《The rise of the saviour》


 1 The battle of justice - 1

    "Kill him !!!"


    "Kill him !!!"


    "Show him no mercy master !!!"


    The entire crowd was shouting deliriously inside the coliseum. The arena, which had been gathering dust for quite some time was bustling with the dwellers of Nubia. The smell of sweat, from the people sitting under the soul scalding sun, was overpowering the dry metallic scent of blood strewn all across the field. The dried crimson of the blood was the only silent remnant that was left of the people who had fought before.


    Bets were being raised, coins were being tossed. The odds were known to all. It was not a fight, it was going to be a bloodbath, for their master had never lost a single duel in his entire life.


    The name of their master was enough to bring in a shiver down the spine of the enemy, but today a reckless fool had decided to challenge him for mortal combat.


    The entire coliseum reverberated as their master Nubeous arrived. Twilled in silken robes and aesthetic pearls, he waved at the crowd which was hailing him non stop. Even though his challenger was a mere peasant, he decided to duel by himself as he wanted to silence any future uproars by setting an example. The strength in his little finger was enough to crush the opponent to death, but today he wanted to make a show out of it. After all, it was an opportunity to please his followers by giving them a bit of drama, a bit of action.


    The uproar was deafening but unperturbed by what the crowd was roaring about, a quiet timid figure kept on chanting her silent prayers. She was hugging onto the rickety wooden stand tightly underneath the seating area of the coliseum. Her tattered clothes were laced with dirt and dust like that of a homeless wanderer. She looked extremely frail and tiny, still in her early teens.


    Tears were streaming down her cheeks and her quivering lips kept whispering one single name.


    "Morpheus..."


    "Help me Morpheous..."


    "Please God. Give strength to my brother..."


    "Morpheus... please..."


    And then suddenly the door next to her was swung open. The creak was so loud that it seemed like the sky was blowing apart. The jaws of the onlookers were opened wide and there was only silence that prevailed after. A cloud of dust laced the entrance and all that people could hear was the rasp of metal as if someone was dragging a dozen chains.


    As the dust settled in, people could see the faint figure of the peasant whose death was written to happen just minutes away. He was chained from top to bottom and those metal rings bore the testimony of the torture that his body had imbibed.


    Anybody else in his position would have cursed their stars for master Nubeous was no ordinary opponent. He was known as God''s own child. He hailed such great powers that kingdoms around Nubia never dared to encroach even an inch into their territory. They had all accepted master Nubeous as their sovereign leader, such was the terror of his supernatural powers. With a single snap of his fingers, he was capable of sucking the life out of anyone for he possessed the soul ring that gave him the power to obliviate the lifelines of his enemies in seconds. It made him invincible.


    But that poor peasant stood tall, undefied by the presence of master Nubeous, undefied by what was going to happen next.


    People who had flocked in numbers just to enjoy another merciless killing were surprised to see the undying fearlessness in the man and so was master Nubeous. He looked at the man who was all nonchalant even though he was standing inches away from death. A smile spread on his lips because it was going to be a good show. Finally, he had met someone who stood brave in the face of death.


    "Unchain him."


    He ordered and the crowd started howling in excitement as the shackles were removed.


    The man stood there without budging an inch. There was not even a tinge of emotion on his face even though the night before the man in front of him had destroyed his family, his home, and in fact his entire village. The only feeling that he possessed now was that of revenge. His insides were boiling, but he stood there calmly even though his eyes were busy searching for someone. He slowly turned around, trying to scan the entire crowd and when he did, slowly the intensity of the howl started depreciating.


    That man looked nothing like a mere peasant. He possessed a statuesque figure. Barrel-chested with a herculean physique, he looked like a fighter. His smoldering amber-colored eyes quickly landed upon that frail-looking girl. He didn''t say a word and just gave her a gentle nod before turning towards his opponent who was about to lament him.


    "Do you have any last wishes?"


    Master Nubeous asked sarcastically and the crowd went hysterical.


    But he stood there silently without uttering a word and somehow that irked master Nubeous.


    "So you don''t have any last wishes? Have I scared you so much that you dare not speak?"


    Saying that master Nubeous let out a chuckle and then asked,


    "What is your name? At least I should know your name before I scatter you into pieces. I have that much sense of respect for my opponents."


    "Morpheous..."


    "Oh, come again. Your voice is too weak for me to hear."


    And the next second a voice echoed in the coliseum. A voice that was louder than the spring thunder.


    "My name is Morpheous. Lord Morpheous."


    "And I shall have no last wishes. I just have a condition."


    The grating chuckle was wiped away from the face of master Nubeous and each and every nerve of his body raged in anger because of the defiance showed by the measly peasant. He was a nobody, yet in front of hundreds, he had the audacity to challenge him.


    The jaws of people dropped, for that mere peasant was trying to poke the sleeping lion.


    "Ohh! so our Lord Morpheous has conditions now? I didn''t know we had a barter system in place."


    Saying that master Nubeous started to loosen his robe, as he was getting impatient to silence the uncouth peasant standing in front of him. But he didn''t want to lose even a hair of respect from his followers. So after removing his robe, he looked into the eyes of Morpheous for a while, and then with a tone laced with mockery, he uttered the words whose repercussions he was completely unaware of.


    "Since I am feeling generous today, I will listen to your conditions, come what may !!!"


    The crowd clapped and applauded their king and jeered Morpheous for his audacity. But unfazed by the reaction of people around him he continued,


    "My condition is that if I win in this mortal combat then you shall denounce the Kindom of Nubia. You shall leave this land and never dare to set a foot inside. Nubia will be ruled by the common council which will punish the people who were involved in burning my village."


    Hearing his condition, Master Nubeous was enraged to the core. His stomach churned and for a moment he felt like snapping his fingers and turn him into ashes with his soul ring. But that would have brought in nothing but shame in front of the crowd as it was supposed to be a mortal combat.


    "Do you accept?"


    Asked Morpheous with a solemn voice.


    Master Nubeous looked into his eyes and then slowly removed his soul ring and placed it on the velvet cushion held by his keeper. Interlocking his fingers he cracked his knuckles and then with a smirk on his face, he said,


    "Nubia will always be mine."


    Raising his index finger, Master Nubeous hinted his hand-man to mark the beginning of the fight.


    The roaring sound of the foghorn filled the arena and the excitement of the crowd has piqued to the brim in an instant. The blazing sun lit up in gold and filled the coliseum with yellow flames.


    "May the best man win."


    And saying that Master Nubeous raised his hand and pin drop silence prevailed for no one dared to speak a word when the majesty had commanded silence. In that small span of quiescence, Morpheous closed his eyes and prayed to God.


    "Let me not see those eyes in despair again."


    "If you are hearing me, then I beg you to bestow your strength in me for the innocent lives that have been destroyed."


    And the moment he opened his eyes, he saw a sword being thrown at him which landed inches away from his foot.


    "And that would be your weapon of combat."


    Saying that master Nubeous picked up his sword. The sword had tasted the blood of many. So much so that the color of steel started looking like a tint of crimson. Morpheous knew that it was a match of death. Once inside the fighting ring, you either win or you die. There was no middle ground. But for sake of his clan, he had decided to set his foot in the ring of death.


    His sword was blunt and rusty and possessed no strength, but he couldn''t call foul. He just took the name of God and galloped ahead and with all his might as he made his first move.

 2 The battle of justice - 2

    ''Clank''


    Their swords clashed as Morpheous made his first move.


    ''Hiyaaahhhh''


    Master Nubeous marched ahead swiftly and blocked his attack with a single-handed stroke of his right arm.


    But suddenly he could feel that something was wrong. The opposing strength was so immense that his one hand wasn''t able to hold the sword in place. He looked into the eyes of Morpheous and he could sense that he was someone who was not going to be intimidated easily.


    So he went all in.


    ''Clank''


    Clasping his sword with both his hands, Nubeous again blocked the blunt sword of his opponent.


    His sword was hungry to taste the blood, but Morpheous was leaving no stone unturned to prolong that hunger.


    The crowd that was once cheering for their master stood up in dismay, unable to understand what was happening, unable to understand why their master was not yet done with the fight.


    ''Thud''


    Nubeous kicked Morpheous on his chest with all his might and he fell flat on the ground.


    ''Slash''


    And then with a swift swing of his sword, he tore through Morpheous''s bare chest.


    ''Arghhhh...''


    Morpheous spat out blood because of the impact. He was not that well versed with the art of sword fighting. He was just a mere peasant who was fighting for the sake of revenge.


    ''Get up you fool,''


    Nubeous provoked him and spat on him.


    ''Yeaaaahhhhh''


    Tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword Morpheous got up filled with rage and anger. He had nothing to lose today, so he struck again.


    ''Clank''


    Their swords met. But this time, Morpheous''s blow was severe. Nubeous fought back hard with both his arms as he was unable to bear the force.


    ''Aaaaarrrggghhhhh.''


    Nubeous roared with all the monstrosity that he could while defending himself but slowly the figure of Morpheous started looking tall.


    ''Kneel''


    Morpheous yelled as he coerced him to kneel under the force of his deathly blow.


    "You shall not cause any more pain upon the men of Nubia."


    Saying that Morpheous disarmed Nubeous with the flick of his sword, leaving him defenseless.


    ''Nooooooooo...''


    The crowd couldn''t believe the state their master was in.


    ''Slash''


    With a flick of his blunt sword, Morpheous left him howling in pain on the ground as his arm started to bleed as half of it was dangling at his elbow.


    ''Clank''


    Morpheous kicked Nobeous''s sword far away so that he couldn''t even dare to reach it, even if he wanted to and then turned to look at the crowd which had quietened down after seeing the fate of their master.


    Without his soul ring, his sword, he was just another amputated mortal. He couldn''t believe that it was his blood that was dripping and soaking the parched land. The tables had been turned and in seconds the servant had become the master.


    ''Hiyaaahhhhhh...''


    Nubeous gathered up all his strength and got up, unable to accept the defeat in the hands of a common peasant master.


    ''Master Nubeous !!! Master Nubeous !!! Master Nubeous''


    The silent crowd became hopeful as they saw their master picking himself from the dust, getting ready to fight again.


    But to the contrary, he paced backward and pounced on his soul ring.


    "You shall not see another day in your life you mortal fool."


    ''Snap''


    Holding his good hand in the direction of Morpheous, he snapped his fingers.


    ''Boom''


    In the fraction of a second, light perched up in the sky, and there was a noise of thunder. It was no ordinary light, for it was the bolt of death that struck Morpheous. The sky thundered like it was rumbling with anger but a smile of ecstasy spread on the face of master Nubeous, for he had finally reduced that mortal to dust. The air started howling in the tone of melancholy. Dark clouds scattered all around hiding the face of the sun, sucking out all hope and happiness.


    The brilliance of the lightning blinded the eyes of the onlookers but that tiny girl kept looking in his direction. Her last straw of hope was being burnt to death and she couldn''t believe that God would let such a thing happen to Morpheous, after being left bereft with the death of her parents.


    But then suddenly a beam of sunlight started spreading little glitter of gold around. It creaked through the dark clouds like a beam of hope and when it did, the crowd couldn''t believe the spectacle in front of their eyes.


    He stood there taking the bolt of lightning all in like he was harvesting its power. Not even a single hair on his body was touched. His skin scintillated and the gaping stab wound on his chest had been healed. Even the sword in his hand had a pure faint glow like it was being refurbished again. The sudden pain that he had felt in the beginning had disappeared and he stood there amused, unable to understand what was happening to him.


    Every cell in his body felt new. Every muscle started tingling with a new sensation. He felt different like his body had been re-incarnated and the moment he closed his burning eyes, the world heard a loud bang.


    Pieces of the crystal got scattered on the ground and all that was left was an empty ring in the hands of master Nubeous. The soul ring had been destroyed and yes that sacred him. It scared every ounce of him. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun perching up high again as if it was marking a new beginning.


    Morpheous too looked up into the sky and gripped his sword tight as it was time to end the age-old tyranny of Nubeous. He paced ahead quickly without losing any precious second and with one swift movement of his wrist he silenced the saga of atrocity standing in front of him.


    On the ground was now lying the slaughtered body of Nubeous. Lifeless, like a mannequin. The blood was thickening inside his capillaries marking the end of his life in the hands of a mere peasant who had risen like a phoenix from the ashes.


    The sword in his hand glistened with the first taste of blood which he sank deep into the ground before kneeling down. The only thing that could be heard was the cawing of ravenous flesh scavenging crows.

 3 Thrown back in time

    No one in the crowd dared to say a word and how could they when their master himself had been silenced in front of them. But ignoring the enormity of the happenings, a tiny tenacious soul was seen running towards the center of the coliseum.


    That battered and fragile-looking girl was running towards Morpheous with all her might and the moment she neared him, he opened his arms wide to embrace that little child who had been orphaned a day before because of Nubeous. A mere mistake of her parent''s inability to let go of their ancestral fields had cost them their lives.


    This was not the first time it had happened to his clan. There were innumerable tales of atrocities of Nubeous. His blood had boiled every time when anything had happened to his clan. But this time it was someone who was extremely close to him, someone who had given him food to eat, a place to rest his head upon. He couldn''t stand the sight of a bawling Evangeline over the ashes of her parents. Her tears were too precious for him.


    Evangeline''s parents had adopted him long back, much before she was born. He didn''t speak much, didn''t respond much to their human affections but he treasured little Eva. She was his lifeline. She was more like a daughter to him than a sister. But at the age where she should have been playing and studying under the shade of the love and warmth of her parents, she made to see the brutal shades of death and that was something that he just couldn''t let pass.


    His soul always craved justice, but he stayed put becasue of her, becasue he had promised her parents that he would be there to take care of her in case anything ever happened to them. But yesterday, everything had changed. Their world had been torn apart, his entire village had been destroyed and he couldn''t bear to be a mock spectator anymore.


    "You served us, justice brother."


    Saying that she twined her tender limbs around him.


    He lowered his head, trying to find words that he could speak. His blank eyes that showed no emotion suddenly started brimming with tears. The man who had seconds before blinded everyone with his might had suddenly crumbled with human emotions.


    She knew that he was a man of few words. She knew he wouldn''t say anything to her. So she softly whispered into his ears,


    "Now I know why my parents made you my Godfather."


    He ran his fingers through her unkempt hair, trying hard to stop his emotions. Even when his sword tasted the iron of the blood, his soul didn''t feel quenched. But just this one sentence of her lifted up all the burden from his heart. Deep down he felt that he was the reason for her pain. Deep down he felt he couldn''t do enough.


    Without saying a word he lifted her in his arms and wiped away her tears. He just gave her a nod and her heart rejoiced, forgetting the insurmountable pain that was encasing her heart. A beautiful smile etched on her face and she said,


    "Will we go back now?"


    He let out a gasp of air and nodded his head and then he turned to pick up his sword which he had dug deep into the soul of the earth, wanting to reclaim the weapon that led him to victory. But before he could do so he heard her say,


    "Morpheous !!! What are these people doing?"


    And true to her saying the sight in front of him rendered him speechless. The entire crowd was kneeling in front of him. Their head hung low with the amalgam of fear and shame. Becasue the man who stood in the coliseum was no ordinary man. He was a mortal who made the owner of the soul ring taste the crimsonness of death.


    Suddenly the foghorn was blown again and descending the stairs of the coliseum entered a man who looked as old as the pages of the bible. In his hands, he held the holy flag of the Kindom of Nubia and the baton of legacy.


    As he reached Morpheous, he knelt on the ground to mark his respect.


    "Who are you?"


    Morpheous asked.


    A gentle smile was spread of the face of the man and he replied.


    "I am Balthazar. The head of the council of Nubia."


    His voice was steady and calm and flowed like that of an irresistible spring.


    "I see. Please get up. You do not need to kneel in front of me. You shall now rule this kingdom justly and show mercy to common people like us. I believe in the council and I believe that you would not disappoint us."


    Saying that Morpheous pulled his sword and started walking towards the exit as if nothing had happened, as if he was just flipping a page of his diary.


    "But I don''t think we are done here."


    Balthazaar said and that braked the pace of Morpheous. Turning towards the old man he said,


    "What else do I need to do? I have done my part of the condition."


    "But you haven''t fulfilled the royal dictum."


    "What royal dictum?"


    Saying that he looked towards Balthazaar and then looked at all the people who were still kneeling intact. A sense of weirdness started hounding him as he started to feel that probably he was the only person not aware of the Royal Dictum.


    Balthazaar smiled and started explaining,


    "The Royal Dictum states that in case of natural death of the kind, the throne shall be passed on to his progeny. In case the king is defeated then the throne shall be passed on to the emperor of the attacking kingdom. In case ..."


    "If I may?", interrupted Morpheous.


    "Yes."


    "I am no king. I am a mere peasant who challenged the kind for a duel. I am a nobody. So if you think that the kingdom shall be ruled by me as per the dictum, then I dare to deny that. I want to return peacefully back to my old life and rebuild my village," Morpheous spoke looking at Eva and gave out a faint smile.


    Balthazar took a deep breath and then said,


    "You are no common pheasant. The soul ring couldn''t kill you. Rather it was destroyed in an attempt to kill you and you still feel you are a mortal man?"


    Morpheous stood there in silence for a second because he was himself wondering how everything had happened. Why he was feeling like a different man?


    "I think you need to read the legacy to understand who you are."


    Balthazaar said and pushed a notch on the baton of legacy and words of gold started to appear on its surface which was otherwise looking like a beam of steel.


    It said - "In the end, only time shall prevail."


    Taking a deep breath Balthazaar went close to the remains of his master and knelt down.


    "Hold it and read Morpheous," said Balthazaar and extended his hand towards him which was holding the baton of legacy and with his other hand he gently covered the eyes of his deceased master.


    Morpheous stretched his right arm to get the baton, but the moment his fingers touched the steel, a surge of energy was transferred from it into his body. He knew that instant that he had been wronged.

 4 Where are you Morpheus?

    "Morpheus !!!"


    "Morpheus !!! Where did you go?"


    Saying that Evangeline looked all around, but he was nowhere to be seen. The entire crowd, the coliseum, everything had disappeared.


    A moment before she was in the arms of her brother, bathing in the golden stream of the sun, which she had never seen shining so bright in the entirety of her life, but now she was surrounded by nothing but acute darkness.


    Her desperate calls faded into the vastness of nothingness around her. The only response that she got back was the shrill stridulation of crickets. There was not even a single star lacing the blanket of the ghastly night.


    That dejected soul wiped the stream of tears from her face. It was not the time to be afraid. More than her own well being, she was worried about her brother who was next to her a moment before.


    "Brother !!!"


    "It''s me, Eva. If you can hear me, then tell me that you are ok!"


    "Where are you, brother?"


    "Brother !!!"


    As her eyes slowly adjusted to the pitch of the night, she started wandering around, calling the name of her brother, with the hope that he would respond, with the hope that he would embrace her and tell her that all this was just a bad dream of hers.


    Minutes became hours but he was nowhere to be found. Her reserves of courage and patience were being drained out every minute. The terrains had been harsh on her. Her soles had been cut open but she didn''t care. The fear alone was driving her, making her forget about everything else in and around her.


    Scavenging in the darkness, her battered soul just needed a glimpse of him. She had already lost everything else that was dear to her. Morpheous was now all that she had. Her heart had to know that her brother was ok.


    As she moved ahead, passing through the thick foliage, she could hear the hissing sound of flowing water nearby. She paced ahead, wanting to quench her thirst but suddenly a faint glow amidst the tall grass caught her attention.


    "Is anyone over there?"


    "Hello !!!"


    Her tiny legs marched as fast as possible towards that faint source of light and the moment she was inches away from the spot she let out a huge cry.


    "Morpheous !!!"


    "What has happened to you?"


    Saying that she knelt next to him. His right hand was burning like that of metal thrown into a furnace, but his skin was intact. It looked like molten lava was pulsating through his veins underneath. She carefully picked his hand in hers.


    "Are you hurting?"


    "Can you listen to me? Morpheous, please say something for heaven''s sake."


    Saying that she slowly started tapping his face with her palm. But seeing no response from him, she rushed towards the source of water, trying to amass as much water as she could with her tiny bare hands and sprinkled it on his face.


    "Morpheous, wake up for me."


    "You cannot leave me like this, you promised me that."


    But that man didn''t move an inch. His breath was already shallow and she was trying hard to feel his pulse. Seeing no response from him, that poor dejected soul started wailing in pain, pounding his chest with her tiny fists.


    "You promised Morpheous. You promised ...."


    "Eva."


    That faint, quivering voice sounded like a tinkle of hope amidst the silence of melancholy. She hugged him tightly and started weeping. He could feel her moist tears on his bare chest. He wanted to comfort her, slowly pat on her head, but all that he could feel was a strange burning sensation. That feeling of pain was so intense that his limbs felt paralyzed.


    He wanted to groan and let out the pain, but he was scared to scare her out.


    So he slowly lifted his right hand which felt like it was raging fire and he could see that his hand was burning, but when he touched his face with his fingers, he could feel no heat.


    "Eva, what happened?"


    "I don''t know Morpheous, I just found you here, lying on the ground. Do you feel ok? Can you get up? Is your hand hurting? Why does it look like this?"


    "Arghhh..."


    "What? What is happening?"


    Gritting his teeth with all his might, Morpheous tried to suppress his pain in his tryst to sit upright. He was panting heavily like all his energy had been drained out. A moment before he just had his supper and was preparing himself to sleep next to the barn and now he was in these unknown woods with that unbearable pain. He was unable to get a grip on the things happening around.


    "Where are we, Eva? Are mother and father ok? Did you find them anywhere?"


    "What are you asking brother? Do you not remember anything?"


    "Remember what Eva? I just remember I had my supper and I was just about to go to sleep in the fields. But then all I know is waking up here with a burning hand."


    Eva stayed silent for a while after listening to her brother. She wondered if he had a loss of memory or if she was dreaming. That gory sight of the coliseum was definitely not a dream.


    "Not possible," she thought to herself and then asked him.


    "Do you remember touching anything weird with your right hand? Anything that looked like a baton?"


    "A baton? I don''t think so."


    Eva sighed and then said,


    "Perhaps do you want to dip your hand in the lake? Maybe that will ease the pain. I will check if I can find some herbs nearby."


    "No"


    Echoed his stern voice.


    "You are not going anywhere. I have no clue what is happening. The whereabouts of mother and father are also not known to us. So just stick close to me Eva, till I figure things out."


    Saying that Morpheous gathered all his might and got up.


    "Where is the lake?"


    "This way."


    Saying that she marched ahead and he followed. He dipped his hand immediately into the lake water but there was no respite from the burn or the pain. It was still searing through each and every nerve of his. But after a couple of minutes, the water calmed him down a bit but his mind was racing hard, trying to figure out, how they landed up here.


    He stood there, waist-deep in water, and stared into the distance, trying to map the recent events into a timeline. As he started into the vast nothingness, he could see a faint smoke in the distance and within seconds the smoke turned all wild and ominous, spouting scarlet flames.


    Morpheous shouted pointing his hand in the direction of fire.


    "Eva look."


    "Is something burning there?"


    And before she could even complete her sentence, they saw the color of orange and yellow spreading in the sky. The star-less pitch-black sky had suddenly changed its color. That sight looked strangely familiar to her. It was the same tinge of color that had spread in her village two days back. The same fire that had taken away everything from her.


    She knew that a village was burning, just like her''s did.

 5 He played with the sanctity of time

    Balthazaar looked at the royal physician impatiently in the Iridium chamber. His brows were furrowed and his face looked distressed as master Nubeous was still lying unconscious and his pulse was quite low.


    The royal physician gave him the best of the supplements combined with precious herbs which he had procured from different kingdoms, but nothing was working out. In the end, he prepared a concoction of ginseng combined with saffron and turmeric and applied it all over his body to soothe him.


    As his restlessness peaked, Balthazaar bent down and placed his two fingers on the side of his master''s neck and tried to feel his pulse.


    "Why his pulse is still so low? What is wrong with him?" he asked with an anxious tone.


    "I do not know sire. It just suddenly dropped low. His keeper called me and told me that the master was in pain. And when I came here, I found him unconscious. I don''t know what could have caused him to be in this state. I had checked his food which he was supposed to take for supper. There is no chance of any poisoning. I had pricked him earlier and had checked his blood flow as well. It was totally fine. The color of his tongue also looks normal."


    "If everything is normal then why is he not waking up?"


    Balthazaar roared and then bracing his right arm with his left, he started pacing inside the room to calm his troubled soul. It had been more than thirty minutes and Nubeous should have woken up by now.


    "Sire, should we remove the soul ring from his hand? Is his body giving up under the pressure of excessive power that is getting amassed within him?"


    "No... Do not dare to remove the ring from his hand under any circumstances," said Balthazaar and sat next to Nubeous. Although he had somehow managed to bring back his master from the mouth of death, he knew the repercussions of his actions. He himself possessed the strength to take the impact of going back in time, as this was not his first time doing so but it was the first for his master.


    His mind raced through the fight that had just happened a few seconds back. He had still not recovered from that ghastly scene where the lifeless body of his master lied still on the ground, shrouded in the cold embrace of death. Neither had he forgotten how that blunt sword of Morpheous gleamed with the taste of blood. That grotesque scene was vividly imprinted in his memory. A scene which he knew would haunt him forever, a scene whose sole witness was him.


    His body shivered and his throat ran dry because the prophecy had turned true.


    The prophecy that spoke about the invincible one.


    The prophecy which had been long forgotten for they all believed that master Nubeous was himself God''s child.


    He closed his eyes and remembered the last promise that he had made to his father, a promise to keep master Nubeous safe no matter what. A promise that his entire lineage had been keeping for they were the guardians of the throne keeper. He had been a mock spectator of the atrocities of master Nubeous, but as he was considered the son of God he never dared to go against him. Loyalty ran deep in his veins for master Nubeous because he was indeed no mortal. That man was as old as sixteen generations and possessed immense power and to top it up he had the command over the soul ring which people considered as the ring of God.


    But the price that Balthazaar paid to keep the promise was heavy for he dared to play with the sanctity of time. He lifted the sleeve of his cloak a bit and he could see that the necrosis on his arm had inched further. Without saying a word he sat silently enduring the pain.


    He didn''t know if his act was a misuse of his powers which had been passed on to him by his forefathers. He didn''t know if what he did was right, but all he knew that he kept the promise that he had made to his father.


    He did everything in his capacity in a rush as he had no time to think. He brought his master back to the night before the fight, assuming that it was enough to save his life. But little did he know that there was another eye-witness who would remember everything and would cause ineffable mayhem in the time to come.


    He was lost deep in his thoughts when suddenly he heard the door keeper''s voice.


    "Sire, the minister is seeking your permission to enter. He has some news for master Nubeous."


    "Allow him in," said Balthazaar and pinched the crease between his eyebrows.


    "What happened?", he asked looking in the direction of the minister.


    "Nothing sire just wanted to give the good news to master."


    "What news?"


    Balthazaar asked, still clutching his right arm, trying hard not to wince in pain. But before the minister could reply anything, suddenly erupted a voice amidst the conversation.


    "What is this chaos?"


    "Master !!!"


    "How do you feel master?" asked the royal physician and then started wiping the beads of sweat from the forehead of master Nubeous who had just woken up.


    "I feel fine, but what is going on? What are you all doing here? Balthazaar !!! What is going on?"


    "Nothing master, your temperature was a bit up so I had called the Royal Physician to check upon you."


    "But I feel fine," saying that Balthazaar touched his forehead, unable to understand what he was sweating profusely.


    "But sire your doorkeeper called and told me that..."


    "Well if the master is feeling fine then please excuse him and let him complete his sleep," said Balthazaar as he cut through the conversation, giving a stern look to the royal physician to keep quiet. He flipped his hand slightly asking the minister to leave the room as well, but before he could leave master Nubeous asked.


    "What brings you here at such an ungodly hour?"


    "Master I came to update you about the completion of the task that you had given."


    "Ah, yes... So is it done? Did the people protest?"


    "Yes master, the people were reluctant to give us their fields."


    "So did you do what was needed to be done?"


    "Yes, master. We have set the entire village of Ambracia on fire."


    Satisfied with the answer of the minister, master Nubeous said,


    "He has learned well under my shadow, hasn''t he Balthazaar? Remind me to reward him well."


    "Thank you, master."


    Saying that the minister took his leave.


    A smug and vicious smile spread on the face of Nubeous and he muttered,


    "The land is all mine. What lies underneath that land is also mine!!!"

 6 Back into the blazing fire -1

    Without wasting a single second, they both raced in the direction of the village. The pitch dark night was stalling their speed, but it couldn''t douse their spirit. They ran along the lakeside and then took the path through the forest. Little Eva was getting tired, stumbling every now and then but that fearless little soul didn''t pause to calm her haggard breath.


    But her struggle didn''t go unnoticed by her brother. He himself was scuffling with the acute pain searing throughout his body but he quickly bent down and picked her up in his arms and continued pacing ahead.


    "Put me down Morpheous. You will tire yourself."


    "Morpheous !!!", yelled little Eva. But he was not a man who would listen. He continued racing ahead with the same rhythm as before.


    "Is your hand still hurting Morpheous?"


    "No,"


    "Are you lying to me?"


    "No."


    "Why he has to keep clipping his replies," Eva muttered in her head and then asked,


    "Then why are you gritting your teeth?"


    Without replying anything Morpheous kept walking ahead in a brisk manner. But suddenly the unknown forest started looking familiar to him. He could see the giant flag of the Kingdom of Nubia perched on top of the fort from a distance.


    "Is this the forest of the forbidden?" Eva asked with her heart in her mouth.


    "I think so." He spoke with a worried tone this time because as per the elders of his village clan, they were supposed to stay away from these forests as it was assumed to be under the forces of the evil. But they had not only wandered inside the forest but had also consumed water from a lake amidst the heart of the forest. Although it tasted normal, just like the water from their village pond, he was worried if something could go wrong afterward.


    Buried in his thought he continued walking fast and soon they reached the outskirts of the forest. There was a fork in front of them but the road to their left looked quite familiar. Laced with the blossoms of plumeria on both sides, that road directly led to a village that was visible to them because of the fire.


    But the sight of plumeria sucked the blood out of their veins and Eva shouted,


    "Brother run !!!"


    Because it was no random village that was on fire. It was their own village - ''Ambracia''.


    "This cannot be happening," wondered Eva.


    Even though she was a mere twelve-year-old girl, she was way smarter than all the children of her village who were even a couple of years older than her.


    She had heard about the concept of traveling in time in various mythological stories which were narrated by the elders, but they were just stories. She couldn''t fathom that it was actually happening in front of her and if it was then she still had a chance to save her parents and probably others.


    Morpheous ran as fast as he could and as soon as they reached in front of their house, he ran forward to open the main door after putting little Eva down. Gigantic flames had already encapsulated their tiny little house and she could hear the desperate call of help, screams, and wailing of her parents who were trapped inside.


    The scene was exactly similar. The night before, her brother and she had gone to their fields to sleep overnight as recently their crops were being attacked by elephants. It was their turn that night to keep banging on the utensils so that the herd of elephants didn''t enter their cropland at night. They had seen the same crimson and yellow colored sky that night and had run back towards their village, but it was way too late.


    Her breath hitched for a moment as she wasn''t ready to relive the pain again.


    That night Morpheous had barged in through the main door but once he did, two main pillars fell down and the roof had come collapsing down. Her parents got trapped underneath and succumbed to death. That memory was loud and clear in her head like a fresh gaping wound. So she shouted,


    "Not through that door Morpheus."


    Saying that she ran and blocked Morpheus from entering inside.


    "What are you doing Eva? Don''t waste my time," he said and pushed her back.


    "The pillars will fall down Morpheous and they will be trapped. Trust me when I say so. Go through the back door Morpheous, I beg off you."


    Saying that Eva stood in front of him, blocking his path again.


    Morpheous hesitated for a while but then ran towards the back door. Eva followed him and picked up the blanket on the cot in the verandah, which had been kept outside for drying.


    "Cover yourself," she said and threw the blanket towards Morpheous and started knocking and pushing the back door vigorously. But alas! It was locked from the inside.


    "Move," he said and with one single kick, he burst the door wide open and rushed inside. The heat seared through his flesh even through the blanket. There was dust and smoke everywhere and that completely blinded him. The only thing that could guide him in was the desperate screams of Leonidas and Nefeli who had almost given up the last ounce of hope.


    The flames slowly started bursting open the windows and a scared Eva took a step back trying to escape from the howling depths of the fire. The smoke made her impossible to see what was happening inside. She stood there petrified, unable to think or do anything.


    The roof was going to collapse soon and she could see that past repeating itself, but now she was scared of losing Morpheous as well. She couldn''t scream or utter her prayers. She had never felt this helpless before.


    Everything around her was slowly getting reduced to ash and rubble. She knew that soon nothing would be left, apart from the desolate trail of burnt remnants. So getting a hold of herself she screamed,


    "MORPHEOUSSSSSSS..... "


    "Morpheous come out now....."


    But there was no response from him. Slowly her tiny chest started getting filled with dust and smoke. She couldn''t shout anymore. Her lungs were giving up.


    "Morpheous... I cannot lose you now. Come back... Come..."


    Everything started becoming hazy. She couldn''t feel her legs anymore. She slumped on the ground. Her house had been completely engulfed in the wrath of fire. Flashes of orange and yellow were all that she saw before closing her eyes.

 7 Back into the blazing fire - 2

    "Father !!!"


    "Mother !!!"


    "Morpheous !!!"


    These were her last words before she fainted.


    "I am going to meet them in the afterlife," she thought as she felt the air leaving her lungs. A moment before she was hopeful, a moment before she thought that fate had given her a chance to meet her parents again. But definitely this new fate was even worse than what she had before.


    So she closed her eyes and surrendered.


    .


    .


    "Eva !!!"


    "Eva !!!"


    The next thing that she heard was the faint sound of people calling her name.


    She felt a pat on her cheeks. She could feel the droplets of water being sprinkled on her. Someone was rubbing her palms vigorously in an attempt to wake her up. And then she could discern a familiar voice.


    "Eva get up for heaven''s sake."


    She felt the mild touch of two fingers being placed on the side of her neck and then suddenly she could feel a congestion sprouting in her lungs.


    Wheezing out a cough she slowly opened her eyes and muttered,


    "Am I still alive? Where are we?"


    "Eva," Leonidas exclaimed and pulled her close to hug her tight.


    "Father!!!" she let out a cry and hugged him back.


    "My little child," said a woman and wiped the tears of joy from her face and hearing that voice Eva screamed again,


    "Mother !!! You are alive? You all are alive?"


    She was going hysterical, unable to believe the sight in front of her. The night before she had seen their charred bodies and today she was embracing them alive, in flesh and blood. A moment before she had the fleeting glimpse of death, of the afterlife, yet now everything seemed normal. She couldn''t be more grateful to God. She couldn''t have asked for a better day in her life. But suddenly that momentary happiness vanished from her mind.


    "If they are here, then where is Morpheous," she thought and yelled,


    "Morpheous !!!"


    "Morpheous where are you?"


    "Where is Morpheous? Why isn''t he here to see me?"


    "Don''t worry Eva. He just left. You know how he is?"


    "He just left? Left where?" she asked and turned around, trying to locate him.


    "He was here until you opened your eyes and then he rushed out to help others," said Nefeli, Eva''s mother, as she hugged her tight.


    "I still cannot believe we all are fine," said Eva and started crying again.


    Her house had been reduced to dust, their crops had been burnt to ashes, but at least she had her family. She didn''t know if yesterday was a bad dream, she didn''t know if today was a dream itself. But at that moment she didn''t want to think about anything else. She just wanted to be comforted in the arms of her parents, whom she thought that she was going to lose again.


    Lifting little Eva in his arms, Leonidas took her and his wife a bit away from the raging fire, underneath a tree at quite some distance from their house.


    "Wait for me here. I need to help others," he said and went back into the labyrinth of fire.


    Resting her head in the lap of her mother, Eva asked,


    "Are you feeling fine mother?"


    "Yes my child. I feel absolutely fine," said Nefeli and ran her finger through her daughter''s hair.


    Eva paused for a moment to ponder but unable to tame the question protruding in her mind, she asked,


    "Do you know how the fire started?"


    Nefeli let out a deep gasp of air and said, "I have no clue, Eva. I was sleeping as usual in the dead of the night and suddenly I felt a bit suffocated. When I opened my eyes, everything was already burning around."


    Eva felt the grip of her mother tightening around her arms as she continued. "I woke up your father and we tried to escape, but the doors were already on fire. It was like a ring of flame around us and there was nowhere to escape. It felt like I was standing amidst an inferno. We had lost all hopes but suddenly someone entered into that fire. I couldn''t see that brave man''s face but his entire body was in flames including the blanket that was covering his face. I was dizzy by that time, but I just remember him sweeping us out of the house before everything collapsed."


    "That was Morpheous mother. He went in to bring you out. I had told him to enter through the backdoor and I had given him the blanket to protect himself," said Eva with a hint of pride in her tone.


    "Even I thought so. That man was as tall as my Morpheous but now that I think of it, that''s not possible my child, because the man who saved us was literally burning. Even his blanket was burning. Had it been Morpheous then wouldn''t he have all those burn wounds on his body?"


    "But Morpheous was with you right. I mean before I woke up."


    "Yes, When I woke up, he was there. But there was not even a single hair on his body had been touched by fire. I even asked him if it was he who took us out, but he denied my child. He told it was someone else, someone whom even he couldn''t recognize. That noble man apparently brought us out and left immediately. I couldn''t even get the time to thank him. Couldn''t even treat his wounds. Such a virtuous soul. May God give his best to that man and heal him with mercy."


    "What about father? Did father see that man?"


    "No my child. Even your father couldn''t recognize that nobleman. He left us in the care of Morpheous and went away."


    A puzzled Eva thought to herself, "If the person who saved my parents wasn''t Morpheous, then what was Morpheous doing inside? Who was this person whom no one could recognize?"


    Her thoughts ran from one corner of the world to another, before tiring her to sleep.

 8 Back into the blazing fire - 3

    The moment he saw Eva opening her eyes slightly, he felt a sudden respite in his chest. As he closed his eyes, a drop of tear trickled down his cheeks, which he quickly wiped away, averting the eyes of Leonidas and Nefeli.


    "I am going to check up on others," said Morpheous and marched ahead to protect others from the wrath of fire.


    Most of the houses around theirs had been destroyed by the flames. The south wind had added fuel to its intensity. ''Whom to save, what to save,'' he wondered as he crossed one house after the other.


    After crossing a couple of deserted houses, he found a couple of his village men trying hard to douse the fire with water and sand, and he joined hands with them. The fire was about to reach the last couple of houses that were near to the pond. So he looked in that direction and asked.


    "Did anyone rescue Damianos?"


    Damianos was the village priest and the most learned man that Morpheous had ever seen. He was the one who had found him abandoned in the woods and had brought him back with him to Ambracia. Leonidas and Nefeli at that time had been trying hard to have a kid of their own, but it seemed like nothing was working their way. So Damianos asked the couple to take care of Morpheous. Ever since then, even though Morpheous stayed along with Leonidas and Nefeli, his Godfather had always been Damianos.


    He had taught him everything starting from ancient texts to the details of the crops and probably that''s why Morpheous shared a strange attachment with him. So worrying about his Godfather at this time of peril was evident.


    "Jerome? Are you even listening to me?" Morpheous asked again.


    "Everyone here is trying hard to save their own people Morpheous," replied Jerome, who was about the same age as Morpheous and continued splashing water on the cattle shed.


    "Fine then, I will check for him. Erastus! Here hold this pail," said Morpheous and ran towards the pond.


    "Good heavens !" exclaimed Erastus as his knees caved under the weight of the gigantic pail, which was filled with water up to the brim. "How on earth can he lift it with such ease?", he said and somehow managed to splash the water on the shed.


    "Well, that''s Morpheous, my friend," said Jerome and continued with his efforts to douse the fire.


    Morpheous was desperate to find Damianos, he was desperate to see his old man safe. So he ran as fast as he could and reached the small hut by the side of the pond where Damianos resided. The hut was still untouched by fire and that was a relief for him.


    Calling his name out loud, Morpheous entered inside.


    "Damianos !!!"


    "Damianos !!! Are you ok?"


    But there came back no reply.


    He scanned everywhere around the hut, but he was nowhere to be found.


    Worry and grief started filling his chest, but just then he heard a loud cry.


    "Help me. Somebody help me !!!"


    Morpheous ran in that direction and saw Iris, a woman in her mid-forties lying on her verandah, crying for help as she was being slowly crushed under the force of a pillar which had fallen on her thigh. There was no around her to help her out, so without even thinking anything Morpheous rushed in and slowly started lifting the pillar up.


    That pillar probably weighed as much as a full-grown elephant, but with the strength of his arms, he was slowly able to lift it up a bit.


    "Can you try to move out now?" asked Morpheous after lifting the pillar by a couple of inches. But the pillars had already broken her bones. With tears of pain in her eyes, she looked up at Morpheous and said,


    "I cannot. I am sorry but I cannot Morpheous."


    The fire, the heat, the sweat, everything was making things difficult for him. But he was not someone who would accept defeat that easy. So taking a deep breath he said.


    "Do not give up. I am still here," saying that Morpheus exerted all the force that he possibly could and pushed the pillar away. "I will lift you now," said Morpheous and bent down. But before he could lift her, the wooden roof which had partially succumbed to death under the flames came crashing down.


    "Gaaahhhhh..."


    Morpheous grunted as his back bore the entire impact of the fall.


    Pieces of broken wood from the fallen roof pierced through his back. The flame slowly started charring his skin, but determined not to let the woman get hurt, Morpheous spread both his arms around her, creating a human shield.


    Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his nerves and then asked,


    "Are you ok Iris?"


    "I am fine Morpheous, but the fire is going to hurt you bad. Quickly move away," she said and tried to push him away with her palm, but he wasn''t someone who would leave a helpless soul in distress. So he turned a bit to let the pile of wood slide down, that was lying on his back. Then he slowly got up taking care that the debris didn''t her and doused the fire on his body by patting his palm all over.


    Without wasting any time, he lifted her carefully and ran towards the pond as that was the safest place inside that inferno. After reaching there he made her lie on the ground carefully and then he quickly fetched a cloth and a firm branch of a tree. With utmost care, he tied her thigh along with the branch tightly like a temporary cast.


    She was wincing in pain, but she tried her best not to show that to Morpheous because she knew that he was already deeply wounded while trying to save her. So putting on a brave face she bore through the pain and asked,


    "What about your wounds Morpheous?"


    "I am fine. Let me get you some water," he said and plucked some Alocasia leaves and went towards the pond. He drank some water first, to quench his thirst and then bent down again to collect some water for Iris.


    Strangely the pain in his back had lessened. The burning sensation was also gone.

 9 Damianos appears - 1

    He stood still near the pond for a while, allowing the ripples in the water to settle in. Then he turned to look at the reflection of his back in the water. There was not even a single scratch on his back. Not a single hair on his skin had been burnt.


    "How is this even possible? I was right there, underneath the unforgiving flames," he thought and ran the back of his hand over the bare skin of his body just to be sure.


    The acute burning sensation in his hand that he had after waking up in the woods was also gone. He felt normal, extremely normal but that was strangely weirding him out. He wanted to talk about it with someone. Someone who could understand what was happening to him and why it was happening to him. The only person whom he could think of to talk about it was Damianos, but he was nowhere to be seen.


    "Morpheous !!!"


    And his trail of thoughts got distracted as he heard the faint call of Iris. He picked up the Alocasia leaves and made a pouch out of it and filled it with water. As he was walking back, he saw the bushes of Boswellia and plucked a few leaves. Nefeli used to consume Boswelia leaves for her joint pain, so he planned to ease a bit of pain of Iris with the help of it.


    "Here, drink some," he said and propped her a bit so that she could drink the water which she gulped in seconds. The fire, the heat along with the dust had definitely taken a toll on her.


    "You must rest here till any help arrives," said Morpheous and started crushing the Boswellia leaves in his palm as there was no other way to prepare the concoction.


    "Have this. Might help a bit with the pain."


    "Are you sure this is the right herb?" questioned, Iris.


    "I have seen Nefeli taking this herb whenever she wanted some relief from pain," he said and brought his palm holding the concoction close to her mouth and helped her have it.


    "You still call her by her name huh !!! After all these years? Would it kill you to call them mother and father, Morpheous?" asked Iris.


    "This is neither the right place nor the right time to discuss my family matters, Iris," saying that Morpheous got up. His mind was now busy thinking about where his Godfather could be. He had no time to discuss such trivial things.


    "Where are you going?" Iris asked with a worried tone as she was scared to death to be left alone in that starless night.


    "Do not worry Iris. I will send someone here."


    He gave her a look of assurance and then went ahead in search of help. As he went a couple of steps ahead, he saw Erastus running towards the cropland area.


    "Erastus wait !!!"


    "There is no time to wait brother. All the crops are going to burn." Erastus said and keep running.


    "Erastus, Iris needs help," he said loudly and that halted the pace of Erastus.


    "What happened to her?"


    "She has a broken leg and it needs immediate attention. Is your father all right? Can he help her with some medicines?" asked Morpheous as Erastus''s father was an apothecary.


    "Yeah, he is a bit dizzy but I think he can help all right."


    "Then please get your father to help her as soon as possible. I have made her rest in the flat land area near the pond. Be quick," said Morpheous and ran in the opposite direction.


    "Where are you going now?"


    "In search of Damianos." And without waiting for his response, Morpheous ran towards the village entrance. As he passed the area of his house, his nerves stiffened a bit as he saw everything reduced to rubble. But now wasn''t the time to wait and reflect. So he continued his pace and reached near the giant Angel Oaktree.


    This was the place where usually Damianos held his sermons, so apart from his hut, Morpheous was expecting him to be here. But to his disappointment, not a single soul was present there. Feeling dejected he started walking a bit ahead.


    He kept walking without any motive, without any idea of where he was going. He was tired from his core. Tired of everything that was happening recently. He didn''t have the heart to go back and see the faces of people who had lost everything in the fire. He knew what was the reason behind the fire, in fact, he knew the person behind it. But right now at that very moment, he felt helpless for that person was someone who was beyond the reach of a common man like him.


    "Why it had to be Ambracia, why my village?", he sighed and let out a gasp of air as he kept walking.


    Probably after wandering aimlessly for an hour or so he reached somewhere in the woods where he could hear the faint sound of someone whispering into the woods. Curious to find out who it was, he went ahead in the direction where the sound was coming from. After a few meters, he saw a sight that was unreal for him.


    Surrounded by a faint halo of light, Damianos was floating up in the air in a standing position. His eyes were closed but his face was facing in the direction of Morpheous.


    "Damianos !!!", he screamed.


    "Damianos, are you all right?" Morpheous asked and ran towards him. But before he could reach him out, Damianos suddenly opened his eyes. Startled for a moment, Morpheous asked,


    "What is wrong with you? Let me help you to come down."


    "Morpheous look at me clearly. Do you think I need help?" Damianos said and smiled. His greyed hair was now scintillating like silver. The halo around him illuminated everything around him including his chest. He rested his hands to his side, his palm facing the ground and he trusted himself even higher in the air.


    Morpheous shut his eyes tightly and then opened them again in a hope to see something that could make sense to him but even after reopening his eyes again, the sight in front of him didn''t change. This Damianos looked different. He didn''t give out the same comfortable vibe as that of his Godfather. It was like he was meeting a whole new person.


    He turned around, trying to figure out where he was. Then looking in the direction of Damianos he asked,


    "Is this the forest of the forbidden?"


    Damianos smiled looking at him and then asked,


    "Didn''t you come here in search of me?"


    "Yes, I did but..."


    Interrupting him, Damianos continued,


    "Now that you have found me, why don''t you try and ask me the questions that you actually intended to ask?"


    "Well, I don''t have any questions now. I must return to my village," said Morpheous and then thought to himself, ''No wonder Damianos had asked us not to enter these forests. Nothing goes right here. First, my burning hand and now a possessed Damianos. This forest definitely makes people see things which are unreal.'' While thinking about it, he turned to go back to his village.


    But he would have hardly covered a couple of steps when Damianos suddenly apparated in front of him.


    "Where are you running away Morpheous? Scared of your own Godfather now?"


    Morpheous stood there stupified in silence as Damianos continued.


    "I saw you burning in your house but I don''t see a scar on your skin. How did that happen Morpheous?"

 10 Damianos appears - 2

    "How do you know about it Damianos? And if you were there, then why didn''t you come to see me?" Asked a surprised Morpheous.


    With a tinge of smile on his crinkled old face, Damianos replied,


    "Becasue there is a time for everything Morpheous. There is time for everything !!! You do not hit on the iron when it''s cold. You wait till it becomes scalding hot and then you hit on it."


    ''The way he spoke was exactly like Damianos.''


    ''The way he smiled just now was exactly like Damianos.''


    ''Then how come he was perched up in the sky?''


    Morpheous thought to himself. And then he remembered an incident that Jerome had narrated to him. Apparently a couple of years back a snake charmer from Eresos village has wandered into the forest of the forbidden un-knowingly and when he realized his folly, he prayed to the Gods and the angels to save him. And he swore upon his life that a few moments later, he had seen an angel with broken wings, sitting under a tree for the split of a second. Some believed in him and some didn''t, but his story had added to their fears about the forest of the forbidden.


    Recollecting that incident, Morpheous realized that the same thing was probably happening to him. Probably his mind was so focussed on finding where Damianos was, that he was seeing all these things. So he decided not to listen to any more words from this strange man who was probably an outcome of his thoughts, just like a dream.


    Covering his ears so that he didn''t have to listen to any of his words, he continued walking away, ignoring his presence. He could no more hear the sound of breaking twigs with his steps, nor he could hear the crickets.


    Damianos smiled as he saw him walking away and muttered,


    "You were never the easy one to persuade."


    Morpheous had closed his ears, but Damianos wasn''t dependent on sound to talk to and convince his Godson. So closing his eyes, he tried to communicate with Morpheous with his mind.


    "Stop running Morpheous. You know it''s me."


    An astounded Morpheous, who was still holding his ears shut, turned back. But no one was there. He just saw a faint halo of light at quite a far distance, probably from the place where he had left after having the last conversation with the new Damianos.


    "Yes, it''s me Morpheous. Come back !!!"


    "How can I hear you? What have you done to me? What have you done with Damianos?" Asked Morpheous flaring in anger.


    "This is all real Morpheous, I haven''t done anything to you or myself."


    "You liar !!!", screamed Morpheous and then said,


    "Come out. Stop your magic and fight me like a real man."


    Hearing his words, Damianos apparated again and appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye. But this time he looked different. The halo around him had disappeared. He wasn''t wearing the same clothes that Damianos used to wear. Instead, he was wearing white robes just like the angels did. He then slowly perched his divine wings in front of Morpheous.


    His jaws opened wide in surprise because he looked exactly like the angel which the snake charmer had seen. An angel with broken wings.


    So he went a bit closer to touch and see if all this was real and not just a dream and when he did, he could see that a couple of his wings had been burnt and it looked like it was burnt recently because he could smell the putrid charring smell similar to burning flesh coming from them.


    Somehow seeing him in this condition etched a worried look on his face.


