Divine Apostasy Book 7 - Chapter 87

Chapter 87

“It’s a marble statue,” Ruwen said. “It’s so beautiful it gives you a buff called Serenity. That’s why I thought of this when Nymthus said it.”

Echo turned to Nymthus. “Do you feel anything when you look at this?”

Nymthus nodded. She tried to speak but couldn’t. She swallowed hard and managed one word. “Hope.”

“And you?” Echo asked Ruwen.

“It’s beautiful, but I’m no art guy,” Ruwen said. “It gives me a buff called Serenity which adds five points to my Wisdom and increases all my Resistances by ten percent. Its quality is legendary however, which is one of the reasons I didn’t want to destroy it when Valora went a little crazy.”

“I remember this,” Sift said. “Do you still have her arm?”

Echo and Nymthus both turned to Ruwen, horror on their faces.

“It is a long and complicated story,” Ruwen said. “And I gave the arm back the next time I saw her.”

That “time” had been during the fight for New Eiru as Ruwen ran for the deep hole Uru’s Third Temple had been dropped into. Valora, the Naktos Stone Carver had seen him and went into a rage. He had launched her arm from his Void Band like a spear, which he felt bad about. She had demanded he destroy the sculpture he’d found in the Dark Portal he’d taken from her.

“Anyway,” Ruwen continued. “I’m sure she has a brand-new arm by now. Can we go back to what this is please.”

“I need more details,” Echo said. “Where did you get it?”

Ruwen bit his lip, as sharing information with Echo seemed dangerous, but his curiosity had already ignited. “Naktos had tunneling crews digging under Uru’s Temple. One of those Stone Carvers made this. And then I found it in her Inventory when I was forced to cut off her arm.”

Echo pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head.

“What?” Ruwen asked.

“How can one person cause so much trouble?” Echo asked. She pointed at the sculpture. “Guess who commissioned that and who failed to provide it.”

“I don’t like where this is headed,” Ruwen said. “Since she was a servant of Naktos, I’m guessing he is the one who failed to deliver it.”

Echo nodded.

“And since I saw demons trying to break through Uru’s Third Temple right before I launched it into the sky, I’m guessing your father wanted it.”

“Ugh,” Echo screamed. “We have to make some kind of Clan oath or some binding to prevent me from revealing I know about this.”

“What is it?” Nymthus asked.

Echo pointed at the sculpture. “Some things are so perfect they capture the very essence of the items they mirror. Items like this are so rare, legendary, doesn’t do them justice.”

“Essence like what Spirit is made from?” Ruwen asked.

“No,” Echo replied. “Not at all like that. Abstract things, like the feeling of sunlight, or the smell of rain, or the freedom of a cloud.”

“How can it help Nymthus?” Ruwen asked.

“That is a level zero Artifact,” Echo said. “Its perfection has allowed it to absorb things like sun, stone, and cloud essence, but it can just as easily absorb things like faith and hope. That’s a big deal by itself, but an Artifact’s real power is that it can mix and amplify these essences, returning them as buffs. Sometimes permanent buffs. Like you see it once, and it changes you forever. Gods covet them. And my dad commissioned this exact one for a world he wants to control. This would have made it trivial. He will lose his mind if he knows you took this from him.”

“But if Nymthus takes this,” Ruwen said. “Wont your dad go steal it once Nymthus shows it off?”

“It’s only level zero,” Echo said. “If Nymthus takes this and spends a few weeks meditating and praying near it, she will bind the Artifact to herself, and limit the Artifact’s power to the things she cares about. I assure you, Nymthus and my father have nothing in common. This will become useless to him.”

“It looks fragile,” Sift said. “Can’t someone just come by and break it?”

“In its current state, yes,” Echo said. “As soon as Nymthus increases its level from zero to one, it is almost indestructible. Artifacts are symbols that generate great power. It was a massive blow to my father’s plans when Naktos lost this sculpture. I find it interesting the creator wanted you to destroy it. Perhaps she learned its ultimate destination.”

“A symbol is what we need,” Nymthus said. “Only hope will see us to victory. But I cannot accept something so valuable.”

