章 40: Akwan: Puer Creationis
Akwan's eyes illuminate in a bright blue glow. The Gallant unsheathes its blade, leaping at a stance ready for combat. Asahi roughly yells to Aletha as they try to break the fragile corner of the floor with their fists.
"Come on, sis!"
As they are trying to escape, a massive pulse of realization blasts in both wanderers' minds. A sense of familiarity fills the entirety of the room, one that matches their family.
The two gallants slowly march through the hallways while the wanderers try their best to force their hands through the fragile stone piece.
But to no avail, the chunk of the floor didn't move. As Asahi struggles to budge through, he quakingly whispers.
"We can't…."
Telos hurriedly pulls the wanderers away from the corner and roughly whispers to them.
"It's no use… disregard what I have said. I… wanted to avoid The Princess to get a hold of you… because, well,"
Telos shuts his eyes and tries to resist his feeling of absolute fear. His voice trembles while trying to clench his fists in confidence. In a blazing effort to look strong.
He pushes his long dark hair away from his face while pushing both the wanderers against a wall. He directly whispers.
"She harnesses… DRASTIC amounts of power. An unimaginable power that not even the entirety of Gincad's life combined could EVER defeat. I usually don't direct myself to flee from situations, or rather, people in general, since I took an oath millennia ago, but I simply can NOT face The Princess,"
He takes a deep sigh and tilts his head down. Telos slowly blinks, then directly peers at the wanderers, pushing them as far away from the sights of The Princess as possible.
His pace of breathing slowly increases while worryingly warning the wanderers.
"Please, listen... there IS a reason why I care for both of you."
The wanderers' eyes broaden while seeing the Gallant slowly approaching him from behind, lifting its twilight violet sword into the air. Telos tries to ignore the Gallant and speaks at a fast pace.
"Nevermind, I-I will inform you later. Now, just try to stealthily sprint and keep yourselves away from the sights of The Princess as much as possible! Do you understand?"
The wanderers steadily nod their heads while trying to remain as silent as possible.
Telos smiles in relief while hearing both The Princesses' distant footsteps and the Gallant's inhuman growls, all behind him.
He softly whispers to the wanderers while releasing his grip away from them.
"Please protect yourselves. You will soon understand once you two wander more in this world. I will return… someday, and I will explain… everything,"
He speedily opens his eyes and raises his voice.
"Now, leave. Both of you!"
The Gallant slowly swings its sword towards Telos' head; he swiftly propels the wanderers towards the shadows and powerfully strikes the Gallant's chest with his blade.
A massive wound forms over the gallant, with violet luminescent blood dripping away from its goopy dark hole.
The Princess steadily raises her arm into the air, forming a powerful luminescent pink orb of strange magic between her palms. Telos' eyes widen, knowing how powerful her magic is.
He fearfully staggers while pushing the Gallant away from him with his sword.
"No…"
Telos swiftly tosses the two gallants into the wall with his propelling ability and jolts towards the wanderers.
Telos firmly stands in front of The Princess, painfully using most of his magic to form a solid transparent black shield and block the attack.
He screams as the pink luminescent lightning slowly disintegrates the first layer of the protection.
"Argh!"
He feels an excruciating pain resonating within his arm. It feels to Telos as if his arm is covered in flames and stinging with blending poison; Feeling as if his skin is slowly transforming into charcoal.
The wanderers try to help but fall into the painful realization that they can hardly use any of their powers, so they helplessly cower in fear. The Princess whispers while trying to push through the shattering barrier.
"Huh…?"
She blasts a lethal pulse of corrupted energy and lightning bolts towards the barrier. Telos screams in pure agony while trying to hold the transparent wall.
However, just as the barrier is almost about to shatter, a bright blue luminance quickly shines behind Telos, and he feels his shield restoring itself.
A tall young boy with dark hair and bright blue eyes fills the scene, with his dark angel wings flocking into the air.
The wanderers shout in confusion, with Telos slightly smiling and tossing his twilight blade to the side.
"Akwan?!"
He gives a faint smile while consistently blocking The Princess' pink lightning strikes.
"Wanderers, it feels like it has been ages since we last met. Please, stay back. You too, Telos."
Telos understands and backs away from Akwan. He forcefully pulls the wanderers away from the transparent shield. Asahi questionably whispers to Telos as they flee from the conflict.
