Further Beyond: Ascension

Lunesday, 2nd of Julius, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Josias was on the edge of his seat, leaning forward the entire time his father and uncle fought. It was a close match and his uncle had given it a good run. When he saw his father gather up all that fiery aura, Josias had thought the match was over and done with. His uncle had given it his all but it was still clear that his father was the better warrior.

But all of a sudden his father's aura had dissipated as he leaned forward. What happened next was something no one would ever imagine.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He refused to. He couldn't even form proper words as he stood up in the wake of the events.

His father's head was sent flying as blood gushed out of the base of his neck.

It wasn't possible. This had to be a hallucination. He was daydreaming and experiencing a nightmare, it can't be real! There was no way it was real…

The loud thud of his father's headless body as it crashed upon the ground brought Josias back to reality. He wasn't dreaming. His father was killed right in front of his eyes… by his own brother.

Josias' mind went numb as all his thoughts became blank. All he remembered of that single moment was pure rage and anguish. He had let out a hellish scream that sounded more like the roar of a beast. Josias leapt as he rushed towards his father.

The shocked and quieted world around him was also as if it had come back to life as the Gorians panically got up to the courtyard. Their new king had just died. Killed in a little over a week since the death of their last king.

"Arghhh!!! Father! Father!!! Father–RRAGHHH!!!!! ARGHHH!!" Josias was maddened as he embraced his father's headless corpse, rocking and shaking it back and forth. His words slurring into an incoherent jumble of crazed sobs, screams, and shouts. He didn't even care that the blood was getting on him.

A few Gorian elders had rushed up to hold Josias back but he shoved them off. His attention instead turned to his father's severed head which lay upon the ground in such an undignified manner. Josias walked slowly towards it as he held it up to face him…

His father had a confused expression plastered upon his cold, lifeless face. Josias' heart felt like it had dropped into his stomach as he dropped to his knees. He cried out in anguish, unable to do anything else.

A woman's scream could be heard resonating throughout the courtyard. Josias instinctively turned to the source of the scream, holding his father's head closer as if guarding it from being stolen from him. It was his mother.

She had come running to him from afar and her shrieks became even more shrill. She cared not for the amiss iron-scent nor the gore spilt upon the ground as she rushed in next to Josias. While screaming with a reddened face full of tears and snot, she didn't even cast a glance towards Josias. All her attention was instead turned towards the severed head in his arms.

As his mother's hands reached out, Josias weakly gave her the head. His mother reached out to it with trembling hands as she received it. In the next moment she let out another shriek as words failed to form from her voice. The veins on her neck were more pronounced from all the muscles she had used to scream.

She fell over to the ground face first while sobbing and holding onto her husband's head. All while sounds of vomiting could be heard coming out of her as well. As his mother was in an even more wretched state than he was, Josias was finally lucid enough to notice the full situation around him.

He had finally noticed the chaos that had unfurled around him. The Gorian Elders, his father-in-law, his father's lieutenants were all running around in panic trying to get a hold of the situation. The kings and elders of the other realms were equally shocked but others had mixed expressions. It was an unexpected outcome that no one had considered possible.

But Josias didn't care about any of them. No. His attention was focused on a single person. The treacherous, prodigal, and fanatical bastard that was his uncle. The accursed kinslayer who had killed Josias' father.

Josias' blood boiled as he saw his uncle's pathetic figure on the ground. Who was he trying to fool? How dare he act like that when he had killed his own brother! He had attacked his father with malice… and now he shall pay the price.

Josias' aura shot out from him wildly. He hadn't noticed it himself initially but visible flames were now raging around him. He had ascended to the realm of a fourth star warrior without knowing it. But he didn't care about that at the moment. All he cared about was one thing.

He crouched to the ground as he picked up his father's sabre with its bloodied hilt. He approached his uncle who was still not in his best state of mind.