    "Yes, It''s me Morpheous. Your Godfather Damianos, the fallen angel of Dihedral." Damianos said and then reached for the ground. He jerked his hands to flap his wings back but when he did, Morpheous could see that it was painful for him. He could see that there was a slight deformity as if one of the bones supporting the wings had been broken.


    "You... You are an angel?" Stuttered Morpheous.


    "Yes, your guardian angel Morpheous," said Damianos and took a step to inch closer towards Morpheous. And just like a stimulus to his action, Morpheous took a step back and asked,


    "So is that tale true? Did the snake charmer see you for real in this forest?"


    "Yes, he did. That happened by mistake. He wasn''t supposed to see me. No mortal is supposed to see me in my true form," said Damianos and sighed.


    "But I am a mortal," said Morpheous furrowing his brows.


    Damianos took a deep breath and asked,


    "Tell me what happened near the lake?"


    "How do you know that I was near a lake?" Morpheous asked getting a bit cautious.


    "Raising your guards against your Godfather again huh !!! Didn''t I tell you that I am an angel Morpheous? Do you know what angels can do?"


    "Angels are a myth. They are not real. You yourself had taught us so. You told us- ''Manners maketh man''. You told us that we ourselves write and rule our lives. You told us that no God or angel is there to protect us and asked us to learn to protect ourselves. And now you are telling me that angels are real?" Asked Morpheous.


    "And... and your wings are broken and burnt. Aren''t angels supposed to have the power to do everything? Why can''t you heal yourself?"


    Damianos stayed silent for a while and then took another step towards Morpheous and said,


    "I am a fallen angel Damianos. Once an angel falls, it has only limited powers. I cannot heal on my own. I am here to protect you, to help you rise and one day I believe when you do, you can heal me as well."


    "Help me rise?"


    "Rise where?"


    "How can I heal you? I am just a mere mortal," said Morpheous shrugged his shoulders. He then looked around again, in the hope to find a living soul who could help him ascertain the fact that he was looking at an angel.


    "Think again Morpheous, think what happened weird today. Perhaps that will help to change your perception," asked Damianos and looked up at Morpheous patiently.


    Morpheous hesitated at first but then decided to spill everything in front of him because his thoughts had been troubling him enough and this angel looked like a benevolent one who would do him no harm. But then he just stopped for a second to look at Damianos in disbelief.


    "I was in the fire, yet my skin is healed now, but your wings are burnt."


    "The roof broke and fell on me, the pieces of wood pierced through my skin and shattered my back, but it''s your wing that is broken."


    He then paused and looked at his right arm and muttered,


    "My hand was burning when I woke up," and looked at Damianos right hand which was covered in his pure white cloak.


    Damianos smiled and pulled the sleeves of his cloak up.

 11 The tale of the prophecy - 1

    Holding his temple in his hands, a panic-stricken Balthazaar turned towards Nubeous and asked,


    "Which village did the minister set fire to?"


    Before Nubeous could even respond, he darted another question,


    "What is the village of Ambracia? The one next to the forest of the forbidden?"


    Nubeous was surprised by his second question because he had ordered for this activity without giving any information to Balthazaar. He had particularly ensured that Balthazaar didn''t get a whiff about it.


    With a puzzled look on his face, he got down from his bed and asked,


    "How do you know about which village it was? What did the minister tell you about before I got up?"


    But ignoring his questions seeing a justification, Balthazaar asked again,


    "Dare I say, Please answer my question first master? Was it the village of Ambracia?"


    Nubeous could see a weird fear in the eyes of Balthazaar. Unable to comprehend what was going on in the mind of his lunatic council head he replied, "Yes, it is the village of Ambracia. So what Balthazaar?"


    He couldn''t hear anything after Ambracia. For a moment he felt he was going to get chocked with his own breath. Everything that he had done to save this man had been rendered vain. He cursed himself for not being able to travel back to the correct point in time. But it was too late now. His master had already done the very act that had enraged Morpheous. He had no strength to turn back the sanctity of time again. It would take him minimum a week to be able to travel again, but by then Morpheous would have finished his master.


    As his mind raced and he thought about what was going to happen next, he felt the earth underneath him shaking. He was going to fail to keep up with his promise. He would not be able to save his master from the hands of Morpheous. These thoughts hounded him so bad that his body started trembling. He slumped on the floor the next second.


    Nubeous couldn''t understand what was going wrong with that old man. Coming close to him he asked,


    "What is wrong with you?"


    ''What is wrong with me? Ask what can you do to save yourself?'' screamed Balthazaar inside his head. How could he tell him what was wrong?


    So he tried to regain his breath back and then said,


    "Nothing master. It''s the age."


    "Ahhh !!!", Nubeous chuckled and then continued.


    "Well now that you know about Ambracia, do you what does that mean Balthazaar?"


    Seeing the vicious smile etched on the face of master Nubeous, Balthazaar thought to himself, ''How can the man, known as the child of God be so hell-bent to obtain power that he would commit such a heinous act? How could he not even hesitate to take the lives of his own men?''


    From the time that he could remember he had seen him amassing as much power as he could with the help of his would ring. He knew that his master lusted for power, but this time the scale of his greed was way too much Balthazaar.


    For the spur of a moment, he even regretted keeping his promise and bringing him back alive. He closed his eyes and let a faint gasp of air escape his lips. Feigning a fake interest in his words, he replied,


    "No master !!!"


    "Well! Being the head of the general council, I think you should know what your master is up to. Shouldn''t you?" Nubeous asked Balthazaar sarcastically while getting down from his bed.


    Even though Balthazaar was the head of the general council, there were many things that happened in grey in Nubia. Many things that he didn''t even have a clue about, the reason being his righteousness. He was known as a person who could call a stone as a stone, so Nubeous used to do most of his activities outside the radar of Balthazaar.


    He had his own set of ministers who used to do everything at his beck and call. All illegal pursuits were carried out under the nose of Balthazaar because Nubeous knew that he would object to them. Given that he was the owner of the soul ring, he had no reason to fear Balthazaar. He could have easily replaced him with anyone else who would have acted as his puppet. But Nubeous always kept Balthazaar close because of his righteousness itself.


    Even though he worked with the other ministers, he knew that Balthazaar was the one man who would even give his life in order to save him. With the soul ring no one could touch him, but without it, he was still a mortal. He knew about the promise that Balthazaar''s lineage had kept, a promise to protect him, and that was the sole reason why he had kept him close.


    But soon he wouldn''t be needing that because under the croplands of Ambracia, lied the unique metal, which when bounded with the soul stone, would become a part of his body. That would make him invincible. For ages, he had been searching for it based on the prophecy, and finally, the search had come to an end.


    He was ready to destroy Nubia for that precious metal, so the price of Ambracia was nothing for him. So he gave a look to Balthazaar, a look that was mixed with contempt and sarcasm as he awaited a response from him,


    "I will ask my men to check upon that Village. And I will check with the council regarding this activity master and I..."


    "No need... " interrupted Nubeous and then started narrating the lines from the prophecy,


    ''In the land of the forbidden, it shall be found''


    ''The soul stone it shall surround''


    "Get it now?"


    "No, master," replied Balthazaar humbly.


    "The village of Ambracia lies next to the forest of the forbidden. For ages, I thought the metal from the prophecy was underneath the land of the forbidden and we were unable to get it because of the rule of the souls that prevails there.


    "But in reality, the metal is underneath the croplands of Ambracia village. My soul stone could detect it''s power. Once I have the soul stone embedded in that metal, I will become the indestructible owner of the realm of souls. I will be indestructible forever !!!"


    Saying that he gave a victorious smile to Balthazaar, who struggled to get himself up.


    "I think you should be happy now. You don''t have to be my protector anymore. You can let go of that promise that makes you cringe every time you see my face. You will be a free man Balthazaar without the burden of the general council."


    "But I have made an unbreakable promise my master. I need to protect you even though you think you do not need my protection," said Balthazaar with a shaky voice. He couldn''t believe that his master was ready to kick him out after all these years of loyalty. Serving the people of Nubia as the head of the grand council was all that he had known and done for the entirety of his life.


    "We need young blood for Nubia. You have served us enough. And as for the promise that you have made, you can try to keep it becasue anyways nothing is going to happen to me. I have anyways survived ages and now I will survive till eternity."


    Said Nubeous and directed his hands towards the main door asking Balthazaar to leave.


    Clinging onto the arm that was still hurting him, he looked at the ungrateful man in front of him and said,


    "I will resign as the head of the general council, but let me stay with you so that I can keep your promise."


    Nubeous chuckled, seeing the determination of the old man and said,


    "Fine stay here. Do as you wish. You have my full freedom."


    "As I wish?" asked Balthazaar.


    "Yes," replied master Nubeous.


    Balthazaar paused for a while and then spoke before retiring from the Royal chamber of Iridium Palace.


    "Then I wish the metal to be extracted from the Ambracia before mid-day. Ask your goldsmith to keep his hearth ready because now God only will be able to save you if you don''t have the ring in your finger before mid-day tomorrow."

 12 The tale of the prophecy - 2

    [Author Note - Please do not forget to vote for my book at the end of the chapter. It''s new and needs your support to grow]


    .


    Balthazaar stormed out of the Royal Chamber holding his arm which was pulsating with pain right now. He crossed the corridor lined with the guards who gave him a gentle bow, but he was in no mood to respond. The flickering lights from the torches were casting humungous shadows that made the corridors look ghastly.


    But his mind was occupied with thoughts of his own.


    Crossing the third corridor, he came out of the gold-domed tower where his master dwelled in the Iridium Palace. From the corner of his eyes, he quickly glanced at the guards standing outside the main entrance to see if they were suspicious of him.


    But it was dead in the night and all the four sentries were somehow managing to keep themselves awake and standing and since he was wearing the purple robe, which meant he was from the general council, so they didn''t even dare to check on him.


    He walked for quite some time along the path lined with wild lilies and reached the south side of the palace where the horse pastures were. He turned back again to check again if someone was following him and when he ascertained the fact, he entered the pastures and went directly to the second stable and knocked on the door as gently as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    "Nicholas !!!"


    His voice was softer than a whisper as he was afraid to wake up the horses. He didn''t want any of the guards on the south-side to hear any noise as he wanted his job to be done as discreetly as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    He called again and knocked on the door slightly.


    It was dead in the night and Nicholas was fast asleep, so without having any other option Balthazaar closed his eyes and said,


    "Nicholas !!!"


    ''Thud !!!''


    Nicholas was startled to hear the voice and woke up frantically.


    "It''s me, Nicholas. Come open the door," Balthazaar said with his eyes still closed.


    A groggy and grumpy Nicholas got down from the cot and opened the door. He was too familiar with that voice, so while rubbing his eyes which were still trying to shut themselves down, he said,


    "Come on in !!!"


    Hearing his voice, Balthazaar opened his eyes and asked,


    "Were you asleep?"


    The question was quite obvious one given the state of Nicholas but that was how good Balthazaar was with his small talk.


    Ignoring his weird attempt of conversation, Nicholas went inside the stable and came back carrying a container with some slimy translucent frothy liquid. Then coming close to Balthazaar who had already made himself comfortable in his bed, he said,


    "Remove your cloak."


    And Balthazaar listened to the words of the young horse keeper without saying a word. Removing the cloak was extremely difficult this time for him and he winced a couple of times while doing so. Seeing that Nicholas asked,


    "How bad is it this time?"


    "I am not sure," said Balthazaar and finally pulled the robe out to reveal his necrotic right arm. The necrosis in his hand last time was till his elbow joint, but today it had reached up to his shoulder. It looked as if the roots of a black tree had started growing on his arm.


    "Aaahhhh.... it looks bad," said Nicholas and scrunched his face a bit. He wasn''t disgusted, but this was his usual way of expressing apathy. He was a weird little man.


    "You think?", asked Balthazaar and tried to rotate his arm a bit to see if it had spread to his back but that attempt itself tired him so much that he stopped looking. Then he shot up a look at Nicholas who was staring at his arm like he was trying to count the number of darkened lines on his skin. The old necrosis was a dark blackish-grey color that marked the death of his tissues. The new one was still blue, like the color of the vein.


    Letting out a gasp of air, Balthazaar asked,


    "Would you mind?"


    "Aah yes !!!", uttered a half-dazed Nicholas and then started applying the saliva collected from his finest horses on his newly created necrosis. With the first bit of application itself, came in a sudden feeling of relief. Balthazaar closed his eyes and leaned back a bit.


    The saliva of the horse was the only thing in the world that lessened the burning sensation that came with the necrosis. After the first coat had dried out, Nicholas applied another layer of the saliva and then went inside to wash his hands.


    After he came back, he saw that the old man had his eyes still closed. Probably he had fallen asleep. Assuming that Nicholas retired from the room and went to the tiny kitchen room to prepare something for that old man.


    They shared a weird unspoken relationship. Even though Balthazaar was the head of the general council and this boy was a mere horse keeper, Nicholas was never afraid of him. He treated him like a friend who was just older than him.


    He warmed up the leftover loaf from yesterday and started to roast some meat.


    Balthazaar had slipped inside the world of sleep but suddenly he caught a whiff of the burning meat and he opened his eyes all of a sudden.


    "What time is it?" he asked in panic and opened the window to see how far the sun had risen.


    "It is still pretty early in the morning Balthazaar," said Nicholas and brought the food on a plate and placed on the bed.


    "Eat, you look pretty frail."


    But Balthazaar didn''t even bother to look at the plate of food in front of him. Becasue right now his mind was populated with thoughts of what and how. He looked at Nicholas, who looked perfectly woke now and said,


    "I need your help with something."


    "Noooooo....." groaned Nicholas because he knew that Balthazaar was up to something. And his something was never a simple task.

 11 The tale of the prophecy

    Holding his temple in his hands, a panic-stricken Balthazaar turned towards Nubeous and asked,


    "Which village did the minister set fire to?"


    Before Nubeous could even respond, he darted another question,


    "What is the village of Ambracia? Is it the one next to the forest of the forbidden?"


    Nubeous was surprised by Balthazaar''s second question because he had ordered for this task to be done without giving any information to Balthazaar. He had particularly ensured that Balthazaar didn''t get a whiff about it.


    With a puzzled look on his face, he got down from his bed and asked,


    "How do you know about which village it was? What did the minister tell you about before I got up?"


    But ignoring his questions seeing a justification, Balthazaar asked again,


    "Dare I say, Please answer my question first master? Was it the village of Ambracia?"


    Nubeous could see a weird fear in the eyes of Balthazaar. Unable to comprehend what was going on in the mind of his lunatic council head he replied, "Yes, it is the village of Ambracia. So what Balthazaar?"


    He couldn''t hear anything after Ambracia. For a moment he felt he was going to get chocked with his own breath. Everything that he had done to save this man had been rendered vain. He cursed himself for not being able to travel back to the correct point in time. But it was too late now. His master had already done the very act that had enraged Morpheous. He had no strength to turn back the sanctity of time again. It would take him minimum a week to be able to travel again, but by then Morpheous would have finished his master.


    As his mind raced and he thought about what was going to happen next, he felt the earth underneath him shaking. He was going to fail to keep up with his promise. He would not be able to save his master from the hands of Morpheous. These thoughts hounded him so badly that his body started trembling. He slumped on the floor the next second.


    Nubeous couldn''t understand what was going wrong with that old man. Coming close to him he asked,


    "What is wrong with you?"


    ''What is wrong with me? Ask what can you do to save yourself?'' screamed Balthazaar inside his head. How could he tell him what was wrong?


    So he tried to regain his breath back and then said,


    "Nothing master. It''s the age."


    "Ahhh !!!", Nubeous chuckled and then continued.


    "Well now that you know about Ambracia, do you know what does that mean, Balthazaar?"


    Seeing the vicious smile etched on the face of master Nubeous, Balthazaar thought to himself, ''How can the man, known as the child of God be so hell-bent to obtain power that he would commit such a heinous act? How could he not even hesitate to take the lives of his own men?''


    From the time that he could remember he had seen him amassing as much power as he could with the help of his soul ring. He knew that his master lusted for power, but this time the scale of his greed was way too much for Balthazaar.


    For the spur of a moment, he even regretted keeping his promise and bringing him back alive. He closed his eyes and let a faint gasp of air escape his lips. Feigning a fake interest in his words, he replied,


    "No master !!!"


    "Well! Being the head of the general council, I think you should know what your master is up to. Shouldn''t you?" Nubeous asked Balthazaar sarcastically while pacing in his room.


    Even though Balthazaar was the head of the general council, there were many things that happened in grey in Nubia. Many things that he didn''t even have a clue about, the reason being his righteousness. He was known as a person who could call a stone as a stone, so Nubeous used to do most of his activities outside the radar of Balthazaar.


    He had his own set of ministers who used to do everything at his beck and call. All illegal pursuits were carried out under the nose of Balthazaar because Nubeous knew that he would object to them. Given that he was the owner of the soul ring, he had no reason to fear Balthazaar. He could have easily replaced him with anyone else who would have acted as his puppet. But Nubeous always kept Balthazaar close because of his righteousness itself.


    Even though he worked with the other ministers, he knew that Balthazaar was the one man who would even give his life in order to save him. With the soul ring no one could touch him, but without it, he was still a mortal. He knew about the promise that Balthazaar''s lineage had kept, a promise to protect him, and that was the sole reason why he had kept him close.


    But soon he wouldn''t be needing that because under the croplands of Ambracia, lied the unique metal, which when bounded with the soul stone, would become a part of his body. That would make him invincible. For ages, he had been searching for it based on the prophecy, and finally, the search had come to an end.


    He was ready to destroy Nubia for that precious metal, so the price of Ambracia was nothing for him. So he gave a look to Balthazaar, a look that was mixed with contempt and sarcasm as he awaited a response from him,


    "I will ask my men to check upon that Village. And I will check with the council regarding this activity master and I..."


    "No need... " interrupted Nubeous and then started narrating the lines from the prophecy,


    ''In the land of the forbidden, it shall be found''


    ''The soul stone it shall surround''


    "Get it now?"


    "No, master," replied Balthazaar humbly.


    "The village of Ambracia lies next to the forest of the forbidden. For ages, I thought the metal from the prophecy was underneath the land of the forbidden and we were unable to get it because of the rule of the souls that prevails there.


    "But in reality, the metal is underneath the croplands of Ambracia village. My soul stone could detect it''s power. My soul stone is bound to a mere ring of gold but once I have the soul stone embedded in that metal, I will become the indestructible owner of the realm of souls. I will be invincible forever !!!"


    Saying that he gave a victorious smile to Balthazaar, who struggled to get himself up.


    "I think you should be happy now. You don''t have to be my protector anymore. You can let go of that promise that makes you cringe every time you see my face. You will be a free man Balthazaar without the burden of the general council."


    "But I have made an unbreakable promise my master. I need to protect you even though you think you do not need my protection," said Balthazaar with a shaky voice. He couldn''t believe that his master was ready to kick him out after all these years of loyalty. Serving the people of Nubia as the head of the grand council was all that he had known and done for the entirety of his life.


    "We need young blood for Nubia. You have served us enough. And as for the promise that you have made, you can try to keep it becasue anyways nothing is going to happen to me. I have anyways survived ages and now I will survive till eternity."


    Said Nubeous and directed his hands towards the main door asking Balthazaar to leave.


    Clinging onto the arm that was still hurting him, he looked at the ungrateful man in front of him and said,


    "I will resign as the head of the general council, but let me stay with you so that I can keep your promise."


    Nubeous chuckled, seeing the determination of the old man and said,


    "Fine stay here. Do as you wish. You have my full freedom."


    "As I wish?" asked Balthazaar.


    "Yes," replied master Nubeous.


    Balthazaar paused for a while and then spoke before retiring from the Royal chamber of Iridium Palace.


    "Then I wish the metal to be extracted from the Ambracia before mid-day. Ask your goldsmith to keep his hearth ready because now God only will be able to save you if you don''t have the ring in your finger before mid-day tomorrow."

 12 Blocking the rage of Morpheous - 1

    [Author Note - Please do not forget to vote for my book at the end of the chapter. It''s new and needs your support to grow]


    .


    Balthazaar stormed out of the Royal Chamber holding his arm which was pulsating with pain right now. He crossed the corridor lined with the guards who gave him a gentle bow, but he was in no mood to respond. The flickering lights from the torches were casting humungous shadows that made the corridors look ghastly.


    But his mind was occupied with thoughts of his own.


    Crossing the third corridor, he came out of the gold-domed tower where his master dwelled in the Iridium Palace. From the corner of his eyes, he quickly glanced at the guards standing outside the main entrance to see if they were suspicious of him.


    But it was dead in the night and all the four sentries were somehow managing to keep themselves awake and standing and since he was wearing the purple robe, which meant he was from the general council, so they didn''t even dare to check on him.


    He walked for quite some time along the path lined with wild lilies and reached the south side of the palace where the horse pastures were. He turned back again to check again if someone was following him and when he ascertained the fact, he entered the pastures and went directly to the second stable and knocked on the door as gently as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    "Nicholas !!!"


    His voice was softer than a whisper as he was afraid to wake up the horses. He didn''t want any of the guards on the south-side to hear any noise as he wanted his job to be done as discreetly as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    He called again and knocked on the door slightly.


    It was dead in the night and Nicholas was fast asleep, so without having any other option Balthazaar closed his eyes and said,


    "Nicholas !!!"


    ''Thud !!!''


    Nicholas was startled to hear the voice and woke up frantically.


    "It''s me, Nicholas. Come open the door," Balthazaar said with his eyes still closed.


    A groggy and grumpy Nicholas got down from the cot and opened the door. He was too familiar with that voice, so while rubbing his eyes which were still trying to shut themselves down, he said,


    "Come on in !!!"


    Hearing his voice, Balthazaar opened his eyes and asked,


    "Were you asleep?"


    The question was quite obvious one given the state of Nicholas but that was how good Balthazaar was with his small talk.


    Ignoring his weird attempt of conversation, Nicholas went inside the stable and came back carrying a container with some slimy translucent frothy liquid. Then coming close to Balthazaar who had already made himself comfortable in his bed, he said,


    "Remove your cloak."


    And Balthazaar listened to the words of the young horse keeper without saying a word. Removing the cloak was extremely difficult this time for him and he winced a couple of times while doing so. Seeing that Nicholas asked,


    "How bad is it this time?"


    "I am not sure," said Balthazaar and finally pulled the robe out to reveal his necrotic right arm. The necrosis in his hand last time was till his elbow joint, but today it had reached up to his shoulder. It looked as if the roots of a black tree had started growing on his arm.


    "Aaahhhh.... it looks bad," said Nicholas and scrunched his face a bit. He wasn''t disgusted, but this was his usual way of expressing apathy. He was a weird little man.


    "You think?", asked Balthazaar and tried to rotate his arm a bit to see if it had spread to his back but that attempt itself tired him so much that he stopped looking. Then he shot up a look at Nicholas who was staring at his arm like he was trying to count the number of darkened lines on his skin. The old necrosis was a dark blackish-grey color that marked the death of his tissues. The new one was still blue, like the color of the vein.


    Letting out a gasp of air, Balthazaar asked,


    "Would you mind?"


    "Aah yes !!!", uttered a half-dazed Nicholas and then started applying the saliva collected from his finest horses on his newly created necrosis. With the first bit of application itself, came in a sudden feeling of relief. Balthazaar closed his eyes and leaned back a bit.


    The saliva of the horse was the only thing in the world that lessened the burning sensation that came with the necrosis. After the first coat had dried out, Nicholas applied another layer of the saliva and then went inside to wash his hands.


    After he came back, he saw that the old man had his eyes still closed. Probably he had fallen asleep. Assuming that Nicholas retired from the room and went to the tiny kitchen room to prepare something for that old man.


    They shared a weird unspoken relationship. Even though Balthazaar was the head of the general council and this boy was a mere horse keeper, Nicholas was never afraid of him. He treated him like a friend who was just older than him.


    He warmed up the leftover loaf from yesterday and started to roast some meat.


    Balthazaar had slipped inside the world of sleep but suddenly he caught a whiff of the burning meat and he opened his eyes all of a sudden.


    "What time is it?" he asked in panic and opened the window to see how far the sun had risen.


    "It is still pretty early in the morning Balthazaar," said Nicholas and brought the food on a plate and placed on the bed.


    "Eat, you look pretty frail."


    But Balthazaar didn''t even bother to look at the plate of food in front of him. Becasue right now his mind was populated with thoughts of what and how. He looked at Nicholas, who looked perfectly woke now and said,


    "I need your help with something."


    "Noooooo....." groaned Nicholas because he knew that Balthazaar was up to something. And his something was never a simple task.

 12 In search of Morpheous - 1

    [Author Note - Please do not forget to vote for my book at the end of the chapter. It''s new and needs your support to grow]


    .


    Balthazaar stormed out of the Royal Chamber holding his arm which was pulsating with pain right now. He crossed the corridor lined with the guards who gave him a gentle bow, but he was in no mood to respond. The flickering lights from the torches were casting humungous shadows that made the corridors look ghastly.


    But his mind was occupied with thoughts of his own.


    Crossing the third corridor, he came out of the gold-domed tower where his master dwelled in the Iridium Palace. From the corner of his eyes, he quickly glanced at the guards standing outside the main entrance to see if they were suspicious of him.


    But it was dead in the night and all the four sentries were somehow managing to keep themselves awake and standing and since he was wearing the purple robe, which meant he was from the general council, so they didn''t even dare to check on him.


    He walked for quite some time along the path lined with wild lilies and reached the south side of the palace where the horse pastures were. He turned back again to check again if someone was following him and when he ascertained the fact, he entered the pastures and went directly to the second stable and knocked on the door as gently as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    "Nicholas !!!"


    His voice was softer than a whisper as he was afraid to wake up the horses. He didn''t want any of the guards on the south-side to hear any noise as he wanted his job to be done as discreetly as possible.


    "Nicholas !!!"


    He called again and knocked on the door slightly.


    It was dead in the night and Nicholas was fast asleep, so without having any other option Balthazaar closed his eyes and said,


    "Nicholas !!!"


    ''Thud !!!''


    Nicholas was startled to hear the voice and woke up frantically.


    "It''s me, Nicholas. Come open the door," Balthazaar said with his eyes still closed.


    A groggy and grumpy Nicholas got down from the cot and opened the door. He was too familiar with that voice, so while rubbing his eyes which were still trying to shut themselves down, he said,


    "Come on in !!!"


    Hearing his voice, Balthazaar opened his eyes and asked,


    "Were you asleep?"


    The question was quite obvious one given the state of Nicholas but that was how good Balthazaar was with his small talk.


    Ignoring his weird attempt of conversation, Nicholas went inside the stable and came back carrying a container with some slimy translucent frothy liquid. Then coming close to Balthazaar who had already made himself comfortable in his bed, he said,


    "Remove your cloak."


    And Balthazaar listened to the words of the young horse keeper without saying a word. Removing the cloak was extremely difficult this time for him and he winced a couple of times while doing so. Seeing that Nicholas asked,


    "How bad is it this time?"


    "I am not sure," said Balthazaar and finally pulled the robe out to reveal his necrotic right arm. The necrosis in his hand last time was till his elbow joint, but today it had reached up to his shoulder. It looked as if the roots of a black tree had started growing on his arm.


    "Aaahhhh.... it looks bad," said Nicholas and scrunched his face a bit. He wasn''t disgusted, but this was his usual way of expressing apathy. He was a weird little man.


    "You think?", asked Balthazaar and tried to rotate his arm a bit to see if it had spread to his back but that attempt itself tired him so much that he stopped looking. Then he shot up a look at Nicholas who was staring at his arm like he was trying to count the number of darkened lines on his skin. The old necrosis was a dark blackish-grey color that marked the death of his tissues. The new one was still blue, like the color of the vein.


    Letting out a gasp of air, Balthazaar asked,


    "Would you mind?"


    "Aah yes !!!", uttered a half-dazed Nicholas and then started applying the saliva collected from his finest horses on his newly created necrosis. With the first bit of application itself, came in a sudden feeling of relief. Balthazaar closed his eyes and leaned back a bit.


    The saliva of the horse was the only thing in the world that lessened the burning sensation that came with the necrosis. After the first coat had dried out, Nicholas applied another layer of the saliva and then went inside to wash his hands.


    After he came back, he saw that the old man had his eyes still closed. Probably he had fallen asleep. Assuming that Nicholas retired from the room and went to the tiny kitchen room to prepare something for that old man.


    They shared a weird unspoken relationship. Even though Balthazaar was the head of the general council and this boy was a mere horse keeper, Nicholas was never afraid of him. He treated him like a friend who was just older than him.


    He warmed up the leftover loaf from yesterday and started to roast some meat.


    Balthazaar had slipped inside the world of sleep but suddenly he caught a whiff of the burning meat and he opened his eyes all of a sudden.


    "What time is it?" he asked in panic and opened the window to see how far the sun had risen.


    "It is still pretty early in the morning Balthazaar," said Nicholas and brought the food on a plate and placed on the bed.


    "Eat, you look pretty frail."


    But Balthazaar didn''t even bother to look at the plate of food in front of him. Becasue right now his mind was populated with thoughts of what and how. He looked at Nicholas, who looked perfectly woke now and said,


    "I need your help with something."


    "Noooooo....." groaned Nicholas because he knew that Balthazaar was up to something. And his something was never a simple task.

 13 In search of Morpheous - 2

    "Nicholas please !!!", said Balthazaar.


    Balthazaar had made him do so many odd tasks before, but he had never pleaded to him like this. Nicholas was shocked to see the look in the old man''s eyes, so inching closer towards him, he asked,


    "Are you ok Balthazaar?"


    Balthazaar took a deep breath and looked at Nicholas. He didn''t want to burden the poor mortal with the problems of his own world. So he said,


    "I am fine. Just that the toll was heavy this time. But let us not waste our time discussing it. There is something even more paramount than this and you shall help me with it no matter what."


    A hesitant Nicholas finally gave in to the old man and said,


    "Tell me what I need to do."


    Relieved by his words, Balthazaar said,


    "Take out your best horse and sprint to the village of Ambracia. You need to reach there before the men from the kingdom."


    "But why? Why I need to go to that village?", interrupted Nicholas.


    Balthazaar was slowly losing his breath. He could feel that his thoughts were getting incoherent. So he quickly pressed the index and ring finger of his right hand on Nicholas''s temple for a few seconds. As the seconds passed, the eyes of Nicholas widened with surprise.


    Moments later when he was done radiating his thoughts, Balthazaar slumped on the bed again, taking deep breaths. Every bit of energy from his body had been drained out today. Nicholas bent down immediately and gave a glass filled with water to him. Seeing him in such a pathetic state, he wanted to stay back. He wanted to take him back to his room at the palace which was far more comfortable that his stable.


    But as if he could read his mind, Balthazaar said,


    "Do not worry about me. You need to hurry. The sun is riding up in the sky and in no time the men of Nubeous will start their march. We have no time to lose Nicholas."


    "Hurry !!!"


    Nicholas nodded and then dashed towards his stable. He was a young man in his late-twenties but because of the hard work under the sun, he looked a bit aged. Even though he had a normal face, because of his weirdly curly hair and stout stance, he was deemed as an unsuitable suitor. So at an age when he should have settled with a family, he had settled with loneliness in the company of his horses.


    He wore his robes and covered his mouth and nose with a layer of cloth to prevent getting identified by anyone. He got his best racing horse out for he had miles to cover, but before starting for Ambracia, he went back to his room where Balthazaar was resting and kept the bowl containing the hose saliva.


    Then he looked at him and said,


    "Just in case."


    "I will be fine Nicholas. I should have been there with you but I have no strength left. So you need to take care of my promise. Do not fail me at any cost."


    Nicholas nodded and turned to leave, but Balthazaar held his hand with his one good arm and then said,


    "You must find him before he finds out anything. He must be angry. God forbid if something has happened to his family. You must stop him from challenging the master. You need to change the course of time."


    Nicholas looked at Balthazaar unable to understand why his promise to save the master was so important that he was ready to shed every once of his blood for it. He couldn''t understand this loyalty which triumphed the hatred. All he knew was that Balthazaar needed help. So he nodded and set out for Ambracia from the backside of the stable, away from eyes of the guards of the palace.


    Sitting on the cot, Balthazaar pinched the space between his brows for he had made the mere mortal go on a journey that could probably even prove fatal for him. But he had no other choice. He was the only man in Nubia that he had trusted with his life, with his deepest secrets.


    He had met Nicholas at the outskirts of Eresos village a couple of years back when he was at the weakest point of his life. He had just arrived there, after his first jump in the time frame. He was in acute pain. A gut-wrenching pain, which was so bad that he was howling in pain holding his arm. His father who was supposed to be there along with him was nowhere to be seen. There was no one there who could guide him.


    He had no idea how to reduce the pain and suddenly a young Nicholas arrived in front of him, from the deepest folds of the woods. He was holding the reins of his horse which became agitated after seeing Balthazaar howling.


    "Help me !!!" Begged Balthazaar looking at the young man.


    But instead of coming close, Balthazaar saw that the young man was taking a few steps back. It was then that he realized that he had taken the divine form which was scaring the young man away. The halo around him was scintillating the whole space around him.


    Nicholas had been passing through the woods when he saw the strange light coming afar and a faint howling sound. So he followed the direction from which the light was coming from and saw a weird man emitting light.


    Balthazaar grunted and managed to turn off the halo around him and said,


    "Can you bring an apothecary? I need immediate help. I shall do no harm."


    Nicholas looked at him for a while and then asked,


    "First tell me who are you? Are you a wizard? What are you doing here? Let me go away, I shall not tell anyone about what I saw or what I heard." Nicholas said and patted the skin around the neck of his horse hard, trying to make him sane.


    "Help me !!!" Balthazaar pleaded again and again.


    Even though Nicholas was dead scared of him, he somehow couldn''t ignore his plight. The hand of the man was burning in a weird manner. It looked like there was molten lava that was flowing through his veins.


    So gathering a bit of courage Nicholas asked,


    "I shall take only truth for an answer. In the name of God tell me who are you?"


    Balthazaar paused for a while and then said,


    "A fallen angel."

 14 In search of Morpheous - 3

    "A fallen what?" asked an equally frightened and surprised Nicholas.


    "Angel !!!", Balthazaar said, trying hard to get words out of his mouth.


    Nicholas kept looking at him for some time, trying to figure if that man was telling the truth. He had heard about fallen angels, but those were all fables. Never in his life, he had expected to meet one for real. He knew that angels were harmless creatures of God, but he wasn''t sure if that man was telling the truth. Unable to hide his curiosity, he asked,


    "You are lying. If you are an angel, why don''t you heal yourself? Why do you call for my help?"


    Holding the last couple of his breath, Balthazaar said,


    "Why would I lie in the name of God?"


    Nicholas stood there stupified. His heart was racing so fast that he could almost hear it''s sound.


    ''Ba-dump''


    ''Ba-dump''


    His mind told him to gallop away as fast as he could, but being a nobleman from heart, he just couldn''t leave him suffering alone. So he inched closer carefully to look at his wound which was the source of all his pain.


    But before he could say or ask anything to that strange man, he saw his eyes roll back. So he immediately rushed close to him and started tapping on his face, but he didn''t respond. Unable to understand what to do, he tried to hold his wounded arm which was burning hot.


    Misfortune was shining in front of him and he had no water with him at that moment and the nearest pond was miles and miles away. There was no time to go and fetch water or call the apothecary as it looked like he was about to pass. His pulse was almost nil. He thought hard about how to cool down his wound and suddenly out of the blue, he was struck with an idea.


    Nicholas had seen the apothecary of his village use the saliva of horses to bind the medicinal paste and use it on burn injuries. So immediately he pulled the rein of his horse and made his horse lick the wound of Balthazaar forcefully.


    He kept tapping on Balthazaar''s face continuously for quite some time.


    "Wake up !!!"


    ''Wake up for heaven''s sake !!!"


    He was scared and at the same time angry with himself for ignoring the plight of the man because of timidness and scared because if he really was an angel then he could see that he was definitely going to the purgatory for not helping an angel in need.


    His trail of thoughts was suddenly marred Balthazaar''s sudden gasp for air. Seeing him breathing again, Nicholas started patting him even vigorously.


    Within a couple of seconds, Balthazaar''s breathing came back to normal and he opened his eyes and looked at his arm. Even though a considerable amount of pain was still there, but the intensity had reduced to a great extent. The burning sensation had also come down a bit.


    That mortal man had saved him.


    "Are you feeling ok? Shall I take you to the apothecary with me? My village is just a couple of miles away," asked Nicholas with a tone filled with sincere concern.


    "You saved me. You helped me escape the pain. How did you do that?"


    "Erm... ", Nicholas hesitated at first thinking that how an Angel would react if they get to know that they have been licked by a horse.


    "My horse licked your wounds. I have seen the usage of horse''s saliva for burn injuries by the apothecary of my village. So I thought it might help you," said Nicholas, lowering his eyes.


    Balthazaar couldn''t tell that man with words, how much he felt grateful. He looked at him and asked,


    "What is your name?"


    "Nicholas. I hail from Eresos village. It''s a small village, you must not have heard about it."


    Balthazaar smiled after hearing his statement for he was the head of the general council. He not only knew about Eresos, in fact, he even knew how many ponds were there in Eresos. Without saying anything he got up and when he did, Nicholas immediately cam closer and dusted away his robes.


    ''He is a good kid,'' thought Balthazaar. But even though he was a good kid, he was still a mortal. He had to erase all the memory of this encounter from his head. So he lifted his hand with his index and middle finger stretched out, about to touch the temple of Nicholas, he pushed him and made him hide behind the giant birch tree.


    He was a tiny man but possessed quick thinking. Since he was the son of a horse keeper, he could hear the galloping sound of a horse from a mile. He could hear the sound of two galloping horses approaching that area. So he hid Balthazaar quickly, afraid that they would figure out that something was wrong with Balthazaar from his burning hand.


    "What are you doing here all alone?" asked the soldier on the horseback, while the other got down and started patting all around Nicholas to see if he was hiding something.


    "I was just lost. My horse was tired so I was taking rest for a while. I got up just now."


    Saying that Nicholas gave out a fake yawn.


    "Hurry then !!! ", said the other horseman and they both galloped ahead. It was then that Balthazaar realized that this man was trustworthy. A moment back he was ready to obliviate his memory, but now he decided not to. In the kingdom of Nubia, where even he couldn''t trust the air he breathed, this man was definitely a keeper.


    So when the men left, he looked at him and asked,


    "Would you like to be the royal horse-keeper?"


    "You mean at the kingdom?" Asked a surprised and excited Nicholas.


    "Yes !!!"


    "But will they employ someone like me? Oh wait, will you use your angelic power to convince the general council?" Asked Nicholas.


    Holding on to his arm, Balthazaar chuckled and said,


    "The head of the general council doesn''t need to convince people. People just do what he tells them to do."


    "Oh, so you know the head of the general council?" Asked Nicholas.


    Licking his lips, Balthazaar let out a faint gasp of air and said,


    "I am the head of the general council."

 15 In search of Morpheous - 4

    Bottling up the memories of the past, Balthazaar sighed and started into the blank. He had no idea how to regain his strength back. All he could do was to sit there and pray for the safety of Nicholas who had set upon the most daunting of his life ever.


    ''Clip-clippity-clop¡­''


    ''Clip-clippity-clip¡­''


    Nicholas galloped with his horse as fast as he could. He had been riding his horse for almost two hours. He could sense that his horse was getting a bit tired from the rhythm of its hooves, but he couldn''t afford to rest.


    After one more hour, he reached the forest of the forbidden. It stretched for miles in length and breadth. He was familiar with the tales associated with this forest as he belonged to Eresos village which was adjacent to that of Ambracia.


    There was a path to Ambracia that outlined the forest, but it was quite lengthy and would easily add an hour to his journey, so he decided to take the one that passed through the woods. ''It is broad daylight now. What can go wrong?'', thought Nicholas, trying to comfort himself and marched ahead.


    It was called the forest of the forbidden because it was assumed that the souls of people who couldn''t pass through the gates of the land of the dead, used to reside inside these woods. It was a hot spot of paranormal activities, so wandering into these woods at night was equivalent to digging one''s own grave.


    So Nicholas tried to focus only on the path and didn''t dare to look around for he was a bit scared to see anything out of the blue. Being friends with Balthazaar over the last couple of years, he had already known that there are things that existed around which were beyond the capacities of human explanation but he could never understand his theories, his stories about the world of God.


    He kept galloping ahead, distracting his mind with this thought and that thought when suddenly he saw someone sleeping under the shade of a giant birch tree. He decided to ignore the man and go-ahead, but to his utter dismay, his horse started slowing down and came to a halt next to this sleeping man.


    "Haissshhhh...."


    Exclaimed Nicholas and started patting horse hard. But his horse stood standstill as if it was possessed by someone.


    "Argghhhh...."


    A frustrated Nicholas got down slowly from his horse, afraid to make any sound. He didn''t want to wake the man up for he didn''t know if he was even a man. After getting down, he decided to slowly walk away along with his horse by pulling its reigns assuming that it was just tired. But to his utter dismay, the moment he held on to the leather straps to pull, the horse neighed out loud.


    Startled with the voice, Morpheous got up.


    He looked around him. Damianos was nowhere to be seen, instead, there was a man standing with a horse in front of him.


    "Who are you?", asked Morpheous, as he got up, and dusted himself.


    Nicholas looked at the man standing in front of him. He was tall, his height itself was quite intimidating for Nicholas. From his built, he looked muscular, but from the linen surrounding his waist, he looked poor.


    ''He seems poor. Must be a normal man like me,'' thought Nicholas.


    "Who are you? What are you doing inside this forest?" Asked Morpheous again.


    "Erm... I am Nicholas. I just came to looking for someone. I need to go to a nearby village but my horse just stopped galloping. Perhaps it''s tired, so I got down to help it walk."


    Morpheous craned his neck and looked at the mighty fine horse behind that man. That horse was definitely a royal breed. Its torso was quite muscular and the hair of its mane was glistening as it reflected the sunlight.


    Trying to avoid any conversations with this man, Nicholas tried to pull the reign of its horse again, but that animal didn''t budge even an inch.


    "You seem to be in a hurry," Asked Morpheous looking at Nicholas who was trying his best to make his horse move.


    "Yes, I have an important matter to deal with," said Nicholas and continued pulling the reign.


    "Stop !!!", said Morpheous and coming close to the horse and gently rubbed underneath its neck and then patted on its mane. Then looking at Nicholas he said,


    "Your horse is good to go. It''s not tired."


    Nicholas was surprised to hear his words and before he could ask anything further he saw his horse taking a step ahead, coming close to him. ''Did he just speak with the horse or do some magic?'' thought Nicholas and that spooked him a bit.


    He looked at that mysterious man walking ahead in the same direction as he was supposed to go, so climbing back on his horse as he crossed the man, he stopped and asked,


    "Where are you walking to? I can help you reach there faster?"


    But the very next moment he bit his tongue. ''What is wrong with you Nicholas? Why are you offering help to this strange man?'' He cursed himself but he couldn''t take back the words that he had already spoken.


    Morpheous looked at that man for a moment. Leaving his family he had strayed into these forests yesterday night. ''They must be searching for me. Eva must be worried.'' Morpheous thought and asked,


    "I need to go to Ambracia. Which way are you going?"


    "What a pleasant surprise? I am also going towards Ambracia. Hop on !!!" said Nicholas and then slapped his mouth. ''What is wrong with me? Why am I saying things that I do not want to say?'' He wondered and got worried as Morpheous hauled himself on the horseback.


    The moment Morphous sat on the horseback, it started galloping with a speed that Nicholas had never seen. He tried controlling the speed with the reigns, but nothing seemed to work out.


    ''Why did I dare?''


    ''Why did I even think of going through this forest?''


    Nicholas screamed from within.


    The speed of his horse was too much for Nicholas to handle. The wind had started pinching his eyes. He couldn''t look ahead anymore. It was then that he realized that the man behind him was sitting without holding on to anything. Afraid that at this speed he would probably fall back, Nicholas tried to hold the arm of the man behind him and said,


    "Hold me tight, else you might fall."


    Morpheous smiled hearing his voice and said,


    "By the way, my name is Morpheous !!!"

 16 In search of Morpheous - 5

    [Author Note - Do not forget to vote for me at the end of this chapter]


    .


    The army of the kingdom of Nubia was considered one of the best in the world. It was an extremely well-trained army, with remarkable discipline and camaraderie. But their skill set had not been put to any use since long as most of the kingdoms never dared to touch Nubia.


    But today a small section of the Nubian Army was going to probably taste a bit of blood. They shined their swords which had gathered rust inside their leather scabbards and tightened its hilt for their master Nubeous was going to address them soon.


    The armoury had gotten back its life.


    ''Clank''


    Went the swordsmen, as they practiced their moves.


    ''Shoosh''


    Went the archers, as they honed their skills to hit the bull''s eye.


    The air around them started smelling of metal as new swords were being fashioned out of the hearth that was spouting flames of fire.


    But suddenly as they heard the royal trumpet being blown, they assembled in attention. Their bodies glistened with sweat even though it was just hours after the sunrise as they had been toiling hard. But as the sound of approaching footsteps started intensifying, the air all around started freezing and in came their master. The great master Nubeous..


    "Master !!!"


    The pack of soldiers hailed him and bowed in front of him.


    Nubeous slightly lifted his hand and silence prevailed.


    "Today, I call upon you, the mighty men of Nubia, for today, is the day when we would rule over the realm of the soul. This day on you will be remembered as the makers of the new history."


    "Hail master Nubeous !!!"


    Master Nubeous raised his arm up to silence them again and said,


    "The metal has been located near the cropland of Ambracia Village. Dig up the entire cropland and bring in any metal that you find underneath. We have already burned the village down, but there might be some survivors who will fight against you. But remember, you are the Nubian Army. You shall trample anyone who stands in the way. Make me proud !!!"


    Then without waiting for even an extra second master Nubeous marched out of the armoury. As he reached near the corner of the artillery wing, he saw Balthazaar coming from the other side. He looked frail like a withered autumn leaf, but his eyes still looked sharp as ever.


    "Master !!!" said Balthazaar and bowed slightly.


    "What brings you here Balthazaar?" asked Nubeous out of curiosity.


    "I am here to tell them about some traits of the metal so that they do not waste much time. As I said, we don''t have any time."


    Hearing his reply Nubeous got a bit curious because last night also he had asked him to rush everything before mid-day. He was very well aware of how Balthazaar felt about him so he couldn''t understand why he was so eager to help him out to obtain the metal.


    "It seems more than me, you want to procure the metal as early as possible. What are your real intentions Balthazaar?" Asked Nubeous glowering at Balthazaar.


    Balthazaar looked up deep into the eyes of his master and said,


    "Becasue I seek the safety of the throne keeper," saying Balthazaar walked ahead after giving another nod to Nubeous.


    ''One more day... I need to bear with you one more day...'' muttered Nubeous to himself and walked out of the armoury and went back to his tower to find out the status of the mold that was to be used to make the body of his new ring which would encase the soul stone.


    After a few minutes later when Nubeous was inside his royal chamber he was informed that the troopers had started marching towards Ambracia. A smile etched on his face and he went towards the window to have a glimpse of the new future that was awaiting him.


    The sun had perched up high in the sky that day like it was raining gold. He looked up at the sky and chucked, for he was soon going to cloud it with a flick of his finger.


    With complete power in the soul realm, he could be the God whom people would fear and revere. With just the power of soul stone, he was invincible but with the new soul ring, he would redefine what God meant. His chuckle soon turned into a grating laugh that echoed through every grain of the building, as he imagined how his future would look like.


    But soon his smile was wiped out from his face when he saw Balthazar coming out from the armoury. He was looking the direction of the troops helplessly praying to his forefathers and praying to God, to not to agitate Morpheous, for he had seen what wrath he had brought upon. The safety of master Nubeous was the only way with which he could have a chance to bring back the power of God.


    He knelt down on the ground and with whatever remnant power he had left in his arms, he carved on the palace ground,


    "Ad astra per aspera."


    [Through adversity to the stars]


    Nubeous felt that there was something odd with the behavior of the old man that day. And in the quest of power, he became so blind that he couldn''t see that in the entire kingdom Balthazaar was the only person who was really rooting for Nubeous, but he thought otherwise.


    So he did something that changed the course of events.


    He called the keepers outside his room and said,


    "Imprison Balthazaar for a day. Put him in the north-west dungeon and make sure that nobody knows." Then taking his royal seal he placed a mark on the opposite of the right palm of one of the keeper and said,


    "No one will stop you if you show this sign."


    As the keepers left his chamber to act upon his orders, he looked outside the window and saw Balthazaar still kneeling on the ground. He let out a gasp of air from his mouth and said,


    "I will not let even a twig come in my way today."


    But little did he know that Balthazaar was the angel who was supposed to guard him ''today''.

 17 He listens to the voices - 1

    Nicholas''s heart skipped a beat. A strange fear started lurking inside that almost unmanned him. His hand which was holding on to Morpheous''s arm, a couple of seconds before, lost its grip and turned limp.


    Taking deep long breaths, he tried to recompose himself before uttering another word. He remembered what Balthazaar had asked him to do, but he didn''t expect to meet the man whom he was supposed to stall, right here in these woods.


    "Who are you supposed to meet in Ambracia?" asked Morpheous. His tone was low this time as he asked with a heavy heart, as he was pretty sure that he might not be aware of the deadly fire that had engulfed more than half of his village. Even he wasn''t sure whom he would be able to meet and who had said their adios yesterday.


    ''You.''


    ''I am supposed to meet you.''


    ''I am supposed to stop you from challenging Master Nubeous.''


    Nicholas screamed inside his head but spoke after reframing the wildness of his thoughts,


    "Erm... Erm... there was a fire in the village yesterday. So I have come to meet the Apothecary. Master Nubeous has specifically sent me to give some precious herbs. It will help to heal the burn wounds faster."


    But, Morpheous couldn''t digest what he heard.


    Nubeous was the one who was after their cropland. He had threatened them to evacuate the village without even bothering about where and how all the people of Ambracia would go. Apparently, there was something under the croplands that he desired and that meant the destruction of all the crops.


    The day before the fire, the ministers had come to give the last warning and when the villagers didn''t abide, they had to face the wrath of the fire the very night. So how could he believe that the same man whose stone-cold heart had laid the deathbed for many, was now trying to be the saviour?


    So he squeezed the reins of the horse backward and brought it to a screeching halt and asked,


    "Do you speak the truth?"


    Nicholas turned back to look at him and saw that the colour of his eyes was changing. A hint of blue was setting into his amber coloured eyes. He felt as if that faint hint of blue was trying to seek inside his soul. He could slowly feel his own eyes becoming all droopy. He jerked his head and said,


    "Yes, I speak the truth. But who are you? What is wrong with your eyes?"


    Morpheous immediately blinked his eyes and they were back being the colour of amber. He looked at Nicholas and said,


    "I told you, I am Morpheous, from the village of Ambracia."


    "Yes, I know that. But what do you do for a living?" asked Nicholas for he couldn''t believe what Balthazaar had told him. This man couldn''t be a mere pheasant because if he were then why was Balthazar so scared of this man getting angry.


    "I am a pheasant," replied Morpheous and loosened the reins of the horse again, and ran his palm on its torso. This time the horse galloped at its usual speed. As Nicholas turned ahead, he recollected everything that Damianos had told him the night before. When he had woken up he couldn''t believe if what he had heard from his Godfather was true, but slowly things were sinking in.


