Part 10 - The Greatest Sin
Chapter 164 - Face the Thu'um
As time went on, the fights became harder. However, Max seemed to be faring extremely well compared to the people he'd faced who had some serious looking injuries from their recent fights. Now, on day ten, he had his final fight before he faced the current Dovah King for their title. Alisha shook him awake. He sat up, massaging his arms which were aching a little. He could shut the pain out with a snap of his fingers, just as he'd done when he twisted his ankle in the dragon crash during the fight with Null, but if that wasn't needed it saved him some time and energy. He threw on a fresh tunic and sat down at the table to eat the breakfast Alisha had brought him. She sat down opposite.
"I hear your opponent today speaks Dovahzul."
"Cool. Maybe he'll understand my taunts instead of talking back in one of the languages I don't know."
"If you don't mind my saying, and please don't be insulted by this at all, you are a very strange person."
Max raised his eyebrows, then nodded.
"It's what makes me interesting."
"You said you would one day tell me about your home. If today goes badly, its memory may die with you."
Max stopped eating and put his fork down, thinking her argument over.
"Thanks for your confidence, but maybe you're right."
He reached for the bracers, adorned with the soul stones, he usually wore on his arms.
"These are the only physical memory left of it. When I was fifteen, a deity called the Scarlet King came and decimated most of it. I helped to rebuild what could be recovered, but not everything could be salvaged and most people were lost in the afterlife. The survivors went about their lives as if it never happened, then someone called Null decided he'd had enough writing our destinies and tried to destroy us all. He did just that, and everything I ever knew was wiped from the face of existence. One hundred survived, including me. Ninety-nine had their souls put in these stones until they could be woken up when a new world appeared for them to live in. I chose to sit and wait, guarding them until that world came."
Alisha looked a little confused.
"It sounds very similar to the Book of Beginnings."
"Book of Beginnings?"
"The first of three books that make up the sacred text of Dei Volente and the High Elder Gods. This Scarlet King is similar to the Blood King: he hunts other gods and seeks to destroy all reality, but he was stopped at the cost of many worlds. And Null: he is similar to the One Who Sees All, the holy writer of our destinies."
"The only thing holy about Null was the hole I put in his back with my sword. I should have gone for the head. Any other Dei Volente parallels?"
"The ninety-nine prophets who mark his return."
"His return?"
"Dei Volente lived among the mortals he created for millennia, but departed to watch from a higher place vowing to return at the world's ending."
Max nodded, thinking this over. Was he sure he hadn't sleepwalked here? Or maybe one of the other High Elder Gods was pulling his leg?
"Do you believe Dei Volente still watches you and helps you?" He asked.
"Absolutely. He loves the people he created, and he protects them with his immortality."
"And has he ever failed?"
"Not since the fall of the Blood King."
"Tell me: if you put all your faith in God to save you, what do you do when God starts to bleed?"
Alisha frowned at the question, then replied with:
"The question is meaningless. The Gods don't bleed."
Max chuckled and reached for his sword. He pressed the tip of his thumb to the tip and bit his lip at the pain. A drip of blood oozed out of it. Alisha frowned.
"What are you doing?"
He pulled a cloth out from seemingly nowhere, although in truth he'd created it under the table. He pressed his bleeding thumb to it, then folded it up and handed it to Alisha.
"Whatever happens in this battle, or the battle with the Dovah King, I want you to remember I did that."
She took the cloth, frowning at him.
"I don't understand?"
"You will. One day. They all will."
Even before reaching the ready area, the room containing the metal gate leading to the arena, Max could hear the crowd roaring and cheering. He took a deep breath, readying himself as Alisha handed him his sword and shield. The gate rattled open.
"Good luck, Max."
He walked into the dazzling sunlight. He lapped in the cheers and applause from the crowd, noting it seemed to be jam packed; he couldn't see a single space free. The other metal gate opened and a man stalked out, raising his hands and shaking his sword to rile up the crowd even further. Max noted he wasn't as large and muscular as his usual opponents, nor as small and agile as the teenager who he had saved. Best of both worlds; most likely why he'd survived this long. Unlike usual matches, Alisha had explained there were a few extra traditions for this final fight. Max and his opponent met in the middle of the arena and shook hands.
