GODS OF ASEROTH: The Prodigal Son: A monster is born (32 page)

    
He got up and stood knee deep into the thick, fiery molten rocks. He pulled the arrows out and tried to find his way out but the light from the hole that Leosher had come down through was blocked by the smoke which made it impossible for him to find the tunnel he had made while falling. He tried and tried to find but all he could see was the red and yellow light from the magma but that was dim as well. He was left no choice but to rip through the ground.

    
The smoke had now cleared up and Virgil was shocked to see that Katos had created a new arm for himself. The old one had turned to ash and it seemed that Katos was not hurt at all, except for the temporary pain but now he was mad and there was a frown on his face and his fists clenched.

    
“Why do you imbeciles keep forgetting, you cannot kill me!”

    
Virgil’s shocked face turned into a smile “I was not trying to kill you, I was simply trying to get you to leave Azar and Neiham alone, and I succeeded.” Virgil swaggered ahead “Now I know I might die this second, but let me tell you something, I will die in peace, for I know that my brother, your god, with kill you brutally. I will also die in peace, for I know I have been on the good side and played a part in the freedom of Thraeniuns from evil-doers like you, Colossus, and Geluna.”

    
Katos laughed at him and mocked him “You have not defeated me and what makes you think Leosher could kill me?  I am invincible and am one of the most experienced warriors of all time.”

    
Virgil stared in Katos’s eyes and smirked

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

        its power is like lightning……..”

     
The ground vibrated viciously but no one knew what the cause was. It was incredible, just like the waves of the sea. It knocked men down and toppled the walls of dead bodies that had formed over the course of this historic battle.

    
Katos sprinted towards Virgil with a clenched fist and the aim to knock his head off of his shoulders, and Virgil stood watching, for he was helpless. He did not have his wand and even if he did, it would be pointless therefore, he continued reciting the poem, the creed him and his brother Leosher had:

“We cannot begin to describe,

the amount of pain that is inside.

The beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun……..”

     
Katos swung his arm to punch Virgil’s head off but the ground blew apart and Leosher rose out and grabbed Katos’s fist in mid-air. There was a huge clash and an earthquake was let loose because of the impact of the fist with Leosher’s hand. He stood there, holding Katos’s fist tightly, and said with an angry face:

“We remember one thing,

w
e will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

c
learly, we are not ordinary,

                                       
                        for we battle with destiny.”

    
Although Virgil was flung out of the pit along with Azar and Neiham because of the impact, he was overjoyed, for his brother had just saved him and pulled him out of the tight grasp of death.

     As they
flung out, the fight began once again but this time, Leosher was even more ferocious. He did not care what occurred around him and had his eyes focused on Katos.

     
Leosher, who held his fist in his hand, broke his fist and yanked him closer to him. He afterwards elbowed him in his face quite a few times and dislocated Katos’s jaw. Katos in return kicked Leosher on his head. Katos stood on one leg and swung the other, aimed at his head.

    
He tried to get Leosher to his knees but the kick only bent his knees, slightly, and did not get him down. He kicked again and again, hoping Leosher would get down but all of his tries were futile. Although Leosher was not on the ground, Katos had emptied the surrounded area, for the blows were too impactful and shockwaves were too strong.

    
Leosher spun and got Katos’s leg off of his shoulder and tried to punch him but Katos was not weak either. He grabbed the fist and tried to punch with the other but Leosher caught it as well. Now both were in the same clenching position they were in when Leosher was shot, but this time Leosher did not waste any of his time and put all of his strength and might into the push and Katos made the same mistake again and tried to push back with his legs firm and not backing up which gave Leosher an advantage, for Katos was now brittle.

    
Leosher pushed and struggled but he had godly strength and that was too much for Katos and finally, Leosher broke him in half. Leosher broke his back and threw him on the ground and although the fight was over, the battle was not, for Katos was not yet dead and could fix his back if given enough time. The Gladius was the only way he could be killed and the Gladius was lost somewhere on the battle field.

    
Leosher looked around and at the edge of the pit, stood his brother. Leosher looked at him and yelled “The sword! Find the sword!”

    
Virgil nodded and ran towards the crater that had formed when the fight began. He knew that when both Katos and Leosher began the fight, the impacts created craters all over the battle field and he had to look where the fight had started, for that was the place where he would find the Gladius.

    
He ran around looking for it, with Usere, Urey, Azar, and Neiham while Ezhak kept the enemies off of them and Leosher stood in the pit right next to Katos, trying to catch his breath. His body was still a little disproportionate, for his muscles were too big for his body but now they were slowly returning back to their actual size. Leosher knew that Katos was going to get up and attack, therefore he stood with his fist clenched at his sides and one leg forward and his strong leg, the right leg, back, ready to fight. His body shone under the light of the two suns Thraenus had, for he was covered in sweat. His black trousers were stained with blood that his wounds had created and the dust in the air had clotted on them and a part of the pants and the boots were missing because of the lava.

