Chapter 5 - The One who called
Wait, that's it! A smile graced his features; he was confident in his new 'brilliant' plan. If this doesn't work, I swear I'm jumping out of the window.
Focusing his senses, he saw many different auras of all sizes and colours emit from different books. Furrowing his brows, he sharpened his concentration and began to filter out ones unlike the one emitted by his pendant. One by one, Benjin eliminated unlike auras, and through nearly an hour of repeating this process, he had managed to narrow it down to just one book. Hopefully, that book had actual useful information and it just wasn't some crap about the writer of the book being related to the guy who forged his pendant or something.
Benjin looked up to the source of the aura. Of course, it HAD to be all the way up there. From far away it seemed the book was half the size of his body and probably weighed twice as much. Should I climb up or just chain it? Screw it.
"Chains!" A single chain shot out of his hands, a magic circle indicating his cast. The construct extended towards the book, easily wrapping around it, pulling it down to the ground. Smiling, Benjin approached the result of his handiwork.
Let's take a look at what we have here. He brushed the dust off of the book to reveal the title 'Lords of Empyrean.' The book was relatively thin despite its width… which is honestly weird because they could have made it MUCH smaller. As he cleaned the top of the book, he noticed the front cover had the same symbol as the one on his pendant with many golden lines zig-zagging towards the center.
An accomplished smile creeped up to his face. Yes! This ought to be useful!
Such a huge time-saver deserves a nice big pat on the back. There was no need to read another hundred books all because of his wonderful plan. Despite finding such a good lead, he hoped from the bottom of his heart that its contents would continue his so-far winning spree.
The blonde took a deep breath, the rapid beating of his heart causing his hands to tremble as he reached towards the cover.
Here goes nothing.
Library of Alexander - History and Mythology Hallway
As he opened the book and began reading the contents, he noticed the text itself was relatively easy to see despite being written with some weird wriggly lines that kind of resembled writing. The first couple pages had the table of contents and notes from what seemed to be the author, followed by pages similar to a picture book - where one page would have a drawing illustrating the text written on the other.
Oh? What's this? After skimming through about twenty pages, Benjin pulled the book closer, his brow furrowing in curiosity.
Within the mountain ranges of Northern Ishgar, lays the holy monastery built in the name of the Light God, Solarin. Thousands of his followers all visit the temple on the day of the sun's creation. It is said that once day every year, the Light God enters the mortal realm through his temple to give his blessings to the world below. All men and women travel up the precarious mountain paths to bring offerings and to pray for longer days and shorter nights.
Solarin? Benjin, with mouth agape, lifted his pendant out of his robe. This… somehow ties to him? The boy's thoughts moved a mile a second as the next couple pages explained different rituals and traditions conducted by these followers. There was nothing worth noting until he reached the final pages - it was a section labeled 'The Great Cataclysm.' which had multiple blank pages after its chapter label.
Wait what? Benjin darted his eyes back and forth the page, hoping to find some sort of secret. Is this seriously all blank… put something cool sounding like 'The Great Cataclysm' and just write NOTHING. The boy turned the pages more and more aggressively, until finally finding the next set of text. Ah ha!
The skies were filled with winged beasts that threatened all of Earthland. Before the order of the sun was founded, the followers of Solarin came to the temple in hopes of finding sanctuary from the countless monsters that filled the skies. They prayed to their god as they themselves were preyed upon. The beasts began fighting against each other, causing great destruction upon all the lands. It would be years before the skies itself parted and the entire world became filled with grand lights and creatures thought to only exist in myth. However, nothing was compared to the great black beast whom wrecked havoc to all of creation. This being was known as-
Blank. WHAT?! Where's the rest of the section? Did the author go on indefinite hiatus? Who the hell wrote this freaking book? Random cliff hangers, lack of info and with pages looking like it was dipped in a pool of tea for ages! Not only that, it was the last word. What the crap was this oh so 'great black beast?'
If this was a joke, then it was not funny at all. Wait. Benjin narrowed his eyes, his eyes focused on some… weirder sections of the book. What if there were certain spells that prevented parts from being read? Maybe the sections he read was only available because the book was so… old. Yes, maybe that's it.
