Chapter 595: Empire’s Invasion [13]

Split and turned to dust. A pulsing charge dispersed from Orenmir; sleeves shredded under the release. “What say you,” tip to Eira’s infuriated expression, “-let’s dance.” *Death Element: Shadow Step,* the staff broke and the book burst into white flames. “Warriors without weapons are nothing more than bystanders,” arms around their shoulders, “-Go on, twins, stand down if thee cares for thine lives.”

“Highness, we apologize,” they darted out the room.

“Some relatively trustworthy companions,” remarked he, “-Eira, what now. I’ve come to claim this manor and its land. What about you, the plan’s been foiled. I’m sure the prerequisites were tough as is. As long as I’m alive, there’s nothing to be gain.”

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” a spiral of books hovered behind her back, pages were ripped to run along the elbow till her palms, “-I’ve always wanted to fight. Be on guard.”

*Book of Eena, passage six, line five, materialize, ancient barrier spell, permafrost, Neltnaheel.* a blizzard covered the hall.

*Book of Ignatez, grant me the power of foresight.*

*Under the oath of Culmina, enchantress of the Isytic forest, I, the librarian, asked for the beast of Rosmna to heed mine call of aid.* a mystical creature of humanoid form descended from an opening in reality, just before the gate shut, a lush forest was spotted. Bold, hazy, and terrifying, the shape was familiar, the face and other limbs were glitched, flickering and snapping about.

.....

*Bound by the oath of submission, raise from thine eternal slumber, heroes of old, ancient warriors praised in legend, awaken, Eracules, Permesus, Dienla, Geona.* Spoken in legends, the shield, the bow, the sword and spear, guardians of the goddess Syhton’s realm. In tales recounted to the youth, they were mostly known as the God of the Shield, Sword Maiden, Bow Empress, and Spear Saint, a title attributed to their roles in the multiple stories. Black pages hovered before her person; a quill inked by the blood of a demon wrote countless incantations to be cast at a moment’s notice.

“So long,” yawned Igna, “-summoning ancient warriors, and that ugly thing from the forest. How very cute. ”

“Let’s see how well the nonchalant attitude holds up,” the glitched entity ambled on with an unnatural posture. *Boom,* ‘-what just happened?’ the figure vanished to land a hard punch. ‘-Holy shit,’ a darker entity sprawled across his shirt, ‘-get this off, quick.’ It devoured fabric. ‘It’s fast,’ composed and on edge, the stance took on a more defensive approach.

Eira watched from on above, the four godlike fighters observed without conscience. ‘Damn it,’ he parried a heavy downward strike which nearly lobbed off the left shoulder. ‘-it’s even eating away at my sword,’ *Dispel,* the blade shattered into its usual form. ‘-Got to make the distance,’ he skipped backward to no avail.

*Ice-spikes,* cried Eira.

He ducked, ‘-that was close,’ lost in the motion of falling back, a carefully planned trap nearly spelled the end. ‘-I’m out of ideas, she’s controlling the whole area. We’re inside her realm, the affinity for ice is the trump card. The glitch figure is strong, and if this is the first to be summoned, what sort of monsters does she have in store, those ancient fighters will be hard to beat. Should I unlock nevermore?’

“What’s going on,” cackled she, “-can’t face up to my servants. Listen well, knowledge is power, the fact will forever be true. As the Librarian of the god of knowledge, I know just about anything that is needed to rule the world. This battle may as well be training.” One of the five pages burnt, a heaviness filled the room, a cloud of grey summoned to instantly conjure lightning. *Magical Barrier,* it appeared at the last second, the resulting force charged to burst open his elbow. The right arm dismembered and fell followed by clumped blood. The cloud of misty white smoke spawned off the explosion eased to show a heavily injured man.

“Without your sword arm, there’s nothing to the fight,” smirked she, “-the battle is over.”

“True that,” said he, “-I give up.” The entity halted inches away from Igna’s neck.

“Wait, seriously?” she frowned, “-I’m confused, what happened to all that bravado earlier?”

“I must say,” he smirked, “the fight’s been quite entertaining. I now know how weak a human can be in face of otherworldly entities.”

“What are you saying, I don’t understand. Are you giving up or not.”

“I said you won,” he grinned; “-however, this battle is far from over.”

“END HIM!” she screamed.

‘Nevermore isn’t a viable option at the moment, my mana’s running low. Teleporting all over the place is exhausting. The last barrier took the last of my reserves. Come on out, show me the way to victory.’

‘He’s dead,’ thought she, the entity grabbed his neck, ‘-the beast of Rosmna is notorious for devouring the fabric of reality. Hence why it always seems glitched and out of place, any dimension lower than the those of the gods is insufficient to contain its power.’

*Awaken, lost power of the first progenitor, the all-seeing eyes, I, Igna Haggard, inheritor of Origin’s knowledge, summon thee to alter thineself and suit my need. Awaken into the true eyes for he who stands as the pillar of which is real and all which is fake, from today forth, be forever known as the Eyes of Truth,* the lids reopened to an ever-moving sprinkle of white particles, *Disentangle reality.* The grip onto his neck slipped ending in the beast falling face-first onto the cold floor.

“WHAT?” she jumped back, “-HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?”

“Poor child,” said he, “-Librarian of Nexsolium was it?”

‘The presence’s changed,’ her fist curled, an iron maiden cage of ice summoned to imprison Igna. “Who are you?” the eyes widened, she snapped, the cages shut.

“A bystander,” said he passing through the spikes.

“BEAST OF ROSMNA, CHARGE.”

“Foolish,” the right hand healed to catch the entity without looking, “-pitiful servant of the exiled dimension, return from whence thee came.” *Screech,* it cried in agony, “-goodbye,” the head crushed leaving snow-like dust.

