Ascension
After the death of Clairvoyant, Shok and Cray stood at the door of her dormitory, waiting for Wareth, the King of Black and White, to stand back up. Holding the book of prophecy, Wareth stood, and was silent. He had gone into a hushed state – it felt as though he had begun mourning the loss of a significant portion of his soul, quite sooner than anyone would think.
“Come now King, let uSssssS guide you in SsssSilence,” said Shok, anxiously. Shok knew that if Wareth had been his usual self, he would have destroyed both him and Cray, along with King’s Heaven, in an instant. Wareth walked quietly in the direction Shok and Cray pointed with no questioning.
Lord Serpent passed, saw King Wareth, and said, “It had to happen, King. You were too kind. You are why we’re cursed! It had to happen. Lilira said so herself! It’s no longer the age of giving. I’ll be KING. I’ll make things right! The way you couldn’t!” He spoke as though full of guilt and crazed by the notion of what he had done. It almost felt like he was terrified. Wareth, without uttering a word, looked up at Serpent and, with no emotion, looked back down and continued walking towards the exit of King’s Heaven.
The Renegades took King’s Heaven, imprisoning the King of the Eyeverse far out in the forest of Black and White, in Serpent’s Stead cave, where the Renegades built their plots. At least, they thought he was imprisoned. After the demise of Claire, the actions that came to be were ones that no ordinary world was destined to witness. Although the mightiest being of the Land of Black and White, King Wareth allowed himself to be imprisoned by Lord Serpent and his accomplices, Shok of Craft and Cray of Fishers. He could have easily found his way back. Still, he sat on the floor of the cave silently, with his head looking up to the ceiling of the cave full of stalactites, noticing one of them was missing. Instead, there was a hole, letting through a trickling light from a bright crescent moon that leaked into the foyer of the cave, unexpectedly lighting the entire cave up. As he kept looking up, a single red tear fell from his wide-open eye down to the floor beneath him, and he suddenly felt as though a message was being pushed into his mind – a vision. He closed his eye, only to see in the darkness of shut-eye, a green flame with an image that looked similar to Claire’s but more obscure… as he focused, he saw it was Princess Sana, his daughter, the Mother of the Demon. “Father, it is not the time to mourn! Father! LISTEN TO ME! The Renegades are misguided Eye Kin, and they must be stopped. My so… I mean, the demon, told me that Lilira, the Deity of Wants, is behind this, as she was behind our previous land’s demise. And the Golems. You must go to the Paradox dungeon and speak to the demon! I will stand in King’s Heaven and defend it from the inside, along with our magnificent community… I love you, father. You’re stronger than this, King Wareth – the most powerful king in the seven realms. Brace.”
Wareth opened his eye, and as though a pressure had been lifted, he started weeping like a little child. “My love, my Claire… My love, my Claire…” He then noticed a red blossom rise beneath him on the ground, where his tears hit. The blossom grew into a plant, reaching his waist in a matter of seconds, only to display a flower that bloomed. And out of the blooming flower came a flying Golden Eye, along with a pleasant aroma that filled the entire cave – so lovely that Wareth’s tears stopped, and he smiled. The eye grew wings and grew into a more significant round body, with a single eye and a mouth. “An Eye Fairy, this… I recall reading this… Deity of Harvest… Pludem!? Deity, is that you?!” said Wareth, almost shocked.
“It’s been a while, Wareth. I haven’t seen you since the Land of Sprout!” The Eye Fairy, which now was clear to Wareth, was a manifestation of the Deity of Harvest, Pludem. “She’s right, you know. Your daughter, Sana – her child, after all, is the child of Doo, you know, and he speaks based on his father’s wisdom to her. To all of you.” The Eye Fairy landed on the ground next to Wareth and continued, “Our jealous sister is at it again, with the amount of strife she’s put the Eye Kin through. Starting from MY land of Sprout ‘til here, I wonder why she’s dubbed the Goddess of Wants and not Strife? Poor Harsh is much gentler than she is…” Harsh is the Deity of Strife of the Eyeverse. However, his name says otherwise – he’s one of the gentlest gods of the Eyeverse. “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have time to mourn. In fact, you may not need to mourn at all because there is a way to be reunited with Claire, a long and tiring way…”
Wareth lifted up his head and looked straight at Pludem. “There’s a way to get my beloved back!? SPEAK TO ME, DEAR DEITY! HOW?!”