With a book conspiracy fresh in his thoughts, Benjin began to pace back and forth while thinking of a way to find out what's written in the blank pages.
Great Cataclysm… He paced some more. Temple of Solarin… Another few laps of the hallway, that's when he widened his eyes in realization. The book had said there was a temple that resided somewhere in Northern Ishgar! There was a slight chance that the mountain ranges mentioned in the book was close by! What if the pull itself was from the temple? If that was indeed true, then that would explain the connection to his pendant!
Everything is coming together!
Before he left for a new adventure, he once again sensed for all the books emitting auras. These should be some interesting reads. With his chain spell, he dragged each and every one onto the ground, then put every single one into his storage.
I'm sure the librarian wouldn't mind if I checked out some books… indefinitely. The boy chuckled to himself, only to feel a prick - one sharper than before, on his arm. Oh, come on! I just want to read them not learn how to blow up the world or something! Scoffing Benjin, began walking back towards the entrance. Freaking cunt of a library.
"OW!" Benjin rubbed his head after feeling yet another prick.
As he walked out of the section he was in, he took a gander at the other end of the library wing, only to see shelves that were identical to the ones he was reading from. To his surprise, in the center of the room, sat the same figure he saw when he was coming in.
He's still here? Reading the same freaking book too!
Giving a glance to the boy, who was completely mesmerized with the book he was reading, the blonde left for the entrance, a destination in his mind.
As he neared the opulent brown doors leading to and from the library, Benjin noticed that Velvet was doing some weird dance as she sorted books around the area. Weird…
Now, Benjin was in the same stone path that he walked through earlier that day. His pendant was still spazzing out with the direction and he didn't see another giant structure besides the library. Hmm, how do I go upon this?
The blonde sat down cross-legged in thought, his eyes darting around the area as he fondled with his pendant. What if I… yes, that could work!
Benjin smiled confidently. His pendant had always had some sort of 'passive' aura; but what if he traced it? Used his senses, his eyes, and everything else to find it! Then, he might have been able to figure out a direction, then repeat the process until he's in the dead center! Just like a magical compass!
Benjin took a deep breath, assuming a lotus position while holding his pendant just before the path on the lake. Focusing his magic on the pull, he looked inward.
His eyes were closed. Nothing except blackness and a myriad of stars were in his sight. Nothing… perhaps if I did this. The boy turned his head around, trying to focus his sight on the aura without missing any direction. Wait, what's that! Benjin could see a dim light, not unlike the moon in the night sky, directly behind where the library was, towards the vertical cliff face in the background.
Smiling, the boy stood up and opened his eyes, causing the dim light to fade away from his sight. He had a direction now, and he won't let his search be for nothing!
Benjin stood in front of the vertical rock face that towered over the gargantuan library. It was intimidating, that's for sure. The whole thing was near vertical and it looked like there was a lot of moss growing on the sharp edges making up the cliff. Regardless, this was not enough to stop him from trying!
Covering his entire body in a golden aura, he gradually compressed it into a sharper fitting form. Gods I love light-make. Once the aura calmed, Benjin willed his magic into constructs of long, sharp claws on his limbs. With his newfound appendages, he leaped hands first at the mountain, digging into the rock with his make-shift claws as if it were foam. Ascending inch by inch; the climbing quickly became so routine that his mind began trailing elsewhere.
Oh boy, this is so exciting!
An anxious grin made its way onto his face as his heart raced in anticipation. He was so busy imagining the temple that he didn't realize that he already made it to the top. Without anything but air to grab on he completely missed the rock face and slammed his chin on the edge. ARHWKJH!
"Ow…" Rubbing his face, be boy groggily got to his feet; he looked forward see a flat plateau that covered the majority of the cliff tops. Eyes widening in shock, the boy looked around in confusion, completely forgetting the pain on his face. There's absolutely NOTHING here?!
