A soft, warm wind blew across Asura's face, warming his soul as it gently brushed over. The breeze carried the scent of fresh grass into the ogre's nose, relieving him of all the stress induced by the recent battle. His body ached, but he felt soothed by a warmth that seemed to beat down from the sky.
Asura opened his eyes and found a beautiful sun hanging from the clouds in the sky. Glaring at it, he felt no pain, only comfort in its light. He looked around, watching as tall yellow grass swayed from the gentle breeze, dancing with the wind. It felt like paradise, a similar comfort to when he rested in Uriel's garden.
As he looked across the plain, he could find no end, only hills with the same beautiful grass. Asura tried to take a step, but his feet were unresponsive. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words left his lips. Then, a voice spoke from behind.
"I see you have come, brother."
It was a voice he had heard before, the voice that was beside him when he entered the world. Its soft, harmonious voice danced in his ears as it spoke, relaxing every muscle in Asura's body. He sighed in relief, but as Asura turned, he found the voice wasn't speaking to him. There was another.
To his left, a figure cloaked in a white robe stood next to a well. His features were hidden behind the veil, covering him from head to toe. To the ogre's right stood another, wearing a black cloak, covering him like the other. However, a storm raged behind its figure, and lightning rippled within the black clouds above.
Suddenly, the wind shifted and grew angry. Whipping and blowing, the grass blew wildly from the strong current of the black storm. The plain seemed to reject his presence as if he were banished from it long ago. The black-cloaked figure spoke,
"Why must you sound so disappointed?"
"To come after being exiled is a sin."
"Ah, everything is a sin these days, is it not? Find love? A sin. Take back what is yours? A sin. Defend yourself from harm? A sin. What is there to enjoy about living if it is all corrupt?"
"You twist the word."
"But I am right, am I not?"
"Why have you come?"
"I have heard you spoke a prophecy."
"Yes. That is the truth."
"What is it?"
"You wish to know? That is quite amusing that you would seek my aid after your actions."
"Are we not brothers? I asked for forgiveness, and yet you hold it against me."
"Thy actions are unforgivable."
"The Lord calls all to forgive."
"Yes. Those who repent."
"You are too harsh, brother. Let the past remain in the past. Wisdom is to grow from the past and use its lessons for the future."
"Hah!"
Asura found the white-cloaked figure laughing beautifully as if he were a performer. Although his laugh was mocking, its delightful tone would defuse any situation.
"Brother, I shall play your game."
The wind blew the figure's cloak near its mouth, revealing a shining smile on its face. It grabbed hold of the well and turned to look down into its water.
"This is the prophecy given by Judex Divinum. There shall be three brothers, none related to the other. They shall bond through the blood of war and battles, becoming pillars to uphold and exalt Judex Divinum. The first will accomplish a great feat that no other mortal can overcome. He will strike down a great foe you bring forth but fall to his own hand. The second will rise to become the peak of mankind, and one with such strength will have no rivals in this era. Yet, he will be locked in hell by a faeries hand. The third will unite the kingdoms behind his banner. He will lead the Judex Divinum's army against you and be struck down by thy hand."
"A prophecy in my favor."
"Maybe so. Yet, I believe his corpse will be what causes thy downfall, brother. Do not boast about victory when it has only begun. Sharpen your blades, bare your teeth, and struggle as you fight against the Lord, Judex Divinum."
"Ha! I never took you for a fool. Has the Lord not abandoned man and the others long ago? When did he last step in to stop the tides that crushed their villages? Did he stop the others from invading the realm of man? No... He left, and you know it. That is why you all hide in fear while I do what I must. A new era will come. One brought by the new God, one that truly loves its people."
"You call me a fool? I am not the one challenging the creator of all that lies before us. Can you do such a thing? What strength do you boast of?"
"Do not mock me. I will come for thy wings. I will rip them from your back and cast you out. You hide within these gardens, yet they provide no protection. I know where all of them rest. You will remember this when I arrive at the front gates, ready to take your head."
Asura never blinked as the two spoke to one another. Their conversation charmed the ogre, and he couldn't help but stare as the two bickered amongst each other. However, without closing his eyes, he found that the black-cloaked figure was no longer present. His existence disappeared, and the memory of it ever being present was no longer in his head. A void remained, leaving an empty feeling of what should be present.
"What happened?"
The ogre's mind went blank. "I remember a conversation... but how can one have a conversation if there is only one party? No... there must be two... I remember... one. There were... one. But the figure spoke to... no one?"
"Do not hurt yourself, child. You will not remember."
"What?"
Asura focused his eyes, finding the figure looking directly at him. He froze.
"You can see me?"
