Chapter 78: he saw him
They had entered the very heart of the abyss, the halo plate they were standing on. They became invisible to the eyes of the monsters when Orion pressed something on a virtual interface.
"Don’t be afraid, they can’t see us anymore, just as long as you don’t leave this halo plate." A rhino-lizard beast, red with six eyes—some large, some small—passed by them. "If I answer your question, I will also ask you a question. Even though we already have an agreement, are you truly ready to accept the responsibility as Orion’s hunter?"
There was a wide pavilion beneath the abyssal heart, with a dozen floating weapons on each side, of varying colors. The flame-colored bow was the first thing Xerxez noticed, but what caught his attention even more was the blue sword.
"My answer will not change. I promised myself to serve the Thallerion race. The world is difficult without a reliable entity, because we are just humans. What about you? Can you put others before yourself?"
Orion took a step and sighed deeply. His gaze was far away, like an eagle’s eye piercing through the thick regret of the past. "When our great cosmic bodies were still alive, all I thought about was being great. I wanted to be admired by other entities, but a point came when I realized... life is also worthless if you only think about yourself... I thought about myself, I was able to defeat the enemy of all... I did not listen to Cruz’s command, I faced the enemy alone, but like others, I was just swallowed by the monster, just as I showed you in your dream."
"Does that mean it’s true... I thought I died in the stomach of the monster that became a part of Ion’s body?"
"Before the life of mortals flourished, the fear of the entire celestial body happened. Every life on the planets was swallowed and sucked away, leaving them dark, with no life moving, and eventually the stars died and dried up. Until now, the lights in space are slowly disappearing.
"This planet is the only one left with life. We are the messengers of our god who created the powerful entities on the surface of space. Each of us has our own ability to manipulate the flow of the universe.
"But the story of humans back then says that entities were part of the creation of mortal life. But my answer is no. Every mortal in this world is part of this world. You are made of dust while we are made of energy and the essence of the universe. The human body is only a vessel where souls reside, and in time, the human body will return to dust, and the soul will be left to wander in the air. I am saying your souls are just simple entities with no power, but if we own the mortal body, the world’s course will change. The Earth is alive; it will not stop creating vessels and normal souls.
But remember, Xerxez. The blue sky you see is only an illusion... because the truth is, the planet Earth is now surrounded by a parasitic entity, now called death. And if this is destroyed, surely no life will remain in this world."
"A parasitic entity? Is that what I saw in the dream?" Xerxez asked, remembering its face.
"Yes, but the time is near, I think my return is just in time... Because I feel the Triangulum entity is planning something in the human world. Return to Thallerion and find people to be Orion’s warriors, but I cannot choose your son Pyramus because he has the phoenix entity."
"I really don’t understand mortals; you don’t need to kill yourselves just because of failure, sadness, or hardship. Remember, Xerxez, many vessels die early from sickness and accidents, but you are fortunate because you have a good body suitable to be a warrior.
"Emotion. Do you know that an overflowing emotion is not good for a warrior? A slight stir of fate and they mourn and immediately stop. If only they trained and planned what to do, they would never suffer repeatedly. The misfortune of one is enough to learn what is needed."
"I was just carried away by my emotions," Xerxez said. "I didn’t think that I still have a son, and because of my drunkenness, my mind wasn’t clear earlier."
"Enough with that explanation. You mortals, why do you resort to alcohol for sadness? Shouldn’t alcohol be for celebration and joy only? But never mind... from this day on, I will be the entity accompanying you. But you must first strengthen your body so you can call on my powers. A sharp mind, courage, and the welfare of others are already within you, but your faith is still weak. Are you still angry with me?"
"It’s clear to me now why you didn’t show yourself to the people, especially the Thallerions, back then. So, from now on, I have no more doubts about you."
"In that case, cultivate your own strength, just like you did in Wendlock, which is why my dagger worked against the Ursa warrior. From the moment you held the dagger and it tingled, I was able to enter your body, so I could monitor your life. Your life is so sad. Nothing eventful happens.
"But from this day on, you need to stop the Corvus entity and its followers because I think the Ossibians are planning something bad for all of Wendlock."
"Wendlock, I need to go back because there’s a letter from Ossibuz sent by Matar."
"Remember, Xerxez, I no longer interfere in the wars of humans, but I will help the people I have chosen. I will let you plan against your enemies, but you must remember, the Corvus is an entity of deceit and has the nature of a raven that waits for a helpless victim."
*Blink!
Xerxez was back, but when he opened his eyes, he was still in his room, sitting and holding the dagger. But it glowed and turned into a sword. Xerxez was amazed because he had wished in his mind that his weapon wasn’t a dagger.
"This is amazing!" Xerxez smiled. "I’m holding a sword now."
"What if I think of the spear weapon... Be a spear!"
*Whoosh!! It changed its form and became a spear.
"This means I can access all of Orion’s weapons. This is truly amazing!"
Insert Chapter
Meanwhile,
"Hahaha, look at that, the King of Thallerion was immediately gripped by bad luck!" Sapar’s voice was raspy to his fellow Protestants. "Haha, that’s what arrogant kings get... that’s why they get unlucky!"
"We will fight the Thallerions, for the sake of the Wendlock land!" Matar said, standing on a stage facing the people.
"Haha, the Corvus entity heard us. Now is the right time to attack the Thallerion farmers in Wendlock!" Sapar said, holding his pet raven while smoke billowed from his cigar, stroking the raven’s feathers.