    Earlier he felt that he had the ability, to communicate with animals because he was emotionally invested in them. The cows and sheep of his village listened to him because he thought he grew up with them. But today when he able to communicate with a horse whom he had seen for the first time, he couldn''t help but ponder.


    Taking a deep gasp of air, he tamed his thoughts because right now he had too much information to process. That man looked suspicious, but as long as he helped him reach the village and as long as the herbs helped his men, he had no qualms.


    They both rode in silence, immersed in their own swarm of thoughts.


    Soon they reached the fork road on the outskirts of the forest and taking a left, the horse galloped on its own towards Ambracia.


    ''How could my horse turn on its own.''


    ''Is he controlling my horse?''


    ''Is he a wizard or an angel, like Balthazaar?''


    Wondered Nicholas as they traversed through the road laced with the blooms of plumeria. The fragrance of the blooms was slowly getting overpowered with the smell of ash. A faint cloud of smoke was visible from afar.


    "How bad was it?" asked Nicholas looking at the smoke which was spiraling up and disappeared in the lap of the clouds.


    "You will know when you get there," said Morpheous and took a deep breath for he himself didn''t know how bad was it. As they reached the angel oak tree suddenly Morpheous started hearing voices. Some were cries for help, some were cursing, some were asking him to take revenge, but it was all incoherent.


    He looked around but there was no one.


    As they moved further ahead, the voices started becoming louder and louder, reverberating against his ears, defeating him with every passing second.


    "Gaaahhh.... "


    Screamed Morpheous and Nubeous got scared with the way he saw him wincing in pain.


    "What happened?" asked Nicholas and pulled the reins of his horse.


    Morpheous got down from the horseback and knelt on the ground holding his head between his palms. Panic surged through Nicholas, as he saw him shuddering in pain. He looked at his body but there was no burning wound like Balthazaar used to have. He was out of his wits and as he had no idea how to help the man in front of him.


    "Are you not hearing anything?" asked Morpheous as he couldn''t understand why Nicholas wasn''t affected by those loud voices.


    "Hear what? I don''t hear anything !" replied Nicholas but he was spooked with his question and looked around.


    "Breathe !!!"


    "Remember to breathe Morpheous !!! Focus on the voices...."


    Echoed a particular voice and Morpheous started taking deep breaths. Slowly the voices started becoming clear. The pain had started to reduce.


    "Let the voices of the soul guide you !!!"


    He heard it loud and clear. This voice was familiar, for this was the voice of his Godfather Damianos, the angel who had fallen.

 18 He listens to the voices - 2

    "Morpheous !!!"


    "Morpheous !!!"


    Nicholas called him again and again and then lightly tapped on his shoulder.


    .


    "Huh...."


    Morpheous suddenly opened his eyes like he was in some dazed state. His hazel eyes had become completely blue. Taken aback Nicholas, staggered backward.


    Pointing his index finger in his direction, Nicholas said,


    "Your eyes !!! Something is wrong with your eyes !!!"


    Morpheous shut his eyes tight for a second and when he opened them again, the voices were gone. He shook his head again, and then looked around.


    Seeing the sight in front of him, his eyes crinkled with a smile that etched on his face.


    "Morpheous !!!"


    She screamed and unlocking her hand which was held by Damianos, she came running towards him and hugged him tightly.


    "Where did you go yesterday? Do you know how worried we were? Just now Damianos told that he saw you sleeping in the woods."


    "Were you going to the woods in search of me?" asked Morpheous.


    "Of course. I was scared as you always get lost without me." Then taking a step back she looked at his right arm, which was looking perfectly fine and said, "Mother and Father are really worried. Let''s go. Quick." Saying that she held his hand and tried to make him stand-up while in her mind she kept thinking,


    ''Maybe it was all just a dream.''


    ''Maybe it was a way God was helping us.''


    But she still had no explanation as how they landed up in the forest of the forbidden and how Morpheous''s hand was burning before the village was set on fire.


    Nicholas was glad to hear it as it affirmed the fact that Morpheous''s family was safe from the fire. ''Looks like I am in luck,'' he thought to himself.


    "How do you feel Morpheous?" asked Damianos as he reached close to him.


    "I feel ... I feel fine," replied Morpheous in a bit of hesitant tone seeing the smiling face of Damianos.


    "Who is this man?" whispered Eva in a hush hush tone.


    "Ah... He is Nicholas. He comes from the kingdom with precious herbs to provide to our Apothecary," replied Morpheous, and then he said looking at Nicholas, "This is my sister Evangeline, and he is Damianos, my Godfather."


    Nicholas slightly bowed his head in front of Damianos as a mark of respect for the elderly.


    "I have been sent by Master Nubeous. He personally asked me to arrange for these herbs," said Nicholas with a smile on his face, trying his best to paint a positive image of his master even though he had nothing to do with his visit.


    Damianos looked into the eyes of the man for a second, as then asked,


    "The fire had spread dead in the night in our village. It''s quite surprising that Master Nubeous sent you so early. Looks like the news of Ambracia burning has spread faster than the real fire."


    Nicholas was stunned with the remark of Damianos for a moment. "Erm... master has eyes and ears everywhere in and around the kingdom. He wishes well for his people."


    But Morpheous couldn''t take a single word of praise for Nubeous anymore. Turning towards Nicholas he said,


    "That man has no shame and ...."


    But suddenly the words got stuck in his mouth as he heard the silent voice of Damianos


    "Remember my words my son - Let the voices of the soul guide you today."


    Morpheous looked towards Damianos who gave him a gentle nod and then looking at Nicholas he said,


    "Follow us, we will take you to our apothecary."


    Saying that Damianos marched ahead and was followed by Eva, Morpheous and Nicholas.


    "Brother !!! Did you get to see the face of the mystery man who saved the life of father and mother?"


    "No," replied Morpheous.


    "Oh... Poor guy must be hurting so bad. Mother told me that his body was on fire. He spread his arms around them and protected them without caring about himself. He must be really brave. Don''t you think so brother?" Asked Eva.


    "I guess. I was next to you as you had collapsed, so I couldn''t see properly who he was," replied Morpheous and then asked, "Did you eat anything since morning?"


    "Yes, Damianos had given us nectarines this morning. He went to the neighboring village last night and collected them this morning while coming back. It was then that he found you, but he didn''t want to wake you up."


    As they walked, they crossed the first house and then the second. There wasn''t much left except for metal and rubble. Some people were scavenging through the dirt pile and some were so broken to see the last remains of their loved ones, that they couldn''t move or speak. Tear streamed faces spoke about nothing but grief. The salt from their soul was getting poured through their eyes. The sight was earth-shattering.


    Seeing the amount of devastation in front of him, Nicholas though,


    ''Why Balthazaar why? Why you want me to stop this good man? Why won''t you let him seek revenge?''


    "I cannot go further anymore," said Morpheous as he came to a sudden halt. Everything was too overwhelming for him. "I want to go to the Kingdom. I want to see him watch his people die in front of him."


    Damianos looked at calmly and said,


    "First think how you are going to defend the remaining. Help them stay safe. Revenge is secondary Morpheous."


    "Brother !!!" said Eva and clutched his hand even tighter. She had no intention of letting his brother go to fight against the monster.


    Morpheous stood there undecided, for he was unable to calm his nerves, he was unable to channel the molten lava that was burning hot inside him. And then suddenly he could hear the voices again. But this time he was prepared. Taking deep breaths he tried to decipher what the voices were trying to tell him.


    "They are coming for you Morpheous !!!"


    "They are coming for you."


    [Author Note - Do not forget to vote for my book at the end of this chapter.]

 19 Morpheous has Risen - 1

    Morpheous closed his eyes, trying to devote his full attention to those voices and seeing him flinch while closing his eyes, got Eva worried.


    "What is wrong with you, brother?"


    "Are you in pain? Is your hand hurting again?" Asked Eva.


    "You were there with him Eva?" Asked Damianos surprised.


    "Where? What are you asking about Damianos?" Eva asked Damianos and gave a mild jerk to Morpheous, and he opened his eyes.


    Damianos looked at Morpheous, and then he looked at Eva and asked,


    "You also woke up next to him near the lakeside? I mean last night?", asked a shocked Damianos with the sudden revelation.


    "Erm... Yeah... But how do you know about the lakeside?" asked a puzzled Eva.


    "I told him about it yesterday..." said Morpheous and then realized what mistake he had done.


    "Yesterday? But wasn''t Damianos at a neighboring village yesterday? Then how and when did he talk with you, brother?" asked Eva with a skeptical tone, looking at Morpheous.


    Changing the course of conversation, Damianos said,


    "Morpheous, take Nicholas and help him meet our Apothecary. Meanwhile, little Eva and I have some talking to do. Come Eva, let''s go near our favorite spot," and saying that Damianos held Eva''s hand and started walking towards the Angel oak tree.


    After walking a couple of steps, Damianos turned back and saw that Morpheous and Nicholas had already crossed quite a distance. Gauging that it was the right time to ask questions he halted and turned towards Eva.


    "What did you see near the lakeside? Can you tell em exactly what happened?"


    But Eva wanted her own answers first. So instead of answering to his question, she asked one of her own,


    "What are you both hiding from me?"


    Even though she was young, she was one of the best scholars that Damianos had seen in his life, and was way mature, than the young ones of her age. Damianos initially was hesitant as he didn''t want to burden her with the truth, but he knew that the truth of Morpheous was something that was not going to be hidden for long.


    His boy had turned twenty-five a couple of days back, and it was his time to rise. He remembered a couple of words from the prophecy and took a deep breath.


    "I am not hiding anything from you my child. I think you already know something. It''s just that you want me to stamp on your beliefs," said Damianos and looked deep into the eyes of her, trying to tap onto the secrets lying within her.


    "It''s ok, don''t hide anything from me. Everything has an explanation. Probably what you are thinking as something out of the blue also might have an explanation," and saying that he placed his index and middle finger on her forehead, just to see what was worrying that child.


    But the very next second, Damianos stepped back startled as he couldn''t believe what he saw. An involuntary shudder ran through his spine and his eyes looked blank, as if he had seen death.


    "What... What happened Damianos?" asked Eva, seeing his eyes go blank.


    "When did you... Why were you in the kingdom? When did this happen? Why didn''t you tell me before? What was written on that baton?" Damianos started heaping his questions in front of her.


    "But I haven''t told you anything. How do you about the baton?", asked Eva and started taking a couple of steps back. "I thought it was just a dream.... Don''t tell me it was not a dream...". Her breaths became haggard, and she looked at Damianos with fright filled in her eyes.


    Calming himself down, Damianos said, "Trust me Eva. Trust me when I say that I will protect your brother. Just tell me what was written on that baton." Shutting her eyes close, Eva tried hard to recollect what she had seen. Since everything happened in a flash of a second, her memory wasn''t clear and so Damianos was unable to see it.


    "It was... It was something like - ''In the end, only time shall prevail''. I think."


    "Balthazaar !!!", muttered Damianos.


    "Yes, yes... that was the name of the man holding the baton. Do you know him? He is the head of the general council," said Eva, trying to pour in as much detail as she could recollect. Then she continued, "I don''t know what that man did, but the next second, we were in the forest of the forbidden. It was like he flipped us back in time. Because everything that you see now, for me and for Brother, that had already happened. I don''t know, probably I can''t even explain to you but trust me, what I am saying..."


    "I trust you... I understand what you are saying Eva," said Damianos looking into her eyes.


    "But how could you know what had happened? Did you just touch my forehead and read my mind? I thought the only person who had magical powers was Master Nubeous but then happened Balthazaar and now... Now you...", said Eva and looked at Damianos. "What are you hiding Damianos? How do you know Balthazaar?"


    Taking a deep breath, Damianos looked at Eva and said,


    "I know him... because we share the same father Eva."


    "No.... what are you saying Damianos? You are a man... just like us. Aren''t you? Just like me, just like bro...". Her words halted before she could say the same about her brother. Looking into the eyes of Damianos she asked, "Tell me, he is like us right?"


    Taking a deep breath, Damianos asked her, "Do you remember the prophecy of soul realm that I taught..."


    "Yes, I do," and saying that she started narrating...


    ''The bolt of death,


    Will perch up in the sky.


    Oh, the suitor of death,


    The throne you would decry,


    The son of God will Rise.....''


    And she halted and couldn''t dare to finish it.


    .


    Damianos looked at Eva and said, "The son of God has risen !!!"

 20 Morpheous has risen - 2

    "My brother is ...."


    Words just curled inside her mouth. Even though she had herself seen his might at the coliseum, even though everything that had happened without an explanation made sense, she still couldn''t fathom that her brother was the chosen one.


    Inching close to her, Damianos gave a pat on her head and asked,


    "Still worried about him?"


    Looking up at Damianos she said,


    "Can''t you see why? Can''t you see his pain? He is still struggling alone with what is happening to him. What if he is not the chosen one, and he suffers?"


    "He has always been the chosen one my child," said Damianos and taking a deep breath he continued, "I have always known that he was the chosen one, because I have been sent here to look after him. I have been waiting for all these years for him to rise, but little did I know that God had different plans."


    "No Damianos, No. God has given us a chance to re live that time. Maybe he doesn''t want us to commit those same mistakes. I had lost mother and father, I had lost you and mad in the fire of revenge brother had challenged Nubeous for a duel. But now we are here, we are safe. Maybe it''s a way of God to tell us that there is an alternate life, a better life than all this revenge and fights and bloodbath," said Eva with tears streaming down her cheeks.


    "But he is the son of God Eva. He was born with a purpose. He has already been risen, but just that he doesn''t remember. He doesn''t know what''s hidden inside his heart, unaware of what he can do. The purpose of his life is way beyond us, way beyond this realm," said Damianos and hugged Eva who had been sobbing continuously.


    "But then who will protect him? Who will take care of him?"


    With a hint of smile on his face Damianos replied,


    "The protector needs no protection my child. He has angels looking after him." And Damianos flapped open his wings and surrounded Eva with it.


    Looking at his wings in astonishment Eva asked, "You are one of them? You are one of the angels?" and Damianos just nodded and wiped away her tears.


    She wrapped her arms tight around Damianos shedding away her hidden fears as she whimpered. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but here eyes remained open as her mind was still tangled in thoughts.


    Softly patting her head, Damianos let out a gasp of air, but he still couldn''t understand, as how this little girl remembered everything. It should have been erased from her memory as she fell back in time.


    He kept patting her head till her sobs had been quietened out and said,


    "We will look out for him Eva. I will train him to use his powers. You will see, in no time your brother will become the protector of this world." As nodded in his embrace, he said, "Come, let''s help our people. They need us now more than ever."


    As they walked back towards their village, Eva asked, "Why are your wings burnt and broken? Who did this to you?"


    Taking a deep breath, Damianos smiled looking at her and said, "I am a protector remember?" Eva heard him say those words and then thought for a while before asking, "So was it you? The strange man who protected my parents from the mouth of fire? The mystery man whose face nobody could recognize !!!"


    "No my child, it was your brother. I was just trying to shield him because I thought he needed my protection, because I thought he has still not risen," Damianos said and continued walking.


    "What do you mean by he doesn''t need your protection? He would have burnt himself if it wasn''t for you," uttered Eva restlessly.


    "Are you forgetting the prophecy Eva? Have you forgotten what you saw at the coliseum? Didn''t you see him survive the Bolt of death? The soul stone was destroyed in an attempt to kill him, and you still think that he needs protection from mere fire? "


    "Yes he does because you haven''t seen the way his hand was burning. You have not seen the way he was withering in pain. "


    "Calm down my child. It is just the beginning. He is like a newborn now. He needs to learn a lot to reach his full potential. What you saw at the coliseum was the birth of the biggest miracle that the world has ever seen." there was a sense of pride that reflected from the face of Damianos as he spoke about Morpheous and why not. He was like his progeny who was going to soon going to free the world from atrocities.


    They walked and reached the area near the pond where the apothecary was treating the villagers who was suffering from burn wounds. Nicholas and Morpheous were both giving him a helping hand along with other villagers who were unhurt.


    Eva''s parents Leonidas and Nefeli were also there, tending to the people without even bothering about their house or croplands.


    Morpheous made a concoction out of the herbs brought by Nicholas along with the medicinal leaves provided by the Apothecary and started applying it on the wounds of the people. With every single application of it, people yelled and cried for it stung bad.


    With a worried expression he looked at Nicholas, who was helping people with water.


    "Give it some time to settle in Morpheous. It will sting but give a cooling effect later."


    Taking a deep breath, he kept applying the medicine with a heavy heart. Every single cry that he heard was piling up the anger within him. Right at that moment he wanted to make Nubeous feel the same amount of pain that his people were going through.


    As Damianos approaching the area, he came close to Morpheous and asked him,


    "What did the voices tell Morpheous?"


    Morpheous closed his eyes for a second and then looking at Damianos with a worried expression on his face he said,


    "Death is coming to Ambracia soon !!!"


    "Men are going to rain blood on the land of Ambracia !!!"


    [Author note - Please do vote for me now as that will help in increasing the visibility of my book. Your kind support is appreciated.]

 21 Eons and Eons of years ago - 1

    Eva, who was standing next to them, looked at both of them suspiciously and asked, "Whose voices are you talking about brother? And who is coming to Ambracia?"


    Morpheous looked at her and then asked, "If I tell you something to do right now, then would you do it without asking a question? Would you run far away from everything by trusting my words?"


    "I would do anything for you, brother! But can you tell me what is wrong now? Damianos has told me about everything. I know who you are, but before everything you are my brother. Running away from everything means running away from you." Tears welled up in her eyes again as she said those words.


    "You told her? Why would you do that Damianos?" asked Morpheous with an agitated tone as he never expected him to burden her sister. He himself was having a hard time digesting what he had learned about himself.


    Damianos kept the same calm and placid expression on his face and said, "She needs to know. I don''t know why but I have a feeling Morpheous that she needs to know." He then looked at her because she was only person that he had known who could remember everything after a time spin.


    "It''s ok brother. I will support you with your conquests, but promise me that you would be telling me about everything. Don''t hide away from me. Don''t distance me just because the world needs you because I need you more," and saying that Eva jumped to hug her brother.


    Morpheous took a deep breath feeling helpless because the only reason he wanted to push her away was because he couldn''t afford to see her pay the price for his own existence. An existence that was a boon or bane, wasn''t clear to him yet.


    Holding her in his arms, Morpheous looked at Damianos and then said, "You didn''t answer me Damianos. What am I missing out here? What are the voices telling me?"


    "What voices are you talking about?" asked Eva craning her neck slightly.


    "The voices of the souls !", answered Damianos calmly after looking around and ensuring that no one was close enough to hear them out.


    "You can hear the souls? Is that what keeps hurting you, brother?" asked Eva and pulled herself down.


    "It did earlier but doesn''t hurt me anymore now. I am learning to hear them at my own will. But that is secondary." Then turning towards Damianos Morpheous continued, "What I am asking is, can I trust these voices? These men, are they from the kingdom? What is Nubeous really after?"


    Taking a deep breath Damianos said, "To understand what Nubeous is after, you need to understand what happened back in the land of Vanaheimr."


    "Vanaheimr? Where is that?", asked Eva.


    "Vanaheimr. Also known as - ''The land where they belonged'', was the kingdom where God prevailed. There was an ethereal feeling to this place. The terra firma was lined with scented Geraniums which covered the ground like a plush red carpet. The trees grew so big, that they almost touched the sky. Everything beautiful and magical for it was the land carved by God himself.


    "In that land of God, existed seven flag bearers of the almighty, also known as demigods amongst the people. God had conjured the power of the elemental and had created them with his own divine hands. He had endowed upon them, a unique power each, based on their strengths and capabilities of their mind.


    "He observed them, as they flourished and enhanced their power under his guidance. He honed their individual skills to a level such that no power in the universe could be pitted against them. His ultimate goal was to make all of them individually invincible against any dark power.


    "Each one of the seven demigods was equally virtuous, righteous and powerful in their own ways. Each of them worshiped and revered by the people of Vanaheimr for the powers they possessed.


    "With the passage of time, God decided to divide his land into eight more different lands so that he could have Nine Worlds. He wanted his seven successors and his angels to take care of these newly created eight worlds, so that he could channel his energy and his time, for the benefit of the multiverse. He wanted to pass the reigns of these realms to the demigods and retire peacefully. So day after day, as the demigods slowly started exponentiation of their powers, God started preparing Vanaheimr for the division.


    "So when the D-Day arrived, he conjured all his power and fractionized the land of Vanaheimr and created the Nine world - Asgard, ¨¢lfheimr, Midgard, J?tunheimr, Svart¨¢lfaheimr, Niflheim, M¨²spellsheimr, Nieavellir and Vanaheimr. He assigned a demigod each to the divided lands. And thus the world of Enneagon was created - The land of Nine Worlds."


    Damianos paused for a while to check if they were still with him and seeing that he had finally paused, Morpheous asked,


    "So right now we are a part of this Nine world?"


    "Yes, my son, we are," replied Damianos.


    "Which one?", asked Morpheous again.


    "We are a part of Nieavellir - the Realm of the Soul, which Nubeous renamed after his own name as Nubia."


    Then Damianos continued his story.


    "The day when God divided Vanaheimr, he became weak as he had channeled all his energy to create the new world. Each of this world had something unique. Like the land of Nubia has the power of the souls. All the living souls who wander in the multiverse are cast away automatically to Nubia. But as they haven''t passed through the gates of death, they still have the soul energy remaining in them which can be channelled using a guide.


    "For each of these worlds, God had created a guide that was given to the demigods like for the realm of soul the guide was a soul stone embedded in an ingot of the soul metal that was cast into a ring. God gave the guides to his demigods in the hope that they would channel the power of the realms using it and rule the world in a manner that he had taught them. But alas !!! That was the biggest mistake that he did."

 22 Eons and Eons of years ago - 2

    "Why? What happened Damianos?", asked an eager Eva, as she did not like where the story was heading to. She could sense that something dark happened.


    Closing his eyes, Damianos recollected the events that had been told by his ancestors and Eva could see that his appearance turned grim. He opened his eyes but Eva could see that he was bothered just by recollecting the memories.


    ''How bad was it?''- thought Eva in her head as Damianos continued.


    "It was a mistake because God couldn''t see the greed sprouting in the hearts of his demigods. Few of them had been infested upon by evil.


    "Evil that made them hungry for power, so much so that they didn''t even bother revolting against the very man who had created them."


    "Was it Nubeous?" Morpheous asked.


    Damianos paused his narration and nodded. "Yes, he was. He was one of those who didn''t hesitate to turn against their own father."


    Morpheous could see that just the memories of the events rendered Damianos in the state of vexation. His perennial calm face had the tremors of anger. Biting his lips in fury, he said,


    "Those fools thought that if united, their powers could be lethal. They thought that they could replace God. So they ganged up together and hatched a plan to rule the Nine Worlds. They did everything in so much secrecy that even God couldn''t find out what was going on behind him. And how could he? He trusted them blindly. His heart had so much love for them that he had shed every ounce of his power to give them a world where he had put his very soul.


    "That unfortunate night when even the creatures of the night were asleep, those Satan followers hatched a plan to cast a spell on him as he was weak. But heavens had a different plan. One of the angels heard about it and immediately informed God.


    "And that day Morpheous, that unfortunate day God had cried. He couldn''t believe that his own blood was turning against him, engulfed in greed. That night was called the night of death. For that night can never be forgotten from the pages of history. That was the night when greed overtook every last remnant of goodness from the surface of heaven. A moment before the sky looked fetching, lined with the stars but in the very next it was covered with the ink of darkness. A darkness that portrayed the grief in his heart.


    "Just seconds away from being overthrown by his own creation, God conjured whatever remaining powers he had that night and tried to destroy the guides of each realm so that they could never attain the absolute power. But that last act of God, took away everything from him, because when he cast the spell, his heart was in pain. So much pain that it turned his heart into stone.


    His powerless body lied there in the hands of the angel who had come to inform him about the evil intentions of the demigods. Before going into the sleep of eternity, God blessed to angel and said,


    "You shall take the task to bring back the glory of Vanaheimr. You shall ..."


    Damianos voice choked as he said the last words of God.


    Then looking at Morpheous and Evangeline, he said, "And thus departed the soul of our father."


    Damianos closed his eyes, trying to suppress the pain that was there in his heart. God had created his forefathers. A lineage of angels who were each blessed with a celestial power to act as a protector for the demigods. But because of that unfortunate incident a few of the angels randomly fell from the heaven of Vanaheimr. Damianos forefather was one of them. And because they fell, they always had limited powers and a strange curse that always lurked upon them and took their lives.


    "I want to see my father again Morpheous. I want to see God resurrected again. I want to keep the promise my forefathers had made to God. To be honest, I don''t know why you are the chosen one but as per the prophecies you are. My father asked me to guard you and told me that you were the one who could bring back the glory of Vanaheimr.


    "I trust the words of my father and I know that you can do it Morpheous."


    Damianos said his words and looked with hope filled in his eyes.


    "Help me go back to Vanaheimr, Morpheous. Help me see my father again. Help to free this world from the shackles of these satanic forces."


    Morpheous looked at Damianos and then looked at Eva. They both looked at him like he was a Messiah for them.


    "But what if, I am not the one from the prophecy?" Morpheous asked, doubtful of his own abilities. Damianos looked and Eva and thought,


    ''If only you could remember the fight at the coliseum. If only you could remember that even a guiding soul stone couldn''t harm you,'' thought Damianos and sighed.


    "But brother, I think you don''t remember that the night before...."


    But cutting the words of Eva, Damianos said, "My father can never be wrong Morpheous. They had waited for your arrival for ages and now that you are here, it my duty to help you rise."


    "But look at me, I don''t posses the power to cast any spell. How can I fight against these demigods who have these supernatural powers?" he said and shrugged his shoulders.


    Damianos face was lined up with a faint smile as he heard Morpheous doubt himself.


    "Then how can you hear what the souls are speaking when even I cannot? How can you communicate with living beings without saying a word? You think I saved you from the fire and the fallen roof. But Morpheous, right now you do not need my protection because you are the protector of this soul realm.


    "Look around Morpheous, just look around...


    "Do you think just some herbs can heal people?" said Damianos and his face reflected a new calm.


    Hearing the words of Damianos, he turned around. The sight behind him was surprising. He could see the people whose wounds he had touched with his hands, resting peacefully as if pain had left their body.


    "It must be the herbs !!!" said Morpheous as that was the most logical explanation in his head, but seeing Damianos smiling without saying a word, he was forced to re-think.


    "Was it me? What have I done?" muttered, Morpheous.


    "You have used the power of the souls to heal them my child !!!"

 23 We fight !!!

    "But how could my touch heal them Damianos?"


    "I don''t even know how to use the power of the souls !!!" Morpheous spoke with an evasive tone to which Damianos exploded.


    "You think all this is just coincidence? Do you think for the past twenty-five years I have been guarding you for nothing? You cannot dare to be meek, not after when you have risen !!!"


    "I have risen?", questioned Morpheous.


    "Did you forget the prophecy that I told you about? Did you forget what I had taught you in the forest that night? Have you forgotten about it? Like, all of it?" repeated Damianos incredulously.


    Eva looked at Damianos alarmingly because she had never seen him getting angry. The Damianos she knew was a perennial calm ocean. Little did they know that in the bosom of the calm and tranquil ocean, lied a storm buried for ages. And today they could see just a glimpse of the storm on his face.


    Morpheous wanted to be the saviour that Damianos was looking for, he wanted to be the one to create the uproar against the atrocities that Nobeous was spelling out. He could feel that he was a changed man, he could feel like he was reborn, but he still was in the benign state of realizing his power. He wanted to scream out at the top of his lungs and tell Damianos how he felt about it.


    But then he saw the flushed face of Damianos. For the first time, he saw his eyes leaking an isolated tear.


    "I don''t want to deceive you Damianos. That''s all I wanted to convey. I didn''t mean otherwise," said Morpheous and moved close to him. He was about to say something more when Eva asked him,


    "We all have faith in you. But don''t you have faith in yourself brother?"


    Given that she had already seen how he had defeated Nubeous once with the flick of his sword, she was confident that her brother could easily take down others. She had attempted earlier to tell him about it but Damianos had blocked her from divulging that piece of memory which Morpheous had lost.


    "Becasue didn''t you hear about the story from Damianos Eva. God had created those guides and had destroyed them. But the soul ring wasn''t destroyed. Nubeous is still in possession of that ring and that makes him invincible. How can a mortal like me fight against a demigod who is invincible?"


    A small gust of wind flew by and Morpheous could hear the voices again,


    ''The guide stays destroyed.''


    ''It is the guide that he seeks.''


    The voice was faint and barely perceptible, but Morpheous could distinctly decipher it. He could feel as if that faint voice was communicating with him. Closing his eyes, he asked,


    "Is the destroyed guide here? In Ambracia?" and waited in silence in the hope to get an answer.


    ''The men are coming to seek the remnant of the guide.''


    ''There is no time to seek answers now.''


    And just like that, like a faint breeze, the voice disappeared.


    Morpheous opened his eyes and looked at them both. His eyes gleamed with a new hope. That man who minutes before sounded dejected like a soldier who had accepted his defeat even before going to the war, radiated a sense of hope without a word or sense of exultation.


    "I know what Nubeous is after..."


    "He is not invincible anymore ..."


    He said and looked at Damianos who was confounded with the sudden change in his demeanor, and he could very well guess that the souls were helping him out.


    Taking a deep gasp of air Damianos looked up at the sky. The sun was broiling, adding to the discomfort of the men suffering from burn injuries. He prayed to heaven to have mercy on the people of his village, as he knew that evil was approaching soon, the voices had already told Morpheous about it.


    Looking at Damianos who seemed lost in his own world of thoughts, Morpheous gave out a faint smile, which possessed eternal reassurance, a promise that he was not going to be the one that backs out.


    Seeing him able to tame his fears, Damianos''s heart unfurled with pride, with hope. But that happiness didn''t last long as they saw Jerome coming running towards them. He was gasping for air and could only speak incoherent sentences.


    "Kindom men"


    "Crops destroyed"


    "Killing people"


    "Help him Morpheous !!!" commanded Damianos, to which Morpheous immediately responded and inched close to Jerome. He lifted his palm and he could hear Daminaos instructing him from behind - "With the index and the middle finger, try to read his mind."


    "My what?", blurted Jerome, but before he could move back, Morpheous had already placed his fingers on his forehead. At first, he faced some resistance from his thoughts and he flinched.


    "Focus !!!", said Damianos with a pitch that was two-tone higher than his usual.


    Morpheous closed his eyes tight and channel all his attention to read the mind of his friend and this time, his memories caved in. They started opening in front of Morpheous like an open book. He was amazed at first, for it was his first time reading the mind of a human being. A faint smile had tethered on his face, which soon disappeared as opened the pages of his recent memory.


    He opened his eyes but his lips didn''t utter a word. His amber sun strained eyes gazed ahead in distance. A faint line of perspiration lined his upper lip and his brows and he spoke,


    "The men from the kingdom have arrived and are digging up our croplands. They are in search of the ingot for the soul stone and anyone who is resisting is being silenced."


    "Are any of our men..."


    "We have lost two of our men already," said Morpheous finished Damianos''s sentence.


    "What is happening here?" Jerome asked all perplexed, as he couldn''t get the fact straight as to how Morpheous could know about something that he had seen.


    "Anyways are we going to fight them or surrender? We have no men, no resources Morpheous. What do we do? Should we beg for mercy?"


    Angry that he was, that they all were, he was tempted to say something worse, but somehow he tamed his tongue to remain in silence and just uttered those two words,


    "WE FIGHT !!!"

 24 The men from kingdom - 1

    Jerome sat down miserably on a stone next to him as if Morpheous had mocked him with his words. Mighty that is sounded, but hollow from within. Neither did it make him feel exhilarated nor assured. He looked up at Morpheous and with a scornful voice he asked,


    "We fight?"


    "We fight with what Morpheous? Our bare hands?"


    "I thought you would speak something wise, but it looks like the relentless heat has started to confuse your mind."


    Even though Jerome was spewing words of anger, the face of Morpheous stayed the same calm as it was before. He looked at Jerome and asked,


    "What are we, Jerome? What is our identity?"


    Jerome looked at Morpheous in disbelief for he wasn''t expecting him to ask such a question. There was a grave seriousness in his tone and that made him answer, "farmers of Ambracia."


    "Then what is cropland to a farmer ?" asked Morpheous with the same grave yet, benevolent face of his.


    "Erm.... Everything !!!", answered Jerome with a bit of hesitation, but that answer was everything that Morpheous was looking for.


    With a smile on his face that made the corner of eyes crinkle. Morpheous asked,


    "So when are you going to lose everything, won''t you fight back with your bare hands Jerome?"


    Jerome continued looking at him with his mouth open. He indeed had no answer to his question and from the expression on his face, Morpheous could deduce that he had conceded. But convincing only Jerome wasn''t enough when they were going to face the men from the kingdom.


    So giving the bowl of concoction that he was still holding in his hand to Eva, Morpheous looked at Damianos who gave him an assuring nod and said,


    "You do what you think is right. The voices of the soul will guide you."


    Taking a few steps up along the stone-lined path, Morpheous hauled himself up to stand on the top of a stone wall which had almost turned greenish becasue of the moss covering around. There were around thirty to thirty-five people around the pond, tending to the wounds of the ones who were injured. And out of them around twenty were men who could come along with him to fight.


    So, taking a deep breath, he addressed them,


    "My men from Ambracia. The hour of peril has again struck on us for the men from the kingdom have come to destroy our croplands. We may not have the privilege of an armory, but what we do have is our honor. An honor that will not bow down in front of these vile men."


    But a sudden fear was seen visible on the face of the people.


    They had seen the wrath of yesterday night, they were now familiar with the reach of Nubeous. They had done the mistake of offending him once by bot agreeing to give the croplands, and the penalty was heavy. So they were in no way ready to pay the price again.


    There was a weird commotion that spread around the area and Morpheous could sense the reluctance amidst the people as his eyes roved around. They were not ready to fight back. One of the men who was tending to his injured wife said,


    "They took our houses, they burnt our crops. I do not dare to stand up against them this time. I am not ready to have my body in a funeral hearse, Morpheous. I suggest let''s take shelter in a nearby village. We can search for an alternate mode of survival. Shedding anymore blood over this is futile."


    He could see reluctance on everyone''s face. Even Erastus didn''t say a word and turned his back, evading the call of Morpheous.


    The face that had become all fierce and oozed out confidence, was now lined with worry seeing his own men ready to conceded defeat without putting up a fight. But he couldn''t blame them. How could he when every ounce and every thread of hope had been burnt to ashes.


    But then he saw Jerome getting up. He turned towards him and said,


    "I will fight with you. I have got your back !!!"


    And that simple coherent backing came in like a shower of hope, even though it was from a man who could barely lift a boulder. Morpheous smiled looking at his friend and said,


    "And I have got yours !!!"


    Even though they had no one else to support them, they had already won the first step to victory for they had faith in each other.


    "Take care of the people in need," said Morpheous looking at Eva as he got down from the stone wall, to march towards their croplands. A free tear coursed down the cheeks of Eva. It was not a tear of fear for she knew that her brother would return victorious, but it was a tear of happiness to see that her brother had finally risen to his true self.


    As they started walking, Jerome turned back and saw Damianos coming along with them. So he halted and said,


    "We got this Damianos. You stay with the people." He was worried that the old man would be the first one to get hurt.


    But Damianos smiled and said,


    "We are in this together," and thus marched the trio of survivors who were determined no to yield their land to the men from the kingdom.


    Just when they were about a couple of meters away from the croplands, Damianos said,


    "Wait !!!"


    The pace of both Morpheous and Jerome halted and they saw Daminaos going towards a small bush. When he came back from there, in his hands were four metallic balls, sized as big as an orange.


    "Use these to blind the enemy. It has coal dust in them."


    "From where did you get these?" asked Jerome.


    "Is that really important now?" asked Damianos and looked at Jerome with an annoyed expression, that quietened his curiosity in an instant.


    Then they started moving carefully, hiding behind the trunks of the trees which was lining the path. The sight in front of them was something that could scare anyone.


    It was not just a mere huddle of men, but a troop that had more than three hundred people, who were continuously digging and destroying the cropland. There were men guarding the ones who were digging, making sure that no one could interrupt their pace and when Morpheous turned to the right, he could see the sword of a soldier colored in hues of crimson.


    It wasn''t ordinary blood. It was the blood of his men.


    The sight of blood filled him with a rage that he couldn''t contain. Holding on to the metal ball given by Damianos, he turned back and said,


    "I am going first, Jerome."


    "Morpheous stop. More men have arrived. More than what I had seen before. What if they don''t listen to you. Damianos say something to him !!!" urged Jerome in a hushed desperate voice.


    But Daminaos had nothing to say. He just closed his eyes and prayed to his lord and raised his hands to cover Morpheous''s head to pronounce a benediction !!!

 25 The men from kingdom - 2

    Jerome kept looking at Damianos in astonishment for he expected the old man to put some words of wisdom into the mind of his friend, but alas, he was the one who was encouraging him to take a plunge into the depths of fire.


    Even though Morpheous was determined, even though he was assertive about his choice, he still had that tinge of worry in heart for his sister Eva. He looked at Jerome and said,


    "You stay here until I ask you to come out. Let me try to reason with them first. And in case ..."


    "In case what Morpheous?" asked Jerome.


    "In case something bad happens, then take all the men from the village and go to..."


    Before he could complete his sentence, he saw Nicholas coming running towards them. He was panting for breath. He wanted to walk along with them but there were still a few people with burn injuries who needed his help near the pond. Torn between what he wanted to do and what he ought to do, he decided to stay back and help them.


    Taking a queue from them, he also hid behind a tree as fast as he could and rested his head on the trunk for a while.


    "Why are you here?" asked Morpheous.


    "I am here to help you out," said Nicholas and lifted his robe to show a long dagger wrapped in a leather parchment.


    "But you are from the kingdom. Why will you help us out?", enquired Jerome with non-polite aggression to which Damianos cornered his eyes.


    "I have seen what you people have been through and in no way this is fair. So let me be the person who goes ahead and talks with them. Some of them would know me as I am the royal horse-keeper. I will try to persuade them..."


    "There is no time Nicholas, they have already moved towards the croplands which were unaffected by the fire. If destroyed, then we have no means of survival," spoke a restless Morpheous.


    "Then come along with me. We will try to talk with them together and if the worse happens... we will see what we can do," said Nicholas and took out a lavender-colored flower from his pouch, and continued, "Crush this in your palm and inhale it. It will help us against the coal dust ball, in case you happen to use it."


    Morpheous looked at Damianos who was a bit skeptical about this recent development. But there was no time to spare. So Morpheous immediately took that flower and crushed it in his palm and inhaled it. It was an utterly pungent-smelling flower. The smell was so hideous that it was like an unbearable stench. It was a rare species of Foxglove flower which grew only along the foothills of the kingdom.


    As he inhaled the crushed flower a hint of guilt spread on the face of Nicholas for he hadn''t given a remedy for suffocation against the coal dust, instead he had given a silent poison that would slowly affect his circulatory system. Had it not been a task given by Balthazaar, Nicholas would have never dared to poison the man who was nothing but a benevolent soul.


    ''I am definitely going to hell,'' thought Nicholas and took a deep breath, for he momentarily felt a pang of overbearing guilt burdening his heart.


    Crinkling his nose for a moment, Morpheous looked at Nicholas and asked, "What about you? Aren''t you going to inhale one?"


    To which Nicholas took a deep breath and replied, "I just had one, and I thought you should be the one to use it."


    Morpheous was moved by his gesture and so was Damianos. He looked at Nicholas and said, "Ambracia will remember this sacrifice of yours."


    "Follow me now."


    To which Nicholas silently obeyed and started walking behind him. They were hardly four to five meters away from the cropland area when a soldier spotted them.


    He screamed at his fellow archers.


    "Aim."


    Morpheous immediately raised his hands up in the air indicating his submission, as he first wanted to talk with them. Seeing Morpheous raising his arms, Nicholas also followed suit and walked towards the soldier who was giving the command.


    "Halt!" ordered the soldier, seeing that the approaching men were already in a submissive mode.


    Before Morpheous could start speaking, Nicholas said,


    "Do not harm us. I am from the kingdom." and he lifted his robe slightly with one hand to show the dagger. The hilt of the dagger was ornated with the symbol of Nubia and it was evident that it had been forged in the royal armory. Seeing that the head soldier relaxed his tone a bit and asked,


    "Who are you and why do you dare to interrupt us in our mission?"


    "We are not here to interrupt," said Nicholas and then continued, "We are here just to express a humble request. I am the royal horse keeper at the kingdom."


    "Speak !!!" ordered the soldier.


    Nicholas hesitated a bit but Morpheous gave him a gentle nod and thus he continued,


    "You have already dug up the burnt cropland area in search of the ingot and now you are moving to the areas which were not affected by yesterday''s fire. But these remaining croplands are the only source of food and money that the men from this village have."


    "So?" asked the soldier with an irritated tone.


    "So we are here to request you to wait just a couple of days, till they can harvest it. After that, you can dig up the land and search for the ingot."


    "Hmm...fine you may leave now", mumbled the soldier.


    "So you are going to leave the croplands intact?", asked a beaming Nicholas as he couldn''t believe that he was able to persuade them so easily.


    "Leave the croplands it seems !!!" chuckled the soldier and then he drew his sword out from his scabbard and looking at them which his murderous eyes he said,


    "Look at my sword you fool. Does it look like I am going to leave the croplands? I am not returning back to the kingdom unless I have that ingot in my hands. I do not care if I have to destroy every inch of land that you have."


    His threatening voice echoed in the field.


    Nicholas was rattled in fear seeing the sword in his hands but Morpheous on the other hand burned in rage. Drinking up the insult that was thrown on his face, he said,


    "Then you shall never go back to the Kindom."

 26 Fallen wings !!!

    Closing his eyes, Balthazaar let his mind wander. He went back into the lanes of memory where his father had told him about Vanaheimr - ''The land where they belonged''. On his deathbed, he had taken his hands in his own and had told him,


    "If the will of the God prevails, then the guardian of the throne will help us to regain the glory of Vanaheimr, where there is no afterlife, no present, and no past. That''s the land where you can meet me again my son, in flesh and blood."


    Breathing out a deep gasp of air, Balthazaar looked up at the sky, trying to read what else was in store for the day. Then lowering his gaze he looked at the patch of land, where he had scrawled upon - ''Ad astra per aspera'', with his index finger. As he focused his gaze on it he could slowly feel the letters gleaming as if they were coming to life.


    He extended his hand to touch but was distracted by the footsteps and turned back.


    "What are you here for?", asked Balthazaar, looking at the keepers of Nubeous.


    "We have orders to take you to the prison cell," replied one of the keepers in a meek tone because even though Nuboeus had ordered them to imprison Balthazaar, he was still the head of the general council.


    Balthazaar looked at them for a moment and then turned counter-clockwise to look at the tower. He could see Nubeous standing next to the window, leaning on one side of the wall and seeing the unapologetic look on his face, Balthazaar muttered,


    "I wish I could give you some wisdom."


    He then closed his eyes once again in silent prayer and got up. There was no expression in his eyes. They looked blank and distant. Neither anger nor disappointment reflected on his face for he had now realized the inevitable could never be avoided. The very man, whom he brought back from the mouth of death, was now ready to throw him away just because of his sheer ignorance.


    Seeing Balthazaar not saying a word, the worried keeper showed the opposite side of his right palm to Balthazaar, and said,


    "Master has made us do this !!!"


    Balthazaar could see a grave sense of guilt in the eyes of that keeper and his mind pondered,


    ''When these mere mortals can distinguish from right and wrong, why Nubeou, you - the son of God can''t figure it out?''


    "I shall follow you," said Balthazaar and asked the keepers to lead the way, which obviously they did, albeit with reluctance. Crossing the Northside of the palace, they slowly started going further.


    As they passed the Library of the ancient one, Balthazaar paused for a moment and asked,


    "We couldn''t be going to the north-west dungeon. Are we?" To which the keepers bowed their head in silence.


    Balthazaar at that very moment wanted to go back to the central tower and call out Nubeous for the atrociousness that he was spelling out on him. He wanted to go back in time and ask his father as to why he had to promise to safeguard the life of this man who couldn''t even differentiate between intentions, who didn''t even flinch to cast him away into the prison for life.


    The north-west dungeon was also known as the purgatory of the kingdom. Only people who committed heinous and unforgivable crimes in the kingdom were imprisoned in there. It was the imprisonment of death, for once inside, there was no way of coming out. Nobody had heard or seen anyone coming out. As per the folklore, it was said that inside the dungeon lied the circle of black magic that engulfed anyone who came in.


    It was a celestial black hole of imprisonment, abandonment which spoke about nothing but darkness, obscurity, and hopelessness.


    The hair in his nostrils quivered momentarily as he shook his head in disbelief that this was how his life was coming to an end.


    There were many things which had been left undone.


    He was yet to fulfill his promise and he wasn''t sure how to fulfill his promise. Even though he was an angel, he was a fallen one. His reserve had been depleted out. He had not yet chosen the flag bearer of his lineage, a mortal to who he could pass the baton and his remaining energy so that he could be the next protector of the ruler of the kingdom. Although in his mind he had selected Nicholas to be the next in line of his lineage, he hadn''t trained him yet, he hadn''t even told him about it yet.


    He was immersed in these saddening thoughts when the keeper meekly tried to ask,


    "Sire! Should we..."


    Breaking out from his trail of thoughts he replied with a grim tone,


    "Of course !" and started walking behind them.


    There was a sense of melancholy in the air that started creeping the hair out from the skin as they neared the north-west dungeon. Balthazaar had come here numerous times as the head of the general council to cast away the offenders of the law, but today it was different as he was the one who was being cast away.


    The entrance to the dungeon was a small rickety opening through which light could barely go in. As the keepers lifted the guard stone, which closed the entrance, they were welcomed by a repelling stench. It was the stench of rotten flesh, of the carcass that had been lying in the basement for long.


    A thin ladder went down to the basement, which was barely wide to accommodate one person.


    A swarm of flies surged out from the opening in search of freedom which they had long lost. Waving away the buzzing flies in front of his face, with his one good arm, Balthazaar said,


    "Would you pass a message to Master Nubeous for me?"


    Unable to even look at him, the keepers kept their eyes lowered in shame and just nodded in agreement to which Balthazaar said,


    "Tell your master that if by mid-day he doesn''t have the ingot, then he must come down here and disappear in the shadows because if he doesn''t then the heaven is a witness when I say this - he will be the one begging for death."

 27 The crimson of blood - 1

    "What did you just say?" questioned the head soldier, snarling and gritting his teeth to which Morpheous gave the same statement as before.


    "I said, then you shall never go back to that kingdom."


    Drawing his sword, gripping it tight at its hilt, the soldier jumped towards Morpheous and hissed,


    "How dare you?"


    Seeing the soldier marching towards Morpheous with nothing but an intent to kill, Nicholas, pulled him back and pushes himself to the front and raising his hands high up, he screamed,


    "Forgive him! Forgive him for he has lost his sanity."


    In that momentary lapse of judgment, Nicholas pushed himself as a shield in front of Morpheous, even though a few seconds before he had given him a silent poison to affect his circulatory system. He had been sent to Ambracia with the sole aim to prevent Morpheous from challenging Nubeous for a duel and the simplest solution to it was to get rid of Morpheous, yet here was, standing in the frontline like a warrior.


    ''What am I doing?'' thought Nicholas, as he was surprised by his own actions.


    "So you have a death wish too?", screamed the soldier and then yelled before swinging his sword.


    ''Hiyaaahhhh''


    But then all of a sudden he couldn''t even move his hand even by an inch. He was surprised that how could a man who wasn''t even five feet tall, have the strength to block his attack.


    ''Gaaahhhhh''


    He yelled as a strong force repelled him back. It was then that he noticed that it wasn''t the man in the front, it was the man who was standing behind who had blocked him.


    The remaining soldiers who were busy excavating the land area were stunned to see the sight in front of them. Their man had been pushed a couple of feet back by just a push from this peasant. They assumed that this strength was because of the anger inside that man. They had been toiling hard under the sun for long and this was a welcome sight for them.


    Something to make their loves exiting! After all, they were soldiers. Nothing pleased them more than a fight.


    Raising their fists in the air, they started shouting,


    "Fight! FIght! FIght!"


    Seeing that his men were even considering a mere pheasant as someone who was worthy of a fight against him, angered the soldier even more.


    "Move...."


    Yelled Morpheous and pushed Nicholas behind with full force and he saw the soldier retaliating with a swing of his sword. Nicholas stumbled and fell on the ground and crawled a few steps back instantly.


    ''Clank''


    Came the sound as the sword was flung and it hit a rock. With a deft movement of his hand, Morpheous blocked his attack, and with the next, he snatched his sword and threw it away.


    ''You...''


    Unable to believe that he had been disarmed by Morpheous, the soldier charged ahead, wanting to rip him apart with his bare hands. He couldn''t take the show of mockery anymore.


    "At ease..."


    Yelled Morpheous and raised his hand, showing his open palm to the snarling soldier. There was so much weight in his voice, that the man in front of him halted immediately. The voices of the remaining soldiers who were rooting for their man was suppressed in silence. The only thing that echoed was Morpheous''s voice.


    He took a step ahead and said,


    "I do not want any bloodshed. We just want you to give us time. That is all that we want."


    The soldier didn''t dare to say anything for a moment as he was silenced by his bravery, strength and in fact, his sheer presence was overbearing for him. But the very next moment he looked around and realized that instead of cheering for him, his fellowmen were silently jeering and that was a big insult that his ego couldn''t bear.


    So ignoring what Morpheous had to say, ignoring the bitter taste of his power that he had tasted a second back, he ran to fight with him with his bare hands. Such a grave mistake that was for Morpheous was not a man who could be daunted.


    ''Yeahhhhhhh''


    He leaped in an attempt to strangle Morpheous''s throat with his hands. His hands were inches away from gripping his throat, but unfortunately, before his fingertips could even come in contact with his skin, he lost his footing.


    He could no longer feel the ground underneath for he had been hoisted up in the air. With his left hand alone Morpheous had lifted him up, grabbing his neck.


    His hands which wanted to strangle Morpheou''s neck were desperately trying to unlock his grip that was around his neck. Choking and on the verge of death, he started to pat his hand on Morpheou''s arm, accepting his defeat as he desperately wanted to hold on to his life at that moment.


    "Morpheous, he will die."


    Said Nicholas and slightly patted on Morpheous''s thighs as he got up. But the grip of Morpheous became tighter and tighter pushing the soldier on the brink of death.


    Seeing one of their own being crushed to death by a village farmer, the other soldiers who till now were enjoying the show like a mock spectator, dropped their spades and shovels and marched towards Morpheous.


    They ran towards him with one intention, an intention to kill him.


    "Morpheous run !!!" screamed Jerome and started running towards Morpheous as he could no longer keep looking from behind the woods. He could no longer wait and see his friend battling death all alone.


    Hearing the voice of his friend, Morpheous turned momentarily and saw Jerome running towards him.


    "Jerome stay back....." screamed Morpheous with all his might, but he didn''t listen. Holding a stick in one hand and the metal coal dust balls in the other he came running.


    .


    ''Shwoooooop''


    And in the split of a second, an arrow whizzed next to Morpheous.


