Chapter 10

Welcome to the Divide

“Watch out!” a feminine voice said from somewhere to his right. Ray looked up and saw that the Giga Snake’s body had writhed itself closer to him and had swung its tail in his direction.

Ray cursed internally. He honestly had very little idea about magic, but he had expected for that attack to at least put the snake out of commission. But instead it had just slightly inconvenienced it and pissed it off. Now it was swinging its tail at him to return the favor. Try as he might though, Ray could not move.

He then felt himself being lifted gently, and a gust of breeze blew past his face as he felt himself being moved, a thud sounding off not too far from where he was. When he was turned around so he could face upward, he saw that it was Celeste who had moved him out of the way. He had tried his best earlier not to stare at her when they first met, but now that she was this close to him, he couldn’t take his eyes away from her.

“Are you okay?” Celeste asked him, briefly locking eyes with him.

“I wish I was, but I think I broke something. I couldn’t get up back there.” He responded, suddenly keenly aware of where his arm was squeezing against. “I um… I….. Thanks.”

“Why is your face red? Did you pop a vein in your head?” Came the reply as Celeste noticed Ray was blushing. Ray became even redder after realizing why she was asking. In truth, while his high school life had given him his fair share of crushes and sweet hearts, none of them were as beautiful as Celeste, and he knew it was a shallow thing to focus on only that, but he was only human. Today he had learned and done so many things, with his fair share of risks if is earlier actions were any indication so what was one more? Steeling himself for what he hoped would be the last time today, he did something that he probably shouldn’t be doing on a battle field.

“Sorry, I didn’t pop a vein… I think. I’m just blushing because you’re so beautiful.” Ray said honestly. “This may be presumptuous of me but after this would you like to go get some pizza or something.”

Celeste’s face, which had been impassive up to this point, slowly got tinged a light pink. “Do you know who I am?” She asked.

“Um, other than Celeste Incantator and the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, no. Which was kinda why I asked if you wanted to get pizza. To get to know you better. Sorry, I guess it was inappropriate to ask now of all times.”

Celeste studied Ray’s face for a second, the sound of metal upon stone ringing a few feet away from them as Ragnor kept the headless snake busy. The corner of one of her lips moved slightly upward. “Okay” was all she said, gently placing him down on the ground, leaning his back against a chunk of stone before running off to help Ragnor keep the snake’s body away from the head.

Ray couldn’t help but smile like a fool, magic and a date in one day. Best Birthday ever he thought to himself before Nohochacyum interrupted his thoughts.

“I did not wish to interrupt your flirting so I held off on saying my farewells. Any longer and I’d have simply disappeared with you realizing.”

“I’m sorry, I got a bit carried away there.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. You’re young, it’s only natural for you to be distracted form important matters for such things. I wanted to tell you a few things before I fade away. First, your family and one other just cleared the pathway here. They’ll be here any second. Second, I said I did not wish for old grudges to affect your path and that still remains true. However I have left you a little gift should you ever need it in the future. Finally, I offer you a piece of advice. Seeking revenge and holding grudges sound nice in theory, but they take so much more than what you gain. Please remember that.”

“I will remember. I don’t know what to say. Everything you’ve given me are things that many would kill for. Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. If anything I can only apologize to you in return for getting you involved in someone else’s mess. Take care of yourself Raymundo Gonzalez, may the flows of Chaos favor you.”

And with that, Ray felt something fade away from his body. A connection that he had gotten used to despite only having it for a few minutes was cut loose. In that moment, he felt a surge of relief, longing and trepidation. The sort of trepidation one would feel when you were about to meet someone again after a long time. A single tear escaped his eyes as these emotions ran rampant in him. Nohochacyum had not told him anything about himself, but Ray felt that he got very huge clues in that brief sharing of emotions.