"Father, I am sure Xerxez’s entire army won’t be able to respond to save the poor Thallerion farmers," said Fhajo. His smile was sharp, like a raven’s grin.
"Let’s go!!! Let’s attack!!! Hahaha haha!!!" Sapar said to Matar’s soldiers, along with the Ossibian Protestant farmers against the Thallerions.
"Kill their farmers because they took blood from our farmers!" Fhajo said to the soldiers. "So show them how you take revenge too. We want you to show them revenge like a raven."
The father and son stood on top of the stage, with Sapar in the middle, while Matar was on the right and Fhajo was on the left.
Many believe that Sapar’s lineage truly has a hidden mystery, especially the control of ravens. Even the secrets of other countries are known to them because of the ravens that are scattered throughout the country except in cold places.
Chapter 21
The land of Ossibuz, ruled by King Matar, is surrounded by large rock formations. The elders believe that the appearance of those giant rocks was due to the war of giant-creatures, one of which was the great black bird. Sapar’s clan believes in the power of the Corvus entity. The ravens follow their command; they use the ravens to spy on people, to monitor countries to see what is currently happening.
Sapar has the ability to talk to ravens. Even though his eye isn’t complete, with the use of the ravens, he is better than even the most skilled elite spies.
According to the legend of the elders, the mountain-like rock formations fell from far away like meteors.
Before long, those stones became a shield for the inhabitants of Ossibuz against invaders, storms, and tsunamis. However, a large bird fell in the middle of the large rocks, a giant bird that was shiny black. It was wounded and weak because it allegedly fought the thunderbird, also known as Aquila. The bird died but turned into a flock of ravens, so many that they were like pests in the eyes of some Ossibians.
Since then, foreigners have nicknamed the land of Ossibuz a world of ravens, because there are so many ravens, often gathering in one place, and they often step on the large rocks. And sometimes, the sky is filled with ravens along with their noise, but one thing they know is that enemies are coming. So, for them, they are being watched over by the ravens.
Their cunning comes from the power of the Corvus entity, and they are good at surveillance and manipulating people’s minds. Using only the ravens, enemies cannot escape their sight.
The emergence of a raven from the man in Wendlock was the power of the Corvus; when the Ossibians die, a raven will emerge from their body; that is their second life, a raven. Their memories go to the raven, but they cannot talk to humans, but because of Sapar’s ability, he can convey the message and words of the ravens. The raven held by Sapar is the reincarnation of the man Phalleon shot in Wendlock.
After the raven came out of the man’s mouth, it immediately went to Sapar and reported Xerxez’s expulsion of the Ossibians.
Sapar is now heading to Wendlock, but Matar stayed behind at the Ossibuz palace. He sits and strokes his pet, Corvys. And in his silence, someone spoke to him in his mind. The Corvus entity took on a human form in his mind.
"Stop the conflict with the Thallerion..." Matar couldn’t see the man’s face because a black smoke enveloped and swirled around his body.
"Why?"
Chapter 22
The appearance of the Corvus entity in his mind was like a twilight with ravens flying around. The surroundings were dark because of the power the man possessed, but in reality, he only felt drowsy and fell asleep sitting down. But he could clearly see the one he was talking to. However, he couldn’t recognize the face because it was covered in smoke. The man’s voice was as deep as the ocean and hair-raising. In the man’s voice, he heard about the upcoming war.
"If the Thallerion race goes to war with you because of what Sapar is doing?" he said to him. "You will only be defeated by those people!" Matar just listened while he was being talked to. "When Xerxez, the King of Thallerion, declares a challenge, just send a letter that you are not afraid, but say, ’after six months from now.’ On that day, Peronica will bring her son." He commanded. "If the king agrees now to hold your confrontation in the next six months, you go to Moonatoria immediately before that time comes."
Matar had a long smile when he woke up from his sleep in his throne chair. He didn’t say anything to the people about his plans yet. Instead, he will wait for his father, who is causing trouble for the Thallerion farmers, to return. And he already knows his next step; he is just waiting for the right time to quietly and smoothly lay out his plan.
...
Sapar and Fhajo also arrived in Wendlock. They saw that the Thallerions were now managing the crops of the former Ossibian farmers there.
"Those presumptuous Thallerions, they are so arrogant to claim Wendlock!" Sapar said. They were standing on a high cliff, watching the Thallerions on the plain. Sapar brought many soldiers and protesting farmers, but they would not only protest; they would cause trouble and destroy crops.
"Destroy all their crops, cut them all down, and trample all the vegetables, burn the rice fields!" Fhajo said. "Beat up the farmers, and kill if possible."
"Yes, leave no one who won’t experience true pain!" Sapar said, blowing smoke from his nose. "Forward!!!"
The horses galloped towards the plain, thundering like a stone rolling from above. Sapar’s men were filled with anger and revenge. Fhajo and Sapar just stood on top of the cliff watching their men do what they wanted. The ravens arrived like a storm that landed on the plain, pecking at the fruits and snatching and eating the chicks.
But what was horrifying was that they pecked at the wounded farmers; some were pecked in the eye and blinded. It was as if they were feasting on the slaughtered farmers, as well as the slit sheep and pigs.
The Thallerion farmers suffered a terrible fate at the hands of Sapar, especially with the help of the ravens that helped to destroy the farmers. Some escaped, but those who fought only met death.
"Haha, finally the ravens are full. Go back to Ossibuz." Sapar said to the ravens.
"Crow! Thank you! The Thallerions taste so good!" said the raven with blood still on its beak, but only Sapar could hear that.