AUTHOR'S NOTE: UPDATED. I've reread and gone through some changes in this chapter, basically to make the story flow nicely and 'make some sense' in latter chapters. Anyway, happy reading! This chapter is written in Destins' POV.
Disclaimer: Ragnarok Online belongs to Gravity and Lee Myoung-Jin, the one and only.
I braced through the violent desert storm. Pulling my scarf closer, my eyes focused sharp onto the mirage that laid just few distances away.
As I marched forward, the majestic ancient fortress slowly unveiling from the vagueness.
Assassin Guild... My voice deepened.
I couldn't remember my last visit to this forsaken place. The only business I had over here years ago, was strictly professional. Other than that, I don't really bother.
Drawing closer, I signaled familiar stances - a password to identify friends or foe, to the standing watchmen. They knew who am I, though reacting coldly towards my presence there.
The 2 senior Assassin-class guards opened the gate without hesitation. They nudged me in silence so that I could finish my business here and out of their sight immediately.
Heh, pathetic ungrateful scums. Guess these former brothers and sisters of mine were still haunted by that memories, 5 years ago. The cold stare, foreign treatment were evident enough as I entered the lobby. And my unexpected visit today - is not for them, but to see the man who they feared most - the one that once I called, Mentor.
Knock, knock*
"Come in." a middle-aged man's voice rings clearly behind the door.
"I have been expecting you, Destins..."
There is a moment of brief silence between us. I stood firmly, looking straight into his eyes. Years ago, I feared this man more than death. I feared everything that he does, or says to the point that I try sneaking out of the guild, never coming back again.
But my attempt often foiled by his quick and accurate predictions. He is the leader here, Mussem.
A dictator that enjoyed lording us. A fearless warrior, and the shadow that revered by others, including leaders from various factions. The man who unite the assassin classes under one big clan and disposed of those that against him. And... my mentor, a father figure to me.
"Mussem..." I wonder what strikes me to be this still, but I manage the little strength in me to speak. "The job's done as per our deal." I paused, swallowing. "... I came here to talk about deathstalker."
"Ahh... I see." Mussem though appears calm and composed all the time; but this man here, could be the most dangerous person that you wouldn't dare to cross at any given rate.
Mentioning deathstalker to him, is like opening up old wound, and then rubbed salt into it. That name is a taboo to do so in the assassin guild.
"Why now, Destins?" he asked, voice under his breath. Perhaps upsetting over my direct request of reinvestigation on deathstalker.
Mussem stroke his beard, waiting patiently for my answer. I collected every last bit of my strength, to finally converse the things that I have pent up for years. "I need you to grant me access into the tomb of Fa'qhar."
Tomb of Fa'qhar, an uncharted land in Rune-Midgard - is the home to the deathstalker. A hidden ruins, buried deep in between the borders of Morroc. A place that I can't access and unable to locate to date, unless Mussem gave his consent.
This deathstalker I have been mentioning, is the deadliest outlaw faction of assassins founded by the legendary Zalmar Akhmeht, the Desert Scorpion. Zalmar, was the protégé of Mussem, and also... his son.
The room fell into silence. At the slight mention of deathstalker, it usually would ticked Mussem right off the bat. But today, it doesn't seems to be the case. Though I could see the older leader's face darkened, yet he tries to contain the anger.
"We have spoken this before. And I stand with the final verdict we agreed."
"The answer is, No." said him firmly. "No one will be getting into Fa'qhar."
The response was lightning-fast. I just couldn't get the reasons behind his rejection. I just need to assure him, a little harder perhaps.
"I have executed every of the missions you gave me without fail. Now it is the right time that I ask for something in return." I retorted, clenching my fist tightly.
"Is it about the murder of Divinia...?"
Hearing that, my blood suddenly boiled to the tipping point. Mussem knew my weaknesses. I can't seem to defend my ego that I have been plastering for years, covering the wound that made me into an outcast today.
Divinia... Divinia...
"... I know you have been stricken with grief and loss, but Divinia is long gone. Taking down deathstalker will not solve any problem you have now." the old man stood up, approaching me. "You can end this suffering, Destins. Forget about Divinia. Forget about the revenge. The choice is yours." said him, putting his hand on my shoulder.
But, how could I? How could I forget about that day, 5 years ago? Everything sounds so easy, but those who aren't in my shoes will never know the pain I have endured and suffered for years.
"... Fine then. I will find Fa'qhar by myself. Mark my words." I wonder what's got into me that moment; but that is the first time I rebel against my mentor, my teacher.