Looking up, he saw Ragnor and Celeste suddenly pull back from the Giga Snake’s head and body. Taking the opportunity, the two became one and the Snake reared its head back, letting out a hiss of victory. It lasted for all of a second before a figure wielding a massive axe crashed into it, landing from the sky on its body before cleaving it in half. The Snake barely had a chance to register the new challenger before another figure slammed on its head and a third aimed for its tail, a blazing black and red sword slicing it into cubes. A golden blur ran in from the side, aiming for the neck. Once it sank its jaws, Ray could see that it was a massive lion with snakes for a mane. Ray blinked, that was certainly new, but he guessed he’d burnt out his ability to be surprised for this week so he did not find it in himself to even be a little excited.

As the dust cleared, the Giga Snake was revealed to have been completely shattered into dust, one of the figures having taken out a tiny white bottle and placing something inside. The figures turned out to be a Minotaur, his uncle George and his father, Han. He had not noticed it when they landed, but he felt a massive amount of some sort of energy being emitted from both George and Han. It was similar to mana in a way but yet different fundamentally. He couldn’t quiet place his finger on it.

When Han saw the state Ray was in, he ran over, kneeling down next to his son.

“Are you alright Ray?” Han asked with worry in his voice. Ray was not bleeding, but his body was rapidly turning purple due to it having been bruised all over. He did not know what all had happened other than there having been a fight, but he could clearly sense his son now had access to Genesis. Good, he had claimed the Heritage. Reaching down to do a quick check to life threatening injuries, he saw that it was just the heavy bruising. He injected a sliver of his Qi into Ray and saw that other than a few muscle lacerations from where he had exerted himself and a low tank of mana, he was fine. Han took the chance to see what kind of Heritage he had gotten, so he let the sliver of Qi sink deeper, brushing against Ray’s true soul. What he saw there rattled him to his core.

“Yes I’m fine papa. Just really tired, and hurting.” Ray chuckled weakly, breaking Han away from his inspection. Han smiled warmly and ruffled Ray’s head gently.

“It’s okay son. You go to sleep. We’re here now so it’s safe.” That sounded like an excellent idea to Ray, his weary mind and battered body increasing the total vote to three. As his eyelids began to slowly shut, the last thing he saw was Charles staring at him with a baleful glare, the flames of hatred having been renewed and growing stronger.

Ray wanted to say something about it, but having already surrendered himself to sleep, he could not stop it and the last thing he remembered was him thinking to himself ‘What’s up with me passing out so much today.’

*****

Quite frankly, Aarok was shocked. And a little ashamed if he was being honest with himself. The battle had started in their favor with the opening salvo courtesy of Ray turned Nohochacyum, Celeste and Ragnor. He had unknowingly been of the same opinion as the old god when he believed that the shard of Chaos Nohochacyum was suppressing shouldn’t have amounted to much. The difference between Aarok and Nohochacyum’s confidence lied in the fact that the Divide had invested a significant amount of energy to research Chaos Shards. The currently available information had pointed towards a shard equal to the one they had encountered shouldn’t have had much potential for anything as threatening as that giant Snake. Sure it had come from a god beast, but it should’ve remained the same. He would have to inform his family mages and scientists about this as it was crucial information.

But that wasn’t what had Aarok so shocked. Chaos was always an unknown and nothing was certain. It was an easy thing to digest that research done on Chaos shards was likely wrong because of the fact it was Chaos. What had truly scared Aarok was the caliber of warriors that had come to Ray’s rescue. Liu Dewei Han and George Gomez, two legendary figures that had reportedly left the Divide years ago. He had never met them face to face as they were before his time, but the few powers he had seen them display were highly unique and difficult to replicate. No one knew the exact time when, but it was at least 2 decades ago, give or take a few years. There were very little people at the time that these two power houses were active that did not know who they were. The Asura of Blood and the Beast Conqueror, the names alone made Aarok quake with terror. The current people of the Divide may have already let these names fade into the pages of history, but the Vampyr have not, and would not. The Vampyr, as keepers of humanity, made it a point to keep an eye on humans that set themselves apart from the rest. Especially the Beast Conqueror, as his abilities stepped into the domain of House Susurro. Aarok would never admit this out loud, but he was a fan of the Beast Conqueror. Where the Susurro bent their chosen familiars to their will, the man was able to convince beast spirits to willingly share their power with him if the rumors are to be believed.

