Long ago, in the sphere of Guinnuss, a land far from time. In its earliest days, its earths were once intact— a Pangaea where everything and all its entities exist in one singular time. In the precipice of oblivion, a vicious mob that gathered its might across the darkness of the realms unleashed its terrifying beasts, laying waste to the once prosperous earth of the sphere. Not long after, the eyes of the universe sensed the sphere's danger and sent three deities to defeat the beasts and their master. After a long-fought battle, the realm's earth separated and became history. The deities had won and vanquished the evil. Thereafter, the deities began protecting the lands. Years gone by, the era of nomads—extinct— had created an era of prosperous humans wherein dominion. Engulfed another, where men gathered to forge war, peace, and neutrality. "The Era Of The Human Empire."
"Eiysmr?" Herold replied in a questioning tone. "I do not seem to recognize that name."
"It is lost in time, Earl Herold," Asreus replied, walking down the path's darkness. "It has been a century since that name was mentioned. Not even Count Emer knows about it."
"I see. But why was Eiysmr called The Man Marked in Flames?" Earl Herold uttered as he scanned the entire room. Unable to justify the whereabouts and details the room portrays. Asreus fell silent for a brief moment, recollecting his thoughts. Both men considered treading, their footsteps reverberating through the unseeable plane as every vibration seeped through the metallic vibrant that affixed the picturesque totality of the room.
"Long ago, Eiysmr once fought the three deities that govern the continents."
"He is a man capable of that?"
"Yes, he was. He was a man capable of fighting monstrous entities simultaneously."
"What a monstrous beast..!" Herold said in a tone filled with curiosity. His eyes ignite a flame that holds a man's passion for war.
"Hmph, Indeed he was. However, he did not last long."
"I see." He replied in a monotonous tone. His eyes downgrade at the vibrating steps of the dungeon floors. The words he uttered carry an immense bit of disappointment.
It seemed that Eiysmr overestimated his mortality."
"No, it is nothing like that," Asreus replied.
"What do you mean?" Herold replied, confused.
"The fight lasted a week."
"By the gods?!" Herold exclaimed, flabbergasted. "That is absurd! How can a mortal be able to last a week of fighting?!" His voice reached through the darkness as it vibrated through the cold metal bars of the dungeon's cell. Asreus slowly turns towards him, smirking.
"I am terribly sorry for raising my voice, Your Majesty."
"No, that is fine," Asreus responded with a smile as he turned over to the path, lightly treading as he adjusted the lamp. "That was my initial reaction when I first heard his story. It is fairly amusing to know his legend."
"But how can he, a mortal, able to fight for a week?!"
"Eiysmr was no ordinary man, Earl Herold."
"...And why is that?" Herold replied in a speculative tone.
"We are nearing the chamber, Earl Herold. Shall I tell you his origin?" Asreus carefully treads through the dungeon's darkness, turning his head behind as he faces Earl Herold. Their eyes momentarily locked as Herold glinted, daringly anticipating a tale worth knowing its time. "Your answer, Earl Herold?" Asreus ceased his movements, awaiting Earl Herold's answer. To which Earl Herold nodded in reply.
"Very well. I shall sing to you the songs of time."
"Are you seriously going to sing it, Your Majesty?"
"Er—no, Earl Herold, I cannot sing," Asreus replied with an awkward grin as he chuckled and faced away. Herold let out a small chuckle, walking along the path's darkness.
"You see, Earl Herold. Long ago, Eiysmr was a man of adventure."
"I see. That explains Eiysmr's unexplainable grit and power to withstand the monstrous deities' power. Must he be the strongest in the ancient era?"
"No, he was not. He was only a skilled adventurer who walked among the lands of Aldia to find meaning in his life." Asreus replied, slowly nearing a left turn.
"A skilled adventurer… Why were his achievements locked inside the coffin?!"
"It was not locked. It was because no one was interested to hear the legend."
"Eiysmr lived in a secluded town in the overgrowth of the Aldian Mountains. It is a place infested by wretched monsters who leave the heads of their victims on their doorsteps. That is why Eiysmr tried to put a stop to it. He prayed for the deities to hear him, but they never came."
"That…" Herold tried to reply but was left speechless.
"And in his anger, he swore to destroy all the monsters and avenge his home. So he went out on an adventure." Asreus takes a left turn as the distance slowly closes. The light from the nearing candle looms over the shadows, revealing a large, fortified iron door.