    Releasing the soldier from his grip, he slumped on the ground. The only thing he could see was the crimson of the blood.

 28 The crimson of blood - 2

    A gasp of air left his mouth as he slumped on the ground. His eyes looked blank as if the soul had been stolen. His lips quivered and could only utter,


    "Jerome !"


    And suddenly the sky which was lit up by the brilliant blazing sun turned grim. Dark clouds started engulfing the sun as if they were wrapping it in the shroud of death.


    Drops of lonely tear started streaming down the face of Morpheous as he saw Jerome fall down. Blood was gushing out from his chest, where the arrow had pierced him. He saw him raise his hand briefly and heard him say,


    "Morphe....."


    And then his hand also silently came down to rest on the ground.


    "Noooo...."


    Screamed Morpheous.


    That gut-wrenching cry of pain was so loud that it scared every living being around. The soldiers who were advancing ahead suddenly halted.


    And then there was rain!


    Just like Balthazaar had warned them. They remembered his words that he spoke before they left the kingdom,


    "Mark my words, the sun will shine bright only till the time death doesn''t decide to appear. Becasue once it does, it will not spare anyone, neither the sun nor you. I do not intend to scare you but if you dear your life, then just run. Do not dare to stand under the shroud of death. Do not act valiantly for it will serve no purpose."


    And as they remembered, they stalled.


    They saw the man get up and pace ahead.


    He knelt next to Jerome and lifted his head to place it on his lap. Carefully he pulled the arrow from his chest and covered the wound with his hand, trying to stop the bleeding.


    "Get up Jerome!"


    "Jerome get up. We need to fight Jerome!"


    As tears ran down his cheeks, he screamed at Nicholas,


    "Give me the herbs. Any herb. Anything that you can?" Then turning in the direction of Damianos he yelled,


    "Why aren''t you saving him? Why my hands aren''t healing him now? You told me I can heal people, was that a lie?"


    "Get up! Get up, my friend!" said Morpheous and started pounding on his chest. The entire world stood there in silence like a mock spectator. No one could move an inch.


    Slowly the rain started washing away the stain of blood from Jerome''s robe. Even Morpheous''s tears became a subset of the raindrops.


    "Can''t you hear me, Nicholas?" roared Morpheous in anger to which poor Nicholas knelt on the ground and showed him his empty pouch.


    "I have got nothing remaining Morpheous!"


    Drowning in grief Morphpeus turned towards Damianos who was his last thread of hope. He stood next to him and placed his hand on his shoulder and said,


    "Let him go Morpheous!"


    "It''s time to say goodbye."


    Said Damianos and then placed his hand over Morpheous''s head.


    Unable to believe that he was unable to protect his friend slowly started turning the grief inside Morphpeus into anger. He tried hard to get control over his emotions, but he couldn''t. He then silently lifted his head from his lap and placed it on the ground and with his palm, he closed his eyes.


    The grief and anger had slowly started to cripple him, but then suddenly he opened his eyes like he was reminded of something. He could faintly hear a few fragments of words. That voice was a peculiar one, one that he had heard before.


    ''Save me!''


    ''Save Ambracia!''


    "Jerome!" screamed Morpheous and got up. He turned all around himself like a mad man. That slow faint sound started ringing inside his head.


    Few of the soldiers who were till now standing static, in the fear of the words that they had heard from Balthazaar, started running away from the croplands for they had never seen rain in fall. But the few who remained now marched ahead.


    They had given him enough time for grieving. But that was the biggest mistake that they were going to commit.


    ''Avenge my death Morpheous!''


    ''Make them pay the price.''


    And then suddenly Morpheous stopped moving. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes as he understood, that it wasn''t the voice of his friend, it was the voice of his departed soul, and when he opened them, his eyes were no longer the color of Amber.


    It was not a tinge of blue, it was the depth of blue that was now swarming in his eyes.


    ''Hiyaaahhhh....''


    He heard the voice of the soldiers approaching them and before they could even inch a foot ahead, he knelt down with his right knee touching the soil and banged his fist on the ground.


    ''Crack''


    A huge ripple relayed across the cropland, stalling the march of the soldiers. In an instant, there was rift created, cracking up the land into two creating a divide that the soldiers were now scared to cross.


    The only way to kill the man standing in front of them was to use their bow and arrows. So adjusting their balance the archers lined up in the front and aimed their arrows in the direction of Morpheous. The pouring rain was making it difficult for them to see anything clearly.


    Unable to believe what he was seeing with his eyes, Nicholas uttered his last prayers, but a worried Damianos tried to stop Morpheous.


    "Morpheous, look at me."


    "Morpheous listen!"


    But he didn''t budge even an inch. Like a possessed man, who feared nothing he stood up and yelled,


    "Who made you soldiers? How could you dare to hit a weaponless man? If you have a spine, then I dare you to hit me."


    "Morpheous listen! Only one of them killed. Only one of them. Do not punish them all. You won''t be able to take the guilt."


    But he wasn''t listening to Damianos.


    He was listening to the hundreds of would who had been tortured to death by each of those men. He stood fearlessly ready to take their arrows one by one.


    ''Shwooooop''


    ''Swoooooop''


    ''Swoooooop''


    Hundreds of arrows were shot at him, but none could even scratch his skin. He caught them all with his bare hands. Soon they were out of arms and then spread the panic and fear, for they now understood what Baltahzaar meant by the shroud of death.


    Before they could retaliate or run, they heard.


    "My turn !"

 29 The crimson of blood - 3

    Their foot froze deep in the mud of the croplands they had excavated. Running away was the only option. Seeing the man on the opposite side of the divide turning invincible, they all scattered in the hope of treasuring their lives.


    But he was not ready to leave them so easily.


    Holding the arrows in both his hands he took a stance.


    "Morpheous no..."


    "This is not what I had taught you. Breathe Morpheous breathe!"


    Yelled Damianos in a hope that Moprheous would be able to tame the power of the soul, but it was already too late. He regretted his decision of letting him know everything.


    ''I should have trained you,'' though Damianos and slumped on the ground because no angelic power was strong enough to hold Morpheous back.


    He pulled his hand back and then with all his might, he swung the arrows to the other side. He didn''t need a bow. The strength in his arms was enough to kill them one by one.


    Soon spread the silence of melancholy all around. Bodies started to fall on the ground one after the other. Morpheous stood there watching them fall like the master of death.


    When the last body fell, Morpheous jumped the divide and went to the other side, his eyes locked on the archer who had killed Jerome. The arrow thrown by Morpheous had pierced him exactly at the same spot.


    He narrowed his blazing blue eyes and pulled the helmet out from his head. He wanted to look him in the eye and ask him how he could kill an innocent weaponless peasant. But when he pulled that helmet out, he realized that soldier was quite young. Probably a boy who would have just crossed eighteen.


    Holding onto his breastplate, Morpheous snarled and asked,


    "Why did you kill him? Who told you to kill him?"


    Lying on the verge of death, that soldier coughed up blood and said,


    "I didn''t ..."


    "You didn''t what?", Morpheous growled.


    "I ... I wasn''t the one who.... who killed him...." he said and counted his last breath in the arms of Morpheous.


    And thus dawned in reality.


    Morpheous looked around. The entire cropland had been filled with dead bodies. The rain had started to slow down. The color of blood turned the mud red. It looked as if the croplands were bleeding to death.


    A turbulent riot started within his heart. The grotesque scene in front of him was unbearable. He looked at his palms and then looked all around, those were the palms of a murderer.


    "Noooo..."


    "Noooo..."


    Screamed Morpheous and slumped on the ground. Instead of mourning for just his friend, now he had to mourn for all these soldiers. An unsettling gut-wrenching pain started hitting him.


    From this side of the divide, he looked at the other and saw Nicholas and Damianos standing helplessly.


    Damianos looked at him and realized instantly from the look in his eyes, that he was no more possessed by the power of the souls and he could see that his fear had turned into reality. The guilt had started to create an ineffable gaudiness inside his brain. He wasn''t able to think coherently. He was kneeling on the ground helplessly.


    Unable to look at him bearing the pain alone, Damianos took a step ahead to cross the divide, but it didn''t let him cross it. There was invisible wall in between which he wasn''t able to cross. He conjured his power and tried to see if at least his hand could cross, but he ended up hurting himself as the invisible stood rock-solid, without budging even an inch.


    "Morpheous hold on! Don''t break."


    "Listen to me, it''s not your fault."


    But all these words were falling short.


    Panting and taking deep breaths, Morpheous held his head between his hands, unable to believe that he was the once who was responsible for this mayhem.


    "What have I done?"


    "I have turned into a monster!"


    "What have you done to me Damianos?" screamed Morpheous and started pounding on the ground.


    ''Whooooop''


    ''Whooooop''


    And before anyone could realize, ropes were thrown at Morpheous, and in seconds both his arms had been knotted. Few of the soldiers who had been hiding behind the paddy fields till now realized that this was the right moment to catch the man who had killed their fellow brothers with his bare hands.


    And in the next second, they dragged him and whistled for their horses.


    Before Damainos and Nicholas could understand what was happening, they tied the rope along with the horse and raced towards the kingdom. His body was getting dragged on the uneven terrain, but he didn''t flinch or say a word.


    He was silently taking it all as if he deserved it.


    "Morpheous!"


    "Morpheous!"


    All the shouts and cries from the other side of the divide were dampened down by that invisible wall. Damianos used up all his powers, but he couldn''t even create a crack in the wall. Feeling all hopeless and restless, Damianos remembered the last words that Morpheous had said,


    ''What have you done to me Damianos?''


    And his face turned ice cold.


    Nicholas got up and tried to assure Damianos,


    "Do not worry. He is Morpheous. Nothing can happen to him. An army of soldiers couldn''t bend even his hair. What will those five-six soldiers do? Just wait for a while. He will come back."


    But if anyone knew Morpheous better than Morpheous himself, then it was him and he knew that he was not going to fight back now. He was going to drown himself in guilt and surrender. He had to go to the kingdom to save him because he knew that if Nubeous heard about what he did to his soldiers then he would agree for nothing less than death for Morpheous.


    So looking at Nicholas, he said,


    "He won''t fight back and Nubeous will kill him."


    It was then that Nicholas remembered what Balthazaar had told him,


    ''You need to stop him from meeting Nubeous at any cost before the mid-day. At any cost Nicholas, at any cost!''


    The clouds had started to float away.


    The sun slowly started stirring the sky with the color of gold.


    Nicholas looked up at the sky and then looked at the shadows cast by the trees.


    .


    It was way past noon!

 30 The blood, The grim! - 1

    His body was getting dragged mercilessly. Every rock, every grain of sand, and even the shrubs were tearing away his skin. Blood oozed out through the cracks on his back and got mixed with the soil underneath.


    Soon the soldiers entered the forest of the forbidden to cut their path short and the moment they did, the invisible wall that had crippled Damianos and Nicholas was lifted.


    "Damianos look! The wall is vanishing. Look! my hand is passing through it!" screamed Nicholas, to which Damianos immediately responded by flapping out his wings.


    "What on earth!" screamed Nicholas and fell on his back.


    "What... what are you?", his voice stuttered.


    "A guardian angel," said Damianos with a normal voice as if he was telling about what he ate in the morning.


    "You are like Balthazaar!" exclaimed Nicholas.


    "Like who?", asked Damianos in surprise. He didn''t expect in the wildest of his dreams that Nicholas knew about Balthazaar being an angel.


    It was then that Nicholas realized the slip of his tongue and help his words back, "Erm... nothing."


    Deciphering his reluctance, Damianos didn''t press further as this was not the time for an interrogation. He rose up in the air and crossed the divide and landed on the other side. But his flight was tumultuous. He landed with great pain on the other side as his broken bone hadn''t been healed yet.


    "Argghhhhhh"


    Groaned Damianos in pain as he landed.


    ''Is he hurt like Balthazaar?'' thought Nicholas and yelled from the other side,


    "I can help you with it. Just wait for me."


    He ran back as fast as he could and kept whistling a tune which his horse was familiar with and lo and behold in a couple of minutes he could hear the neighing of his horse.


    "That''s my boy," said Nicholas and swiftly rode his horse towards the divide again. Helping Damianos was the only way in which he could possibly hold back Morpheous from meeting Nicholas because till now nothing had worked.


    The moment he raced towards the divide, his horse started becoming reluctant to inch further.


    "Hiyaaahhhh"


    "Hiyaaahhhh"


    "Come on my boy, jump over."


    "Hiyaaahhhh"


    But no matter how hard he pulled the reins, no matter how much he patted and encouraged him, his horse didn''t budge. Out of wits, Nicholas looked at Damianos and yelled,


    "Help me out here Old man!"


    Damianos closed his eyes and didn''t say a word but the moment he did, Nicholas''s horse started neighing loudly. It started moving back from the divide. Nicholas couldn''t understand how to control him, but then all of a sudden, much to his surprise, his horse started galloping ahead at a lightning speed and jumped the divide in one go.


    "Aaaahhhhhh"


    As Nicholas landed on the other side, he immediately got down and took his horse close to Damianos and said,


    "Trust me when I say this, it might sound weird but it will help you." He then lowered the face of his horse and made it lick the burnt and broken wings of Damianos.


    Damianos didn''t say anything for a moment but then he asked, "Did you heal Balthazaar like this?"


    Nicholas chose to remain silent and kept patting his horse. Little did he know that every angel and their power was different. Horse''s saliva worked for Balthazaar but not for Damianos.


    "Try now," said Nicholas, and Damianos lifted himself up in the air again, but the same pain came back thrusting towards him. He could bear it for some time but not for long and he knew that very well. The fastest means to reach the kingdom now was to ride Nicholas''s horse.


    So looking at him he said,


    "We got no time for trial and error. Let''s ride."


    And thus galloped a man and an angel together with a mission to save a mortal who probably had given up on himself.


    .


    .


    As the soldiers started crossing through the forest of the forbidden, the grass underneath started surrounding the body of Morpheous as if they were climbers. The fallen leaves started gathering together like a rug underneath to protect the body of Morpheous.


    But he was completely unaware of everything that was happening to him.


    That grotesque sight of death, that blood was the only picture that was etched in his mind. The dying words of his friend, the last revelation from the mouth of the innocent soldier was all that kept echoing inside his head.


    It was a constant ringing that reminded him of the monster that he had become.


    Closing his eyes, as the tears trickled down his face he remembered the face of Eva.


    ''How can I dare to go in front of you?''


    ''Would you even look me in the eye?''


    He then remembered the last that he had seen of Nefeli and Leonidas - working near the pond, trying to help their fellow beings.


    ''How can I go back to these people?''


    ''I do not deserve to be alive? I do not deserve any mercy.''


    "Hiyaaaaahhh"


    The soldiers made their horses gallop as fast as they could to reach the common grounds of the Kingdom and when they did, they mercilessly threw the injured and barely alive body of Morpheous on the bed of sand whose each grain had been heated up by the scorching sun.


    But that man didn''t wince in pain. He had accepted his fate. He was ready to take any punishment that came his way. He hated Nicholas for burning his village but today he felt that he was more barbaric than he was.


    He was supposed to be the protector, yet here he lied on the ground, feeling nothing but shame and loathing for himself.


    Taking a deep breath he opened his eyes,


    The sky looked bright again...


    Everything felt warm...


    But in the next second, he could feel the air freeze around him.


    He couldn''t breathe or speak a vowel on his own, no matter how hard he tried. His chest started to tighten and he could feel every vein pulsating restlessly in his body. Slowly light became brighter and brighter, till he could not look at it anymore.


    He could sense that his time had come.


    God has chosen to punish him for his deeds.


    But little did he know that it wasn''t God, it was the tiny lavender-colored flower.

 31 The blood, The grim! - 2

    Nicholas rode his horse as fast as it could. He had to reach the Kingdom as early as possible, else there was no way he could keep the promise.


    He has seen the power of Morpheous, he had seen what he was capable of. So probably Balthazaar was right. He was as mightful as Nubeous, or even more. He was protected by an angel just like Nubeous, so if they both fought then probably it could annihilate their entire kingdom.


    So his aim was now not to save Morpheous, but to save his kingdom.


    Earlier while riding through the forest of the forbidden in the morning, he was time and again looking all around as if a series of alarming invisible things were taking place in the forest of the forbidden, based on the tales that he had heard. But now while going back, the only fear that was gripping him was his inability to keep his promise.


    Soon they covered the mysterious stretch of the forest of the forbidden and reached the outskirts of the kingdom.


    "How far from here?", asked Damianos, getting all restless as they had been riding for hours.


    "Few miles. Not much. We will take the back road and enter the palace pastures. That way we can avoid the palace guards," replied Nicholas and pulled the reins even harder.


    "But why do you have to avoid the guards? You have been sent here by Nubeous himself! Why do you have to hide?" questioned Daminaos.


    Caught off-guard by him, Nicholas stuttered and said - "Erm... Yes. True. Nubeous has sent me. True. Why do I need to hide?


    "I do not need to hide, right?


    "But... But what about you? Ah... also did you forget I was with Morpheous. The soldiers have seen me. They will fill my master''s ears against me and probably know better than me as to how vengeful my master is."


    "I see," replied Damianos with an unconvinced tone as Nicholas took the detour. The crossed the foothills and Damianos could see a section of the land lined by tiny lavender-colored flowers. The same flower that Nicholas had given to Morpheous. But what bothered him the most was a flag next to those flowers, which read,


    ''Caution!''


    .


    .


    On the other hand, the soldiers who had brought Morpheous back to the kingdom sent their message to Master Nubeous through the central tower doorkeepers.


    The doorkeepers were hesitant to convey the news to their Master as it was not an ominous one. They were scared that their Master might silence them to death, just for conveying the message. Shuddering with fear, the youngest of the keeper was forced to take up this onerous task.


    At that time Nubeous was taking bath, preparing himself for the auspicious ceremony in which he wanted to wear the newly forged ring that would make him the invincible one. Uniting the broken pieces of the guide was his dream, that had remained unfulfilled since ages.


    ''Knock Knock''


    "Come in!", said Nubeous while sipping onto the finest wine which had been aged for decades. He was soaking his body in milk and turmeric in the royal bathing chamber as directed by his royal physician.


    But the keeper couldn''t dare to inch further. Taking just a step inside the room, he announced himself and then mustering up all the courage that he could he dared to say,


    "Master! Few of the soldiers of the royal army have come back to the Kingdom and they had a message for you, my Master. I am here to convey the message."


    His voice was as polite and as meek as possible.


    "They are here already?" queried Nubeous with an elated voice for he couldn''t believe that his men were able to find the ingot so soon.


    "Yes, master!", replied the keeper with his head hung low as he was contemplating how to give the bad part of the news to him.


    "Then what are you waiting for? Ask our Royal goldsmith to bring in the ingot. And here..." saying that Nubeous flung a sapphire ring towards the keeper. "Here is your reward for bringing me the good news."


    ''Clank''


    Nubeous heard his ring landing loudly on the floor.


    He was angered as to why the keeper was not able to catch it.


    "You fool!", he muttered. Had it been any other day, he would have chopped his hand for this impertinence, but not today!


    Covering himself in his silken robe, he came out of the bathing chamber. He pulled his hair back with his hands and tied it in a knot. Water was still dripping through his robes, but he didn''t care as today, after centuries, his longing was finally over.


    As he walked ahead he saw the keeper kneeling on the floor with his head hanging low. His ring was lying just in front of the keeper.


    ''He still didn''t pick it up,'' muttered Nubeous under his breath as he tied his robe near his waist.


    "Master forgive me to inform you this, but they do not have the ingot," said the keeper and bowed with his head touching the floor.


    "They do not have the ingot?


    "They couldn''t find it?


    "I had sent an army of three hundred men, and still they couldn''t find it.


    "Then why did they dare to return back empty-handed?"


    Nubeous fumed and paced in the chamber and then looking at the keeper he said,


    "Execute them all!"


    "Master!", exclaimed the keeper in disbelief.


    "Execute all the three hundred of them!", screamed Nubeous.


    "But master, only three of them have come back!", replied the keeper, with his head still hung low.


    Pinching the space between his eyebrows, unable to understand what the keeper meant to convey, Nubeous looked at him with silent anger and asked,


    "What about the rest?"


    Gulping his own spit the keeper stuttered,


    "Master... They have...".


    Getting irritated, Nubeous thundered,


    "I sent three hundred men to get my ingot sentry, why only three have returned?"


    .


    "Becasue... Becasue only three have survived my Master!"

 32 The cursed child! - 1

    "Where are the rest of my men?" screamed Nubeous - "Where are they?"


    "They have been killed in Ambracia, my Master!", replied the keeper while counting his breaths as he never knew which one would be his last one.


    "Killed? Killed by whom? Those villagers?", asked Nubeous with an irritated tone.


    "No master!", replied the keeper meekly.


    "Then how they all are dead? Who all killed them?", asked Nubeous.


    "There was no all, there was... there was just one man, who killed them, my Master!"


    "One man? One man killed them all? What the hell are you talking about? Call the soldiers!" fumed Nubeous and started patrolling around the room at an increased pace.


    "Yes, Master!" said the guard and ran off to call the soldiers upstairs. He was relieved that now he didn''t have to bear the brunt of his master''s wrath alone.


    The soldiers who had returned back from Ambracia were waiting down the stairs of the tower and when they saw the keeper descending the stairs they stood in attention, in anticipation of the next order.


    The keeper came close to them as said,


    "Master wants you upstairs. You need to tell him what happened there in Ambracia."


    The soldiers looked at each other hesitantly and then followed the keeper to enter the Royal Chamber and the moment they did, Nubeous commanded,


    "Leave out your courtesies. Tell me what happened there?"


    "My master, we were digging up the lands and then came in a man from the village. He asked us to stop the digging and begged for more time and there was some foul exchange of words. We assumed he was a normal peasant and one of our men attacked him, but in return, he killed them all," replied one of the soldiers.


    "I had sent the best warriors in our kingdom. How can a mere human kill them all? Are you sure there was no one else at the scene?" asked Nubeous in surprise.


    "He... He wasn''t a mere human master. He was something else. With his bare hands, he blocked all our arrows and then killed our men one after the other with the same arrow. With his hands when he hit the ground...."


    "Enough... Then have you run away from him? Did you dare to flee?", roared Nubeous with his face burning in anger like never before.


    "No ... No, my master. We have brought him here for you to punish him!" said the soldier and took a step back as he got scared when Nubeous came close to them.


    Gritting his teeth, Nubeous asked,-"Where is he?"


    "We have tied him near the palace ground master. We are waiting for your order to execute him," replied the soldier and counted his blessings for the anger inside Nubeous hadn''t ruptured yet.


    He looked at the soldier with his eyes full of lament and then said,


    "Send out one thousand soldiers to Ambracia first. I want the ingot today at any cost. I don''t care if it rains fire or hail storms hit the ground. I want the ingot today."


    "Yes master !", said the soldier and bowed again.


    "But wait... Do not execute that man. I want to punish him myself. You can take your leave now and yes before you go, send my keeper inside."


    "Yes, master!" said the soldiers and left the Royal Chamber and sent the keeper in who was waiting outside the main door.


    The keeper announced himself and came in after knocking on the door.


    "Yes, master? How can I serve you?"


    "Pick up my ring!" said Nubeous with a straight poker face but his eyes swarming with darkness.


    "Yes... Yes Master!", said the keeper and picked up the sapphire ring which was earlier flung by Nubeous, and took it to him, assuming that he wanted it back.


    Taking that ring from his hand, Nubeous went close to the window and dropped the ring down.


    "Master!", exclaimed the keeper and rushed towards the window. That ring was more expensive than his yearly wage.


    "I do not like to keep unwanted, unlucky things!" said Nubeous with a devious smile on his face.


    "Master! my apologies master. I will go down and fetch it back."


    But before he could go out of the room, Nubeous pushed him out of the window.


    ''Thud''


    As the body of the keeper turned limp, Nubeous muttered standing in front of the window,


    "Including you!".


    And then behaving as if he turned a page from a book, he picked up another robe to wear. It was time to meet the man who had killed his men single-handedly.


    .


    .


    As they reached the pastures, Nicholas slowed down his horse and moved towards his stable. Tying back his horse, he said,


    "There is one guard on the east side of the palace whom I know, who can give me information about the whereabouts of Morpheous. I will go and check with him, meanwhile, you can stay here," said Nicholas and gave a glass of water to Damianos who looked exhausted after the long ride.


    "No, I cannot wait, Nicholas. Let me come along with you. I will disguise myself as a common man and walk behind you," said Damianos and looked around the stable in search of normal clothes.


    Nicholas understood what he was searching for. He definitely looked awkward in those pristine white robes, which had been soiled in the mud. He went inside his rooms and got some spare clothes for himself and Damianos.


    As they were switching into these clothes, Nicholas asked albeit a bit hesitated,


    "I... I wanted to ask you something. It has been bothering me..."


    "Ask Away," said Daminaos as he untied his robe knot.


    "Why didn''t Morpheous fight back? How could mere three soldiers drag him away? I have seen his strength... What just happened to him?"


    Damianos took a deep breath and wrapped the robe around himself and said,


    "It is a long story, Nicholas. Maybe I will tell you some other time. But just know that even though he is the chosen one, there will be times when he will be as scared and as submissive as a mere mortal."


    "Why so?", asked Nicholas.


    "Becasue he might be the chosen one, but he is also a ''Cursed Child''!"

 33 The cursed child! - 2

    "Cursed? But how and why? How can anyone curse him? You told me that he was the chosen one. Chosen for what?" Nicholas started darting his questions at Damianos.


    "He was cursed because he was the chosen one. Just know for now that he is the one who can end all the sufferings of the world and bring in peace and happiness. He can bring back, God."


    Said Damianos and closed his eyes, for there was no way in which he could explain that unless struck by the lightening of death as per the prophecy, Morpheous could never break the shackles of the curse? How could he explain that even though he was struck once, he was thrown back in time and the curse had gripped him back?


    "Bring back God? What on earth are you saying? Where has God gone?", asked Nicholas and placed his herb pouch on the small rickety wooden table.


    "Now is not the time. Let''s find Morpheous first," said Damianos and drank the water which Nicholas had given him and they both set out toward the east wing of the palace.


    .


    ''Psssttttttttt''


    ''Psssttttttttt''


    Nicholas made a fuzzy sound standing behind the pine tree for his friend Theo to hear.


    But the sound was not just heard by Theo but two other guards placed on the eastern wind.


    "What is this strange hissing sound?" asked one of the guards to Theo.


    "Aahhh..... probably its the rusting sound of the wind through these pine trees," said Theo, trying to avoid any suspicion. He knew very well that it was his friend Nicholas as it was his signature sound whenever he wanted to communicate with him.


    "But there is no wind," replied the guard and looked in the direction of the pine tree.


    "Oh no! It was a bad idea," muttered Nicholas.


    "Don''t worry," said Damianos and then lo and behold the pine tree leaves started rusting.


    "Make that sound again," asked Damianos.


    ''Psssttttttttt''


    ''Psssttttttttt'' ''Psssttttttttt''


    "See it''s the wind," said Theo calming his breath as he could see from the expression of the guard that he was no more suspicious.


    ''Thank you God for the timely breeze,'' thought Theo and then said to the guard - "Brother I need to have some water. I am not feeling that well since morning. Can you cover for me for an hour or so?"


    "Oh, not a problem. It''s not like the palace is on fire. Go and take rest."


    As Theo saw the guard taking a round he signaled Nicholas to meet at their designated place and started walking away from the palace.


    "Where is he going?" asked Damianos.


    "To out usual meet up place. We will also leave when the guard will start the second round," replied Nicholas and then turned back to look at Damianos and asked,


    "Was it you?"


    "What do you mean?" asked Damianos with an expressionless face.


    "The wind... I mean the breeze... It suddenly started," said Nicholas hesitantly.


    "It''s the wind Nicholas, it doesn''t tell and start," said Damianos and then he looked at the palace wall side and said, "I think we should go now. The guard will soon cross this side."


    "Um... right," said Nicholas and turned back to track the movement of the guard and when he crossed the side, Nicholas said,


    "Let''s go."


    Silently crossing the pine trees and then racing through the apple orchard, they went back towards the pastures. When they reached the horse stable they saw Theo waiting outside.


    Seeing Nicholas approaching with another man behind him, Theo said,


    "Are you mad Nicholas. Why would you risk your life and come to meet me like that? And who is this man with you?"


    "Let us talk about that later. I urgently need some information from you. Have you seen..."


    ''First, you listen to me, Nicholas. Balthazaar has been imprisoned. Don''t ask me why. Even I don''t know the reason behind it," said Theo, abruptly cutting through the words of Nicholas.


    "What? Oh my God! But why? He was not in a good state," said Nicholas, with an expression of grave worry etched on his face but the face of Damianos hardened upon hearing it.


    Looking at Theo he asked, "You are talking about the head of the general council, Balthazaar?"


    Theo turned towards Damainos and then looked at Nicholas with an expression of concern, to which Nicholas replied, "He can be trusted. He is not from the kingdom."


    Hearing which Theo took a sigh of relief and then looking at Damianos he nodded his head.


    "Do you know where is he? At what time was he captured?" asked Nicholas.


    But before Theou could answer to hin, Damianos interrupted the conversation with his question, - "Have you heard out a captive who has been brought from Ambracia?"


    "Ah! Yes. Our soldiers have captured some man from Ambracia and they are claiming that he has killed all the three hundred soldiers who had been sent in search of the ingot. But that is something impossible. Don''t you think? They have tied him and placed him at the palace ground. He had no movement in his body when my men had checked upon him. I mean he was almost half dead when they brought him here. But don''t believe all these tales though. We think these soldiers were unable to find the ingot so they have made up this story and have caught a poor villager to act as bait.


    "Nubeous is about to come to the palace ground to punish that man himself. I sincerely pity that man. Not sure whose face he has seen this morning to end up in such bad luck. By the way, do you know that man by any chance?


    Nicholas stood there speechless. He couldn''t hear anything after half dead.


    "What do you mean by no movement in his body?" asked Nicholas. A part of him felt relieved to know that the task was completed, but a part of him felt guilty because he was a good man and it was his face that he had seen the first thing today morning.


    Damianos heard the words of Theo and then closed his eyes trying to concentrate on something and when he opened, he looked at Nicholas and said, "We need to go to the palace ground. Bring out your finest horse Nicholas."


    "But don''t you want to look out for Balthazaar first? He is being held captive at the north-west dungeon," asked Theo, and upon hearing that Nicholas''s blood just froze.


    "Did you say north-west dungeon?" asked Nicholas with a voice filled with fear.

 34 You piece of filth - 1

    "Lord no!" gasped Nicholas and slumped on his cot holding his head between his hands. Then looking up at Damianos he said - "Help me save Balthazaar! Help me, please. His condition wasn''t good. The dungeon isn''t a place where he can survive!"


    Even though Damianos wanted to rush to the Royal palace ground and check upon Morpheous, he was equally worried about Balthazaar. The situation was grave and only one could be saved at that moment.


    Damianos looked at the rickety table on which Nicholas''s herb pouch was lying and then he looked, at the cot and saw a few broken petals of wolfsbane and other herbs on the sheets. He thought,


    ''If the herbs were given to him today morning then why it is on his bed?''


    So looking into the eyes of Nicholas, he said, "Let''s save Morpheous first! After that, I promise that I will help you save Balthazaar."


    Even though Nicholas didn''t want to save Morpheous, his hands were tied now. Saving Morpheous was the only way to help Balthazaar, even though it meant breaking the promise of Balthazaar. So getting up from the cot, he looked at Theo and said,


    "Thank you, my friend. We will leave for the palace grounds now."


    "Are you mad? You want to save the man who is going to be punished by Nubeous now! Why do you want to dig your own grave? You think you can persuade Nubeous with your words! Huh... I can bet 10 coins that he won''t even let you speak for that man. And who is he to you Nicholas?"


    "Who said we are going to persuade him?", said Damianos with a blank face and left the room.


    Turning towards his friend before leaving the room, Nicholas replied,


    "That man is my wild card for saving Balthazaar!"


    Nicholas saw the surprised expression on the face of his friend, but there was no time to explain anything because deep in his heart he was dreading the fate of Morpheous as he had already made him inhale the wolfsbane flower.


    .


    .


    Crossing the common areas, Nicholas and Damianos reached the palace ground. Crouching behind the stone sculptures of the butterfly garden which was next to the palace ground, they tried to estimate the situation.


    His hands and legs were tied with chains of iron.


    His body lied there without any motion. It looked like there was no flicker of life left in his body.


    "Is he..."


    "Do not even dare to finish this sentence," thundered Damianos and looked at Morpheous''s motionless body. Closing his eyes, he mustered up all his strength to communicate with Morpheous from afar.


    ''Morpheous!''


    ''Morpheous!''


    ''It''s me... Damianos. Can you hear me? Please tell me that you can hear me. Just move an inch and let me know that you can move.''


    But there was no reply or no sign of movement from him!


    "Lord help me!" muttered Damianos helplessly and kept trying. He was not someone who would give up hope that easily and that too on Morpheous.


    ''For the sake of heaven, for the sake of your father get up Morpheous! You shall rise Morpheous. For the sake of humanity, you shall rise!''


    But no matter how hard Damianos tried to invoke, there came no response. Feeling a bit dejected, feeling a bit defeated, he took a deep breath and then looked at Nicholas and said,


    "We need to get him here. There is something wrong with him. He isn''t this weak to ..."


    Then he paused for a moment and looked at Nicholas for a while and then said, - "There must be some Sicklewort plants nearby. Get me the leaves as fast as you can."


    "Will that help?" asked Nicholas.


    "Against wolfsbane? Yes!," replied Damianos curtly which shocked Nicholas. He was already dreading about his secret being revealed. Unable to meet his eyes with Damianos, he asked,


    "You knew?"


    "Just bring me the leaves, Nicholas. You can repent for your follies later. This is a garden and you can probably find it if you hurry!" said Daminaos and then focussed on communicating with Morpheous, but a few seconds later his concentration was broken by the acute sound of the blaring foghorn.


    Nuboeus had arrived at the palace grounds.


    For a moment, Damianos couldn''t breathe after seeing him, for the mere sight of him repelled every inch of his skin for he was one of those who had conspired against his great fathers - God. Gritting his teeth, he patiently waited for the arrival of Nicholas.


    He knew that the flower that Nicholas had given to Morpheous was poisonous, he knew that he was a man who couldn''t be trusted with Morpheous''s life, but at that point in time, he knew that he could trust him as he would do anything to save Balthazaar.


    There were hundreds of soldiers who were in and around the palace grounds, so it wasn''t possible for Damianos to fight them all. So he had to think of a quick way to get close to Morpheous.


    "Here!"


    "There was just a small plant with barely a couple of leaves," said Nicholas as he handed over five Sicklewort leaves to Damianos who looked at him as if he was scrutinizing him.


    "Trust me! This is all that I could get," said Nicholas hanging his head low.


    Ignoring his words, Daminaos quickly smashed the leaves in his palm without losing any time as he heard Nubeous order,


    "Check that man. Bring him to me if he still has a pulse."


    "Disheavel my hair and clothes! Fast," asked Damianos looking at Nicholas who obeyed and ruffled his hair and loosened his robe a bit.


    "What are you planning to do?" asked Nicholas, unable to understand the whims of the old man.


    But without replying to his question, Daminaos came out from hiding behind the stone sculptures.


    "What are you doing? Come back!" screamed Nicholas, but Damianos marched ahead without paying any heed.


    He closed his eyes for a second and remembered God and then entering the palace ground, he yelled,


    "You scumbag! You shall die in my hands. Your hands are stained in the blood of my son. No heaven will spare you, you piece of filth!"

 35 You piece of filth - 2

    "Old man stop! Where do you think you are going?," roared a soldier and blocked the path of Damianos, gripping on to his robe, but his fearlessness intrigued Nubeous who then ordered,


    "Let the man speak!"


    Bowing in front of the master the soldier stepped aside and released his grip.


    With tears in his eyes, Damianos came forward and kneeled in front of Nubeous.


    "Thank you, my master! I heard this man killed my son," said Damianos and pointed at Morpheous and continued, - "I just had one son in my family my master and this man took it all away. He ruined my family, my master. I do not dare to sin your authority, my master, but please allow me to take away his life."


    Nubeous chuckled and said,


    "Take away his life? He looks already dead to me old man. Go ahead, by all means, if you want to kill him again then do so. You have my authority."


    Gritting his teeth, Damianos bowed again and said,


    "Hail my master! may the heaven bless you for granting this wish to this grieving father!"


    Nubeous just raised his hand in the direction of Morpheous and upon seeing that signal, Daminaos got up and wiped the tear from his face with one hand, while the other was still carrying the crushed concoction.


    He went close to Morpheous''s body and slightly kicked him, to show his fake anger.


    "You vile creature!"


    The soldiers around the ground laughed and so did Nubeous. The sight was entertaining them. But standing at a distance, the three soldiers who had brought back Morpheous didn''t laugh. Not that they didn''t want to, but they didn''t dare to because he was the fiercest warrior that they had ever seen. And they knew that the only reason why they could bring him to the kingdom was that he chose not to fight back.


    So they stood there in silence as the old man tried to strangle him, robbing him from the last few breaths of life which he possessed, but little did they know he had secretly fed him the Sicklewort concoction.


    "Use all your strength old man!" urged Nubeous with a devilish grin on his face. Earlier he was surprised to hear about this warrior, but seeing the man who was lying in front of him, he was pretty sure that the soldiers were bluffing to hide their incompetence. They were probably hiding someplace else, unable to find the ingot, and had smeared the blame on this man.


    But he pushed his plans to punish the three later as he was enjoying the dark humor in front of him.


    "Hiyaaahhhhhh"


    Screamed Damianos and used all his might and pounded his fist on Morpheous''s chest.


    "Ah! Yes, old man. Go on. Take revenge," Nubeous kept prompting and that added salt to the wounds of Damianos. With tears in his eyes, he looked up at the sky and yelled,


    "Oh! heavens have mercy. Have mercy for my son has done no sin. Have mercy for my son is my only reason to survive," and saying that he started to compress his chest with the back of his palm vigorously.


    Unable to understand what was happening, Nubeous stood up.


    One moment back the old man was strangling him, chocking him with his own hands and in the next, he was compressing his chest. He now wanted to spread his wings and steal Morpheous away but before he could, Nubeous''s men pounced on him.


    "What are you doing old man?" asked the soldier.


    ''Saving the life of your saviour!'' Damianos wanted to yell out but suppressing the wants of his heart he said,


    "He needs to feel the pain. He needs to wake up and face death again in my hands."


    ''This man knows how to take revenge!'' though Nubeous and sat back on his throne and ordered to his royal physician,


    "Check his pulse!"


    The royal physician obeyed and went to check Morpheous''s pulse. He knelt in front of his body for quite some time, trying to feel the pulse on his wrist and on his neck. Then he placed his ears on his chest trying to hear any remnant beat. But he could find none.


    Turning towards Nubeous, the royal physician bowed and said,


    "There is no pulse master!"


    Those words stung Damianos. They stung badly!


    He couldn''t feel the air in his lungs. This was something that was not possible. He was the chosen one. He couldn''t depart like that. His body turned flaccid as if it had been paralyzed. His eyes turned blank. How could the person who was the master of the souls, depart?


    The pain in his heart was so severe that he couldn''t bear.


    "Gaaaaahhhhh"


    Shouted Damianos and pushed the soldiers away who were nabbing his arm. They were thrown away like pieces of twigs. He rushed towards the body of Morpheous and placed his index and middle finger on Morpheous''s forehead and started transferring all the remaining energy that he had in him.


    This was the last resort.


    He didn''t mind sacrificing his own life to save his Godson.


    But before he could transfer the last shred of power that he had in his body, other guards pulled him away.


    "What is the man doing?" thundered Nubeous.


    The soldiers were shocked to see the old man looking almost dead.


    "He doesn''t look good, master!" replied the soldier as they saw Damianos''s body crumble on the floor. The royal physician rushed towards Damianos and checked his pulse.


    "His heart looks weak my master. Should we move him to our healing room, my master?" asked the royal physician.


    Nubeous looked at the old man''s body which was lying limp on the ground with just a tiny flicker of life remaining within, and said,


    "What is the use. His son is dead. A son who was so incapable and coward that he chose to cover his incompetence with a fake death."


    The three soldiers who had returned back from the mouth of death, looked at Nubeous, unable to believe that their master had no faith in their words.


    Looking at his other soldiers he said,


    "Whip this old man for having a coward son and whip these three who have shamelessly decided to deceive me."


    Then without even waiting to hear the begging for mercy and cries of helplessness, he marched ahead. Four soldiers came ahead carrying the whips. Three of them started whipping the soldiers who had come back from Ambracia and the fourth one dragged Damianos to the center of the palace ground.


    Without a conscience, he raised his whip to hit the old man who was lying helplessly on the ground. But that whip couldn''t be lashed. Not even an inch!

 36 Make him kill you!

    The moment Nicholas heard the words of Nubeous, he couldn''t believe it.


    First the death of Morpheous had shocked him, even though he had instrumental role in it, but when he saw the condition of Damianos, he lost all hopes of saving Balthazaar.


    He was a mortal man and there was no way that he could get him out of the dungeon without the help of Damianos and Morpheous. He was here only for the sake of Balthazaar, but hearing those words of Nubeous, he couldn''t resist.


    Coming out from the hiding, he pulled his dagger out from the scabbard. ''I may not be able to save Balthazaar, but I have to save this old man,'' thought Nicholas after seeing the plight of the angel who was about to me mercilessly whipped to death infront of a callous crowd.


    But his body froze seeing the sight infront of him. He couldn''t move an inch ahead and his mouth opened in awe. Even the soldier was surprised... ''What is wrong with the whip?'' he thought and turned back to get the shock of his life.


    The man who had been declared dead, the man whose body had been mercilessly tied with shackles of iron, was holding the end of the whiplash with his left hand with a grip so strong that the soldier couldn''t move it an inch.


    The rustling of the leaves had stopped and so did the wind. Sensing that acute silence, Nubeous, who was marching away with a smug look on his face turned back.


    But it was then that he opened his eyes, all amber but with a hint of blue and got up. Off came the iron shackles like twigs of hay. The rasp of the rattling metal filled the palace ground.


    "Hail Morpheous!", mumbled Damianos and smiled looking at his Godson who had been resurrected from death. Even though he could feel that his body was giving away, he had a new sense of hope that kept the flicker of life alive. This situation was all that he wanted.


    Even though Balthazaar had moved back time, destiny had it''s own way. Now all that was needed was the bolt of death to be casted upon.


    Damianos could sense that it was the time for a new beginning and heavens knew that it was.


    The true heir of the soul realm had woken up!


    "This is not possible!" exclaimed the royal physician as he saw the dead body coming back to life.


    "Chain him back!", thundered Nubeous but seeing the aura of Morpheous, they were scared. Scared not just because he came back from the dead, but because now they had started to belive that he was indeed the man who had single handedly silenced their men to death.


    "I said chain him back!", yelled Nubeous and stormed back. He couldn''t belive how coward his men were but his strides were halted to see that flicker in his eyes as Morpheous walked forward.


    He snatched the whip from the hands of the soldier and lashed out on the bare ground and roared,


    "Move!"


    Then turning around and looking at the ring of soldiers around him, he said,


    "No one shall dare to touch a hair of my Godfather! No one shall dare to set a foot ahead because I swear in the name of heavens I will spare none."


    His words echoed like a prophecy and no one dared too move an inch and that was unacceptable by Nubeous. He couldn''t bear the fact that his soldiers defied him, his order. Gritting his teeth in anger, he waved his hands and flung the soldiers away, as if he was striking away the pawns in the game of chess and then looking at Morpheous he asked,


    "Was it you who dared to kill my soldiers?"


    His eyes looked bloodshot red in anger that was spewing within him. That anger slowly turned into a storm of rage as the man didn''t reply. He bent down instead to support his Godfather.


    "I command you to reply!" yelled Nubeous, giving the last chance of redemption to Morpheous, but that went in vain. So closing his eyes, he extended his right palm to the front as if he was sucking life out of someone.


    He was expecting Morpheous to be pulled in an instant towards him as he wanted to make that uncouth man to kneel down, but what he met was an equal resistance and that too when Morpheous was doing nothing.


    As he held the head of Damianos in his lap, Morpheous calmed down a bit. His rage was replaced by concern and he asked,


    "What has happened to you? What can I do for you?"


    Counting his last breath, Damianos held the arm of Morpheous and said,


    "Promise me that you will take the throne. Promise me today that you will rise. Promise me today that you will make the bolt of death appear in the sky tonight. That is all that wish for!"


    But before he could answer or ask any question, Morpheous saw that Nubeous had raised his hand again. But this time it wasn''t directed towards him, but Damianos.


    In a second Damianos was pulled towards Nubeous, who kept his foot over his chest and looking towards Morpheous he said,


    "Maybe you are strong enough, but is he?" and he slowly increased the pressure of his foot on Damianos''s chest.


    Morpheous paced ahead in anger but Nubeous raised his hand and said,


    "I wouldn''t have done that if I were you."


    Then with a devilish grin on his face, for he had caught the weak nerve of the man in front, Nubeous commanded,


    "Now you reply!"


    Morpheous looked at those pitiful yet peaceful eyes of Damianos and replied, "Yes, I killed your men but he didn''t. If you have a beef with me then I dare you to talk with me."


    "Dare!" exclaimed Nubeous and then said," Your life line is lying under the mercy of my foot, yet you are asking about dare."


    "Morpheous the bolt of death", said Damianos cutting in between after gathering up the left over courage that he possessed.


    Focussing his attention away from Nubeous, Morpheous asked him using his mind, without speaking a word,


    ''But how?''


    ''Make him kill you!''

 37 The bolt of death - 1

    [Author Note - Please do not forget to vote for me at the end of the chapter if you like my work!]


    .


    But little did Damianos know that Morpheous and he were not the sole possessors of the ability to communicate through their mind. Nubeous equally possessed the power and he could hear each and every word that they spoke about but he couldn''t understand why on earth anyone would like to face the bolt of death.


    So looking at Morpheous with vengeful yet curious eyes, he stomped his foot harder on Damianos''s chest and asked,


    "So you people want to see the bolt of death? Is that your death wish?"


    Damianos was surprised to know that Nubeous had the capacity to hear mind talk and so was Morpheous. But before he could reply, the souls started swirling around Morpheous, hissing around, whispering into his ears, instigating him for the age-old revenge that they had been wanting.


    "Rise Morpheous!"


    "Rise!"


    "Take the revenge of your father!"


    Nubeous had the power of the soul stone, yet he didn''t have the power to hear what the souls had to say, because he had always yielded the power of the souls but not at their will. They obeyed him as he was the possessor of the soul stone, but they had a different master and that was Morpheous.


    "What are you looking at?" yelled Nubeous as he saw Morpheous turning around as if someone next to him was communicating with him.


    He wanted to leap towards Nubeous and use his physical strength as that was all that he could think of as of now. But before he could even take a step further, suddenly the broad daylight started getting all dim.


    The souls who were swirling around Morpheous shrieked and vanished in an instant as the soul ring possessor had invoked them. The wind started howling in melancholy as it knew that it was time for someone to die. And in seconds the bolt of death perched up in the sky as if it was transcending heaven and the hell.


    This time Nubeous had snapped his fingers pointing up to the sky, to cast an enormous bolt. The surge of this lightning was so powerful, that no one could even keep their eyes open. He slowly compressed the bolt as he moved his fingers and made a claw shape with his hands.


    And then looking towards Morpheous he said,


    "Reveal yourself of this man shall die! And yes that would obviously fulfill the desire of both your hearts - to see the bolt of death."


    Gritting his teeth Morpheous replied, "I am a man of the soil. A peasant from Ambracia. A peasant whose house was burnt by you. A peasant whose livelihood was destroyed by your people. And yes I am the same peasant who killed your soldiers and I would not hesitate from doing so again."


    "A mere peasant," grumbled Nubeous and then asked, "Then how can a humble peasant talk without speaking. And I don''t think this man is an ordinary man either. So reveal yourself or chose to die. Give me whatever source of power that you possess" and saying that he morphed the bolt like a blazing comet, ready to be shot at Morpheous at any point in time.


    "I have nothing to reveal. This is me. I do not possess any source of power," said Morpheous and lowered his voice a bit as he could see that slowly tears had started to drip from the eyes of Damianos. He had no weapon that he could conjure and no place to use the strength that he possessed. The souls had also departed and there was no one to guide him.


    But Nubeous didn''t believe him. There was no way that a common man could kill his men without any source of power. He was afraid that he might have found a piece of the guide somehow.


    "Search him!", yelled Nubeous and immediately a batch of soldiers came ahead and started searching his body. A moment before they were scared of Morpheous but now seeing the might of their master, their confidence had a new high. They searched shamelessly without even sparing the gaps between his fingers but found nothing.


    "There is nothing master!", replied the soldiers and bowed their head.


    "Who sent you here then?" asked Nubeous to which Morpheous replied - "Your men. Your men dragged me here."


    Unhappy with his answer Nubeous increased the pressure on Damianos''s chest and,


    ''Crack''


    Broke a bone of Damianos''s rib cage. He didn''t yell or say a word but the blood that came out from his mouth was enough to tell Morpheous that his old man was in acute pain and that was something that he couldn''t bear any further.


    His amber eyes burnt in anger. He knew he was powerless but he had to do something. So without a second thought, he bent down and pounded his hand on the ground, expecting a divide to disbalance Nubeous.


    But unfortunately, nothing like that happened. Dejected, he pounded again, but alas! Nothing happened this time either.


    Taking a deep breath he looked at Damianos who looked miserable beyond the limit and then he looked at Nubeous who chuckled so see him in despair. So he closed his eyes and tried to listen to souls to guide him, but there came no voice for they all had now been conjured by Nubeous. With no strength and no ability, he said a silent prayer,


    "If I am really the one, if I am really the one upon whom this man had faith then Oh heavens! you shall show mercy," and saying that he pounded on the ground again.


    "Hiyaaaaahhhhhhh"


    This time he used every ounce of strength that he possessed and...


    ''Crack!''


    A mild tremor spread through the palace ground. It was extremely mild but Morpheous could feel it and so did Nubeous and before he could react, Morpheous pounded his fist again.


    ''Crack!''


    But this time Morpheous had pounded in such a way that the crack ran between both the legs of Nubeous.


    Imbalanced, he turned to one side and Damianos lied on the other, and then without wasting a second, Morpheous leaped towards the other side of the stage to save Damianos.


    But he was too late!


    Too late becasue the bolt of death had been cast away by Nubeous.

 38 The bolt of death - 2

    All that Morpheous could see was a blinding streak of light. He couldn''t open his eyes and face the light anymore. Everything felt hot around him.


    ''Boom''


    The thunder that came after was deafening. The noise was so loud that it pierced through the eardrums of many.


    "Gaaaaahhhhhhh"


    Screamed Morpheous as the blot slowly started engulfing his body. He knelt there howling in pain as he threw himself as a shield in front of Damianos. The bolt was trying to pass through his body, tearing away his flesh and burning a hole, but every fraction of the second, the wound was getting healed.


    His body was not letting the bolt to pierce him and burn him out.


    That canon ball of death struggled to even reach his bones. With every layer of tissue that was getting burnt a new layer got generated but that pain, no one was able to take that pain.