"Yes, but he could not."
"Who?"
"Do not ask because you will not remember."
"Why not?"
"His existence is rejected by all."
"Okay... that doesn't explain much."
"Yes, it may be vague. However, I can do nothing about it. I am merely the one who delivers his message."
"Where are we?"
"Mortals call it a dream."
"I'm dreaming? Not dead?"
"You are alive."
"Why am I here?"
"So that I may deliver a prophecy to you."
"The same one you spoke earlier?"
"No, that was not for you to hear, but it was a result that would have occurred nonetheless."
"You are vastly different than your siblings."
"Oh. So you understand who I am?"
"I don't know who you are, but I know what you are. You radiated with the same mana that Uriel and Hephestine do. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to see that."
"Well, I had my doubts when summoning you."
"Are you calling me stupid? You are just as bad as that asshole Uriel."
"Hahaha! You are quite an interesting mortal. If you were to tell Uriel that, he would throw a tantrum."
Its laugh eased Asura's pounding heart.
"We have little time together, so I will warn you before you go."
"Warn me?"
Its tone shifted, filling with authority and caution.
"Yes, warn. Heed my words, child, for it will save many. Every century, Judex Divinum sends a prophet to the land of man. One that holds great power to change fate itself. However, he is imprisoned and chained for his entire existence. Yet, in his imprisonment, he found a flower with great beauty within his eyes. As the days passed, he watered and cared for the flower with all of his heart."
The cloaked figure looked down at the well and slowly slid its hand against the stone. His voice softened for a moment.
"The flower will wither before his eyes, and calamity will befall man when that day comes. In the flower's decay, he shall call to Judex Divinum. Calling out, 'Lord, Lord, do you not love me? Strike down my enemies, for they took the only thing I loved. Show no mercy to those who would dare oppose your prophet. For I am the prophet you sent, and I ask, reach down your hand, take away my enemies."
Anger arose in its tone as it spoke its final words,
"Judex Divinum did not send the prophet to do such evil. He bestowed the power to change fate, to create beauty... Yet, evil was still done in his name. The belief that he lost his flower blinded him. Anger hardened his heart. However, if he called out, 'Lord, Lord, save my flower." So would the Lord have done. Yet, because of rage, because he chose to do evil, innocent will meet brother, Death. Then it shall be revealed that he killed the flower."
"What does any of this mean? A flower? A prophet? Who is the prophet, then?"
"I cannot say. It is time to return."
"Can't say? That's bullshit. Give me the name. Quit being all mystifying and shit. I can't stop this shit if I don't know."
"I am not an all-knowing one, child. We both receive the word of Judex Divinum by means we cannot understand."
"What a load of-"
-------------------------------------------------------------
A warm breeze blew across Asura's face, waking him from the deep slumber. He jolted upright as a massive head-splitting headache erupted within his skull. The ogre gripped his head, wincing as his head throbbed. As he sat clutching his head, the warm breeze lingered around, persisting with a disgusting, rancid smell as if rotten eggs were left by his side.
"Did I shit myself while sleeping?"
A familiar voice laughed beside him, causing Asura to turn to look at the person. Wain sat alongside him in a medical bed with equipment scattered throughout the room. The two sat in soft white beds with syringes, vials, and other tools on carts between the two of them. "I'm in a medical room like in the cathedral..." The ogre thought.
Large tarps were draped from above, blocking his vision of anything outside the small room. However, the coughs and grunts of many wounded told him there were other rooms beside his.
"I'm glad you are still alive after getting hit by a tank. I swear you made a deal with death. You got immortality and won't share?"
"Ha! I wish. God, that hurts. Whatever she hit me with definitely left a doozy on me."
"She is an Archknight, after all."
"She's the Archknight?"
"Yep, Mel's sister.
"Mel's sister... No wonder she's a racist asshole."
"I guess it runs in her family."
Wain chuckled, and Asura smiled, knowing his friend was well. The ogre studied Wain's body, finding the cracks were no longer present on his skin. The two rested their backs against the heads of their beds.
"Did Ash die at least?"
"Nope. He's a few rooms down."
"Damn shame."
"Hahaha, you have to give him some slack, okay? He saved us with the wall, remember?"
"Yeah, for like a minute, and then I got pancaked into molten metal."
"If it weren't for that wall, everyone... except maybe you would've been killed. That means your girlfriend Lydia would've been too."
"Girlfriend?"
"Oh, come on. I see the way you look at her, you meathead. There's no point in denying it."
Wain's tease left Asura smiling from ear to ear. It felt like brothers teasing one another and playing around. A feeling Asura longed for.
"You knew it all, huh? That herb showed you the entire plan. Wicked stuff."
