Chương 7: Echoes of the Thirteenth

"What in Elandris' name?" Anadis breathed. Dense storm clouds formed and rolled overhead as the wind lashed through the foliage. It was sharp and very sudden. The rain thickened so much that he could barely keep his eyes open as it thundered through the forest, the ground bursting where lightning hit. Anadis felt the uneasiness stirring inside him, then the loudest thunder he had ever heard in his life resounded through the sky, vibrating inside his bones.

His jaw dropped as he stared upward at all the lightning traveling through the darkened, churning clouds, as if they were fish in an ocean. Then another booming thunder reverberated, and a light nearly blinded him as the sky shattered into a web of cracks. No, but seriously, what is happening up there?! Something emerged from the cracks. A star? No… a figure, plummeting like a comet from the darkened sky. A sapphire flare wrapped around the figure's body, bending gravity itself.

It crashed, and the atmosphere buckled under the impact, sending a shockwave rippling through the ravine and causing the ground to quake in its wake. The trees convulsed, and the river surged over its banks. The force sent Anadis stumbling backward, nearly landing on his butt, but Albus, who somehow managed to hold his ground, caught him by the arm before he fell.

"Are you okay?" the white-haired boy asked, his voice rattled by the tremor. Anadis steadied himself as the tremor rolled away beneath his feet.

"I am," he said. Their eyes met, and the same puzzled look was mirrored between them.

"Just now, that looked like a person falling from the sky, right?" Once the whole ground ceased shaking, Anadis finally let out a sigh of relief.

"It definitely looked like one," Albus said in a low voice.

"But if it was, they're dead now." He, however, wasn't convinced.

"We don't know that. We need to check. They might still be alive. Still, it doesn't make sense for another person to be in the Blessed Trial besides us," Anadis pointed out.

"It doesn't make sense for the sky to shatter like that," Albus added, brows drawing together.

"That's not a normal thing."

"No, it isn't." Anadis frowned, lingering for a moment as he weighed his options, but his curiosity gnawed at him, too obvious to ignore and clouding better judgment so with a wiggle of his brows, he asked Albus, "Wanna go check?" A simple nod from his twin was all the confirmation he needed. They both turned and hurried toward the impact zone. Looking up, he saw the sky was still dark, but not completely. Light from the suns strained against the churning clouds in the distance.

Stranger still, the deluge and thunder had lasted only a few seconds, ending right after the figure fell. This is weird. Another thing, the sky had only darkened near where the figure, or whatever it was, had fallen. A chill crept up his spine. Wait… what if it isn't a person at all? What if it's a Grull? A high-tier one? No, it couldn't be, or else the Voice would have said something about a third Grull appearing. Either way, they needed to be prepared.

"Albus, summon your spear," Anadis advised as the curved sword and the weak shield materialized in both hands.

"We don't know what might be waiting for us over there." Without hesitation, the spear formed, and he gripped it.

"Perhaps Aelia and the other two core bearers also saw the falling person and are heading there."

"That would be the best outcome, so let's hope so," Anadis agreed. Greetings, Core Bearer. The Divine Voice descended without warning, smooth and resonant within his mind. There has been progress. Ledger of objectives: 1 of 2 Completed. • Cohort objective: eliminate all Grulls – Completed: 2 of 2 • Personal objective: save a life – Progress: 0 of 1 The requirements have been fulfilled. The Blessed Trial is now complete. What a triumph! Congratulations to those who endured and survived.

Now remain still and gather yourself. Your Blessing appraisal is being prepared—estimated time remaining: twenty minutes. Both twins stopped and exchanged a confused look, their heads tilting, brows furrowed. Neither needed to say anything to know they just heard the same thing and weren't quite sure what to make of it.

"Do you think that means one of the others killed the last Grull?" Anadis asked.

"I suppose so," Albus replied, with two fingers holding his chin.

"What should we do now? Do we wait for the appraisal, or investigate whether the thing that fell from the sky was, in fact, a person?" If it were a person, wouldn't they also get transported back to the cathedral once the appraisal was over? Anadis mulled it over for a second. But then again, that individual wasn't part of the Blessed Trial. There was a good chance they would remain here and not get transported back.

"We need to go," he decided.