Pludem looking straight back at Wareth. “Calm down. Don’t interrupt me, I was getting there, son… You need to get rid of those Renegades first. I’m afraid they have been corrupted to the bone by Lilira, and there’s no way back besides burning them.”
Wareth sat back down and said, “I don’t kill my children, Deity, there must be a way…”
The fairy slapped Wareth behind his head with its wing, “Listen to yourself… I, the Deity of Harvest, am telling you, they are long gone. It’s best they burn than put them through an eternity of servitude for the likes of Lilira. What does that silly child of yours say… pick your balls up and go get your shit sorted!”
Wareth chuckled, “… a Deity quoting Light, I never thought I’d see such a spectacle.”
Pludem’s fairy smiles and said, “There you go, smile. And now go, protect Sana, take King’s Heaven, burn the Renegades, and with them this darned farce of a prophecy book. Then come back here and I’ll show you the way. I kind of like this cave, I’ll stick around… but be quick!”
Wareth stood up, and with a sudden flash of light, disappeared.
In King’s Heaven, Lord Serpent had taken a seat on the king’s throne, surrounded by Shok and Cray, and was quite surprised as to why the other lords had not shown up. They had amassed a small following by force – helpless Watched who had to obey their commands or lose their lives.
“BRING ME CELESTIAL RED! MORE GOAT MILK!” screamed Cray at the Watched serving them. They scurried towards the door to leave the throne room and fulfill the order, but as they tried to open the door, it was pushed against them and swung open, throwing all the Watched back at the feet of the Renegades close to the throne.
And in walked Princess Sana, bow and three arrows nocked in hand pointing directly at the Renegades. “GET OFF MY FATHERS’ THRONE USURPER!!”
Barely moving, Lord Serpent responded, “Well, I was keeping it warm for him, Princess. That’s no way for someone as fair as you to behave. Calm down.”
She stepped closer. “DON’T BE FAMILIAR WITH ME, SERPENT!” letting go of two arrows, one hitting Shok in the foot, another Cray in the shoulder, keeping hold of one arrow pointed directly at Serpent’s head.
“OOOOUUUUCH!! SHIT SHIT SHIT!! MY SHOULDER!!! BY THE DEITIES! THIS BETTER NOT BE POISONED YOU CUUUNT!” yelled Cray in pain.
Shok writhed around silently, holding his foot up as though crying. “SsssSSsss” was all he could say.
“Princess Sana, come, let me explain…” Serpent stood up, moving his hands around, gesturing in a way that seemed off, as though pointing for someone behind the Princess to take action. Sana turned around with her bow and arrow pointed behind her, only to see no one there. All the Watched had fled. When she realized, it was too late. Serpent grabbed hold of her bow, pulling it away from her hand, and a fight ensued. “You fell for the oldest trick in the book, although known to be the strongest pit fighter after Light himself!”
With an angry look, Sana responded, “You treacherous SNAKE!”
Serpent chuckled. “Well, I’m not called Lord Serpent for no reason.” He circled around her, pulling out his dagger.
As Sana pulled out her short sword, she let out a Royal Shriek, expecting Serpent to fall in his place… but to no avail. “Why aren’t you affected by my shriek?!”
Serpent chuckled and responded, “Did you think we weren’t prepared for encounters with so-called royals?” He lunged at her with his dagger. She jumped above him and landed behind his back, kicking and shoving him far enough to hit the wall at the end of the throne room. Serpent stood up and said, “Ouch… you are as strong as they say you are. But careful now, look to your left and right, Mother of Demons…”
She smiled. “I won’t fall for your tricks twice, fool.” Suddenly, she was held down by Cray from the right and Shok from her left, forcing her to drop her dagger.
