Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

The disappointment was palpable, spilling in from all sides of the amphitheatre. If there was still a supporter left, they were hiding, because as the prince stared up at the people he trusted to rally behind him, all that stared back at him was a singular mask of disapproval.

Seated in the countless concentric rows of seats in the audience were disappointed faces, appalled faces, revolted faces staring at the monster they now believed him to be. Some bore hints of pity while others were fearful.

The looks from the group of Stormrunners hurt the most. Their faces might not have been as harsh as the rest, but they failed to mask what was so clearly disapproval.

If Rail'ak's world had crashed at the punishment of exile, then it had completely shattered in this singular duel. It had been his last effort to strengthen the faith of his followers before leaving for exile.

He was supposed to leave and return a hero wrongfully punished by his incompetent father, but now… Now, he would leave a traitor. There would be no fans waiting for him when he returned.

If he returned.

"I yield," he resigned with a sigh. He could feel the effects of adrenaline wearing off as he crashed to his knees, his legs broken. The pain was excruciating, but for the first time in his life, it paled in comparison to the despair in his heart.

Like clockwork, the golden cage came apart, and Alaric's Storm Void spell shattered, the runes scattering above the great amphitheatre while air was once more allowed to flow. It washed away the stench of sweaty demihumans and rejuvenated them as each demihuman instantly reached for it, like caged beasts struggling to grab onto a piece of meat dangling above. It was a battle they all had subconsciously, as controlling the wind was just as easy as walking to them.

The demihumans of the demiplane spilt into the arena like a swarm of worrisome bees tending to their queen, gathering around Tor'ak's unconscious body as well as Alaric's. Alia, who was still stuck inside chains of green, shattered them with a sudden jerk of her body before vanishing into the shadows.

Kair'ak was at Alaric's side in a heartbeat, having pushed through several demihumans to get to him. "Make room," she commanded, brandishing her Healing Magic with expert ease.

Holding him upright, she placed a hand on his chest and aether flooded his system, mending millions of tiny injuries while attempting to restore his body to full function, a feat that was bound to be difficult even for a High-tier Stone Rank healer such as herself.

"What were you thinking?" the woman barked, her frustration visible as she strained to heal him.

Alaric's eyes stopped glowing, and he groaned. He could feel his head pounding like a hammer against an anvil as the healing magic fought to get him back to normal. His muscles spasmed, tore, and were mended, only for them to tear again in an endless cycle of self-destruction.

Rather than get better, his muscles were reeling while his body turned hotter than the sun. He collapsed on the ground and spat blood, 'What is this?'

It was worse than the pain he experienced when trying to heal Lucy's bond. Like someone had poured scalding hot water into his muscles, then took a metal club to them.

Kair'ak answered this reaction by casting even more Healing magic, "The adrenaline's coming down. It's supposed to hurt."

"This much?" the boy winced, clenching his fists while the pain continued to ravage his body. He struggled to understand how he hadn't noticed this much damage to his body.

"For using power like that, yes," the demihuman responded, "I'm actually surprised you lasted that long."

Alaric had suspected his prolonged battle was too good to be true, and now he knew it was. His endurance was good, but even he knew it was 'that' good. Knowing he hadn't survived entirely because of grit stung, especially considering the pain he was now going through. That metaphorical blow could be felt even in the throes of his backlash.

Lucy, LionHeart, Troy, Scarlett and Grun'am arrived then, rushing up to Alaric with worried expressions.

Scarlett was the first at his side, staring worriedly at the blood on the sand. "What were you thinking?"

"That I'd teach him a thing or two about messing with my friends," Alaric winced. The pain was coming down to the point where he attempted movement. But as Scarlett tried to help him up, he came to understand the underlying extent of his injuries. His body stopped listening halfway up, and he fell in a heap before painfully rolling to his back, gritting his teeth, "I… can't feel my feet."

Kair'ak just shook her head, still holding out her hands as she continued casting her magic. LionHeart crouched beside him, "You won't need them. We were planning on carrying you back to the Pantheon, anyway."

"Thanks," Alaric coughed, tasting his own blood while the Healing Magic painfully snapped a few more bones into place, "I have a few Four-Star Healing elixirs in my…"

LionHeart retrieved the items from his bracelet and helped him drink. They tasted like mint, before twisting down his throat in a corrosive battle against his stomach walls, adding their own aether into the battle to keep his body in one piece. A bright light shook his body as the magic took root, mending bones and rending flesh before putting it back together.

