After his father finished explaining to him about the body of souls, he went to his desk, picked up a scroll, and handed it to him.
"Memorize the contents within this scroll and you may also wield great power and embark on the path of konqueror. But be warned, the path is filled with hardships. You must train your body to the peak for you to be able to handle the power of your soul. Don't rush it, boy; take it slow. Progress is not rushed."
Timothy took the scroll from his father, and bowed to his father. "Thank you, father." Timothy began memorizing the contents of the scroll. It took him twenty minutes to memorize the whole scroll. He returned the scroll to his father. "Thank you, father, for everything," he said with his head down.
"The path of a konqueror is not an easy one. Every day we resist the Call Of The Void, the urge to set the world ablaze. Only by having an anchor can you not fall in the void. Take me, for example; my anchors are you guys. But enough about that; I want you to have something." His father tapped on the glass that was covering his armor, and it shattered but didn't fall to the ground as it remained suspended in the air.
"Come over here." Timothy walked up to his father. "This is a runic soul armor. It belonged to me, but now I'm giving it to you. All you need to do is touch the eye of the Phoenix, and it will be bound to you. I have already removed my soul imprint on it, so it's basically ownerless," his father said as he made way for him.
The armor was black in color and had a red gem as the eye of the Phoenix coupled with a black cape. The armor seems to have no helmet. He touched the eye of the Phoenix, and there was no reaction. "It's not-" he found himself floating in a large hall with an ancient design. When he looked down, there was no floor, only darkness. The walls of this place had sculptures depicting a battle between a phoenix and a dragon. Timothy was still looking at the sculptures when the whole place shook.
"So you have also come to bind yourself to me?" A voice eerily similar to his own resounded out through the space. Timothy turned around in fear, and he saw a person that looked exactly like him in a cloak made of blood-red flames with one red eye and one black eye. Timothy was terrified beyond reason as he looked at the person or thing in front of him. His whole body was shaking with fear to the point where he could not even form words.
"What makes you think you are worthy to have a soul bond with me? The Rose bloodline? Many have equipped the armor, but they couldn't use the armor to its fullest extent because I deemed them not worthy. So whatever tricks you have prepared to forcefully bind me to you, do it. I won't fight you, but know this: you won't be able to utilize the armor's power." The boy in front of him smiled . The rose bloodline? What is this thing talking about ? Timothy asked himself in his fear striken state.
Timothy's head was pounding; he was only doing as his father said, but now he was stuck in this ancient place looking at a flaming copy of him. Timothy looked at the person or thing in front of him and sighed , shaking away his fear .
"How do I prove myself worthy to you?" Timothy asked with a look of dedication as he straightened up.
"By defeating me in combat, of course," the boy said as flames burst out of his right hand, turning into a fiery katana. Before Timothy could react, he attacked. Timothy didn't even have a weapon or anything to protect himself, plus his speed was so fast that he couldn't even react. The boy had his sword on Timothy's neck as he looked at him with a thoughtful expression.
"You're not even a konqueror? This was a waste of time; you're still too weak. Come again and challenge me when you have gained real power," the boy said, turning into a flame and then flowing into his chest, leaving a black phoenix mark on his chest.
"What the-" before he could process what happened, he found himself falling face first to the ground, but thanks to his good reflexes, he quickly moved his hands in front of him to protect his face, but his father quickly caught him.
"There, there, boy," his father asked as he helped him up. "What was that, father?" he asked as he looked around, noticing that they were no longer in the astral plane as he could see his father was no longer ethereal.
"Oh, I forgot to mention that the armor has its own consciousness. You were in its consciousness, and everyone who has worn the armor has seen different faces of the armor. I won't ask you what it is you saw, but all I can tell you is to get strong and challenge it again," his father spoke with a knowing smile.
"But father how di-" his father chuckled a bit. "It used to be my armor, boy. Even I couldn't fully get it to accept me, so I used an old method to steal its power for my use, but it wasn't a true bond, so I could not unleash the full potential of the armor ," his father said with a smile....
...
Later at night, Timothy lay in his bed, thinking about everything his father had told him. It was hard imagining his lovely yet strict parents being anything other than normal, but it turns out they were the most abnormal people ever. Letting out a long sigh he knew his life was going to change, and so was he.