Then there was the Asura of Blood, the only human to ever defy a Vampyr order. While he did not know the exact details of the incident, he did know that the Templar family had hunted the man for years following his disappearance. Before that, the man was a known to be a notorious killer in the Imperial Chinese army. He made a mental note to make discreet inquiries when he got back home to see if he could learn more about him.

They had not spoken to him much, other than thanking him for having helped Ray. It was Celeste who had told them what had occurred, as far as she knew, starting from when they met up in the temple. She had then taken out a piece of paper, scribbled something on it and gave it to Han to give to Ray. George had taken Ray’s staff and shield, while Han held Ray in his arms and they left, both men having promised to meet up with Lucius later.

The shame he now felt was because he had helped so little during the battle that he did not feel he was worthy of talking to his childhood hero.

*****

Charles punched his fist into the training hall wall again. He had been close by when he heard Ray ask out Celeste, and her agreement had felt more painful than any injury he had ever received in this very hall. He wanted to scream and hit something, so impotent with rage that his eyesight had gone red. However, he remembered his training and began to do the breathing exercises he had been taught to manage his emotions in battle.

It took him a great deal of effort, but he eventually managed to calm down enough to think rationally. He could not do anything to Ray at the moment, he was a vessel now and would undoubtedly be fiercely protected by the Koo’chil Dios should he try anything. Not that he could do anything as he would. But that would soon change, he’d make sure of that. After taking a shower to clean off the sweat and dirt from his time in the training hall, he retreated into his private room, the place Spartan, with only a small bed, a table, a closet and a table and chair inside. That is, save for the one picture he had of the day he was chosen as a god candidate. It was the only picture he had ever taken with Celeste, and was considered his most prized possession.

Picking up the frame, he passed his hand over Celeste’s image, once again committing her to memory. She normally dressed in her family robes and some variation of her fighting garb, one of her personal beliefs being that it was better to dress combat ready as much as possible. That day was one of the few exceptions, having chosen to wear a dark blue dress that accentuated the glow of her eyes. He knew she had done it because of a House Incantator rule that dictated all the main family members had to dress formally for special occasions, but just the thought that Celeste had considered that day important enough to warrant such attire filled him with happiness.

Clenching his fist, he had to go through the exercises again as he was filled with agitation again. That blasted Raymundo! Because of that upstart he had failed Celeste once again. This insult will not stand. Reaching into his pants pocket, he pulled out a crystal the size of his thumb. He palmed it, lovingly gazing at it. When those two monsters and Lucius had torn the snake apart, a piece of stone had landed on his head, landing on his feet and breaking down into dust. In the dust he had found this crystal.

‘Do you wish for the girl?’ asked a voice inside his head when he touched it. He had tried to let go, but the crystal had stuck unto his skin like glue.

‘I can offer you a chance to make the girl yours’ it had offered. Charles knew that he shouldn’t have considered it, but his desire had eventually won out.

After having answered in the affirmative, it simple said ‘Then hide me. We will talk soon’ before letting go of his skin. Charles had pocketed it and no one was the wiser, having been too busy focusing on the men that came with Ray.

‘Good, you managed to sneak me away’ came the voice in his head once again.

Charles brought the stone to eye level.

“I did what you asked. Now talk, how can you help make Celeste mine?” he asked.

‘All in due time. Before that, we have to introduce ourselves to one another, partner’

*****

Ray woke up with a start, limbs flailing about, knocking his sheets and pillow off of his bed.

