" we will end it here for today , go and wash up elder brother wants to talk to you in an hour" Cedric had a lazy smile watching graham laying down on the ground his breathing heavy
"Huh? About what?" Graham looked up at to see Cedric shrugging
" I do not know ." Cedric turned around to leave " but it involves Concilia , you have been gone for five years now and your world ... Go wash up" Cedric left under Graham's scrutinizing gaze
- He is hiding something from me ..but what is it?- graham picked himself off the ground and went to the washroom
After bathing , graham sat on his bed seemingly lost in thought
- five years huh ? I wonder do they even remeber me or is my wife still waiting for me ? I mean everything I did was for our race , I have gained godlike power but was it it worth it ? What if Concilia is.....No no it can't be , Stephen's always visiting the 'mortal lands ' as he calls it . At first Stephen was cold but eventually I found out that he is the one that understands us humans more than his companion who shrouds himself in a mysterious veil , I can't seem to understand him but then how can a mere mortal like myself comprehend a god urgghh I'm now speaking like them damnit - he was brought out of his thoughts by a knock on the door
"Uh ,coming ." He walked to the door opening it slowly
" I have been knocking for quite some time now why were you not opening the door ? Or were you busy engaging in-"
"No no , Stephen must be waiting for us " graham cut him off quickly
Cedric chuckled amused by his reaction , they left Graham's room and went to where Stephen was , passing through the hall of living paintings but graham was now used to the creepy paintings and he payed them no heed up until they had almost exited the hallway
"That was not there earlier on " graham pointed at a new portrait on the wall that depicted a battle between two forces one seemed like a governing force judging from their clothing and the other was like a rebel army
"Oh that is new " Cedric didn't bother looking at it , graham looked at it one last time before gradually following behind Cedric
Arriving outside of Stephen's laboratory Cedric called out
"Elder brother"
"Come in" they got inside the laboratory and to Graham's surprise it was empty , none of the materials not even the tables one would usually find inside could be seen in sight. Nothing, except for a young man sitting down holding a newly born infant in his arms
" Come over here " Stephen smiled at them , Cedric and graham both hesitated before moving towards Stephen
" Meet Moraine , I found her in the mortal's lands when I went to do my research apparently her heavily pregnant mother had just died of coldness before I arrived in their town and I managed to get her out of her mother's womb safely bringing her back with me ." Stephen explained his eyes focused on the sleeping infant in his arms
"You named her?" Graham asked his voice laced with uncertainty
" after saving her I rummaged through their little home and found a journal which I supposed was owned by her mother where she had written that Incase she manages to give birth to the baby safely she would call her Moraine , which means destiny in their old tongue . So to answer your question no I did not name her" Stephen looked at graham with a smile
"So are you planning on keeping it?" Cedric asked his face scrunched up into a frown
"She is not an object." Graham interjected
"Know your place mortal , it seems like these few years made you think we are equals ...well we are NOT." Cedric gave graham the side eye making him look down in fright
"I apologize"
"You do not need to apologize graham for you are right this is not an object , and yes Cedric I have decided to raise her but as her brother "
"Mmmh do what you will elder brother " Cedric turned around and left clearly upset
" Graham the reason I called for you is because I have news for you ?" Graham lifted his head to look at Stephen
"Good or bad?" He asked
"You will be the judge of that , firstly 50 percent of Concilia is dead that includes humans, plants and animals alike , food is ruuning out and many empires are proposing genocide in order to save the little supplies they have for the nobles . I went to your empire and searched for a Susan Nimour and i found her . she prays everyday for your return.." Stephen stopped speaking as he could see Graham's tears falling down his eyes
" Are you serious?she has not remarried?"
Graham asked
"No she has not , but her living conditions are bad that both her family and yours are telling her to remarry " graham listened intently his heartbreaking with every word Stephen spoke , but he could not blame the two families for five years was a long time and the sad part was that he knew that he wasn't ready to return yet his thirst for knowledge had grown exponentially ever since he had met these two mysterious beings
" I understand" graham was crestfallen but he had to do what was best for their race even if it meant sacrificing his own marriage
" That Is why I left her some funds in order for you to complete your training , no need to thank me we are both going to benefit from this" Stephen shook his head with a smile seeing the look of gratitude on his face
"Nonetheless thank you " graham knelt down
" Anyways , Cedric is going to start teaching you to be an inventor . With your power in order for you to be able to create a perfect replica of your sun you will need 9 decades or more , so that is where steam artifacts come in ." Stephen stood up and gestured for graham to follow him .
They went to the back wall of the lab and Stephen tapped the wall twice with his left foot and the wall slid open revealing a secret passage with a mesmerizing glow to it , they got in and the wall closed behind them .