    "Gaaaaahhhhhhh"


    Morpheous yelped again but didn''t even budge an inch. He didn''t even one hair of Damianos to be harmed. But slowly the bolt took the shape of a ginormous orb that was ready to engulf Morpheous and he could feel the intensity of the flames increasing. It started burning him more.


    "Gaaaaahhhhhhh.... Gaaaaahhhhhhh"


    Yelled Morpheous continuously and on the other side the more he yelled in pain, the more Nubeous turned ecstatic. He was legit scared a moment before to see the power that his bare hands had possessed, but now hearing him yelp in pain, his soul found the much-needed solace.


    So he thrust more power intending to turn him into ashes, but lo and behold the sky started to crackle. Tens and hundreds of lightning laced the sky followed by the grumbling thunders. And then it started to pour.


    It poured like never before, dousing the cannonball of fire in the fraction of a second. And at that very second, the yell of Morpheous also stopped.


    "Finally!" muttered Nubeous and tried to see the remnant ashes of Morpheous. But the rain made it difficult. The downpour was so heavy that it reduced the visibility to almost nothing.


    Everyone ran to get a shelter for this was no ordinary rain as it followed the bolt of death.


    There was only one man who stood there braving the rain on the stage and that was Nubeous. He stood there because he wanted to see them gone. Wanted to see the people who dared to defy him as dead. Wanted to conclude that the sole possessor of the piece of the guide was him.


    But he should have feared the rain, for it was no ordinary one. It was rain which doused the bolt of death. A rain that appeared as if God was weeping to see Morpheous in pain.


    So braving that skin-piercing rain, he took a step ahead and tried to kick ahead to make sure that there was nobody around. He took a couple of steps, but his feet met none. And that made him gloat in pride. He held his head stiffly with his nose angled upward and his lips pursed with a superior, disdainful expression for there was no one who could match his strength.


    Once again he had proved to the world that he was the only one, the true ruler of the soul realm.


    And thus erupted a peal of eerie loud laughter, that soared even amidst the loudness of the downpour.


    It was madness, a sight of sheer madness that people all around had encountered. Although his strength triumphed that of Morpheous, his men still were reeling under what had happened a minute before.


    Even though that man had been turned into ashes, which got washed away in the rain, leaving no remnant of the strength and valor that he had shown, but that sight was etched in the hearts of the onlookers. For a common man had dared to stand against their master, a common man who almost imbalanced their master, a common man who if alive would have been the harbinger of ineffable mayhem.


    As the downpour silenced a bit, Nubeous turned around.


    He was expecting a loud cheering from his men. He was expecting his men to be all jubilant with his victory, but what he met was utter silence. There was something anomalous with his blue-blooded men.


    For long these men had been bearing his tyranny and evil conduct and had always cheered him for every single conquest and without a doubt, he was victorious in every single one of them. But somehow''s even though he was victorious today, they didn''t utter a word and that piqued Nubeous.


    His face which looked content a moment before changed into ferocious. Looking at his men he yelled,


    "Are you scared of the man who is dead?"


    "Are you so scared that you dare to defy your master?"


    His ears turned red in rage for no one dared to reply. He was about to stomp his foot in anger when suddenly a large chunk of the land which was on the other side of the crack went crumbling down like a landslide.


    That crack had become a huge rift, a great divide that pained his egoistic heart. And like an everlasting slap on his face, slowly that divide kept inching ahead. It didn''t spare the entire stage not the heritage building ahead.


    ''Crack!''


    ''Thud!''


    And the heritage building came crumbling down. Such was the power of Morpheous that even after his death he hounded Nubeous. His men swerved, looking in the direction of the great collapse. Some marveled at the power of the deceased fighter while some feared to see the mayhem that he had brought upon.


    Standing all alone on the stage, he might have had wiped Morpheous and Damianos from the face of his land, but even after his death, he had managed to wipe away that happiness of the conquest from the face of Nubeous.


    That soul scaring eerie and deafening silence was disturbed by the neighing of a horse!


    [Press that VOTE button!!!]

 39 Dungeon tales - 1

    Balthazaar opened his eyes to the buzzing of the flies and realized that he had fallen asleep for quite some time but he felt as if it was over far too soon.


    Opening his eyes wide, he tried hard to improve his visibility, but in vain. There was no light inside that place. Not even a slick crack that would allow the light to illuminate the grim surrounding. Everything was pitch black and he felt as if he was already inside a hell hole.


    Had it been any other day, he would have easily escaped. He could have turned the time and helped himself out. After all, he was a perpetual traveler. But today he was at the mercy of fate. He still needed a couple of days to heal back so that he could use his power to transcend across time.


    But staying in the dungeon for a few days without the supply of food, water, and almost no ventilation was equivalent to sleeping on one''s death bed. There was so much left undone. A feeling similar to starting a book but not knowing what happens at ''The End''. He was shaken, just thinking about - What if?


    There were thousands of questions reeling inside his head, poking him, provoking him,


    ''Did Nicholas reach Ambracia?''


    ''Was he able to stop Morpheous from fighting against Nubeous?''


    ''Did he give the wolfsbane to Morpheous in time or not?''


    But the most important question of all which was haunting him was if Nicholas was safe or not. He was a good man but neither he was skilled in fighting, nor he was skilled at deceiving. He was not at all fit for this job, but he was his only hope that he was counting on.


    So pushing away these heaps of thoughts and taking a deep breath, he got up to try to figure out the place that had trapped him. But suddenly he was distracted with a muffled noise that came from the outside.


    ''Inaudible voices''


    ''Thup Thup Thup''


    It seemed like several people were running in a single direction and they sounded agitated.


    He placed his ears along the surface of the dungeon wall which was lined with moss and slime and tried to decipher what the chaos was all about. Although he couldn''t figure out what the voices said, he could sense that something huge was happening.


    He leaned his back against the wall and tried to ease out his breath. Suffocation had started to creep in. He tried to calm his mind and channel his focus because he knew that if he didn''t then the dungeon would soon make him delirious. He didn''t want to turn insane, but slowly the reserve of oxygen inside the hell hole was depleting.


    He was about to close his eyes when his hands which were placed on the wall touched a ridge sort of a line. He turned back and ran his fingers and could feel a faint crack, as thin as a hairline in the wall.


    He had no energy left in his body to make any attempt to widen the crack with brute force. So he bent down and tried to find something lying on the floor which could help him out. Running his fingers through the filth, he finally found a small shard of metal. But somehow instead of feeling cold, that metal felt hot.


    So he tried to touch the ground underneath, but it was cold too, just like the walls.


    ''Strange!'', he thought and then lifted it up in his hands and he could feel that it was attached to something.


    Inching his fingers ahead he found that it was a locket. Its leather string was still intact, albeit a bit tattered. Probably the metal had been crushed by something and that made it like a shard which he could use as a hand knife.


    Slowly he started gouging along that crack line and after the hundredth attempt, the dungeon could finally see a streak of light.


    Blood was oozing out from his fingers. His nails had been chipped, but he didn''t care. He inched himself closer to that barely opened crack and inhaled the air. A respite, it was, from the pungent stench that he had been inhaling all along.


    Gauging the brightness and the color of yellow that passed through that crack, he could sense that everything was normal. A strange calmness and tranquility warmed him up. Perhaps Nicholas had done it!


    But that calmness was ephemeral!


    He could see the color of yellow disappearing the very next minute. There was a strange stillness in the air, just like that in an ocean, just before a storm and no one was more familiar to this than him.


    He closed his eyes and wore the locket like an armor, waiting for the bolt of death to be cast upon. And then followed the thunder, so deafening that even the walls of the dungeon started rattling. Taking deep breaths he lifted his robe and held out his necrotic arm.


    ''You got to help me one more time. This one time!''


    ''You need to endure this just once.''


    The image of his father, the death bed, the promise, the coliseum, the grotesque death scene, everything started coming back in flashes.


    ''Why father, why did you ask me to save this man? How can he be the chosen one?'' he screamed inside his head and then started to slowly conjure all his strength.


    His lips moved as he repeated,


    ''Vincit qui se vincit'' [He conquers who conquers himself]


    ''Vincit qui se vincit''


    His necrotic arm started to have a faint glow. His veins which were already dead started burning in all shades of red and orange.


    His lips quivered as the toll on his body started increasing but he didn''t stop. The faint glow started becoming brighter and brighter as if it was trying to hit a crescendo but then all of a sudden, everything halted.


    His body turned limp and he blacked out.


    A fresh breeze ruffled his clothes.

 40 Dungeon tales - 2

    The sudden neighing of the horse startled Nubeous and he turned around to figure out what was happening, but he could see nothing. All that he could hear was the faint galloping that faded in the direction of the butterfly garden.


    There was strange haze that was blocking his view. It was weird to see a haze when it was pouring to this extent. Nothing was burning, but he had definitely seen the smoke. He rubbed his eyes, just to ensure that his eyes were not clouded.


    He craned his neck to figure out what was happening but the chaos that had spread on this side made him turn back.


    The sight in front of him was devastating.


    He was no ordinary man. He possessed no guide, yet the power that he possessed was ginormous. Even though he had turned him into ashes, he had turned his heritage building into rubble.


    Mincing his anger, Nubeous right now badly wished for that man not to be dead. He wished to torture him so that he could see the fear of death in his eyes. But alas! the deed had already been done.


    Soaking wet under the rain, he looked up at the sky and he could see that slowly the dark clouds which had been swirling ever since had started drifting away. The downpour had become a drizzle, that was drop after drop, reopening the wound of insult.


    He could hear people mumbling,


    "Was he really as a peasant?"


    "Is he... Is he the one?"


    "Will he return?"


    Unable to bear the sight of his men, panicking because of the might of the man, who he had just killed agitated him to such an extent that he lost all his cool and shouted.


    "Silence..........."


    And the entire crowd of his soldiers started shaking like leaves as it was never a good omen to see their master in anger.


    So one of the soldiers immediately rushed inside the palace and came back with a blanket to cover his master who had been soaking in the rain.


    He ran towards Nubeous with the plush velvet blanket that he was hiding behind his cape to prevent it from getting wet.


    "Master!"


    He said and then covered his master with the blanket. That poor man expected his master to be happy with his gesture, but instead, he was welcomed by bloodshot eyes.


    Listing him up, with his hand that gripped his neck, Nubeous gritted his teeth and asked,


    "What took you so long?"


    All helpless, unable to utter a word, that soldier tried to move his arms, but everything was in vain. And when he stopped moving, Nubeous hoised him even higher, before throwing his body far away from the stage.


    It was the calling of his vengeance that making him do its bidding.


    The fire that was there in his heart still hadn''t calmed down. Morpheous had ruined his day. Even his triumph looked more or less like a joke. But right now there was nothing that he could do. So with fiery eyes and flared nostrils, he marched towards his chambers all alone.


    No one dared to sound the foghorn.


    No one dared to follow behind him.


    He always took pride in his brutishness, but today a mere peasant had made his pride fall. He had to take measures. So as he entered the palace, he called his keeper and ordered him to ask the members of the council to assemble in his royal chamber.


    He was pretty sure that his bolt had killed both Morpheous and Damianos, but there was something fishy about that haze that unsettled him.


    As he changed into fresh robes, he gulped the wine that was remaining in his room since morning. That helped to calm his nerves a bit.


    Soon enough the ministers assembled in his room, but neither of them had any courage to say anything for they all were aware of the fate that the soldier had. Even a good deed had no chance today!


    He sat on the cot and narrowed his eyes and looked at Diogenes, who was the newly appointed head of the general council and asked,


    "Have you ever seen a man rise from his grave, Diogenes?"


    Evincing the symptoms of uneasiness, Diogenes replied, "No master!"


    "Then why on earth, are people pinning hope on his return when I have turned him to dust?" enquired Nubeous and resumed back on his wine.


    Diogenes, even though loyal to Nubeous, had been scared after seeing the sight today. People had started to talk about the prophecy that had been long forgotten and he along with the other council members had heard it too.


    Till now that had believed that their master was the one, for he was the one who conjured the bolt of death. But seeing the mayhem today, they definitely had second thoughts.


    Nubeous saw that his councilmen were hesitant. Perhaps the killing of the soldier had scared the hell out them.


    Letting out a grating laugh, he said,


    "Fear not, for I shall not lay a finger on your lives!"


    Mustering up a bit of courage, Diogenes replied, "Master it is all because of the prophecy."


    "I know what the prophecy says. It tells about me, the son of God, the chosen one..." and saying that he started narrating the words from the prophecy.


    ''The bolt of death,


    Will perch up in the sky.


    Oh, the suitor of death,


    The throne you would decry,


    The son of God will Rise,


    Cross your heart and hope to die.''


    "I rose and I killed him. Get it?" he said and looked at his council members in search of approval. But all he could get was blank eyes and sealed lips that said nothing, gave nothing.


    His face burned with mortification and mingled rage for he was aware that their silence was nothing but an insult that was slowly getting smeared on his face. Resenting their presence, he went towards the window and tried to look into the distance.

 41 Dungeon Tales - 3

    His eyes burned with revenge.


    He was no longer looking at the objects or people around him. His eyes seemed like gazing beyond and far beyond. The paleness of his face turned from worse to worst as his state of mind started playing with him.


    The clouds started moving in front of him as if they were being rearranged to shroud the mountains. The shape of a horse was formed atop the mountain in the distance. It looked like it was galloping ahead and there was a man who had perched atop the horse.


    The sudden neighing sound that he had heard back at the palace ground, started echoing in his head.


    "Arrggghhhhh....."


    He yelled and his voice clearly reflected the torment that he was going through. The glass of wine that he was holding in his hand, took the toll of his anger. That thin stem of alloy couldn''t stand his pressure and was succumbed into two. The remnant wine spilled on the floor and stained the carpet.


    The sharp edge of the broken metal pierced the skin of his palm and made his blood rush out through the broken skin.


    "Master!"


    Whispered Diogenes, but scared of being scarred by his master, he retracted the rest of the sentence that was on the tip of his tongue.


    Other members of the council looked at each other with eyes showing nothing but a restless fright within and then they looked at Diogenes, for they didn''t know what was to be done next. Staying in the room meant facing the wrath of their master and leaving the room without his permission meant a disregard of his authority.


    Either way, their fate was doomed so they decided to silently depart the room.


    Having noticed a slight movement, he turned his head and saw them all departing the room noiselessly.


    "Ungrateful cowards!" yelled Nubeous and threw the remains of the wine glass on to the wall. The only thing that could calm him now was the news of the whereabouts of the ingot. But he had to do something about the itch that his heart was dealing with.


    Feeling restless, he decided to march towards Ambracia himself. His want for that ingot, his want for that supremacy was never this strong.


    So along with an entourage of forty strong men, he galloped towards Ambracia. A part of him curious to know about the origin of the man who had almost pushed him on the verge of defeat.


    He rode for hours at a stretch not even halting for once, not even allowing the horses to have a drop of water till he reached Ambracia village. The wrath of the fire and the merciless rain was evident.


    Everything that had been burnt had been washed away. The only part which was still habituated was the area near the pond where the apothecary was treating the people along with the help of a few more villagers.


    Seeing the entourage from the kingdom, the people from Ambracia scattered away in fear. Eva hid behind Nefeli, wrapping her fingers around the scarf that her mother had tied around her waist. Before the head soldier could announce the arrival of Master Nubeous in front of the villagers, he himself got down from his horse and walked towards one of the villagers who was lying on a piece of a rug as his legs had been badly burnt.


    He knew perfect;y that this man couldn''t run, so he inched closer to him, enjoying the fear that was visible in his eyes and asked,


    "Do you know who Morpheous is?"


    Nefeli''s heart skipped a beat as she heard the question and so did Eva''s.


    "Mother!" she whispered in fear. Her heart was already been agitated for long as her bother had been away for several hours and there was no news about their whereabouts. But Nefeli immediately turned back and covered her mouth with her palm. Every hair on her skin knew how ruthless that man was.


    "Did you burn your tongue as well?" yelled Nubeous, uncomfortable with the spread of silence.


    "Yes, I do!" echoed a frail yet undaunted voice.


    Nubeous turned in the direction of the voice and found a female in her forties with a broken leg, looking in his direction. A crooked smile etched on his face as he had located the source for information.


    "Who is he? Was he born here? Are his parents alive?" asked Nubeous looking in the direction of Iris.


    "He is my son," said Leonidas and came forward bravely.


    Nubeous scanned him from top to bottom and smirked, for he looked way too ordinary. ''A child of such a common man cannot be the chosen one, he thought and relinquished the labor of his agony and turned consoled at once, unspeakably consoled for just the thought of inflicting pain on his father was enough to quench his revenge thirsty soul.


    "Kneel!", he commanded and Leonidas obeyed. NUbeous''s hand reached for the hilt of his words and seeing that Eva couldn''t contain herself. She had lost them once and found them back. She was not going to lose them again.


    "Father!" yelled Eva and ran towards him and Nefeli followed after her, but before she could get hold of her daughter, she was already standing before Nubeous. She looked battered but her soul wasn''t and in her eyes, Nubeous couldn''t see even a hint of fear.


    "My father is innocent. You have no right to punish him," she yelled.


    She had that same fearlessness in her eyes as did Morpheous and that irked every ounce of his skin.


    "Forgive her master. She is naive," said Nefeli and pulled Eva back before Nubeous could even frown but little did she know that his blood had already started to boil. He was so enraged that his pores started oozing out sweat, even though the rain had cooled the air.


    He paused and wiped his forehead and pushed his hair back that had clung to his forehead, wet with perspiration. His eyes fixed on hers which burned with rage. And in the next moment, the arches on his temples were raised and so was the sword of death.

 42 Fight for family - 1

    ''Splash.....''


    She closed her eyes as a warm pool of blood blotched her face. It colored her red. She didn''t dare to open her eyes for that splatter was followed by a gut-wrenching scream of her mother and a light thump.


    ''Thud....''


    Tears ran through the corners of her eyes for she couldn''t dare to see the reality. She had seen the sword rise once at the coliseum and that had drained a pool of blood from the chest of her brother, so she couldn''t bear to see the havoc.


    "Leonidas!"


    "Leonidas!"


    Nefeli cried like a mad woman holding the headless body of her husband. For a moment the body trembled in her hands just like a flicker, before departing forever, leaving her beloved agonizing in the pang of separation.


    Holding her breath, Eva opened her eyes only to scream and fall back as she saw the head of her father, lying in a pool of blood.


    Her hands trembled, for she didn''t dare to touch .....


    "No..... No..... No.....," she screamed, pushing herself further away as if trying hard to run away from reality. She turned to her side and saw the lifeless body of her father which had been beheaded, and there was a sudden surge of anger deep within her heart.


    "You monster!"


    "If there is God, and if he is watching you, then you will have the same painful death. I curse you!" yelled Eva.


    "Huh! You runt! How dare you?", yelled Nubeous and his men surrounded Nefeli and Eva. Seeing the march of the soldiers, the villagers who for once thought of going up to Nefeli and Eva to console them, went back into hiding.


    "You want to kill me? Do you want to kill my mother too? Go ahead! What are you waiting for?" yelled Eva and desperately looked around for something to hurt Nubeous, but alas, she could find nothing.


    Dejected, she pounced on the soil with her bare hands, picking up the dirt and flung it at Nubeous. But her desperate act couldn''t even touch a hair on the body of Nubeous. The soil, the grime, the dirt, all fell down in front of Nubeous as if even they were obeying his orders.


    "You coward!", yelled Eva again and then turned back in search of help. She couldn''t fight this man alone. She needed someone just to stand next to her. She needed someone to support her. But that someone was nowhere to be seen.


    She had nothing more to lose. She with all her might, she yelled,


    "Morpheous!"


    "Morpheous! Help me Morpheous!"


    "Come back, brother. Please come back!"


    She was about to yell some more but her shout was suppressed as she heard a peal of grated laughter from the mouth of Nubeous, and when he was done laughing his heart out, he paused for a second.


    His lips were curved and there was blatant pride that reflected from his face at that moment. Looking at Eva with fake pity he said,


    "Forget about him. He isn''t coming here to save you."


    Clenching her fists Eva turned back towards him.


    ''When he had arrived he had asked for his brother and now this statement. Why? Why? Why?'' she thought but before she could ask him anything she heard her mother speak.


    "You vile ingrate man. Do not take the name of my son with your uncouth mouth." Her eyes burned with anger. The mother inside her couldn''t take a word against her son.


    "Hah... Hah... Hah...," laughed Nubeous again and said,


    "You mere humans. You never understand that I am not you. I am the chosen one whom you should fear and this is what happens when you forget the fear," grunted Nubeous.


    "We are not scared of you!" said Eva and stood there with a brave face, ready to accept death then and there.


    "Tch... Tch... Tch..."


    Said Nubeous and then looking at Nefeli with a sly smile on his face, he said, "Your son didn''t learn to fear me. At least teach your daughter to do so..." and without a word, he turned back and started walking towards his horse.


    "What do you mean? What do you mean by that? Where is my son? What did you do to my son?" begged Nefeli as she ran and held his legs.


    But that merciless man kicked that poor lady away and mounted his horse. But before he galloped he said,


    "Let''s just say your son and your beloved, have met the same fate!"


    "Hiyaaaaahhhh..."


    Eva slumped on the ground, for it was too much for her to take.


    The day was coming to an end, devoid of any sunshine and so was her life. Slowly the people gathered around them to comfort them but their words seemed hollow. Nothing was able to calm the tremor that her heart was suffering from.


    Soon the night came in.


    The harvest moon was shining bright in the sky for the sky had been cleared in the downpour. The stars flickered every now and then


    Nefeli sat next to the palm tree like a log of wood, devoid of any emotions. Her eyes looked dry as if she had run out of all her tears, but seeing her Eva couldn''t fathom if it was the weight of grief that was not letting her tears flow down.


    Wiping away her own tears and mustering up the little remnant courage in her heart, Eva got up and sat close to her mother.


    She looked at her, but Nefeli gave no reaction. She didn''t even blink her eye, so Eva bent her head a bit, wanting to rest her head on the lap of her mother. Apart from her, she had no one upon whom she could count on now. Nefeli was everything that she had. Her last straw of hope, upon which she desperately wanted to cling on to.


    ''Thud....''


    And before she could even rest her head for a second on her mother''s lap, her body slumped to the opposite side.


    Her last straw of hope was now lying limp on the floor.

 43 Fight for family - 2

    Her lips parted in shock for she couldn''t comprehend for a moment what just happened.


    "Mother!" she whispered and patted her body.


    "Mother wake up! Why are you are like this?" she questioned as tears started streaming her eyes again to see no flicker of life in her.


    "Mother!" she screamed at the top of her lungs and hearing that people who were sitting and resting nearby gathered next to her.


    Erastus held Eva as his father tried to check the pulse of Nefeli. He checked per pulse and then brought his ears close to her chest and then to her nose again. He repeated it a couple of times.


    "What''s wrong? What''s wrong?" asked that little girl not wanting to believe that there was something wrong with her mother.


    But all that she got as a reply, was sheer silence as the apothecary slowly removed his hand from her pulse point and closed her eyelids as he moved his palm over her face gently.


    "No... No... No...." yelled Eva and gave out a wretched loud cry.


    Even the dogs howled along with her in harmony as if they could sense that something was wrong. A tone of melancholy was spread again even though it was perennially present before.


    She was angry with God for she couldn''t believe that he could be so merciless to take everything that she had in her life and leave her orphaned in a day.


    The anger build up to such an extent within her that she got up and wiped her tears and took a solemn vow to finish off the man who had taken away everything from her. She started walking towards the croplands as she knew that Nubeous had gone in that direction, probably still in search of that ingot.


    "Eva, where are you going?" asked Erastus and came close to her. He didn''t want the little devastated one to do something reckless on her own.


    But Eva didn''t reply and kept walking. Poor Iris who was watching the whole thing since evening couldn''t come close to the little one to console her, so she shouted from afar.


    "Eva, I need help."


    And as If Eva woke up from a trance, she looked in the direction of Iris who looked like she was in pain.


    "Come here, please!" begged Iris and Eva couldn''t avoid her cry for help even though right now revenge was all that she could think of.


    "What help do you need Iris?" asked Erastus who had come along with Eva.


    "Come close to me Eva!" said Iris and then took out an amulet and wrapped it around the neck of Eva.


    "From where did you get this? Why are you giving it to me now?" asked Eva looking at Iris with pain-filled eyes for it was the amulet of her brother.


    "I think he dropped it before leaving. Maybe he wanted to leave something before..." and the words just stopped in her mouth. She knew that Eva was young but she knew that she was a smart one who would be capable enough to make the right decisions in life.


    "Hold it close to your heart Eva. It will give you strength! Don''t do something that they would not want you to do," said Iris and ran her fingers through the hair of the child who had lost everything in a day, in the flash of a second. Nobody knew what it felt like to lose everything in life than her. She survived it somehow, but she didn''t know how this little one was going to deal with it.


    Holding the amulet tightly in the wraps of her fingers, Eva said,


    "I will not spare him!"


    "But he is the chosen one, Eva! What possibly can you do to him? It''s not the time to be reckless Eva. Let''s gather whatever we have and leave the wretched place that this village has become," Erastus said and held the hand of Eva to take her back.


    But she stood there all stiff for her resolve was undeterrable.


    "He cannot be the chosen one!"


    "My brother was the chosen one!" said Eva and started walking back. Holding that last sign of her brother she started walking towards the croplands to meet that demon who had no soul.


    Erastus wanted to help her out, but he knew that it was going to be in vain. Many villagers tried to stop her, but she had made up her mind. She was not afraid of marching alone.


    After all, she had nothing to lose.


    .


    .


    Hundreds of torches had lit up the entire area near the cropland where the soldiers had been tirelessly searching for the ingot in vain. Their blood and sweat had almost drenched the cropland. The dead bodies of their brothers who came before them were still strewn all across for Nubeous had ordered them to ignore it and keep on digging.


    Those unattended bodies with the arrows stuck in them had peeled away the smug smile that he had on his face after beheading Morpheous''s father.


    "Faster! Dig faster!" lashed out Nubeous at his men who had not found any sign of the ingot. Only a last couple of fields were left to be dug open and that was adding up to his misery which acted as the fuel for his rage.


    He was pacing around when suddenly he could feel a pulse in his soul ring.


    "It''s here!"


    "Yes, It''s here!"


    It was the same pulse that he had felt before.


    Pure ecstasy ran through his veins as his search was finally coming to an end. The quest for the other half of his guide, the quest to be the eternal ruler of the soul realm.


    The soldiers looked up at their master who looked all jubilant. There was a faint glow that had spread on his hands and they understood that finally, it was the moment that their master will be pleased.


    So without wasting a moment, they started digging up faster, using up the last reserve of their energy in search of that ingot.


    And then suddenly the shovel of one of those men hit something.


    ''Clank''


    The sign of metal, the sign of the ingot.

 44 Finding the ingot - 1

    With a sudden surge of new energy, the soldiers began digging harder. The clank of metal was the ominous sign that they had been looking for.


    When they had reached the fields of Ambracia, the gut-wrenching sight of the dead bodies of their own made them think if this whole madness was even real. They didn''t understand or believe in those tales that they had been hearing since ages about the ingot.


    Along with their master, they had searched for it in various land terrains, but all their effort was in vain until today.


    ''Clank''


    ''Clank''


    Echoed the sound as multiple shovels hit that metal. The more they dug, the more powerful was the vibration that he felt in his hand, the more ecstatic he became. His men finally removed all the soil from the surface of that chunk of jet black metal, that glistened under the light of the moon and the flicker of the torches.


    It took six men to hoist the ingot and bring it close to their master whose eyes gleamed just with the thought of the power that he could amass from the unification of the two parted parts of the guide.


    He bent down and with his own bare hands, he cleaned whatever remnant soil was present on that metal boulder. He looked at it fondly as if it was a creation of his own and then said,


    "Each of you... Mark my words... Each of you who has helped me with this journey of mine will receive fifty gold coins. You shall also get one year''s worth of wheat and oats supply, from the state granary for your entire family, no matter how large is the mouth that you need to feed.


    "My words shall be placed in a royal dictum for your name shall go in the pages of history. This, my men, is the beginning of a new era!"


    He said and let out a grating and boisterous laugh that echoed through the emptiness of the cropland.


    The soldiers hailed their master and forgot the sadness that had gripped their hearts a moment before. The dead bodies didn''t matter anymore. All that mattered was the glitter of the gold.


    But then they saw a tiny shadow approaching them and that quietened their laugh.


    As that tiny soul closed in her proximity, Nubeous turned back to find out what caused the uproar to silence all of a sudden, and the moment he saw her, he chuckled.


    "Some people never learn!" he muttered.


    Holding nothing but revenge deep inside her soul, she walked towards them all by herself at the same pace. She wasn''t scared to see the staggering number of soldiers around that place because deep down she knew that even one soldier was enough to kill her, but that little one had something else in her mind.


    She knew that all by herself she couldn''t do anything, so she wanted to still a rebellion in the minds of hundreds. She wasn''t scared of dying but she wanted people to know that a man who could kill a defenseless thirteen-year-old girl, could never be the ''chosen one''.


    "Looks like your mother still didn''t teach you!"


    Lamented Nubeous as Eva came closer.


    With her stone-cold eyes, she looked at Nubeous and said,


    "How could she when she didn''t survive? Her blood is on you, monster!"


    Her voice echoes in the emptiness.


    "So what do you want me to do? Beg for forgiveness? Bring them back to life? Nothing can change what has happened in time," Nubeous muttered and suddenly those words got etched in her heart.


    ''Nothing can change what has happened in time.''


    ''Nothing can change what has happened in time.''


    She mumbled to herself.


    ''They had died earlier in the fire and brother and I had saved them this time. But still, they died.''


    ''That means...''


    And a faint laugh flickered on her face.


    ''Then probably that means my brother isn''t dead. He can''t be dead. Nothing can change what has happened in time.''


    She babbled and kept on babbling,


    "Nothing can change what has happened in time."


    Irritated with her rampant mumbling, Nubeous said, "Take her away. I am not in a mood to kill anymore. Prepare a march to the kingdom."


    His restless mind didn''t care about her audacity for the vibrations that he felt in his hand had become stronger. He could feel his stone being pulled like a magnet. The ingot was craving to encompass the soul ring.


    Hearing the words of their master, two soldiers came and captured the arms of Eva. They didn''t want the little one to face the wrath of there master because once angry, he was the most unforgiving person in the entire world. So they dragged her away, to take her as far away from their master as possible.


    But as they dragged the reluctant soul, she yelled,


    "You will die..."


    "You will die the most merciless death in the hands of my brother..."


    "A death so merciless that even the vultures and crows will not be able to touch your flesh..."


    .


    .


    "Shut up girl! Do you want to die? No mortal can even touch a hair on master Nubeous''s body. Shut urself up, else you won''t see the light of the day," mumbled the soldier who was holding Eva.


    But instead of getting angry, Nubeous''s face reflected a smug laugh instead.


    "Who... Morpheous? Do you think your brother will come back from the dead to kill me?


    "Hah... the insanity!"


    Then looking at the girl with the murderous expression that he looked at Morpheous with, he said, "With these hands of mine I had silenced your brother to death. And like you said, no crows and vultures will be able to eat his flesh for he has been turned to dust. Consider yourself lucky that you have dared to defy me in the happiest moment of my life, for I have chosen to forgive your audacity."


    He then turned towards the ingot as the soldiers dragged her away.


    Suddenly the vibrations in his hands started to recede.

 45 Finding the ingot - 2

    As the gentle breeze ruffled through his hair and the little drops of water trickled from the pine needles on his face and body, Balthazaar slowly opened his eyes. He could feel the fresh air filling his lungs. The unbearable stench was gone.


    Although his vision was hazy, he could see that there was a horse in front of him that was galloping ahead and with the way his body moved, he realized that he was sitting on a horse himself. He looked down at his hands and found them tied. His body was also tied to someone.


    ''Did I turn time? Where am I?'' he pondered and turned back to find who the rider was and seeing the familiar face of Nicholas he breathed a sigh of relief.


    "Balthazaar! Are you ok?" asked Nicholas as he saw the old man wake up and turn back. He immediately took one of his hands off the reins and unfastened the cloth which was tried to his hands.


    "I am fine! Is Nubeous fine? What happened? Where are we and who are those people?", asked Balthazaar with an anxious voice looking in the direction of the horse that was galloping ahead of him.


    Nicholas took a deep breath and spoke sarcastically for he was still irked to hear his concern for Nubeous,


    "Yes, the very man who tried to put you in the dungeon of death is fine."


    His mockery didn''t go unnoticed by Balthazaar, but he was bound by the promise, an unbreakable vow that he could end only after he died. But hearing that Nubeous was safe, he breathed a sigh of relief and then said,


    "I knew it! I knew you were the one who could help me stop Morpheous!" said Balthazaar and felt relieved with his choice. This man was going to be his successor as the protector of the throne keeper.


    "Stop Morpheous! Huh!" lamented Nicholas as he pressed his legs against his horse to make it move faster as they were lagging behind.


    "What do you mean?" questioned Balthazaar, seeing him acting up all vexed.


    Nicholas took a deep breath and said,


    "That man that you see ahead, galloping on that horse, is Morpheous. And I didn''t stop him. The heavens would agree as I dare say this, not even God could have stopped him, but he himself. He chose to save his master rather than fighting Nubeous. He chose to save you despite the fact that we the ones who plotted against him."


    There was resentment in his voice and that burnt the face of Balthazaar for he knew that he was being consciously insulted but was embarrassed as he didn''t know how to resent the promise that he made to his father.


    "He is no ordinary man Balthazaar. He is beyond us, beyond Nubeous, beyond the reach of anyone."


    "Hiyaaahhh..."


    And he stroked his horse to move faster again.


    Hearing his words Balthazaar stayed in silence for a moment, looking in the direction of Morpheous. A bit of guilt started encroaching a corner of his heart. Unable to assimilate the thoughts inside of his head he asked,


    "What happened?"


    "What happened?" chuckled Nicholas and then said, "A grave mistake. A grave mistake from our side. A grave mistake that Nubeous has made, which probably he can never rectify."


    "Can you tell me in detail rather than playing riddles with me?" urged Balthazaar.


    Nicholas took a deep breath and said,


    "Today when I had reached their village, there was nothing left. Everything had been turned into ashes. They were trying to hold onto the last pieces of their lives, trying to survive, but then came in the men from the kingdom. Around three hundred men, in search of that ingot.


    "We went to talk with them politely, to try to persuade them from ruining the leftover crops as their livelihood was dependant on it, but they didn''t listen. And they committed a sin of standing against him. They killed his friend in front of him and it was then that the hell broke loose.


    "I assumed he was a strong man, but I was wrong. He is not a man, he cannot be a mortal, he cannot be an angel for his powers were beyond human imagination. The earth shook into pieces as he was enraged and he killed them all."


    "He killed them all?" asked Balthazaar all surprised, even though he had seen his might before.


    "Yes, every single one of them until the guilt crept in and a few soldiers who were in hiding took the opportunity and dragged him to the Kingdom."


    "Why didn''t you give him the wolfsbane?" asked Balthazaar. "That was the first thing I had asked you to do. Didn''t I?"


    "Oh, I did. I did everything that you had told me to. But there are angels guiding over him who saved him from it," said Nicholas and pointed ahead. "There, along with him is his master, a fallen angel like you. It was for his sake that this man left the kingdom."


    "A fallen angel like me? Who?" asked Balthazaar curiously.


    "Damianos."


    "Damianos!" exclaimed Balthazaar as if memories and tales of the past came flooding in.


    "But he is hurt, badly hurt," said Nicholas.


    "It''s ok... We will figure something out. The good thing is he didn''t fight Nubeous. Good that he chose to save him," sighed Balthazaar.


    "Oh! No! Balthazaar! No! You have understood me wrong. When I said he chose not to fight, I mean he chose not to fight back. Nubeous tried to fight with him with all his might, but he chose just to shield himself and his godfather, his guiding angel."


    "Shield? Shield from what?", asked Balthazaar. His breath was hitched for he didn''t want to hear what he was fearing.


    "The bolt of death. That man took the bolt of death all in and yet you see him alive in flesh and blood. He is no ordinary man Balthazaar, he is the one. A righteous, benevolent yet the fiercest of his kind."


    Balthazaar closed his eyes in despair for even the time travel couldn''t help the prophecy from being true.


    ''The bolt of death,


    Will perch up in the sky.


    "What have you done Nubeous? Now even the heavens cannot save you," mumbled the old man and looked at the horse galloping ahead.


    All that he could see was his broad back from behind.

 46 Finding the ingot - 3

    The dusk was falling rapidly and that mellow evening was becoming somber. The moon was casting undefined shadows to lurk around the corners of the narrow path through the woods. The stridulation of crickets was constantly breaking the blanket of silence that had prevailed around them.


    It had been a tiring day, not just for them, but for their horses as well. But they didn''t stop galloping, not even for a moment even if their gaskins were almost on the verge of a tear. Neither did they neigh nor did they nicker, as if they knew that had to take these men safely to Ambracia.


    But then suddenly the horse ahead of them halted and Balthazar saw Morpheous climbing down from the horse.


    "Hut Hut"


    Said Nicholas and pulled the rein to stop his horse. He too got down from his horse and helped Balthazaar get down as well. Then he walked towards Morpheous and asked,


    "What happened?"


    "Damianos doesn''t feel well," said Morpheous and gently helped Daminaos to get down from the horse. Carrying his fragile body in his arms, he walked towards a nearby tree and helped him rest.


    Then turning towards Nicholas, he said,


    "There is a lake nearby, can you help to get some water for him?"


    "Sure!" said Nicholas and turned towards Balthazaar and said, "You stay with them. I will be back in no time," and he rode away with his horse into the woods in the direction that Morpheous had pointed earlier.


    Slightly limping and holding his necrotic arm, Balthazaar walked towards Daminaos and with a bit of effort, he managed to sit on the ground next to him. He then checked his pulse which was barely feeble. His entire body was sweating profusely and his eyes were still shut close.


    He turned towards Morpheous, whose ginormous stance itself was overwhelming for him and asked,


    "What happened to him?"


    Pinching the space between his eyebrows, Morpheous replied,


    "He did this to himself in order to save me. He passed away all his energy so that I could wake up," said Morpheous and supported the neck of Damianos with his hand.


    "He did what?" exclaimed Balthazaar and hurried to open his robe to take a look at his chest and true to his fear, his chest had turned necrotic just like his hand. His heart had taken the toll of the transfer.


    "What is wrong with him?" asked Morpheous as he saw a worried look on the face of Balthazaar.


    Hearing his question, Balthazaar got up and pulled the right arm of his robe up and revealed his own necrotic arm. The necrosis vein pattern looked similar to that of Damianos but was much worse and darker.


    "Are you ok? What has happened to your arm? If you are ok with this thing then he will be ok too right?" asked Morpheous in desperation.


    "We call it alpha-genesis, the transfer of one''s spirit energy to another."


    Hearing which Moprhoeus asked in the next instant, "Then, can I do the same and help him out?"


    Balthazaar looked at him for a moment and then said, "Only non-mortals can do that. Non-mortals like me," and he bent down and placed his index and middle finger on his heart where the necrosis had happened and closed his eyes.


    Even he didn''t have much energy left, but he had to save Damianos and only his energy was capable of saving him as their ancestry was the same.


    A faint pulse of light was transferred from Balthazaar and the moment it reached Damianos''s heart, he coughed hoarsely.


    "Damianos!" exclaimed Morpheous and rubbed his back with his hands to calm him down and the moment he felt relieved he turned and saw the face of Morpheous.


    "You are... you are..."


    "I am alive Damianos. You saved me and everything is fine. Just rest now for some time" he said and hugged him tightly.


    By then Nicholas had arrived, carrying water in dried coconut shells for both Damianos and Balthazaar.


    After drinking the water, Damianos felt a bit better and again opened his eyes.


    "Where are we?" he asked looking at Morpheous and then looked at the old man resting in front of him along with Nicholas and exclaimed,


    "Balthazaar!"


    "Do you know him?" asked Morpheous and hearing which a faint smile spread on his lips. He touched his chest as he could feel a weird tautness and saw the necrosis that had been engraved upon his skin and then looking at Balthazaar with gratitude in his eyes, he said,


    "How can I not know my brother!"


    "Your brother?" exclaimed both Morpheous and Nicholas together.


    Damianaos took a deep breath and looking at Morpheous he said, "he was one of the fallen angels like me. Our father is the same- The almighty God."


    Then he looked at Balthazaar and said,


    "The time has come. The wait is over. This man that you see is the chosen one. He would bring back the glory of our land brother."


    Balthazaar wanted to believe what he said, he wanted to put all his trust in Morpheous, but his father could never be wrong. His father and his forefathers, they had all believed in Nubeous. They had patiently waited for the time to come when he would find the other half of his guide.


    But the more he saw the way Nubeous lived, the less he believed that he was the one. Even though back in time he had seen the might of Morpheous, his heart was still not ready to cave in.


    "Hmm...." he mumbled and Damianos understood his reluctance well.


    But suddenly the conversation was interrupted as they heard the loud wailing of the dogs from a distance.


    This was so not a good omen.


    He had rushed back from the kingdom because he knew that a battalion of soldiers had been sent to his village. He knew that not only his family but his entire village was in danger. It was time to fight!

 47 Finding the ingot - 4

    Morpheous looked in the direction of his village, his nerves shaken but loaded with a resolve. Then turning back towards them he said,


    "I need to go. You take care of them, Nicholas," he said and walked towards his horse but halted when he heard,


    "We are coming with you!"


    He turned back to look at the two fallen angels who could barely stand and a mortal man supporting them, whose head barely reached their shoulders.


    They understood the look in his eyes and said,


    "We will not be a burden!"


    But then Damianos turned towards Balthazaar and said,


    "You shall stay here. You shall not take a step ahead, for I know you are not the one who is going to help."


    His eyes looked fierce and his tone had utter seriousness for he knew that it was them who had given the wolfsbane to Morpheous and moreover since Damianos now shared the same energy that Balthazaar''s body had, he was somehow able to sense his thoughts.


    Taking a stance back, Balthazaar said,


    "You do not want this Damianos. Not now. Your village is in danger. We can save it together."


    But Damianos let out a sarcastic laugh and then looked at Balthazaar and asked,


    "It was you wasn''t it. It was you who flipped the time. It was you because of which Nubeous is still alive. You have seen it all with your own eyes. Then why? Why did you do this?"


    The angered voice of Damianos echoed through the woods, splitting through the pockets of silence.


    "He has seen what?" asked Morpheous but without answering him anything, Damianos turned towards Morpheous and touched his temple with his index and middle finger.


    "Don''t do that Damianos. Don''t enrage him," yelled Balthazaar and marched ahead to stop Damianos but that split second was enough for Morpheous to know everything that had happened in the past.


    The moment Balthazaar was about to pull Damianos back, he found him gripping his hand. A grip that was so strong that he could feel his blood vessels clogging up under pressure. And then he looked at him.


    His ember eyes were burning. He could see his chest rising and falling as his breath had turned haggard.


    "Morpheous try to understand. I had to save him. I had no other option."


    His blood was boring for he had seen the dead remains of his parents. He had seen the tortured tear laden eyes of her sister who kept wailing endlessly. He saw the fight at the coliseum and he saw the bolt being cast on him just like it was cast today. But most importantly he saw how Balthazaar tricked him using the baton.


    "You, why did you do this to me..."


    "Why did he deserve your help when my family didn''t deserve mercy."


    Gritting his teeth, Morpheous held the neck of Balthazaar and hoisted him up but before could inflict any more pain on the man, Damianos held the hand of Morpheous and said,


    "He is bound by an unbreakable promise. He cannot help it. Even if his heart would one day cry for you, he still can never help you."


    Hearing the words of Damianos, Morpheous yielded and put Balthazaar back, but his anger had not receded. He looked at his godfather and then looked at Nicholas and said,


    "You will take this man back to the kingdom and you both shall never dare to set foot in my village again. I am sparing your life because you saved him, but if you dare to mess with me again, then you shall never be able to even seek forgiveness."


    The winds slowly started howling and everything started turning a bit cold. An eerie feeling started encroaching everyone''s heart for a herd of souls were approaching close.


    "Morpheous!"


    "You are late Morpheous!"


    Said the souls and wandered around Morpheous.


    "Late for what?" mumbled Morpheous as he closed his eyes trying to listen to them.


    But the next voice that he heard after, shattered every bone of his body,


    "Rush Morpheous! You need to save Nefeli and Eva. Save them Morpheous. The sword of death lies above their head."


    And when he opened his eyes and they weren''t amber anymore. There was a flash of blue and Balthazaar took a step back in fear because he had seen those eyes before and he knew what mayhem he could cast upon.


    "Arrrrggggggghhhh....."


    Roared Morpheous. His hands clenched in a fist and his eyes looked up at the sky for that voice was none other than Leonidas''s.


    "What did you hear? What did the voices say my child?" asked Damianos with a tone filled with worry because he could see that he was in pain as if his soul was being tormented.


    He then looked at Balthazaar with murderous eyes before mounting atop his horse.


    "Hiyaaaahhh...."


    And galloped his horse before Damianos could even ask anything to him.


    Balthazaar slumped on the ground and looked at Damianos and muttered, "What have you done? Why did you show him the past? How could you do this when you know everything Damianos? Why now? You knew about it before, you could have told him before, but chose to stay silent until now. What changed Damianos? What changed?"


    "The winds have changed Balthazaar!" said Damianos and then looking at Nicholas he said,


    "Help us mount the horse."


    "But he clearly told me not to follow him. I do not want to enrage him. His anger will do no good to Nubeous."


    Damianos looked at Balthazaar for a moment, unable to believe how his brother could turn into a coward just to keep a promise.


    "Then do you think you will be able to save Nubeous by standing here? The last time he had to save me, so he disappeared along with me for my sake, but do you think he would do the same when he has nothing to lose?" asked Damianos.


    "Hoist me atop the horse Nicholas," said Balthazaar.

 48 Finding the ingot - 5

    Morpheous galloped as fast as he could but he was miles away from Ambracia.


    He had never accepted Leonidas and Nefeli as his parents, never called them as father or mother, but deep in his heart, he had always revered them. After all, they were the ones who had taken care of him when he had no one else in the world.


    He reached the angel oak tree at the entrance of his village, but there was no one around. So he galloped with speed towards the pond area and the moment he reached there he saw two funeral pyres.


    As he alighting from his horse he saw Erastus coming running towards him,


    "Where were you Morpheous?"


    "What is happening? Where is Eva? Whose pyre is this?" he asked without taking a breath in between.


    Erastus broke down and said," I am sorry I couldn''t protect them Morpheous. Your parents are dead. But Eva is still alive but she has gone towards the cropland to fight against Nubeous. You need to go and save her first."


    As tears ran across his cheeks, Morpheous looked at Erastus in disbelief and then looked at the others how ere busy collecting whatever was possible so as to relocate to a neighboring village.


    "You let her go alone?"


    Erastus had no answer to it. He hung his head low and said,


    "No one can fight Nubeous and you know that. He is the reason your parents are dead. I tried to stop her but she didn''t listen to me Morpheous."


    Without saying another word he rode back on his horse but before galloping ahead he asked - "What you would have done if he had killed your father?" He shot a look at the apothecary and then looked at Erastus with disappointment in his eyes and rode away.


    "Hiyaaahhhh..."


    "Hiyaaahhhh..."


    .


    .


    As he reached close towards the cropland, he could see the whole area lit up with thousands of torches. He moved faster and then heard a particular voice,


    "My brother will come back from the dead..."


    "You will see!"


    But then the voice was distinctly muffled as if someone was attempting to silence the voice. He was alarmed but relieved for a second to know that she was unharmed.


    A grating evil chuckle echoed with all its monstrosity and he knew it was him.


    The next second he pulled the reins of his horse and his horse came to a standstill halt, rearing both its legs up and it neighed loudly as if it was announcing the presence of Morpheous.


    Disturbed with the loud noise, Nubeous turned back.


    Amidst the shadows, he could see the figure of a man alighted atop that horse, but he couldn''t see his face as the legs of the horse were reared up.


    "Who are you?" grunted Nubeous.


    The horse neighed loudly again before resting its legs down and it was then that he saw a mysterious man, hidden in the shadows whose eyes burnt with a fire of blue.


    That sight was enough to scare the battalion of soldiers for he looked like a reaper of death. That grating smug smile that had prevailed on the face of Nubeous for long, disappeared in a second when he heard the little one scream.


    "Brother!"


    "How on earth is he alive," he muttered.


    Eva looked at Nubeous once more and then closed her eyes to have that moment of relief for herself. Now it was her turn to adorn that smug smile on her face. With a smile of victory on her face she yelled,


    "Nothing can change what has happened in time."


    "It''s your time to die now!"


    Hearing which an enraged Nubeous looked at the two soldiers who had been dragging her away and ordered them,


    "Silence her!"


    But the soldiers didn''t dare to because it was the same man who had killed three hundred men alone with his bare hands. They couldn''t dare to touch her.


    Seeing the reluctance on part of his men, Nubeous screamed at the men behind him,


    "What are you watching? Bring them down else I will kill you myself."


    His order was a death sermon for the soldiers because either way, they were going to die so Morpheous alighted from his horse and said,


    "My fight is with you. Not with them," and then looking at the soldiers he yelled, "If your life is dear to you then you would leave this place at this moment because the heavens are witnesses, this time I will not regret shedding any blood."


    His words echoed like a threat of peril, a threat of ineffable mayhem and thus they decided to flee, but as they moved an inch, and enraged Nubeous turned towards them, ready to reduce them into ashes with a snap of his finger but then he stopped as he heard,


    "Really? Are you that coward that every single time you would resort to your soul ring for help?"


    The veins on his head popped out visibly as his blood boiled upon hearing the words of lament. Every word that came out of his mouth, stung him and as he flinched and fisted his hands, he suddenly realized that the vibrations in his hands were almost gone.


    Even the arrival of this man had turned into a bad omen for him.


    Morpheous inched closer and finally, Nubeous could see his face clearly. It was the fearless face of a man who was brimming with anger, his eyes burnt with revenge. He could feel chaos and eerieness springing in and around him.


    Those narrowed and rigid cold eyes of Morpheous were shielding that insurmountable amount of pain that was searing his heart. That fire that burnt his village, that fire that flamed the pyre of Leonidas and Nefeli, was all because of that uncouth creature in front of him. And right at that juncture of time, he sought nothing less than revenge, he wanted blood for blood.


    With a murderous expression on his face, he reprimanded with a tone that could make every hair on anyone''s body stand up in fear,


    "Why did you kill my parents? How did they ever wrong you?"


    Eva couldn''t believe what she heard. In all those years, it was the first time that Moepheous had acknowledged them as his parents.


    Tears rolled down her eyes, for her parents could have traded anything to hear those words that came out of the mouth of his brother, but alas, it was an ironical destiny!

 49 The fight that ended everything - 1

    As he heard the soldiers retreating silently, every fiber of his body started feeling sour. How could another man dictate his soldiers? How could another man even dare to question his actions? But he seemed like no ordinary man for he had the eyes that spoke that language of death.


    "Silence!" yelled Nubeous and raised his hand up in the air.


    His pitch was so shrill and acute that Eva staggered back for a moment.


