The Regression Of A Grand Mercenary - 106 - War Never Changes

For unquestionable strength, for inevitable power, one must sacrifice a price so high, it could weigh the account for a life. And in a world as troubling as this where sin occurs like falling rain, the account for life is a cheap price to give…

No matter if it’s a son’s soul, a father’s soul, the soul of a knight, the soul of a noble, or the soul of the king himself…all souls are made for the same weight and price.

One soul…one life…one in all.

But yet its value is still high in the eyes of its maker…God in all his glory.

So for a price that comes in borrowing the powers of an artifact such as the one that is found floating above the sea, with eyes over all its six sides, the price for its power in return is the life of those willing to bestow it.

So, when the dice was rolled upon the hands of the man who threw caution to his soul, he had already given his life…not for some grand gesture, but simply for the grand reverence of exchanging his life for power beyond his grasp.

When the dice rolled, his life was lost…simple as that.

And in exchange, the side of that dice turned to a number that was as ever so thrilling, at the last grasp of his view, he saw a flashing glow of black and gold fall to the side of the eye which showed a single pupil.

[Roll – ONE]

And from it, that power glistened in reverence…a flashing thunderous light of black and gold.

It showed an ever so dominating power that one could not believe such a power exist in human touch…in human capability!

And it attacked.

It attacked a target that showed an expression of ignorance towards such power.

Wearing his mask, the leader tried raising his hand to manifest a barrier as quick as he could realize, and when he did, he thought he could grasp a chance of defending himself…

But when that light struck him in his center chest, he realized that nothing could stop such power.

It was as if a God’s gaze has fell straight through him…declining his defense, his effort…his ever so tedious arrogance as a human being.

And from it, he soon lost consciousness. Dominant in every way, he feared for  what this power could bring to a human’s standing in their survival against the coming ages of war.

***

The name of this artifact was simple.

It was called The Six Sides of Judgement

An artifact made by a genius demonic worshiper to create an unbending tool for creating chaos and bestowing victory upon its user.

The tool of its use has two ends. For one end, the one who holds the power to create a sense of judgement. And each side of its face, certain powers await under the control of the user.

Powers that no mortal being can ever hold…

The name of this end of tool is ironically called Judgement.

The price however for its immense power lies on the other end of its function. The controller, namely, the Red Dice itself.

This dice in particular holds an immense curse upon the user.

Once it is held, it is bound to that user by all means of courtesy. No matter how much he denies Its power, it holds over his soul for the end of time…at least until the user chooses to use the dice in reverence to Judgement himself.

When the Red Dice falls on its number, its power erupts and attacks those of targeted by the user.

And today…on this very day, it was used for the very first time by these men in black robes…

And simply put, their targets were none other than the righteous group that stands before them and their cause.

So for whatever price that may come, this mysterious group will sacrifice anything all for the worship of victory against its enemies.

But sadly, their victories rely solely on the narrative of their luck.

Because for each side of judgemment, different sources of powers are bestowed…but not each one is of equal authority and grandeur.

Whatever side it falls to on the dice, it is there that they would pin their hopes for victory.

And Velorria knew this well…

***

***Velorria’s POV***

I remember it as clear as day…

This very day itself caused something in my family to be turned towards ruin.

This festival…it should have been a time for celebration, a time to yell about the glory of our Kingdom’s glory for another great harvest.

But instead, before it could even go halfway through…news came about to my ears.

My elder sister died.

Princess Valorie Kind…

Known for her strength and kindness, she took to the streets and made her name known not as a noble but as a saint in cheers.

I don’t know how it happened…but one day, a sack was dragged along the streets by a donkey who had its skin peeled off… blood spilled for each step the donkey took, and the busy streets of our festival turned from cheers to chaos.

When they captured the donkey and ended its suffering, only then did they opened the sack and revealed the horrid sight of my sister.

It was a gruesome sight…a sight so unbecoming of nobility, it tarnished her good name in a day.

Being known as Knightly saint, she came dead by the donkey…and she was called a tragic sight for the eyes.