"What are you doing?—
Telos swiftly interrupts while instantly slaying the gallants with one swing of a branch.
"I can't believe it, I never would've thought. Akwan is at its purest form. The Blessed Angel from the heavens gifted only with both a grain of dust and a hint of human blood, The God of Creation, Puer Creationi's… is standing in front of us. The pinnacle of connections to The Universe; a vague symbol of ultimate power."
Asahi and Aletha give a questionable stare at Telos while Akwan continues to block the gradually increasing power from The Princess.
"Huh? What are you saying, Telos?"
Telos aggressively replies while blocking the sparks from The Princess' violet energy.
"I'm informing you that Puer Creationi's is likely able to stand The Princess' power, and perhaps… the only one too. He is at his purest, valuable, most precious state. Where even the stars are with him."
Aletha pushes her own back against the wall while staring at the light blue luminescent halo hovering over Akwan's head. A flash of another being with dark hair, blinding baby blue eyes, and a halo; flashes in both her and Asahi's minds.
A familiar woman's voice echoes inside their minds.
"Ignorant gods, why can't you understand?"
The wanderers jump in shock, breathing heavily and slowly losing their train of thought. A static mess forms over their eyes, with their vision blurring from the blinding blue rays from Akwan's powers.
They see The Princess pushing her dark cloak upwards, summoning dozens of corrupted Marchers to protect her. She then unleashes a burst of deflective light beams that instantly shrivels one of the Marchers into ash.
The Marchers are not ordered to feel fear, so they blatantly await their own death from The Princess.
Each of them disintegrates from The Princess' dark power, one by one.
Akwan's light blue eyes widen in shock, seeing vivid past memories of himself thousands of years ago.
* * * * *
"To further pass this exam, one must be able to answer the following questions. There are three ranks: Failure, Success, Perfection. If you manage to get two of the following categories, you will be accepted to become one of the gods of Alchemy."
That is what my professional instructor told me while the kingdom of Cleira was around. I was a top scholar beyond all the leagues of my past divisions, of which I passed.
Unlike other students, I was nowhere near the social division because I had an absence of identity.
My blood was neither dust nor crimson, I was neither god nor human, I had no name at the time but simply Puer Creationi's.
I pursued my destiny in Cleira Academia, the only place where both humans and gods were allowed to be.
Though there were opportunities, none of them interested me as a whole. Only the division named "Alchemy." Of which my parents attended me while I was only a century years old.
To humans, that is the entirety of their life span. To gods, that is only just a tiny portion, but to me… that number served as a valid checkpoint to my life. I had many checkpoints, but this one I memorized all so clearly.
When it was two days after the end of testing, my instructor called out during the middle of class. As all the other students left, my teacher pulled me toward his desk and showed the divine tablet toward me.
My grade was beyond the three divisions and was simply named…
"Akwan." They didn't know how this was considered a possibility, but they knew how to manage it. After the timid silence, I could still remember his exact stupefied words.
"Student 40, Puer Creationi's… your grade is… beyond perfection. By which means did you use to accomplish such an impossible task? Even the magic test was graded "Akwan" because the instructor hadn't known it was possible. None of the millions of people in this school got such a grade, but only… you."
I had no way of responding, so I replied with pure silence. My instructor's golden eyes stared deeply through my soul and tried to understand me.
"Mr. Creationis… you could potentially have connections to the universe with this level of knowledge,"
He slammed his fist against the table.
"I will order you this, bring this grade to your parents, and make sure to talk to the stars in the sky tonight. If you can get a message from them, I will speak to the higher-ups and make sure that you will be the God of Creation. No, you will be even higher… we'll claim you as The King of Creation."
I couldn't feel joy since I lacked emotions, so I shrugged and grabbed the paper.
Little did I know that this very day would change the entirety of my soul. That's how my name was birthed since deep inside my empty soul is that tiny glimmer of affection towards the word. When my parents arrived, I immediately gave them the stone tablet with my grade and a note saying: "Your son's knowledge and skill is beyond perfect."
My second mother jumped up for joy, while my father looked… pleased. He was so impressed, in fact, that he took me toward the Cathedral, where The Prism of Creation was. However, that very moment was the turning point of my life.
And… I couldn't remember… not yet.
* * * *
Just as Akwan can grasp reality, The Princess' giant lavender beam pierces through the entire room and forms a massive line carved into the earth. The room tilts itself downwards, with the absence of its 'legs' supporting the suspended platform.