"That person could be dying for all we know, and the elixir you still have might save them. We only have twenty minutes left, let's hurry." The deeper they went, the larger and thicker the roots grew, and the grass gave way to dense thickets. Then Anadis felt a slight chill creep up his legs. Below, a thick ghostly fog curled around his boots, rising steadily to his knees. The fog continued to climb, growing heavier until it was almost impossible to see anything. He spun slowly in place and saw nothing but white.

"Albus!" he called desperately.

"I'm here." Albus placed a hand on his shoulder. Even standing right beside him, Anadis could barely make out his features through the dense fog.

"Where did this fog come from?"

"I don't know," Albus replied.

"It doesn't feel like normal fog at all."

"Well, we can't go back now." Anadis exhaled, a weary regret settling over him. They pressed forward carefully, one step at a time, so as not to fall. Every nerve in Anadis's body was on edge. He knew there were no more Grulls that could leap out of the fog and attack them, but an odd, ominous feeling lingered, as if death itself waited ahead in the fog. Then a faint glimmer flickered in the distance, barely visible through the thick fog. Anadis and Albus exchanged a quick glance.

Without a word, they both nodded and pushed forward toward the light. The closer they got, the denser the air became, making each breath harder and every step feel twice as heavy.

"The closer we get to the light, the sicker I feel," he muttered.

"Me too," Albus agreed.

"Whatever is emitting that light isn't normal… Should we turn back?" Anadis shook his head.

"I want to see what it is. We'll stay far enough so it isn't dangerous." A few steps later, after veering around many trees, the distant glow sharpened. It wasn't that far now. After running ahead a bit more, recognition hit him. There was a Grull that resembled a really ugly boar lying sprawled beside a fallen tree with a deep, charred hole in its chest, the edges blackened, as if someone had just pierced it with some sort of beam, with coal-dark burned blood splattered across its fur and the trunk behind it.

Anadis scrunched his nose and grimaced, unable to bear the foul odor. Was this the last Grull? Did that mean someone else was out there? Aelia? One of the others? Then heavy breathing carried through the fog, unnaturally loud in the silence.

"Albus, what's wrong?" His twin's hands shook as he gripped his spear too tightly. His teeth were clenched, a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. Anadis had never seen Albus so tense before. Why had he gotten so on edge? Then Anadis laid eyes on the figure lying in the grass before the dead Grull. For the first time in his short life, he felt utterly enchanted. His heart thudded against his chest, and a warm, fizzy sensation bubbled inside him like champagne ready to burst.

His gaze lingered on a woman of seraphic beauty. Her skin was pale as fresh snow, feeling too sublime for his mortal eyes. The left half of her face was covered by a silky veil and adorned with jewelry that shimmered under the violet moonlight. In contrast, the other half showed a majestic golden eye that spiraled with a violet iris, above it lashes so full, thick, and lively that he thought a single wink could stir the leaves at her feet.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Her hair cascaded to her hips in two flowing halves—one a silky, dazzling white, a symbol of harmony, whilst the other a deep black that swallowed the light around it, like a fragment of night given form.

Yet her most unworldly and bewitching features were the two antler-like horns crowning her head and a pair of unfurled iridescent, midnight-dark wings, like a butterfly's, both conveying a breathtaking, mystical appearance.

"Gorgeous…" was all Anadis could muster, her presence muddying his thoughts, leaving him dazed until he forced himself to shake it off. What even is she? he wondered. She didn't look like any of the Fourbloods. The only ones with horns were Daemons, specifically Cambions, but she wasn't a daemon. There were many races in Igindor, but he had never heard of one with antlers, or wings for that matter. But to him, she looked more like something that belonged to the heavens rather than the ground beneath her feet.

Well, she did fall from the sky. But then he noticed that even all her beauty couldn't hide the fact that she looked weak, as if she'd atrophy at any second, ready to wither and die. Why was Albus so afraid of her? Then the beautiful woman opened her mouth.

"How fortunate you are… Child of Storms," she said, looking in their direction. Her voice was serene and majestic, yet commanding, as if her words alone could sway the soul within him. Anadis's heart drummed again, but this time in distress. What did she mean by 'Child of Storms'?

