Chapter 212: Cleopatra

Nero prepared to jump from the lounge's balcony and go to the room.

"Uhh… Officiant," Horus called out to Nero.

Annoyed, Nero looked at Horus and asked, "What is it?"

"You are not the officiant of Cthulhu, are you?" Horus questioned in a solemn voice. His eyes were fixated on Nero's face as he waited for the answer.

'Took you long enough to realize that.'

SIGH!

Nero sighed and nodded, "Yes, I am not."

"May I ask who you are and what is your purpose for coming here?"

"I am just a nobody traveler," Nero answered. "And I am looking for my stuff."

Horus moved his gaze from Nero and looked up at the sky.

"So may I assume you have lost something or… someone?" 

"Hmm." Nero hummed in agreement.

Horus took a deep breath and uttered, "So even the strongest has lost something, huh?"

Nero raised his brows and asked with a puzzled look on his face, "What are you trying to say?"

Horus turned to Nero and asked, "Do you remember I told you this kingdom is the capital of this continent, but I am not the king of the continent?"

"Yeah?"

"I… I had a daughter— from my first wife. Twenty years ago, my first wife was killed by a citizen when she was walking in the market after having a tea party with her friends." 

"I was unaware of the incident until the next morning," Horus added.

"How in the hell were you unaware about that?" Nero asked with a disgusted look on his face. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

'How could he not know that his wife hadn't returned?' Nero thought to himself.

"I was only 14 years old at that time. And she was 23," Horus stated. "I married her when I was seven, and I became a father when I was 12."

"Family tradition or something?" Nero wondered.

"Nay. My mother was a prostitute, and I was an illegitimate child of the king," Horus uttered in a solemn voice.

"I got my wings from my father, by the way," he added.

After a brief pause, Horus continued, "When the king got to know about my existence, he made me the crown prince."

"Did he not have any other children? Nero asked with a curious look on his face.

"Apparently, angels can't procreate with mortals; and since my father had angel's blood— although dormant, he—"

"He was able to produce one offspring," Nero completed Horus' sentence.

"He died soon after, and I married my father's wife when I turned seven to continue the monarchy."

"That escalated quickly," Nero remarked.

Horus took a deep breath and uttered in a solemn voice, "The citizen who killed my first wife was my mother."

"Wow! What the hell!" Nero exclaimed in shock. "I didn't expect that."

"Apparently, my mother hated my first wife because she was the reason why my father left my mother." Horus chuckled with a painful expression on his face and said, "I had to make a judgment, to punish my mother for killing my first wife. But I couldn't."

"It wasn't as though I didn't love my first wife, or I favored my mother over her; I was too young and immature to make a judgment. I was afraid that I would make the judgment as a husband or a son rather than as a king."

"What did you do then?" Nero asked with a curious look on his face.

"Nothing," Horus answered. "I didn't get a chance to pass a judgment. The citizens liked my first wife, so to avenge her death, they burned my mother alive."

Nero glanced at Horus' face and thought, 'He was going through so much pain at a young age, huh?'

"So? What made you the way you are today?" Nero asked and added, "So foolish and naive."

"My current wife," Horus answered instantly. "She was there for me when I had no one."

Nero shrugged and asked, "What happened to your daughter?"

"Well…"

Nero furrowed his brows and uttered, "Please don't tell me that your current wife is your daughter."

"What? No!" Horus' refuted. "My daughter is on the other side of the continent, ruling the rest of the kingdoms."

"Oh! I see. So your daughter is trying to take over your throne, huh?"

"Nay." Horus shook his head and uttered, "When she turned 18, she came to me and said. 'Your way of ruling the continent will bring an end to everyone. I am taking over the rest of the continent and make it a fearful and strong continent'."

"She is not wrong." Nero scoffed. "What's the name of your daughter?"

"Her name was Syra, but she changed her name to Cleopatra after she became the queen."

Nero looked at the sky and waited for the sun to rise.

"This night is so long," Nero muttered.

Horus pointed his finger at the mountain far away and asserted, "The first light of the sun falls on the peak on that mountain."

Nero squinted his eyes and asked with a puzzled look on his face, "What's the name of this kingdom?"

"Nekhen," Horus answered.

"Hierakonpolis, right?"

"Umm… that's the ancient name, and not many people know about it," Horus asserted. "How do you know that?"

"Doesn't matter."

Nero placed his hand on his chin and wondered, 'Hierakonpolis was in the east to Olimpo; but now, it's in the north.'

"We will leave for the search of the killers after eating breakfast. Is that okay with you?" Horus asked hesitantly

"Are you sure those killers are in this kingdom?"

"If they hunted a Kraken, then they must have done it from an undiscovered path. So we simply need to follow the path, and we will find the killers."

"If it's that simple, then why do you need my help?" Nero remarked with a question. 

"I need your strength to fight those criminals. I may have wings, but in the end, I am a human." Horus shrugged his shoulders and stated, "I can't fight the people who managed to hunt down a Kraken."

"Fine."

Nero jumped off the balcony and went to his room.