Lucy put her hand on Rail'ak's and added her power to the spell, "There is still a kind of pain we won't be able to heal."

Alaric knew what she meant, and he'd been ready to endure that one. The pain that came from using his Will and Authority more than his body could handle. It was a bit of an old friend by now. He'd felt it helping Finn with his Job Clash. He'd felt it the first time he acquired Old Thomper's power, and he felt it still whenever he helped heal Lucy's bond before going to sleep. It always left enough side effects that would follow him into the following day when he worked with Lucy. He reckoned this one would take a few days.

"Nothing a sleep spell can't fix," Kair'ak shrugged.

"Oh, definitely! We'll have him out like a light in no time, then draw all kinds of things on his face." Lucy continued with a look of mischief.

"Hey! Don't do that!", Alaric squealed, but only laughter followed his reaction. He had no say in this, so he let it be. "Is it wrong to say I'm starving?"

"You've been fighting for five hours," LionHeart responded as he propped him up to his feet. This time, Alaric wasn't as eager to stand and let the big man do most of the work, leaning into his support more than he would have liked… on a normal day. "Of course, you're hungry."

Before they could leave, a demihuman approached them, bowing her head so all they could see was the gold-specked white hair on her head, "Your Highness, I-I want to thank you."

Alaric raised his eyebrow at her. Wasn't a Guardian Emperor supposed to be Your Majesty? He shook that thought away. He didn't fancy the title anyway. The girl looked vaguely familiar, but his mind came up blank. "For what?"

"For saving my life earlier today. Those magnificent aether vines were yours, weren't they? I felt their aether," she answered, then put her hands out straight, a cup between them, "You said… that you were hungry. It's not much but…"

Grun'am glared, walking up to her in the most comical guard-like manner Alaric had ever seen. "You dare to offer the Guardian Emperor a half-consumed drink?"

Alaric chuckled, patting his big friend on the back to help him over to the girl. Silence settled over the group as he hopped over and took the cup from her hands.

There were quiet gasps and a tense wait as Alaric took a sip of the drink inside, sensing the jealous looks the girl was getting from her friends, male and female alike. The group was mixed with scholar-looking demihumans, with most of them smelling of herbs and alchemical ingredients. Again, Alaric could only vaguely recognise some from the heroics that had saved Troy's life.

The drink was smooth on the tongue, cold and tasty; the perfect salve for his parched tongue. It tasted of passion and something he'd never had before, "What's that… other flavour?"

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"Amber honey…f-f-from Gold-tipped Bees," the girl stuttered, her face flushed so much she looked like a berry.

Alaric didn't know what Gold-tipped Bees were or that there were many types of honey… and bees, but he liked the drink, so he flashed a brilliant smile, "Thanks. It's delicious."

"Oh…" she squeaked, "D-don't mention it." Her friends glared at her, but none made a move in Alaric's presence.

LionHeart rolled his eyes at the scene before unceremoniously lifting the esteemed Guardian Emperor off the ground like a helpless damsel in distress.

"LIONHEART!!!" Alaric screamed.

"Oh?! Would you rather walk by yourself, Your Highness?" The man raised a brow at him.

"You're a villain!" he squealed as they walked past the demihumans. The crowd around them parted to let them through as laughter rippled through their group. Alaric pouted at his protector's timing, which he was now sure was intentional.

'I looked cool.'

[ Of course you did. ] Sabre chuckled in his mind, [ Until you didn't. ]

[ Master makes good damsel in distress. ] WorldHammer approved.

Grun'am walked beside them, his amusement still present as they finally made it into the tunnel leading out of the amphitheatre. "I've never seen a Duel of Wind go on for that long. Longest one ever was two hours, and that was me chasing Par'al around in circles."

Alaric laughed. He could imagine a scene like that. From what he had gathered of their relationship with the cagey demihuman, they often fought amongst each other, disagreeing a lot while still making the time to be there for each other. It was a confusing balance, but it existed among the siblings and Par'al.

"Tiring him out was my only option," Alaric answered briefly.