    "How do you dare to question my authority?" yelled Nubeous and moved close to Morpheous and stared into his eyes with all his cold-bloodedness and mocked, "But if you are devastated to lose them, shall I help you to meet them instead?"


    His tone was a jeering one and that angered Morpheous.


    Those two men looked like they were going for a head-on fight like two bulls snarling at each other, ready to pounce on the other the next second.


    But Nubeous lost it all when he heard him say - "You are no one to have authority on me. I dare say, but I deny to even consider your authority for you are not the man suitable for the throne. You are a man who should be thrown into purgatory and be punished for every innocent life that you have taken."


    Morpheous had toppled the limit of his patience.


    "You vile..." yelled Nubeous and raising his hands up in the air and snapped his fingers. And it was at that moment as if all the darkness in the world had been conjured. The sky split open, illuminated in a bolt of red. In the death of the night, it seemed like blood and gore had spread across the sky.


    It was for the first time in his life that Nubeous had seen his bolt turn red and he himself was astonished as he looked up.


    This bolt looked fierce, relentlessly unforgiving in all its glory and it sucked away all the power of the souls who were fueling Morpheous. He staggered back for a second and closed his eyes as they turned back to amber again.


    Seeing the man in front of him stagger back and lose the ferocity that he had in his eyes, the grin on the face of Nubeous widened. He felt different as if a new level of power had been accompassed in the bolt of death.


    He looked at the ingot that was lying next to his right foot and said,


    "You might have escaped the bolt of death before, but not this time. This time I will be the one who will dictate the terms and time of your death. You shall taste what it means to defy my authority. I will not only wipe you but your entire clan away."


    In the meanwhile, the trio had almost reached the cropland area after being redirected by the villagers but suddenly their horse halted. It was reluctant to move no matter how much Nicholas tried and while he was trying to pull his reins he looked up at the sky which had suddenly turned into a shade of red.


    "It cannot be!" mumbled Damianos in desperation.


    "He has found the ingot," said Balthazaar and turned to look towards Damianos.


    Even though Balthazaar''s every cell yearned for Morpheous, he could think of nothing other than protecting Nubeous and seeing that he had found the ingot a part of him was partially relieved as now he would become invisible, but the part of him, which was righteous, which was noble couldn''t accept the fate that Morpheous was going to have.


    Nicholas helped them get down and they all marched towards the cropland holding onto their breaths as they knew that the fight was going to catastrophic.


    "Nubeous stop!" yelled Balthazaar as he reached close to Eva who was rattling like a leaf in fear and suddenly the attention of Nubeous turned towards Balthazaar.


    "How are you even here?" he muttered under his breath.


    "You have to stop him, you have to belive me Balthazaar," said Damianos and held the hand of Bathazaar like a father who was begging for mercy for the life of his son. But without even replying or acknowledging his request, Balthazaar shirked off the hands of Damianos and turned towards Nubeous again and said,


    "My master, I urge you not to waste your potent in this fight."


    But his words were like an insult for Morpheous who yelled,


    "I told you to stay away from me. Damianos take him away, else I will finish him first."


    A grating laugh echoed around and Nubeous mocked his words and said,


    "You will not dare to lay a finger on my man. How do you think you can finish him when I am here to finish you off first?" and saying that he swayed his hand and the bolt swayed along like an angry whiplash, ready to lash Morpheous to death.


    But before he could move his hand, Morpheous gripped them in his own.


    "Hiyaaaaahhhh...."


    "Arrrggghhhhh...."


    Gritting their teeth, they both were now locked hand in hand with each other. But the power in each was so strong that instead of moving each other an inch, they moved the air and earth around them. A tornado of air whirled around them lifting away all the matter that was in and around.


    "You have to stop them," said Damianos as he saw the black metal block next to Nubeous and begged again,


    "For the sake of Vanaheimr!"


    Balthazar turned back and said,


    "I cannot save Morpheous until I die!"


    There was a distinctive singular weirdness in his voice this time. He turned back and gave a look to Damianos which neither Eva nor Nicholas could decipher, but Damainos did.


    And thus ran Balthazaar with whatever remaining strength that he had in his body, towards the tornado, and the very next second, Damianos also pulled the hands of Eva and ran behind him.


    The earth around them had slowly started to crack open and through the cracks, they could see hot molten lava underneath. This fight was not just happening in this one realm, it was a fight that was happening in parallel in all others.

 50 The fight that ended everything - 2

    "Balthazaar don''t!" screamed Nicholas as he saw him running towards the tornado that swirled around Morpheous and Nubeous.


    Walking towards it was synonymous with walking towards one''s own grave because the power that those two possessed was supernatural. It was beyond his reach, it was beyond any fallen angel''s reach.


    But then he saw Damianos also running towards it along with Eva, so for a moment, he deliberated. It was sanity versus the action of the masses.


    When Morpheous had blocked Nubeous''s hand, The bolt that he had conjured up, struck the ground instead and it was a catastrophe which stopped at nothing. And thus ran a divide that started splitting the earth into two.


    The cracks started to widen and slowly that huge crack gave way to little veins that spread open. Those cracks didn''t just run wide, but also deep as the bolt started melting everything underneath.


    With great difficulty, Balthazaar tried to reach ahead as his footing wasn''t strong anymore. Everything was melting, lashing out flames. That whole place had become like a maze of fire. It was then that he heard a yelp.


    "Damianos!"


    Yelped Eva as she was finding it hard to walk around.


    The tornado wasn''t helping either. The wind was adding up to the flame. Indeed it was not a place to be, not for the faint-hearted. So even though his heart wanted to join them, Nicholas started running back towards the village, but alas, the crack widened further and made it impossible for him to jump across.


    So he helplessly turned back and jumped along with the bits and pieces of land that were intact.


    "I am coming Balthazaar. Wait for me," yelled Nicholas but Balthazaar didn''t have the time to listen. He had to stop them from killing each other. If he saved Morpheous then he would kill Nubeous and his promise would be broken and if he saved Nubeous then he would kill Morpheous and if Damianos was right then the dream of regaining back the glory of Vanaheimr would stay forever as a dream.


    It was deadlock for him.


    And there was only one way out of it and that was the path of sacrifice.


    So he stopped for a moment and gave a hand to Damianos who then jumped close to him along with little Eva. Her one hand clutched the hands of Damainaos and the other held on to the amulet of Morpheous.


    He looked at them and said,


    "When I say it''s time, no matter what touch Morpheous and be with him. But make sure he isn''t touching Nubeous."


    "Are you going to turn us back in time again?" asked Eva.


    "I will try!" said Balthazaar and tried to stabilize himself for the tornado was increasing in intensity as the two had engaged in a fierce hand to hand combat.


    "But you haven''t healed. You don''t have any..."


    "A man must do its duty, and I am an angel. I must do more than that," said Balthazaar, cutting through the words of concern of Nicholas.


    "What about me?" asked Nicholas.


    Balthazaar looked at him for a moment and then said,


    "Join them. We go together."


    "It''s not going to change anything. Going back into the past doesn''t change anything. Don''t you know that by now?" yelled Eva. She had tears in her eyes for only she knew the pain of losing her parents twice, Only she knew how it felt to see her village and her clan getting engulfed by the fire again. She didn''t want to bear it the third time.


    But Balthazaar didn''t reply a word and tried to find a path to reach the two.


    "Arrggghhhh....."


    "Hyiaaahhhh....."


    "Thud"


    And then suddenly they all lost their balance as the tornado broke apart for two had tussled hard and were thrown away because of the surge of power.


    But they both got up quickly and ran towards each other.


    "Hiyaaaahhhh....."


    And Nubeous punched hard on the chest of Morpheous and then echoed a loud noise.


    "Crack"


    A smile etched on his face as he had clearly broken his rib cage. Morpheous winced in pain and held on to his chest and groaned.


    "Ahhhhhhhhhh....."


    "Brother!" yelled Eva as she couldn''t bear to see him in pain. She tried to wriggle out her hand from Damianos, but he exactly knew her intentions and held on to her even more tightly.


    "Now you see... With or without the ring, I am the invincible one. Hah!" lamented Nubeous and matched towards Morpheous to finish him off with his deathly blow.


    He raised his fist up in the air to strike on his head but his fist stayed in the air as Morpheous blocked it with the sheer strength of his left hand. Holding his hand in his grip, Morpheous got up and straightened his back.


    "Crack"


    "Crack"


    And within seconds the bones were set back.


    Eva couldn''t believe her eyes. The past was repeating itself exactly in the same way. In the fight at the coliseum, Nubeous had scarred the chest of his bother with his sword but he healed and now his broken bones were repaired.


    And then Morpheous blocked the other hand of Nubeous and again started the surge of power. It was a clash of the titans. Both equally powerful, both equally bestowed. It was only a matter of time that there was going to be a bloodbath.


    So as the tornado started swirling again, Balthazaar gathered up his courage and inched ahead. Reaching close to the outer rim of the tornado, Balthazaar conjured all the power that his frail body had possessed.


    His hand started to glow in a light shade of blue and he yelped in pain.


    "Gaaaahhhh....."


    And as he yelled and used all his strength, the light faint suddenly started turning into a shade of bright blue. Then slowly that light started spreading through the necrotic arm of his hand and his heart started to glow underneath his chest.


    Eva was taken aback but seeing his face, she realized that he was in acute pain. So she pleaded,


    "I am telling you, going back in time isn''t going to work. The past is repeating itself. Can''t you see Balthazaar? You were there at the coliseum. Don''t waste your power in sending us back. Do something else. Save my brother, I beg you."


    Calming his expressions Balthazar looked at Eva and said,


    "I know. That''s why we are not going back in time. We are going into the future."


    And then without wasting a single moment, he yelled,


    "It''s time."


    And then whatever happened was like a bleak memory for Eva. Damianos pulled her and Nicholas inside the tornado and somehow managed to grab onto Morpheous''s thigh.


    In the next fraction of a second, Damianos used his angelic power and pulled Morpheous away from the grip of Nubeous, and then there was a faint blue light that prevailed.


    .


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    Sounded the alarm clock. It was 7 am already.

 51 Into the future - 1

    That weird ringing sound made Morpheous wake up from a deep slumber that he was in. He slowly opened his eyes and felt a throbbing pain in his thigh. A pain that he was quite familiar with. But before he could wince, the alarm clock rang again.


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    He craned his neck and turned to see from where that the noise was coming from and found a round metal orb sort of a thing that was placed on a ledge next to his cot, vibrating on its own. It had a weird script written on it and it made a sound of its own.


    With his eyes still groggy and his thigh in pain, he threw the orb away and clenched onto his thigh. He shut his eyes tight and grunted.


    "Gaaahhhh....."


    After letting out a muffled grunt of pain, he slightly opened his eyes and looked around.


    Everything looked strange. The cot that he was lying on was one of the most comfortable ones that he had ever slept on. The thick sheet that was draped on him looked blissfully white. Everything looked clean and smelled nice and was way different from that of his village.


    The sun was slowly climbing up in the sky and he could see the light streaming through the finest sheer curtains that he had ever seen in his life. The rays of light bounced from the surface of the glass but scintillated the entire room.


    But then something struck him.


    The window was closed but still, he could feel the air circulating around and it was then that he looked up and got the shock of his life. A weapon was swirling on top of his head at full speed and he instantaneously got down from the cot all alarmed.


    And the moment his feet landed on the rug underneath, his fingers squirmed as it was the softest rug that his legs had ever felt. He looked down and saw the squeaky clean carpet underneath but before he got a fraction of a second to admire it, the entire room was suddenly illuminated.


    He covered his eyes in a response to stimuli and then slowly opened them to see two orbs of glass, placed on the wall, illuminating the entire room.


    The room looked different, the objects in the room looked different. The chairs and tables looked different. It looked as if he had entered the room of some royal prince who had everything magical placed inside.


    Standing as far away from the rotating weapon above, he tried to lean on the wall and lifted the cloth on his leg. A necrotic pattern had spread on his leg which was periodically pulsating, radiating pain all around. He was unable to understand what had happened.


    Last that he remembered was that he was fighting with Nubeous and then suddenly he recollected the last scene before he got detached. Damianos, Eva, and Nicholas had all entered inside the tornado along with Balthazaar.


    ''Eva''


    ''My Eva''


    He muttered but then again the alarm clock rang.


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Oh! for heaven''s sake can someone just turn the damn thing off!" came a voice from outside of the door and it startled Morpheous because he had never heard that voice. It was an unfamiliar voice with a weird tone.


    And before he could even pick the metal orb that he had thrown away to silence it, the door was flung open.


    "Dude seriously! I am trying to sleep here. It''s Saturday for God''s sake."


    And thus Morpheous saw the first human from earth.


    His hair was short and spiked up and he was wearing a weird garment which only covered his genitals. He had a strange object hanging around his neck and something similar was around his wrist too.


    "Who are you? You shall reveal your identity in front of me now. Where are we? Where am I? Is it the kingdom?"


    "Heh... Heh...Heh...Heh... Jeez, dude. I guess you are still high. Sleep some more and you will be all right. I will drive you later to your place. Peace out," that human said and showed him his index and ring finger and turned back.


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Tee-Tee-Tee-Tic"


    "Dudeee.... Snooze it will you? Christ these people," he muttered and came close to him and took the silver orb from his hand and pushed a metal on the backside of the orb and ...


    "Tee-Tee-"


    The alarm clock stopped buzzing.


    "Just sleep. You look totally stoned!" the human said and started walking towards the door.


    No matter how hard Morpheous tried to comprehend his words, he could not understand half of what he said. He spoke his language but the way he spoke, the words he spoke were completely alien to him.


    So he hesitated at first but then asked, "I beg of you, but I need to know where I am. My sister and my friend, their lives are in danger. I need to find them. I need to go back to Ambracia. I need to fight back with Nubeous."


    "Huh! Still living your dream, aren''t you? But yeah, you said you have a sister right?"


    "Yes," replied Morpheous.


    "About, yea tall?" asked the human holding his hand at his chest height.


    "Yes, have you seen her?" he asked eagerly.


    "Oh yeah! She is sleeping in the nursery with my mom. Last night she had fever and stuff so my mom was taking care of her. So don''t worry about her as my mom is a doctor. Dude last night Halloween party was some crazy shit," he said.


    "What happened last night?" asked Morpheous.


    "Well, I have no idea. My parents found you lying unconscious next to our pool. Probably they thought of you as my college friend and took you in. So you are here."


    "What about my sister?" asked Morpheous.


    "She was stoned in our garden. Poor thing. I guess some dude must have given her weed or shit. She was sick so mom took care of her. Neither of you had a phone on you so we couldn''t..."


    "Gaaahhhh...."


    Grunted Mopheous as the pain in his leg seared again. He winced and held on to his leg.


    "You ok dude?" that human asked.


    "I am ... I am fine. My name isn''t dude. My name is Morpheous. Lord Morpheous. Can you take me to my sister?"


    The human chuckled and said,


    "That''s some James Bond shit that you have picked up man! Anyways follow me. By the way, my name is Daniel, but friends call me Dan. "


    Morpheous listened to him babbling incomprehensible stuff and then looked around the room again. He then looked up at the fan suspiciously before following Daniel. As he crossed the door the illuminating orbs turned off on their own.


    But suddenly Daniel turned back and said,


    "Hey, the ceiling fan in the room isn''t automated yet. Do you mind switching it off, else my mom would flip."


    "I shall do what?"


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 52 Into the future - 2

    "Just turn off the switch, man!" said Daniel with an irritated voice and flipped off the switch and Morpheous was amazed to see the fan decelerating soon after.


    He was marveling at the fan when Daniel snapped his fingers in front of him and said, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"


    Morpheous turned to look at Daniel and asked,


    "Who told you to put that weapon over my head? Are you a man of Nubeous?"


    "Nube what? And that''s not a weapon. That''s a fan. You speak as if you are a Neanderthal man. How much did you take yesterday man!" remarked Daniel and then said,


    "Follow me!"


    Forgetting the pain, Morpheous looked around the house and was surprised to see every single thing looking so distinct, and most importantly he had no idea what each of the things did. This novel house with its novel things and novel beings was like a pandora''s box for him. He had no idea what was there next.


    All that he wanted now was to find his sister and get away from this place with her.


    Daniel stopped in front of a door and slowly opened it by rotating its knob and then pointing at the bed, he said,


    "There is that girl. Is that your sister?"


    And craning his neck inside, Morpheous saw his little Eva sleeping peacefully like a tiny lamb and a sense of solace returned. His frayed nerves calmed a bit to see her safe. There was a woman who was sitting on the floor, but her head was resting on the same bed that Eva was on and she was also sound asleep.


    There was a water bowl next to her on the floor and a couple of kerchiefs around, so Morpheous could guess that she had nursed Eva throughout the night. He couldn''t see her face but he was grateful to her for helping his sister. He slowly went in and touched Eva''s forehead with the back of his palm to check upon her temperature.


    He went in as quietly as possible and kept his movements very restricted so as to not to wake up the woman who was resting. But as if she had a sixth sense, she lifted up her head and turned around.


    Seeing the woman slowly waking up, Morpheous took a couple of steps back so as to not scare her out but instead he got the shock of his life as she turned.


    "Nef..... You are... You are alive? Oh my God, you re alive?"


    "Ummmhhhh... are you feeling fine young man?" asked the woman turning towards Morpheous as her sleep was broken with his movement and his words.


    "This guy is her brother! Now we don''t have to freak out and search for their families," said Daniel and then left the room to relieve himself.


    "It''s me Morpheous! Don''t you recognize me?" he asked as he could see that she had a weird look in her eyes as if she didn''t even know who he was and saying that Morpheous went close to her and knelt on the floor and said,


    "If you can just this once forgive me and all my mistakes, then I promise to you that I would be the son that you always wanted in your heart. I cannot believe you are alive!" he said again and hugged her tight. There were tears in his eyes that he couldn''t shed before.


    "Errmmm... Ok! Excuse me! Boy! Man! Mister!" said the woman and tried to break out of the embrace that Morpheous had pulled her into and asked,


    "Does my face look familiar to someone that you know? Yesterday night this girl also called me her mother and babbled. I just assumed that she was sick and took me as her mother, but I think you are mistaken here. I am not who you think I am," said the woman and then looked out at the door to see if anyone was out there as this guy was sort of freaking her out.


    Unable to understand the tears that he had in his eyes, she asked,


    "Where do you live? Give me the contact number of your parents. I call them up?"


    She looked at Morpheous with a slightly weirded out expression on her face and seeing that Morpheous got heartbroken and asked,


    "Fine! You don''t recognize me, I accept that, but don''t you remember Eva? Your own daughter whom you nursed the whole night yesterday. If you don''t remember her then why did you care for her so much? Why did you care for me? You could have left us outside. Why did you give us shelter in your house?"


    "Becasue that''s basic humanity. That''s what humans do - Help each other out in need," she said and then looked towards the door and yelled.


    "Erm... Daniel! Daniel!"


    "Mom! How many times I have told you not to yell at me when I am doing my business!" yelled Daniel as he came out of the washroom.


    "Call Leonard. I think these people need some serious help. Ask him to call 911 and reach for the trauma center and please get me my stethoscope as well," said the woman and then got up from the floor.


    "And Daniel, for God''s sake put on some pants, my child. My eyes really hurt to see you in these boxers."


    Then a bit hesitatingly she extended her hand towards Morpheous and said, "I am Dr. Natashsa Rutherford. Don''t worry, your sister is all right. And whatever is wrong with you, we can figure it out."


    Morpheous couldn''t believe that Nefeli was unable to recognize him and Eva. Either it was her or destiny had played a cruel joke on them. Even though he felt elated seeing her alive, he still felt wounded for she seemed different. She gave out a different vibe.


    There were hundreds of questions that he wanted to ask her, but his attention went towards Eva as he saw her waking up.


    "Eva!" he exclaimed and rushed towards her.


    "Morpheous!" she exclaimed in happiness as she saw his face but then seeing the woman next to him, her mouth just opened in shock.


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 53 Into the future - 3

    "Mother!" exclaimed Eva and looked at her in surprise and ran towards her. She wrapped her in her tiny arms and clung onto her body like she never wanted to let go of her.


    Natasha could feel her pajamas getting a bit wet with the tears of the little one.


    "Oh boy!" she mumbled and looked at Morpheous helplessly who looked equally puzzled and drained. He had no idea what was happening to them, but the reluctance on the face of Natasha made it clear that it wasn''t her. She couldn''t be Nefeli.


    "Eva!" said Morpheous and opened his arms and that tiny one came running towards him and hugged him tightly.


    "Balthazaar saved us. He saved us all by sending us into the future!" she said and then looked at him with her eyes filled with happiness.


    "Who did what to you guys?" asked Natasha with a worried expression on her face as till now she was thinking that the two were misunderstanding her for someone else but now they were talking about time travel, which was next-level stuff for her.


    Eva turned back and looked at Natasha and said,


    "I guess you may not have any recollection of it, just like brother didn''t have the last time he was pushed back into the past, but I do." Then she looked around the room, at the things, at the gadgets and then looking at Morpheous she chirped,


    "We are into the future with mother. We are just going to live happily ever after!"


    "Uh-hum... Leonard! Leonard!" yelled Natasha as this time travel babble of the little one was scaring her a bit.


    "I am coming..." yelled a man from upstairs and then entered the room a few seconds later.


    "Father!" yelled Eva and ran to him just like the way she did when she saw Nathasha. "How have you been?" asked Eva.


    "Ermm... ok I guess!" replied Leonard and looked at Natasha in surprise and rolled his eyes as he was asking - "What the hell is going on?"


    Daniel who was behind them was also equally shocked to see the girl hugging his father and calling him as her father. So he looked at his mother and then at his father and yelled, "Are these your kids, dad? Did you cheat on mom?" There was visible anger in his voice and he looked at Eva and Morpheous with eyes filled with hatred.


    "This is so not how I expected my Saturday morning to start!" mumbled Natasha and walked towards Leonard and Daniel and holding their arms in her hands, she looked at Morpheous and Eva and said, "We will be back in a minute!"


    And saying that she dragged her clueless husband and mortified son to the living room.


    "Who the hell are they?" asked Daniel looking at his father with distrust in his eyes.


    "I legit have no idea!" exclaimed Leonard.


    "Guys! Guys! shush. I think they are in deep trouble. I think they have lost their parents and partially a part of their memory. I guess, something bad has happened to them and they are just pushing that memory away. They want to cling on to anything that they see now and are building stuff in their head. I have seen so many cases like this in my hospital."


    "Oh, Man! That makes sense now!" exclaimed Daniel and then after a pause, he said, "But that guy talks weird. He looked at the fan and thought that it was a weapon."


    "You kidding me!" exclaimed Leonard.


    "Oh trust me, he did. And he was talking about some Amber place shit and that he was in a fight and stuff with someone," said Daniel, trying hard to recollect the conversation that he had with him.


    "Did you call 911? Maybe there are people looking for them. Maybe they need help to recover from this trauma."


    And the Rutherford family became busy deciding what to do with those two whom they had given shelter. They had assumed that they were neighborhood kids and took them under their roof as it was Halloween night yesterday. They assumed that their tattered clothes and disheveled looks as part of their costume. But only now did they realize that there was something more to those two. They were not hammered and alcoholic teenagers.


    Meanwhile, inside the room, Eva was happily looking at everything around and mumbled,


    "The future looks so much better. Doesn''t it brother?" and saying that she hopped towards the window and pulled the screen aside.


    "Look at our garden! We are living so well," exclaimed Eva and it was then that Morpheous decided to break away her illusion.


    "I do not think they are our parents Eva."


    "What on earth are you trying to spout brother?" exclaimed Eva as she turned back.


    "They were not with us when we traveled in time Eva. They were already dead. We didn''t move into the past, we have moved into the future Eva. So how can they travel with us?"


    "But maybe... Maybe Balthazaar went into the past when our parents were alive and brought them into the future for us. He could have done it right? Right?"


    Eva wanted an affirmation from him. She badly sought for it, looking into his eyes. But he didn''t give her that. He stood there like a rock, waiting for the truth to sink into her.


    "It is a game of fate. Destiny has played a cruel joke on us. They have faces, similar to our parents but not their virtues Eva. I can tell, they aren''t them."


    "You can tell? You were never even close to mother and father. You never even acknowledged them," she yelled with tears in her eyes and then turned away.


    "Eva, we should go. Nothing entitles us to trouble others. They will not understand us. They will not believe what we say. I can read it from their eyes. We need to go and look for our people. We should look for Damianos. He wasn''t keeping good health, Eva. We should go out and search for him."


    Even though that little one was quite a mature one, but she still couldn''t believe that her fate could be so brutal to make her part away from her parents the third time. Morpheous''s words made sense to her, but for a moment she had believed in the present. She had already seen future of them living together and having a ''Happily Ever After''.


    Standing there she kept wiping away the unruly tears from her face but her tears had a mind of their own.


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 54 The tale of the comet - 1

    "Are you sure they aren''t part of some gang or something. That boy looks so well built. Can be a hooligan!" suggested Leonard and pinched the space between his brows thinking that they had given shelter to the wrong sort of people.


    "Ok, calm down and stop speculating wrong about everyone and everything for once will you?" requested an irritated Natasha looking at Leonard and then said,


    "Let''s just help them out. Anyways the police must be on its way. We are gonna hand them over and that''s it. We will be done! Ok? The social services will take care of them" she asked looking at them both.


    "I guess!" shrugged Daniel.


    "Let me check up on them if they need anything," said Nathasha and went towards the nursery room, but as she entered, she found the room empty.


    The curtain was swaying with the wind and seeing the window open she understood that the two had fled.


    "Leonard, Leonard... they are gone!"


    "What?" and he came pacing inside and seeing the open window a worried expression spread on his face. He looked at Daniel and then asked,


    "Check this room. Check if anything valuable is missing. And... and you have pictures from yesterday right? I mean everything and everyone at the party must have been recorded. Get it on a pen drive. We need to give their pictures to the police."


    And he started pacing in the room as Daniel started going through the stuff placed on the table.


    "Daniel stop! Just stop it guys! I have seen their eyes. They are not thieves. I have seen the way they looked at us. They cannot be bad people. Just that something is wired wrong in their head. That''s all."


    Leonard raised his hands up in the air as he was surrendering and then looking at Nathasha he said,


    "As if one Mother Teresa wasn''t enough the world has two now. One you and the other your father. Don''t call me for help when you find something missing."


    And muttering that Leonard started walking upstairs.


    "I heard that by the way!" screamed Natasha.


    "You were supposed to hear it!" yelled back Leonard.


    Gritting her teeth, Natasha looked at Daniel, who was flipping a magazine that he had found on the desk. Seeing his callous attitude she flipped and vented out all the anger that she had for Leonard out,


    "Daniel, pants! Please! When will you ever listen to me? Sometimes I just wonder how I gave birth to someone like you."


    Hearing which Daniel also flipped and slammed the book on the table and said,


    "Even I wonder how I took birth in a crazy family of you and grandfather. Oh and speaking of grandfather, he texted that he will be here by 9 o''clock. Just letting you know so please do not call me when he is here. I cannot listen to his crazy stories anymore. Man! What one has to do to be born in a normal family."


    And he stormed away.


    Taken aback by the cruel words of her son, Natasha took a couple of deep breaths to settle herself out and then walked towards the window again.


    Pulling the curtain to the side she looked at both sides of her house. But there was no sign of them. She let out a gasp of air and then pulled the window pane and shut it close. She stood there for a moment and then touched her pajama which was still a bit wet from the tears of Eva.


    Without saying a word she took a deep breath again and went to the bathroom to freshen up.


    .


    .


    "Ting-Ding"


    "Ting-Ding"


    Rang the calling bell and Natasha, who was making sandwiches in the kitchen yelled,


    "I am getting the door!"


    and paced towards the main door. She peeped through the peephole to check who it was and a smile spread on her lips and she swung open the door.


    "Daddy!" she exclaimed and hugged the old man standing outside.


    "How did your comet hunt go?" she asked and took away the heavy bag that he was holding.


    Atticus looked at her and said, "You don''t have to fake support my beliefs" and saying that he placed his palm over her shoulder and gently tapped on it.


    "Oh come on daddy!" said Nathasha and went back inside the kitchen.


    Her father was Atticus Lincoln, the retired senior astro-physicist of Imperial Academy who was now known as the lunatic comet watcher not only in the town but all over their province.


    He was a brilliant man but his recent interest and papers on existence of parallel words in his so called Astral dimensions and his belief in the timing of comets and dark forces had drawn some serious flack from the learning community.


    But he didn''t care about the opinions of others. He immersed himself in his beliefs and worked continuosly on his thesis about existence of parallel dimensions. He was forced to retire from his post as the authorities where afraid of losing the reputation of their academy.


    Unfazed by even the critisicm and mockery from his own family members, he kept on believing in the supernatural.


    He sat down on the sofa and started scribbling something on his notepad. From her Island kitchen, Natasha could see that her father was looking extremely elated.


    "What happened daddy? You seem happy. Did you take good pictures of the comet or something?" she asked.


    He looked at her again trying to figure out if her question was sincere. For a moment he paused but then he said, "If my calculations are not wrong, then I am pretty sure that this comet was the harbinger of something supernatural. And since it was closest to earth yesterday I am telling you, something has happened yesterday."


    Then taking a deep breath he leaned back on the sofa and said, "Maybe our earth already has its visitors. Maybe they are from a different planet or a realm, I am not sure but definitely something has happened yesterday night. The amount of negative entropy that I could see in my calculations was way too high. Something supernatural only can compensate for it."


    Natasha suddenly freaked out after hearing her words. She wiped her hands and came to the living room.


    "So is it possible that someone has time travelled to earth?"


    Atticus nodded and said, "There is a possibility of that! Like some one from the future or..."


    "Someone from the past!" she exclaimed.


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 55 The tale of the comet - 2

    "Exactly!" exclaimed Atticus with enthusiasm dripping from his face because his daughter was able to get his analogy.


    Pinching the space between her brows, Natasha looked at her father skeptically. She wanted to ask something but was hesitant because if she did, then that meant that she somehow believed in his theories, but in reality, she didn''t.


    She was just a docile daughter who didn''t want to hurt the feelings of her father, so no matter how weird his hypothesis'' were, no matter what weird expeditions he took to prove his madness, she always supported him. Like for the past one week, he was going to the Kellog Hilltop just to check the arrival of the comet which he considered was not normal because the comet had deviated from its trajectory because of some external power influx and he believed that there was some supernatural force that was doing so.


    Being a doctor she never believed in the supernatural. She never believed that there was something beyond this universe where life was running in parallel. But after the incident that happened in the morning, she was forced to question her own beliefs.


    Seeing the hesitation on her face, Atticus looked at her for a while and asked,


    "Did Leonard say anything to you about me? Have I upset you in some way?"


    "No, dad! No way! Something happened today morning. I mean, actually it happened yesterday night but... "


    "Will you tell me what happened my child?" asked Atticus a bit worried because her ever so confident daughter looked like she was struggling to even express her thoughts.


    "Ermm... How do I start? See, yesterday Daniel was hosting this Halloween party at the house..."


    "Yes, I am aware of that. Did he do something stupid yesterday? Do you want me to talk to him?" asked Atticus.


    "No, No... Erm... Just let me finish dad."


    "Ok, Ok."


    "So, there were like a bunch of guys who were there at our place yesterday and half of them I didn''t even know. I had never seen them before. So there was alcohol and maybe some other crazy stuff at the party too. You know what I mean. So when we went to the pool area to clean things up, there was this guy whom we found asleep there," said Natasha and then sat on the chair next to her.


    "I assumed that he was drunk and a friend of Daniel and so I took him inside and helped him stay with us for the night. I mean, that was the most natural thing to do right?"


    "Right my child. I have taught you well," remarked Atticus.


    "But that''s not it. There was a young girl who was running a high fever and had fainted in our garden. I assumed she was also at the party and maybe she took some contraband or alcohol, God knows what and probably got sick because of that. So I took her in and helped to reduce her fever."


    "That''s a great thing to do. So why are you so skeptical about your decision? Did Leonard say anything bad because of it?"


    "No, dad! Just stop blaming Leonard for everything. He had nothing to do with any of this."


    "Well I just assumed, since all the problems in your life are because of that man only," mumbled Atticus and sunk back into the sofa.


    Natasha rolled her eyes and then continued,


    "The thing is their clothes were weird. I mean ridiculously weird. You have seen those Greek or Roman movies with people in cloaks and stuff right?"


    "Yeah!", affirmed Atticus.


    "So they were dressed like that, but like in a very poor way, I mean their clothes were tattered and torn sort of and I just assumed that they had dressed up like this for the Halloween."


    "Were they not?"


    Natasha shook her head saying a big no.


    "Oh! poor things. Did you call the police or social services to take care of them? Maybe they had been tortured by someone or case of a child trafficking maybe?"


    "I wish!" exclaimed Natasha and started biting her nails.


    "What do you mean Natasha?"


    "Erm... The thing is, they said that I look like their mom."


    "What?" exclaimed Atticus.


    "And not just that, they also said that Leonard looked like their father."


    "What are you saying?"


    "But dad hold on. That''s not the weird part," she said and took a deep breath and then looking into the eyes of her father, she said,


    "They said that they had traveled to the future!"


    "They said what?"


    "I know! I know! I sound crazy but that''s what they said. And even Daniel told that the boy was looking at everything as if he was unable to understand where he was. They talked about some fight and some kingdom and stuff. Oh! and this was not their first-time travel. Apparently they had done it before," she said and looked at him intently for a while and then asked,


    "Does it ring a bell?"


    Atticus looked at his daughter for a moment and asked, "And you don''t think they were insane?"


    "No," said Natasha and pushed her hair behind her ear.


    Given that she was one of the best psychiatrists in New York and given that she was his daughter when she was confident that they were not insane or sprouted a story, Atticus sprang from the sofa and holding her daughter''s arm he asked,


    "So are you saying?"


    "I am not saying, anything dad. I am just telling you the facts. I don''t know what''s real and what''s not."


    "Where are they?" he asked.


    "I don''t know. They left before I could even help them as they probably realized we are not going to believe them. But police said that they will inform us if they get to know about there whereabouts so we can just wait for their call."


    "Wait for their call? No my child, if they are from the past then this place is going to kill them even before police can find them out. There is no niceness left in this world of ours."


    Saying that Atticus picked up his car keys and rushed out of the door.


    And the wheels of his jeep whirled.


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 56 Finding the two

    As Atticus sped through the neighborhoods of Riverdale, his eyes were constantly fixated on the needle of the EMP(Electromagnetic Pulse) detector device. He turned around every street as per the movement in the needle, but after taking multiple turns across the tree-lined roads of the sub-urban, he couldn''t find any place where a large amount of electromagnetic pulse was detected.


    Feeling dejected, he decided to give a last run at the Police station to try out his luck.


    He turned towards the fifth cross when suddenly he saw the needle turn all chaotic.


    A smile sprang on his lips and, he swiftly turned his car around and drove towards the alley as his gut was pretty sure that he would find them there.


    He randomly parked his car outside as the alley was narrow and started walking ahead as he could hear some noise at a distance and after inching close he saw a small crowd.


    There was a woman who was shouting at the top of her lungs and other passerby people had surrounded her.


    "I am not gonna repeat it again. Give me your social security number."


    As he inched closer, he saw a little girl, probably in her teens hiding behind the leg of a man who was standing apologetically. There were a couple of apples strewn on the street.


    His EMP device had stopped whirling. It was now pointing in the direction of the man, so he barged in.


    "Excuse me, Excuse me!" he said and made his way through the crowd.


    "What happened ma''am?" he asked looking at the female who was visibly enraged.


    "These suckers tried to steal apples from my store and were trying to sneak away. And when I have caught them red-handed, they aren''t co-operating. And look at what mess they have made." She said and pointed at the apples on the road. "My apples ain''t cheap mister. They are one dollar each! So you better pay or I am gonna hand you over to the cops for stealing" she said snapping her fingers in front of Morpheous.


    "I am not a thief!" mumbled Morpheous.


    "Then why didn''t you pay?" she asked sarcastically.


    Morpheous looked at her calmly and said, "You said I can take them, so I took them."


    Atticus laughed in his head after hearing his reply but decided to zip it as the lady looked like she could lose her shit at any point in time.


    "Holy mother******, what argument are you giving. You either pay me twice the price, for wasting my time or I call the cops!"


    "Ma''am here!" said Atticus and handed over a twenty-dollar bill. "I hope this will be more than double the value that you are looking for."


    "Do I look like a charity case here?" she yelled at Atticus and gave him a scornful look. "I want my money fair and square and I don''t want these shitty people to keep escaping every now and then. I want them to learn their lessons. There are no free lunches in this world."


    Her nostrils flared as she kept yelling.


    "Ma''am, let me apologize on their behalf this time. I will teach them a lesson at home," said Atticus and thrust that twenty-dollar bill into her hand.


    "These are your kids?" that lady exclaimed.


    Atticus looked at them for a moment and then nodded.


    "But you look well off. What have you done with them?" she lamented and put that twenty into her fanny pack.


    "Halloween party outcomes!" said Atticus and chuckled. Then looking at Morpheous and Eva he said,


    "Kids, into the jeep. Now!" and looking at the crowd around, "Well gentlemen the show is over for now. Thank you. Thank you."


    And when people started dispersing he turned towards them and asked,


    "Hungry?"


    Little Eva who was till now hiding behind Morpheous, peeked a bit from behind. The eyes of this old man seemed benevolent and kind to her. Way different from any other human that she had seen today. She looked up at Morpheous and then slightly nodded her head.


    But before Atticus could respond or say anything, Morpheous slightly bowed his head and said, " We shall be forever indebted for your help sire but no thank you." and saying that he held the hands of Eva and started walking away.


    The hunger was visible from their eyes, for it had almost been two days that they had eaten anything properly. But his pride was way too much to allow him to be gullible again. No one had ever called them a thief or insulted them in public in such a derogatory way.


    So Morpheous had deduced, the humans from this place were not trustable.


    "I am not a mean person like them," yelled Atticus trying to convince them to come back to him but they kept walking ahead.


    The EMP device in his hands started whirling again as the two started moving away from him. Atticus looked in their direction for a while and then something struck his mind, ''I can get to them if I can act the old school way,'' and a smile etched on his face.


    "What an old man has to do to get some help?" he said and sighed loudly. Then he acted as if bending down and picking up the apples was big trouble for him. He had laid out the net. Now it was time to wait for them to be trapped.


    "Morpheous! He needs help! Look at him!" exclaimed Eva as she saw Atticus struggling. There was visible pain in his eyes, every time he attempted to bend down or get up.


    Morpheous hesitated for a second and then returned back and quickly picked up the remaining apples from the street and handed it to Atticus.


    "Thank you son!" replied Atticus and then took two apples and handed it to them and said, "For helping me out!"


    "You have helped us enough sire!" said Morpheous and refused politely but Eva didn''t. She was hungry and was looking at that apple as if she was doting on them, This place was weird. There were no fruit trees around to replenish their hunger.


    And seeing the way his sister way eyeing the apple, Morpheous couldn''t say no anymore. He cared more about his sister than his pride! So he took the two apples and bowed again and turned to leave.


    "Don''t you want a few more for your friends?"


    And a shocked Morpheous turned back.


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 57 The taste of defea

    There was a blinding flash of blue that forced Nubeous to close his eyes. An in the next flash of a second, everything had quietened down.


    The tornado had been calmed.


    The only sound that he heard was the cracking of the ground underneath.


    "Thud-Crack!"


    He looked all around but Morpheous was nowhere to be seen.


    "Gaaaaahhhhh....."


    He shouted and out of anger and snapped his fingers again, but to his utter dismay, his blot was back to normal. It wasn''t that fiery red anymore. Disgruntled, he started casting bolt after bolt, completely unaware of the fact that a part of his energy was being driven away into the portal that Balthazaar had created.


    A small part of that huge influx of energy kept the portal open even though Balthazaar had closed it up.


    Originally the fallen angel had decided to sacrifice himself to send Morpheous into the future, but just when he was about to use his last bit of power, there was an external surge of energy. The tunnel of time was split into six and that flung them into the six realms in different eras of time.


    The way the time was relative in the six realms was fascinating because it made them co-exist at the same time on the different realms. Neither Balthazaar nor Damianos had any idea where these realms existed. They only knew about the existence of the realms but neither of them had even been to any other realm apart from the Kingdom of Nubia or Nieavellir.


    Vanaheimr - The land of God and ¨¢lfheimr - The land of Angels had been isolated from the reach of anyone as in one lied the dead remains of God and in the other stayed the angels in complete harmony. They had hidden both these realms from the reach of anyone through guarding spells.


    The remaining seven realms were now each located in different Astral dimension and there existed no connectivity in between. But today finally the miracle happened as the reference portal was opened which was the only common gateway that existed between all the realms.


    Frustrated with the escape of Morpheous, and completely unaware of the miracle that had happened, Nubeous engulfed the entire place with fire as his deathly bolts started the rampage. The whole area started burning in front of his eyes, but that didn''t suffice the revenge thirsty soul of his. He picked up the ingot in his hands and cast another bolt. But alas! The result was still the same.


    The fieriness of his bolt, the unparalleled intensity of his bolt had disappeared and somehow that made him feel limp and crippled from within.


    There was no sign of anyone in that cropland area. His men had run away and somehow he wanted to blame that cynical old Balthazaar for all of it. It was probably his sixth sense, but he could feel that it was Balthazaar who had entered the tornado just before Morpheous disappeared.


    The land around him had slowly started sinking into the lava and there was barely any place to stand. So without wasting any more time, he ran back towards the oak tree where he had tied his horse.


    His poor horse had been neighing relentlessly and restlessly for everything around it had started to burn and no matter how hard it tried, it couldn''t escape from the leather ties. So when it saw Nubeous approaching, it started neighing even louder.


    Alighting his horse along with the ingot, he galloped back towards the kingdom.


    That merciless man didn''t even turn once to see the amount of devastation that he had caused in that one single night. The bitterness of the taste of defeat, the wound on his ego had completely marred the biggest achievement of his life today - finding that ingot.


    His mind was no more occupied in extracting the metal from the ingot, but to find the whereabouts of the man who had disappeared after scarring his ego.


    He rode for hours at a stretch, without caring for the lashing rain or the spine chilling cold air that in no way could douse his spirit of revenge.


    The members of the general council stayed up all night at the Iridium Palace as they didn''t possess the guts to go back home as Nubeous had marched towards Ambracia in search of the ingot by himself. In the wee hours of the morning when the fort keeper informed them about the return of the soldiers, they asked for the head soldier to report to them.


    Diogenes was really worried when he heard from the fort guards that the soldiers had returned alone. He paced in the room waiting for the head soldier''s arrival.


    "Knock Knock"


    "Come in!" said Diogenes and darted out his question at him, without giving the soldier any time to greet the other council members.


    "Where is Nubeous? What happened to the ingot?"


    With an ashamed face, the head soldier replied,


    "We ran away!"


    "You what?" exclaimed Diogenes.


    The head soldier immediately knelt in front of him and said,


    "Please sire! Please understand. That was not a fight for common men like us to join. That was..."


    "What fight?" asked Diogenes surprised.


    "That man, that man who had killed three hundred soldiers alone. He was back from the dead sire. I don''t know how but that was him. He had the eyes that spoke the language of death sire. They burned, they burned in the shade of blue. We had two options, either to be killed by him or to be killed by my master. So we fled and..."


    But before he could complete his sentence, Diogenes ordered,


    "You are dismissed!"


    "Sire!"


    "Please leave this room right now! Rather leave the kingdom right now if you want to survive. Why did you even come back in the first place? Do you think Nubeous will spare you?" asked Diogenes and without waiting for any further explanation he turned towards the other council members.


    His face looked drained as if he had seen a ghost.


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 58 Dr. Atticus Lincoln - 1

    Upon hearing his question, Morpheous immediately pushed Eva behind him. The apples that she was holding in her hand fell down and rolled on the street.


    "Brother!" exclaimed a surprised Eva.


    "Who are you?" asked Morpheous. His face looked dead serious and his stance looked aggressive. Extending his hands towards him, Atticus gave out a warm smile and said, "I am Atticus Lincoln. An Astrophysicist and maybe in your terms a star watcher."


    But Morpheous still stayed hostile and asked,


    "How do you know about others? How do you know that we didn''t come alone?"


    "It''s basic mathematics governed by the laws of physics," replied Atticus and looked at them but seeing their blank faces he exclaimed, "My bad. Let me explain it this way. I study the stars and space, I mean the sky, and I can know if there is something that breaks the harmony of energy levels.


    "So yesterday night there was a lot of change in the energy level and that cannot happen with the weight of only two of your bodies. So I am pretty sure that there are two or three more people who came along with you."


    "How did you know that we have come from someplace else?" asked Morpheous. He still looked apprehensive so Atticus brought the EMP detecting device in front and showed them how the arrow was pointing towards them.


    "This little thing can detect any unnatural source of energy that is nearby."


    "Then can it help us to detect my people? I really need your help. I will do anything in return. Please just help me find them."


    Atticus looked at Morpheous and then with a smile on his face he said, "I guess the first thing you guys need to do is to eat! Follow me!" and started walking towards his jeep. Morpheous deliberated a bit but then holding the hands of Eva he started following the man.


    Atticus got inside the jeep and said, "Get in!"


    Although they both had seen many such moving entities in the last couple of hours, they were pretty apprehensive about getting into one and that too with a man from this realm.


    Looking at their indecisive faces, Atticus said,


    "This is perfectly safe. Let me help you out."


    And getting down from the driver''s seat, he went to the passenger''s seat side and helped Morpheous get in. Then opening the back door, he helped Eva get in as well. Then the moment when he was about to put the seat belt, Morpheous blocked his hand and with an alarmed look on his face he asked,


    "Why do you want to tie me up? You promised that you would help!"


    "Oh trust me I am," he said and returned to the driver seat and attached the seat belt to himself. Then he looked at Morpheous and said, "As this object moves fast we need this safety," and saying that he clicked the seat belt on Morpheous''s side.


    Morpheous looked visibly uncomfortable but seeing that Atticus had strapped himself as well, he kept his thoughts to himself. Little Eva in the meanwhile was trying to observe and learn as much as possible about this place and people. She was looking at everything and everyone curiously.


    Atticus then swiftly drove towards his house albeit a bit far from Natasha''s place because he didn''t want to have an ugly scene with Leonard for bringing two strangers back into his house who had fled before.


    Atticus lived in Whitestone, New York which was around fifteen miles away from Riverdale. His house was located in quite a posh area and thus it was sparsely populated as compared to Riverdale. After parking in front of his house, Atticus got down and helped Morpheous get down from the car.


    Little Eva, who saw how Atticus had opened the car door and opened the door for herself.


    Atticus looked at her in surprise and said,


    "You are a quick learner. Aren''t you?"


    Eva didn''t say anything but smiled at him.


    "Come inside," he said and took them in. They looked at Atticus all amazed as he punched his key pin and the door opened automatically.


    Although his house was much larger and spacious that Natasha''s, but it was way less clean and organized. There were papers and whiteboards everywhere and hundreds of equations had been written at all random places, including the kitchen sink.


    But then suddenly Morpheous was taken aback as he looked at a picture on the refrigerator and asked,


    "Are you related to this woman?"


    Atticus, who had planned to tell them later about being the father of Natasha, so as to not to freak them out, slumped on his sofa and said,


    "She is my daughter!"


    Now everything sounded like an alarm to Morpheous, but before he could panic and say anything, Atticus said,


    "Don''t you think it is the fate that has brought me to you? Don''t you think I just got lucky and found you randomly in the streets? I mean what are the odds that I was able to find you much earlier than the cops?"


    "Who are cops? And why are they looking for us?" was the next question of Morpheous.


    Hearing his question Atticus got up from the sofa as he understood that the Q\u0026A session was going to be, long. So he took out a carton of milk and poured it into two bowls and said,


    "Cops are the people who guard us against bad people. Their job is to catch the thieves and murderers and keep them in jail so that common people like us can live peacefully."


    "But why are they searching for us?"


    Atticus added cereal into both the bowls and poured some honey on top and said,


    "Because it is also their job to help people who are lost. They also help people who don''t have anyone in this world. They help you to connect with other people who can help you out. So my daughter had called the cops so that they could help you out as she thought that you have been separated from your parents."


    "Yes, we have been!" exclaimed Eva.


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 59 Dr. Atticus Lincoln - 2

    Atticus wanted to now ask the sensitive question. He wanted to know why they called Natasha and Leonard as their parents. The resemblance to one person was believable but with both! That was simply uncanny.


    Given that they came to earth along with others, Atticus assumed that probably they had come with their parents and wanted to go in search of them. So when Eva commented to his reply he assumed that she was talking about the physical separation and thus walking towards them with the bowls in his hand, he said,


    "Don''t worry my child. I will help you meet your parents. My EMP device will help you locate them. But we must hurry as this world can be a tad bit different from yours. We don''t know with what kind of people they might land upon."


    And saying that he handed them the bowls and said,


    "Now eat! You need some energy before we go for a search."


    But that girl, who a couple of moments before was eyeing at the apples out of hunger, didn''t even touch the bowl of food. She looked lost because it was now that she realized that since yesterday, she didn''t even mourn for her parents. Didn''t even shed her tears properly. She had not bidden them a proper farewell and neither had she prayed for the peace of their souls.


    It was then that she realized what a worthless and ungrateful child she had been.


    "Eat! It''s just milk and some flattened grains. It will suit your stomach!" said Atticus and looked at her. He couldn''t understand why she was gazing at the floor continuously, but the moment she lifted her eyes, hearing his words, he could see that her tears were already swirling.


    And sensing that Atticus might ask questions further Morpheous intervened,


    "Our parents died yesterday night. A couple of hours before we came here."


    He spoke with a calm and straight face and hearing that the mouth of Atticus was left wide open. He couldn''t fathom the pain of those two. In a day they lost their family and their home. But what pinched him the most was the resemblance of their parents with his daughter and son in law. Fate was indeed brutal. What high hopes they must have had!


    He wanted to offer his condolences. He wanted to pat on the head of the poor orphaned girl. But before he could even make any attempt, the doorbell rang.


    He turned in the direction of his door and he could see that both Morpheous and Eva were startled like anything. So before walking towards the door he explained,


    "This is the sound of a doorbell. When you go to someone''s house you press it and the sound will tell the house owner that someone is at the door."


    Morpheous just nodded and Atticus walked towards the foyer.


    He peeped through the keyhole and saw a mailman. It had been ages that he received a physical mail. Everyone communicated through emails these days. Seeing a mailman in the US postal uniform was a rarity these days.


    Opening the door he asked,


    "Is this mail for number 14?"


    "Yes," replied the mailman.


    "It''s not a prank by anyone right?" asked Atticus as he had been sent trash a couple of times by his disgruntled students.


    "I do not know," replied the mailman curtly and then asked Atticus to sign before handing him a parcel.


    From the size of the parcel, Atticus assumed it to be a book. The parcel was wrapped in brown paper and had brown strings tied around. It was quite a shabby packaging. Bringing it into the kitchen, Atticus cut the strings using a knife and then unwrapped the book.


    He was assuming it to be some research paper collection or any book released by his students, but it was not. It was a leather-bound diary.


    "That''s weird! Who would send me a diary?" he mumbled.


