Tales of the Old World Demon Lord

Chapter 11 – Fate entwined

[Eternum Calendar 1971]

As the night fell upon the soothing city of pure white, the orphanage too was encompassed by the spirit of slumber. All but three figures had given into the temptation of the tranquil darkness. Miko and Diana had decided to stay awake for a little longer to discuss upon some pressing issues, namely about the strange attacks around the city. Not only was this becoming an ever increasing hazard to the safety of the orphanage’s children but they had also received a summons from the town hall calling for an emergency meeting.

They were not the only ones to receive this summons, several other community members had also been called forth. The problem now was to decide who between Diana and Miko would be attending as the orphanage’s representative. On the surface it seemed right to have Diana go as she was more experienced with diplomacy but since this issue pertained to physical threats Miko would also suffice.

Unbeknownst to the two who quietly contemplated on their future actions, a third figure hid within the shadows and listened in. Morgant using his [Stealth Field] ability, which for the most part was a scent and noise suppressor, skillfully eluded their attention. The wellbeing of the orphanage and the city at large was also a huge issue for Morgant as well, not to mention his interest was piqued when the injured man revealed the attacker.

‘Goblin God’, no such monster of that title existed in the world of Eternis, or at the very least none to Morgant’s knowledge. It could have been the mistaken judgment of the farmer that was brutally attacked; thinking that such a strong monster was god-like, but not necessarily a god. Or it could have been just a gap in Morgant’s own knowledge and there indeed was an entity known as the ‘Goblin God’.

Either way it was in Morgant’s interest to find out about this monster in more detail.

“I think I should be the one going after all. Instead of me, having Diana around would make the children feel much safer since you’re better at taking care of them than me.”

Breaking the silence Miko spoke.

“But I’m worried that if the meeting goes in a weird direction they might end up sending all combat capable people to deal with that monster. If that happens I don’t know what I’d do.”

Diana replied as she held her hands close to her rather voluptuous chest.

“Don’t worry I’ll try to avoid that route at all costs.”

“But…”

Diana wanted to interject but seeing the determination in Miko’s eyes she just couldn’t refuse. They were both two very capable women that would throw everything away if it was for the safety of the orphanage and its inhabitants. It was this very side of Miko that Diana had understood very well that caused her worry. Because given the same situation she would dive head first with no hesitation to protect the children.

“It’ll be okay Diana.”

“Fine, but try to avoid going directly into combat even if it’s at their insistence.”

“I will, don’t worry.”

Though still somewhat unconvinced Diana let out a sigh and conceded to let Miko attend the emergency meeting tomorrow. After having settled the matter the discussion had shifted its topic to what the true identity of this ‘Goblin God’ was. It was not only Morgant who had never heard of this entity but even for Diana and Miko it was a first time.

“What do you think it is? A real Goblin God? Or rather the more important question is how strong that thing is going to be. If it’s too strong that will be a severe problem for this city that doesn’t have a much of a fighting force. At best we only have a few hunters and low rank adventurers, if that thing can really live up to its name then…”

Miko trailed off as she muttered in contemplation.

“Goblin God… was it? I’ve never heard of such a monster before but perhaps it’s something like a Goblin chief? It could have been the mistake of that farmer, maybe he was embarrassed to admit he was defeated by a goblin?”

A sound hypothesis, however Morgant shook his head; that was wrong. At the very least the tone and desperation in that farmer’s voice wasn’t lying when he was speaking about it. It may not have literally been a Goblin God but it was most likely something that strongly provoked such an imagery.

Goblins weren’t all that tough of a monster to defeat, even in groups they aren’t too much of a threat as long as one knew what they were doing. They had fangs and fragile claws but lacked any real muscle structure to really capitalize on those features. Their intelligence didn’t really amount to much and as a whole they were simply passed of subpar monster species whose only real strength was their easily replenishable numbers.

Thus even if they were the chieftain of that species, they wouldn’t exactly be evoking the image of a ‘god’. However the problem Morgant had was that the victim’s voice didn’t particularly sound like it was hyperbole. If the man wasn’t lying but there was no way the goblins could evoke the imagery of a god then…

‘A third party?’ a thought instantly entered Morgant’s mind. Of course this would only be the case if the initial two conditions were assumed correctly. Yet the idea of third party interference would explain away two glaring points of contention. In any case, if his theory was correct then this entire farce was orchestrated with malicious intents in mind against the city.