My beautiful sister…dragged and dead.

She wasn’t injured in anyway that seemed to resemble a physical attack…no, instead the first thing I noticed was how gray her skin was…almost as if she had been inflicted with some kind of disease.

It was at this time that the entire festival was halted.

Everything came to a stop simply by the words of my father.

And quickly then, an investigation was made not just to the capital, but to the entire rule of the kingdom.

For three weeks, every reason of power and skill was made to investigate this murder.

And through all the chaos, one question could not be answered…

It was a great sign of doubt.

The disappearance of Prince Ven himself. It was said that during the festival, they were both seen leaving the scene together in almost a secretive manner.

No one knew then but both of them had a connection towards a certain group, known now as the Righteous group. Not even my father knew of their activities towards stopping the demonic worshipers. But because of our ignorance back then, Prince Ven was the first to be suspected of being the person responsible for my sister’s death.

It was only after tthree months later did my brother return…but surprisingly, he returned with a guilty expression…and a body that could barely stand on its own. For his legs were cut off, and his hands were fingerless.

His entire essence as the black sheep of the family was lost…all he showed was an expression of guilt and anger.

It was as if he accepted the fact that he caused our sister’s death.

And no one could speak because of it.

Not even my father who suspected him the most of his daughter’s murders, could see that beyond his own acceptance of his guilt, my father saw the innocence of a man willing to take revenge.

And because of that, he wasn’t punished by something that goes against his desire…instead, my father banished him out of the family name and into the streets. And from that banishment, he gave a smile so terrifying, it made me and my family shiver in fear.

From then on, we never really heard much of my brother…and our family started to change for the worse.

For whatever reason it was, our family became distant…all so much to a point that it changed my views in life.

Our distance from one another caused a rift between us that no longer made us a family outside of name only. For what was left of our love for one another, turned into a dark void. It was here that we took actions against one another that made none of us consider the morality behind it.

My father became mad and silent, my mother fell into depression and silence.

My older brother, the perfect son craved the throne so much, it turned him almost as mad as a demon.

My second oldest brother was turned mad with the wagings of war. But not in a way that made him human…he was almost a puppet controlled by my eldest sister who was manipulating the him from the shadows.

My eldest sister, despite her faithful love for the church, she became something that was ruled by the mindset of a demonic force. It in turn made her a puppet controlling a puppet that was my brother. It was only after war against the demons did she regain her sanity…

And for my third oldest brother, Venice, he disappeared. He was the most neutral family I had…he did not change, nor did he show support for any faction. He simply lived his life as a merchant outside of my family’s reach. Out of everyone, his sanity remained close to common as any would call it.

As for me, I did what I could to serve my family to gain their affection, one way or the other. I did so much dirty work, it was here that I was able to meet the love of my life, Thill…during that time, we worked together to eliminate any crossing immigrants and spies from the neighboring countries. We burned villages together, killed innocent bystanders together.

Me and Thill became friends that way.

So much changed has happened to my family, for the worse…and all of it was because of our sister’s death.

Everything stayed dark and void-like until a few years later when the demonic wars finally started. Our banished brother, Ven and Amelia Daklis took arms and waged a war against the demons…

And they won…

It was only after their victory that Ven revealed the truth behind our sister’s death.

And that truth being this very incident today…

It was because of that artifact named the six sides of judgement that our sister was killed and our brother was taken from him his limbs.

Now, in a second chance of my life, I will do what must be done to protect my family…

***

Using the crystal ball, Valorie Kind flew close to the men who used the dice for their control, but at the moment she got close, she quickly noticed something odd about those robed-men.

“!?”

One was already dead. As if his entire blood and soul had been leeched off his body.

Yet despite that scene, it did not change the entire situation. Whatever the cause was, she only had one objective in mind. To destroy the barrier and stop those men as fast as she could.

Although she did not understand why and how that artifact was used to attack her brother, she made a saintly brave face and moved against her fears.

It was risky, and Velorria knew this all too well.

That is why she had to rely on the sole man capable of ending it.