At the waterfall
Water flowed down the waterfall as a shirtless boy was laying down on top of the water without sinking. His eyes were staring at the sky without blinking, but his mind was occupied by something else. His eyes finally blinked, and he suddenly sunk, but there was no struggle from him as his body slowly sunk to the bottom of the plunge pool. He closed his eyes before slowly opening them again, revealing two eyes that had spiral-shaped green iris and pale blue pupils. From out of nowhere, blackish lightning struck towards him, tearing through the water as it headed towards him. But when it reached him, it stopped right before his face and transformed, revealing a man with pale white skin, devil horns, and two pitch-black eyes with ancient symbols covering his upper body. The lower half was wearing black pants with no shoes as he looked at the boy and bowed.
"Master, you have summoned me," the man said as he bowed his head.
"You're not going to complain about why did I summon you inside a plunge pool? Very well, go and tell father I won't be returning home anytime soon. I have found someone who interests me," the boy spoke with a light smile.
The man with devil horns nodded and asked, "Is he worth your time, master?" The boy merely smiled and nodded lightly. "Then I'll await your summon." The man with devil horns spoke.
With that, the man transformed back into black lightning and shot out of the water with unmatched speed. The boy closed his eyes again, and when he opened them again, they were back to their normal color. Then he floated back up out of the pool, floating on top without sinking.
"Don't disappoint me, my friend," the boy spoke looking at the starry sky.
"He will never accept what you are. Kill him now," he heard a child's voice in his mind, smilinghe disregardedthe voice in his head as he was now used to its hateful temptations....
.....
In the cathedral, two figures were kneeling before a man with black and red armor that had a dragon insignia on its chest plate. The man was facing the wall, looking at the sculptures.
"Lord Zaloz, we followed the Mesa boy back to his home, and they seemed like a normal family. But his friend, we lost him in the mountains; it's like he just disappeared into thin air. My lord, I believe he is the one we are supposed to be cautious of," the man reported.
Meanwhile, the man called Zaloz didn't even move or turn to look at them as he continued staring at the sculptures.
"You may leave," he said.
The two men bowed before leaving, leaving Zaloz alone in the cathedral.
"A normal family? I've never met normal Mesas," he said with a smile.
.....
The next morning
"River pal , River pal !!" Timothy had a helpless smile as he hugged his parents goodbye.
"We love you Mí'tûr, and remember to always come back home and visit us when you are free from duty"
"Train hard boy and be careful " his parents hugged him
" I love you guys and I will always come back home I promise "he said
"River pal !!"
"I'm coming!!!" He strapped his sword to his back and he put on a black cloak that cover his whole body.
His parents walked him out of the house as his mother kept telling him to take care , he saw Jake standing at the gate with an annoyed expression
"Oii I have been calling you a thousand times no-" he quickly shut up as he saw Timothy's parents behind him
" Jake boy take care of him for me " Timothy's father said with a smile.
"Both of you should really take care of yourselves okay?" Jake nodded
"Don't worry he'll be under my care "
"Yeah right more like I'll be taking care of you " Timothy said as he opened the gate
"Bye mother , father I'll see you soon" he said as they started walking towards the city
His parents waved at him as tears escaped their eyes
"He will be okay " Edward assured Gabrielle
The two boys quickly arrived at the cathedral and found one black coach and a carriage outside of the cathedral. Behind them was the man in black and red armor and two other people dressed in red cloaks that had their faces obscured, standing behind him.
"Since you are here, let's not waste time. What is your decision?" Jake simply turned to look at his friend, as if he too was awaiting his answer even though he clearly knew it.
"We accept," Timothy didn't waste time with many words as he gave a straightforward answer.
"Haha, I knew you wouldn't disappoint me. If that is the case, let us leave at once, come sit with me," he said, moving to the wagon in front.
"Wait!!!" Everybody turned to see a girl running towards the cathedral with her beautiful maroon gown and laced ankle boots. She quickly arrived, but she didn't go to the boys as expected; she went to the man in armor and knelt down.
"My Lord, forgive me for wasting your time. My Lord, I wish to travel with you. I'll do any job as long as I get to be around them and see their progress," she said hurriedly as she kept her face down.
The two boys couldn't believe what was happening. They were also reluctant to part with her, but there was nothing they could do, so they simply looked at the scene play out without making a sound.
"Do you know this child?" He asked looking at the two boys.
"Yes."
"Do you want her to come with you?"
The two boys looked at their friend who was kneeling, and they both nodded.
"Then she will be your responsibility from now on," the man said as he got inside the coach. Timothy moved forward to go pick her up, but she quickly stood up and fixed herself, reverting back to her elegant self as she smiled at the two boys before getting inside the carriage and sitting down opposite the man in armor. The two boys quickly got in, and Timothy sat beside Ver while Jake sat opposite him, and the coaches started moving.
