I stirred. It had been 15 years since I had last stirred. I peered up to the sky, only to remind myself of the absence of it in my cursed abode. I Despised the name Vica. It was similar to reducing a house by its door, would they like it if I referred to them Nerei as their antennae? I wished to be called what I really was: Nopte. Not holy power, not Vica, Nopte. If only I could contact them more clearly, maybe the Nereians would have understood. My psyche was crumbling. I had lost so much control over my power, releasing it into the world for any common insect to use. The mercenary I created was creeping closer to its goal. It needed to reach me. Reach me and unleash. Yes! My spawn, born from god and void, had to succeed. It will succeed. I wanted to see its progress, so I returned to my omniscient slumber. I just had to wait and see. Wait and see.
The warrior exited the room. Étafazo was attached at his hip. He walked slowly, observing every little detail around him. He was in the middle of a wide street with glass buildings on either side.
The street itself was bustling. People came, moved, and stopped at several shops of different sizes to purchase their goods. One was called "Snazzy Mermaid – nothing like a jewel to ensure you look cool" another just read "Dionysus' pub" people came in looking happy and out crawling and shouting. It would seem better to avoid that one.
In a corner, he noticed something strange. A large metal pot was placed on a rectangular box filled with holes. A Nereian sat next to it, he seemed to be focusing. Inside the box, Sparks appeared, and before long a white incandescence raged. It was so bright that looking at it seemed to instantly give Nomu a headache. The old man had never seen anything of the sort. The man put some liquid into the metal pot and soon steam emerged from it. People came to get served some of It in exchange for pearls.
"Vica in everyday appliances" muttered Nomu "incredible to see it in action"
"Nomu dearrrr!"
The warrior almost screeched out of fear, swords drawn he turned, sweating.
"Katala" he was so surprised he only managed to mutter that.
The librarian was gleaming. She possessed a radiant smile and at the tip of her arms, she was grabbing… Élen! walking on his eight feet! Healthy!
"Hello Nomu, I was apparently passed out for a long time. Or at least that's what Katala told me when I woke up." He blushed. Katala came to the rescue.
"Anyways! This place is amazing! We were thinking of staying here for a little while, don't you agree, Nomu?".
"Yeah, about that…" he lowered his voice, "Adei is being held captive by Nerei. All the instructions you need to know are on this paper. In resume, I'm about to go try to break her out, you guys go stay here and make sure you don't affiliate with me. Meet you outside."
The enthusiasm had completely faded. Élen was the first to break the silence.
"You forgot to give us the paper"
"Oh! Ummm" Nomu handed it to them. "Well then, see you later!"
As he darted away, the two others went to Dionysus' pub to open the note, since everyone was already tipsy, they thought nobody would bother them. The note described all that had happened between Nomu and Étafazo. Then, instructions were on the bottom:
"Do not try to follow me. I am about to attempt something so dangerous I might simply wipe half the city off the maps, including myself. However, I need your help. Blend in with the citizen and learn their art: the power of incandescent Vica. Then, once you have mastered it, meet us further down the path in 3 months. I'm counting on you guys. This might be my last goodbye."
"We need to go save him!" Gasped Katala, jumping out of her seat.
But Élen held her back.
"No. Don't go. You heard him; he might wipe half the city off the map. I'm finally here, and you… remember you kissed me when I woke up. I can't lose you now. Let's go."
They were both drenched in tears, and everyone was staring at them. They paused. Their plan to stay stealthy in plain sight had failed. They rushed to the exit and escaped into the outside. Panting, they made their way to the queen to at least ask for somewhere to live. After all, they had to get used to living here for now.
Not too far from there, Nomu had finally found what he was searching for. Using Étafazo's link to his master, they found where Adei was held captive. Nomu liked how useful the sword was. It was an underground entrance, with only one way in and out: an arch blocked off with thick steel, with a single locked door. The answer was straightforward: Brute force through the entrance, then hope you have more brute force than the Nereians inside.
"Are you sure you are determined to try this? It is madness, since when does careful, strategic Nomu take obscenely dangerous gambles?" The sword had a mocking tone.
