章 133: One Last Step
In the soft breeze of a calm wind…
Far out in the fields of a distant land…
With the sun shining and the clouds providing a gentle shade…
Out by the distance, a castle stood with its walls protecting everything that it claimed to be its own…from the citizens that laughed and crowded itself in the streets, to the sound of soldiers training on the grounds, it was a scene worth its smile for a king to see…
And a child…a child was found smiling and laughing as she runs across the flower-filled field. Roaming with a braided hair, and a basket full of flowers, she was the most innocent life that stood on that flower field.
Blonde hair and red eyes…the same kind that reflected her mother…but a soft smile that resembled that of her father…
She was nothing but an angel in the sight of her parent's eyes.
"...Papa, here, help me make a crown out of these flowers." said the girl as she hands her basket to a man that sat under the shade of a small tree.
"..." the father was simply quiet as he watched her with a smile filled with innocence. To it, he then grabs the basket and started weaving the flowers into a crown. There was no hesitance in his action to obey his daughter's request.
"...Darling, should I invite my father over on this coming Sunday? I think he would be really happy to see his granddaughter again after such a long time." said the woman who laid beside him.
With a picnic basket by his side and a pillow on top of his lap, his wife simply rested her head on the pillow and she went to close her eyes, feeling the warmth that was on the husband's body.
"You know, our seventh year anniversary is coming close, where do you think we should spend our time? Should we visit the beach? Go to one of the floating castles out in the skies? Or should we just stay at home and lay ourselves in bed...and you know…"
"..." but to this, the husband simply stared at his wife…looking ever so confused.
On his hand, he had finished making the flower crown and he rested it on top of her daughter's head while she pulls out a bowl of strawberries from the basket.
"Papa, thank you…" she said as she smiled at him for the crown that he made. There, she then picks out a strawberry from bowl and she feeds it to her father…willingly, the father smiled and accepted her offer.
"Aster, can you feed mommy too?" said his wife as she pouted, looking ever so jealous at her daughter's cute demeanor.
"...No! Only papa!" she said as she rejects the pleading eyes of her mother.
"Hmm...that's bad Aster, you should share your food…especially to your mama." said the wife as she tries to reach for a berry that was on the bowl, but her daughter simply pulled away and distanced herself from her mother.
"Noo! Papa only!" said the girl.
"..." there, as the father watched, a smiled appears on his face and with it, a tear drop fell…
"Hmm? What's wrong darling?" asked his wife as she saw the tear fall from his cheek.
"...I"
"Papa? Why are you crying? Did mama do something to you?" asked his daughter as she then puts the bowl down and tries to hug her father to comfort him…
*Thump*
There, as she embraced her father with a warm hug, his wife rose up and looked to him in the eye, looking ever so curious,
"What's wrong…?"
In that moment, as he heard her call…he smelled the scent of fire…of rain….of light…and the impending nature of a God's presence…
So as he turned to where this scent was coming from, he turned to the sky and saw the sight of a God that stood on the entire world of Elthen itself.
The god's own foot was big enough that it simply cracked the surface of a continent.
[...Fifth Ruler…will you repent?]
In that question, with God's eyes, the entire flower field burned into ashes and the sight of his castle was put into ruin.
There, as he sat under the tree…he watched as his wife and daughter turned to ash…
"..." silent and unbearing, the king turned to the god and he whispered, closing his eyes as he did so.
"...Why?"
To that, as he opened them again, he found himself back in the cave…
Tears…
That was all that he could feel dripping from his eyes.
...in his 999th step, he was still in the dark.
32 hours have passed and yet with it, there were signs of him losing his sanity little by little.
He was almost there…
It only would only take him one more step…
But to it, he could feel his heart beat…
And it reminded him that he was alive…he was somewhere…yet he could not find his way…he did not know what it was for him to complete his path…the fears poured down into his mind and soul tore him apart and was forming him anew.
It was to a point that he didn't know who he was…
"...I…what am I doing here?" he said to himself as he felt tearful and desperate over this question. No thoughts came to mind…no answers to be told for…
To that nonsense of tone, he couldn't think to make his final step…
Trapped in the lost void of darkness, he closed his eyes and simly tried to think…
But as he remained still with closed eyes, soon the fear within the cave started to loom in and devour his mind yet again…
Slowly but surely, he was being lured deeper into the darkness without even making a step.
There in that moment, the cave was planning on devouring Hamil whole…trapping him forever in the darkness.
He had lost his chance…
He had failed…
And the last thing he could only ever think of was the image of a god…
For in every scene and moment of torture, the last thing that man can ever desperately look for…was God.