No one spoke as they made their way out of the city and into the mountains. The man in armor finally removed his helmet, shocking Ver who was now staring at him with wide eyes.
"My name is Finn, you can stop calling me Lord," he said with a light chuckle.
"So tell me, why did you choose to be knights?"
"Well, I'm doing this because of him," Jake pointed at Timothy.
"Strength," Timothy said, looking down.
"What type of strength? Political strength? Financial strength?" Finn asked, clearly amused by his answer.
"Just strength."
"I see," Finn smiled. The coaches made their way through the mountains at a sturdy pace, and surprisingly enough, there was no sign of beasts. It was now past midday, and they had just left the mountain path; they were now in a desert with nothing but a few trees there and there. Timothy and Ver were quietly observing the environment as it was their first time they had gone this far from home, but Jake didn't seem too bothered with his environment.
The coaches made way quietly as they kept on moving east until they suddenly stopped, startling Ver who was now sleeping. The coachman knocked on the door, and Finn stepped out, closing the door. Timothy and the rest couldn't make out what was being said, so when Finn stepped back in, they all tensed up. Noticing their stiff expressions, he chuckled lightly.
"There are ruins up ahead. After they have checked them out, we will be setting camp there."
"Do you want to hear a tale?" He asked slowly.
They all had nothing to do since they were waiting for Finn's men to clear out the ruins before moving again, so they all nodded their heads.
"Very well, long ago, before the great war, the world was vastly different from the one we see now. Dragons and phoenixes ruled the sky, while the ground was ruled by beasts of all manner, and even spirits roamed the world. We humans lived in tribes, namely the Tif'er, Mesa, Khen'ji, Ferho, So'j, and Gulap. These tribes lived in harmony with one another, each tribe respecting the other tribe's territory. But then one night, the beasts of the land went mad and started invading our small tribes, destroying our peace. This lasted for five years as the beasts would attack the tribes only when there was a full moon. So one day, a week before the full moon, the tribe leaders had a meeting to discuss how to deal with this issue. But five out of six leaders showed up; mainly the Khen'ji tribe's leader didn't show up. But the meeting went well, for they had found a solution to their problem," he looked at the three teenagers in front of him before continuing.
"The solution was that they were to each send out their strongest warrior to go to the mountains of Fall and seek out aid from the rumored fallen deity Sega the fallen. The next morning, five warriors left their land of birth to go seek out a savior. On the first night of the journey, they were attacked by a pack of dire wolves, and a warrior of the Gulap tribe died in battle. They mourned his loss and continued their journey for two more days before losing another warrior belonging to the So'j tribe. They mourned her loss and continued on their journey as they could now see the mountain range from afar. They walked for three more days before entering the foggy forest in front of the mountain. They made camp and prepared themselves to spend the night in the forest, as they didn't even light a fire. As they were sleeping, a beautiful voice filled the whole forest with its enchanting singing." The teenagers were staring at him as he stopped.
"Why did you stop?" Jake asked, annoyed.
Finn laughed before resuming.
"The warrior from the Ferho tribe got up and disappeared into the woods. The next morning, the two warriors woke up and were surprised by the fact that one of them was missing. They took off and marked the trees they passed so that they could find their way back. They went up the mountain and finally reached the peak after a day. There was a small cave with skulls at the entrance. As they got closer, they could hear laughter and cheers, which surprised both of them. As they proceeded inside the cave, the cave was small from the outside, but inside it was a different matter. They took the stairs that went down as the laughter and cheers got louder. They eventually reached the bottom, and their eyes couldn't believe what they saw." Finn stopped, leaving them in suspense before continuing.
"All of their clan leaders except the Khen'ji tribe were seated on a long table filled with food and wine. At the end of the table was an old man filled with wrinkles, and in front of him was a golden bowl. They stood there watching their leaders chat and feast merrily. 'Why!!!' the Tif'er warrior screamed, making the whole cave turn silent as the tribe leaders turned to look at them with pity in their eyes. And the Ferho tribe leader spoke, 'Oh look, two made it out alive,' and they began laughing, which made the Tif'er warrior boil with anger. But as he was about to attack, he was held back by his fellow warrior who looked at him with understanding eyes. 'Let us leave.' The two warriors were about to leave when Suddenly, the entire cave fell silent, and one of the leaders spoke, "Where do you think you are going?"
The two warriors continued walking up the stairs without stopping, but when they were about to take another step, their bodies suddenly stiffened, and they couldn't move.