El Antiguo Guerrero_ chapter 43

43 El Antiguo Guerrero
Theme: “Rey of Mediaeval 2”

Rey could be seen crouching on the parched ground. Beside him stood Coven and his brother, Connor. Rey glimpsed that Dan, the new boy whom Rey had come to know as Mark, was sitting on the other side. Beside them stood a young girl whose name is Zafira. They were seated in a circular position, and a small fire was simmering, which illuminated the whole place.

All around them, the loud voices of the denizens could be heard. They were making merriment, dancing, cheering, and making bonfires all over the place. There are also groups of dancers, not excluding those that are performing different manoeuvres to make the people happy.

Rey shakes his head in admiration. The sight of the small village is a beautiful thing to behold. At first, Rey thought they were just hallucinating when they called him their king. But now, with all the proof he had seen, he was sure that he had just accomplished one of his quests.

Even though he was yet to know his real identity or his parents, he was grateful that he had met his younger brother, Mark. Moreover, he is a warrior and also a bizarre being. The same goes for the other girl beside him. She is a witch. A witch that is well known and feared all over the village.

Rey took another glance toward the villagers. He could see some of them peeking at him and his team. Rey wished all this could just stay still forever, with these people celebrating their king’s return. But he knew better; all of this was just a jumble of fragments that would be demolished soon.

The same goes for his father’s pack. Beelzebub is still out there in the past, and Rey couldn’t imagine what the dark-heart monster is planning now.

A cool breeze blew his hair backwards, and his face glistened with the help of the moon. The snow is also falling softly, while the environment looks calm and peaceful. Regardless, Rey knew it was just a delusion. The world itself is a fantasy. He had learned from his foster father that the world was created with the help of mysticism. It might end anytime soon, at a time they least expected.

“Can you tell me more about those soldiers?” Finally, Rey broke the silence. His gaze rested on Mark. He could see the familiarity between them. They had the same complexion, same aspects, same facial manners, and the same voice. If one is not careful, you might mistake them for twins. The little difference between them is that Rey is taller, well-built, and muscular, and one could guess that it was the effect of all the hard training he had been through.

Zafira answered instead, “They are called the Knights of Terror. That’s what they’ve been doing since the gods abandoned us.”

“And why can’t you fight back?” Coven probes further.

“Why would the gods even leave you?” Connor joined.

“How did you expect us to fight back?” Mark retorted, and Rey could hear the melancholy tone in his voice.
“They had the finest knights. They were well trained. They had the most dangerous weapons, not counting their horsemen and cavalry. The same goes for their foot soldiers, sword bearers, and Zarta’s rider. ” Mark explained, and Rey could see that he was trying to hold back his tears.

“We stand no chance against them. They have different spies everywhere. They also have dark sorcerers.” Zafira clarified.

Rey shakes his head in pity. Indeed, these people have suffered. Well, he couldn’t blame them. They were not like him, Franni, and others from the past. This is the future, the era of gods and titans.
According to what he learned, the wolf, vampires, and other night creatures were hardly found here, especially in this region.

Apart from that, Rey was sure that Seer Argon was there to help them. They also had some other powerful beings like Alpha Thane the Elementary Wolf and Ariel, the Soul Sucker. While here in the future, they were full of power lust and had different dark entities.

“Who is the leader of these knights of terror, or whatever you call them?” Dan asked, breaking the silence between them.

“He is a dark-hearted monster, the brother of Erebus, the god of darkness. He was the one who murdered our king and plotted against Erebus and Hade, which made the gods and his league forsake us. ” Mark said, and they could see the fear in his eyes.

“He is Menoetius,” Zafira said while Dan and Rey opened their mouths wide in shock.

“You mean Monetius, the friend of Hade?” Dan said, with disbelief. However, his assumption was confirmed when Zafira and Mark nodded their heads in the affirmative.

Conor and his brother stood still, flabbergasted by the whole speech, not understanding what they were talking about. But they were sure of one thing. For their leader and Dan to be scared of those entities means they were indeed harmful.

Rey took a deep breath, buried his head in his palm, and lost himself in his world of thought. He knew things were getting harder than he thought, especially with the Menoetius at this time, not only that he was here, but as the leader of the knights of terror.

He had been learning about the gods ever since he discovered in Avalon that he was one of them. All thanks to the power and ability he possessed, it made it easy for him to understand them better. Menoetius, he learned from an ancient history book, is the son of titan gods Iapetus and Clymene, and the brother of Atlas, Prometheus, and Epimetheus.

However, Rey is sure that he didn’t know the power and ability of this being, but for someone to be the leader of the Knights of Terror, he was sure it wasn’t going to be an easy challenge.
He could now understand why they were terrified of the beings.
Their fate was now resting on his shoulder. They were now depending on him to free them as their king. He couldn’t forsake his people, his blood, and everybody that had ratified him, not thinking that he hadn’t grown up with them.

The same goes for the past, from the realm from which he came. He couldn’t leave them either, so he relied on him to save them. Seer Argon trusted him to return with the gem. Franni and the betters were waiting for him.