“Wait, bed?” Ray exclaimed, quickly getting up to survey his room. ‘Was it all a dream?’ he asked himself as he stood up. Taking a look around, he almost breathed a sigh of relief when he concluded that this was decidedly not his room. For one it was easily 3 times bigger than his room back in Kontiki, and it was much nicer. The bed too was bigger, he had only gotten up as fast as he did because he was sleeping close to the edge. On the opposite side from where he got up, neatly propped up against the night stand, were the staff and shield he had been given by Nohochacyum.

Ray wasn’t sure if he should feel relieved that everything he had gone through was not a dream. On one side, there was magic, on the other, there were monsters and danger that he wouldn’t have experienced had he not accepted the Heritage from Nohochacyum. Whatever regrets and uncertainty that was surfacing in his mind now, it was far too late so he decided that he would just take it all in as it comes along.

He walked around the bed to pick up his treasures. So much for giving these artifacts to the Belizean government. He felt a deep connection to these items, and when he used his limited magical senses to inspect them, he only got the impression that no one would be able to take it away from him. Setting them back down, he noticed a couple pieces of paper folded next to a cup filled with a milky white substance.

Picking up the top most note, he unfolded it and read it.

I have a few things to take care of, so I stepped out for a bit. George should be somewhere in the city, so he won’t be too long. Drink the milk in the cup, it’ll help your recovery. I know you don’t feel anything wrong now, but trust me, you still need a few more days of recovery. Also that Incantator vampyr girl send you a note. Please do be careful around the vampyr, son of mine. – Han

As direct as always. Sometimes he wondered whether Han was strict or goofy. His personality tended to go all over the place, to the point that Ray suspected that Han was probably bipolar or something along those lines. It had never come between them however, so Ray had not seen the need to point it out to the man yet. Setting aside the note, he chugged down the milk, wincing as there was a strong after taste of herbs. Riding out the last of the shivers, he picked up the note left behind by Celeste, his heard racing.

Make it to the Inter Academy Competition, then we’ll talk – Celeste

What was this about an Inter Academy competition? Ray chuckled to himself, of course getting a date with such a bombshell wouldn’t be that easy. He’d just have to find out what this competition was and get in it. He was smart and a quick study, he was confident he’d make it.

“Ah, young love. It takes me back to my youth.” Came a voice from behind him. With a start, Ray whirled around, picking up the staff in the same motion and held it out in front of him toward the direction the voice came from.

“Who’s there?” Ray demanded. He had surveyed the room earlier, he was sure he had been all alone.

“My apologies, I had wanted to see how you would react upon waking up. I find it highly amusing to watch new comers digest the fact that they were now in a brand new world. However, it looks like you’re handling it better than most” said a man on the farthest corner of the room. One moment it had been empty, the next there he was, casually leaning against the wall. He looked to be in his early 30s, a black head of hair neatly combed back. He wore a well-tailored black suit that clung unto his slim body, a tie decorated with flames being the only inconspicuous thing about the way he looked. He had sharp brown eyes, a round nose and an angular face. He was clearly of Mayan descent from what Ray could tell, but honestly, he looked incredibly plain, nothing really setting him apart from his surroundings.

“Who are you?” Ray asked again, threateningly waving his staff in the direction of the intruder.

“There’s no need for violence friend. You’re safe here. As for my identity, you can just call me Kinich Ahau, a pleasure to meet you Nohochacyum, or should I call you Hapikern instead?” Kinich Ahau answered, moving away from the wall and walking towards the wall opposite. “I wanted to be the first to welcome you to our quaint little city.”

When he reached the opposite wall, he took hold of the handles and began to tug open the paneled door. Ray frowned, what was happening here? He was sure that had been a solid wall just now. Was this his magic? Some sort of illusion? Honestly, anything seemed like game at this point. But then his frown deepened, did he just say he was Kinich Ahau, the Mayan sun god?