    He flipped the pages of the diary but there was nothing written. He had no idea who had sent it. So getting a bit irritated he flung the diary towards the sofa and when he did, suddenly he noticed something fall down from the diary.


    He quickly went to check what it was and saw the electricity bill of his house inside it.


    "Ugghhhh... It''s time people should stop with their jokes!" he muttered and placed the electricity bill back into the diary and tossed it on the sofa.


    Then turning towards Morpheous and Eva he asked,


    "I didn''t get your names by the way."


    "I am Morpheous and she is my sister Evangeline. But I call her Eva."


    "You have a beautiful name," said Atticus and patted on Eva''s head and then said, "Please have some food. We have a long day ahead of us." and then he looked at Morpheous and as if they communicated through their minds, he picked up the bowl and started eating the cereal.


    Seeing them both eating peacefully, he said, "Be here. I will be back in a minute." and saying that he went upstairs.


    Morpheous ate his food silently. He didn''t have the courage to discuss or talk about anything with Eva. He had the courage to fight millions but he didn''t have the courage to see a single drop of tear on her face.


    "I had to give you something back," said Eva and untied the amulet from her wrist.


    "Where did you find it?" exclaimed Morpheous.


    "It was with Iris," replied Eva and handed him over. But the moment she placed it on Morpheous''s hand, the EMP device that Atticus had placed on the dining table started swirling at top speed.


    "Morpheous! See!"


    And when Morpheous looked at the device he saw it rotating at top speed. Out of curiosity, he brought the amulet extremely close to it and it started rotating even faster. It was no more aligned in their direction.


    Surprised, Eva took the amulet in her left hand and the EMP device in the right.


    The EMP device stopped moving.


    It was back being aligned again.


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 60 Message on the wall - 1

    "No way!"


    "No way!"


    Screamed Atticus, the moment he reached his bedroom.


    He had gone up to get some clothes for Morpheous and Eva so that they didn''t look like students who had straight come out from a drama theatre class. But before he could even reach his wardrobe, he saw something strange in his room.


    On the white wall, there were words written with a marker pen.


    "Find a way to harness energy from the amulet."


    Hearing his shrilling scream, Morpheous and Eva, left the EMP device on the table and went upstairs towards his room.


    When they reached his room, they found him staring at the wall. His face looked pale and his eyes looked blank as if someone had drained all the blood away. Although they couldn''t understand why Atticus was staring at the writing on the wall or what was written on the wall, they could understand one thing - it was something that had disturbed the old man.


    His brows were knitted and his face looked agonizingly irked.


    As the script was different, there were only a few alphabets that Morpheous could recognize, but as a whole, the writing didn''t make any sense to him.


    "What is wrong?" asked Morpheous.


    "This messgae," blurted Atticus.


    "What does the message say?" asked Morpheous as he got worried to see beads of sweat forming on the forehead of the old man.


    "My concern isn''t the message. My concern is, it was not here till yesterday evening. Someone has written some non-sense on my wall again. I am used to people mocking me, calling me insane, but invading into my house and writing on my wall! This is outrageous!"


    "What have they written?" asked Eva.


    "Nothing. It''s a mockery of my recent publication on energy harnessing. ''Find a way to harness energy from the amulet.'' Some nonsense they have written but I am not leaving it this time. I am not insane. All my theories are correct. You people have landed here and proved that I was right. I will show them...."


    But interrupting his words, little Eva stretched out her hand, and seeing the amulet on her palm, the agitation of Atticus was silenced in the fraction of a second.


    "You... From where did you get this amulet? Was it here? In my house?"


    Eva shook her head and said,


    "This is my brother''s," and saying that she looked at Morpheous as if she was asking him if she could tell this man about their recent observation and when Morpheous nodded, she said,


    "There is something more that you should see I guess."


    She looked at Atticus hesitantly for a moment and then said,


    "Please come down with me!"


    Atticus followed her but Morpheous stayed in that room a bit more. He looked around, scanning every visible object around him, registering them into his memory, and then reached for the wall. He ran his fingers on the writing, tracing the lines. Something was very familiar with that script, but he wasn''t able to figure out what.


    He stood there and pondered for a while and then returned back downstairs.


    "Do you see anything? Does anything move?" asked Eva as she placed the amulet and the EMP device both in her hand.


    "No, it just points towards you as you are a flux source," replied Atticus.


    "Wait a moment!" said Eva and when Morpheous came downstairs, she placed the EMP device in Atticus''s hands and handed over the amulet to Morpheous.


    "Check now!"


    The EMP device started swirling fast. And as Morpheous approached closer, it started rotating even faster.


    "What kind of sorcery is this?" exclaimed Atticus and pounced on the Amulet.


    It looked very ordinary. A rhomboid sort of metal piece attached to a piece of string. A small part of the string looked like it had been burnt. The metal looked like that of iron which had been hammered and shaped up. But apart from that, there was nothing extraordinary about it.


    Holding the amulet in his hand, Atticus tried to connect the dots.


    ''How can someone else know that we have an amulet with us? Also, is the writing pointing towards this amulet or something else?'' he thought and then looking at Morpheous he asked,


    "Who gave you this amulet?"


    "It''s been with me since I can even remember," said Morpheous and looked at Eva.


    Atticus consolidated his thoughts for a moment and then said,


    "I think we can discuss more about your place and check your amulet later. First, we need to find the people with whom you came," said Atticus and picked up the half-eaten bowls from the dining table and placed then in the sink.


    Then looking at them, he said, "You can use the bathroom to freshen up," and saying that he pointed towards the powder room but then he realized that they might not be familiar with its usage.


    So he said,


    "Come with me!"


    He showed them how to run the tap and how to adjust the temperature of the water. Then he pumped a coin-sized amount of body wash on his palm and lathered his hands up.


    As he cleaned his hands under the water, he said, "See, using this you can clean your body. This liquid will wash away all the dirt. But remember do not let it get in your eyes. I won''t be responsible if it stings bad."


    He smiled and looked at Eva who was looking at him dead seriously and a part of him wished for his students to have tried to listen to him this intently.


    "And here are the towels," he said and then explained the whole mechanism of how flush and the doorknob worked.


    "I will find some clothes for you and then we can go in search of your friends," said Atticus and then looking at Morpheous he said, "You can use the guest bathroom there," and saying that he went upstairs.


    As Morpheous stood under the shower and let that water drench his body, his mind started rummaging through everything that had happened. This future man seemed nice and benevolent, but still, he was not able to trust him. A part of him was still uncomfortable seeing the message on the wall.


    There was something that was going on beyond his scope of understanding. But he was not someone who was going to settle without knowing the answers.


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 61 Message on the wall - 2

    As the hot water and steam started to soothe him, Morpheous slightly lifted his leg and looked at his thigh. It was back to normal. There was no sign of any burn and the pain had vanished as well. Taking a sigh of relief he closed his eyes and started re-iterating the line that was written in Atticus''s bedroom but he couldn''t find any connection.


    He wrapped himself up in the towel and came out of the shower cubicle and stood in front of the mirror. Wiping the fog from the surface of the mirror, Morpheous looked at his own reflection for a while.


    Then he shut his eyes close for a second and opened them again and he could see the faint blue flicker but that was gone in a second. He sighed as he was trying to tap on to the powers that had been bestowed on him, the power that he was supposed to use and help out his men. He focussed all his attention and tried to listen, but he couldn''t hear a single soul.


    But he had failed.


    He had failed big-time.


    He had been given a chance to save his parents again, but still, he couldn''t. Just like they the fire that had engulfed their bodies before, this time the flames of the pyre had reduced them into ashes and there was nothing that he could do.


    But now that he was aware of the time transition, he just had one sole goal in life - To go back in time where Leonidas and Nefeli were still alive, where his village was still intact, where his friend Jerome still fought with him and where he got another chance to fight with Nubeous. And the only way to do that was through time travel and the only person who could help him was Balthazaar.


    So, taking a deep breath, he came out from the bathroom, with a heart full of resolve but was pleasantly surprised to see the new look of Eva. She was wearing clothes similar to that of Atticus but was more vibrant.


    Seeing the expression in his eyes, Atticus said,


    "Doesn''t she look nice. No one can tell that she doesn''t belong to our place," and saying that he gave clothes to Morpheous and said,


    "You can change into these and then we go in search of your people."


    As Morpheous went inside the bathroom to change, Atticus decided to ask a couple of questions to Eva.


    "So who else are we searching for?"


    Eva looked at him for a while and then said, "Three people more. Two fallen angels Balthazaar and Damianos and one human being like me named Nicholas."


    "Wait wait what? Did I hear it right? My God! Angels? For real?"


    Eva couldn''t understand why it was so surprising for Atticus to belive.


    "Yes!" she replied cautiously as he was looking at her incredulously. And when he didn''t say anything further, she added, "When you can believe that God exists, when you remember him in your every other sentence, then why you do not believe that his angels also do exist?"


    With his mouth open, Atticus looked at her all amazed for he had nothing to offer as a rebuttal to this little girl. So he shook his head apologetically and asked,


    "So how did you time travel? Who helped you?"


    "Balthazaar is capable of using his powers to push anyone into the past or the future. He had pushed me and brother once into the past so as to save the tyrant king, Nubeous. And he did the same again but this time he pushed us into the future because pushing us into the past didn''t work out. The things had happened, happened again, albeit in a different form."


    Said Eva and turned silent for a moment, but then she sensed that the old man was waiting for some more input from her. So she continued,


    "My brother had killed Nubeous once. So Balthazaar pushed us back in time, but a similar fight happened again, so..."


    "So he pushed you into the future instead!" continued Atticus as he slowly started to get a grip on her story.


    "Ermm... but why your brother tried to kill someone. He doesn''t look like a person who would do such a thing," asked Atticus.


    "Because Nubeous deserved to die. He had burnt my village into ashes. He killed my parents not once but twice in front of my eyes and we could do nothing to save them," said Eva and turned to the side as she heard the bathroom door open as Morpheous came out.


    Wearing the clothes of Leonard, he looked like a perfect stalwart gentleman.


    Atticus smiled as he looked at him and then asked,


    "Ready to go?"


    Morpheous nodded and so did Eva. So he picked up with EMP device which was lying on the beige marble-topped dining table and his leather duffel bag, in which he had packed some essentials when the two had been taking bath.


    Then opening google maps on his iPad he went close to them and asked,


    "See, this device has a map of the entire place." Then he pinched and dragged his fingers on the screen to zoom into Riverdale area and located his daughter''s house and said,


    "This is my daughter''s house and we would search in this peripheral area," saying that he marked a five-mile radius around that place. "Ok?" he asked.


    Morpheous nodded but then asked,


    "What if the cops found them? Someone else might have asked the cops to help them, right?"


    Hearing his question Atticus was astonished as the presence of his mind was way better than his, even though he had learned about how cops worked hardly like thirty minutes back.


    Nodding his head Atticus said,


    "Yes, we will check with the cops as well," and saying that he pulled out three snicker bars from his bag and offered them one. He then tore the wrapper in front of them and taking a bite he said, "This will help us gain some energy."


    Eva gobbled a huge chunk of the bar as she was still a bit hungry and as soon as she had the taste of the chocolate bar, her eyes popped wide open in surprise as she had never tasted something so good in her entire life.


    "Brother you have to taste this. It is incredible! It tastes like heaven" she exclaimed!


    Atticus bit his lips as to not to laugh.


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 62 Does it ring a bell - 1

    Morpheous looked at Eva with surprise because this was the first time, she sounded a bit chirpy, a bit like her, as if she had returned to her own element. That layer of grim, that shroud of pain which reflected in her eyes, was replaced with eternal delight.


    His lips curved in a smile and he too unwrapped the chocolate bar and took a bite.


    "What?" she asked as if wanting an affirmation from him. Her little black marble eyes focussed on his expressions.


    "It''s good," replied Morpheous and gave the remaining chocolate bar to Eva as she was already finished with hers.


    "Shall we?" asked Atticus and pressed the door-unlock button in his jeep key. As he walked towards the passenger side of the jeep to open the door, Morpheous said,


    "We can manage," and saying that the brother-sister duo both opened the jeep door and sat inside with ease.


    "All right then," exclaimed Atticus as he saw them adapting fast to his world and turned on the ignition. But to his utter dismay, the jeep didn''t start. He tried a couple of times more, but it was in vain.


    "Oh man!" exclaimed Atticus and thumped his fist on the steering wheel.


    "What happened?" asked Morpheous.


    "I think my battery is dead again," he replied and started googling for help. He needed a jumper cable immediately to start his car.


    "Who is dead?" exclaimed Eva with panic-stricken eyes.


    "Oh no. What I mean is my battery is finished. It is a source of energy for my jeep to start. But looks like it is drained out!" muttered Atticus.


    "Can you show me where it is?" asked Morpheous and to which Atticus got down from the jeep and opened the hood. Pointing at an encased box which was connected to the engine with cables, he said, "This box you see here, is the source of energy. It''s like a gentle push that you need to start something."


    And saying that he dialed a number on his phone and called for help. After giving the details of his residence as Atticus turned back, he saw Morpheous looking at the engine very keenly.


    "What are you looking at?" he asked curiously but then immediately took a step back as he saw a flash of blue in his eyes for the fraction of a second.


    "Your... your eyes!" exclaimed Atticus.


    "They change color sometimes. It''s normal," he said, and then closing the hood he asked, "Can you try again?"


    "Erm... Ok" Atticus hesitated a bit but then he got into the driver seat and turned on the ignition.


    "Vroom... Vroom..."


    And just like that, the jeep started. Craning his neck out of the jeep Atticus asked,


    "What did you do?"


    "Just gave your battery what it needed!" and with a smile on his face, Morpheous came and sat inside the jeep. Atticus looked at him for a while and then turned back to look at Eva and asked,


    "You guys are humans, right? I mean like us? Just that you have come back from an ancient-ancient era. Please tell me that''s the only difference."


    Eva looked at her brother and said,


    "Yes, we are humans. At least I am. But he seems to be the chosen one!"


    "Chosen one? What do you mean by the chosen one?"


    "It means that he was born to do great things. He was born to restore the glory of the land of God - Vanaheimr. He was..."


    But interrupting Eva Morpheous said,


    "Right now I am born to turn back time again. And trust me, Eva, I will leave no stone unturned this time. We will have a happy family together. I promise!" Then looking at Atticus he asked,


    "Let''s go. We need to find the man who can help us go back."


    Atticus nodded and was about to step on the accelerator when he remembered something. He turned towards them and asked,


    "What was the name of your place again?"


    "Ambracia!" replied Eva.


    His eyes sparkled this time as he heard her reply and he asked, " And is the name of your kingdom Nubia?"


    "Yes!" replied Morpheous all astonished. "But how do you know that?" he asked.


    Then with a sarcastic look on his face, he looked at both of them and asked,


    "Then there must be a prophecy about him as well. Isn''t it?"


    "Erm... Yes!" replied Eva skeptically.


    "Would you care to tell me more about the prophecy my dear?" asked Atticus and typed something on his phone screen.


    Eva looked at Morpheous and then narrated what she had heard from Damianos,"


    ''The bolt of death,


    Will perch up in the sky.


    Oh, the suitor of death,


    The throne you would decry,


    The son of God will Rise,,,


    .


    But interrupting her in the middle, Atticus asked,


    "Cross your heart and hope to die. Is this what your prophecy is?"


    Hearing him narrate the last line of the prophecy, both Eva and Morpheous were stunned.


    "Who are you?" grunted Morpheous. His brows were pointed and his voice carried an angered mistrust.


    "Are you two trying to make a fool out of me? Do I look like a joke to you?" yelled Atticus in response to his question.


    "Get out of my jeep. Get out now," yelled the old man and he turned off the ignition. and then holding the collar of Morpheous he yelled, "Will you drop down to such low levels just to make fun of someone? You planned all this, didn''t you?"


    An angered Morpheous was about to push the old man away but Eva intervened,


    "Both of you, just please calm down. I cannot bear to see another fight. Please!" Then looking at Atticus she said,


    "I am not sure what makes you think that we are lying but we are not. I swear in the name of heaven."


    "Then what is this?" asked Atticus and turned his phone screen towards both of them.


    All that they could see was the picture of a warrior on the screen holding a sword. The sword somehow looked familiar to Morpheous because it was the same sword that was possessed by Nubeous. There were a few words written below the picture but he could not read them or understand. So he asked,


    "I cannot read your script!"


    "Oh really!" snarled Atticus and then yelled, "It is a video game - ''The rise of the saviour'' based in the kingdom of Nubia and wait, the saviour was from Ambracia. Does it ring a bell?"


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 63 Does it ring a bell - 2

    "A what?" asked Morpheous.


    "A bloody video game story," yelled Atticus. "You guys are trying to dupe me with a video game story? God bless my student Conrad for he is keen into games and this was the very game that I had gifted him this year on his birthday."


    Unable to understand a single word or the context, both Eva and Morpheous looked at each other with a puzzled expression.


    Atticus was almost fuming and getting outside the jeep he started pacing as well.


    His heart had sunk completely for the arrival of these two meant that his theories were correct, his calculation was correct. He thought that it was now his chance to prove the people wrong who thought of him as an insane lunatic.


    But these two had conned him. He had never felt this abysmal.


    Feeling deeply heartbroken he went and sat on the porch.


    Morpheous watched him mumbling to himself and wondered what and how had he offended the man. Time was running out and so was his patience. So calming down his own frayed nerves which had been unsettled by his baseless accusations, he walked up to him and asked,


    "Shall we discuss it like adults? Because I seriously have no idea how I have hurt you in any way. In my entire life, I have never lied. And I do not understand how and why do you think we have lied to you?"


    Looking at his etched up brows and his unsettled stance, Atticus paused his solo rant for a moment. His face looked dead serious and his amber eyes looked so clean that he felt as if he was glancing at his very pure soul for a moment.


    So he took out his phone again and browsed the images for the game and said,


    "Can you see here... This is a game that is exactly similar to..."


    "Sorry for interrupting but what does a game mean here in your realm?" asked Morpheous as the pictures were confusing him. In his world, a game meant either a friendly run or a contest of throwing heavy stones the farthest or swimming the fastest.


    "You seriously don''t know what a game is?" lamented Atticus but then instantly regretted his choice of words and his tone because both their faces were completely blank.


    ''Either they are really good at acting or you have acted on your prejudice,'' thought Atticus and decided to give them a chance. So he explained,


    "It''s a virtual reality game. A person who designs a game creates a world and a player would enter that world, complete the tasks, and gain points. There are battles that your fight, there are worlds that you build. It is like a system. The more points you gain by completing the tasks, the stronger you will become. But it''s not real. It''s all the imagination of the game creator."


    "And then what?" asked Morpheous.


    "Then nothing, I mean if you fight against other players then you win something in a contest like money or a medal maybe. I am not sure, Conrad must be knowing more about it." Then browsing through the images Atticus said,


    "See this is the Kingdom of Nubia."


    "This is the prophecy that you just said."


    "And this is the world-building map of the game." Atticus then zoomed the map and showed Nubia and Ambracia on it and then he swiped to one more image.


    "This is the hardest world-building game in the world as of now and the last level leads to a place that you just told, Vanaheimr. So tell me, why should I trust you and how should I trust you? You are telling me the story of a video game and you think I will start believing?"


    "But we don''t know a thing about the video game?" retorted Morpheous.


    "So you are saying that you have never played this game? You didn''t write on my wall yesterday night? You didn''t send me the blank diary?"


    "No," said Morpheous solemnly.


    But a simple NO didn''t suffice. It couldn''t suppress the brooding questions and lingering doubts in Atticus''s head because he had been a victim of multiple loose jokes before. Some were even to the extremes of a Nobel Prize Award email and congratulatory message bombardment afterward and what followed next was utter shame and humiliation.


    Seeing the mistrusting eyes of Atticus, Morpheous realized that it wasn''t going to be easy to explain anything to Atticus. It was already way past noon and he didn''t want to lose any time. So looking at Atticus he said,


    "Can you show me the map of Riverdale one last time?"


    Atticus looked at him all puzzled but then showed him the map. Morpheous imprinted it in his memory and then bowed in front of him and said,


    "I do not possess any means to make you believe in me. You have your own thoughts and I shall not force you to trust me. But still, we are thankful for the kindness and hospitality that you have shown to us. Not sure how, but if you ever need any help and if I am here around, then I would be glad to help you out." and saying that Morpheous held the hand of his sister and took his leave.


    Reluctantly Eva followed Morpheous and they both started walking away.


    In a weird way, a pang of separation started pinching Atticus and irritated with the sudden fondness that he had developed in his heart for the two he went inside and picked up the leather diary and their old clothes and stormed back towards the porch.


    "Don''t leave your stuff behind!" he yelled and threw all the stuff that he was holding in his hands.


    When the diary landed on the ground the electricity bill dropped out again. So he bent down and picked up the electricity bill and pursing his lips he yelled,


    "This is mine. I need to know how much is this month''s bill. So I am gonna take it back."


    But he got the shock of his life when he saw the date on the bill.


    01/09/2021


    But it was the year 2020 now.


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 64 Does it ring a bell - 3

    Atticus stood there stupefied, glued to the floor as he read the meter reading dates. In his mind now ran a thousand conjectures.


    He wanted to discern the truth underneath. He repented for barraging the two with his questions and accusations but he wanted to figure out who was behind all this. But above all, he wanted proof that he was not going insane.


    So taking out his mobile phone, he checked the date again and then with a withered, helpless heart, he ran behind the two who had walked away.


    "Listen!"


    "Listen to me you two!"


    He had to run quite a distance to catch up with them.


    "Haaaa..... Haaaa....."


    Placing his palm upon his knees he bent down and took deep breaths to tame its haggardness.


    "What do you want?" asked Morpheous as he saw the old man panting for his breath.


    "Someone... Someone is trying to play with my head," he said and stood upright. But from the look on his face, Eva could sense that he was still breathless and uncomfortable to talk.


    "That is fine," said Morpheous and looked at Eva to continue walking.


    "I was trying to apologize here, young man. Considering my age, I think I do have the liberty to yell a bit. Don''t you think?" said Atticus and looked at both of them in anticipation.


    "We do not want to cause you any more trouble. You have helped us enough. We will be on our own now." said Morpheous with a straight upright face as he was not ready to take any more of this bullshit.


    "But you can reach there faster with my jeep!" and thus Atticus threw a bone towards them. He knew that time was the essence here.


    Morpheous looked at Eva and thought for a while. Then looking at Atticus he asked,


    "But why do you want to help us so badly. You don''t trust us and we have no way to prove that we are telling you the truth. Then why do you want to take up all this trouble? What other intension do you have?" and finally Morpheous blurted out what was troubling him the most.


    "I have my own reasons!" said Atticus and crossed in hands in front of his chest.


    Morpheous was going to say something more when suddenly he felt an intense ringing in his ears.


    "Gaaahhhh..." he yelled and held onto the right side of his ear.


    "What is wrong? What is wrong with you?" asked Atticus and came close to him. but Morpheous took a step back. Taking a couple of deep breaths and jerking his head to the side, he said,


    "I am fine."


    "No seriously, what happened to you? Do you need any help?" asked Atticus.


    Morpheous turned and looked at his jeep and said,


    "Let us do it this way. Neither you speak about your reasons nor do you ask us about ours. We take your help and meet our friends and we will end this union."


    Atticus nodded and walked towards his house and drove the jeep towards them.


    "Get in!"


    And thus drove the trio towards Riverdale, sitting in acute silence inside the jeep. After crossing the residential area of Whitestone they entered the serene area of the ranches. Craning her neck out of the window, little Eva let the cool breeze ruffle through her hair. Her eyes captured the greenery around but suddenly something caught her attention randomly.


    On the sloped land were stones and crosses placed at a distance. A couple of them had some inscriptions of them and a few had fresh flowers underneath and few ones had them wilted. From the side mirror, Atticus could see that Eva looked curious, so he said,


    "That''s a cemetery if you want to know."


    "What is a cemetery?" asked Eva and turned ahead.


    "A place where you bury the dead ones. You didn''t have it back at your place? No graveyards in your era?" asked Atticus.


    "We do not bury. We offer the body to the fire God who separates the soul and helps them to pass through the gates to either heaven or hell," said Morpheous, and his reply somehow made Atticus happy because he had been fed up from his silent retreat.


    But somehow the topic of death made Eva go back into silent mode. That painful austere silence started to prevail again, drenched with the melancholy in her eyes.


    Reading the thoughts that rummaged through the mind of his sister, Morpheous immediately switched the topic,


    "What made you change your mind, if I may know?"


    Atticus looked at him out of disbelief, for even in the short span of time he had realized that Morpheous was more of a reserved and taciturn person. He was not someone who would strike up a conversation first. But with one glimpse at the side mirror, he released why. Even though he had a hard exterior, his heart was still soft, supple, and very much human. A heart that cared for his sister more than anyone could ever fathom.


    Taking a deep breath, Atticus said,


    "It''s not possible for anyone to go to such lengths just to make fun of me."


    "Uh... huh..." mumbled Morpheous.


    "Ermm... there was something else that I found which was a little out of the place. Not sure how it fits the picture though," said Atticus and pulled out a parchment of paper from his pocket.


    "You remember the diary that I received from some unknown person?"


    "Yes," said Eva and turned curiously.


    "Well, it had my electricity bill. Kind of like a note that the government or some council will generate based on how much energy you have consumed in a month."


    "So?" asked Eva, unable to understand how it mattered.


    "The thing is, you get the bill at the end of the month. This is the eleventh month of the year 2020, but the bill is from 2021."


    "From the future?" exclaimed Eva and pulled the paper from his hands and tried to look at it even though it didn''t make any sense. Then she flipped it back.


    "What does this thing mean? It doesn''t look like the usual script of yours? It is something handwritten I guess" asked Eva and the moment Atticus saw it, he pushed the brakes hard.


    The jeep came to a screeching halt.


    "What happened?" asked Morpheous as he could see that Atticus looked gravely disturbed and anxious. His lips were half apart as if he was attempting to speak something. He stuttered for a moment and said,


    "This... This... is my signature."


    He spoke with his eyes still wide in disbelief as he saw his own signature and date written at the back of it. Now he was pretty sure that it was not a joke. Something serious was happening. He was now sure about it.


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 65 The search begins - 1

    "How can I write something in the future and send it to my present?" muttered Atticus but Morpheous was lost in his own thoughts and didn''t bother to listen. He could sense that something was gravely going wrong and there was only one man that he knew who would be able to answer this puzzle - Daminaos.


    So he turned towards Atticus and said,


    "Let us fins Damianos first. This is way beyond my ability to comprehend."


    But the hands and legs of the old man were shaking now. Processing this much information, this much weirdness in such a short span of time was becoming difficult for him. His brain had frozen and he found it difficult to have coherent thoughts and drive.


    With a troubled expression on his face, he looked at Morpheous and said,


    "My heart rate is way too high right now. I won''t be able to drive. Just let me wait and let me catch my breath for a few ..."


    "Then let me run this!"


    "What?" exclaimed both Eva and Atticus in harmony.


    "Are you nuts? How can you drive? In your era don''t you use horses?" but before he could ask anything more, he saw Morpheous coming out from the passenger side.


    "Please let me run this thing. We need to reach there as early as possible." His voice was less of a request and more of an order and hearing which Atticus silently retreated and walked out to the passenger side. Then turning back towards Eva he said,


    "It''s better you strap yourself with that belt" and pointed his finger towards the seat belt clamp. Then he turned towards Morpheous and said,


    "First you need to use the hand-brake."


    "I know!" he said and released the handbrake. With his one hand on the steering wheel, Morpheous turned on the ignition and started the car without a jolt. In the next second, he had already switched to the second gear.


    "How how! How do you know how to drive?" asked a baffled Atticus and then turning towards Eva he repeated the same question. to which Eva calmly reciprocated,


    "He observes, understands, and then he learns."


    "Just like that?" he exclaimed.


    "Yes, just like that," said Eva and went back to being in the quiet mode again and Morpheous switched to the fourth gear. He was having no trouble in following the navigation system as well since he had already seen Atticus using it on the way to Woodstone.


    Still unable to believe that he was able to drive by just watching, Atticus kept holding on to the top side handle. His heart instead of settling down was running even faster for Morpheous had switched to the fifth gear.


    The city area od Riverdale was about to start so he said,


    "Now you can leave the steering to me. The traffic signals might be too difficu..."


    And Morpheous pressed the brakes.


    "What what? What happened?"


    Morpheous pointed his finger towards the traffic signal which was in red with a waiting time of twenty-seven seconds. A surprised Atticus looked at the man sitting next to him. A weird calmness was spread across his face and from his eyes gleamed strange confidence. But what he was witnessing was just a fraction of the capacities this man encompassed.


    And just when the signal turned green he pressed the pedal and then wheeled through the roads of Riverdale.


    They kept rotating back and forth along the lanes near Nathasha''s house, but there was no luck. The EMP device kept swinging in the direction of Morpheous and Eva.


    The wind has started to become chilly and the afternoon started turning misty. Seeing the shade of orange that had spread in the sky, Morpheous knew that soon the sun was about to set, and that made him impatient. His growing anxiety was evident from the arch of his eyebrows.


    They were running out of time and luck.


    Seeing him writhing in the seat uncomfortably and craning his neck every now and then, Atticus asked,


    "Shall I call the cops and check with them? I think we have already covered more than the required perimeter."


    "Yes, please!" replied Morpheous and then halted his vehicle next to a tree in the lane that they had been traversing.


    "Hello!"


    "Hello!"


    "Damn there is no coverage!" exclaimed an exasperated Atticus and then got down from the jeep and started walking around.


    "What are you doing?" asked Morpheous as he saw Atticus making weird hand movements and rotations after getting down.


    "My bad!" Exclaimed Atticus and said, "This device helps me to talk with another person who is far away from me using the signal strength properties. But right now I am not receiving much strength of the signal. So I am unable to communicate."


    "And whatever you are doing... Does it help?"


    Hearing his question Atticus couldn''t decipher if that was a general query or a sarcasm. So he curtly replied,


    "Sometimes!"


    "Then let me do it!" said Morpheous and took the mobile phone from his hands and started walking backward.


    "Careful brother!" screamed Eva as there was an incoming person from behind.


    .


    ''Thud''


    .


    "Ouch!" she screamed and held onto her ankle.


    Morpheous turned immediately as he realized having collided with someone and from the tone of her voice it seemed to be a woman, the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen in his life. For a moment he was dazed for she was a surreal sight to look at.


    "Can''t you look when you are walking?" she yelled and then winced in pain but he stood there unperturbed without showing any reaction on his face.


    "Hello? Can you at least help me get up?"


    Seeing that Morpheous wasn''t moving an inch, Atticus came into her rescue and gave her his hand and helped her stand up.


    "What kind of weirdos are there in here?" she said and gave out a scornful look at the man.


    Plastering a fake smile on his face, Atticus said,


    "Don''t mind him. He is a bit disturbed due to the matters in life. He will recover soon. I apologize on his behalf."


    "Whatever!" she said and started walking with a slight limp.


    "That was so uncalled for brother. You should have helped her. Forget helping, you did not even apologize. Look at how she is limping because of you," snapped Eva.


    Without replying to anything Morpheous picked up the earphones that the lady had dropped and walked towards her.


    "Pardon me!"


    "Pardon me, lady!"


    And she turned.


    "I guess this is yours!" and he stretched out his hand to give her earphones back.


    "Erm... thanks I guess!" she said curtly and took the earphones from his hand. But the moment her hand touched his, she suddenly felt a surge of energy. It radiated from the tip of her fingers and made her elbow twitch.


    "What the hell!" she yelled.


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 66 The search begins - 2

    "Damn this static!" she mumbled and stepped back. She flicked her hand a bit to get rid of that weird tingling sensation that had radiated through her hand.


    But Morpheous didn''t even move his hand by an inch!


    His gaze was fixated on her and when he blinked a tinge of blue ushered in his eyes but it went unnoticed by the girl in front of him as she was too busy trying to get rid of the tingling.


    The moment she felt normal, she looked at him but this time her features had softened. Her brows were not raised anymore nor did her nostrils flare. And it was then that Morpheous noticed her bonnie hypnotizing eyes and felt drawn to her in an instant.


    There was something about her that he was unable to explain, but was drawing him towards her, just like a moth is drawn to the flame.


    For a moment she thought of just walking away for the man who seemed too obnoxious and rude but given that he came to her to return the earphones, somehow made her open her backpack.


    "Here! We are having a charity auction at the community hall tomorrow night! Do come. Every small donation counts!" and saying that she handed over a flyer to him.


    Holding the flyer upside down, Morpheous acted for a second as if he was reading it and that irked her for that man didn''t even have the courtesy to act that he cared for the event. So she snatched the flyer back from him and said,


    "Nevermind! It was just a fleeting thought. Have a nice day!"


    And without even looking at any expression on his face she turned back and walked away cursing her fate.


    "Brother! Brother!"


    And it was only then that Morpheous turned back. Looking at Eva he said,


    "We need to go back to the place where we came in at first. We might find some answers from there."


    "Let''s talk with Atticus about it then," said Eva and turned to look at Atticus who was now successfully connected to the 911 helpline.


    "Oh, so there is no other news!" sighed Atticus and then disconnected the call. The cops also hadn''t received any call from anyone in the Riverdale area about the presence of any lunatic people.


    "Can we go back to your Daughter''s place? I guess we shall be able to find some clue from there," said Morpheous and looked at him. He thought for a while and then said,


    "Sure. Why not!" and saying that he walked towards the driving side of the car but his footsteps stopped as he saw Morpheous also walking towards the same side.


    "Erm... ok... said Atticus and went back towards the passenger''s side."


    Tightening the seat belt around him, he changed the navigation to his daughter''s place.


    "But I must warn you. They aren''t the nicest people on the planet, except for my daughter."


    Morpheous just nodded and then asked, "Can this device detect traces of energy even after a person has left?"


    Atticus just shook his head and he could see utter disappointment etching on the face of Morpheous. Narrowing his eyes he looked ahead and started the jeep. After five minutes, when they were about to reach Nathasha and Leonard''s place, Atticus got a call from Natasha.


    "Hi, Dad!"


    "Yes my child? What happened?" asked Atticus as her voice sounded a bit panicked.


    "Are you with them? Tell me you are with them right now."


    "Erm... yeah. But how do you know that I am with them? What happened?"


    "Erm... the thing is, I got a weird parcel delivered at home."


    "What parcel? What does it contain?" asked Atticus skeptically.


    "Not sure how to explain, but there is a leather diary and a photograph of you with that man and his sister. Not sure how someone took a picture of you and posted it to me."


    Atticus looked at Morpheous who was unable to comprehend. So Atticus muted the phone and said,


    "The thing that you saw on my fridge is a picture of me and my daughter. We take it using a device called a camera and such pictures are called photographs.


    Morpheous nodded and took the final turn to reach their lane.


    Unmuting the phone, Atticus said,


    "Don''t worry. We are almost near your house. Let''s discuss then.


    "Ok!" said Natasha, feeling a bit relieved.


    As soon as they reached the place, Morpheous walked towards the pool and looked everywhere around. Then he bent down at one place and gently placed the palm of his hands on the surface as if he was trying to feel something.


    "What are you doing there?" asked Atticus and went close to him.


    "Nothing... just like that," said Morpheous and got up.


    "If you say so!" said Atticus and skeptical turned to look around the place and then walked away to ring the doorbell.


    .


    .


    Meanwhile struggling with slight pain in her leg, she limped for quite some time till she reached a couple of blocks away from the place where she had bumped against Morpheous. Something made her turn back and she tried to see if they were still visible.


    And when she confirmed that they were not, with an evil smile etched on her face, she straightened her leg and crossing the road she ran towards a car that was parked three blocks away from the road crossing.


    Getting in the backseat, she picked up a bottle of water and gulped the contents. The man who was sitting in the front had been patiently waiting and once she was done gulping the last drop of water in the bottle, he turned towards her and asked,


    "Was it him?"


    "Oh yes! Definitely yes!"


    "So are we trapping him up?"


    "Totally! He is definitely going to come to the charity event," she said. A brilliant and victorious smile was stretched on her face.


    The driver who was sitting quietly till that point said,


    "You better pray your stars and make sure that this works."


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 67 The portal wrecks havoc - 1

    Throughout all these years the portal that connected all those nine realms, the portal that could be used to traverse across, had been shielded by the energy of the angels of ¨¢lfheimr.


    It was not an easy task.


    They had to be at their guard at all times. They had to constantly check if the shield was getting eroded at any point. Harnessing such energy and transforming it to block the portal and to keep the realms in different astral planes so that could never intersect with each other in any dimension, was definitely a herculean task.


    But Goddess Angelia and her angels worked endlessly every night and day to make it happen.


    Every angel that God had created had a special power. Some had the power of the elementals like the fire, air, earth, sound and some had the transformative powers like to bend time, to bend the astral plane, to perceive and play with the mind. So based on the nature of the power the angels had, they had been divided into two categories, the elemental angels and the transformative ones.


    Damianos was an elemental angel whereas Balthazaar was a transformative one. The power of the transformative angels was way higher than that of elementals and hence the transformative angels that had been created by God were only a few.


    But Goddess Angelia who was the angel supreme had both the powers, elemental and transformative. She, along with a couple of other transformative angels had been harvesting their powers to shield the portal. They had also created an invisible layer of blocking atmosphere that surrounded Vanaheimr, where the body of God rested, waiting for the chosen one to revive him.


    The kingdom of ¨¢lfheimr was exactly like a palace of fantasy.


    The lands and valleys of ¨¢lfheimr ware always covered by a silvery vapor that ran as a lifeline for the angels as the vapor contained a coolant that always kept the temperature of ¨¢lfheimr under control. The place where Goddess Angelia and her fellow transformative angels harvested their power was equivalent to a massive nuclear reactor where a tremendous amount of energy was harvested every week.


    That harvested energy was then ducted to the portal and to each of the realms so as to keep them apart. The duct was also hidden in space and only Angelia and a few of her trusted angels who harvested the energy along with her knew about the exact location of the ducts and the portal.


    Angelia was blessed with the tears of Angel Aslan and hence was also known as the phoenix. Her father was the one who had informed God about the treacherous plan of the demigods. So when God had given him the duty to protect the glory of Vanaheimr, he had promised to himself that he would turn every stone possible in the world to bring back the glory of the land where they all belonged.


    But when he saw his creator, his own father''s resting body slowly calcifying into stone with every passing year, his courage and his determination were shaken. That year when the body of God turned into stone from the waist down, he couldn''t see it anymore and decided to leave his body and his legacy to someone.


    So he decided to pass on his legacy, his power, and his abilities to Angelia, not because she was his daughter but because she was equally honorable. She was one of the best elemental angels that he had seen and he trusted her more than any of the other transformative angels who existed,


    That fateful night when he returned back from Vanaheimr, he went to Angelia and placed his hand on her forehead and transferred all his power into her. The moment before he ceased to exist, Angelia opened her eyes and on her temple fell the tears of her father who had decided to leave.


    "Keep my promise. Will you?"


    And before she could answer to him, he had vanished into the thin air. And thus an element angel turned into a transformative one.


    Since then she had been very faithfully doing the task that was intended to be done by her father, Any huge transformational energy usage came at its own cost. It weakened the angel, desiccating the source of essence from their body.


    It was the way God had designed them because with every benefit he had given a pitfall as he believed in the concept of yin and yang. So he had blessed every creation with power but also gave a drawback so that the power was never misused. So it took a week for the angels to regain their power to do anything.


    The essence vapor that covered every inch of ¨¢lfheimr, helped the angels to heal. This was the very reason why it was difficult for the fallen angels to heal back in the absence of the essence vapor. But that unfortunate night when Balthazaar, one the inheritors of the power of a Transformative angel, decided to end his life by using up all his power, didn''t know that the powers of an angel were always meant to be passed down to someone else.


    Because energy can neither be created nor destroyed.


    So when he thought he would give up on his angelic capacities and use up every ounce of remnant power to send Morpheous and others into the future, he ended up creating an opening in the portal. That massive surge of energy ruptured a part of the portal that connected the Human Realm and the Knowledge Realm.


    And thus happened the catastrophe which Angelia had always dreaded, because now a catalyst was in place. Goddess Athena and Lord Lazarus were now able to reach each other through the portal opening.


    Out of the seven Demigods created, five had been corrupted with the greed of power and they were Master Nubeous from The Soul Realm, Lord Corinthian from The Metal Realm, Lord Lazarus from The Human Realm, Lord Oberon from The Time Realm and Goddess Athena from The Knowledge Realm.


    They had all conspired against their own father in order to attain the ownership of Enneagon, the world of nine realms. But there was one who was the vilest of the five and who eventually had planned to erase the rest of the DemiGods to be the invincible one. He was none other than Lord Lazarus. The ruler of the human realm. Given that he had the capacity to play with the minds of people, it was extremely easy for him to make people do his bidding.


    His guide was a locket made of pigeon blooded ruby and a cast iron thread beaded into a rope that held the ruby. Since the capacity to bend anyone''s minds was extremely powerful, God had limited the power to be used only a maximum of a hundred times, so that he could use it judiciously.


    In his time on earth for all these years he had enjoyed misusing his power to create devastations. World war, nuclear explosions, the great plague were just a few of the things that he had done by tricking the humans to act against each other, to act against mankind.


    As the guide had been destroyed by God, he just had the iron thread with him, which he used to wear around his hand. Since the power was limited he was only able to make people show things and instigate them. The power to change their decisions had been lost. The only thing he could do was to mold their thoughts, which itself was enough to make people act weird.


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 68 The portal wrecks havoc - 2

    "Lord! I guess that''s him."


    Hearing the voice of the man who was sitting next to him, he looked ahead. His narrowed eyes looked dead serious and his chiseled and taut jawline added to the gravity carried by his face. His slick and perfectly gelled hair screamed of high maintenance and impeccable grooming.


    Sitting in the front seat of his jet black Rolls Royce Sweptail, the bonnet of which was adorned by a tiny flag of star and stripes, the gaze of that man was fixated on Morpheous who was walking backward near the pavement, holding a mobile phone in his hand. He looked at him disapprovingly, unable to believe that he was the chosen one.


    A slight mocking laugh transcended on his lips and slowly they parted, and out came a gush of breath as he scanned Morpheous, top to bottom but found nothing exceptional or striking. There was nothing threatening or blinding about that creature. His physique was imposing but that was all about it.


    "I am disappointed with father," said the man and turned towards the elemental angel Remial who was sitting next to him.


    "Does he look like the chosen one to you? Does he look like the one who could defeat me?"


    "No Lord Lazarus! I don''t think so," replied a meek Remial.


    "It is him!" echoed another voice of the lady who was sitting behind Lord Lazarus in the car. "I have read every scripture, every testament of the past and the present, and based on what I know and what the prophecy says, it''s him," she added.


    Then winding down the window shield, she looked at Morpheous and mumbled,


    "He is the key to the portal. Without his involvement, there was no way anyone else could have opened the portal. There was no way I could have come to your realm."


    Hearing her rant about - oh so glorious the powers of Morpheous were, he was irked. His pride had taken a hit. So turning back he looked at the lady who was sitting behind and said,


    "Then why don''t you get to work! Are you waiting for my orders Goddes Athena just like how these mere humans do?"


    Even though the lady who sat behind him in the car was equal in ranks with him, his voice sounded more like an order and to which she abided by even though she didn''t like how he etched his statement with sarcasm.


    She looked at Remial and asked,


    "Do I look ordinary?"


    She wore the clothes of normal humans of the realm of Midgard but her beauty still was ethereal and all Remial could do was to nod in agreement. Even though she had landed in Midgard a couple of hours before, it just took her minutes to amass all the knowledge of earth and to learn how humans lived by. After all, the was the Goddess who possessed infinite memory and consumed knowledge along with the air she breathed.


    Coming out of the car, she plugged in the earphone and started waking towards Morpheous. She deliberately came from the opposite direction and collided with him.


    ''Thud''


    And she knowingly fell down and winced in pain even though she could have easily avoided him to act up like a damsel in distress.


    "Ouch!"


    She yelled and made a scene but her eyes were eager for Morpheous to turn, for she was curious to have a glimpse of the man who was apparently the chosen one. And the moment he turned, she was stunned for he had the face that could possess anyone. His physique was definitely like that of a warrior, but there was one thing that she found uncommon.


    He had strange tranquility on his face that was hidden beneath the layers of warmth and kindness but there was not even a hint of arrogance or pride reflected from him.


    "How can he not have even an ounce of pride even after being the chosen one," thought Athena and then continuing to be in her element she yelled at him,


    "Can''t you look when you are walking?"


    But he stood here unperturbed and kept looking at her.


    She knew that men desired her for her beauty, craved to just have a glimpse of her yet he was looking at her neither with desire nor with lust in his eyes. There was a weird question mark on his face and that unsettled her quite a bit.


    So she deliberately dropped her earphones and walked ahead with a fake limp, expecting him to follow her back. Somehow she just needed a way to confirm that he was the one and to do that she had to just touch him once.


    Remial who was the elemental angel who possessed the power of harnessing electrical charges had given her a charged piece of metal to wear as a bracelet and the moment she would touch someone supernatural containing energy more than the normal level, then that bracelet would act as a sink and drain out a bit of that charge and thus enable her to know if the person in front was ordinary or not.


    So just like she had planned, when Morpheous came and gave her the earphones which she had dropped, she deliberately grazed her middle and ring finger over his palm and lo and behold she was welcomed by a sudden surge of energy.


    Remial had told her that it would be just a minor tingling sensation, but here she was, suffering from a heavy discharge of energy that pulsated through her hand. For a moment she felt almost crippled by it, but slowly the sensation was lessened in intensity and when it did, she plastered her face with a fake smile and invited him to the charity event by giving out the flyer.


    But when she saw him faking reading the flyer upside down, she realized that he had not yet learned the script of Midgard and somehow that made her gloat a bit, as she felt the edge, as she felt the sweetness of supremacy.


    She had discovered the nature of men. They usually tend to do things that you ask them not to do. So she applied the same principle on him. She took away the pamphlet and said,


    "Nevermind! It was just a fleeting thought. Have a nice day!"


    Even though she was a Demigod, her heart raced to its peak for being in the close proximity of the one who was born to destroy them. Earlier she just had a speculation but after being hit by the energy surge she was pretty sure that he was the one.


    So she kept walking away with that fake limp but her mind raced with the thoughts of ways to prevent that man from doing anything that could block the path of her desires, a desire to sit on the coveted throne and be the ruler of Ennagon.


    She turned back and made sure that he was not in sight and when she did confirm about it, a wretched smile was spread on her lips. Even though she had been scared for a moment, she now knew that she still had the opportunity to get rid of him, for he was not just the chosen one, he was also the one who had been cursed.


    A curse that made him as vulnerable as a mortal!


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 69 The portal wrecks havoc - 3

    Looking through the peephole, Natasha was surprised to see her father along with the people who had fled her place that morning. A moment before he had denied any acquaintance with them, yet now he was here at her doorstep with them. ''Something was definitely weird,'' she thought and flung open the door.


    "Where did you find them?" she asked before even letting him set a foot inside her house.


    "Let me first come in," said Atticus and gently turned his daughter and whispered into her ears,


    "Do not over-react or make them angry. They aren''t normal human beings I feel. But still, I just want to help them get back to the place where they belong."


    Even though she wasn''t convinced, Natasha nodded and welcomed the two inside.


    "Come on in!"


    "I didn''t get your names the last time," she said and went into the kitchen to get some water for them.


    "It''s Morpheous and Eva," replied Atticus as he saw the two staring at Natasha. It was still extremely difficult for them to believe that she wasn''t Nefeli. Atticus felt bad for them as fate had indeed been cruel upon them.


    As Natasha came back with a jug of water and two sparkling glasses, Atticus asked,


    "Did you guys videotape anything from yesterday''s party?"


    "Yes, we had two cameras in place. Daniel just coped the recording into a pen drive and went upstairs to watch them. But why the sudden interest in the Halloween party?"


    "I just need to see who all came and where they went!"


    "What do you mean by who all?" asked Natasha and was about to place the tray on the coffee table when Atticus said,


    "These two didn''t come alone. There were three others."


    "What?" exclaimed Natasha as she was startled thinking that there might be others still present inside her house. The tray that she had been holding tilted a bit towards the left-hand side and the two empty glasses slid down.


    It was just about a fraction of second in which they would have been broken after landing on the floor but Morpheous had already picked them up.


    "I am sorry!" exclaimed Natasha.


    Looking at her Morpheous just nodded.


    "Erm... yeah. I will go and get the recordings," she said and then went upstairs to get the recording from Daniel''s room.


    The moment she left, Morpheous exhaled a gasp of air, as if he had retained it inside his body, trying to tame himself, trying to stop himself from expressing anything. Atticus could see a multitude of emotions spread on his face. Little Eva had turned to her other side and wiped the unruly tear that had formed in the corner of her eye.


    They were good kids.


    Looking at them Atticus thought, ''Their parents have groomed them well.'' He had never seen such well-mannered people. So young yet so adapting.


    "Daniel, give me the camera recordings," asked Natasha as she barged inside Daniel''s room.


    "Mom! Privacy," yelled Daniel and shut the flap of his laptop down.


    "Later Daniel," said Natasha and pulled out the flash drive that was plugged in his laptop and went downstairs.


    "Mom, why do you need that video?" asked Daniel but as Natasha rushed without giving back any response, he followed her downstairs.


    "Mom! Are you even listening to me."


    But then he saw Atticus and two others in the living room.


    "Grandpa! Hey, Morph! You are back!" exclaimed Daniel and then inched towards his mother, who was plugging in the flash drive into the television and asked in a hushed tone,


    "What on earth are these people doing here?"


    "Shhh...." Natasha shushed him and then started playing them one after the other. She was fast-forwarding through the videos, wanting to quickly reach to the one where either Morpheous or Eva could be seen. They went through a couple of videos when suddenly Eva screamed, "There!"


    Natasha paused the screen and went closer and saw Morpheous lying near the swimming pool. But as the video was taken from afar, and Morpheous wasn''t very clearly visible. She rewinds it ten seconds back and they saw him appear on the floor in the flash of a second.


    In a second he appeared on the floor out of nowhere.


    "Holy shit!" screamed Daniel but Natasha held on to his hand and shook her head. "Don''t raise an alarm!" she said and looked at the two sitting in front of her. She was scared but given that Atticus had faith in them, she decided to help them out too.


    "Can we watch it again?" asked Morpheous politely and looked at Natasha.


    "Ah sure," she said and as she moved a second back, she saw something dark on the screen. It initially looked like a tiny black spot next to Morpheous but then slowly it started growing. Getting a bit scared Natasha took a step back, as the video was paused but that black spot was enlarging. She felt as if someone might come crawling outside from that hole.


    Slowly that black spot covered the whole screen of her television in the flash of a second and that scared the shit out of Natasha. She screamed as she could feel needles piercing through her.


    "Mom! Mom! Are you ok?" asked Daniel and shook her.


    Natasha looked at Daniel and then looked at the television screen. It was still paused at the same frame where she had seen the tiny spot before but now there was no black spot on the screen.


    "Didn''t you guys see that?" she asked with panic-stricken eyes.


    "See what?" asked Atticus and came close to his daughter. Pointing her finger at the television screen, Natasha said, "There, just next to Morpheous I saw..."


    But before she could complete her sentence the screen went completely off and next there was a message on the screen,


    "No data detected on the Memory Drive."