Mussem's eyes shot open. His jaw gritted in anger and finally snapped. He grabbed tight my collar in such instant, and I could feel his sheer strength would anytime break my neck. "You dare to talk back to me!? Have you forgotten who saved you back then?" his words roared into my ears. However, I stared at him in return; indicating that I am not about to lose to his demands.
"I should have discarded you right after that little precious Crusader pet of yours died. You damn well knew we were not of the same alliance and yet you dug your own grave by getting close to her." - "Serve her right. Killed in the name of protecting a worthless weakling like you!" That's it. I promised myself not to be taunted by these forbidden provocation from Mussem, but I just can't hold it any longer.
I snapped too. First by slapping his hands away, releasing the grip. "You lots do not deserve to talk about her." I hissed. "We sacrificed everything to bail our faction members out in the nick of critical time, and this is how you repay us in return!? We were almost killed back then if not of Divinia's!"
Mussem's expression grimmed. Dissatisfied with the retort I gave, he warned, voice under his breath;
"... This is my final warning to you, Destins: a step into Fa'qhar, you'd be dead at my hands." his emerald eyes shimmered in the dimly-lit room, staring straight into me. The old leader didn't even budge, hinting he is not someone to be trifle with, easily.
I heaved a deep breath. I have made up my mind ever since I decided to meet with Mussem. I knew deep down he would give this answer. And the more I asked, the more he adamantly refused to grant me access to that forbidden lair of deathstalker.
Somehow, I am not convinced by his words. My conscience begins to waver, and I have a feeling the reason behind Mussem's refusal to open up the pathway to Fa'qhar has something to do with his personal interest. Perhaps a secret that he doesn't want others, especially the guildmates to know.
Or perhaps, something related to the outlaw leader, Zalmar. After all, he is Mussem's biological son.
Clenching my fist tightly, I took my leave; knowing I had no reason to stay here any longer. The older man too, looked away quietly. Standing close to the exit, while my hands clutched the doorknob tight, I uttered softly; "... It has been 5 years, Mussem. And never once a day I forget about that incident. The day when my guildmates and faction members fled for their life, while me and Divinia protected the last defense - it claimed her life instead of mine. By that wretched deathstalker..."
Saying that, I left the room.
Whether I would be back here again to take on Mussem's missions, I considered everything's done. I have no interest in serving as his lapdog or whatsoever any longer. His nonchalant attitude dismissing my effort in bringing justice to Divinia and other fallen comrades who served the guild was enough to justify my decision of leaving the association completely.
We were tools - pawn for him to do whatever bidding he deemed worth to achieve. And I have decided not to play his game no more.
I treaded carefully on the scorching hot Sograt desert. Just a few more miles, I'd be reaching Morroc, the desert city to submit some quests and sell off loots that had been accumulated since my last visit.
"Yo, Des! Here on the usual thing again?" a man dressed in the desert-clan outfit waved from far. I noticed the broad smile on his face - the greetings that I'd usually get once in Morroc for business.
The man in his late 40s named Wazir, a shop owner here; he then beckoned me slowly to come closer. "Heard you took out some MVP that day, a-l-o-n-e." his eyes sparkled in instant. "Is it Amon Ra? Pharaoh?" rubbing his hands in such intently manner, I knew this fellow must have been in lookout for something rare from my loots.
"Nah, just the usual stuff. Nothing fancy." I brushed off his advances. Hearing my cold reply, his shoulder slumped. I pulled up some of the loots gathered from my last journey. Wazir glanced at me up and down, as if I have lost my mind. "What?" I chirped, shoving the items to him.
"... Good grief, Des. Look at this." the Morrocan merchant cum Blacksmith gasped, while picking up a shining card from the mountain of loots I placed on his countertop a while ago. "Phreeoni..."
I immediately swapped the card from his hand. I treaded the item with such care, and examined it for a few good moment. Judging by Wazir's look, I knew he would offered me some good price for this rare drop. "That's a Phreeoni Card! Destins, you're my man! I knew you would at least bring some good stuff back here. Hehehe..." - "Phreeoni Card would fetched a premium price in today's market. If you don't mind, would you kindly sell it to me?" his eyes sparkled even more. Man, this lad over here totally know his game.
"How much would you offer?" I rolled the ball back to him.
"100 million zeny. Negotiable." said him, chest pumped up proud. I swear I could see his nose twitched. Prideful as usual. About his wealth and all. Snobbish bastard heh.
But I am not about to let go of this rare precious item for just mere 100 million.
"600 million zeny. No less. Period." I stated my price. Either he'd offered higher than this, or go home. The merchant's eyes shot open. "No way! That's an overkill! You're going to destroy the market by that exorbitant amount..." he murmured silently.