"Wow" was all graham could say , amazed by the beautiful glowing symbols on the wall that gave this passage it's mysterious feeling
" Those symbols are called runes , I am currently studying them and their origins .....you must be wondering where am I taking you?" Stephen explained and asked
" Yes " graham gave a slight nod
" My real lab" Stephen paused looking at Graham's confused face
" The outer lab is for the research and experiments I did for the gods , this one is much more personal .....I know what you thinking and no even if the gods saw me enter they wouldn't have been able to enter this place , the little tap on the wall is just for misguidance. The doorway is actually linked to my brain so It can only opened by me and me alone." After Stephen's explanation Graham's expression changed to one of respect
" I see" they continued walking until they reached a huge door which opened the minute they got close enough revealing a highly advanced lab , that the not even the outer lab could hold a candle to it . Graham's mouth was agape he couldn't even come up with words to describe what was Infront of him , all of the equipment here was so advanced that graham could not even describe what he was seeing
The lab included computers, freezers, incubators, shakers, hot plates, glassware, plasticware, analytical balances, pipettors and tips, pH meters, fume hoods, and several types of microscopes. With specialized pieces of lab equipment including an autoclave, a cell culture or tissue culture hood/workstation, a spectrophotometer with removable cuvettes , and a thermocycler (PCR machine). further specialized lab equipment included DNA sequencing equipment, a mass spectrometer, a flow cytometer, imaging systems, microtomes, surgical instruments, histology equipment, or electrophysiological equipment such as patch-clamp amplifiers, pipette pullers, and analysis software . These were all the tools in this lab the room had white walls , white ceiling and the floor had white tiles looking very modern, inside an incubator in the far corner of the room was a crystalized heart soaking in a purplish liquid
" This is where I usually work , that specimen over there is called the undying heart i wanted to transplant it into my body which I did several times but the procedure kept failing . I died approximately 20 times until I realized that my fully matured body was rejecting the heart , this heart needed an infant so I went to the mortal lands to look for freshly dead infant in order to resurrect them and place the heart inside them but I ended up being fortunate enough to find one alive" Stephen placed the sleeping child on the table tilting his head to look at graham , who in turn had a horrified look on his face
" You think I'm a monster right? Maybe I am but trust me when I say everything I do has a reason , this infant will be the key to ensure that Concilia will strive again without gods at it's rear or....me , you may think of me as a monster graham but if it wasn't for me the mortal lands would have perished a long time ago . But that is not the reason I brought you here ,go check over there " Stephen pointed at a table filled with papers and books with a lamp on the side
"Huh this is?..." Graham looked at the papers that had a complex design on it
"That is the design for the engine for your sun ,or as I call it a steam artifact . I can't help you build it for I will be breaking the laws , but like I said before Cedric will teach you how to be an inventor " Stephen explained with his hands behind his back
"What do you mean by breaking laws have you not been helping me the entire time?" Graham asked with a roll of his eyes
" Concilia was declared a dead world and no god is supposed to save a dead world or even attempt to revive it for there will be dire consequences" graham smiled wryly
"I thought you are not a god ?" Stephen chuckled at his question
" And that is why I have been helping you but if I build the sun 'THEY' will know and I will be hunted down"
Graham felt the slight fear in Stephen's voice as he mentioned 'Them' which confused him but he didn't voice out his confusion
" From today onwards you will be under Cedric's care for five years straight , I want you to improve hastily graham your world is at stake here ....take the designs with you , we will meet again after five years" graham took the designs and bowed to Stephen before leaving the inner laboratory
" Hopefully iam right about you two.." Stephen placed his hand on the baby's stomach and a purple glow emitted from the baby
" Dark Aetheric arts , soul snatcher"the baby's eyes shot open and it started crying , Stephen pulled back his hand slowly removing the infant soul from its body . The infant stopped crying and her eyes lost light
In Stephen's palm a pure white orb danced around " A child's soul is so pure ...don't worry little one I'll return you to your body but first I need to make it better" ....
...
Zebha
A portal appeared infront of kora and she flew through it her speed breaking the sound barrier. Above Sondor a huge portal opened up catching the attention of the La'faurian army that was rummaging through the village
"Wooooosh" kora flew out of the portal under the army's surprised gazes
"Isn't that king Zaloz's mount ? " Holt whispered as he watched the bird fly out of the portal , Esther nodded as she still remembered the giant bird that destroyed most of their settlement
"It is..." Holt smiled
"FINN ZALOZ!!!!!!!!! LOOOK AT YOUR MIGHTY WARRIORS , THIS IS WHAT WE ARE GOIMG TO DO TO EVERY CITIZEN OF ZEBHA!!" Holt's voice was amplified with the breath so that Finn who was a thousand feet high in the air could hear him
Finn and the rest looked down at the village and on the entrance were the naked bodies of the the former blades hung on top of the villag's entrance with vultures slowly eating the corpses
Finn's terrifying aura broke loose knocking out komoni and the rest except for Elaine who was having a hard time breathing
" My- ...Finn Pp-please do ..no-not.. en-engage" Elaine struggled to speak but Finn's anger was already blinding him
He had been taught most of the things he knew by Harmonia's blades and to see his former teachers being displayed like that broke him ,a burning sensation filled the air making Elaine and the rest sweat .