    "How is that possible?" muttered Daniel and unplugged and plugged the flash drive back again, but the same error persisted.


    "The drive has been erased grandpa," said Daniel and looked at Atticus.


    A state of panic set in.


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 70 The portal wrecks havoc - 4

    As Athena came in and sat inside the car, Remial asked without wasting a second,


    "Was it him?"


    Getting rid of the tacky accessories that she had been carrying to identify herself as a commoner Goddess Athena affirmed,


    "Yes, definitely yes!"


    Hearing her words Remial could feel the blood dry inside his veins. Suddenly his throat became parched just with the thought of what repercussions could this whole recent set of events lead into. He looked at Lord Lazarus whose grip on the steering wheel had tightened. He could see a definite distraught expression in his eyes, which he was trying to hide with fake unperturbedness.


    Athena looked at Lazarus from the rearview mirror and she could see that he was trying hard to maintain his composure by gritting his teeth.


    Getting a bit worried Remial asked,


    "So are we trapping him up?"


    "Totally!" answered Athena confidently because as per her study of human behavior, she was one hundred percent sure that Morpheous would come. She had spread the net and all that she had to do now was to wait for him to fall into her trap.


    Mustering up a bit of courage, Remial asked,


    "Did you? Did you feel the pulse?"


    "Yeah. A small tingling sensation," she replied, trying to cover up the truth because she didn''t want to spook out Remial.


    "Oh! Good to know!", said Remial and took a deep breath, because a small tingling meant that the intensity of opposite charges inside his body was less. This revelation brought a great sense of calmness into him. But Lazarus wasn''t pacified.


    Neither he was pacified knowing that it was a mild tingling, nor he was pacified to know that he had fallen into their trap. He could feel a strange pit in his stomach. A pit that grew continuously as the moment passed and started getting etched inside his mind. Even after hearing Athena''s words, the premonition persisted in his mind. He gazed at her from the rearview mirror and muttered,


    "You better pray your stars and make sure that it works," because in no way he was going to let anyone come in the way of his ascension to the throne. After a perennial wait that had lasted over centuries, the portal had been opened. He finally was able to meet with one of the fours who stood next to him and had dared to go against his father. The identity of the one who was capable of destroying his dreams had finally been revealed, so he was not going to leave any stone unturned to get rid of him.


    So without telling a word to his co-passengers, he sped through, tailing the jeep being driven by his so-called nemesis.


    Seeing that Lazarus had started following the jeep, a sarcastic smile etched on Athena''s lips and she asked,


    "Are you that nervous of being defeated?"


    She had never seen Lazarus this edgy. Although that was centuries and centuries back, but still the Lazarus she knew was the most confident, most witty, and undoubtedly the most wicked of them all and these were the very reason why she had been smitten by him ever since she knew him.


    The centuries of separation couldn''t lessen how she felt about him and now that she was back with him, her feelings grew stronger than before. So seeing the man getting affected by Morpheous, was something that she couldn''t digest.


    Over that outspoken and carefree demeanor of hers, she possessed a side that was only known to her and her alone. Behind that taunting question of hers lied a deep concern. Yes, she was scared of Morpheous, but she had faith in Lazarus. She had faith that together, the five of them could easily finish him off. She knew that the ordeal was going to be grueling because she didn''t feel just a tingling sensation. It was more like a surge. But seeing Lazarus getting disturbed, she decided to take things into her own hands.


    Closing her eyes, she recollected all the books about the prophecies that she had read, and then all of a sudden she opened her eyes.


    "Remial!"


    "Yes, Athena," replied Remial and turned back to look at her.


    "Doesn''t the prophesy say about The bolt of death?"


    "Yes, it does!"


    "That means, it could be either Nubeous''s bolt of death or Morgana''s right?"


    "Yes, Athena. But there is no way to know," replied Remial and sighed.


    "Assuming that the bolt was from either of these realms, so it means that Morpheous is either from Nieavellir or Asgard. I could access the portal because of some energy surge right?"


    "Yes, Athena. But what are you trying to insinuate?"


    "What I am trying to say is, if it was from Nieavellir then Nubeous has probably failed to suppress him and if he is from Asgard then probably Lord Morgana is his ally."


    Taking a deep breath, an impatient Remial asked,


    "What are you trying to insinuate here?"


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 71 Twenty-seven - 1

    The moment the jeep halted in front of the 6th house in 7th Lane in Riverdale, the jet black Rolls Royce Sweptail also halted a couple of meters away. Getting down from the jeep, Atticus went inside along with Morpheous and Eva.


    "Does the little one carry any power?" asked Lazarus without even looking at the person whom he was asking the question to.


    Remial immediately switched on the iPad and looking at the application screen in his hand which gave out the thermal pictures and state of charges data, Remial shook his head in negation and said,


    "She just has a flux inflow which is also waning out. Nothing more than that. Nothing unusual about her."


    "Forget that! What are they trying to do inside that house? Why are they going to this house with professor Atticus Lincoln?" asked Athena as she craned her neck outside.


    "How do you know about professor Atticus?" asked Remial in surprise.


    "I have read his books and papers. The field that he works on is very interesting. Probably he is the only human who actually believes in the existence of supernatural, but unfortunately, he has been tagged as professor MadCow in your realm. There is no respect for real talent in here. Such a shame," said Athena with a lament in her tone.


    "Oh, the people in this realm believe only in science and you won''t believe, there exists a set of people who do not believe in the existence of God altogether. We call them atheists here," added Remial.


    "If your information exchange is over then I would like to know what is he doing with the only man who believes in the supernatural," and saying that Lazarus got down from his car and walked towards the house. Remial and Athena followed suit and joined behind him.


    As they peeped standing behind the main gate they saw that Morpheous went straight towards the swimming pool area. That was a window of opportunity that they had been looking for and grabbing that they went inside and hid behind the living room wall as no one was there outside the foyer.


    They wanted to know where he was from, they wanted to know what had happened in other realms and how he came to Midgard, who else came along with him?


    Remial had been monitoring the electrical charge distribution pattern across Midgard for years and years and had found a sudden surge the night before in Riverdale area.


    At that same instant of time, Athena also had landed in Midgard as the portal had opened.


    So canceling his treaty meeting at Geneva, Lazarus flew straight back to the city. The way he suddenly left without attending the meeting left everyone astonished but no one dared to question him for he was the one whose voice ruled the world.


    Whenever and wherever he went, followed a cavalry of men. But today he escaped the fleet of Cadillacs and steered the wheels of the car himself. So Remial, who had been serving him since ages knew how important it was for his master to defeat this man, as leaving all his work aside, his majesty was hiding behind the walls along with him, just to be able to know the real identity of that so-called chosen one.


    The three now waited patiently but always eager to serve his master, Remial tiptoed and raised himself a bit so that he could see what was happening inside.


    "These two didn''t come alone. There were others," he heard the words of Atticus.


    The moment he heard about the presence of others, the strands of hair on his skin started to stand up. Lazarus and Athena also heard about it but stayed calm and stood still, with their backs leaning on the wall.


    "Calm down!" whispered Lazarus as he could see Remial getting a bit edgy.


    "How can I calm down? If Lord Vulcan and Lord Morgana are here, then how are we going to fight them?" saying that Remial tiptoed again and saw a female plugging in a flash drive into the television and seeing the video on the screen, he understood that it was the video from last night. He knew that Morpheous was still in search of his allies and there was no way that he was going to let that happen.


    Even though he was an angel, he was a fallen one. He had no source of having the essence and he knew that if a fight happened, then he would be the first in line to perish. Given that he too had a corrupt soul like his master, he decided to remove any hint or trace possible using which Morpheous could reach out to others because the best way to fight him was to get him stranded alone.


    So using his powers, he started reversing the charges in the circuit of the television. He wanted to send a surge of charge to wipe out the contents of the flash drive. But all the colored pixels slowly started getting destroyed instead.


    And he heard the female scream,


    "Didn''t you guys see that!"


    Remial couldn''t understand how a mortal person could see what he was doing. He tried to look through the window again, to see what had happened inside. But just when he was about to do so, he felt a sudden pain in his head. Flashes of fire, flesh, and blood were all that he could see and unable to bear that pain, he broke off the connection with the circuit board of the television and leaned against the wall.


    He was panting heavily.


    He turned towards his left and saw an angered face of Lazarus. His brows were clouded and so he understood that it was him, who had induced that acute pain. It was him who had made him see nothing but gore. He understood that it was a punishment for probably something that he should not have done.


    It was a punishment that was going to be etched in his memory forever, branding him till eternity.


    "He knows we are here!" said Lazarus and stormed out and Remial and Athena followed him silently even though their heads turned chaotic.


    This mistake was going to cost them dearly, but how high the penalty would be, wasn''t known to anyone. Drinking his anger, Lazarus immediately started his car and sped away. He was not the sort of a person to be scared of anyone, but he was also not the one who would deliberately put his feet in the mine, just because he knew that nothing would happen.


    He was a man who didn''t like probabilities or what-ifs. He didn''t want to have a loose end. If he was going to fight him, then he was going to fight to win it.


    Rattling in fear Remial didn''t dare to say a word and all that prevailed inside the car was silence. He just wanted to erase the drive, but he wasn''t sure what happened inside.


    "What happened there, Lazarus? Why do you think he knows that we were there? Just forgive Remial, he was trying to help you" asked Athena.


    "Forgive me, master! I was just trying to erase the drive. I don''t know how they could see that on the screen," said Remial, with his head hung low.


    But Lazarus drove in silence. How could he tell them that it wasn''t the mistake of Remial, but his own?


    Almost about to faint, Natasha held on to Atticus and mumbled,


    "What is happening? Why can''t you see what I saw?" But seeing the blank face of Atticus, her face turned white because that meant it was only her who saw the weird darkening of the television screen.


    Atticus was trying to pacify her, but it was all going into vain.


    Morpheous looked at her panic-stricken eyes and he knew that either she was going to faint or weep. So he moved close to her and said,


    "I think you should just sit down!"


    But instead of listening to him or his concerned gesture. She was angered and just when she was about to spout out the words that she intended to, she saw the flicker of blue in his eyes again. It was the same shade of blue that she had seen that morning.


    Even though he had explained that it was a normal thing, she wasn''t convinced. Not then, not now!


    Taken aback, she silently retreated to the sofa and sat down. She was unable to understand why all these things were happening to her. Why her family of all?


    There was no point in fighting the paranormal now. In her head, the best way to stay safe was to retreat. Leonard was also away and she had no way of helping herself and her family. She knew it was him, it was definitely him. The way he looked at her, the way he told her to sit down, the way his eyes spoke, it was him.


    He was the one who was making her see things. But instead of charging that man, her own father was trying to pacify her. If his theories were right, if he was a man from the past, then probably he was from a time where dark things happened.


    Trying to tame the unequal throbbing of her heart, which was now beating visibly and audibly, she took a deep breath. Soon her anger prevailed over her astonishment and when it did, she looked at him and asked,


    "What do you want from us? Just take whatever you want and leave us alone! My father is an innocent man. He has nothing to do with what happened to the comet. He is a frail old man. Just look at him."


    "Natasha, please! This man means no harm," said Atticus and turning towards Morpheous he said,


    "Tell her Morpheous. Tell her everything that you have told me."


    Morpheous gazed at the floor for a moment and then with a visible resolve in his face, he looked up at her, and said, "I will."


    "I will leave this place right this moment!"


    Then looking at Eva, who was unable to grasp what was happening, Morpheous went close to her and gently tapped on her shoulder, in an attempt to wake her up from a daze.


    Perceiving his intentions to depart, Atticus said,


    "Where will you go back? Do you know how you would go back to the kingdom of..."


    And before Atticus could finish his sentence, Morpheous said,


    "I will find my way back. You do not have to worry," and saying that he hugged Atticus and said,


    "Thank you for nourishing our hungry souls," and saying that he looked towards the window for a moment and then tapped on his back and left. But before leaving he unplugged the flash drive silently from the television and walked out.


    That was the only way to ensure the safety of that household and the people who lived there. The less they knew, the better it was for them.


    Daniel rushed to get some water for Natasha but Atticus stood there looking in the direction of Morpheous, wandering what twenty-seven meant.


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 72 Twenty-seven - 2

    "What happened, brother?" asked Eva as she walked out of the house along with her brother.


    But Morpheous didn''t reply a word but kept his gaze fixated on the convex mirror that was ahead of them and kept walking along the same route in which they had entered the lane.


    He could see a black car speeding away in the opposite direction behind them.


    Gradually the evening had started to darken. The lanes were now bathing in the light of the streetlamps. All the houses were lit with lights now. Even the houses at a distance looked illuminated. They seemed like little boats of light floating in the ocean of darkness.


    A handful of stars twinkled above them in the sky and that was the only thing the Eva found familiar in that realm. Everything was new around here, a novelty in which she took great interest in as she craned her neck in every possible direction as she walked along with her brother.


    Soon the air turned a bit chilly and it was only then that Morpheous broke the spell of silence.


    "Are you ok?"


    Eva nodded without saying a word. She knew Morpheous better than anyone else. She knew that there was something that had occupied his mind. He was not giving her a silent retreat, but instead, his mind was busy racing through the maze of thoughts. And knowing that there was something bothering him, she decided to follow him in silence till he himself decided to narrate the thoughts swirling inside of his head.


    .


    Inside the house of the Rutherfords as Atticus explained everything that he knew about the two, both Natasha and Daniel, sat in silence for a while on the sofa. Churning out everything that had been revealed to them had become an onerous task.


    Everything sounded like the story straight out of a Tolkien movie.


    Then looking at Natasha, Atticus asked, "The picture that you got today. Does it have my signatures on it?"


    "That I didn''t check. Let me get it for you," said Natasha, and went to the foyer and picked the diary and the image for Atticus.


    "There is a signature of yours behind that photograph and it''s marked with the same date!" exclaimed Natasha as she rushed back.


    "I don''t get it. I seriously don''t get it!" mumbled Atticus, holding his head between his palms. Daniel, who was till now standing speechless in a corner, took a deep gasp of air and after a moment of hesitation he asked,


    "That guy, with whom Morpheous fought, is he here too?"


    And suddenly the eyes of both Atticus and Natasha opened wide. They both had been so much engaged in thinking about how to find others, that they forgot that there could be someone equally harmful who might have landed here along with them.


    Looking at Daniel, Atticus shook his head.


    "Will he come after us?" asked a scared Natasha.


    "If that man is here, then nothing can save us, nobody can save us except him!"


    His statement was such an absolute warning that Natasha could feel everything turn dark in front of her. She felt a strange weight on her chest and cursed herself for sheltering the two. She had no idea what curse she had brought upon herself and her family.


    Looking at Atticus helplessly, she said,


    "Find him and make him go back from wherever he has come from. We don''t need them here. We need normal. I need normal."


    "I think he gave out a message to me before leaving. But I am not sure how to comprehend it. Not sure if he wrote something else in the script of his world," said Atticus and started pacing in the room. He had no idea how to find Morpheous now. He instantly regretted not following him back.


    But so much had happened at that instant that he had lost his logical thinking capacity.


    "What hint did he give you?" asked Daniel.


    "When he hugged me, he wrote on my back, a number. Twenty-Seven. But I have no idea what that means."


    "A house number, perhaps?"


    Hearing the suggestion of Daniel, Atticus stormed outside the house. He looked at both sides on the main gate. The fourth house on the left of Natasha''s was house number twenty-seven. But they were nowhere to be seen and how could they when Natasha had begged them to leave her in peace.


    "Gosh!" exclaimed Atticus and pinched the space between his brows and returned back into the room.


    He looked at the pitch-black sky and sighed,


    ''Where have they gone?''


    With a reluctant stride, he moved back into the living room. He was just about to sit on the sofa when Daniel asked a question that had been bothering him,


    "How can you be sure that they are not from this world. I cannot believe that someone can simply learn how to drive by just watching."


    "I agree! Even I was shocked. He even grasped how the traffic signals....."


    "What?" asked Daniel when he saw Atticus stopping mid-way.


    "I think I know what twenty-seven means," and saying that he leaped towards the foyer to pick up his keys. And seeing him leave without giving an explanation, Natasha asked,


    "Dad... words... please!"


    Calming his excitement, Atticus said, "When we were entering Riverdale, there was this central crossing where I wanted to tell him about traffic signals and he just halted the jeep. I was shocked as to what had happened and he had shown me the traffic signal with a wait time of twenty-seven seconds flashing on it."


    "Are you sure? Do you think he is going to wait there for you? I mean Riverdale is huge. How can he go back to that place without even knowing what that place is called?"


    Atticus smiled looking at Daniel and said,


    "He doesn''t need to know the name of the crossing. I think he knows exactly every single road that we crossed. He has a genius mind, Daniel. He just watches and he learns."


    And saying that Atticus left without saying a word.


    "Dad! Wait. Wait... please. Do you think it would be safe to go alone? What if he...?"


    "Tries to kill me?" Atticus completed her sentence and then said, "What would he by that my dear? For the first time in so many years, I have got back the purpose of my life. I have got the opportunity to understand science and beyond. I am not going to let this go!"


    And he started the ignition.


    .


    Racing his jeep, as if his life depended on it, he reached the intersection and from the other side of the road, he saw the two of them, quietly standing on the pavement. It was a cold night and he could clearly see them having a tough time with the wind.


    Somehow seeing the two in a bad shape a strange paternal instinct started creeping inside of him. A, part of him wanted to shelter them, help them out to find their people, and send them back to where they belonged.


    So as soon as the signal opened, he rushed in there direction.


    "You guys ok?"


    "Uhhummmm..." replied Eva and looked at Morpheous who looked relieved to see Atticus. They both got inside the jeep and Atticus gave the navigation command to Natasha''s place.


    "Ermm... We cannot go there. I cannot put the life of your family in danger anymore!" replied Morpheous and then looking at Atticus he said,


    "We need to get away from your family as early as possible. There are dark elements here. I can sense it somehow. I cannot risk anyone''s life anymore. I shall be taking this last favor from you. After that, I promise you that I will not trouble you anymore."


    "Why are you saying like that? I told you my daughter an be a bit straight with her tongue. She just got scared. Not sure what she saw or what she imagined in her head."


    "She didn''t imagine anything in her head. I saw exactly what she saw on the screen."


    "You did?" exclaimed Atticus. "Then why did I not see it?"


    "Because that was meant to be seen by me. There was distinctive dark energy that I felt in that room and I think by mistake I deflected it towards your daughter. And that made her see things that she should not have. It was my mistake. I don''t know how to control these powers that I have. I don''t know how to use them when I want to."


    Looking at his face Atticus could see a line of frustration that had been etched on the face of the young man. He wanted to help him out, but he didn''t know, how.


    "Dark energy? Is Nubeous here?" exclaimed Eva.


    "No, not him," replied Morpheous.


    "Then who was it?" asked Eva.


    "Remember the lady who bumped against me in the evening?"


    "Yes!" replied both Eva and Atticus unanimously.


    "It was her," said Atticus and sighed.


    "What? Are you sure? She seemed so normal. So normal!" exclaimed Eva and to which Atticus replied,


    "And so does your brother."


    Eva turned to look at Atticus and then looked at her bother. He indeed looked like a normal person of that realm in that attire.


    "I felt strange darkness when she had touched my hand. Something very eerie and cold. Something that takes all the happiness away from you."


    "How did you know there were there?" asked Atticus getting worried for Natasha and Daniel.


    "Near the pool..."


    "So is that what you were doing when you had placed your palm on the surface? Were you reading the energy levels?"


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 73 Twenty-seven - 3

    Nodding his head Morpheous looked at Atticus and said, "The same feeling was there when I entered the house. I found it strange because she was not like you, not like any human whom I have met here. I felt a strange disturbance around her."


    "Is that the reason why you stopped me when I was talking?"


    "Yes! She might be knowing everything, but still, I didn''t want her to know about anything else."


    "I get it," replied Atticus and adjusted his glasses.


    "I am sorry that because of me your family got involved, but I feel that she might lead us to something."


    "Do you want to meet her again?" asked Eva, her tone a bit shaky after hearing about what had happened back in the house.


    "I have to, there is no other option. There is a place that she has asked me to visit tomorrow evening. I need to be there." Then looking at Atticus he said, "I need this device of yours that helps you to take to any place on the map. That would be all that I shall be needing from you. I would not have asked you to come here. I would not have asked you to take the risk, but I need it."


    "I can help you out with that. Tell me which place you have to go," Atticus asked taking out his mobile phone.


    "I do not know what is that place called."


    "Then how will you navigate?" asked a surprised Atticus.


    "I can write about that place. I don''t know the script but I can replicate what I saw. Maybe you can help us identify what that place is called."


    "Here!" said Atticus and handed a piece of paper and pen to Morpheous which he pulled out from his jacket. Being a professor he always had the habit of having a pen and paper handy.


    The parchment was ok but how to use that pen? Morpheous wanted to ask but was hesitant.


    "Click on the top."


    And so did Morpheous and he drew what he exactly had seen on that flyer upside down.


    "Holy cow!" exclaimed Atticus when he saw what he read.


    "What? Where is this place? Is it far?" asked Morpheous seeing the expression on the face of Atticus.


    "Not far, but unapproachable. It''s the charity event at the White House. The house of the president of this country. Are you sure? How can they give this address in a flyer?"


    "What is wrong with it?" asked Eva, unable to understand what the confusion was about. They had the venue, they knew about the time. She couldn''t understand what was wrong with the venue.


    Turning towards Eva, Atticus said,


    "It''s like having the King''s palace as the venue. Not everyone has access to go inside. It is not open to the public."


    "And it must be guarded!" added Morpheous.


    "Heavily! Armed men with mean machines. I mean weapons. Far worse than the deadliest weapon of your time. I can bet on that."


    "She knew about it all and still gave me that flyer, so she has purposefully done it. She wants me there or maybe someone else wants me there," said Morpheous and sighed.


    "Is it Nubeous?" asked Eva.


    "I don''t know!" replied Morpheous.


    "Then why do we have to go there where we know that they are trying to trap you, brother. Let us instead find a way to reach Baltahzaar and Damianos and let us go back. I do not like it here. Everything is alien!"


    "Let''s go back to my house then. We can decide there what next is to be done," suggested Atticus.


    Morpheous thought for a while and then asked,


    "What about that game and the pictures you had shown. It had a story similar to ours right? I want to know what happens in that game."


    "Are you serious? Why would you waste your time on a game when we have other things to check and work upon? For example, we can search the diary first. Probably try to trace it. Try to find out who the sender is."


    "Do you think someone has sent it to us from the future?" asked Morpheous.


    "Maybe, I don''t know. Right now I do not know anything. But what I know is..."


    And suddenly Atticus''s phone started to ring.


    "Hello, Conrad."


    "Hello, Professor!"


    "Conrad, I am bit busy right now. Can you ring me up later is it''s not urgent?"


    "Actually it is," said Conrad.


    "I am listening."


    "I got a package delivered to me."


    "No kidding. With a leather brown diary?"


    "Yes! Oh, so it was you. I thought someone had pranked me so wanted to let you know beforehand," Conrad said with a relieved tone.


    "No Conrad. It wasn''t me. But I will explain that part later. What else did you get along with the diary? Anything inside the pages?"


    "Ermmm,.... nothing is written anywhere. But there is a weird message in one of the pages and it is signed by you."


    "What does it say, Conrad?"


    "It says CH?COOH binds it all. I mean acetic acid binds it all. But why are you asking me what you have written by yourself? You have signed it underneath. Although the date is a bit weird."


    "I am coming to your house, Conrad. Just wait for me."


    "But what is wrong profe..."


    And without hearing anything further, Atticus disconnected the call and looking at Morpheous he said,


    "We might get the answers that we are looking for." and saying that he pressed on the pedal. He was now rushing to the Imperial Academy.


    Parking his jeep, Atticus immediately got down from his jeep and walked towards the dormitory for boys. Before entering the main door he looked at Eva and said,


    "God bless your eyes!" and then turning towards Morpheous he said, "You gotta walk more naturally." and saying that he marched towards the last room on the ground floor of the dorm. Lined with rooms on both sides, the dorm was bustling with young energy.


    "What is this place?" asked Eva.


    "Students stay here and learn at the academy," replied Atticus.


    The crowd around them was young and youthful. Some busy talking, some just lazing around, some sleeping behind the closed doors and some in deep debates after having a puff. Eva looked at each and every one of them with amazement.


    "This place looks so..."


    "So shitty right. I cringe every time I come here," said Atticus before Eva could complete her sentence.


    Eva nodded hastily. ''I was going to say wonderful,'' she muttered in her head.


    And they finally reached the last room.


    Even standing outside the room, Eva could smell the weird stench. Repelled she covered her nose to which Atticus gently smiled and said,


    "Either it''s sulfur or rotten eggs."


    Eva gently nodded as Atticus knocked on the door.


    And opened the door a young man in his early twenties. He had a weird unkempt look, but he still looked sharp and charismatic. He wasn''t well built or anything, but his figure was lean and athletic. He looked like one who could run. His eyes were red and he looked sleep-deprived.


    "Professor!" he said and shook Atticus''s hands.


    "I could have sent the diary to you. What was so urgent about it? Anyways come on in!"


    Atticus went in and flipped open the diary which was placed on Conrad''s study table.


    "Guests?" asked Conrad, looking at the imposing man and the charming little girl next to him.


    "Well technically yes," replied Atticus as he reached the page where the handwritten message was present.


    "That''s Morpheous and Eva and this is my ex-student, Conrad," said Atticus without even looking at them.


    "Nice to meet you!" said Conrad and extended his hand. Morpheous shook it just like how Atticus did, with one single shake. And then looking at Eva with a pleasant smile on his face he said,


    "Come in!"


    Not knowing what pleasantly exchange she should do, Eva just smiled back and followed her brother inside.


    "Close the door!" asked Atticus.


    Then he immediately started dismantling the table lamp of Conrad. Unable to understand what had gotten into him, Conrad asked,


    "Can I help you with something?"


    "Get me an Edison bulb. You might be having it right!"


    "I guess!" and saying that he walked towards a carton box that was placed at one end of the room. It looked like a box full of junk. And while he was going through it, he realized that it was the first time a girl was in his dorm room and all that was there was a mess.


    He turned back and saw both of them standing as there was no other place to sit.


    The chair had been occupied by the professor and his bed had a pile of clothes. Washed or unwashed, even he wasn''t sure about it. He had been busy preparing his final thesis work as in two days he had to defend it. There was no time for him to breathe or sleep, let alone doing laundry.


    "I am sorry! My bad," he said and lifted the pile of clothes and stuffed it into his laundry basket with great difficulty and while doing so he turned a bit and saw Eva trying to suppress her laugh. She was looking at the dustbin, placed in the corner.


    It was a rotten egg after all.


    "I was a bit busy with the study work and I didn''t..."


    "Conrad, Edison bulb please!" Atticus asked again and this time his voice was hinting a bit of irritation.


    "Right! Right!" said Conrad and went back to the corner, rummaging through the pile of stuff and finally exclaimed.


    "Got it!"


    Atticus took that bulb and immediately placed it in the study lamp and switched it on.


    A splash of warm yellow light was spread in the room.


    "It''s magical!" muttered Eva and Conrad turned towards her in surprise unable to understand what was so special about that bulb.


    Atticus then carefully tore the page on which he had written the message and placed it over the bulb.


    "Did you write me a message with acetic acid?" asked Conrad in disbelief. This was such an old school trick that was taught in preliminary science classes. He couldn''t believe that Atticus had done that and had also rushed over to show him what he had written.


    Atticus didn''t reply to anything. It was just a long-shot experiment. He didn''t even know if anything was actually written with acetic acid or not.


    But then slowly something started to appear on that page. Texts of orangish-brown hue started to appear.


    "There is something written!" exclaimed Eva. Conrad again looked at her with surprise, unable to understand if she wasn''t able to get the seriousness of the message.


    Looking at Morpheous, with a wide smile on his face, Atticus said,


    "They are looking for you!"


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 74 The message from another world

    Looking at the page with his enquiring eyes and those brick red alphabets that appeared out of nowhere, Morpheous was surprised at first, but then hearing the words of Atticus, he just couldn''t keep his patience in place,


    "What do you mean? Can you please explain what does it say?"


    "It says - I am fine Morpheous. Stay away from the shadows. I will come and find you when the time is right. Damianos."


    "It is a message from Damianos," said Atticus and looked at Morpheous with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.


    "Oh!"


    "Oh! Bless your mouth!" exclaimed Morpheous after hearing those words. Closing his eyes for a moment he breathed a sigh of relief. A tranquil smile etched on his face and his restless mind was tamed in an instant.


    Eva came towards the table and she held the piece of paper in her hand with the utmost care and turning towards Morpheous she said, "He is alive Morpheous. He is alive."


    Morpheous returned her excitement with a warm smile on his face but in the next moment, he asked Atticus, "But where is he? How did he know that I would be able to read this message if he sent it to this man? I don''t even know him."


    "It''s Conrad. Conrad Wellington!" informed Conrad as he heard Morpheous speak and then silently straightening the bedsheet on his cot.


    Morpheous looked at him for a second and then continued,


    "Is anything else written on any other page? What about Balthazaar and Nicholas. Anything about them?


    "Really! These are the names of your friends or you just picked it from the Rise of the Saviours!" muttered Conrad.


    "What did you just say?" asked Morpheous as he heard the boy mumble under his breath.


    "Your names I mean! They are very similar to this game I play. Morpheous, Damianos are all characters in that."


    "Oh yes! Atticus told us about it. The rise of the Saviour right?" said Eva looking at Conrad.


    "There is even a girl Evangeline in the game. Just like you. Pretty honest and interesting!" Conrad said and briefly glanced at Eva before walking towards the bench.


    ''What is this all about?" he asked Atticus as he saw him tearing page after page from the diary and heating it up on the Edison bulb. Somehow Atticus''s anxiousness and irritation, that was growing page after page when nothing was being found.


    "You have one at your place...."


    "And another one at my daughter''s," Atticus completed the sentence of Morpheous and then immediately got up from the chair and turning towards Conrad he said,


    "What I am about to say, may not make much sense to you, but just try to keep an open mind for me. Will you?"


    "Of course!" replied Conrad.


    "These two have time-traveled from the past along with few others. The others are now..."


    "What?" exclaimed Conrad and looked at Eva and Morpheous with his eyes wide open.


    "Conrad! Patience, please."


    "Look! Where the others are, we do not know, but they are trying to send messages through the diary. This one was sent by Damianos. I was sent one too and one went to my daughter. We need to find some clues and help them go back to where they belong. Hope I am making some sense," and saying that Atticus looked at Conrad, expecting him to understand the summary of whatever had happened in two minutes.


    But even one of the brilliant minds sat on the bed, looking all stumped. His mouth was open and his eyes were still shocked in disbelief.


    Seeing him in such a dazed state, Atticus stood there for a moment to allow him to soak the brand new revelation but seeing that he was still processing it, Atticus said,


    "Well, I leave you two to bring him up to speed. Meanwhile, let me fetch the remaining two diaries. I will be back soon. I trust him, so you can trust him as well. He will do no harm and you can understand the game if it can help you out in any way. He is till now one of the top scorers in the game."


    Then he walked towards the door, but turned back halfway and looking at Conrad he said,


    "Her full name is Evangeline by the way!"


    Conrad looked up at him in disbelief and watched him leave through that door, which shut itself close after he left with a slight creaking noise. Now that Atticus was gone, the air between them turned awkward.


    Eva and Morpheous stood near the table while Conrad was still sitting on the bed, looking at them as if they were some creatures of wonderment. Then without dropping his gaze at them, he pinched himself just to ascertain the fact that whatever was happening as real.


    "Dammit!" he yelled as he pinched himself and closed his eyes tight and opened them again.


    "Erm... He was lying right?" he asked looking at them.


    Eva and Morpheous looked at each other, unable to understand how to make the man in front of them believe that their story was real albeit an unfortunate one.


    "Oh! Come on! There is no such thing as time travel. I mean, there is but its all theoretical right? You would agree with me, right? Morpheous? Eva?" he asked again and looked at them with eyes that were in dire need of support for his hypothesis. But all that he got was a denial in the form of a mild shaking of heads.


    Seeing the way the guy was struggling with accepting the reality, Morpheous came forward and said, "As much as it is difficult for you to digest the fact, in the same way, it is difficult for me to explain to you the truth. So when I say that I am not from the realm of yours then please do trust my words. I mean no harm, we both mean no harm to you. We are here just to seek a bit of help."


    And saying that Morpheous narrated everything that had happened to Conrad, right from the very beginning.


    .


    .


    "So by - stay away from the shadows, Damianos meant that Nubeous is here, right in our realm? As in now as we speak?" asked Conrad.


    "I do not know and I have no way of finding this answer. Maybe tomorrow when I meet that weird woman again, I might be able to know something, but before that, I wanted to understand the game that you play. You mentioned that all the characters are the same, just like our names, right?"


    "Not just that Morpheous! Not just that!"


    "Then what else?" asked Morpheous.


    "There is a character named Conrad in the game as well. That was the very reason I was inclined towards this game because it had a character named after me. But the important thing is about the shadows. In this game, there is something called a shadow of death that takes away all the energy," and saying that Conrad switched on his laptop and opened the game and showed him a scene.


    "Tell me more!" said Morpheous.

 75 Forging the soul ring - 1

    Hearing what the soldier had to say, neither Diogenes nor the other council members could breathe properly. Diogenes alerted everyone and summoned the entire army of the kingdom. He had decided to march towards Ambracia to support his master, but then came in a messenger sprinting at the best speed that he could and after announcing himself, he said,


    "Master Nubeous has arrived. We saw him approaching from the clock tower."


    Diogenes immediately got up and marched towards the central hall along with the other members of his council. It was a time for celebration for their master had returned and his return meant only one thing - his victory.


    So he ordered the celebratory trumpets to be played and ordered the housekeepers to arrange for a grand welcome for Nubeous.


    A couple of minutes later, they could hear the trumpets being blown and they all rushed towards the balcony to see the victory march of their master. But to their surprise, they heard him say.


    "Stop all of this!"


    "Stop it now!"


    His mighty voice echoed and that made every single person unnerved, for they didn''t know what would be the consequence of his raging anger. Petrified after hearing his voice, the trumpet keepers took a step back. They trembled like leaves of the tree which were being shaken by the autumn wind.


    Seeing the demeanor of Nubeous, everyone was taken aback, as that was not how a victorious person was supposed to react.


    He looked towards one of the palace guards, and said,


    "Bring the ingot and call the royal goldsmith to come down immediately."


    The guard obeyed and ran to relay the message.


    Others, who had lined up around the carpeted entrance also inched back for their minds and hearts had been instilled with fear with just the roaring voice of Nubeous. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong, but what and how they had no idea.


    The ingot was present on the horseback, tied firmly along with the saddle, and seeing that Diogenes was baffled. ''If the ingot is with the master then obviously he was victorious. Then why was he sulking as if Moprhoeus had snatched the empire form him?'' thought Diogenes and immediately rushed down along with other members of the council and stood near the entrance bowing his head.


    Nubeous brushed past him, without even acknowledging either his presence or the council''s and stormed towards the central hall.


    The man looked disheveled and disturbed to his very core and it was quite evident from the way he was acting around. Pursing his lips, Diogenes turned towards the guards and said,


    "Take the ingot down!"


    and then turning towards his other council members he said,


    "Do not stir his anger at any cost." and then turning ahead he said,


    "Follow me!"


    Although reluctant, but having no other option, the council members followed Diogenes and went to the central hall.


    "Master!" Diogenes announced himself, but Nubeous yielded no response.


    His bloodshot eyes looked like that of a bloodhound which had been denied its prey after being given a taste of its blood,


    Mustering up a bit more of courage, Diogenes said,


    "Finally the ingot is here master. In no time we shall forge you the ring! Finally, your dream will see the light of reality!"


    Diogenes expected Nubeous''s face to be a bit elated after hearing him, but his face turned even grimmer and turning towards him he muttered,


    "My dream! My dream is to see that low life peasant begging for death. Instead of that ring, forge me his headless body in no time."


    Hearing his tone, Diogenes knelt in front of Nubeous who was sitting on the throne looking all distraught and said,


    "Your order is all that I live for my master!" and saying that he gave a light nod to two of his council members, who excused themselves and went in search of Morpheous.


    "What happened, master? Can I dare to ask?"


    "What happened? You are asking me what happened? That man, whom I roasted alive in front of my eyes, the man whose body was turned to ashes, came back alive in flesh and blood in front of me. That man dared to fight with me again," muttered Nubeous, and getting up from his throne he started pacing around.


    "Did he..." dared to ask a council member but his tongue was silenced as Nubeous turned his wrathful gaze towards him.


    "Did he what? Did he defeat me? Is that what you want to ask?" charged Nubeous and stormed in his direction.


    "No my master! No, I didn''t dare to insinuate that!" replied the petrified the council member, begging for mercy. He cursed his tongue for even asking such an atrocious question to Nubeous.


    "That man did not, because nobody can defeat me! Do you understand that? Nobody can defeat me?" thundered Nubeous.


    Diogenes looked at his council member disapprovingly for even daring to ask that question and immediately added, "No my master! He probably wanted to know what happened." He was trying to keep the situation under control which could easily go out of bounds because of the sheer stupidity of his councilmen.


    "That man is an escapist. Whenever the situation turned hard, he escaped. This time he escaped too. But there will not be a next-time and I promise you that!" said Nubeous and clenched his fist.


    They could see his veins popping out from his temple. Never in their life had anyone dared to stand against him. Yet this man stood in front of him twice and yet somehow managed to escape. It was nothing less than a miracle.


    "Master!" the door-keeper announced himself.


    "What?" asked Nubeous, venting out his irritation with his tone.


    "They are ready to melt the ingot. They are waiting for your order, my master!" replied the door-keeper and hung his head low for he didn''t dare to look at his master.


    Taking a deep breath, Nubeous tried to calm his frayed nerves and marched ahead towards the armory where the smelting was about to take place. Seconds later, the council members along with Diogenes also followed him.


    Even though the recent encounter of their master with Morpheous had overshadowed the joy of obtaining the ingot, the council members, the soldiers, the people of the kingdom held on to their breaths as their master was going to re-write the pages of the history.


    The royal goldsmith was awaiting the orders of Nubeous. He had arranged for everything and all that was needed before starting the smelting process was a signal from their Master.


    The moment Nubeous arrives, everyone stood in attention, but Nubeous didn''t bother to look at anyone and commanded at once,


    "Start it!"


    Using a wooden pulley, the ingot was immediately hoised up to be dropped into the smelter which had been ignited for long to reach that optimum temperature. The onlookers looked ebullient, except for Nubeous for he looked focussed like a laser. His eyes didn''t stray away from the furnace.


    Immediately the men of the goldsmith turned to action.


    They started to fan the tuyeres, to force the air into the furnace and the moment they did so, the flames started becoming even more menacing. The sound of the crackling from the smelter brought a strange relief into the heart of Nubeous. Slowly as he saw the fumes taking a menacing form, the crinkled surface of his temple started to smooth out.


    His stance became more relaxed and the fierceness in his eyes metamorphosized slowly into an indefinite thirst that was to be quenched by the ingot. The goldsmith slowly came down towards the tapping-point of the smelter. It was time to collect the metal.


    He raised his hand and immediately his man placed a huge granite container underneath to collect the molten metal. With a victorious smile on his face, he came close to Nubeous and bowed.


    In his hand, he held a silken cloth and as he knelt in front of Nubeous, he removed his soul ring and placed it on the silken cloth. Holding that cloth with the utmost care, the goldsmith went back to the place where he had his tools and with extreme caution, he removed the soul stone from the gold ring. He placed the soul stone back on the silken cloth and went back to the smelter tapping point with his ring cast and a golden ladle, using which he was to pour the molten metal into the ring cast.


    The men of the goldsmith brought him a deerskin leather made hand mittens to protect his precious hands from the heat. He wore them and turned towards Nubeous and bowed again and received a gentle nod from him.

 76 Forging the soul ring - 2

    After receiving that nod from his master, the goldsmith adjusted the leather mittens in his hand. On his face, he had that look of all hail glory as this day was going down in the pages of history and he was the one who was going to forge it down. He raised his palm and gave a nod to his man who stood next to the tuyeres and he started fanning it faster in an attempt to increase the oxygen level in the heating chamber.


    The moment the fanning increased, the hungry flames melted away the entirety of the ingot, and a silken black and orange textured metal started dripping slowly into the granite container placed near the tapping-point. The moment the hot liquid touched the granite, it cooled down and thus disappeared the orange hue, leaving nothing but a jet black composite.


    Seeing that lustrous black metal shining in all its glory, as it trickled through that narrow opening of the tapping point into the granite container, a victorious smile started to grace the face of Nubeous. His chin rose up and his eyes gleamed for this was the moment that he had been craving for the entirety of his life.


    The thought of amassing the power by uniting the two separated pieces of the guide channeled the inner devil inside him that had been lurking since ages, hungry for power, hungry for opening the gates of the portal so that he could dream again about global domination.


    His upper lips arched up and for a moment he forgot the scalding that he had received because of Morpheous. His eyes trailed every drop of the metal as it tickled.


    The goldsmith soon raised his palm up and his men stopped fanning. A huge basket of sand was then splashed on the furnace to cut off the fire. And once that was done, the goldsmith bent down and picked the granite container in his hand and quickly went to work on his bench. Time was the essence here. If he waited too long then the metal would cool off.


    The dark smoke started to spread all around but instead of spreading a tone of melancholy, it spread a tone of ebullience that was evident from the eyes of Nubeous.


    The goldsmith immediately picked up the small ladle that was on his bench and scooped the metal with it and poured it into the cast that he had hand-made. He waited for a few seconds for the metal to take form in the cast and then immediately quenched it by dipping into a bucket of water.


    The water gurgled and a splash of steam started disappearing into the air. The whole experience was theatrical and Nubeous was loving every bit of it. The sound of the agitated water made his lips curve as he knew that he was just moments away from finding eternal glory. All that was pending was the unification.


    With a pair of tongs, the goldsmith took out the cast and started tapping it on the table with his hammer. He tapped it gently so that the ring would come off.


    ''Tap''


    ''Tap'' and


    ''Clank''


    He had his one eye shut and with his other, he was minutely checking the magic metal that was in front of him. But then suddenly the smile started vanishing away from his face.


    He rushed to the other side of the table and picked up a cloth rag and started scrubbing the metals ring vigorously with that cloth. Seeing that perplexed look on his face, the smile on the face of Nubeous disappeared as well and face donned an expression of anger immediately.


    "What is happening?" he asked, his tone visibly impatient.


    "Nothing my master, just cleaning off the dirt," replied the goldsmith and then immediately cut open the lemons that he had on the table. He squeezed them on the granite container over the remaining molten metal that had already cooled down and immediately a layer of brown substance started to form on the metal.


    "Good Lord!" exclaimed the goldsmith and he could feel the blood standing still inside of his veins. Seeing the metal oxidizing, along with the acid, was not ominous. Something had gone terribly wrong.


    He immediately turned back and screamed,


    "Anyone has a pathfinder?"


    "Anyone?"


    His voice sounded agitated and Nubeous didn''t like the tone of it. So he got up and asked,


    "What the hell is going on?"


    And the impatient voice of his master did it. It broke the last straw of confidence that he was trying to grab on to. Beads of sweat started to appear out of nowhere on his temple and he could feel his pits sweating out.


    His entire body started to tremble and he turned to look towards his master. There were words that he was forming in his head, but his mouth was betraying him. He couldn''t utter them out.


    Getting irritated with his silence, Nubeous went towards the bench himself and seeing his master walking towards him in all his ferocity, the goldsmith knelt on the floor.


    "What is wrong?" commanded Nubeous and picked up the metal ring that his goldsmith had forged. Holding the ring in his hands he looked at it for a while.


    "Forgive me, master! I do not know why it looks... "


    "What is wrong?" whispered Diogenes to the other councilmen and signaled his man to bring a pathfinder immediately and his man came back with one in a few seconds.


    Holding the pathfinder in his hands, Diogenes went up the goldsmith and asked,


    "What is wrong? Here is your pathfinder."


    Nobody was able to understand what was happening but nobody else dared to ask. A cloak of silence was spread all around.


    The goldsmith got up and dismantled the pathfinder with one stroke of his hammer and took the magnet that was encased inside. Then remembering his forefathers he went close to granite slab containing the metal and dropped the magnet onto it. And lo and behold the magnet clung to the metal as it was a separated lover.


    Seeing that an impatient Nubeous picked up the soul stone in one hand, which had been detached from its previous encasing, and in the other, he held the newly forged ring. Closing his eyes he tried to feel its power, but it was nothing like how he had felt in the croplands of Ambracia. It was as if all the power had evaporated. It felt as he was just possessing the soul stone alone, like the old days.


    "What sorcery is this!" he yelled and threw the ring forged from the ingot into the furnace. His anger had catapulted to such an extent that he just couldn''t keep calm. Everything had been turned into vain. All this wait, all his attempts in search of that ingot, it was all in vain.


    He went towards the granite container and looked at the metal which had oxidized inside, with a layer of rust on top of it.


    "What is it?" yelled Nubeous looking at the goldsmith.


    "It... It looks like iron my master!" and he hung his head in shame.


    "Iron? Just Iron? My ingot can never be iron. I had felt it with my own hands. What have you done with it?" he thundered and paced ahead. Diogenes fled the scene in fear taking a couple of steps back. But the goldsmith couldn''t escape the anger of Nubeous. With his one hand, he strangled his neck and lifted him up in the air. He didn''t give him a second to explain. He didn''t give him a second to beg for pardon. He just silenced him to death in his hands and then flung his body away.


    He turned to look at his men, who were now looking at him with nothing but fear. But his mind was racing now. Everything around him looked like a pocket of emptiness. Where did it all go wrong? When he was with the ingot, he felt invincible, he could feel its power running through his veins, through his very core. But right now he was feeling nothing.


    It was beyond ordinary.


    And Nubeous didn''t do ordinary.

 77 The game begins - 1

    Conrad stared at the face of Morpheous which was at that moment exhibiting no emotions. His eyes looked alert as if he was processing all the information which he had heard, but there was no reaction from his side.


    Seeing him unflinching and wrapped in a bubble of silence, Conrad turned towards Eva and asked,


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Everything about what you said is wrong. How can this thing of yours..."


    "This game you mean?" added Conrad, interrupting what Eva had to say.


    "I apologize. But how can this game of yours be so similar to our situation? Nothing is making any sense to me," said Eva and slumped on the bed which Conrad had cleaned up a bit earlier.


    Her realm had an exact similarity with that of the game design that Conrad had just described to them. It wasn''t Rise of Saviours, it was more like a game set in the Kingdom of Nubia, with her brother being the lead warrior.


    And then a grave voice echoed in the room.


    "What happens at the next level?"


    Conrad turned towards Morpheous and said,


    "No one knows. We all are just speculating that an intergalactic battle will be held. But the creator has released just this one level."


    "Why?" asked Morpheous and crossed his arms as he looked at Conrad.


    "Well that''s the best selling strategy of this game. This is one of the hardest guild games in the history of games ever made. That is what makes it so special. The creator will release the new level only if someone is able to win in the deathmatch. And till date... mind you, till date, no one has ever been able to win the deathmatch. I have tried like a gazillion times, but I have failed every single time even though I am one of the top ten scorers in the world.


    "Damn they have given sleepless nights to many nerds like me. We even have online contests, but no one has ever won the last round of Level0. So technically no one knows what is going to happen in Level1.


    "Lemme show you!" and saying that Conrad fired up his laptop and started the game.


    "What is this?" asked Morpheous.


    "Oh, this is for buying more weapons online. You can either fight and win weapons and if you are rich you can just pay money and buy them," said Conrad and switched to the next dialog box.


    "What if we buy all the weapons, then can we win the deathmatch?" asked Morpheous.


    "Buy all the weapons? Seriously?" exclaimed Conrad with an expression of lament written all over his face. But seeing the face of Morpheous dead serious, he understood that he wasn''t joking.


    "What are you talking brother? Do you really believe that this kind of thing can exist? Our life, the kingdom of Nubia, our people are characters of this game. How is that even possible?" exclaimed Eva as she was unable to believe that her brother was even buying whatever story Conrad was telling about.


    Looking at Eva, Morpheous said nothing for a few second and then turning towards Conrad he asked,


    "Then do you know who has made this game? Maybe I can talk with him and get to know what happens next. Because if this game is exactly like our story then we need to know what happens next. I need to know it soon so that I can save my people and go back to where I have come from."


    "Well I am sorry, but no one knows who developed this game. That''s the very reason it is so famous. The mystery around it drives its sales. The whole money goes to an anonymous account and nobody in the world has any clue about it. Many hackers have tried to trace the IP of the website but no one has succeeded. Every time the IP shuffles."


    "What is an IP?" asked Eva.


    "Erm... It will take me ages to explain all this stuff," muttered Conrad and then looking at her he said, "It is like an address of a machine. Sort of like a unique number given."


    "How many such unique numbers are there?" asked Morpheous


    Conrad looked at him for a moment and then said, "Since there are 32 bits, we have 2 raised to the power 32 values."


    "And how many is that?" asked Morpheous again. So Conrad quickly picked up his Casio Fx-991 ES scientific calculator and punched the numbers and then in the next second he said,


    "That would be 4 billion 294 million 967thousand and 296 to be exact," and looked at Morpheous whose face suddenly turned grim. There was no way it was an easy task to single out the IP address to trace the source.


    They had almost hit a dead end, but Morpheous wasn''t one to give up. He looked at Conrad and asked,


    "Is there any way to win this level and move to the next? I need to know what happens next."


    "Well you can, if you can somehow play in God Mode," replied Conrad and looked at Morpheous.


    "What is God Mode?"


    Taking a deep breath, Conrad replied, "It''s'' like a cheat code. It will make you invincible. But no one has ever been able to figure out how to activate it in this game. Well leave that, no one even knows if there is even a cheat mode enabled!" sighed Conrad.


    "Can you let me play this game once? Please explain to me what is to be done."


    "But you don''t even know what a computer is. How will you work on the laptop? How about I play the game and you watch it and tell me if you want to do something," suggested Conrad.


    "What difference will it make?" asked Morpheous.


    "What do you mean?" asked Conrad, feeling a bit weirded out by Morpheous''s statement.


    "What I mean is, you told me that you have played it many times, but you didn''t succeed. So how will you succeed now?" asked Morpheous.


    "I thought you just wanted to see. I mean look and feel how the game is?" replied Conrad.


    Suppressing his anger a bit, as the man in front of him wasn''t understanding the gravity of the situation, he said,


    "I want to play with an intention to win!"


    "Yeah! Right! Like that''s going to happen. There are many many ace gamers who have tried, but still, they all are stuck at Level 0 itself."


    Eva could see Morpheous getting marginally irritated with the words of Conrad, so in order to calm out the tension she said,


    "Let my brother try once. Please help him out with your expertise Conrad. We are in dire need of help from you. Without you, we do not have anything to resort to."


    And her words did the magic,


    "Oh yeah! Sure I would love to," replied Conrad and switched to the main screen, and created a new session.


    "So what is the user name that you would want? Like the name of my warrior is X-Carbon Man. You can put any fancy name. So what do you want your user name to be?" asked Conrad.


    "Morpheous. Just Morpheous."