Lord Serpent chuckled again and said, “Well, I did warn you, didn’t I?” He then pointed his finger to the ground, and a slither of twenty constrictor snakes appeared from behind the throne room’s furniture. The snakes surrounded her, wrapping around her and holding her in place. “You know, I will need a queen when I’m made king by Lilira, and I don’t mind my queen being dubbed the Mother of Demons… such a strong name.”
Sana spat at Serpent’s face, and tried to let out another shriek, but the snakes were already squeezing her with enough pressure, that she wasn’t able to let out a scream, let alone a royal shriek. “I… Will… Never… Yield!”
The Renegades moved out to the balcony of the throne room of King’s Heaven – a large open land that seemed too big to be a balcony, with the sound of running water and an abundance of blossoming flowers forming many beautiful pathways.
“We can enjoy all this together, Princess. What do you say?” Serpent picked a flower and went closer to her, rubbing it against her face. “All you need to do is say ‘I consent’, and that’s that! I’ll even speak to the Deity Lilira and have her make you ascend to become my Que…”
A sudden thunderous crackle stopped him from finishing his sentence as he looked up in the sky and saw a light so fast descend towards him. “Lord Serpent! MOVE!!” yelled Shok from a distance, and Serpent rolled out of the way of the landing light. The light hit the ground next to Sana, causing a circular fissure on the balcony floor.
There stood King Wareth. With one finger, he cut through the snakes constricting Sana and they fell to the floor, turning to ashes. He said, “Sana, my dear child, thank you.” He then turned to face the Renegades. A ridiculous amount of pressure was felt from Wareth’s aura alone. “As for you… you will burn ruthlessly by my hand this instant or be laid to rest, executed, and burned later. Choose your poison, and choose carefully.” He stepped closer to them.
“Shok, I think I soiled myse…”
Serpent slapped Cray around his head. “If only you could control your bowel movements, we wouldn’t be in such dire straits!”
Lord Serpent put his hands up. “Lilira! We have done as you said!!! Strike King Wareth down to complete the destruction!”
Silence. Only the sound of slow footsteps from King Wareth approaching the Renegades.
“Why have you forsaken us?! We’ve done as you bid!!” yelled Serpent. The footsteps came closer.
Shok and Cray pushed Serpent down to the ground “King, it was him. He was responsible!! He’s the one.” Wareth reached out, and Serpent’s face was pushed down next to his feet. “KNIGHT! COME FORTH!”
A sudden smoke appeared, and from that smoke stepped out the infamous No Code Knight, closest confidant to King Wareth. He was bulky in nature, with heavy armor, standing at 7 feet 7 inches. He was known to be so strong that damaging him would be virtually impossible for anyone besides Light or Wareth, or perhaps the other Kings of the Land. “Your Grace, leave these usurpers to me.” Knight knocked all three of the Renegades out with a quick thrust to the back of their necks and carried their limp bodies to the execution grounds.
“I’m so glad you came back, father… I found myself in a bit of a situation, as I’m used to winning in the pits in a straight-out fight, but they had treacherous ways…” said Sana, as she walked next to Wareth, now heading towards Clairvoyant’s dormitory.
He responded, “My child, you’ve grown into a fine Eye Kin. Now leave me with Claire.” Sana bowed her head and left.
Wareth opened the door to Clairvoyant’s dormitory. He nodded, instructing the two Watched attending to Claire to leave, and moved next to her bed. Her lifeless body lay dressed in a white gown, sleeping as though blessed by angels. She had a soft smile on her lips as if she was having the most beautiful dream. “My soul mate, my truth and precious one, your King cannot accept what they have done. You are gone now, away from vision, but that just makes clear our mission. For we will not stop, and we will charge, and more growth and success that’s large, will surely come with your demise, I truly will miss your clairvoyant eyes. Until we meet again.”
Wareth bent to touch his forehead to hers. He stood up and walked out of the dormitory, towards the throne room and onto the balcony. He lifted his hands up, turned to light, and jumped into the air, moving at the speed of what he turned to, heading towards Serpent’s Stead.