“Are you the Heritage successor for Kinich Ahau?” Ray asked, his grip relaxing its hold on the staff. Kinich Ahau simply looked over his shoulder with a smirk, before parting the paneled door so that Ray could see what lay beyond. Kinich Ahau walked out unto the balcony and leaned against railing.

All of Ray’s question dissipated into the wind, his mind enthralled by the beauty before him. Walking out unto the balcony, a landscape the likes which he had never seen stretched out before him. Stretching out below him was a city that looked like someone had taken a Mayan archeological site, painted it so it looked good as new and then chucked in some modern buildings as well as a decent helping of forest vegetation. That was the only way his mind could explain it to him. Massive pyramids and temples reached upwards, with houses that would not be out of place in a town like San Ignacio piercing through the verdant carpet of pine trees, mahoganies, rose woods and cieba trees lining the streets that carved its way in between buildings and vegetation alike. It was incredibly disorientating, as he could also see street lights and what looked like cars and bikes making their way along the roads.

Yet, as he took a better look, he was startled to see that this entire place was a hill, with a cluster of what looked like temples and strange buildings crowning the very top of the hill. What truly took his breath away however, was the fact that as he looked upwards, he could see that this entire space, as far as he could see at least, was in an underground cavern, the walls forming a natural stadium, with the very center of the stone dome being open to the sky above, the sunlight descending from the world above ground to warm this pocket of natural modernity. What looked like birds from this distance flitting around, jumping in and out of the shaft of sunlight descending, playfully chasing each other around. All long the inner walls of this cavern, he could see buildings of various degrees of luxury built into the walls themselves. Stairs and pathways carved into the rock connected these buildings with each other and the center hill. As his mind acclimated to the work of art before him, he realized that he could hear waterfalls here, and looking to his left and right, he saw that they were in one of these buildings built into the walls. Not too far away a waterfall was pouring out of the wall itself, descending into a canal that he could now see circling all along the outer edge of the hill as he peered over the railing to take a better look, bordering where the wall buildings met the edge of the hill. Bridges of stone and steel linked both stratums, a steady stream of people crossing all of the bridges within range of his eyesight. Taking a better look, he could see that there were several such waterfalls all along the wall, noting that some of the most luxurious buildings were built closer to them.

Suddenly, he heard a squawk up ahead. Tearing away his gaze from the scene below him, he looked up and finally got a good look at the creatures he had earlier spotted flying around. He could see Quetzals and Scarlet Macaws, Toucans and Parrots flitting about. Flitting in between them were…..winged snakes? Yes, winged snakes, Ray confirmed in amazement. Beside him, Kinich Ahau chuckled and brought his fingers up to his lips, blowing through them and emitting a sharp whistle. A single Scarlet Macaw broke off from the rest of the group with a gleeful squawk and made its way over to Kinich Ahau.

Landing on Kinich Ahau’s outstretched left arm, the large fiery red parrot nudged the man, likely asking for a treat of some sort. Ray couldn’t help but feel a tinge of disappointed that the Macaw looked absolutely normal and exactly like its counterparts he had seen at the Belize zoo. Kinich Ahau glanced at Ray, and with an even bigger grin, brought up his hands in front of the Macaw. He then snapped his fingers, a bright orange flame coming to life at the end of his index finger. The Macaw squawked with joy and consumed the fire that Kinich Ahau had held in front of it.

Ray stared with mouth agape, the blasted parrot ate fire! Alternating his incredulous gaze from Kinich Ahau to the Scarlet Macaw, he eventually found his ability to speak.

“What is this place?” he asked weakly, an excitement rapidly growing in his chest and spreading to his body.

Just when it seemed Kinich Ahau’s grin couldn’t get any bigger, it evolved into the biggest shit eating grin he had ever seen. He swept his right arm out towards the city below them, a gout of flame rushing outward and following the arc of his gesture, with a flourish.

“Welcome to the Divide.”