The Trick Of Honesty

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Cuma’s talk with Viera took about half an hour. Lucky for him, finding someone in the deserts of the Dead Ring isn’t that difficult. He needs to make haste though, for the battle for the child had most likely already begun without him.

Gliding over the sands, he scoured the area until he saw a figure on the horizon, the back of a man walking southward.

‘There you are… alright, let’s redirect you to the north,’ he thought.

Levitating like the Wingless Ascended he is, he glided closer until Uzi turned around, prompting his feet to touch the ground and start running.

‘Hey! Wait for me!’ he yelled out.

Uzi stopped and stared at the man he knew as Sir approaching. Upon getting closer, Cuma noticed his eyes showing white, with brows slanted in anger.

‘Can you believe those people!’ Uzi said.

‘Yeah, you’d expect more hospitality from an inn,’ Cuma responded.

‘Tell me about it! Why did they only want me to go, though? Did they make you leave as well?’

‘No, I asked them about it. They told me it was because of your amulet. Not all Demons are fond of those who follow the Eternal King’s ways.’

‘Tch,’ he smacked his lips, ‘fucking heathens…’

‘Hey, where are you going, if I may ask?’

‘Uh, I got an aunt in Castle Ryut. Why?’

‘Oh, really! I guessed you were going there, so I ran up to you. My wife’s father lives there, so I thought I’d pay him a visit.’

‘I see. Were you born there?’ he asked, continuing his journey again.

‘No, I come from Central, lived there until the Kormoro disbanded.’

Uzi nodded, ‘the Kormoro… those bastards had it coming, thinking they own the place. They made their people think of Heaven as they dropped Hell upon Central.’

‘I know what you’re saying, brother. I’m just a simple man trying to enjoy life. I don’t need some chain haired Warden to arrest me for acts the Eternal King deemed legal.’

‘You know who I really hate?’ he asked.

‘Tell me.’

‘The Conqueror, the son of a bitch who started the whole thing.’

Cuma smiled, thinking; ‘seems like Uzi and I got something in common.’

‘People don’t dare to be as open as you are concerning the Conqueror,’ Cuma said.

‘That’s because he instilled his fear in them, but I’m not afraid of him. And… no one has even seen him in over a decade.’

‘They say he roams these parts of the Dead Ring, you know?’

‘R-really?’ Uzi said, his expression immediately softening.

‘I’m just messing with you,’ Cuma said with a wink.

‘Come on, man… don’t joke about stuff like that.’

‘I thought you weren’t scared? What happened, tough guy?’

‘Alright, I might be a bit scared of him… he’s the pinnacle of power after all, he does what he wants and no one can stop him.’

‘Power is overrated.’

‘What do you mean? Power can get you anything in Alem!’ Uzi said.

‘Depends on what you want.’

‘I don’t get what you’re trying to say,’ he said, squinting his eyes, surprised someone would even argue with him about this.

‘Someone like you can defeat the Conqueror, even though you lack the power to do so.’

Cuma noticed his eyebrows jolted, before he said; ‘hah! Trust me, if I could defeat him, I would’ve done so, even if it’d cost me my life!’

‘Those are big words, but can you back them up?’

‘Killing a heathen as dangerous as the Conqueror would be the utmost honor for a follower like me. Don’t test my loyalty to the Eternal, Sir. I am a proud believer!’

‘I believe you, Uzi,’ Cuma thought, already feeling the extra ounce of sadness his heart will carry after today.

‘My name isn’t Sir,’ he said out of the blue, forcing Uzi to stop and be on his guard.

‘I knew something was up with you! It was a weird name after all… and you spent quite some time in those heathens’ inn. Who the fuck are you!?’

‘Cuma, the Deceiver, maybe you’ve heard of me?’

Uzi’s pores began sweating grass green Yu as panic greeted the young Demon. ‘C-Cuma… you’re lying! Prove it!’

Cuma looked him in the eyes, until he couldn’t no more, for his body rose too high to keep eye-contact, almost making the poor boy faint.

‘The Wingless Ascended… it’s truly you…’ he said, falling to his knees.

He descended and came closer, putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder, exhaling a genuine sigh of heartbreak.

‘I need your help, Uzi.’

‘My help..?’ he looked up, daring to show his face to him.

‘I need you to defeat the Conqueror.’

‘A-are you insane! I’m nowhere near powerful enough! I’m not even an Ascended!’

‘I have a foolproof plan, if you trust me, that is.’

‘Trust you… you are the Deceiver, how can I trust you?’

‘Because I know you agree with the things I did. The people I deceived were always evil, they went against the word of the Eternal. The fate they met fits them.’

Cuma looked down at Uzi, blocking the sun behind his head, almost making him seems like a divine being to the dreading boy. ‘I… I know, but still.’

‘I offer you the pride of defeating a great threat to the beliefs of Alem. I cannot force it upon you, though. If this task seems too difficult, I will let you go freely to your aunt.’

‘I’ve not known you for long, Uzi, but you’ve shown me enough,’ Cuma thought.

Demons look up to those who died doing what they believed in. Offering one’s life means so much more to those without expiration dates. And in the current terror filled Alem, the younger generations dream of bettering it by even the slightest bit.

To Uzi, though, it was nothing but naivety that made him answer; ‘I’ll do it!’

‘Know that it’ll cost your life,’ Cuma informed, trying to ease his own pain just a little.

‘I… I know, I accept the cost, for the Eternal King,’ he said, showing him the Harek with a melancholic smile.

‘For the Eternal King.’

A great choice, for not only could Cuma not allow him to leave alive, but the loved one he was planning to visit had sadly perished long ago.

‘Cuma, I have a question,’ he said.

‘Yes?’

‘Are the rumors true? Did you cause the fall of the Kormoro?’