Wareth landed at the entrance to the cave. He walked in and noticed that the cave was now full of lush greenery, different flowers and a beautiful aroma lingered in the air. There was now a small pond with a few bunnies hopping around and the sound of birds. Next to the pond stood a bigger Eye Fairy – almost a whole golden body, broad with golden wings, resembling the Eye Kin, standing at 8 feet – attending to a small tree. Pludem said, “Aaah, Wareth! You’ve returned. I was working on my botany skills, as you can probably tell…”
Wareth interrupted, “I was gone for a day, Deity Pludem. This is impressive.”
Pludem chuckled, “Don’t be surprised now. We all have impressive sides to us.” Pludem gestured for Wareth to come and sit next to him by the pond. Wareth walked towards the place pointed out by Pludem, and as he sat, a chair made of shrubs and bushes and flowers blossomed beneath him, elevating his seat as though a makeshift couch, with enough space for both of them to sit side-by-side, facing the pond. “Now, let me tell you how you can see Claire,” Pludem announced. “You are familiar with how the realms are connected, Wareth. I need not repeat that the bottomless Pilgrim Lake of each land is connected to the Ascension Mountain of each realm, and it’s easy to trickle down but almost impossible to go upwards.”
Wareth turns to Pludem, “Almost impossible?” he asked. “It is impossible. What do you mean, almost?!”
Pludem smiled and responded, “Wise and attentive, Wareth. Well, there is a way to ascend, as the old legends have said, but it’s not an easy task.”
Wareth, now faced Pludem completely, “Do tell, dear Deity!”
Pludem responded, “Patience, son! It starts with you going to Pilgrim’s Lake and immersing yourself in it. As you’re down in that poisonous lake, you must catch and consume 333 Golden Fish…”
Wareth opened his eye wide. “Are you trying to Kill me, Dear Pludem?”
Pludem chuckled. “If I am, you wouldn’t be seated next to me this instant, son. Listen closely. After consuming those fish, you must, at the speed of light, appear at the top of Ascension Mountain, at the unknown gate. And with that, simply because of your sheer power and this whole strife you will go through, you won’t ascend to the land above you, but ascend straight to the Golden Realm of the Gods. Harsh was having fun with this one!” Wareth stood up. “Where are you going, Wareth?! I’m not done.”
Wareth looked at Pludem and responded, “I must go quickly. Claire must be waiting for me.”
Pludem put his hand on Wareth’s shoulder and pushed him down to sit. “Listen! It will not be easy, and when you arrive at the Golden Realm, you will have to go through many ordeals there, untold and unheard of. You must complete the most grueling task of them all, the Promise of Gold.”
Wareth stood back up and responded, “I don’t need to waste more time, Deity Pludem. Thank you for your guidance. I’ll see you in the Golden Realm.”
Wareth traveled at the speed of light toward Pilgrim’s Lake, jumping straight into the water, capturing as many Golden Soul fish as he could and consuming them. With every fish he consumed, a shocking amount of pain ran through his mind, and blood fell from his ears. But his commitment to meeting his betrothed kept him going. He just about managed to consume all 333 required fish. He sauntered out of the lake, feeling as though the entire land was on his shoulders, pushing him down, with hundreds of voices and memories running through his mind, causing him to feel discombobulated. He stood up straight and jumped in the air, more slowly than usual, traveling towards Ascension Mountain. As he flew, he fell to the ground several times along the way, writhing in pain, standing back up, and attempting again. He would reach a particular high point along the mountain range, fall back down, and stand up again. What would normally have taken Wareth mere seconds took twenty hours. With four hours away from possible demise, he finally reached the Unknown Gate – an opening in space and time, purple and gold, an image of the Milky Way, a black hole… it was confusing, but now in Wareth’s mind, all the voices and memories spoke one word repeatedly, ‘Ascension, Ascension, Ascension’. He could barely walk towards the gate, but with one last push of effort, he lunged himself into the entrance, where he lost consciousness altogether.
“King Wareth… King Wareth… Wareth…” Wareth slowly opened his eye, seeing a blurred figure in front of him. “Phew! You had me scared there, dear King! Welcome to the Golden Realm. I am Zest, the Deity of Fun! Congratulations, you have completed your ASCENSION!”
