Chapter 232 The Nomad and The Divine I

[“Oh? You’d like to know about “him”? Well, that’s a long story with many twists and turns, though I do not mind talking about it. After all, I doubt there are more than a handful of beings throughout history with a more fantastical life than him. There are many tales of him told throughout Arcadius. Fables, documents, songs sung by bards, and even sages far too old for any to take their words as anything but weathered lunacy. However, though he may be known by many names: “Godslayer”, “Bedrue”, “Khan”, “Benjamin”–all names acquired by hundreds of years of renowned feats, it all refers to one man.”]

Atop a mountain that surpassed the height of clouds, there was a colossal, stone bridge that stretched from the daunting summit to the next of a neighboring mountain. It was steeped in the primordial breath of the world’s past cloak, a place in which a mere man would find their end in trying to climb the impossibly tall, arduous landmark.

Yet, across the bridge that looked down on the silent clouds, a man walked. He wore a tattered, dirtied cloak that was once white, now old and worn to a dark brown as it fluttered in the high-altitude winds.

“–” The figure was silent as he trudged forward.

It wasn’t natural weather that occurred throughout the length of the cracked, swaying bridge of arhaic stone, but a supernatural barrier in itself, meant to wane those who dared cross its path and thin out visitors.

This wind howled like a bellowing warning, rumbling the stone steps that the man walked on and violently swingers the bridge itself side-to-side, though none of it made the enigmatic man flinch.

The further he traversed the lengthy bridge, which stretched on for leagues across the roaring skies, the more intense the weather became as soon clouds began to swirl around the structure.

Not a single step the man took was disturbed; on his path, he was unimpeded as he traversed the roaring thunder and bolts of lightning that nipped at the bridge.

To the man who crossed the mythical bridge, it was nothing more than theatrics; the barking of a dog that would not bite.

“–“

Stopping at the end of the stone bridge, the summit of the ominous mountain was reached: gates of quartz stood before a valley carved atop the colossal structure of natural rock, gated by clouds.

In that instant, the blade wielded in Bastian’s grip, lacking in special glamor, shined with a golden radiance for a moment, slicing through the assault of light.

“You’re Dorado, right? I’ve met you before. You know I am not an enemy of your lord–stand down,” Bastian demanded, holding his sword to the side as its golden glow vanished.

The pale-skinned, chromatic eyed man lowered from his levitating state as he landed on the ground across from Bastian, narrowing his gaze on the visitor.

“I know well who you are, Seraphheart. It is because of that, I must eliminate you–here and now, as you have been deemed a threat to balance,” Dorado said, summoning an ethereal blade into his grip.

Bastian sighed as his expression remained unfazed, “...Then so be it. I was hoping things would go smoothly, but this wasn’t exactly unaccounted for, either. You lot tend to be difficult.”

Manifesting from a brief flash of golden light, bringing forth a divine warmth, Bastian conjured gold-and-silver gauntlets around his arms, etched with lavish grooves. Though it only covered from his hands to his forearms, the gauntlets provided a powerful aura felt through a sublime warmth, radiating around the bearded nomad.

[Seraphheart System Activated]

[Current Stage: 1/10 | Holy Soldier]

Just as he set his focused gaze forward, the silver-haired Sentinel vanished in a blur before instantaneously reappearing before the man, already lashing his light-forged blade forward.

It was all perceived by Bastian, who blocked the strike and repelled the Sentinel, initiating a clash of mystical blades as the bright, white light wielded by Dorado collided with the golden-clad sword in Bastian’s grip.

As Dorado flipped back, he swiped his light-formed weapon through the air, summoning countless arrays of oppressive energy that cleanly burned through the air into a maze of lasers, surrounding Bastian in an instant.