My fingers traced lightly on the card. If slotted into the equipment right, I would get a HIT boost up of 100 from this sucker alone. Meaning, nobody would missed my attack.
Thinking about it over times, somehow I decided to keep this card instead of selling it away. It is such a rare and valuable possession to let go for a mere 600 millions zeny. "You know what, friend? I'm just gonna keep this thing with me a little while..." I stated, placing the card back into the pouch.
Wazir gave me a defeating look. He knew I was not an easy customer to please when dealing in this trading matters. "What a loss. You could be an instant multi-millionaire by selling it." his shoulders dropped, probably disappointed.
I grin, patting his shoulder to console him that I'm not just going to stop at this pace. "Hey, chin up. I'm already making good money and besides..." said me, while bidding farewell to the man. "I will continue this mission of mine, hunting MVPs and get rare loots for ya. Whaddya say?"
I could see Wazir beaming from the inside. His face isn't gloomy as before. He then nodded in acknowledgement instead.
"I appreciate that, old buddy." said him, a light smile curved on his lips.
"It's just... I can't piece the reason that you'd stay this way forever..." I stopped for a moment. Wazir's words indeed stung in a way, and I wasn't expecting that as I prefer to keep my affairs around me, to avoid prejudgment and assumption. "I mean, look at you. You were a star back then. Everybody knows about you here, and they talked about the adventures you went. You climbed the highest mountains, ventured into the deepest forest and going as far as reaching Arunafeltz continent and so on."
"It was all in the past, my friend." I said, voice firm and formal. I have to admit, befriending with a Morrocan merchant that came with a flapping mouth isn't helping much, except — they're pretty good in bargaining and getting me cheapy rare items.
Hmph, a small price to pay anyway. I don't mind it either.
Wazir's eyes grew solemn. He knew I wasn't ready to share about my past with him, even we have known each other in the last couple of years. "It was such a loss..."
I shook my head, "No... It is my 'destiny' after all." I slung my pouch to the back, and added again. "If you think I'd stop here, then you're mistaken, my friend." — "You should know me better..." the tan-skinned man looked up, and I could see a forced wide smile on his face.
"Well, at least I got to trade cool items with you." said him, offering his hands to me.
"Pleasure to do business with you anyway!" we exchanged some greetings and the moment I almost packed my stuff and be on my way, Wazir suddenly paused; his grey eyes looked at another direction in such haste. "Hey, you know what?" said him. "There had been some strangely dressed people walking in and out of Morroc these days. Look at those foreigners." he chewed some of the locally famous sour candy while nudging me to look at the direction he pointed.
"See? I reckoned they are some new nuns and priests from another region. Trying to preach new adventurers into their religion, I daresay. Hmph."
I rubbed my chin slowly as I examined the foreign figures that stood under the hot sun. As how Wazir puts it, these people do not seem to be locals here, and certainly they do not hailed from the same church of Prontera.
The three oddly dressed men and women gestured awkwardly amidst the crowd. They sure find the blistering hot weather here unbearable as I seen one of the priests swatting the heat off as if chasing some flies away. I scoffed lightly at their demeanour. Not that I really care anyway, as I have important matters to attend next, than peering into someone's affairs.
As I slowly make my way towards the outskirt of Morroc, a hazy vision suddenly clouded my eyes. "Sandstorm at this hour? You can't be serious..." I complained under my breath. Covering my face with the scarf, I pushed through, against Mother Nature.
In the midst of the dusty vicinity, I could see a figure collapsing flatly onto the ground. Must be some new guy unused to this environment and fainted right after hit by a sandstorm. I hasten my steps and approached the unknown man.
"Hey! Hey you! Wake up!" I shook his shoulder. The man draped in strange outfit, apparently seems so foreign than the rest adventurers I have bumped into from my experiences. However, the design of his cloak struck a familiar image onto me. Despite I was in a hurry and have no interest in mingling with others issue, I am a good observant. This man is a priest, judging by the crest etched at the gown, and the silk-sewn robe with the hue of white and gold remained glistening, even he would've treaded through dusty environment for miles, days and nights. And it reminds me of the religious bunch of men and women back in Morroc that Wazir discussed. They happened to be sharing the same emblem, and I am so certain it isn't anything close to the Church of Prontera.
The stranger spat blood onto the ground, much to my horror. His hands and body shaken so badly that I have to grab him with full strength. That was the time, I caught a glimpse that his eyes were hollow. Eeriely luminescent cerulean pair of orbs looking straight into me, as I get hold of him. I rested his head on my lap, and dropped few droplets of water into his mouth from the canteen.