“I thought he was locked in Tartarus before.” Dan’s voice broke the silence. “How the hell did he manage to break out?” He said, and one could guess that he was getting tired of the whole situation.

“He was freed by Hade,” Zafira retorted. “After that, he went to Erebus, where he acquired more power.”

“What about the former king?” Rey asked. “What happened to him? How was he murdered, and where were you then?” He asked all the questions that had been racing in his mind. Even though there were still multi-million questions, he didn’t want to huddle further, to the extent that the little boy, who he had come to know as his brother, would give up.

“After Menoetius escaped with the help of Hade, he went to Erebus’s liar, on the island of Crete, where he struck a deal with the god of darkness himself. He requested armies and the ability to wield one of the gems, but Erebus told him he couldn’t do that without the Ichor running in his veins, so he granted him armies instead. Those armies were led by Chaos and Void themselves. ” Mark explained.

“You mean the son of Erebus?” He asked, baffled.

“Yes,” Zafira and Mark retorted.

“After that, what happened next?” Coven asked out of curiosity, even though one could see that he didn’t know what they were talking about, but he still felt the urge to know more. The same goes for his brother.

“They wage war against us,” Zafira simply replied.

“For what reason exactly?” Coven investigates further,

“At least there must be a reason.” Connor supported it.

“You are right,” Mark answered this time. “He came for revenge because he believed our king had a hand in his punishment in Tartarus.”

Rey could feel what Menoetius went through in Tartarus. Even though he hadn’t been there before. But he had read more about the dreadful place. It is a deep chasm that is used as a dungeon of torment for the gods, especially the wicked ones. Tartarus is also considered to be a primordial force or deity alongside entities such as the soil, Nyx, and finally time.

“So, why did those stupid gods of Olympus forsake you?” Dan asked with gritted teeth.

“We can’t blame them,” Zafira said, trying to defend the gods.” They were deceived, and Zeus also failed to conduct a proper investigation.”

“There must be a traitor amidst them.” Coven implies, and all eyes turn to him.

“Why did you think so?” Mark asked with a grimace on his face.

“I mean, it just doesn’t make sense,” Coven insisted. “How would the whole god of Olympus, the wielder of thunderbolts, be deceived by the so-called Menoetius and his gang? Think man, it doesn’t make sense. ”

“What about Athena?” Connor chirped in. “I heard he is the goddess of wisdom. Isn’t she there when the gods have been deceived? And what of Apollo? I thought he could see everything under the sun. Why couldn’t he see that they were being deceived?” Connor clarified.

Mark opened his mouth wide in agape, and it was obvious he hadn’t thought of that before. Then everything started making sense to him.

“What about our parents?” Rey inquired with his gaze on Mark. What did you know about them? I mean, did you have any clue?”

Mark bowed his head as if thinking of anything. After what seemed like forever, he finally popped his head up, and a smile crept into his lips.

“There is this chain I was left with,” he begins. He quickly ladled his hand under his shirt and bought out a golden necklace. It is a golden chain with a cross at its end. Before the king died, he always told me to keep it very well, as it would be useful for me in the future. I guess this is what he meant.”

He stretches the golden necklace for Rey to see, and the latter collects it without hesitation. hoping with all his might that it would give him a clue. Rey examines the chain with his eyes, but there is nothing strange about the necklace. He hissed in frustration and decided to hand it back to Mark, with dejection in his eyes.

Mark, seeing the looks on his brother’s face tumble, knew that he didn’t find anything that could give them a clue about the necklace. He stretches his hand to collect it when the bonfire reflects against the back of the cross that is located at the end of the necklaces.

“There are some words written on the cross,” he said in pleasure.

Rey quickly withdraws his hand and checks what his brother is talking about. True to his words, there are some words inscribed on the cross. Rey read it aloud, but he didn’t seem to understand what it meant. He glanced at his brother, and he could see that his eyes were holding novelty. The same goes for others. They were eager to know what he had just discovered. After what seemed like forever, Rey finally read the words out loud enough for everybody to hear.

“The rose and the torn rise in Lycia.” Rey looks up, and his gaze travels all around his fraternity eyes, wondering if any of them knew what it meant.

“It is a riddle,” Dan finally said. All eyes turned to him, urging him to continue. “The Rose and the Torn Rise in Lycia.” He read it again to confirm what Rey had just read, and the latter nodded his head in approval. His eyes held the urgent desire to know what Dan was insulating.

“I don’t know anything about the rose and the torn,” Dan said, while Rey and Mark shook their heads in dissatisfaction, followed by a hissing sound from Coven and Connor.

“I think I know what Lycia means,” he said again, but none of them could easily hear what he was about to say, except for Zafira, whose eyes held trinket and anxiety. “It is a town; it is Lycia city.” Dan finally said

Rey and the rest quickly direct their gaze at him, wondering if he is tricking them again. But the expression on his face held a serious one, and they could guess that he was saying the truth.

“He is right,” Zafira said, supporting

Rey directs his gaze at her, and he can’t help but feel as if something is wrong somewhere, especially from Zafira’s face. It was just that he couldn’t place his hand on what was going on.
T.b.c