Rocks crumble and pierce from below, with the entire underground trembling as if an earthquake occurred. Sharp triangular stalactites detach from the ceiling and fall down from above like hail during a fierce thunderstorm.
Akwan swiftly disintegrates the falling stalactites with his massive piercing blue rays before bursting a potent shockwave that forcefully knocks back The Princess, The Wanderers, Sadiki, and Telos by a couple of meters.
As the wall of ground crumbles, as the wanderers, Sadiki, and Telos slide away from the floors, the entire underground ruins of the old kingdom of Cleira… reveal themselves.
They see heavenly vegetation scattering over the rough ground, buried divine structures covered in vines, flowing crystal clear waterfalls falling down to the swirly streams, and the small hole of sunlight that scintillates above everything, like a vivid spotlight shining on a hardwood floor.
The wanderers' eyes broaden.
"Cleira…?"
The nation that the wanderers took long to find has been blatantly revealed to be buried underneath the surface, engulfed in thick creeping vines, never touched again.
The only heavenly remnants left after the calamity; are the vegetation and streams, scattering from the holy aura from the chipped divine structures.
Asahi whispers to Aletha while having a blurry vision of the past in his mind.
"Is this… home…?"
Aletha tremblingly mutters while backing against the wall.
"I…It can't be…."
Telos tightly grabs his twilight sword and pulls the wanderers away from tumbling boulders. He curiously questions the wanderers while seeing The Princess and Akwan clashing.
"So, both of you have connections to this place?"
The wanderers nod their heads silently, then tilt their heads towards their right and see The Princess' massive energy lighting bolts trying to strike Akwan from all sides.
The attacks are ruthless, swift, and rough, as if The Princess' magic is frustrated at not attempting to hit Akwan.
"You can't defy aspects of The Universe if the universe itself… is against you."
The Princess aggressively replies while slightly lifting her veil.
"What's created can also be destroyed if it is too… considered a tragic mistake. Just like you, putrid disgrace."
The wanderers see corrupted luminescent purple and cyan marks scattering over a quarter of her face. She covers the effects with her hands and absorbs her own energy to enforce her magic.
The Princess swiftly lowers her dark veil and steps forward, corrupting the ground and shriveling grass into a dark substance. As her dark violet aura glows brighter, Akwan leaps into the air and confidently soars towards The Princess.
He casts pure magic orbs through The Princess' cloak and disintegrates a smidge of her skin.
Pure wrath rages through The Princess' hidden violet eyes. Akwan clenches his fingers together, forming all possible energy in-between his palms.
His wings twirl high into the air, shining its vivid blue starry essence within the entire area, then clasps them together to perform this massive blast of pure power.
As the shockwave blasts everything in its path and approaches The Princess, The Princess gives a wicked smile to him while faintly whispering.
"Even the perfect… can make mistakes."
With just one whistle of command on her lips…
His blue eyes broaden, feeling absolute dread flow through his inhuman mind. An immense feeling of human emotions of worry, fear, and desperation fills him, but unfortunately, the blast of realization happens seconds before.
"No, wait! You don't understand who—
Before Akwan can finish his sentence, one eerily quiet whisper is drawn from The Princess's pale lips.
"Erase."
. . .
Before anything else is made, Akwan's very existence inaudibly vanishes into thin air.
The wanderers, Telos, and Sadiki's eyes widen in pure fear and shock. Unable to process the amount of absolute fear they have for The Princess. They thought she had a fight with Akwan, but it turns out it is FAR from that.
Asahi and Aletha have witnessed a death so ominous, so silent, so brutal, that not even the evilest of demons would be able to like it.
However, after Telos saw Akwan senselessly get slaughtered by The Princess, he vividly remembers everything that led Akwan here.
The tragedy of his own son.
Akwan: Puer Creationi's.
* * * * * *
Akwan was standing close to the massive arch-shaped entrance of the Cathedral. He looked like he wasn't too impressed with the structures, except for the holy artifacts spread out through the gigantic shelves of the exhibit.
We saw many gods and goddesses walking along the painted white streets of Cleira, and a white Pegasus-drawn carriage sprinted through the city. I swiftly jolted through the crowd, tied my hair, and dashed up the staircase. I said to him while I breathed heavily.
"My dearest apologies, son."