From the scenes of ongoing war, a man would pray for bravery from his god, to see his family again and to live to tell a tale…
From the scenes of an unrelenting worry, a mother would pray for the safety of her sick child in front of God…
And in times of stress, even students look to God as a form of motivation and guide.
So in that darkness…he called for God…
"..."
And to it…a light was seen.
"..."
"Don't rest your eyes just yet my son, for you still have to save your people."
"..."
In that silence, Hamil heard his voice.
Strong and demanding, yet also ever so graceful with a warmth only a father could provide, Hamil couldn't help but shed a tear to his voice.
"I will give you power…I will give a guide…simply follow my voice and take your step…"
"..." unmoving, Hamil tried his best.
To move…
Simply just to move…
He wanted to cry for all his worth…
Don't leave me… he thought as he could feel the warmth of his God slowly drift away…
"Simply follow me…follow my voice…"
"I…I can't…it hurts…it hurts so much…" said Hamil as he felt so ashamed of himself at that moment.
For hours on end, he had scorched through a torturous filled of nightmares that can easily break a man…for him to still stand was proof of his skill.
But bare to his suffering, he was at his limit and he was scared for what was to come at his next step. For he instinctively knew that fear was to come.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine steps…each step he took was filled with nightmares. If he takes another step, he worries that might fall and never stand back up again…
"Know that if you fall…I will catch you my child. So take your step…take them and assure yourself in my safe hands." said the voice.
"..." Hamil was silence to his words.
And to it, he felt assured.
So he took his step and for it, he found light before his very eyes.
"..." in front him was the clear fresh blowing wind, the sunny blue sky, and the stare from Rin who looked ever so worried.
"...Hamil." she called his name.
"...How…how long?" asked Hamil as his darted from her and the skies.
"...32 hours. You've been inside the cave for 32 hours."
"...I see." having said that, Hamil collapsed straight to the floor.
Knocked out like a light.
The next thing he knew, he woke up in his room. Simply alone, but his head was being pressed by a wet towel.
"..." his head was burning hot like a kettle and his throat was as dry as the desert. He could only presume that he had caught a fever after undergoing the Abyssal cave.
Not long after, he was visited by Rin who was carrying a bowl of cold water. There, the rinsed the towel and replaced it with something new.
"...How long was I out this time?" asked Hamil
"Only about 8 hours…you should rest." said Rin as she wipes off the sweat from his face.
"Is this my room?" asked Hamil.
"Yes, I brought you here after you collapsed. You had a terrible fever when you succeeded in completing the Abyssal Cave." said Rin.
"Hmm, I see."
"You should rest up more…by tomorrow night, you will have to undergo the next trial." said Rin.
"I understand." having said that, Hamil simply went back to sleep. Or so what Rin thought. For what he actually did was go inside the Ruler's Domain.
There, he rested in the fields and thought only of the voice that he heard in the cave.
"...Was he God?" he asked himself.
And to that, a voice spoke beside him.
"What are you talking about, My lord?" asked Merlin as she looked ever so worried at Hamil.
"...Merlin, while I was undergoing a trial, I heard the voice of a God." he said.
He then proceeds to tell her the details of the trial and to it, Merlin could only look more worried than before.
"Hmm, I understand why you want to undertake such a trial, but I worry for what might happen if you proceed recklessly in that manner." said Merlin.
"Merlin please, this isn't the time for that. I'm asking who that voice was."
"..."
"Merlin."
"...Well, the only time I've ever seen the Ruler's speak of a god with respect is the one God who we all serve. The Father." said Merlin.
"I've hear about him from the Rulers. They said that once I've become strong enough, he will appear and grant me power." said Hamil
"Yes that is right."
"But I also heard from an Angel that he is now currently sealed because of a Rebellious God."
"A rebellious God?" asked Merlin.
"Yes, the reason why the past kingdom was attacked was because of a Rebellious God that sealed away the Father."
"Can we trust the words of that Angel?" asked Merlin.
"I don't know…but he serves Agereos, one of the sons of the Father. Agereos said that we were brothers…although I cannot fully trust him, I know his character enough to not just blindly reject him." said Hamil.
"Agereos, the All-Seeing Watchgod…I see." to hearing his name Merlin calmed herself down.
"If the Father is sealed, who did I hear in that cave?" asked Hamil to himself.
"That, I don't know. But Gods are powerful beings…we cannot simply avoid what has happened inside that cave. Anything is possible especially in the Father's hands." said Merlin.
With that said, Hamil remains curious to who that voice was.
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