Books of Forsaken Futures: Beyond Olympus

[Passage 10: Emperor's New Form]

[Kimya: Emperor’s New Form]

This is the Hall of Saints encampment, tents surround us as the encampment is moved along a predetermined route to prevent chaos constructs from ambushing us and so that those on missions can find their way back. But somehow, he knew where to find them. He looks over at me and smiles “Home sweet home, eh?”

My heart feels like it is going to explode in my chest. How did he teleport past the barriers? Sanctuary should be set up to prevent chimera from teleporting in. But the way he teleported us just now, it was not the same as when I had teleported with Junior. What is he going to do? “Why are we here?” I ask with my voice shaking slightly.

“Cooperate like a good little girl and we will just be here to pick up a thing or two.” He says, his eyes glowing silver and sweeping the area for whatever he is searching for.

“And no one gets hurt?” I ask.

He shrugs and says “Well, I can’t guarantee that. But I can guarantee you that if you don’t help me, we will kill everyone here.”

“We most certainly will not!” I snap “I will help you find what you are looking for, but I will not help you hurt anyone!”

He places a finger to my mouth and says “We didn’t say anything about you. I will be more than enough.”

Something is wrong with him. There has to be with the way he is switching between a singular person and a group. But I should be careful not to anger him. I respond cautiously “Who is we then, because I am pretty sure you and I traveled alone?”

He looks at me with a fixed glare, a frustration if you will. he shakes it off, mumbling “I’m never alone.” He shows me a tribal dragon tattoo on his right arm. I go to comment on it, but then it moves. For a brief second, I could swear it even looks at me.

I go to recapture control of my breathing and ask “This is an Excalibur thing, isn’t it?”

“Yes” he responds, clearly trying to calm himself “I need to complete the set to be free of them. There are two of them here. Anarchy, bound to some Heaven Constantine and Virtue bound to Alejandro Cortez. Then, I will have no further business here.”

“You will not hurt my abuelo” I huff, crossing my arms.

“That will be on him.” Loki responds.

“What exactly will be on me niño pequeño?” My abuelo enters view. He looks like images my parents have shown me of a singer named Freddy Mercury, but wearing a blue militaristic Hall of Saints robe with gold trim and a matching hat.

“Now now gramps, you have something of mine and I want it back.” Loki says, but I am not sure I believe him, unless he is talking about that Excalibur Virtue. He points at his hands and says “Give me the Tongue of the Dragon King and I will be on my way. No one has to get hurt.”

“Return her to me and you can have it” My abuelo says, rolling up his sleeves, revealing metal bands wrapping around his hands. I had seen them many times in my life, but I had never realized that they were something important.

Loki laughs and says “I don’t think you understand the situation old man. She is neither mine nor here as a bargaining token. I had hoped she could help with a more peaceful resolution.” Abuelo takes a fighting stance and Loki shakes his head and says “I hoped for nothing I suppose.”

Without warning, we sink through the ground. Not in the way I would expect to feel myself sinking through quicksand or water, put just as though the ground just no longer exists. We sink as such right into another world. A dark castle, illuminated by the striking of a constant lightning storm above. But despite the lightning, there is no thunder and the color changes with each strike.

Loki reaches out his right hand and a spear is just there. He looks over at Abuelo and says “Last chance, you really can just hand over the bands. Or else I will have to take them.”

“Abuelo, just give him the bands, please! These chimera aren’t unreasonable and have treated me well. There is no reason to get hurt here!” I yell, fighting back tears. Do I have so little faith in Abuelo? No, I know that there is something wrong with Loki. Especially now that he is laughing maniacally.

“If only that were entirely still true.” Loki says as he looks over his shoulder at me. He wipes a tear from his eye. There is something sad in those eyes. But there is no time to process between that and when he throws the spear. Like lightning it strikes forward, but just as quickly, Abuelo catches it.

Just as quickly, Loki is behind him, as though he rocketed around along the wall of the castle on a blast of air. He kicks off the wall behind Abuelo with one foot and kicks at Abuelo from behind with the other. Just as quickly, Abuelo punches his foot with his other fist and returns the spear to its sender in a wide arc. But as soon as he lets it go, it whips back around, slamming him in the chest.