“Who are you?” her hands trembled.

“Me, I’ve said it again, I’m a bystander, else known as Origin. The library of Nexsolium, quite a feat to memorize all that was passed down from gods and demons. The power is quite formidable.”

“NO,” she exclaimed, “-how did you slay Rosmna!”

“I didn’t slay him,” said he, “-an entity of another dimension can never be harmed, tis immunity. There’s a reason why humans cannot kill gods, it all has to do with what realm they reside in. The stronger the god, the higher the realm in which he sleeps in. Death is at the top, equal to creation. Yet, the influence ranges from top to bottom, thus, making the heir killable in whatever dimension he stays at, tis their weakness and limiter.”

“I know,” said she, “- I know that how were you able to slay Rosmna, he was spawned by the supreme god, Zeus, there’s no way to touch it, even for a god.”

“Simple,” an all-knowing gaze contradicted hers, “-I reside in a realm unattainable even by the strongest god, I’m the start and the end of which is real. Igna Haggard, else I should say, Staxius Haggard, was the only man who ever reached to me in good faith. No questions asked, no promises, no expectation, he solemnly said to join him and experience the world as one of its residents. I don’t have much power; my job is to watch and experience, nothing more, nothing less.”

“How then,” argued she, “-why are you protecting him!”

“I’m not,” the face relaxed, “-the events being played is what is meant to be. My name’s Igna Haggard, Igna Haggard is my name, understand, Librarian, I am Igna, and Igna is me.”

“STOP SPEAKING!” her voice resounded; “-I DON’T WANT TO HEAR ANY OF IT!”

historical

‘Eyes of True, what an amazing boon. I’m grateful, using Nevermore would have endangered our recovering soul.’

Pages burnt, spells flew one after the other, ‘-I can see beyond reality, an empty space often referred to as the void, the place where only the will of Origin works, he said he didn’t have any power,’ a half-smile formed, ‘-stop being so modest.’ *Reality,* the hands stretched out, *- follower of the steadfast passage of time. Alter Void into what I see, change what is meant to be, obey what I have to say. Beyond thee stretches, far it goes to no stop. Real, fake, disrupt the woven fabric,* locked onto the spells, *Disruption.*

A transparent wave throbbed, Eira’s spell shattered without reservations. The summoned books and gateway into the Library split. The permafrost undid as if time reverted, “Eira, Eira, Eira,” said he, “-there was a reason why people feared my name, a reason why my life was always filled by disaster regardless of how strong I was. Pain and suffering are the mediums that make me sane,” he chuckled, “-nicely done in summoning the ancient warlords.” The hands pressed together, “-everything ends now.” *Dearest companions of another world, I request thee to lend a hand in a quest for victory. My goddesses, bestow thine divine grace onto this humble friend.*

“Someone’s had a change of heart.” Three stunningly beautiful ladies gently stepped on from a portal, “-Igna,” remarked Intherna, “-are you seriously praying to us?”

“Yes,” said he, “-I should pay more respects to my friends.”

“Stupid idiot,” facepalmed Gophy, “-that’s not what I meant earlier,” they gathered around to give heartwarming embraces.

“Is this your doing?” inquired Miira.

“I might have said some things,” shrugged Gophy, “-not like I meant for this to happen.”

“Chill out,” said Intherna, “-we’ve got trouble. Look, it’s the warlord of old.”

“I see,” smirked Gophy, “-this should be an entertaining fight.”

Consciousness faded, the goddesses ran into battle, explosions and shockwaves shook the very core of the room. ‘-the eyes of truth are far too powerful,’ he sat with a throbbing headache. ‘The boon to see what is beyond what we know is amazing. I hope the day comes when I fully do Origin proud and use his knowledge. A nap seems fitting, my mana’s drained, goodnight.’

*Huff puff,* “-Why’s the Gophy the goddess of Chaos, Intherna the daughter of Rah the sun god, and Miira the goddess of Kiant, together under Igna’s cause?” *Huff puff,* ‘, Eracules, Permesus, Dienla, and Geona were defeated so easily. If only my link to the library was still active.’

“Why you ask?” paused Intherna, “-I mean, he did save me once, gave me a body and a new home. He’s a good man, I like him, a good person to be around.”

“A good man,” she chuckled, “-are you blind, how is HE a good man?”

“It just is,” added Miira, “-my reasons are simple, he inherited what I vowed to protect, and thus, we formed a quaint little friendship. He did keep his promise and find the truth.”

“What truth?” she banged the cold floor, “-how can a weakling keep such a promise?”

“For me,” crossed-legged atop a few bodies, “-it’s simple,” she admired her nails, “-Zeus tried to force his child on me. When I refused, he ordered my death. Without much thought, that foolish kindling of a god jumped and secretly rescued my soul and powers. Going against the supreme one requires strength.”

“Anyway,” yawned Intherna, “-the fight is over, we’ve won. Go on, scurry back to Lucifer, tis not the last you’ve heard of our friend.”

Whispers of a fleeting figure tickled the ears, ‘-Igna, today was a great display of power. I confirm thy worth as my second self. Use the boon carefully, tis as hard on the body as it is on the world. Also, it’s been three hours, should be a good time to wake up.’

‘Him and his playful messages,’ the sleep broke, black hair on the right, red on the left, and blond over his chest, ‘-they never learn,’ sat upright, “-Gophy, Miira, Intherna, wake up.”

“What?” stretched Intherna, “-aren’t you happy to wake up beside three lovely maidens.”

“Believe me, I’m more than ecstatic,” said an apathetic tone.

“Back to the sarcastic comments,” sighed Miira, “-he’s returned.”

“Hooray, hoorah, or who... rayyy?” the tone rose.

“Good try, Gophy,” he facepalmed, “-I’m glad.”