He choked, and coughed out the water instead.
"Are... you... the SAVIOUR?" his weak voice crackling. Amidst the storm, the man spoke to me this clearly, as if in telepathy. I swear that my palms were soaking in cold sweat despite I have faced even more weirder circumstances before. "Are... you... the SAVIOUR?!" repeated him again; this time, louder.
I brushed off his words and said, "No. Am not and will never be! Let's go to the medic now! You're sick!"
Instead of following my orders, the foreign man grabbed my hand and I flinched to the sudden pain. His eyes glowed brighter and brighter. The sensation felt like something burning my right hand. I pushed him away in response to the agonizing pain, and withdrew instantly. The next thing I know, puts my mind into total blankness.
... An otherworldly tattoo resembling a cross with 6 thorny wings, just engraved freshly onto the back of my palm. The sickening charred and blood smell stained the air. I could feel my stomach churned at the sight and smell of it.
Who is this man? What does he wants from me?
The stranger then mumbled something in inaudible voice, as if reading a chant. The tattoo glows following the readings and then, weird sounds of men, women, elderly and children sipped into my mind. "We came from Rachel... Rachel is in turmoil after the Ring of Nibelungen stolen from the temple..."
"Rachel...?" I never heard of the name before. Where this Rachel hailed from?
And most importantly, what is it got to do with me? This shit has gone too real for my liking.
"... We found you, Destins." a child-like voice then whisper softly.
"Help Rachel...!" a woman voice rings sharply into my ears right after that. "Rachel is going to be destroyed! We need you, the Saviour to save our beloved town!"
I couldn't get enough with this mojo-hojo stuff. The feelings were weirder than I expected. "It has nothing to do with me! Leave me alone!" I retorted with anger. This shit has nothing to do with me, really. They should get someone that has the attitude and aptitude of 'world-saving' to do the job for them. Ain't me. I have no character in that.
I am just an Assassin by profession, working for contracts. Not a Knight nor Paladin that has the call for this.
"It has everything to do with you, Des..." the next one came in, to my grimace of course. The familiar voice belonged to a dear friend that perished in an accident, 5 years ago - Na'im. This is ridiculous! They are playing tricks to my thoughts, manipulating my mind by using the old comrades of mine to do the persuasion, so that my resolution would wavered.
"Na'im, my old friend..." said me, in an exasperated sigh. I tried to snap myself out of this, but my conscience again, betrayed me. "... What should I do now...?" - "I have nothing to do with this... But why...? Why do I have to go through it?"
"... What's in it for me anyway, if I do this according to their plead...?"
Na'im was quiet. But I could felt his presence there. "... Do you want to revenge Divy's death?" he asked, gently. I was so sure that no one had inquired this for years, as I never had a heart-to-heart talk to anyone; about what I wanted, about what I aim to achieve after those events 5 years ago... I pent up everything to the point I almost thought of quitting; giving up the hope that at least I could do something in return.
"... If your answer is a yes... then carry on with this mission. If revenging for your loved ones and comrades meant everything for you, then carry on this reason to the end." I could pictured the days Na'im, Jannah, Divy, Erik and the rest were resting at the nearby oak tree of Prontera South - laughing out loud over some silly things that the party joker, Antares would come up at odd time. Those were the fun days, when I just done getting to level 45 and became an Assassin. The bonds we shared were unquestionable. Precious little things that nobody - even the Higher Being couldn't take it away from us. The comrades back in assassin guild weren't this close with me, as I find solace and peace in this family of mine, which we fondly named as Trinity.
The place that I truthfully belongs to. I caressed softly the memento necklace that I made out of the proposal ring to Divy - which she hadn't the chance to see it; a light sigh then escaped from my lips. "No danger we could not surpass... Virtus Unita Fortis Agit..." United we act stronger, that was the core value we hold dear in Trinity — thus, the motto.
Smiling, I could spot most of them looked at me with hopeful glint. As if telling me, this is not my place, yet. And that I have something important to do. I clenched my fist so tight that I could hear the sound of bones cracking.
"Don't worry, my friend. I will get this job done. I promised." said me, in confidence. I finally get the chance to do what I really wanted. Find the truth and make those that responsible on the event 5 years ago pay. At least I know, my fallen comrades haven't given up on me.
"Go to Prontera South... The answer lies there..." Na'im's voice trailing off softly. "This is your Destiny. The fate has call upon you... Even if you refused to acknowledge it, the same thing will happen too, perhaps in a different way..." he continues, before completely vanished and replaced by a much older voice.