"And so he ventured across distant lands, becoming stronger and stronger." Asreus ceased his steps and slowly headed towards the Iron door.
"We have arrived, Earl Herold." Asreus gazed towards Herold and smiled, settling the lamp beside the stone pedestal.
"We have arrived? That was fast." Earl Herold chuckled.
"We took thirteen minutes to get here. What ought you mean, Earl Herold?" Asreus laughed hysterically, placing his right hand on his stomach as his other, reaching for the lever beside, pulling it down. There, long stood beside the dark abyss of a dungeon. The fortified Iron doors slowly descend the floorboards as the echoing sound reverberates through the walls— the ceiling and the ground. With a loud THUD, the haunting growl of a thousand wolves pounces toward Asreus and Herold as if they were being attacked by a vicious predator— thirsting for blood. Asreus' gulp echoed through the chamber, his sweating teeming with fear. Herold's face slowly creates a shape men only comprehend as FEAR.
"What is this abomination… King Asreus?!" Earl Herold shouts as he feels the undesirable aura from the descending gate. "What is that unsightly aura?!" Herold instantly faces Asreus. Seeing his serious look, he couldn't comprehend his feelings. Herold's eyes widened as he turned his head over to the gate, fully opened—the unsightly aura before his eyes.
"We must proceed," Asreus uttered as he calmly walked inside the door.
"What…" Herold hesitates, scared as if something were to occur. Something bad.
"What is this, Your Majesty?!"
"The Eternal Flame," Asreus uttered. The Flames fire flickered into its hue of colors as the air surrounding it swayed along his kindled fire, lighting up the chamber's dark corners. Herold's eyes stuck like glue to its fire as it burst largely— its fire changed to a pinkish hue.
"This... This is the flame that protects us?!" Herold exclaimed, unable to remove his eyes from the Flame. In a split second, Herold sees nothing but pitch black. Something injected into his noggin. The Flames' intense aura protruded away and towards Herold as if it were the looming walls of the Kingdom. As the air swayed the Flame once more, slowly turning back to its original size, the flame turned into its blueish hue once more.
"Correct. Indeed it is, yes."
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. But I have FELT a repulsive feeling coming out of it!"
"You have passed, Earl Herold." Asreus walks towards the flame, his hands clasped behind, examining it.
"What do you even mean?!" Herold shouted.
"The Flame has considered you an ally." Asreus turns his head over to face Herold, smiling.
"The flame?" Herold asked, confused.
"Yes, the Flame."
"What does that mean?"
"It means the flame recognizes you as an ally. Someone it could trust."
"That… That is the Eternal Flame?"
"Indeed it is."
"Why does it let out a repulsive feeling?"
"Pardon?" Asreus asked, his eyes wincing with confusion.
"Apologies, Your Majesty. I do not mean to offend."
"That repulsive feeling you are experiencing… That is normal."
"I…" Herold hesitates to respond, still bothered by the unsightly aura the Flame upholds. "I see."
"It is best to leave now, Earl Herold." Asreus quickly walked towards the Lever as he turned back towards Herold.
"Why is it, Your Majesty?" Herold asked, slowly backing away from the door, following Asreus.
"The flame has spoken to me. It does not need visitors." He replied, pulling the lever as the doors wailed a terrifying screech again.
"Come, let us leave this Dungeon," Asreus said with a hearty smile carved on his face as he walked past Herold.
"Understood…" Herold replied, walking behind Asreus. He couldn't help but think of the nightmarish grim the Eternal Flame had embedded on his threshold. His brain was unable to reciprocate the emotions he had felt— The animosity. Driven from his thick skull— his eyes widened in fear as his body shook about the same as his feet. Asreus looked behind his shoulder, with a half-etched smile, he raised his concern,
"What is wrong, Earl Herold?"
"It— It is nothing of your concern, Your Majesty. Please do not mind me." He replied, carving his mouth an awkward smile.
"I do not think so," Asreus ceased his movements and did a full turn, facing Herold.
"Tell me all about it after we exit the dungeon, can you, Earl Herold?"
"Understood, Your Majesty," Herold replied. His head wobbled as if he was bouncing on his king-sized bed back from home. With each step he took resonates through the creeping darkness of the dungeon. The hard stone floors met his shoes, creating a beat of sound as each step resonated a loud echo, along with Asreus'.