"For your flesh will be used for a great purpose," she said, her voice dripping with dominance. Albus stumbled back a step, his voice unsteady.

"W-who… who are you?"

"Such strength in you… and yet you fear. Do not tremble, child." She smirked.

"Being chosen is not a curse; it is a crown." The hairs on Anadis's arms rose. Every word from her lips sent ripples of cold shivers through his body. It wasn't that he was afraid, just unsettled and aware that her voice was having some effect on him, and that disturbed him. The Lightning in a Bottle Boon surged to life in Albus's arm, electricity sizzling in his grip as he pushed forward.

"Don't make me ask again—who are you?!"

"Relax, brother. Why are you so angry?" Anadis asked, putting a hand on his shoulder, but Albus shook it off hard. He was so on edge, he even appeared fearful. Was she having a different type of effect on him? Anadis was filled with awe and a bit of cautious curiosity, while Albus looked like he saw a high-ascension Grull. There's no way she is one, right? Seeing the situation spiraling nowhere good, and fast, Anadis decided to intervene.

"E-excuse me," he said, swallowing. She shot him a glare with that glimmering golden eye and its spiral violet iris, the kind of look one would give an insect or a pest. Anadis stiffened. Gods above… if looks could kill, I'd be dead already. He swallowed again and forced his voice out despite her malignant glare.

"We're taking—well, we were taking, a Blessed Trial, and we saw you falling from the sky. We decided to come see what it was. I'm going to assume you're a high-tier Blessen, maybe an Emanant or a Luminous, based on how fast you killed that Abominant Grull." He went on blabbering, trying to hide his nervousness.

"Either way, you seem hurt. If you need an elixir, we have one. We mean you no harm." She crooned softly, clearly amused.

"Anadis Kalonis," she said, her voice laced with mockery.

"You're his twin. You look almost identical… yet your potential couldn't be more different. You're dirt. He is sky. You're nothing but a shadow of your twin."

"Wait! How do you know my name?!" Anadis's breath caught, his eyes wide. Also, ouch. She could've said all that a bit nicer. But before she could answer, Albus cut in.

"Answer me! Who are you?" he fumed.

"Before I decide to unload all this lightning on you!" His voice didn't waver, but Anadis could hear the uncertainty beneath it. She threw her head back and hissed a short, cold laugh. Then she stopped, slowly bringing her head forward. Her eyes were sharp enough to cut the wind.

"Fool," she thundered.

"How dare you threaten the Goddess Helphrena? Have you no sense at all? I could snap you out of existence if I so desired." Anadis couldn't control the tremor in his legs.

"H-Helphrena… goddess?" he muttered, teeth chattering. Like one of the Twelve Gods of Axis Mundi? The Thirteenth Goddess? His mind reeled, grasping at the ungraspable. Was he really standing in the presence of one of them?

"You're supposed to be dead!" Anadis accused, pointing.

"You died fifteen hundred years ago, when all the gods descended to save Igindor from the Grulls!"

"She's a liar," Albus spat.

"All I sense in her is malice. She can't be a goddess." He raised his right arm, aiming The Lightning in a Bottle straight at her head. She gave them both a throat-cutting leer, her golden eye blazing.

"Listen well, children. You think the gods are righteous?" She shook her head slowly.

"They are not. Their glory is built on treachery and lies. They cast me away—one of their own." She swept a trembling hand across her frail body.

"This is what their animosity left me. But do not mistake my withered form for weakness. I am a Goddess after all, and the least cruel among them… the most truthful. While they deal in chains forged by lies, I offer you this Child of Storms." She fixed Albus with a heavy gaze.

"The honor of becoming the chalice of my eternity." She staggered up, her wings shedding golden dust as they rustled, then stretched her arms skyward. Albus reflexively took a step back.

"Child of Storms, Stormbearer, be proud." Her voice echoed as if spoken from the bottom of a well.

"For I find you a worthy vessel. Through you, I shall rise again. Through you, the gods will listen." Albus shook his head.

"I'm not helping you, evil lady—" Suddenly, her golden eye blazed with radiance as an oppressive aura erupted from her body. Leaves and rocks lifted into a spiraling storm around her, and her veil tore away, revealing the other half of her face. Anadis stared, unable to blink. The right side of her face was grotesque, skin blackened and necrotic, as if half her face belonged to a rotting corpse. The bile in his empty stomach sat heavy, threatening to make itself known. One side was beauty incarnate.