Akwan hadn't mind the tardy arrival since he seemed like he was too concentrated on the appearances of the floating ancient artifacts placed symmetrically among the shelves of the Cathedral. I saw my son tilting his head toward me while he tried to touch a heavenly dandelion.
Akwan responded while peacefully placing it back into the ground.
"I understand… father. There were no compulsions within your arrival anyways. Now, shall we commence forth?"
I nodded my head in agreement, rarely smiled, and took him further through the entrance. Never would I think that my son, Puer Creations, could achieve such accomplishments beyond the instructor's divisions.
It was the highest honor to ever give a god… ability to view the sacred Prism of Creation. Akwan's light blue eyes widened in shock. That was the first sign of emotion I saw that was made from his face.
Perhaps, the crimson blood was slowly blending with the dust blood inside him? That was only an estimate from my brief analysis. The majority of gods and humans couldn't read minds.
However, my older sister, Arisanna… was lucky enough to possess such a blessing. But even then, my memory of her remains blurry, and she remains invisible to even me. I can't understand what happened to her during that grave past she endured. My past self could see that small bright smile shining over my son's face.
A rarity that not even my wife would ever have thought to see. It still remains to be painted in my memory to this day.
Matter in fact; It's strange to recollect every vivid memory of your child after you watch them brutally lose their lives in front of you.
It was instead… eerie to ever have that event in the first place. Would that happen when my other child vanishes too? What happened during my past? I possibly will never get these questions answered until nothing… is left.
As time elapsed, my son was joyous, gazing at the perfectly constructed artifacts next to him. Though he was impressed by the designs, never would my son eclipse the amount of awe he had once he gazed at the hovering Diamond-shaped, Prism of Creation.
(The sacred object that is praised by the entire nation, a three-dimensional, transparent thing with a luminance shining over at the center of the crystal, and dark 'S' marks imprinted onto each side.)
This thing was able to shapeshift to anything the wielder desired or create anything they wanted. It could expel destructive lies or painful truths and be ordered to be kept sealed within the depths of the Cathedral. Only those who were Perfect were able to control The Prism of Creation's power.
I was eventually forced by myself to take my son to it. But knowing of his instabilities, this was one… brutal… mistake.
Afternoon, my son, who wanted to be called "Akwan, "arrived at the third story of the building, below the artifacts display. I followed from behind, making sure nothing went wrong and discussed the likelihood of Akwan's success rate with some guards.
They immediately accepted and ordered us to go to the Prism of Creation as swiftly as possible. Akwan jolted down the stairs and slowly approached the vicinity of The Prism. I could see him taking caution of potential dangers resonating within it but then assertively walked to it. I said with a tone of worry while seeing Akwan's hand start to glow.
"Be careful!"
Akwan nodded his head and replied while he stared at my eyes.
"Okay."
As soon as my son approached The Prism, I saw five glowing golden strands slowly encircled Akwan. The hue of the glass diamond gradually changed to a dark crimson color, with a hint of gold centered at the bottom.
The luminance shone on the entire room; I had little to no time to react. Before I knew it, I worryingly charged at Akwan with all the strength I had and felt the powerful force of The Prism pushing me away.
I saw the first look of worry shining over my son's eyes. It was as if the human emotions trapped in The Prism took control of his mind. An onslaught of corruption happened after. The Prism of Creation swiftly attached a large fragment of itself through Akwan's heart and pulsed out its essence through his veins. The piece quickly molds itself into Alwan's body, with the rest of The Prism regenerating its shape shortly after.
My son screamed in agony and I hopelessly stood in front of him, blocked from the transparent wall. I tried everything I could to get inside, however, it wasn't enough.
The second I stepped closer toward the Prism, I saw my own son get engulfed in gold particles, and a blinding white luminance, while hearing his final words as he vanishes.
"Fa…ther… I will still…"
I felt sick in my stomach feeling these weak human emotions surround my divine blood; like my soul was collapsing in a fit of despair, anger, and confusion. The guards swiftly charged in and asked what was the problem. I replied.
"My son… vanished."
The guards knew exactly what I meant by that. Surely enough, that wouldn't be the last time I would see him. I knew that half of my soul was painfully split into two during the event.
It would be at this moment, I would never remember what happened after that.
I couldn't believe that Akwan was alive… until… now.
I can't avenge you dear son, not yet. But always know this… Puer.
I will always love, and cherish you.
-- 贈り物
が届きました 
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット