" The Towering Worlds : Hell's Chalice. ™"
A Story written By @mohhdude.
(Be warned, there will be references from other series in this book!!)
Alternative Names -
"TTW : HC.™"
"Protocol — Hell's Chalice. ™"
"End of Earth, Beginning of Hell. ™"
Chapter III:
"Empty pages, empty pages."
Act II:
Sasaki and Aleksandr.
"I feel nothing."
— ????
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My son, those who went against you and her will pay for their crimes,
Yearning for the light of which cleanses their impurities and pains.
Dust all of them shall turn into,
All of them will pay.
Unable to see through that light, the dark exists to balance the two forces.
Great, ARIA might be.
Helpful, SHE perhaps is.
Truthful, SHE may be.
Extinguished, SHE must be.
Rain is what purifies them, do not let them touch the rain, my son.
…
[LEDYANOY]
The Golden Portal opens, the King and his Guard walk through the portal into the snowy plains of Ledyanoy, the Kingdom of Ice. Taiyō and Rien keep walking, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Taiyō suddenly stood for a second, Rien looking at Taiyō for a second. Tilting his head in confusion.
"Is something wrong?", Rien asks with a confused, yet concerned tone. Taiyō shakes it off. "Nothing of concern. Let's keep going, I heard Ledyanoy snowstorms are not kind." Rien nodded his head, he followed the king through the snow, noticing a lantern in the distance.
The lantern approaches, stopping. The two, Taiyō and Rien, stopped as well. The lantern appeared to be hanging, perhaps held by a person. Taiyō and Rien advance forwards, before bumping into the two. A blonde man with daggers and a blue haired man with a ponytail holding the lantern.
"WHO THE HE-", Victor paused, recognizing the face of Taiyō, Aurum squinted his eyes. Recognizing the face as well. "Ah, you two again. It has been a while." Taiyō got up, dusting the snow off his pants.
"Lord Taiyō..?! Why are you here??" Victor said with a surprised look on his face. Taiyō clears his throat, standing straight. "To have a discussion with the Queen of Ledyanoy." Rien coughs a little, looking at Victor and Aurum. His eyes widened slightly. He looked away quickly from them.
Rien's hand stung, Solomon's seal burned onto his hand, glowing red. Victor looked at Rien, his hand twitching as he looked at Rien, Victor quickly snatched his hand. Looking at it with shock, his eyes widened, his lips tugging up. "Wait a second… ", Victor thought.
"No way… LEIF?!" Rien pulled his hand back, stepping a bit back from Victor as he shouted with a smile on his face. Aurum had a gentle look in his eyes, about to tear up, but happy to see that Rien… or, Leif, was alive.
"Wait, you ARE Leif, right?", Victor's smile faded without a second thought, questioning Rien if he really is who he thinks he is. Taiyō looked at Rien, Rien nodded his head at Taiyō. Aurum walked to Rien and took his hand gently. Keeping his right hand on Rien's. "We're only glad to see you alive and well, Leif…"
"... Please don't tell anyone, Victor and Aurum.", Rien glanced to the side, a look of conflict in his eyes. Having no idea how he could have gotten so attached to the people he met just a few years ago, he bit his lip deeply. Taiyō folded his arms, looking down. Sighing, as his breath was visible from the cold snow of Ledyanoy.
"Wait, why??", Victor's curiosity filled the question, his eyebrow was raised. Rien clasps his hands together. "I have a bounty, remember? I don't know if you or the others would get hurt…" Rien shakes, remembering what happened at the Ironian Castle, how he was just inches away from taking Antoni, how he was inches away from… Dying.
"Seriously, Leif?! You think we're still weak from before?" Aurum scoffed, he held the lantern in his hands as it glowed in the dark, snowy area. The four got quiet, Rien couldn't look at them.
".. Seriously..? You still think we're weak, Leif?", … Silence answered Victor's question. Victor sighed, Aurum looked away with a glance of sorrow, holding the metal pole with a lantern attached close.
"... Come on, we didn't leave our cabin. Just rest there for a bit until you use your portal again, Your Majesty." Taiyō nodded his head. "So be it, I'm grateful that you lended us shelter."