"He's a Steel Rank. What made you think you had what it takes to tire him out?" Grun'am asked.

"Make him spend too much of his strength while I conserve mine," Alaric responded nonchalantly. Alaric's strategy had involved a lot of patience. He had to keep the prince working hard so he could hit his limit quickly. Whenever he relaxed, Alaric would attempt something dangerous, like a blade to the eye, something frightening enough that it spurred the prince back into action. However, he didn't really have to resort to that a lot, as the prince seemed eager to end the duel quickly.

"Alaric knew how little Rail'ak trains. He's powerful, but he doesn't spend the time to build up his stamina. Still, it was a gamble," LionHeart elaborated, surprising Alaric with his insight.

Out of all his friends, LionHeart was the least surprised whenever Alaric turned up with information he shouldn't have had. Noticing the boy's wide eyes, he merely shrugged, "I would have done the same thing. Now, let's get you some real food. That amber honey won't do much."

"Wait," Alaric stopped everyone. Outside the amphitheatre, they'd come across a gathering centred around a group of Stormrunners loading Tor'ak gently onto the back of a large golden eagle, "Is he going to be alright?"

"He took a thorough beating from Rail'ak, but he'll pull through. He's Steel Rank too, you know." Grun'am answered.

"What about Rail'ak? He pushed himself even though I'm sure I'd injured his spine and broken both his legs," Alaric responded with a grimace. The boy hadn't seen what happened to the prince after the duel, and even now, when he looked around, he saw no sign of him. "How was he able to move in the first place?"

"Adrenaline, I think," Kair'ak tried.

"Perhaps he couldn't stand seeing you tear down the empire he'd built," Lucy added, "I've seen merchants lose their senses over much smaller things."

Kair'ak nodded, "That would do it. What I do know, however, is that he'll need more time to heal than Tor'ak, both physically and mentally. You can visit them once you've recovered. Now, can we go?"

Alaric nodded, and before long, the wind was blowing through his hair as he sailed through the air atop a white lion, heading for the Pantheon.

It wasn't long before Alaric had eaten and was lying in a bed, recuperating. Lucy cancelled her session with him that night, and for once, he was placed in a room on the floor with his friends so they could monitor his condition. The siblings got rooms, too, since Rail'ak was more experienced in healing than Lucy.

The High Sentinel did not visit them that night, and it was no surprise. Alaric couldn't hold it against him, considering his son had just taken a severe beating and gotten publicly ashamed. As the leader of the demiplane, that Duel was a tough pill to swallow, regardless of who had won it.

Alaric lay down in the bed, finally left alone. He'd managed to convince the Healer girls to hold off on casting a sleep spell on him, as he still wanted to visit his realm in the In-Between.

He'd spoken to everyone and apologised for acting out the way he did. All except for Troy. The alchemy prodigy had stayed in Alaric's periphery until they reached the Pantheon, where he vanished to his room.

He wondered what could be milling through the genius's brain. That entire battle had happened because he'd almost died, and yet he didn't bother to check on Alaric. It didn't make sense, but he wouldn't stress the issue either. He was just glad the boy was alright.

Sighing, he stared up at the plain white ceiling adorned with rough drawings of eagles and men. He'd never cared to know what the drawings meant, and today wasn't the day to find out either. Almost everything in this city felt like a blow from a distant past he really shouldn't have been tied to… and yet he was, in more ways than he could imagine.

He would find out the truth… eventually. Right now, however, he had other duties.

Rather than ponder the mysteries of the demiplane, Alaric frowned at the churning thoughts in his mind. He'd already replayed the looming conversation between him and his guardian numerous times in his head, but it only helped to increase his anxiety.

In the end, he had to face the music. This was a part of the consequences for his actions, and it would be dishonourable to run from it.

Alia had been confident in winning that duel because she was going to fight at his side, but that's not what had happened.

Alaric had taken over completely and restrained her while he gave the arrogant prince a piece of his mind. The guardian took a significant amount of Will to restrain, but even then, he'd remained stubborn and held her back.

He couldn't imagine what she had gone through during that time, and yet, he still wouldn't have had it any other way. He understood it was him being stubborn, but he wouldn't change his decision.