"...You… You… rrrrRRRAAAARRGHHH!!!" Josias lashed out as he unleashed the full force of his aura towards his uncle, sabre poised. He didn't care about anything else anymore. His father's blood must be avenged by the blood of this heathen.

"Josias no…!" The Gorian warriors called out as they appeared before Josias, holding him back. Even though he had just ascended into the fourth star, it took two five star warriors to hold him back in his rage. His uncle Hasudungan and Lord Ronggur were holding him back.

They weren't completely successful in stopping him though. Josias had managed to stab his uncle Partogi around his mana core. He had aimed for the heart but missed by a few inches.

"LET ME GO!! Let me kill that bastard!!! THAT KINSLAYING BASTARD!!" Josias shouted as he struggled to strike out against his uncle. "He took my father away from me!! HIS OWN BROTHER!! Let me kill him!!! Rrrrrarrghhhhh!!"

"Josias stop!!" The Archbishop Ludwig held him back as he grabbed Josias' face. "Dear Josias, please! Look at him!! If you slay him now you are no better than him!!"

"I don't need to be better than him! I need to see him die!!"

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"Josias please…!!"

"I… I.. urghh..!!" His uncle Partogi grimaced as he held to the place Josias had stabbed him. The sabre was still planted deep in him. Josias raged when he saw his uncle look at him. How dare he look at him! That murderous wretch!

But as he raged, his uncle only looked at him with a forlorn, nigh-blank expression.

"...Let him be…" Partogi finally knelt in front of Josias who was still being held back by the five star warriors. "...I… I don't deserve to live… I.. I didn't mean to…!! It was…"

Even when his uncle was reduced to tears, Josias' rage refused to calm. How dare he sob as if he did not cause such a massive loss? How dare he act like he didn't mean for harm to be caused? No! He won't accept such an injustice!

As Josias shouted and raged on, Timotheus came rushing next to his injured father before he knelt face first to the ground. His voice was shaking and sobbing as he pleaded to Josias.

"Anggi…! (Little brother) I beg of you to practice mercy!! He is a despicable man but slaying him won't bring bapatua back! Please I only beg that you don't strike your hand in vengeance and in anger…!"

"You… you say that…!! HOW DARE YOU! You ask me to spare your father when he bereft me of mine?! How dare you!!"

As Josias was greatly angered, the other kings of the realm had finally stepped into the courtyard. Among them, the Raja Malim stood as he cast his gaze downwards. He seemed to hesitate for a second but he finally called out to the beleaguered Gorians.

"...It is with great pain that I address you… but the match has technically been concluded… The will of the ancestors and the gods have been made clear by this most unfortunate result." the Raja Malim said before he looked over everyone with a hardened gaze. "The duel between Raja Parulian Nasilua Sigumogo and the proxy of Raja Pirma Siparsangap has been concluded. With the death of Raja Parulian of Goria… I declare Raja Pirma Siparsangap as Hulubalang Nabolon of all the Halaklands."

Though it was a declaration of triumph, none of the kings who had sided with King Pirma dared to cheer. Not even the blood king himself dared to gloat. But he still had a smile on his face. And besides him some of the other kings also had quite the mixed expressions upon their countenance.

One of those other kings was King Lombutua of Saorma. For a split second, Josias had locked eyes with the old king and for some reason he had turned away from his gaze. At that moment Josias was reminded of the tea leaves and what not the old king's shaman had gifted his father. It didn't make sense for his father to just give up and lose his aura in the middle of a match like that. Foul play was afoot…

But Josias could not prove it nor was he even really thinking about it. Something else had captured his attention and made his spirit boil even more than ever before. The sight of the blood king smiling and the fact that the Raja Malim still declared for the match to be counted as valid.

"You old bastards… every single one of you… How dare you? ALL OF YOU?!" Josias shouted as he called out to the foreign kings. "My father is dead! And the first thing that comes out of your mouths is on the duel's victory?!"