His arrival may have been a surprise, but seeing him here of all places, it was nothing but the mere realization of what a miracle is defined as.

Thill Cicial’s very presence made it clear that they would never lose.

***

Out far from the sight a man can comprehend, Thill Cicial waas found ever so stagnant in the wind…

He sighed heavily, and without his weapon, he only stared ever so calmly…

Work needed to be done and made…

Even without pay, as a man of his values, he knew that any sort of pay wasn’t really necessary.

Simply call it a good sense of will.

“…It should be starting any moment now.” he said as he looks down below him.

At that realization, he began his move.

He stretched out his arms open for the world to wonder…and from it, he only acted upon his will…more specifically, the will to move the winds.

At the moment he did, he smirked.

He who controls the air…controls life.

If he wanted to, he could simply take away the breathe made by man forcefully and take his life away at the snap of his fingers. The very nature of his understanding towards the wind was that of a God’s level…

And through his growth and repetition, he knows exactly what he was capable of.

“Now then…let’s get this going.”

At his will, he manifested the winds to go forward to six directions. To gether them like balls…to force them to be joined like family…to unite them into a large force of matter…

And before long…

Six winds in the shape of spheres flew before him.

Their sizes didn’t vary. All took the same size with the same strength, one that was exactly the size of a small island. If one hand were to touch those very winds at that moment, they would immediately be shredded into dust.

And the size alone, it could easily dominate an entire area of a small ducal house.

At that moment, he pulled out the six nail-artifacts that were given to him by Veloria. These items were the only ones capable of stopping an item…without ever destroying it. Its size was as big as his pinky…nothing too endearing.

Currently, with Thill’s power, he could potentially destroy the artifact…but that would risk him his death. After all, the artifact before him is one capable of bringing about an inevitable death.

“I really don’t want to get meddled into this fight…so whatever, lets settle this for now and leave as soon as I can.” he said.

And with that, he manipulated the winds and caused to them fly towards the spheres of winds he too made.

For each sphere of wind the size of a castle, one nail was placed into the middle of it.

At that moment, when all was placed perfectly aligned to their designated target…

He made no hesitation and fired those nails.

The moment he did, the spheres of wind on his control compressed to a point that it began to change color. From a transparent view of nothingness, to that of the foggy nature of gathered compressed air capable of tearing limbs into dust, a matter of power was simply at the tip of his thoughts and will.

At the snap of his finger, the initiated the attack.

At one moment, silence devoured the entire skies…then, one after the other, at a perfect united motion, those nails were fired at great speeds…its speed whistled against the airy path and without motion of an understanding, speed near light came about.

Speed that could not be measured by a common eye.

And before he could even blink, those nails struck the target.

All from six sides…all at the same time…all at the force that could pierce the heavens.

One moment the six sides of judgement was found perfectly fine…the next, each side was stabbed by the nails, and as such…it went according to Velorria’s intentions. The sizes of those nails were as small as any would find hammered in a home’s pillar…yet because of the speed applied when fired, the power brought about from its crashing was devastating.

It was a direct plan that didn’t need no complications…nor any complexities…

It was only needed that those nails strike the sides all at perfect unison and at incredible piercing prowess.

At that moment, Thill watched as one event folded to the next.

***

Using the artifact that was given to her by her little sister, Valorie Kind attacked the three remaining robed men inside the barrier.

Thinking that she might have a chance, she didn’t hesitate to attack…

But before she could approach, the dice had already been casted.

And by coincidence…

It struck the same place again.

[Roll – ONE]

And from it, this attracted the ability to use the same attack from before which afflicted the first victim, the prince.

And at the same time, it devoured the life force of the very man who threw the dice.

At that moment, a laser was fired her way and she saw her emminent death approaching…but right before it could.

A sound erupted from afar…as if air itself compressed into a single point and imploded.

And right as the laser was about to strike her, something happened to the giant artifact in the sky.

It was stuck by an ammunition of mysterious origins.

And before the laser could reach her, it dissipated into the air. Vanishing as if it never occurred.