There was supposed to be a grand golden temple to be perched in front of him! Yet, all he saw were just rocks, rocks and… whoa is that a tree? How could this be? This is a hunk of garbage! I can STILL feel the pull, so ther MUST be something here!
Benjin frantically searched, running from area to area, hoping to find something of resemblance to a temple. When he passed a certain spot on the plateau, he felt something… weird. Did the pull just get weaker for a second? Wait. If the pull became weaker, that meant he must have ran right over his source! Which meant, there had to be a temple somewhere here! Benjin retraced his steps, hunting for anything that could stand out from a field of natural stone structures. What the hell am I even doing? Benjin stomped back and forth in circle. Unless the temple is invisible there is nothing here!
Perhaps the temple actually was hidden by a spell or something! If the pull was here that meant there was something causing the attraction. Even if he could not see, hear, touch, or smell it, it had to be here. So where? Where would someone hide an entire temple? Benjin's eyes darted to the stone ground he stood upon. UNDERNEATH?!
That was the only place someone could hide a structure potentially as large as the library. The mountain was more than big enough to fit it, so the only issue of that, is how? How will he get in, if it even exists? Maybe he could blast the mountain away until something cool happens… never mind that's dumb. Although when all else fails he might as well give that a try.
Maybe whatever was calling to him would react to his aura? If he shot his magic downwards it could make the temple do something cool and teleport him in or something!
Okay, before that, I gotta find the 'sweet spot.'
Walking around for what seemed like hours, Benjin finally found the single point where the aura felt the strongest. He could take a step left, right, forwards, or backwards, and the call would feel slightly weaker. That means whatever is making his pendant to the thing, it had to be directly below!
Bringing one knee to the ground, Benjin touched his palm to the stone floor. He wasn't going to screw around just to realize he didn't use enough magic, the only way was to go all out in one blast, all or nothing.
Here goes!
As Benjin began accessing more and more of his power, his aura flared with more intensity with every passing breath. The ground beneath him rumbled in response while rocks and debris closest to him were pushed away. Cracks formed around his feet as his magic exploded outwards in a golden spherical wave, before halting and retracting.
Come on, please work!
Taking all the power he released, he forced it into the mountainous 'sweet spot;' His aura dissipated while the stone plateau became saturated with a dim glow.
It was then, the mountain shook with far more force than before - Benjin took this as a sign to stop his magic while he waited for something to happen. Hundreds of symbols suddenly sprouted out with him as the epicentre, forming a golden magic circle that encompassed most of the area around him. It then dissipated as fast as it emerged, causing the stone floor to shift - revealing an aged staircase leading into the mountain interior.
"YES!" Benjin pumped his fist over and over again as he did his victory dance right in front of the stair case. I feel untouchable!
Benjin descended the stairs with haste, using his magic to form a small torch for light. The boy felt a bead of sweat drop from his brows. Wow, that took a lot out of me… Continuing down the stairs, he kept his torch dim to conserve the little bit of magic he still had.
The hallway… it's getting larger? True to that, with each and every step, the space became wider. After what seemed to be another hundred set of stairs, an irritated scowl easily made its way on the twelve-year-old's face. Screw this, I'm running! Instead of walking down patiently like a normal person, the impatient boy began skipping four or more steps with every stride.
Benjin increased his pace even more, taking one huge leap skipping ten steps in total. Bad Idea. The boy looked down, seeing a section of the staircase completely empty of steps. A very bad idea.
OH SHI-
"AAAHHH - HHH - AAH" he shouted angrily as he began tumbling down the stairs, flipping back and forth before finally splattering on the bottom.
Auuuugghhhh… OW! Benjin hastily picked himself up from the dirty stone. What is today even. Standing up with a grimace, he began examining himself to see if he broke anything. Okay arms are good. The boy tapped his legs a couple times. legs too, hands no problem, feet hurt like hell but nothing major, my face is probably a mess because I can feel stuff flowing down my chin.
Everything was fine… somewhat, which meant it was time to continue! Summoning his torch, the boy continued down the dark hallways. Not a minute later, he was met by a massive marble pillar, one filled to the brim with carvings, that could put the ones at the library to shame. Benjin pumped more magic into his torch to reveal an entire circle of pillars, all with different symbols and designs etched all over the surface. The boy narrowed his eyes at the sight. Everything… looks completely new!
