(Previous chapter - The Grand Warden evoked Trial By Combat. Gauge is pushed into a corner. He was hammered to the ground with explosive smashes. Trial By Combat ended.)
Ashes scatter and blinds everyone. The Grand Warden having smashed his sword to the ground speaks,
"You fought well kid. But judgement is absolute. Your death was inevitable."
The ashes start settling down. The Warden's sword was missing from his hands. His bare hands were buried into the ground. Through the veil of ash, a searing white light cut through the mist — aimed straight at his chest. It was Gauge.
Gauge pounces on him and delivers a decisive blow. The punch shattered the Warden's armour to pieces.*clank* as they fall on the ground. He fell to his knees weakened from the impact.
Meanwhile, Var was on the ground struggling. The heavy greatsword lying on him. Gauge rushed to help Var. He lifted the sword up and shoved it aside. Var recovers,
"You IDIOT!!!! WARN ME BEFORE YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!!!!"
Var stands up and stretches his back growling from pain. Gauge laughs innocently and replied,
"It was a last minute back up. It..... was..... you know.... kinda my last minute right there."
Gauge pulled out his gate ore at the last moment. He smashed it against the greatsword. The sword was teleported where the other ore was, to Var. As the warden could not see Gauge, he assumed he was dead, considering his no escape situation. Fortunately the trial ended and Gauge seized this opportunity. Charged his arm in the blindspot.
"Lucky the blade carried gate energy, kid… but that was a damn good move."
Var praised, still angry from a heavy sword landing on him from nowhere. Gauge grinned with pride.
Warden finally removed his head gear. An old man with an overgrown beard fused with black and white. Short hair- black in colour. His eyes one blue and other red signifying balance. He had a divine physique. His knees were shaking but not from the battle he had with Gauge.
He takes a deep breath as if it was so long since he last felt any atmosphere,
"Huuuuu....Thank you for saving me...."
Both Var and Gauge were silent Who saved who now? they both thought to themselves. The mysterious man stood up,
"I am Xerxes. Once the High Judge of this universe. These ruins were once called the Cosmic Tribunal — where stars themselves bore witness, and even gods trembled under verdicts. Here, crimes that defied mortal law were laid bare, and those who thought themselves beyond consequence were stripped of power and even life."
Var amused by his form, asks,"But how did you end up like that?Mindless and cranky."
"I was once the strongest god to roam on the mortal plane. Until that one fateful day, when a celestial decided to meet me. Decades ago he came to me claiming to be a scientist. He called my work inefficient because there were still crimes out there. He said that he had a solution.
I...I try to remember more than that but all I can remember is that we fought for days. I was finally defeated by the mad scientist.
He said, 'Evolution requires sacrifice.' He shattered my soul into pieces and left me with enough to live. This armour was a prison to keep me mindless. It always echoed pain and suffering from various parts of the universe. A means to show me my inefficient work. I slowly lost my mind into it."
Gauge felt pity for no being should suffer like this, He asks out of concern
"Every single one of them??"
Xerxes looks to the ground with sorrowful eyes and responds,
"Yess. Every cry, every scream ,every evil thought was channeled through the gate into my mind."
Gauge knows this pain, being held responsible for something he cannot control. He was discriminated just because his father died before he was born.
Whatever I did after that I do not remember, including our battle. Your punch shattered the armour prison and brought me back to my senses."
The duo did not utter a word. Gauge slowly whispered to Var,
"What's a celestial? I don't think you explained me that rank..."
Var was frozen in place, shocked. Gauge gently tapped on his shoulder to bring him back to the ground. Var panicked,
"DO YOU WHO HE IS? HE IS XERXES - A SUPREME TIER GOD." then realizes he was screaming. He calmed down and spoke softly,
"If this celestial was able to defeat him, then that makes the celestial rank, the top of the chart."
Xerxes shook his head. he disagreed,
"No. Primordials are the top of the chart. Even we the members of the cosmic tribunal did not dare to enter their domain. Although My memory on them remains vague...(lifts his head as he senses something)I sense a part of me....
Before i gained my senses did I mention anything. Please anything could help."
Gauge thinks about the only thing he as a warden said.
"You only mentioned that I killed one of your minions.."
Xerxes was confused. He was still looking at the direction the weird sensation came from. He cracked his fists and body. His body was sore from wearing such a heavy armor for decades. He asks,
"Does that have anything to do with why I am feeling a part of me from that direction."
This time Var takes over. He rushes to Xerxes pushing Gauge aside,
"We once fought a creature we call the gatekeeper. It was the minion you mentioned about."
Xerxes inhales as if he was collecting his sense together,
"Please join with me." He extends his hands to the two of them. As they held it, all three warped to where the gatekeeper was defeated in a second.
Var lost his composure and yelled,
"Are you kidding me? It took us 2 gates and a large banyan tree to get there."
Xerxes ignored him and walked towards the source of his own pulsating soul. He picked the cold body of the gatekeeper. He could sense a faint pulsation in the heart region. He pierced his hand through and retrieved and red glowing crystal of energy.
He used his brute strength to crush the crystal*crunch*.A part of his soul returned to him."Aghhhh.....AAAAAAGHHH" He fell to the ground holding his head as he had memories of the incident returning to him."
Glimpses of the celestial - I will combine the gate's energy and your soul with it to create a strong hybrid. With your ability of sensing power levels and the gate's ability to teleport, We can create a perfect hunger that hunts down powerful beings.
The visions stopped - Xerxes panted as if he woke from a nightmare. Gauge approaches him with concern and asks,
"Is everything alright?"
Xerxes looks at Gauge dead in the eye. The ashes of Xerith singing a silent song. He places his arms on Gauge's shoulder and warns him,
"He is creating an army*pukes blood*of.....gatekeepers. He must be stopped at any cost!!!"
Next chapter - Next stop - Rafter