Chapter 29: Horizon (3)

The east of Pangea continent was large. With half of the land being owned by Rosas kingdom, there were still many countries that have survived the turbulence of times. Each of those countries boasts a great number of populace.

When the people of the past have birth too many greats, countries rose and many people died. Wars were the common food back then. There was once a tale of how the deaths exceeded the mark of hundred thousand in every year.

Even though the east is just one fourth of the whole picture, if you look at it another way, it is a great mass of land. If they continued rampaging across the land, invaders may come about from another part of the continent.

The greats who realized this put an end to their strife and focused on the development of their land. The ones who were called the greatest of them formed groups. Each of them supported their own countries and though minimal, also other countries. Some also had their own interests in mind.

With the stabilization of rule, the current east of Pangea took form. When the peace came to be, as fragile as it may look, many people rejoiced. And the ones who held the most power were the groups.

The groups have been called the fraternity, whether they liked to be named as such or not.

There were also rumors of how they were called the guardian deity of the east but it soon died down. The existences called fraternities have been hidden by the shadows of history as they didn't have lands to govern like a nation but with the teachings and techniques passed down from the greats themselves; one could imagine how much war potential they have.

And now, the top three fraternities' leaders have gathered in a round table. It wasn't surprising for them to gather as they, in a sense, are the rulers of the east. However the air in the room where they were gathered was strange.

The first man was a slender man yet his aura was domineering. He looked fragile and meek but he didn't show any openings. He had narrow eyes and a well-featured face. The color of his hair was as ash as they can be and the clothes he was wearing was a simple one with the shade of blue. The man spoke with an aloof expression.

"So? What are we doing here?"

"Woah, that thick face of his is just the same as ever."

Sitting diagonally from the first man was a man of carefree personality. His big and rounded eyes were the complete opposite of the first man's and he had the air of being a pampered rich man's child. His hands were covered by gloves of black.

He put his elbows in the table and his jaws resting on his palm as he continued talking.

"We are here because a certain someone has cooperated with the demands of the church. Do you know who I'm talking about? Do you?"

The one who replied to his question wasn't the slender man but the one sitting diagonally from him. The third person was clearly a woman judging from her voluptuous body. Her hair that was as black as the darkness was touching her waist. Finally, a veil was preventing the two men from seeing her face. As thin as it may be, it looks to be managed by the woman herself.

"Rosas kingdom has decided to abide by the church. Do you understand the meaning of your actions, brat?"

To the east that was full of wars before, the church who throw their weight around wherever they appear was a troublesome existence. Of course, they weren't planning to retaliate directly. They just needed to pretend that they were following their orders.

"Hmph. Just because I'm new here doesn't mean you can play around with me, old lady."

The slender man didn't have an ally here. The reason being was that the fraternity that he leads is new to the spot of the top three. Basically, he literally drove out the other one and took over its position.

And the country that he hails from is the Rosas kingdom, the superpower of the east. He relied on his country to gain his position. The one thing that could be concluded from that fact is that the skills passed down in his fraternity wasn't great enough to be naturally counted as one of the top three.

With him following the orders of the church seriously, the power balance of the trio was beginning to crumble. The other two was concerned about it. The Rosas kingdom that was the largest, the position of the top three and…the cooperation of the church, one man was about to attain it all. If the other two doesn't keep him in check, the east will be entering the warring states period once more.

The second man spoke as if to condemn the slender man's attitude.

"You…don't get cocky with us. If you're counting on the church at the center, you won't be able to survive."

The slender man laughed at his words.

"I didn't climb up in the frats just to survive. I could have done that even if I stayed in the bottom."

The woman interjected between the two.

"Very well. Before we end this farce, I have a question for you, brat of the Rosas."

Perhaps he was intrigued or maybe he wanted to at least answer the question of the head of another fraternity, he answered with a 'what is it?' and he turned his head to look at her way.

"Is…the prophecy of the saint true? Or is it a play by the church?"

The man didn't answer immediately as he brought his hands to his almost-perfect jaws to look as if he was thinking properly.

After a few seconds, the man answered as such.

"It's probably real. Well, the saint is being used but his power is the real deal. I'm not so sure though."

After he spat those words, the woman who asked the question disappeared into thin air. Her chair was vacant after she disappeared but that chair soon turned into dust, piling on top of the ground.

The second man looked at that pile of dust and brought his hands-wearing-gloves together. He spoke to the slender man.

"Don't look down on us so much."

This time, the man prepared to leave. The air swirled around him as if to cover his body and soon, it calmed down with the man nowhere to be seen.

The slender man then followed suit as the thought of the hard times to come passed by in his mind.

****

Darkness. That is what you would call this place. A sun of black light shines in this place and in the center of the room, a man wearing black clothes, adorned with black accessories, was sitting on a black throne.

The man sitting in a black throne while wearing black garments was truly creepy.

The man who had his eyes closed, yawned and the surroundings shook. He, with a bored expression, opened his eyes. He felt something was wrong.

"What could it be?"

He muttered.

As he wondered in delight, the man had an expression of expectations. He lived here without entertainment and nothing to do. One could imagine the boredom looming out of this place.

Soon after, he felt tired. The man was confused. There was no way he would feel tired when he didn't have anything to do at all.

The series of events that made his confusion grow didn't stop there.

Emotions that he haven't felt before has started to emerge, emotions that he had forgotten by the passing of time were starting to resurface and it shook his mind.

Bewildered he may be, he didn't have the time for that. The man felt something was flowing from his hands.

With the eyes that have gotten used to this darkness, he held his arms up and looked at his hands. To be precise, he was looking at the ten fingernails and the moving of something could be felt.

He looked at that something…no, at the liquid that continues to flow with the help of the gravity.

With the darkness that seems to engulf the whole place, he couldn't discern its color but he knew what the identity of the mysterious liquid was.

"Blood!"

The man widened his eyes and once again, his confusion rose. Of course he would be confused. A situation he hadn't expected to happen happened. No one, nothing could injure him in this world of darkness where even the light of the Gods cannot reach let alone the sun.

He wasn't particularly scared or anything. In fact, he looked at it with delight. The sight of his blood flowing and his eyes that were brighter than before, one could tell he was excited. It wasn't a reaction you would expect from a person who was injured.

His confusion has manifested itself as a question.

"Just what is happening?"

The man didn't have any idea as to what was happening and soon, the wounds in his fingernails healed as if it were nothing in the first place. The man didn't particularly do anything about it.

A mystifying event occurred one after another and while it hasn't stopped, the man decided to just brush it off.

"I can't do anything in here after all."

He muttered…as he closed his eyes once more.