Continuing on with great interest, he made towards the center of the pillar circle. On the ground, there were circular carvings that almost resembled the magic circle that let him in earlier; in the middle, however, was a small pedestal which seemingly had a visible aura.
Benjin could feel his hands making its way to his pendant; this time taking it out, instinctively placing it on the pedestal.
No reaction.
"…"
There were no great quakes or giant magic circles or even giant flashes of light. The pendant just… sat there. Please don't tell me I came all this way for nothing…
Maybe he was being impatient? It had only been a minute since he placed his pendant and it was possible that the temple is experiencing some sort of lag. Suddenly, the aura from the pedestal began flickering at an increasing pace.
Yes!
Benjin smirked to himself, before scowling mere moments later. Okay pedestal you can stop now this flashing is getting annoying.
It would be another couple seconds before the flickering ceased. Almost immediately, the silence that followed was interrupted by a brilliant flash that consumed the entire room.
What?! Benjin frantically began reaching around, trying to feel the pillars and structures, but to no avail.
He could not see or hear. It was as if existence itself blanked out. There was no ground under his feet, and it felt as if his senses… just vanished. The boy could only turn back and forth in fear as the all-encompassing light blotted out everything else in his sight.
Eventually, the light died down to reveal a dim room that was ethereal by nature. Benjin lifted his leg and began tapping the ground around him, making sure that he wouldn't randomly fall through the floor. Around him, he noticed that particles of light flowed around freely like fireflies. Small orbs gently hovered above him as the particles seemed to converge together.
The sight nearly made him forget his fear; his eyes followed each orb, mesmerized by the sight. It was as if he was in a completely different dimension.
Just… where is this?!
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The voice revealed a long-bearded old man wearing bright priest clothing. As Benjin turned towards the man, he came face to face with golden eyes that stared back at him. There's something… familiar about him. He was sure he had never seen this person in his life, but there was just something about him. Wait… NO WAY.
Benjin widened his eyes in realization, the identity of the man coming to him.
"Dad?" He began walking towards the figure, his body trembling. "How are you here? I thought you were dead!" Anger began surfacing. Anger from his dad leaving his mother to die, from leaving him. Benjin's face contorted, his eyes furrowing as he bore his teeth. Despite his sneer, the boy couldn't contain the emptiness from attacking him in his moment of vulnerability. I really thought you were dead…
Despite never actually seeing him pass away, he always had a gut feeling that his dad didn't make it. Yet, he was here! Could he have been alive this whole time? Why didn't he come back! Why did he choose now to appear! Once again, the rage boiled from the boy, his aura becoming visible, all while affecting the flow of particles around the room.
The old man simply shook his head in reply.
"I am not dead, nor am I alive." What was the start of a betrayal was frozen by uncertainty. Not dead or alive? What did that even mean? Whatever the figure… - no it was his father - in front of him was, he sure sounded like his dad. All the dumb lectures would always end with some weird whimsical riddle about life. But what does that even mean!
"What is this place? What is even not dead or alive? Is this a dream?" Why did you come now?!
"In simple terms, we are in limbo… or at least, a part of it." Limbo? Wait, wasn't that this invisible world connected by dreams? It actually exists?! Did that mean he still existed outside of this place? How did dad even bring him here? Was this just another room in the temple?
Argh I'm so confused!
His father began to speak, "The reason why I brought you here is because there were things, I did not have the chance to tell you when I was still alive." He looked in Benjin's eyes, who stared back with unease.
Things… to tell me?
'Seijin' nodded, as if reading his mind. "For eleven years, I watched you grow. I never told you who you truly were." Who he truly was? Wait, the symbol, the feeling, the temple… Solarin. All the things he experienced recently, all of them could only happen to someone who had connections to those things. And the only way that could be is… Benjin's thoughts trailed off as he widened his eyes in realization, yet still refusing to believe what the signs pointed to.