    
“Well,” Leosher stood ready and laughed at Katos “I am the one who stands tall, and watches your demise.”

    
“You imbecile,” Katos laughed and said while stuttering with pain “The fight has not ended yet—it has just begun!”

    
Katos jumped off of the stony, barren ground and swung his fist. Leosher who already stood on guard backed up and kicked Katos in his face and dropped him on the ground again “You may be able to heal again and again, but I still am the winner. Give up and accept your defeat.”

    
“I have never been defeated and will never be defeated!”

    
He tried again. He got up again and attempted to punch Leosher in his throat but again, Leosher backed up but this time, he did not strike back, for with the corner of his eye, he saw his brother holding the Gladius.

    
“Leosher!” Virgil yelled and threw the sword towards him. Leosher acted quickly and while dodging the continuous punches thrown by Katos, he caught the Gladius and smacked the handle on Katos’s forehead. He fell on the ground, not because of the blow but because he was too tired now. Though he had trained a lot, he had never expelled so much energy in such a little time.

    
“Welcome to your end,” Leosher walked to Katos who was on the ground, “And trust me, It is going to hurt.”

    
He lifted the sword up high and swung it and cut Katos’s head off of his shoulders and ended the misery of Thraeniuns. Now the war had ended and Leosher finally was the king of whole Thraenus, he just had to be crowned. Virgil ran down in the pit, leaving a trail of dust behind him, and hugged his younger brother and at that moment he had forgotten that his brother was a god and had even forgotten that he was a royalty. He acted like the poor man from the outskirts of Gelus, he used to be, and hugged his brother.

    
“I am so glad the war is over.”

    
Leosher pushed him back “No, not yet. The Agnithiun men are still fighting.”

    
He swaggered out of the pit with Katos’s head in his hands and climbed the highest boulder in the barren fields. Everyone could see him from that point and Leosher could see everyone. He held Katos’s head from his hair and he lifted it up high, for he wanted each and every man in the gigantic field to see what had happened to the Agnithiun tyrant, Katos.

     
“Drop your weapons,” Leosher yelled out. He was so loud that he could be heard at the edge of the battle field. “Drop your weapons if you wish to live and have the desire to survive. Seize your glory, however much of it you have left. Do not let it go to waste. Your king has died and here is the proof. Join me and live, oppose me and die, you have a choice and it’s all yours. Remember, whether you live or die depends on this very decision you make!”

    
Just as the Empirions saw Katos’s decapitated head in their king’s hands, they cheered with their weapons high up in the air and there was a chant “Long lives our lord, Leosher, the ruler of East and West, North and South.” And soon, the Agnithiuns admitted their defeat and pledged allegiance to The Empire and joined in the chant and as far as the eye could see, there were soldiers of all kinds and races and sexes, chanting only one name, Leosher.

    
There was a humongous smirk on Leosher’s face, for he was too proud and now, finally, he had achieved his goal and soon he was to be the king of Aseroth as well. Usere, Urey, Azar, Neiham, Virgil and Ezhak stood in the crowd and smiled with pride, for now, finally, Thraenus was to see its golden age, finally, Thraenus was to be enjoyed as the gods intended.

    
Leosher stood high above all the men as a sign that he was higher than them and addressed them,

    
“My men, today, we have created a unified empire, today I have become the strongest and the most powerful being on Thraenus, and soon, I shall be the most powerful being in the Universe and when I do, we shall conquer every other realm, every other world with life on it—till then we say:

“We are not ordinary,

for we battle with destiny.

We have great power,

the power to write our own fate.

There is a beast rising within us,

and our revolt is weakening.

The beast is at the edge of our souls,

and its might is strengthening.

The beast is raw and pure,

its power is like lightning.

We cannot begin to describe,

the storm that is inside.

But the beast will rise again,

to bring forth the eternal pain.

The sun of hope has risen,

and the battle has begun.

But we remember one thing,

we will always be one.

We let the beast within us, rise,

to bring forth our enemy’s demise.

We move forward with one creed,

for it is our need,

Clearly, we are not ordinary,

                                                                for we battle with destiny.”

CHAPTER 18

     Leosher got off of the boulder and made his way through the chanting men, towards his brother and his majestic ride, Ezhak.

    
“I shall leave for my castle now; join me whenever you get the chance to.” he said to Virgil and looked at Ezhak “Are you ready?”

    
“Yes my lord. We shall leave when you are ready.”

    
Virgil took Leosher to a side and whispered in his ear “You should console Azar and Neiham, for they both have been incapacitated. Neiham’s cards and Azar’s staff, both are ruined.”

    
Leosher nodded and walked towards Azar and Neiham and said courteously “What has happened to you is truly sad but it is a part of life,” his face was straight and emotionless, for he did not care about what happened, “I am sorry for your loss but you will have to move on.”

    
All were shocked with this behavior of Leosher but none had the audacity to speak up against him, for even though they thought they were close to him, they had no idea whether he would listen to them or get them beheaded.