323 Brave Oath
I found myself standing in the midst of a vast underground chamber, its walls constructed from sturdy stone.
Medieval-style torches were securely affixed to the walls, lit up with eerie blue flames that were casting a ghostly glow upon the underground sanctuary.
At the far end of the stone chamber, I saw a colossal throne, seemingly sculpted from a single, giant slab of an ivory rock.
The white splat of the ivory throne ended in the shape of a wolf's maw, two fiery red rubies were embedded in place of its eyes, radiating a bright crimson glow.
In the ghostly glow being emitted by the eerie blue flames, I could vividly see moss and grass sporadically spread across the stone ground.
Right before us, just a few meters away from the ivory throne, was a large marble basin pool. In the center of its calm waters, a giant wolf's skull rested.
The condition of this underground sanctuary led me to suspect that I was inside of an ancient structure.
I turned to the only other person present here with me. It was, of course, Reynold. I gave him a puzzled look and said, "I didn't know there was something like this below the mansion."
"Yes, no one except your mother and I know about this place," Reynold replied, his gaze fixed on the ivory throne in the distance. "My father brought me here a few days before you and Adel were born... before he died."
Joseph Morningstar, Reynold's father, died roughly three days before Adel and Lucas were born. I knew this because of Lucas' memories.
While I had heard a few things about Joseph Morningstar from my master, Leo Kurogami, I didn't know much about the man.
Perhaps these last few months that I spent trying to solve a myriad of mysteries had enhanced my curiosity. That's why, when Joseph's name was mentioned, my ears instantly perked up.
"Do you know about him? I mean, your grandfather," Reynold asked, giving me a quick glance before his eyes returned to the ivory throne again.
"No," I shrugged. "You never told me about him. You never told me much about anything."
"And yet you somehow know more than I do," Reynold allowed a soft chuckle to escape his lips.
I frowned at his words, before commenting in an even tone, "Master do talk about him sometimes, though."
Reynold raised an eyebrow and suddenly a faint smile crossed his lips. "Leo? He used to spend all his vacations here. Father liked him a lot. He used to say Leo would catch up to me one day if I didn't work hard."
The faint smile on his lips widened ever so slightly, and it was only now that I realized the smile he was wearing wasn't one of joy but one of regret for a time long passed.
"He stood corrected," Reynold shrugged. "Leo has indeed surpassed me. In fact, he might just be on the same level as Xavier Sinclair, the Lord Commander of the Space Defence Force."
I lingered for a short span of time before saying, "He told me about his duels with you. Especially about the last one."
The smile on Reynold's face faltered a little as he added, "Leo had his demons, but now he has drowned them. He's a kind man. Do you know he's also your godfather?"
"He told me about it," I replied. "So you don't resent him?"
A deeply troubled expression washed away Reynold's smile. He stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking, "I never resented him. He was like a brother to me. I just… I felt betrayed when he challenged me for the Western seat of power."
"You know he would never have taken your position as the Overlord of the West even if he'd won, right?" I frowned.
"Of course I know that," Reynold gritted his teeth. "But that is beyond the point. If not him, then his father would've taken the position. I merely defeated Leo by a hair's breadth. My failure back then could have been detrimental, not for just us but the entire world!"
"The entire world, you say?" I raised an eyebrow, my interest completely piqued. "Why?"
Reynold took a deep breath and then let out a weary sigh. "Joseph Morningstar, my father, and your grandfather, was a seer."
"A seer?!" I exclaimed in shock. "You mean he could see the future?"
"Through his dreams, yes." Reynold nodded. "Whatever he said always came true. One of the things that he said to me on his dying bed, before bringing me here, was that a Morningstar should always be in control of the west."
I turned to Reynold and gave him a long, silent look. The air hung heavy as I began to voice my next question:
"One of the things? What else did he tell you?"
Reynold turned to me, his bright crimson eyes looking dead into mine. "Everything that's going to happen until the end of the world."
"....." I was at a loss for words. It took me a very long time to form a comprehensible sentence in my mind and voice it. "The end of the world?"
Reynold nodded before turning his gaze away again, this time his eyes fixated on the giant skull of the wolf resting in the calm waters encased in the marble basin right before us.
Without looking at me, he continued:
"To prevent that future, it's important for our family to rule the West and the Wright family to be in charge of the North. It does not matter who is in the position of power in the East, but the South should not be under the rule of the Netyoive family."
"Wh-Why?" I staggered.
Reynold shook his head. "I don't know. But I do know that ignoring the words of a seer is a foolish decision, especially considering that all the other predictions he made have already come true, while the rest are in the process of unfolding."
"How much do you truly know?" I inquired, a sense of unease creeping over me for some unknown reason.
A wry smile stretched across Reynold's lips as he turned to face me, our eyes locking once more.
Hidden behind his facade of calmness, I could clearly discern a mixture of guilt, regret, anguish, anger, and countless other emotions.
With slightly quivering lips, he repeated his earlier statement, "As I said, I know everything. I know how I will die. I know how our entire family will meet its end. I know that the Vampire Monarch will awaken and destroy the whole world if not stopped. I know that the only ones capable of stopping this calamity are the three promised heroes."