As the four walk, the snow crunches beneath their feet, Rien looks at the snow. Reminiscing the times he had with everyone else, Sheri, Gudo, Victor, Kalon and Aurum. His lips tremble at those thoughts, he sighed. As the four reach the door, Victor opens the door. Leading to a house with a cozy interior. One bed, four blankets, a fireplace, a workbench, and a pot above firewood.
Taiyō sat down on one of the chairs, leaning back. He removed his thick clothing and felt the warmness of the house. "So, tell me. I thought you two were in Putresc, why are you in the outskirts of Ledyanoy?"
"We moved, turns out the Putresc is a bit unstable at the moment… and I was trying to find out why it is. Maybe Reo is not happy with how it is..?" Victor and Rien's pact seals ache, their seals glowing as a familiar voice talks through it.
"That's not correct, it's because Reo is the only sibling alive to hold everything up. A world-bearing child whose brother was casted to the eternal Infernus for the slaughter of the eight other children."
Taiyō rolled his eyes as he heard Solomon speak through the pact seals, Crossing one leg on the other. "Wow, it's just like a reunion. Victor, Aurum, and Solomon meet Leif once again. Can we go now?" Rien glanced at his pact seal, rubbing it gently with his thumb.
"We should stay, Your Majesty… It's pretty cold outside. And were you always alive, Solomon? I thought you died or something…" Solomon sighed with an irritated grunt. "No, you fool. I can't die. I'm an archangel. I only stayed silent.", Rien nodded, remaining silent.
As the room had a chilling silence, Aurum started to cook some stew for the others. Cutting vegetables and putting them in the pot, he stirred the pot. The atmosphere of the house felt as though the other three were here, Victor was reading documents, Rien was fidgeting his fingers, and Taiyō was half asleep.
…
[ IRONIA, ROYAL CASTLE ]
At the top of the castle, it was sundown. Antoni had a candle lit up next to him as he dipped his quill into the ink, an empty page was set in front of him, next to a pile of papers. Birds cawed as the sky went dark, Antoni's handwriting had a gentle, ethereal style to it.
Antoni widened his eyes, dropping the quill. He held his head, feeling a head splitting headache. As if two lives are trying to fit in one body, his pupils dilate, then constrict, Antoni coughed up blood on the paper, he wiped the blood off with his hand.
Antoni kept his hand on his left temple, mana glowed a bright green. His headache simmered down and subsided. He sighed in relief, his eyes narrow as he looked at the blood stained paper, it was an anatomically drawn heart, the bloodstain looks as if the heart on the paper exploded.
"...I might have to draw this all over again…", Antoni's vision blurs a little bit, his head was numb, he couldn't pick up the quill. He fell to the side with a loud thud, unconscious.
…
Next day, Antoni woke up. He sat up from his bed with Reich sitting by his side, the doctor standing with him. The doctor held a clipboard in his hands, the Doctor's closed eyes ticked like clockwork. Touching the words of the analysis, he cleared his throat with an "ahem", setting his hand on Reich's shoulder.
"Your Majesty, you have some work to do. I'll keep talking to Antoni from here.", Reich nodded his head, his eyes glanced at his ill son. He kept his hand on his head and ruffled his hair. Having a gentle smile, then embracing his son. His head on his chest.
"The strongest warriors are the ones that wake up, never forget that, son." Antoni hugged Reich back, he pulled back from the hug. Smiling at his "father", only but an act for someone that only held Antoni's body as a vessel, Reich left the room, as the doctor sat down beside Antoni.
"Your highness, you are still ill. You cannot keep writing without rest, your mana flow is not aligning with your body properly, this can result in severe migraines and sharp headaches. I get that writing was the last thing her majesty had left behind for you, but she would not want you to write in your current state."
Antoni looked at the doctor, nothing but silence and the constant ticking of clockwork behind the doctor's eyelids. Antoni then looked down at his hand, feeling weak. He balled his fist. "...Sasaki… I can't reach you without resting…", he thought.
"...I understand, Doctor. Thank you.", The doctor got up, nodding his head. As Antoni closed his eyes and leaned back, the continuous ticking slowly got further and further away from the room, eventually falling back to sleep.