Abuelo is forced back and the spear returns to Loki as he continues to rocket along the wall. Without speaking, Abuelo returns quickly back to his feet and charges at Loki. But Loki is less than surprised, as he summons and swings a sword down at Abuelo. Abuelo catches the sword offhand and punches him with the other, but Loki is unaffected. Luckily, whatever those bands are also keeps the sword from cutting his hand.

Abuelo shifts this first into an open palm and shifting his stance throws Loki at the opposite wall. Loki quickly recovers, rolling back to his feet and rushing across the floor with the sword raised. Abuelo locks eyes with Loki and his gliding feet and raised sword simply go away with a quick flash from his eyes. The eyes of the conquerer. That had to be them.

But he doesn’t take time to relent, punching Loki hard in the stomach as he trips over his own feet. Then Abuelo sweeps out his feet and putting him into an arm bar, slams Loki into the ground face first and hits him hard in the back with an elbow. Loki scrapes across the ground on his face, but Abuelo follows close behind.

Loki tries to right himself using air jets along his feet. Only, as he gets upright, Abuelo has already come in close. He begins a barrage of punches on Loki’s chest, keeping him upright and at his mercy. Then, when begins falling, Abuelo holds him up by his throat and declares “Join me in the fire Mijo.” A cape of white fire erupts from his back and shoulders, wrapping around Loki.

Loki thrashes and screams as the cape tightens around him. The storm above intensifies and something dark begins to circle above the castle. The size of the cape spasms as though he were trying to change forms in there. Abuelo appears to be straining to keep him in there. But at this rate, he isn’t going to hold. Then there is that shadow above us. It has almost entirely blocked the storm above.

A voice thunders, both from the cape and above “The Voices of Chaos are mine for I command the destruction!” The shadow above blows out the white fire, revealing a being of silver light. His voice booms “I am…” His voice is cut off as the shadow above reveals itself with a roar. The being that was Loki swings at Abuelo and the great silver dragon above matches suit.

While he has no issue catching the first of the silver being, the fist of the great silver dragon doesn’t even fit in this courtyard. The stone walls crumble as its crushing forced makes its way down. I run to help my Abuelo, but nine suits of armor beast me to it. One stepping between Abuelo and the silver figure, the other eight taking a place around him.

All suits of armor reach out to catch the first. The suit in front speaks for the rest as he says “Master, may I request that you spare this man?” The suit of armor in front takes a knee and continues “As your humble servant, I tell you that I have over many years observed this man’s heart to be valiant. He would make a better ally than an example.”

“The thing about allies” Loki says, walking out of his silver energy form. His hair is now long, even longer than Junior’s. He is now wearing a long silver dress coat that looks like it were made of small silver plates. He places a hand on the head of the main knight and summons a black katana. Then he quickly slashes through all of the knights with a single slash that acts as many as he says “We just don’t have any need for them.”

Many gashes erupt across the suits of armor as the armor goes to pieces, along with the robes of Abuelo, blood gushing in all directions. Abuelo falls to the ground, struggling to breath and bleeding profusely. But that doesn’t appear to be enough for Loki, who raises a foot to crush Abuelo’s skull. I step between he and Abuelo and put my hands as I declare “And what about family!? What would Junior think of what you are doing?”

Loki stops and places his foot on the ground. The remnants of those armor suits become a stream of energy, absorbed into the hand of Loki, the tribal dragon on his arm gains a series of tongues. He bends down until eye level with me amidst the following blow energy he is still absorbing as he says “And what do you know of my dear brother?”

“He is a good man. One worried about his brother, even after being scarred by him.” I say, closing in our eye contact.

He smiles and says “You think so? How naive.” He grabs my face, covering my eyes and he chuckles “Let me show you what that good man is capable of.” Images rush through my mind, images of an older Junior, emerging from a dark temple and massacring an army. Images of a different older Junior assaulting a woman while casting an illusion on her mind.

Images of yet another older Junior torturing a man strapped to a floating ring. But these have to be illusions, they must be. But the barrage doesn’t stop there. All the while, I need to help Abuelo and he just continues to laugh.

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