"...We sympathise with the young prince, truly." The Raja Malim had said with a gentle voice that exerted a feeling of understanding. "But we are merely upholding the will of the ancestors here. Your father fell in ritual combat and-...!"

"Fuck you..!! FUCK EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND YOUR MOTHERS!!" Josias didn't care as he screamed out at the top of his lungs. He didn't care about the offended looks upon the kings' faces. In fact, may his words sear them ever more. "Fuck your ancestors! Fuck your damned heathen old ways and FUCK YOUR GODS!! I swear on my life and on the lives of my ancestors I will not rest until I see every single one of you brought to the depths of hell! A thousand curses upon you and upon your children and upon your children's children!!"

The warriors restraining him had tried covering his mouth to prevent him from speaking further. It was apparent that the kings he had insulted were none-too-pleased. Their faces were reddened and their eyes bloodshot from his curses.

"Hold your tongue you damned insolent boy!" King Pirma shouted out "Who do you think you are to scream those profanities?! Insulting our gods and our ancestors like that carries a heavy penalty!"

The Raja Malim was obviously uncomfortable with Josias' rage but he still had yet to comment on anything much while the other pagan kings were protesting more openly. Josias didn't care despite the fact his mouth was now firmly covered by his uncle Hasudungan. Despite that, he kept up the worst glare he could on all those damned pagans. If looks could kill, they'd all probably have already died a thousand times over.

It was his father-in-law who finally stepped in to mediate between Josias and the other kings.

"That is enough, lord kings! Such a display is shameful from all sides!" Archbishop Ludwig shouted as he pointed towards the corpse of Josias' father which was currently being cleaned by the priests and servants of Goria "You all claim to have respect for the ancestors who have passed and for your gods, yet the body of a king lies slain, headless and dishonored upon the yard! And yet you all are bickering like this?!"

Archbishop Ludwig shook his head and made the sign of the cross before he continued.

"You should all be ashamed! I am not currently trying to defend the actions of my hela, but give your understanding! His father's head was lopped off in front of his very eyes by his bapauda! Have you all no compassion?"

"It still gives him no right to dishonor our ways like he did!" King Pirma was adamant "Whatever else you say has no bearing upon that! If he uses the death of his father as such an excuse to deride our ways, then he is not fit to be a king!"

Some other kings had murmured in agreement with King Pirma but their train of thought was soon cut short. More and more women of the Gorian noble clans and all were shocked at the scene of King Parulian's death.

Besides the incessant cries and wails of Josias' mother, another woman had screamed. His aunt Pauli had also arrived at the courtyard. She could no longer bear to stand at the sight of her brother's severed head being cradled by Josias' mother. Aunt Pauli had fainted then and there.

His uncle Hasudungan, who had been covering his mouth the entire time, immediately rushed towards his wife to catch her from falling. Josias was now only being held by Lord Ronggur. But after all that struggling, Josias no longer had the strength to scream, shout, or otherwise curse out in anger.

All of his jumbled up feelings had now welled up and ran forth from out of him as he was reduced to sobbing like a child. There was nothing else he could do. Nothing he would do now would bring back his father. His greatest teacher and mentor, his great provider… He was gone for good.

Josias couldn't think of anything else as the wails and cries of his mother entered his ears. Eventually, even the murmurs of the heathen kings had ceased at the pathetic display of anguish.

"My lord kings… I believe it is for the best that we retire for the day and let the House of Pargoria reorganise and recollect themselves." The Raja Malim had finally spoken up before he gave a slight bow towards the corpse of Josias' father. "...We will reconvene the tonggoraja after you give your religious rites to the late king. Then we can start having a discussion about these matters…"

With a final bow, the Raja Malim turned to leave. Eventually the other Pagan kings had also left the scene with only the Gorians remaining at the courtyard along with the allied kings.

Josias unleashed a final scream towards the darkening heavens. Why, God? Why did this tragedy have to come to pass?