"The promised heroes..." I mumbled to myself before turning my gaze back to Reynold. "If you know all of this, then why aren't you taking action to change it?"
If Reynold indeed knew all this, then why did he behave as he did in the novel?
Reynold scoffed. "Not taking action to change it, you say? My son, I can't. I can't alter fate, no matter how hard I've tried. Once I became aware of the world's fate, I made every effort to change it. But all my actions only seemed to contribute to the fulfillment of the prophecies. It was as if I had no free will... I, like any other mortal, am simply a pawn of space, time, and fate."
"So you're saying that the world is destined for doom no matter how hard we try to save it?" I pressed, not willing to accept that there was no way out.
"Only the three prophesied heroes can break free from the chains of fate," Reynold sighed.
I gulped, locking my gaze onto Reynold for a fleeting moment before voicing a hesitant question, "And who exactly are these three promised heroes?"
Reynold wore an amused smile. "You already know the answer to that question, don't you?"
I drew several deep breaths before shaking my head emphatically, exclaiming, "But how does any of this relate to what Mother did to me?! To what you did to me?!"
Reynold released a shaky breath. "I can't tell you that."
"Why?" I pressed, my voice rising in intensity.
"I simply can't tell you, Lucas!" Reynold retorted. There was not a trace of a smile on his face despite the fact that his lips were curled up.
He clenched his jaw momentarily, then eased his furrowed brow as he continued, "You have to trust me... We had no choice but to block your memories. I would change my actions if I could... If only I had a choice..."
Reynold's voice began to falter into a hushed whisper as he went on, "I'm sorry, Lucas. A father's duty is to shield his child from the world's dangers and cruelties. But I failed you... at every step of your life. I couldn't protect you... And I won't be able to in the future either."
Tears welled in his crimson eyes, tracing a path down his cheek as he turned to me, his glistening eyes reflecting my pale face back at me.
"Your path ahead is dire and filled with challenges, Lucas. Yet, you must believe me when I say that only you can walk on it. Only you can stop the apocalypse."
A tremulous breath escaped my quivering lips as I tried to calm my racing heart, biting down on my lower lip.
After a brief silence, I shook my head. "I still need my memories back. If I am the only one who can stop the apocalypse, I must know more about it."
Reynold subtly bobbed his head into a slow nod. He then pointed his gaze toward the marble basin pool in front of us and said, "Drink from it. It's a diluted antidote for the potion that was used to suppress your memories. Just a sip will suffice."
I continued to stare at Reynold for a moment before reluctantly shifting my focus to the marble pool and walking toward it.
As I walked, Reynold continued his long explanation. "Your memories will return gradually. The process can't be instant; otherwise, it could potentially break your mind."
That seemed fair, I thought. If I indeed possessed memories from other timelines then recalling everything instantly could really shatter my mental state.
With that consideration in mind, I knelt by the marble basin. Cupping my hands, I dipped them into the calm, crystal-clear water.
Bringing a handful of water up to my mouth, I greedily drank from my cupped hands. But as I did so, my gaze fell upon the giant wolf skull resting in the center of the pool.
Inside one of its empty eye sockets, I saw several lines of shimmering golden letters etched onto the back of the skull.
I froze as my gaze swept across the golden letters, reading the content written there:
Born in an age consumed by war, bloodshed, and darkness, three brave heroes pledged to return peace, serenity, and light to their strife-ridden world.
The defiant echoes of their brave oath reached the King of Darkness, the Dragon God. The ebony Dragon descended from the skies to burn their hope in the devouring flames of his life-draining inferno.
The Dragon God made sure to obliterate their names and faces, their very existence from the mortal realm. Yet, the spark of hope they had ignited in the hearts of both gods and mortals through their brave oath remained.
From my bloodline shall come a prince, destined to bear the mantle of the Last Hope of Heavens. He is the final chance given to us by the gods – a chance to end the era of eternal darkness.
Suddenly, a bitter taste flooded my mouth, causing a wave of nausea to wash over me, making me retch. My gut churned and my toes curled as an unnerving feeling settled in my heart, making me feel like I might throw up.
But I didn't throw up. Instead, I forced myself to swallow the water of the pool, took a deep to steady breath, and turned to Reynold.
"What is that?" I demanded, pointing at the giant skull of the wolf.
Reynold shrugged. "That's Fefnir. The first Wind Wolf tamed by your great-
grandfather. It was his beast companion—"
Before Reynold could go on, I cut him off. "No, what's written inside it?"
A knowing expression washed over Reynold's face as he took a deep breath. "That is the memory of the oath taken by the three heroes long ago. The oath to dispel the darkness and restore light to the world."
I shook my head in confusion. "Long ago? But the three heroes... No one has made an oath like that right now! And what about this Ebony Dragon? I thought the Vampire Monarch was the threat we needed to watch out for!"
Reynold remained silent for a moment before turning around and walking away with slow steps. "You've taken the antidote. Your memories will begin to return soon. You'll have the answers to these questions on your own, in some time."
