24 Gate: Thus the Stomping Begins (2/2)
Inside a large tent measuring 4m wide and long, a man in his fifties wearing light armor is kneeling, praying to an unknown God. He knelt on the middle of the carpeted tent with his hands clasped and deep in prayer. Suddenly, a voice called out to the count. It was benevolent, amused but most importantly, it was casual.
The voice was like a friend's, open and caring. It didn't sound condescending, very much unlike the known gods of Falmart. The voice spoke again, ”Colt, open your eyes.” Following the voice's command out of curiosity, Colt Formal opened his eyes to see a divine beauty before him.
She has friendly violent eyes with an innocent spark to it, long dark brown hair partially tied into an upwards pointing pony tail and an amused smile. Her outfit could only be described as something exotic, nothing in the empire had such a style. She wears a bra made of what seems to be dark blue petals or scales, completely covering her breasts. She wears a crown like ornament made of laurel wreath entwined with some gold.
On her arms are twin golden bracelets of a completely alien design, the count presumed that it is a divine artifact of unparalleled beauty, the envy of any god. On her waist is a golden belt with alien inscriptions holding multiple pieces of cloth together to cover her bottom half. The longest piece reaches her ankle while the shortest reaches only her knees. To complement her divine image, the goddess wears a pair of golden slippers adorned with gems.
From top to bottom, the count could only describe her as a true goddess as her beauty makes any other known god's complete and utter trash in comparison. ”Like what you see, count?” Noticing that he was staring at her, the count bowed and muttered a most humble apology. However, the goddess simply chuckled and said, ”look up, no need to be so sorry. I don't care about meaningless stuff like that.”
”Yes goddess.” The count looked up to face her smiling face and asked, ”Who are you?” The goddess snapped her fingers and everything around them transformed into a landscape of ruin, endless fissures cracked and fire spewed forth. The count was deeply terrified by this scene, especially after hearing a loud roar coming from the distance. Seeing the count starting to sweat, the goddess snapped her finger once more and a utopia appeared.
Green grass beneath them swaying under the calm winds, a city of white in the distance, decorated by nature. Massive metal ships flew in the distance, patrolling the clear blue skies. The count heard faint noises of children laughing and playing together. The count was amazed and moved by this beautiful vision of utopia.
”Who are you?” The realm around them transforms back into the tent and once it does, the goddess squatted down until their eyes were at the same level. ”I am Lauria, Goddess of Destruction. What you have just witnessed is the two futures of Falmart. One is a future of ruin where Falmart becomes a realm of fire and brimstone, ruled by the great demons from afar. The other future is one where the demons destroy the empire and the tyrannical gods of this world, uniting the people of Falmart into forming the beautiful utopia you witnessed.”
”Great goddess, why are you showing me such divine vision? I am unworthy of such a prophecy.” Lauria smiled, the humility of humans only appear once they meet beings beyond their comprehension. An instinct that she admits is useful for survival but makes it hard to differentiate true followers from those who simply fear the great unknown. The goddess stands up, but her eyes are still locked at the kneeling count.
”You will be my Messiah, my anointed one to save this world. Your survival matters and your actions shall bring unity to this world. That's why I need you to leave and turn back, head south and you will find people in need. Protect them in my name and they shall aid you in your great mission.”
The count is torn. On one hand, this mission will save the demi humans and bring an era of peace through the empire's destruction. However, the army would report his desertion alongside his forces and would hunt him down and revoke his title. Without it, he would surely die and fail in accomplishing his mission of peace. Not to mention, his family and clan would be massacred to.
As a count, he knew very well the cruelty of the empire to those who reject them or leave them. He doesn't want to see his descendants slaughtered by empire soldiers just because he escaped south. He hoped that the goddess is caring enough to bring him aid instead of simply watching from the sidelines and punishing him for failing. Gods are known to be very petty, so it's quite an impossible hope he is holding to.
The goddess sensed his dilemma, his desertion would bring death and destruction to his family. If he doesn't desert, the world would be scorched and turned into a nesting ground for the demons that the goddess Hardy brought over from the gate on Alnus Hill. To clear his doubts, the goddess touched his forehead. The power of destruction flowed into him, clearing him of impurities and changing his structure on a genetic level.
Colt Formal wound himself returning to his youth. The strength of his prime returned to him, alongside something else, something that is growing in him. Colt looked at his hands, no longer wrinkled but the experience in them remained. He touched his face, it was smooth, just like in his youth. The goddess manifested a mirror and gave it to him.
The count took a good look at his new appearance and was shocked. Staring back at him is a handsome man in his twenties with blue eyes and short cropped ivy league orange hair. The count looked like he was in his prime, but the different hairstyle made him more handsome than his prime. His mouth hung open, finding it hard to understand that his youth had returned to him.
”I'm a benevolent goddess. I'm not gonna let my followers embark in a hard ass mission and not get any help. Especially when it's about saving a world and those who dwell on it. Speaking of which, I have one more thing to gift you.” The goddess manifested a pitch black spear measuring 1.7m long. Its tip radiated power, power that can slay even the immortal so called gods of this world.
He handed it to the count and said, ”This is the Spear of True Death. Anything struck by the spear cannot regenerate, it is something that can be used to kill even gods.” The count was even more bewildered, a goddess than handed him a weapon to kill other gods. 'How can she trust anyone with such a weapon?' He thought. ”Note that the spear cannot harm me or the demons as they have naturally developed immunity to all ailments.”
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'Still, such a weapon is too great. I hope that I can keep myself from succumbing to power hunger.' The count saw it as a test from his new goddess that such a weapon is entrusted to him. With a weapon that can kill even gods, an oppressive tyrant is nothing before him. Not to mention, his new appearance would make it impossible for anyone to recognize him else than someone who had seen him in his youth.
The goddess motioned him to stand up and spoke, ”With this spear and your eternal youth, you shall conquer Falmart in my name and save its people from their complete destruction. Now go, save this world in the name of Lauria, the Goddess of Destruction.” The goddess' form dissipates into purple butterflies that proceeds to slam into the ground, stopping the flow of time for everyone but her chosen in this camp.
Gathering his most loyal and like minded followers, Colt Formal and 100 men left the camp in the cover of darkness, heading south into the prophesied land. After they have left for an hour, the temporal pause ended and the world went on without a notice of what happened. Even the gods of this world are not aware of the one hour paused that almost all beings experienced. This marks the beginning of the Church of Destruction.
18 hours later, the soldiers have gathered up in Alnus Hill, ready to charge into a new world for them to conquer. Camps are set up and the first half of the army enters formation. Trolls and armored soldiers are in the front while archers and mages are at the back. Wyvern riders are placed everywhere but are more concentrated above the ranged combatants, providing them with extra defense from above.
Soon, the first half of the army entered the gate and into Kashrya. The first thing the army felt when they exited the gate is the gray purplish goo on the ground. They looked up to see a red sky and ominous clouds floating within it. Then, they noticed the scariest and last thing they will ever see.