Support my main contracted novel and winner of Writing Prompts #26 - The Legendary Mage!
Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn!
https://www.webnovel.com/book/12013957905760805/Desolate-Mage%3A-A-Legend-Reborn!
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An old man with light golden-brown skin and silvery-white hair stood beside the man-made coastline; the waves crashing gently against the smooth cliff-side he had created. He looked like he was waiting; watching for a guest to arrive.
"Lucius." Just a moment before, Lucius was the sole person in the area; in the next, there was a golden haired, regal looking woman standing about 20m behind him.
Lucius turned slightly to glance at her from the corner of his eyes; then looked away to the calmness of the wind and waves. Though he was similarly calm on the surface, it did not reflect what had been going on in his heart for the past few months.
Uropa, the goddess from which Uro took its name from, was patient. She stood there unmoving, her perfect smile frozen in place; allowing Lucius time to mull over his thoughts.
Far off in the distance, nearly at the edges of the horizon; streaks of lightning could be seen illuminating the dark, heavy clouds – probably a storm. From the distance at which the light was seen, it was unlikely that the sound of thunder would reach them. The seas there should be violently tossing, with the crashing of waves. Pretty similar to the waves flooding his heart.
Lucius brushed the few stray strands of his thinning hair back and produced a hairband to keep it in place, then turned to face the goddess, still with a calm front.
He thought about it again – how a god of a race had fallen at his sword, how the blood of millions of innocents stained his hands and conscience. Regardless of the sins of their rulers and god, the common people were blameless – and yet his sword had descended as a reaper's scythe; sweeping away their lives, hopes and future.
And yet, as conflicted as he was, if he was given the chance to relive his life, he knew he would it again.
"Is it done…?" Lucius finally spoke.
"A marvellous plan, even fate must be on our side to have such an improbable result." She did not seem to be in a hurry to answer him, as she began to gracefully walk around him to the coastline. "Laying down and powering up a god-slaying formation is something any god could do; but being able to mask its existence so a senior god does not notice it…" She clapped her hands as she spoke, "I'm truly impressed!"
Hands behind her back, she stood at the very edge of where the water reached, then said as she stared out at the waters, "In fact, I'm afraid even I, your co-conspirator, could not find any trace of the formation under your isolation barrier…" Her smile was still perfect, but seemed to carry a hint of danger.
Realising that she wanted to have her fill of speaking first, it was Lucius' turn to patiently wait – and listen.
She continued, "But how did you do it…?" She was looking straight at him, her neck rotated at an impossible angle, making it seem like someone had removed her head and placed it back, only back to front instead.
Her body flickered, before appearing directly behind Lucius, close enough that he could feel her breath on his neck. "How did you manage to make wise Dhar-dhar enter your formation willingly? And even pull Sakra into your trap?"
"Don't snoop where you're not needed!" Lucius spun and lashed out at her in anger; perturbed that she was using Sam's pet name for Dhrtarastra's – evidence that she had been listening in on their conversation.
She had disappeared again and was back at the spot she had first appeared at; as if she had been there from the beginning. It was her turn to wait for him to speak.
Lucius stood still, his arms at his side. The tension could still be felt in his posture with the tell-tale vibrations of waves around him showing that he was ready to strike at any time – despite there being no sword at his waist, Uropa cautiously maintained her distance and did not provoke him any further, letting him cool off.
"…Luck."
"…?"
"…Who knows what twist of luck or bloody fate led to this!" He roared in anger, in sharp contrast to his earlier demeanour. "I've done your dirty job! Now do your part and get lost!" He began to channel silver waves despite a nearly undetectable tremor in his chest – obviously he had not yet fully recovered from the last battle.
Uropa's smile disappeared; making her seem even more dangerous. Then when she saw Lucius' simple unadorned sword begin to materialise, her eyes flickered as she considered her options. Then she smiled again.
"Lucius, Lucius… I've done my part, I was just trying to make our cooperation a little closer, that's all." She spoke coyly, not responding to his open show of hostility. Seeing that he was not easing his stance, she made a *tch* sound, then waved her hand to produce a contract scroll.
It was only then that Lucius slowly withdrew his mana; and the sword dispersed as if it were just a figment of the imagination. He stepped forward and held the scroll, before grunting in satisfaction.
"Once we both mark it with our hearts-blood, the deal will be perfected. You get your part – both you and Sam will have a clean, legitimate record in the kingdom of Uro, and neither of us will ever reveal this event to a single soul. AND I will never bring up any information about the both of your pasts."
Lucius looked up at her from his reading, scrutinising her. He pulled out a ballpoint pen and spoke, "Let's add a clause – neither party can scheme against the other nor cause harm to each other. Then we can call it a deal. Or else…" He paused in his writing and looked up, "I can help allay your doubts about whether I still have it in me to take down another god."
Uropa's dangerous air was long gone; to the onlooker she would seem to be a noble lady; perhaps even a queen. She smiled dazzlingly at Lucius, before accepting the contract and marking it with her hearts-blood – Lucius reciprocated. The contract began to disintegrate, soon becoming dust in the night breeze, leaving an inerasable mark on their souls.
"A pleasure doing business with you." She extended her hand to allow him to kiss it, only to be met with a cold, hard stare. Not shaken by his rejection, Uropa changed it into a simple wave of good-bye, then disappeared without waiting for him to respond.
Lucius watched the spot where she was standing for a while, before disabling the isolation barrier and the hidden god-slaying formations surrounding the spot. His hands were trembling from the show of force – he was barely 30% recovered from the colossal battle with Sakra, and was relieved that she did not call his bluff.
Then he looked to the West and bowed, as if to ask for forgiveness from the millions whose futures were robbed; all due to the selfish wishes of a grandfather.
* * * * * * * * * *
Sam woke up, but did not get up. Her eyes still shut, she could feel the sunrays on her face from the gaps in the roof; the warmth of summer sun and smell of dew in the morning was something she truly enjoyed and cherished every single day and every year.
She patted around blindly for her blanket, before pulling it up onto the bed from the floor. Then she opened her eyes and stretched, surprising herself when she knocked against the wall that served as her headboard. She was even more surprised when she still managed to kick the rickety wooden shelf at the foot of her bed. She wondered what kind of sleeping position she was in to be able to stretch the full 250cm distance between headboard and the shelf.
She opened her eyes and saw that she saw lying perfectly normally on her bed.
Puzzled, she sat up and took a look around. Did her house just shrink…? Looking down at her clothes, she realised her clothes had shrunk too! Beginning to feel panicky, Sam rushed out of her room shouting, "Grandpa! Grandpa!"
For some reason, she felt Lucius looked very weary this morning, despite it being only just after dawn. As she ran over to cross the short distance to Lucius, Lucius eyes widened in shock.
Then he stood up, set his book down and asked, "Excuse me, why are you wearing my granddaughter's clothes…?"
Sam stumbled and nearly fell down upon seeing that even her almighty grandpa had been shrunk.
"G-grandpa, grandpa… It's me, Sam, something strange has happened, everything's become smaller all of a sudden…" Sam waved her hands uselessly and gestured around in consternation.
Looking closer at her, at her necklace, at her clothes and most of all at the innocently silly expressions on her face; realisation dawned on Lucius that it really was Sam.
A Sam who had grown a full 45cm overnight.