“I have a quest to return this to the sculptor,” Ruwen said, “but after all the damage I caused, I—” He paused as his mouth went dry and he lost his voice. He started again. “If this can help in any way, I want you to have it. I will find the sculptor and explain what I did.”

Nymthus shook her head.

“Nymthus, I am begging you,” Ruwen whispered. “There is a hole in my heart, and I don’t know if I’ll ever recover from today. The debt I owe your people pales in comparison to giving you this sculpture. Please, please, take it.”

After five seconds, Nymthus gave a small nod, and Ruwen sighed in relief. She removed her black belt and ran her fingers down the side, opening the dimensional storage along its entire length. She stepped over her belt and grasped the nine-hundred-pound marble sculpture, easily moving it to the belt. In moments, the storage opening closed, and she tied the belt around her waist.

Nymthus bowed to Ruwen and he returned it.

“We need a secrecy oath,” Echo said.

“I’m good at these,” Sift said. “Gather around.” He placed a hand in the center between them.

Ruwen placed his hand on Sift’s, and Nymthus rested hers gently on Ruwen’s. Echo’s small hand came last.

Sift cleared his throat. “Okay, so, this is a secrecy oath—”

“Are you just copying what I said?” Echo asked.

“No,” Sift said. He started again. “This is an oath of secrecy.”

Echo rolled her eyes. “This is a bad idea.”

“No,” Sift said. “Wait. Give me a second.” Sift closed his eyes and five uncomfortable seconds passed, then, he opened his eyes, cleared his throat, and spoke. “In the last grove of our fallen Brothers and Sisters, who’s blood soaks this desecrated land, we four, witnesses to tragedy, heartbroken by fate, faithfully steadfast, affirm and swear this oath of secrecy, to not communicate in any fashion the whereabouts of the Legendary Artifact safeguarded by Nymthus of the Bamboo Viper Clan. As Step Masters, we guard our bodies, let this expertise now protect our thoughts and memories. We four, the last of our class, Brothers and Sisters of the Bamboo Viper Clan, so swear.”

Sift’s hand glowed with white soul energy, causing the blood-soaked hand of Nymthus to radiate a deep red color. A ball of warmth in the middle of Ruwen’s chest expanded and flowed down his right arm. Gold light surrounded his hand. Ruwen felt the surge of Spirit from Echo, and it spilled out her palm, surrounding all their hands.

Ruwen’s skin flushed, and he shivered. The others did as well. What felt like lightning passed through their hands, and for a moment he felt dizzy. A notification appeared and he opened it.

Thrum!

You have accepted a Celestial Oath…

We Four

You have vowed to not disclose the location or stewardship of the Legendary Artifact, Clouds Embracing the Sun. This oath, bound with the original forces of soul, blood, divinity, and spirit, has transcended the heavens. No power above or below can breach the Celestial Vault holding these memories.

Reward: Unarmed Combat level added to Mind Resistance.

Reward: Grove of Four – mental grove of bamboo, hiding memories and thoughts from intruders. Trespassers take Unarmed Combat level damage per second from the vipers inhabiting the grove.

Reward: Celestial Vault – an unassailable mental refuge capable of holding other memories for a number of seconds equal to Unarmed Combat level.

Restriction: Physically and mentally unable to discuss this topic or oath with anyone other than the original four oath takers.

Warning!

This is a soul binding and bridges death.

“Wow,” Echo said as she pulled her hand back. Her body trembled with another shiver. “That was okay.”

“Thanks,” Sift replied.

Overlord, Ruwen asked. Do you know what that gold energy was?

Uruziel added a bit of her Divine energy to show her sympathy.

Tell her thank you. None of them deserved to die.

Nymthus hugged Sift for a few seconds, and when she let go, Ruwen gave Sift a nod. “Great job, buddy. It sounded perfect, and you expanded your vocabulary.”

Sift shook his head. “It’s this armor. I can’t stop thinking all the time, and it’s driving me crazy.” Sift pressed the Emblem of Dominion and Inklord Wrap into Ruwen’s hand. “You can have your job back.”