…
[LEDYANOY]
After resting at Victor and Aurum's house, Taiyō and Rien got ready with Aurum and Victor waiting outside for the two. The sun was up, Rien walked out with a sword strapped to his waist, Taiyō walked out of the house wearing a fur jacket. Aurum locked the house door and windows, as Taiyō opened a portal to the front of the Ledyanoy Castle.
The four walk into the portal, being transported to the front of the castle. The golden portal swirled inwards, shutting and disappearing. Guards were waiting for Taiyō, walking up to him. "Majesty of Al'Adqas, we have been waiting for you. Her majesty is beyond the doors, we will lead you there."
The guards turned around, Taiyō remained silent, and so did the other three. Taiyō, Rien, Aurum and Victor walked up the stairs with the guards leading them through the doors, and in front of an ice blue mirror.
Victor raised an eyebrow, looking at the mirror. "I'm sorry, but what's this supposed to be?" The guards stood aside from the mirror. Even Taiyō was confused. There was only a mirror in the place of a throne.
"Please, walk through the mirror, your majesty.", The guards bow, leaving the throne room. Taiyō saw them leave, as Taiyō slowly touched the mirror with his finger, it rippled like a rock thrown into a pond. He walked into the river, the glass shaking in a liquidated fashion.
Alexia was walking around, just woke up. Her bed had leaves on it for some reason, she turned her head to face Taiyō who just walked through the mirror, Victor who tripped, Rien who walked after Aurum who helped up Victor.
"Majesty of Al'Adqas, I've been waiting for you.", Alexia was a rumored goddess due to her looks and status, her white hair was flowing, silky-like. She wore a night-gown as of now, raising up a mirror made of ice to fix her hair.
"...Indeed you have, sister… and you have..", Taiyō glanced at the bed with leaves on it, rolling his eyes, then glancing back at Alexia. "Certainly been busy doing something, or someone.", Alexia immediately stopped brushing her hair, looking at Taiyō with a gaze able to pierce through the thickest of shields.
"...Whatever do you mean?", Alexia replied with a glare, a glacier wall shot up between the three and Taiyō, so the three could not hear the conversation between Alexia and Taiyō, Rien remained calm, so did the other two.
"I do believe you have an affair going on with… Her majesty of Tsūkikami, the leaves on the bed would contradict the contradiction you have.", Taiyō replied. Alexia towered before Taiyō with shade over her eyes.
"Never speak of this to anyone.", Taiyō, having a smug smirk on his face, held his hand up, his fingers curling in and out for something. "You know…", Alexia groaned, forming a block of ice in Taiyō's hand. Taiyō teleported the block of ice to Azaad so he can store it somewhere. "I won't tell anyone.", he said. "You're still a child.", Alexia replied.
The ice descended, Alexia turned around and sat on her throne. Wearing royal garbs, with snowflakes descending from each part of the ceiling, the room was large. Alexia kept one leg on the other.
"What we came here to discuss about.", Alexia creates chairs of ice for Taiyō and the other four, she interlocked fingers with both of her hands.
"The Paradox Organization is planning something big, something that will shake Redlocnse to its very core, we caught a person on the move from Ledyanoy to Grandolia", Alexia said with a confident tone, Rien raised his hand, asking: "If I may, your majesty?"
"You may speak.", Alexia responded to Rien, he stood up. "Is the individual with deep blue hair?" Alexia scratched her chin alittle bit, thinking. "We had caught him only yesterday, but yes. How does this become relevant to our current situation?"
Victor and Aurum's eyes widened, Rien bit his lip deep, knowing who it was they captured. "...Could it be him…?", Victor gripped his fist tightly, veins popped out of his hands and head.
Alexia cleared her throat, looking back at Taiyō, she got up from her seat and walked to a bookshelf, "Perhaps a little bit of a story for the four of you… Specifically…"
…
[LEDYANOY DUNGEONS]
A man was in his cell, facing the mirror. He was shirtless, water dripping from his chin. Taking a good hard look at his scarred torso, how he had left everything behind. But one side of his mind tries to justify himself for choosing his mother over his friends.
"Gudo."
"A story of Treachery and Despair."
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— CHAPTER III, END.
Next chapter: "Micah, Joan, Zachar, and Amriel."