"We are here," Asreus mentioned as he ascended the flight of stairs, prompting Earl Herold to do the same. Asreus slowly opens the door, revealing the same hallway they had walked along for minutes as he remembers their conversation from earlier.
"Let us go now, shall we, Earl Herold?" Asreus asked with a smile. "You look like you have seen a ghost, Earl Herold. You are very pale. Are you perhaps sick?"
"No, I am fine, Your Majesty. Thank you for your concern." Herold replied with a sickly smile as he rested his right arm on his stomach, still feeling that sense of animosity.
"Alright then. Let us go." Asreus replied, walking away from the opened door. After what felt like years of torment, the Eternal Flame has brought upon Herold. His mental capacity unable to withstand the hate, he fell on his knees, ejaculating a large pool of vomit on the pearly-white marbled floors of the palace. Asreus takes notice, his eyes widened— worried.
"What happened, Earl Herold?!" He exclaimed. His voice filled with worry, hastily runs up to Herold who is still vomiting.
"BLEEEEUUURGGGHHHHH!" Herold sticks out his hand, palm-faced forward towards Asreus, prompting Asreus to stop as he continues to vomit.
"Oh goodness, are you alright?!" Asreus approaches Herold and crouches down, patting his back. However, the vomiting did not stop. Herold's painful stomach gurgling echoes, his eyes widening in reflex—gagging. With one final push, he retched, and a deep guttural noise echoed through the hallway walls, vomiting on the pristine white-marbled floors once more.
"By Eiysmr.. This is worse than I thought..!" Asreus thought. Crouching down, he immediately stood up, puffing up a large amount of air as he shouted from the hallway,
"SOOOOOEEELL!" His voice reciprocated from his vocal cords, traveling in the air in each verbatim as it reverberated through the pristine pearly-white marbled walls, reaching the room where Soel resides. Hearing a faint voice of his master calling, Soel's eyes widened, dropping the glass bottles he was washing as he sprinted towards the fainting voice.
Herold's vomiting continued, prompting Herold to believe it was a curse placed upon him to be eternal. His eyes widened in fear of the alleged revelation as he vomited once more. His stomach wrenched a gut-wrenching tightness as for a few moments, his vomit slowly ceased.
"What… in the world was… That?!" Herold uttered weakly. He slowly coughs up his mucus, piling it up on his vomit. He coughed up another, and another, and another until he could no longer cough up his mucus. And as its substitute, he coughed once more, this time, blood. There, in the darkness of the hallway, loud thuds slowly approach both of them as a worried Soel comes right sprinting towards them, his sweat sliding down his forehead, flying around the air. He calls out,
"Your Majesty!" Soel runs up to them, worried, panicked. "What has happened to him?!"
"No questions, Soel. I need you to help me carry him to the infirmary. Quickly!"
"Understood, Your Majesty!" Asreus circles Herold, placing both hands on his armpits as Soel lays Herold's leg on his left arm, and on his right arm, his buttocks.
"On my count, lift him up," Asreus said. Soel nods in response as Asreus begins to count to three. "One, Two, Three!" As both men lifted Herold up, he, once again, coughs blood up. Soel faces him, staring at Herold with worried eyes.
"Do not worry, Herold. We will get you fixed up right away," Asreuss assured him, signaling Soel to move forward as all men head towards the infirmary.
Many minutes had passed, and in Herold's eyes, his vision had gotten blurred; his inability to comprehend what Asreus was talking as his ears had become numb. Unable to hear, nor feel anything. His coughing had long ceased, as both men, Soel and Asreus carefully adjusted him to a comfortable bed. Asreus' inaudible shouting has left him to believe he is now but a husk of a living man. As he lay there, contemplating his life. Herold slowly faces to his left, seeing Soel come forward with a backup of paramedics, they begin stripping him down, examining his soon-to-be lifeless body. With Herold's eyes slowly closing, he sees Asreus whisper something into Soel's ear in his blurry vision. To which he responded with a nod. Herold was unable to fulfill his late father's wishes. He lay there, in the Palace Infirmary with a smile, succumbing to a mysterious illness inflicted on him. Herold's soul began traversing the black seas of infinity. He felt his surroundings to be much calmer and more relaxing than it was in the before-plane of existence. The humming sound of his dead mother, he hears it. Slowly leading him away from the truth. Yet he doesn't give a single ounce of caution as he wanders towards the voice of his long-dead mother. Her voice. It became much clearer.
"Herold..!" It calls out to him. He replied with a smile much wider than the smiles he had shown throughout his whole life. Yet, another voice calls out to him. This time, his smile disappeared. However was replaced by deep sadness as he reached out to them.
"Herold, My Son..!" A deep voice calls out to him— The voice of a male.
As he slowly traversed the temporal plane of a temporary existence, another voice called out to him. This time, he couldn't comprehend what it was and who it was.
"As the universe was once devoid of everything. And the void was the only thing that existed; so was the ability of humans to see. The ability of the human mind to perceive what is wrong and what is right is deeply incorrect. And so it was devoid of reality. It had long forgotten to differentiate between what is the truth and what is the lie. And so it had created a mechanism. A mechanism devoid of the truth and the lies. A figment of reality was put upon another figment of a lie and created such an abomination. The ability of the human mind to IMAGINE."
"..." Herold begins to swim away into the void's ocean of darkness, devoid of anything but his sense of reality. Poised upon the blackness of the ocean, steering afloat above the surface. Yet unable to be anchored by his weight.
"He..ro..ld!" A somewhat disembodied voice echoed through the darkest plains. Yet Herold is but unbothered to open his eyes.
"He.r..old..!" The disembodied voice calls out to him, although a little familiar.
"Herold..!" The voice echoes through the sea of darkness as Herold hears it seeping through his eardrums of yet another's vocal verbatim.
"HEROLD!" The voice becomes clearer, yet does not echo as Herold immediately opens his eyes, feeling the cold walls of the dungeon's unmaintained floors, Asreus' voice had awoken him from his immediate slumber as he takes his deepest breath as if his ability to breathe was taken from him. Asreus' eyes look at him with worry as he places both his hands on Herold's shoulder and says,
"What happened to you, Earl Herold? Have you gotten a fever? You suddenly went limp and fell over!" Asreus explained. He slowly gets up, removing his hands on his shoulder as he pats his buttocks of dirt.
"Well, we must go off now, would we? Didn't you say you felt something eerie about the Flame?"
Dumbfounded, Herold sat staring at Asreus' eyes reminiscing what felt like reality he had experienced earlier.
"Earl Herold?" Asreus called out to him, waving his hand in front of Herold's face. For a moment, Herold seemed to snap back into reality as if a thousand hands had pulled him closer.
"Yes?" Herold responded, his face turning pale.
"Are you alright?" Asreus inquired. Noticing his paled face.
"I had quite a vivid dream, Your Majesty…" He replied, shaking his head with a widened eye, blinking at least three times.
"A vivid..?" Asreus repeated. His eyes lit up, understanding what Herold had experienced in that moment.
"You experienced one of the powers of the Eternal Flame..?" Asreus added, his eyes semi-widened with a hint of excitement etched on his face.
"One of the powers..?" Herold muttered as a response, "What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?"
"It seems that… The Eternal Flame had put a test on you. I thought it had seen you as an ally, yet I couldn't comprehend what it had struck you..!"
"Can you please explain in further detail, Your Majesty?!" Herold exclaimed, his face carved frantically as his forehead wrinkled, showing signs of impatience.
"From before, the Flame bared its fangs at you. It showed you its animosity, which probably— had triggered your ability to fight or flight— leading you to let down your guard… And probably had put a temporary curse on you which caused the vivid nightmares."
"Basically..?!" Herold shouted angrily, impatiently waiting for a much easier explanation.
"Er, In simpler terms the Flame was just trying to scare you off..?" He replied, slowly standing up, patting the dust from his buttocks.
"You could've just said that and not explained it as if I'm one of those private sorcerers you have!"
Herold shouted, seemingly annoyed and pissed off. Asreus tilts his head a little staring at Herold with a serious face, waiting for his response.
"I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty. I do not mean to offend you. I am simply in a panic for I had experienced a vivid death."
"It is no problem, Earl Herold. But are you alright?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Are you sure? We need to get out of this place."
"Yes, I concur, Your Majesty," He replied, standing up as he patted his buttocks.
"Come, follow me. You might get lost around here." Asreus offered, turning away from Herold's face and walking towards the hallway exit.
"Your Majesty," Herold said, "I would like to express my deepest apologies for raising my voice."
"It is no matter, Earl Herold. I have already forgiven you for that disrespect."