Using this chance, she pulled through her fear of death and attacked those men. This time, she could waste any chance in letting them escape.

***

At the side, on the floor, Elgor and Jenny were fighting the goat man with all their all.

At every turn, Jenny provided Elgor with the support of dozens of small puppets running about like ants. Coordinated and with killing intent.

It didn’t take long before the goat man was overwhelmed and they defeated it. But right as they did, the artifact was also attacked by Thill.

***

While near the cliffside where Amelia was healing the youngest prince, she turned to see Velorria looking up the sky with a smile on her face.

From that moment, she nodded as she witnessed Thill make about his attack.

And from then on, victory was assured to them.

One after the other, victory was claimed.

In the end, Valorie captured those men, Elgor and Jenny defeated the goat man and Amelia healed the prince. It took a while, but after defeating the artifact, its influence over the injuries inflicted on the prince over all disappeared and Amelia could focus on healing him fully with her saintly gifts.

As all was settling about, Silence grew in the group…

After all, their prince was still unconscious despite being healed and Thill landed simply before them with his indifferent gaze.

Without hesitation, he got close to the prince and kicked him where his injuries lay.

*Kick!*

“Wake up.” he said without respect for royal blood.

“!!” all the people who saw his display for disrespect were shocked.

Who could kick a prince who was found lying unconscious after having his chest pierced through by light.

Yet they could not argue…after all, the presence Thill brought in that area alone was suffocating. He proved himself to be more than just some warrior.

He was outside of it’s simple definition.

“Urgh…Damn it!” said the prince as he suddenly gave breath and word.

When turning to his waking nature, Thill spoke straightforward without hiding intent.

“I proved myself enough…but seeing the development of this fight, I was reminded of who the enemy is now.”

R-really now? You know who these people are?” asked the prince.

“Yes…I no longer need your information…I no longer need your help. So I’ll be taking my leave.”

“W-wait! Are you certain that these men are the same ones who attacked the Amber family?!”

“…” but to his question, silence only ever arised.

And to it, he turned to Jenny with a doubtful expression.

“Open a way…I want to leave this palce already.” he said to her.

In this otherworldly domain, by his voice alone…Jenny had no choice but to obey. his very presence demanded it.

so without claim for anything, using her access to this domain, she opened a way out for him to leave. and once it did, he left without saying much to anything.

*****************************

Authors note…

I’m sorry…I really am. But after this chapter, i wont be writing anymore for this story. it will be discontinued and i will be writing a new chapter for a new character…

I lost the plot…the ideas have vanished, and this mostly points to the fact that I am very…very depressed.

I’m near to a point of hanging myself…

And the pressure of wanting to continue this story when my mind is at its limits frightens me.

each day i think back ot this story….and think of myself as a coward and as a weakling for not being about to write more…

but humans are weak by nature. i am weak both at heart and mind….

I…I am a coward through and through.

So i am sorry…Thill Cicial, my overpowering Mercenary King, I am sorry that i have to let you go.

In my heart, i want ot continue, but in my current state, i am slowly dying because of the fact that i could never fully understand my weakness.

I dream too much and i can barely carry them through this narrow tightrope I’m currently walking in.

and in the end…I fell.

I’m sorry.

I hope you can forgive me.

but take note of the fact that in the end,

Thill Cicial and Evelyn did marry at the age of twenty…

They both had three healthy children together.

The eldest son learned to be a scholarly mage who grew up to teach the children of their small fether village.

The middle son, grew to admire Thill and his strength for the sword.  In the future, he joined the empire as a knight and fought along for the king.

The third daughter became the heir to their fortune, where she grew to marry a simple blacksmith who impressed her by crafting a beautiful sword in her very image.

in their small family, in the small fether village, it was peaceful…and it was only peaceful because Thill ruled with strength.

they could not ask for anything more.

Both Thill and Evelyn died of old age together…they died in each other’s arms.

it was as if fate pulled their life about all at the same time and brought them to peace.

it was God’s gift to Thill’s humble sencerity.

THE END.