That being said, no matter in which avenue Morgant had mulled his head over it an answer never came. No suspects ever came up in his mind as he tried to analyze from the possibility of the suspects being from an outside trading firm or any inside residents. There was no one perfect suspect; if they had motive they had no resources, if they had resources they had no motives. The more he answered his questions the more questions popped up, it was an endless cycle.

Unable to reach any sort of conclusion Morgant inevitably returned to his bed and fell asleep. He had decided to see how things played out in the emergency meeting rather than trying to think of the answer by himself. There was also the possibility that an unexpected hint could come his way during the course of that meeting.

…

That night, for the first time in a while, Morgant had heard the familiar melodies of white noise. Driving away all other noise and drowning him at the epicenter of it all it disrupted him as he tried to sleep. He tossed and turned about in his bed but ultimately was unable to continue and lunged up in a fit of annoyance.

Sweat dropped past his forehead and his breathing became haggard. The white noise started dissipating further and further away like it had all just been a practical joke. Morgant clicked his tongue and tried to go back to sleep but something deep within him felt slightly off.

He turned his head to view his surroundings only to find everything had been switched. As though he had slipped into the world of a mirror the windowsill that should have been to the left side of his bed was now on his right. He gazed passed the unfamiliar yet familiar window and towards the ominously glowing blood red gem in the sky.

“No, something is definitely not right.”

He convinced himself once he saw the bloodied eye staring down back at him. He quickly got up to wake up the other children to warn them that something was happening but once he moved back to where Alice’s bed should have been… it was empty. It wasn’t just her bed, no one was there; no one was in the orphanage.

He was alone in this mirrored world.

“What…”

He couldn’t even think straight as the slight difference of directions had put his mind greatly off track. He grasped his head as more sweat fell past his face, the situation was now getting to through to the depths of his mind. He grimaced and tried to confirm if all other rooms in the orphanage was empty as well.

Complete silence. Not a living soul existed in this realm aside from himself.

“Just what’s happening? Is this an enemy attack?”

He asked himself rhetorically with no anticipation of an answer, however one did indeed come. The soothing voice of an older man, just the melody of it was enough to put his mind to rest, yet it still retained its charismatic chord.

“[This is a world of my own invention. Level 5 Psychokinesis, [Sovereign’s Domain]. Unfortunately the 5th level can only be unlocked through the death of the body. In essence it’s more akin to leaving behind a will and a recording.]”

Hearing the voice Morgant quickly turned back to see the figure of a tall man. His radiant figure stood as his white lab coat almost seemed to glow in the darkness. He pushed up his glasses and turned to Morgant with a sinister yet willful smile.

“[Greetings [Morgant Fallon], I am [Aran Callahad], though you probably understand me more as [Sovereign]. I have always wanted to meet you, my successor.]”

In an instant Morgant understood what this was. Not only did he speak in the old world tongue but he had also identified him as ‘Fallon’. Even Morgant himself had only found this out a few days ago but if this figure was able to figure it out then most likely he too possessed Psychokinetic Augmentation to see through [Status].

This ‘God’ standing before him was definitely the genuine article. Morgant couldn’t even cower before his presence as everything, even fear was inhibited. It was as time stopped right then and there, perhaps the truth was that it really had stopped within this mirror world.

“[Sovereign… then it’s you; ruler of the old world.]”

The figure smiled and nodded once.

“[You are indeed correct. It is thanks to you and the path that you’ve chosen to walk that I am able to once again stand on my beloved Earth. Unfortunately a lot of my ‘efforts’ have disappeared from the face of the planet.]”

Sovereign spoke as he slowly walked towards the windowsill and peered out. As he stared at the volcanic ire of the bloodied moon he grinned ever so maliciously. One that could even break Morgant into a cold sweat.

“[Whatever it is that you’ve set to accomplish… know that you have the ‘support’ of this planet, of my planet.]”

“[What does that even mean? Ingrid was like this too… why are you old world types always so cryptic? Why can’t you just tell me straight out what I want to here?]”