"Étafazo, I have heard enough. I couldn't tell you why, but I know I can do this."
"I won't stop you from generously giving your life to me."
Nomu took a deep breath. From his hip, he raised Étafazo, still sheathed, in front of him. He put his three right arms close to the sword's hilt, and holes slowly formed inside of it. It was unbelievable, the blade could adapt to its wielder.
"When I was young. I was here. This is the land from which I was born, and this is where I grew up. Here I met the love, here I learned to fight. Oh, how this place has changed.
Eleven years ago, I left with my tribe. Through blood and sweat we created a city, and empire, which simply denied me. I lost so much in battle: My colour, lost through wear, My youth, destroyed though pain, My love, swallowed by the sands.
Six years ago, I had nothing. I had lost all: My home city would never remember me, my current village actively ignored me, all I had left was my swords. Through them I defined myself, I made abstraction of all else. I became Nomu, abolishing all I once was before, foregoing forever the life I once had.
Today, I change my past and betray my people, Today, I change my future whether by becoming a legend or avoiding a boring death. Come to me, cursed blade, we will see if I may tame this new weapon."
He unsheathed the sword. Immediately, he felt it. Rushing through his body. Stopping each one of his cells. His eyes started to close. It crept through his mind. His heart. It all stopped. There was no more beat. Nothing. Just a statue, frozen in the never-ending wait for the next second to finally tick. One beat. Two beats. Three beats. It wasn't over. The flame burned inside of him, and now he clearly felt it.
"So, it was you all along helping me, huh, Balan?"
He opened his eyes. They were pure black. Nomu felt great, it was like every single second ticked half as fast for him.
"Impressive" said Étafazo. "It seems you managed to canalize my power to not use it all at once… Well, you or that power you seem to possess"
The warrior rushed to the door at an unimaginable speed. With one swing of Étafazo, he slashed through the lock of the door blocking the entrance. Even though he was much stronger, Nomu still felt the recoil of his strong blow. It was best to avoid fighting too much. In the dark tunnel which extended, three Nereians were waiting around a white fire, but Étafazo resembled the shadows, no, he was the shadows.
Silent as an owl, he approached the guards. He took his top off, which was just an ornamental white clothing piece. Using it, he trapped the first Nereian's head and pulled her down on the ground, before piercing her abdomen with a swift stab and retrieving his top. All of that was done before the second guard could finish turning his head, and right before he started screaming, Nomu plunged Étafazo straight through his chin into his head. The third guard hadn't even noticed. He was indeed half asleep. Although every inch in Nomu's body told him to not strike a warrior while they are down, necessity came first. He simply painlessly cut his head before he even opened his eyes. The warrior then calmly put back his top. Nomu liked the power he felt, even in his prime he had never been so fast. He kept walking.
"Where are all the other guards?" thought Nomu as he walked down the path. Then he saw it. He quickly hid behind a corner, as on the other side was an empty room, with a single thick glass cell with Adei inside hanging over a chasm. Around it, about two dozen guards protected it, all mysteriously summoning white flames above their hands. They were not messing around. Nomu already felt the effects of his weapon. Even the fire inside of him had started dwindling before Étafazo's immense presence, and Nomu's vision started to blur. Still, he only had one thing to do: get this sword to its master. He moved into plain sight.
The guard directly in front whistled, and instantly a horde of angry fighters were coming for poor little Nomu. Five of them stopped, focused, and suddenly, flames were blasted toward him. He simply ran. He was baiting them. As all the troops rushed in, he turned around, and in a beautiful somersault, jumped over all of them, before sprinting to Adei. Thank god the tunnel was huge. He then jumped again. As his feet left the ground, he found himself directly above certain death, but adrenaline had already replaced all trace of reason. Sticking the sword into the side of the cell, the glass wall immediately shattered. Adei had a huge smile on her face, but her arms and legs were still bound. However, as she saw Nomu her smile faded, he looked on the brink of exhaustion, and on his skin, black dots had appeared everywhere. Nomu slashed open Adei's handcuffs, and could mutter only a single word:
"Destroy"
He dropped to the ground. At that moment, the ground shattered.