The other was the ruin of death.

"Rejoice!" she cried, smiling so broadly it bared all her teeth.

"For what greater honor exists than to house a goddess?" In the blink of an eye, she vanished—only to reappear directly in front of them. She seized Albus by the throat and lifted him off the ground. His twin thrust his divine spear at her, but the blade deflected harmlessly away, as if striking an invisible shield.

"Albus!" Anadis shouted. He jumped forward recklessly, abandoning any sort of reasoning. Raising the Curved Sword high, he aimed for her neck, but the sword struck something hard that wasn't there, as if the air itself had hardened around her. She raised a hand in front of him, and a golden light flared from her palm.

"Die, you worthless twin. I don't need you interfering," she hissed, and the light unleashed from her palm like a deadly beam. Anadis lifted his Weak Shield to guard himself, but the blast sent him hurtling across the field. He slammed into a tree and felt his soul wanting to leave his body, blood spraying from his mouth. Weak Shield has blocked one attack. It will now shatter.

"Bro… ther," Albus rasped, struggling against her grasp and clawing at her closed hand, kicking the air—but it was futile.

"I'm sorry I had to kill him," she said, her voice oily.

"But I can't have anyone interrupting what I'm about to do." Anadis could barely hear the tail end of her words. She thought him dead but the weak shield blocked her attack. A goddess's attack. Then the goddess blinked her one golden eye and opened it impossibly wide with a shriek, a blazing, radiant golden beam shot from her right eye and the hollow socket where her left eye should have been, striking Albus in the face.

Albus's Lightning in a Bottle Boon faded from his hand immediately, and so did the divine spear. Then his body shuddered. He tried to raise his arms, tried to resist, but struggled to summon his Boon or anything for that matter.

"Resist if you must, but you will break. They all do." She stopped choking Albus by the neck, and he dropped to his knees as her jaw set and her radiant beam intensified.

"Albus…" Anadis groaned. This couldn't be real. A presumed goddess attacking his brother, killing him. What was he supposed to do, just rush in? He'd just die too. But he couldn't let that thing, that witch, take Albus, and in front of him as well.

"I couldn't care less about dying right now," he muttered.

"I'll die in his place if I have to." Pain flooded his entire body, traveling everywhere as he forced himself upright. He almost fell again, and the world blurred, but he ran, dirt spraying beneath his boots, each stomp kicking a whirl of dirt behind him. Zoe's Curved Sword materialized in his hand. He had no idea what to do or if any of what he'd tried would work, but he swung the sword at the goddess anyway. But it only struck the same invisible barrier.

"How did you survive my attack?!" she demanded, already aware that he was still alive.

"You're not even blessed yet, it was impossible for you to have survived!" He kept his distance, fearing another strike. But she didn't attack. Not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. It was as if she were bound to finish whatever she was doing to Albus. She did say she couldn't be interrupted while doing this to him. Time was running out. He focused on his only chance.

"Goddess, if you crave a vessel so badly," he said, voice sharp with defiance, "then take me and choke on my soul." He surged into a sprint. Using the momentum of his run, he slammed into his brother, tearing him free from the witch's beam. Albus flew across the grass, rolling until his body finally slammed against a boulder. Congratulations, Core bearer. Your personal objective: save a life has been completed. You reached into fate and refused to let it close in on you, saving a doomed life.

Albus Kalonis, White Core bearer, lives because you chose otherwise. Now the beam struck Anadis, locking his body mid-air. He let out a harrowing bellow as pain tore through him, his skin blistered, his lungs filled with fire, and his vision shattered into blinding white and blue. His insides burned as if he were simmering inside a cauldron of molten gold. The goddess shrieked in fury, the sound echoing unnaturally through the forest.

"No! This is not right. Fate has erred." Her glowing eye locked onto him.

"You are not the one I wanted. You are not enough!" Through the agony, he smirked.

"That's good, then." Greetings, Core bearer. The Blessing appraisal is complete. You have survived the Blessed Trial. What a beautiful triumph! Congratulations. You will now be transported in preparation for the blessing-bestowing process.