"I am Hirrov." Said the man in perfect Dovahzul.
"Maximilian. I don't suppose you could do your best to give me a bit of a challenge?"
Hirrov laughed.
"No, Maximilian. It is you who must give their best. I will stand and watch you break yourself."
"We'll see."
They walked to their starting positions. The crowd started shouting in sync, presumably counting down. After a tenth shout, the horn blew. Max watched Hirrov's every move, but neither made to attack the other; they simply circled. Suddenly, Hirrov opened his mouth and bellowed three words in Dovahzul:
"Weapon! Hand! Defeat!"
Max frowned for a second before his fingers were ripped from the hilt of his sword and the handle of his shield. Both went flying, leaving him feeling quite shocked. However, he had no time think over what had happened as Hirrov charged forwards. HE leapt to the side to avoid the stab aimed for his heart. Hirrov laughed as the God backed off, keeping low in case he had to leap again. His enemy opened his mouth again and bellowed:
"Force! Balance! Push!"
What was happening clicked in Max's head as a blue shockwave struck him, sending him tumbling across the arena. Hirrov was using the Thu'um, the Voice, the same power the dov used. It would take a lot more than standard gladiator tactics to take him down. Max picked himself up; Hirrov chuckled again, then opened his mouth once more to use the same shout as before:
"Fus! Ro! Dah!"
This time, Max caught the blue shockwave with an outstretched palm. He spun round, catapulting the Shout back at its wielder. Hirrov's eyes widened in surprise as it struck him, sending him stumbling backwards and falling to the ground. He was back up in an instant, but was met by a cheeky grin from Max.
"Yol! Toor! Shul!"
Having expected another Unrelenting Force, Max was caught off guard by the wave of fire that hit him. His clothes began to burn, but a snap of his fingers let the flames keep burning without causing them damage.
"What trickery is this!?" Hirrov snarled, now a little afraid.
Max chuckled as he raised his hands. With them rose two balls of sand from the arena floor.
"Give up yet?" He taunted.
Hirrov smiled and shook his head.
"I do not give up."
"Very well."
Max flicked his hands forward and the sand flew forward.
"Fus! Fus!"
Two smaller blue shockwaves rattled out, smashing the abrasive projectiles.
"I said: I do not give up."
Max shrugged.
"Me neither."
"Gol! Hah! Dov!"
The Bend Will shout hit Max. For a moment his mind went fuzzy and he turned away, closing his eyes, but turned his head back a little and opened them again a few seconds.
"Nice try."
"You…you resisted that!? Not even a dovah should be able to overcome that!"
"Guess I've got a pretty thick skull."
Hirrov dropped his sword and shook his head. Raising his hands, he shouted the word meaning he yielded. Max nodded, satisfied. Hirrov offered his hand as the horn blew. Max shook it.
"Tell me, Maximilian. What magic is that which you use?"
"It's complicated."
"Perhaps it is. Consider me impressed, and a friend. Should you require the power of the Thu'um, I am at your service."
"Thank you, Hirrov."
Alisha didn't say a word as Max returned. She took his sword and shield and looked his singed clothes up and down.
"Are you gonna say something?" He asked.
"I…am wondering who you really are, as are many people."
"I'm Max."
"No person with coloured skin has reached this point, Max. They have always been sabotaged to avoid a slave uprising. But you…you were sabotaged and you acted as if it were nothing."
"I was sabotaged?"
"Your sword was made blunt while you slept."
"Well I didn't have much chance to use it."
"No, you used something far more powerful."
"I know magic."
"There is no magic more powerful than the Thu'um, and you brush it aside as if it were an angry fly."
Max bit his lip, wondering what he could say to hide his true identity. Should he just tell her? Would she believe him? Would he be executed for heresy? He decided to leave it for now and deal with the consequences of his victory.
Crossovers in this Chapter
- Skyrim