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Kora cried out
"Finn you are hurting herrr!" Elaine screamed as he could feel them plummeting from the air
Finn slowly levitated revealing burn marks on Kora's back but his eyes were focused on Holt and Esther
The burning sensation got worse , even the air they breathed in was burning and their skin started to turn dry as their bodies lost their moisture and their all became insanely dehydrated but the one who suffered the most was elaine who was the only one conscious enough to understand what was happening
But her cries did not go unheard as the chains wrapped around Timothy's sword unraveled and we straight for Finn who was levitating above them as the plummeted
The chains wrapped around his leg and they release a purple glow and soon enough the burning sensation filling the air disappeared and Finn regained his rationality
"Shit , kora !!" He quickly flew to his mount and placed his hand on her head " kyaa" kora responded and she regained balance
"I'm sorry kora , get us out of here" Finn flew to Elaine and took out a dark brown pill placing it in her mouth
"Mmh ? Finn you okay ? " Elaine regained her strength and smiled
"Yeah , Timothy's sword helped .. I'm sorry " his voice was laced with regret
"Hey , hey don't be I get it " elaine took out more brown pills and fed them to the others
Finn looked at Holt one last time and raised his hands performing hand seals , Holt kept the eye contact even though there was a large distance between them plus but because they were Konquerors they had excellent vision . Finn's eyes burned with dark red flames and he whispered
" Seal of flames "
Holt fell to the ground screaming , Esther quickly moved to help him and she notice that his skin was burning but the process on lasted for a minute before it stopped leaving Holt shuddering
" He has marked you with a seal of flames , anytime he gets closer to where you are your skin will burn rendering you useless and the seal will draw him to you . You shouldn't have provoked him Holt now you will forever be in danger , but it can be-" Holt placed his finger on her mouth
" Shhhh do not worry I'll be fine , plus if he is closer you can simply pick me up and flee " Holt chuckled trying to cover his worry
- that was not so bright of me - he thought watching the giant bird get further and further away
"General we found the Portal artifact " a knight came running to them holding a crystal orb in his hands
Holt took the orb and smiled taking out the inscribed wooden block
"General Holt reporting to the king , we have successfully taken over the capital" Holt reported and waited for a response
" Excellent , prepare for my arrival" king Dupres's voice resounded from the wooden block
" Your humble servant will await your arrival" ....
..
Concilia
"The absorption rate is slowing down , I think it's almost over" June smiled at moraine who was by her side
Moraine gave a slight smile without taking her eyes off Stephen
- come back to us Steph, please come back- moraine's eyes were full of tears
The person they were waiting for was still stuck far away ..
Panting* "I did it ,Cedric I did it" graham jumped up and down in excitement
Cedric looked at him with a smile"you most certainly did , very impressive of you and you know I'm not so easily impressed but this time you really impressed me mortal I see why elder brother trusts you so much now." Cedric caught Graham's attention with his last line
"You mean Stephen trusts me ? I haven't seen the man in 5 years , I wonder what he's up to?" Graham asked Cedric
But sadly he didn't get an answer " you have successfully managed to absorb everything I was supposed to teach you and now you have successfully built a steam artifact that will help save what's remaining of the mortal lands. Our time together has officially come to an end" Cedric had a complicated look on his face that didn't go unnoticed by graham
-is that sadness , no it's ...damnit what is up with him ?- graham had a scrutinizing look on his face
"But I suggest that you go to the mortal lands and spread everything we have taught you , from the aetheric arts down to the inventions . After that unite what's left of your world into a single force and watch as Concilia strive as a united world and at the top of that force will be you one who has been trained by gods , only you can rear your world into something beautiful ." With that he turned around left graham standing in the room willed with automations and other steam gadgets graham has been creating over the years and in the middle of the room was huge engine that had a complicated clockwork system and design , this was the steam artifact Stephen had designed for him
-for the first time in ten years Cedric spoke something so empowering , I guess I might have changed him...hahahaha graham who are you kidding- grhama shook his head and sat down on the floor his eyes fixed on the artifact
"It's pretty huge for an artifact" ..