, the tribulation began with a wave of fire erupting from the Golden Eagle, sweeping across the sky towards the palace. The trees and grass outside the city wilted in the intense heat, threatening to catch fire.

Lazily, the Patriarch slowly lifted his hand, waving it gently towards the flames as his power built around him. A heavy weight of mana pressed down on Wil and the others as they watched.

“Prismatic Wall!” The Patriarch called out, and the spell formed instantly in front of the city, surrounding it in a shimmering, multicolored wall of magic. The flames slammed into the barrier with enough force that the very ground shook beneath Wil’s feet, but the barrier held, the flames parting around it.

In moments, the fire died, and the Golden eagle shrieked in frustration as the barrier around the city faded from existence.

“Nothing will prevent my ascension, beast!” The patriarch shouted, a cocky smirk on his face.

‘Hubris.’ The voice whispered in Wil’s ear, and he could hear the despair in its tone.

Next it was the Dragon Turtles turn, the black could that formed its body rumbled with thunder and flash of lightning danced through the sky around it. With a roar, a wave of water appeared on the outskirts of the city, a destructive tsunami, sweeping everything in its path aside.

The wave dominated the skyline, rushing towards the city. The waiting Patriarch, not disturbed in the slightest, pointed his finger at the approaching water, his powerful mana still strong in the air around him.

“Incendiary Cloud.” The Patriarch whispered, and his magic answered.

A wave of fire erupted from the ground outside the city. It slammed into the water, and a cloud of mist steam covered everything in sight. Wil could hear a terribly loud ‘Hiss’ as the opposing forces met and the mist swept over the city.

The attack was negated with enough force that Wil and the others felt the shockwave of the collision from where they stood. He could see that the crowd around him was growing worried, concerned about the conflict they were witnessing.

“We should leave. This isn’t anything mortals were meant to see.” Wil said to Astrid, turning to Archie and the others, gesturing through the noise that they should flee. He could tell that they had seen enough and shared his concern.

It was too late, however, the crowd was too packed, the throng of people making it impossible to leave the square quickly. Before they could even take more than a few steps, the next attack came.

The Horse made of wind reared back on its two legs, kicking forward with its front hooves, stirring up the wind and creating a tornado of force. The twister swept across the ground, clearing everything in its path as it charged towards the waiting Patriarch.

“Storm of vengeance!” The Patriarch summoned his own storm, creating an unstoppable force of wind that shot forward. It spun in the opposite direction of the approaching twister, the two forces cancelling each other out.

With a deafening explosion, the two storms met, battling in front of the city as they spun around one another. The Patriarch watched with satisfaction as his magic met heaven’s fury and he emerged victorious.

It was the screaming of the crowd below that shook him from his gaze, the blood draining from his face as the wind tore across the city, knocking into the buildings and slicing through the throng below.

Wil watched the approaching wind shatter the glass windows around him, hurling razor sharp glass and debris into the people gathered for the celebration. He could do nothing but stand in horror, helpless, as people fell, screaming around him.

‘Hubris. Witness my folly.’ The voice whispered.