"I am terribly sorry, Your Majesty." Herold apologizes, slowly walking beside Asreus, turning over to face him eye to eye.
"Let us leave this part of the Palace, shall we?" Asreus turned his head to face him in response, giving Herold a reassuring smile.
As both men leave the hallway, the sun's warm light shines on the exposed hallway. Herold faces to his right, noticing a large oasis of green grassy lands filled with bushes and flowers, pillared with a few trees.
"We used to play around these parts with Mother, Earl Herold," Asreus said, reminiscing the fond memories he used to have with his sister.
"That sounds wonderful, Your Majesty," Herold remarked, turning to face Asreus behind.
"It does. It truly does." Asreus replied, nearing the end of the Hallway as the two double doors loom before Herold's back. With two knights standing beside it. "It was nice having to talk to you, Earl Herold."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you for inviting me here."
"It is no problem. I am happy to have visitors." Asreus smiled before turning away from Herold. "Guards, please escort Earl Herold outside to his carriage."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The guards replied in unison as they approached Earl Herold, escorting him outside.
"I'll see you another time, Earl Herold." Asreus called out to Herold, as both men went on their separate ways.
As Herold boarded the carriage, the guards nod in farewell as returned to their post. Turning their backs to the galloping carriage as Herold slowly exit the Palace grounds. The distant chirping of the birds, the whistling winds, the sun's ray of warmth, and the relaxing cool of the Aldian breeze clung stuck to Herold's skin, leaving the Palace grounds.
As the sun's warm embrace shone through the glass window, refracting the light inside the dim room, a silhouette of a man stood next to it, overshadowing the light coming from outside the window as the man stared at the moving carriage out from the window. His hands clasped behind his back as his shadowed braided long hair swayed on the back of his spinal cord. His precisely detailed garment he wore of a man living from a century ago. As for a brief moment, the man stood still— iced from his position, as the sun slowly descend down, bringing the dusk's embrace inside the palace. Shortly after the moon's rise, the guards from before had lit up most of the candles in the hallways. Nearing the same room the mysterious man stood, the guards open the door— turning over the doorknob as they are met with an exhibit of portraits and antiques from the past histories of kings.
"Hey, look at that." The guard with a mustache points towards the large portrait stationed in the middle of the wall. The large portrait is a painting of Emorosio holding a beautiful sword with his wife, Eikyl, sitting on their elegant green couch with a smile on their faces.
"That's neat." The other guard replied. In a split-second of their time, the winds seep through the opened window, clouding the room with the coldness of the breeze. The moonlight's warm embraces encapsulates the whole room with its light, shining at the opened display cabinet.
"Was the palace robbed before we knew it?!" The guard without the mustache exclaimed, panicking.
"I don't know! We should let his Majesty know about this!" The guard with a mustache exclaimed with tears in his eyes.
"By Eiysmr, we are doomed!!" The mustached guard exclaimed. "But for now, we must light up the candles."
"Come on, come on, we have to report this to the King!" The no-mustached guard exclaimed as he places both hands on his fellow guard, shaking him.
"It is no matter, you two. I took the sword." Asreus' disembodied voice erupt from outside the room.
"Y-Your Majesty!" The guards immediately stood still like a stationed pillar as they maintained their formal composure, greeting the King.
"Both of you may leave now, I am sorry for giving both of you a fright."
"It is no problem to us, Your Majesty," The no-mustached guard replied. "We are just following direct orders."
"Excellent. Both of you may leave now." Asreus said with a smile as he walks between them, entering the room.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" As both men leave the room, Asreus turns over to look behind, seeing them leave the area. He slowly moves to approach the opened window, with one glance outside the palace doors, he carved a grin on his mouth and closes it beforehand. With a deep breath, he grabs hold of the loincloth on his back and unwraps it, revealing the same sword drawn on the painting.
"Your soul still rests with us, Great-Great-Great-Grandfather," Asreus muttered to himself. Slowly walking towards the empty display case with both hands on the sword.
"You have passed down such antique sword to our family, I feel such intense emotions handling it." He uttered, glancing towards the portrait of Emorosio.
"Great-Great Grandfather Emorosio, what is the purpose of the Flame?" Asreus carefully places the sword on the display case and closes it, completing the whole room.
"Will the prophecy come true?" Asreus uttered as he left himself speechless for a second. His eyes well up with a tear— sniffing.
"Will my sister come back?"
CHAPTER, END.