Without meaning to, his mind descended into the In-Between, arriving on the soft, cool grass patch of hill in the middle of a vast meadow. He could see signs of disturbance in the stalks of tall grass as though they had been exposed to powerful typhoons and the wrath of storms laden with lightning.

At the edge of the small island of green sat a girl in a yellow sundress. She was seated cross-legged with her head in her hand, propped up against her thigh, staring off in the distance in deep thought… or at least that's what Alaric would have liked to believe.

Slowly, she turned to him. Her expression was unreadable, and for a second, Alaric felt it was worse than being yelled at.

"Thank you for having my back," Alaric started, his voice sounding smaller than he remembered.

"Having your back?" the girl raised a brow. She sounded bored, like she found it pointless to articulate herself, "You held me back and made me watch you get beaten."

"I know," Alaric tried, "But I had a plan."

"Like you had a plan when Rail'ak chose to fight with a broken spine?" the guardian raised a brow, her bored facade cracking. His silence spoke more than any words could, "That's what I thought. You had no plan. You thought you did, but you didn't. One small trigger and you went off swinging your fists like some baboon," she unleashed her fury.

Alaric flinched with each sharp rise in the guardian's pitch, taking it all in. He deserved every word, and he would take more, but no more came. Only silence greeted him. He cracked an eye open and saw that the guardian had calmed down, bearing what looked like silent sadness in her eyes. She sighed, "Why do you have to be so much like him?"

"Soren?" the boy asked quietly.

"Surrounded by hundreds of people who'd die for you, and yet you still choose to put yourself in harm's way," she rambled, "It won't all matter if you end up killing yourself."

Alaric nodded, partly agreeing to what the girl was saying. There were some who would miss him if he died, but he doubted everything would end with his death. The fight against demonkind would continue. Some unfortunate soul would probably be reborn in a thousand years to continue this Guardian Emperor nonsense, and the world would still be there when that happened.

He noticed the frown on his guardian's face and realised they'd both been silent.

"All I could think about was what Rail'ak had been doing to Troy and to Scarlett, and when he nearly killed Troy, I—" he breathed, calmed himself, and started again. "I knew that everything the prince could endure would only be a reminder that he's alive, which is a punishment far lighter than death. Yet death is swift. Death is kind. Nothing would come close to what I wanted."

"That's obvious. Not even you can imagine what kind of vengeance you wanted," the girl sighed, smiling warmly despite her hollow tone, "Your emotions were all over the place. I'm surprised you came up with a plan at all. What did I teach you about making emotional decisions?"

"That they would only get me killed and prove my enemies right for underestimating me," he answered, a lesson that had been drilled into him several times during their sparring sessions in the Five Hills. Alia had a knack for making him angry, and because of that, she'd taught him how to keep his anger in check.

She'd never tried killing his friends, though.

"You also said that there was strength in righteous anger," Alaric added.

"Only if you learn to harness it," the guardian added.

They were silent for a while before Alaric spoke up, his voice getting harder to draw out as the emotions threatened to spill out of him yet again, "I wasn't just… angry, Alia," he shuddered, biting back the tears in his eyes, "I was seething.

"It took everything just to keep myself from lashing out. It was fine when he hit me on the first day we came here. It would have been fine if he had continued to come at me, but he didn't. He went for my friends, and when I saw Troy crying, I almost lost it.

"You even tried to help him by pushing for exile, but that fool still came back, taunting me with a Duel of Wind he knew I couldn't win. My patience has limits, and I am sorry if I worried you."

Alia stood and walked up to him, her expression stern before it softened, and she pulled him into a warm hug.

For the first time since she'd cut him off, she opened her side of the bond to him and allowed her emotions to spill through. They were a stark contrast to his untamed rage.

She had been worried, but she was also relieved… so relieved that he'd made it out of the duel alive. She was proud that he'd won. And she was mad that he put her through that. She was hurting with a dull ache from a time long past, but she was fine with it now. She cared for him and was happy that he was back… and that he had apologised.

"That's all I wanted to hear," she whispered gently, triggering the involuntary action of salty water leaking from Alaric's eyes. Alaric wept into the woman's sundress, the dam of emotions inside him finally bursting.

His rage still bubbled inside him, but the object of his anger was gone, leaving him with nothing to subject his rage to.

So, he cried, 'It's not fair.'

'It's so unfair.'