"I believed that you could live a life away from my burdens, but it appears that I was wrong." The bearded man slumped in sadness, before staring straight into Benjin's eyes. Sighing, his dad took a long breath.
"To start, my name is not just Seijin Solarus. In the past, I was known as… Solarin." Benjin froze, his eyes becoming bloodshot as his face scrunched in anger.
The feeling in his core came true. The library, the temple, limbo, most of all… the pendant. Confusion plastered itself onto Benjin's face. Light God… How could he have died back then? If he was so strong, why did he die. WHY DID HE LEAVE?!
Within his rage, Benjin's body began trembling in fear from the truth of his father's words. If he was so strong, and he died… What sort of monstrosity could have possibly killed a god! A being that was supposed to be the strongest.
Wait, does this make me… a demigod? That's pretty coo- WAIT. Why was he so bloody weak? Benjin thought of his mom, his friend, and himself. The boy slumped forwards, eyes drooping to the floor.
I'm so pathetic.
His father looked at Benjin with sympathy, before he felt a hand on his head, patting it gently. The boy managed to meet his father's eyes, seeing a far more brilliant shade of gold that have always stared back in a mirror.
"Why… did you leave me?" He always wanted to be strong. Strong boys don't cry… At least, that's what he told himself. He can't be a crybaby because, what could crybabies do? Nothing. He tried and tried, holding back the tears that was due for years. Despite his effort, it was for naught as cascading drops flowed down his cheeks.
Betrayal, anger, confusion, and loneliness. Benjin felt all these emotions bombarding him; the world around him beginning to darken as his lost more and more of his strength. Yet, it was as if the light never left.
Two powerful arms embraced him, snapping him out of his sorrowful daze.
"My son… I am truly sorry, for not being able to be with you or your mother." Benjin squeezed his eyes together, forcing more and more tears to flow, his expression calming from the warming touch of his father. "I hate how I would not have the chance to see you grow into a young man… I am so-"
"Shut up…" the boy shrugged off his father's arms to his surprise, all while managing a smile through the drying tears. He couldn't truly be angry. I know my father! He knew that whatever happened, his father would never abandon them, not willingly. He hated himself for being weak, he hated himself for not being able to save his mom, and he hated the people that took the people he loved away… but he could never hate his dad.
"I'm good now, you old shit." His father looked like he grew a second head from the 'insult,' before erupting into a booming laughter. Benjin stared at his cackling father in confusion, before laughing himself. Why am I laughing?!
It's not like what he said was that funny.
As Solarin, or Seijin, or his dad… or whatever calmed, his previously jovial expression was replaced with sternness.
"Listen, I wish I could spend more time with you, I truly do… but my time here is limited, and there are things I have to tell you." What? Benjin stared intently at his dad, his entire focus on his next words.
His father, seeing the boy's reactions, took a deep, long breath before beginning. "In all the centuries of my life, I have watched Earthland from above. Despite their differences, the men and women lived in peace, but then… the war came."
The war? What is the 'war?'
"Never before did something on that sheer scale occur in all of history. We've left scars on the land that will never truly heal." Benjin scrunched in confusion.
"Wait, what does this have to do with me?" It was a legitimate question. Some war that happened hundreds of years ago… why was it important to him? Benjin continued to meet his father's gaze, only to shy away from the power and authority carried in his stare.
"Let me finish, and you will know." The boy could do nothing but nod.
"The war was the first of many events that would lead to me," His father gestured to Benjin. "To you." The war? What could have possibly happened for that to happen?!
"Now, allow me to tell you, what would become the greatest tragedy for the history of all gods." Benjin gulped, his heart quickening in anticipation.
Tragedy…
.
.
.
Chapter 6 finished! Next Chapter: A Land before time
Check out my other stories!
[Rise of the Light Bringer]
[Chef Ramsay]
[A God's Redemption]
[A Hero's Becoming]
[The Noble World]
[Minipa's Trope Discussion and How to not Suck Shit at Writing]
[Minipa's Trope Discussion and How to not Suck Shit at Writing - BNHA]
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Minipa, out!