"... Destins, heed thy fate and see to this till the end..."
The sandstorm cleared after those mixed voices disappearing slowly from my mind. I woke up to find the foreign man no longer there, but only an old scroll found buried visibly under the sand. It was truly indeed a weird experience, nothing like a quest or official stuff that I had to go through all those traditional protocols.
However, whatever happened back then; the talk with Na'im and little flashbacks of our time were good enough to strengthen my newfound resolution. I thought I lost it all, since 5 years ago. But gods, how wrong I was.
I picked up the item and immediately, the Quest screen pops out.
Special Quest Accepted.
Prologue: The March of Valkrjya
'... Odin shared such joyful laughter with his beloved sons, Baldur and Thor - as the realm of Asgard celebrates their victorious battle against the monstrous Jotun race.
The Allfather declared he was overwhelmed with pride and joy, listening the glorious telltales from his sons. He hence offered Baldur and Thor to choose one of his Valkryja in the Hall of the Fallen Soul, to assists them in the next battle to come.
Thor deliberately chose the one he fancied for long, Hildr. And Baldur, chose Brynhildr.
When the days of coming battle dawning near, Thor and his brother, Baldur accompanied by their chosen Valkrjya to the battlefield. But Brynhildr decided they should have a victory toast to bless the battle so they would win easily. The god of Thunder agreed, following suits by his brother. Brynhildr then draws out a piece of paper, and begin to scribes something:
Battle Victory Blessing
Mead made of 20 sacks of Wolf's Blood to empower the warrior's strength
Bread made of Wheat to empower the warrior's defense
And an exquisite Tiger's foot from a noble creature, made into talisman to bless the battle..."
I continue to read the requirements that collapsed into two cleanly arranged paragraphs.
Completion Time: 48 Hours
The March of Valkyrjya marked as Special Quest. Only you alone, the Chosen One known about it and the only one have the access to this task.
The Quest will be forfeited if you failed to complete in the given time.
... That's it? I thought it could go no tougher like any I have taken before. And, what were those voices mentioned earlier, saving Rachel got to do with this quest? The title, the content were like two different things than the Rachel dream I had earlier.
Ah well, guess I just have to see this thing to the end. I'm the type of man that never quit once taken up a job and I'll finish it no matter what it cost, whether the task makes sense or no.
Perhaps, this is just the tip of an iceberg. This could be a stepping stone for me to uncover the reality behind the incident happened 5 years ago. That was the cue Na'im gave to me in the dream. And I made a promise. I will seek the truth, and give justice to the fallen comrades of mine.
I grabbed the scroll and put it in my bag briskly. Next destination, Prontera South - the usual place. Fate could be such ironic bastard sometime. The place that I used to hate for these past 5 years, slowly prompting me to return. Sighing silently, I set the target location in my map and never look back again.
However silly this could sound, but the vision that I saw when came into contact with the mysterious 'Rachel messenger' clearly not a fraud.
I could feel Divy and the rest 5 were so close, yet so far from me. The team's feelings were too strong and at that exact moment, I almost convinced myself I was really there.
Hence, I decided I would see this job to completion. Call it a contract or so. This is my personal contract with them, so that I could accomplish the real task that I have been waiting for these past 5 years.
... Just wait for me, Divy. I promised that I will avenge your death by putting those responsible back to their place. They will PAY for what they did.
And...
Just as my boots touched the soft lushly field of Prontera South, my eyes laid on a very familiar figure sat close the old oak tree me and my friends used to hang out.
This can't be serious...
My lips were wide agape. My heart raced as if it would popped out from my lungs anytime. I hope my eyes were not deceiving me, for I have taken up the weird quest back in Sograt...
Yet, the natural instinct took over me. I just felt I have lost control of my own body. I walked up to the stranger, approaching her from the side.
Same hair, same face features... Only the difference was the hair colour.
What in the world is happening...?
This can't be coincidence, is it not?
Divy...?
Chapter 3: Destiny
Author's Footer Note: OMG I'm so sorry for the 5 months hiatus. RL work really took my energy away from writing. This chapter I personally write in Destins's POV because I guess we should understand from his point of view as well sometime. And furthermore, I wanted to reveal a little bit side of him that we're not often see, as well as why does he poised so familiar with Leya at the previous chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoy writing it. I added some game features ie: Card and stat explanation after slot-in etc so that the story will be much 'game-lit' ish.
Till then, stay tune for the next chapter! Thank you for reading! And don't forget to SUB FAVE FOLLOW RO: A Valkyrie's Oath and my works too. :p
xoxo,
Little Dragon Girl