Morgant stared up at the contesting gaze of his infinite greater… and his former self. Once more a smile.

“[Becoming ‘Sovereign’ is more than just power; it is dedicating everything to achieving that status. You cannot ‘become’ sovereign , you must attain that title for yourself.]”

“[What about you? You’re here now aren’t you? You’re Sovereign…]”

“[This form of mine is merely the product of a ‘miracle’. Only my will exists here so it is up to you to take up the mantle. You and I share one soul; it is because of this reason I know that you will succeed.]”

“[Succeed at what? I think you’ve been mistaken but I don’t exactly have a ‘grand plan’ like you’ve had. As I am now I barely match up to your feet, how can you expect me to take your place? I am merely a single human, you’re a god!]”

Hearing what he had to say Morgant thought Sovereign would become angered. An incompetent and listless successor, who would want such a thing? But that wasn’t the case, Sovereign crouched down and gently patted his head.

“[We’ve all an origin, even I was not always what I was during my prime. You will find it eventually, something that you desperately want to achieve. Be it great good, or great evil, it matters not because you are me and what we want the most is the future.]”

Morgant raised his head from a dejected state and stared back up.

“[Future…?]”

“[Indeed, that is all I’ve… we’ve ever wanted for humanity. Power, justice, evil, psychokinesis and Sovereign, they are all tools we’ve used to achieve that. Those very tools will now be passed down to you. All you need to do is live long enough to find the reason to master those tools.]”

“[I… I might not live up to your expectations…]”

“[You will.]”

“[I might not continue on your will as you think.]”

“[You will.]”

“[I might not even have the same ambitions as you!]”

“[You do.]”

“[I might fail you!]”

“[You will not.]”

“[How can you know that?! How can you say that with such confidence when even I cannot?!]”

Almost breaking down from the sheer pressure of his own destiny Morgant fell to his knees. On the verge of tears he stopped himself after hearing Sovereign’s words.

“[Because it is your destiny as much as it is my own. It is the destiny that I build with my own hands and have chosen to pass down to you. My memories will soon overlap with yours and the line differentiating you and I will become arbitrary. However that is natural, because you and I are one.]”

That was it. It was that simple. With those words alone Morgant no longer felt the crushing pressure of his obligations and ties to the old world. There was simply no longer a need to feel that way; he understood now. His own destiny… he didn’t have to let it crush him, he could just take control of it.

After all, that was Sovereign’s grand plan from the beginning.

“[It seems you’ve understood.]”

“[I want… I will become Sovereign of this world.]”

Sovereign nodded and as he did so the world started to become disorientating to Morgant once more. He could feel it, the dimensions were starting to return to normal and there wasn’t much more time to speak to him, to his ‘God’. However Sovereign knew what he wanted to say and spoke preemptively.

“[You’ve mistaken one thing, I am not a ‘God’. I am something much more than that… I am a Human.]”

…

By the time Morgant had woken up the sun had replaced the moon as the king of the sky. The sounds of birds chirping could be heard entering through the slightly opened window to his left. It was back to normal, everything was there, Alice soundly slept with a delicate and defenseless expression.

Morgant slowly got up and sighed as he bitterly laughed at himself. ‘What did he even appear in front of me for?’ he asked himself. Yet he already knew the answer to that, the reason he showed himself was to place Morgant on the right track. This world, much like the old, requires a ‘Sovereign’ and the only one who has been given the right to its mantle is Morgant.

The melancholic feeling he had been suppressing inside his mind for the past few days had now dissipated. He felt much more refreshed than ever before. As Morgant was about to get up he felt the panging of another memory entering his brain, an experience he hadn’t felt in a while.

A message to Morgant in the form of a memory; it was only a single scene of Sovereign speaking to an elderly man.

“[The enemy also exists amongst your own allies, that is an inevitable truth. The key to dealing with those weed is to let their own hubris grow to such a size where it becomes detectable. Then… cut them from their roots.]”

I've managed to proof-read it only once so there is bound to be some mistakes. I will definitely come back to fix those at a later date so please forgive me. If you do manage to find one please point them out in the comments if you have the time so I can identify them more easily. Also if you've enjoyed the story so far please also leave a comment and tell me what you've liked or disliked.

Every comment helps me develop the story that much better. =)