Ruwen placed the paper bracelet around his right wrist and returned the Emblem of Dominion to his Inventory. It appeared Sift hadn’t enjoyed the extra fifty points of Intelligence the armor provided, but it had created an excellent oath.

Ruwen explained to Nymthus what the oath provided her since she didn’t get notifications. He didn’t know how detailed Sift’s were either, or if Echo got them, so Ruwen did it for their benefit as well.

The oath had turned into something miraculous. The benefits awed Ruwen, and he marveled at what the four combined powers had created.

They all faced the bodies again.

“How will we get them back?” Nymthus whispered.

“I’ll handle that,” Ruwen replied in the same soft tone.

The four of them stood silently, their clothes and feet covered in blood, each lost in their own thoughts.

The enormity of the loss struck Ruwen again. His reluctance to kill had cost the lives of twenty-nine of his friends and classmates. Regardless of what Nymthus said, he knew the truth. The reasons for not killing Lalquinrial’s Aspects were naïve and foolish. They were the ideals of a sixteen-year-old, sheltered his whole life from the realities and brutality of war.

He needed to change.

“I’m sorry,” Ruwen whispered the useless phrase yet again.

The misery and despair seeped into every part of Ruwen’s body. Anguish smothered him, and his thoughts crystalized into a single realization. If change didn’t come from this, then it made these deaths even more senseless.

Ruwen didn’t need to change. He would change.

A part of Ruwen died. The happy, second-chance optimism of everything will turn out fine, had crashed into the reality of the Universe.

Now Ruwen knew, at least in part, what he felt so sorry about. It had taken the deaths of all these people for him to see an issue he could have addressed without such a catastrophic event.

“I’ll change,” Ruwen whispered to the dead.

Silence descended again as they each dealt with the crushing loss of their classmates.

“We should go,” Echo said. “There are safer places for this.”

Everyone nodded. Nymthus, forcing herself forward as if she battled a fierce wind, stepped in front of the first body. “Prythus, leader of Rung Four, Bamboo Viper Master, loving father and husband. I will cherish your memories of skipping stones on the south beach of Dreaming Lake. Seventeen perfect circles, spreading outward, their rings combining until the lake calmed and reclaimed the stillness for itself. Seventeen, a record that will live on among our people. Goodbye Prythus, know your niece and nephew will live safely with me. I will miss you.”

Nymthus placed her open palm on top of her right fist and bowed deeply, holding it for five seconds. She stepped to the next body and Sift, then Echo, repeated the bows.

Ruwen stepped in front of Prythus and mirrored their bows. He opened his Void Band and as he passed it over the body, he whispered. “May the grove shelter you and the nest keep you warm. Farewell my brother.”

They repeated this twenty-eight more times. Nymthus had a memory for every person, and her attention to detail reflected how much she cared about her classmates. She had that rare ability to see and capture the essence of a person. All of them laughed and cried as she honored each of her Brothers and Sisters.

Then it was done, and only the four of them remained.

“That was beautiful, Nymthus,” Ruwen said.

“Thank you,” Sift whispered.

“You will make a superb leader,” Echo said.

Nymthus shook her head. “I’m no leader.”

Echo placed a hand on the arm of Nymthus. “You are. And you will be again.”

Ruwen considered the irony of the Universe. That the daughter of the god that spearheaded the invasion that plagued the world of Nymthus, would show support for the only person left with the skill and tools to stop it.

Nymthus held out the Fastidious dagger and Ruwen shook his head. “Keep it. It is a fine blade and will serve you well.”

Nymthus protested and Ruwen whispered. “Please.”

“Thank you,” Nymthus said shyly. “I quite like it.”

Ruwen felt wrung out emotionally, almost numb. The guilt and loss remained, but his ability to process the pain had reached its limit. He guessed it would take a long time to get through it all, assuming he ever could.

Ruwen strode over to the tunnel entrance where Overlord’s Fallen Hero had died and picked up the portal chalk. He walked to the stone and brushed the dried blessed paste off the rock. He drew the gate runes for the Masters’ Village.

The time had come to inform the Bamboo Viper Clan of the tragedy, along with who bore the responsibility.