Chapter 3: A Dramatic Entrance

After quickly redressing myself, I exited my new bedroom. Felicia was standing outside my room with a grin on her face.

“It’s good to see you again! Please follow me this way. We cannot make the Empress wait any longer.”

I scurried to her side and walked behind her. I was lucky to have her guide me through the maze of rooms and hallways littered throughout the complex. We made our way to the central hallway and proceeded straight to the center of the palace. We reached a set of two enormous doors, which I suspected led into the Empress’s throne room. The two guards in front of us turned towards the doors and heaved them open to reveal a large room of extraordinary extravagance. Much of the walls and pillars leading to the throne were covered in a beautiful purple and gold cloth. The floor was covered in a purple carpet that led from the doors we had just entered directly to the throne, where a small figure sat.

I glanced over at Felicia, and she encouraged me forward. Hesitantly, I began the long walk from the double doors to the base of the stairs leading to the throne.

“May I present, Elijah Arrington, the Man of the Divine!”

The Man of the Divine?! I think there must be a huge mix up here. They are in for a large amount of disappointment.

“Aww… so this is him? Welcome to my Kingdom, Divine Arrington. I am Empress Grace Parencia.”

The Empress was much younger than I had expected. She wore a brilliant white dress with detailed purple and gold embroideries throughout. She was likely around my age of 18 or a little older. Her golden blonde hair wrapped around her shoulders and continued down her back and her crystal blue eyes analyzed my every movement. Even though she had a slender body, she was quite well-endowed for someone her size.

“You can just call me Eli. Everyone does.”

The Empress looked at me confused.

“Ughh… Alright then. I cannot deny what the Divine requests. However, we do have favors to ask of you Di-… I mean Eli.”

“Not sure if I can help but alright, I guess?”

“These are sensitive matters, let us discuss them in private.”

The Empress motioned for the two of us to follow her to a room behind the throne. The guards stationed on the stairs leading to the throne placed their hands on their swords but withdrew when the Empress waived them off. Everyone seemed tense by my presence.

We moved into a much smaller room with a variety of individuals wearing gaudy clothing seated around a circular table.

“Eli, you have already met my Grand Transmasculator Felcia, but I would like to take this opportunity to have you meet the rest of my advisory council. I also apologize for not having an immediate audience with you. I had other matters to attend to.”

“This is my brother, Arthur Parencia, he is the general of the armies.”

Arthur grabbed my hand and shook it firmly. “It’s nice to meet you Divine One. It is an honor to be in your presence”

“T-thanks… but you can just call me Elijah.”

The Empress’s brother was a tall man with brown hair and a standard military suit reminiscent of the formal suits of officers from the first World War. He seemed to have a very imposing presence, and it was understandable how he was appointed to lead the military.

“This is Prime Minister Ming Shockla, he manages much of the finances and day-to-day operations of the kingdom.”

The Prime Minister gripped my hand in his.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Divine One. We look forward to your aid and will do anything to earn your support.” The Prime Minister examined me from head to toe, clearly not impressed with my seemingly casual attire for meeting an Empress. He was a very obese man and compared to the rest of the counsel, had clearly spent the most on his attire.

“Here to the left is-”

“Empress Grace, before we continue, I have some questions of my own.” I felt a bit rude interrupting the leader of an entire empire, but I was sure she would understand if she were in my position. I needed answers, and it seemed the Empress was the only one I could ask.

“Why am I here exactly? Is this a dream or something? The last thing I remember was touching a curious sphere in an alley, and I ended up here.”

Felicia and the Empress looked at me wide-eyed. They then glanced at one another and both began to speak. Felicia paused and allowed the Empress to continue.

“You mean you don’t remember your divine power or that you are from the Divine Coliseum where those with immense power and position reside in god-like form.”

“What? No, I’m just a regular guy for the most part. My sister and I share a home and go to school. That’s about it. I’m not really special in the slightest.”

The council appeared nervous at my sudden confession. The Empress looked back at Felicia.

“Felicia, what is he talking about? You said you performed the transmasculation required to bring a Divine One here.”

“I-I-I t-thought I did. Eli why didn’t you tell me this sooner!”

“You didn’t really give me an option to tell you any of this! As soon as I woke up, we rushed to the palace to meet the Empress!”

“I apologize Empress. I have failed you and the Empire.”

“No Felicia, it’s alright, maybe he just doesn’t rememb-”

“You’re not listening! I remember my life well, it was just another boring day of chores and work, nothing new was happening.”

“This-this isn’t good…. I’m not sure how my Empire will survive…”

“Maybe we can…”

Just as Felicia was responding to the Empress’s worried thoughts, an explosion erupted at the outer wall of the city.

“What was that?! Guards!”

A younger woman in armor approached the Empress, “We are not sure your grace, we will send a rider to determine what caused the explosion.”

Just as the young knight was finishing her answer to the Empress, the ceiling overhead erupted in a fireball of blue and green flames.

“It can’t be happening! It’s too soon!” The Empress shrieked.

A large piece of the golden dome I had admired just a short time before was collapsing, and It had begun falling toward the Empress. Seeing no other option, I tackled the Empress to the ground.

“Ahhh!!! Shit!!! My leg!” The piece of dome had crushed my leg into paste where the Empress had just been standing. Felicia dashed over to me and began to chant while focusing the cylindrical object from earlier at the point of my leg that had been amputated. A circle of blue light encircled the two of us and my leg quickly stopped bleeding. I was left with a stump. The Empress stared at me in shock.

“W-w-why would you do that?! You don’t even know who I am! We just met! Y-you could have died!”

Felicia picked me up and had me rest my body weight on her shoulder. She then looked at the Empress and attempted to get her attention.

“Empress! Follow me, I will lead you to a safe area I have designated in the event of an attack.”

The Empress seemed to snap out of her trance and followed us to an area on the far right of the room.

“Sosira Protectorate”

The floor opened and we hurried down the stairs into the safe room. Felicia sat me down on a stool located near a larger table and quickly closed off the entrance. The floor above quickly covered. The pain was finally setting in. My best guess was that I had been in shock when the leg had been removed. It was more excruciating than anything I had ever felt. It felt as though every fiber of my being was being pulled in opposite directions.

“I-I-I’m going to pass out in a second.” I warned my two new roommates. Felicia and the Empress ran over to me as I began to fall towards the floor.