"Most of it. It's like a GPS. I knew how to reach the destination, but the stuff in between was fuzzy. I'm just glad we got out of it alive... Who knows what would've happened if it lasted any longer."
Asura sighed with relief and smiled playfully,
"Yeah, but you must admit it was a wicked fight."
"Wickedly awful. My body still aches after being healed by an Angel! Only a lunatic like you could love something so painful."
"Hahaha. Is everyone else okay?"
"Yeah... Mary cleaned the city up."
Asura looked around again, curious about the building
"Where are we? A hospital outside the city?"
"No, we are in the city. Mary remade the cathedral and a majority of the buildings."
"Remade it? There was nothing left!"
"It's the insurance thing, remember? Those pillars that stood even after the buildings fell record and can rebuild the buildings like the training room."
"Yeah, but Jormungandr left nothing but ash."
"Doesn't matter. Those pillars turn the ash back to this. It's crazy and still amazes me too. One minute, everything's rubble, and then the next, boom, a building. Archknights have crazy amounts of mana, and honestly, I don't even know if she sweat a drop after doing it all. I do know that small details are forgotten."
"Small details?"
"Stuff like clothes, televisions, notebooks, pictures, all of it's gone. The families will never get it back..."
Wain went quiet.
"How long have I been out?"
"About half a day."
"That's crazy... To rebuild a city in half a day..."
"I'm thankful we can... If we couldn't, a city wouldn't be left on this planet."
Asura looked at Wain, who stared at the ceiling with sad eyes. The ogre opened his mouth but couldn't find the words.
"Do you know how many died?"
Wain pressed his hands against his face, hiding his eyes as he wiped water from his cheeks.
"A lot..."
Asura looked down at the ground. He understood Wain's pain. The priest was tasked with protecting those who were without blessings. A man like Wain would have a heavy heart for those he couldn't save, blaming himself for being powerless when faced with an impossible task. The lives of thousands were taken in a single breath as Jormungandr rose. Asura couldn't even imagine how many were killed as he terrorized the city... He wondered, "How many even survived?"
Wain startled Asura as he suddenly asked,
"Who was Brontes?"
Asura froze, his eyes locked with Wain's. He hesitantly responded,
"A friend... A brother I grew up with."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
Asura smiled slightly at Wain's words.
"Thank you for caring."
"Of course. What happened to the orc?"
"Ullrac?"
"Sorry. I couldn't remember his name."
"Don't worry about it... He died in another war after."
"Oh... I-... Sorry for bringing that up."
Asura shifted in the bed, propping himself back against the headrest.
"Quit apologizing. I know you aren't being malicious."
"You were fighting with The Temple in that memory, weren't you?"
"Yep, man and ogre side by side."
"Why?"
"Many reasons, but honestly, the humans asked. Our king answered... Although that asshole left us to do the dirty work."
"I can't believe it. We hate your kind so much, and you fought for us in a war. Why don't we have any records of it?"
Asura laughed,
"Probably because The Temple doesn't want you to know about it. I wouldn't go spreadin this to anyone."
"Why not?"
"There were records of it at some point. And if there aren't any now, then someone removed them. What do you think would happen if you were to go and testify, singing to the masses about how I'm a saint who helped the humans?"
"Do you think someone rewrote history?"
"Wain... I've lived for a few more years than you might think. I have seen wars waged for dumber reasons. The Temple isn't as grand as you believe, and even I, who hasn't seen the humans in a long ass time, can see that. Hell, I haven't even seen my own kind in God knows how long. You think the old man doesn't trust The Temple for no reason? He just decided, yup, fuck them."
Asura spat the white flames from his mouth onto the floor. Wain watched it burn and whip as its life slowly faded,
"Why would they do this?"
"No idea. Just the way it goes sometimes. Someone is hating someone in the world at every point in life."
"Thank you."
"For?"
"Everything, man. You fought for us back then. You fought for us now. All we've done is be rude to you... calling you a demon."
Asura smiled at the human, displaying his sincerity and respect for the monster.
"Don't get all sappy with me now, man. We're homies. It's what we do for each other. If you get all mushy and appreciate me too much, I'll take advantage of you. I'll steal more money from your wallet to buy ice cream."
"You still owe me for last time."
"I don't get paid, so good luck with that."
The two laughed and rested in their beds. They were soaking in every bit of the peace they could after the exhausting battle that nearly brought them to their deaths. However, the quiet atmosphere never lasted more than a few minutes. On any other day, the sound of coughs and grunts from the other inhabitants would drive him mad, but it was rather pleasing to Asura's ears. It meant their efforts were not in vain, and some survivors lived because of their actions.