“Welcome again, humans and Godlings alike. Pyrrhon will continue, and finish his tale. This is a very long part, but I must end today…

“Things were quite rough for Pyrrhon. The death of his family and lost in a cave with the murderer wasn’t quite what Pyrrhon was expecting in life. But he woke up and learned a few things. The cave was as well lit as it was before…”

And so begins part 4…

Ignis awoke feeling very refreshed. He looked around the cave and found the shackles on his foot were undone. Ignis could have a better look around the cave as the archer guy was sleeping. He thought about killing him, but he would hear what he had to say, just to see what all this was about. He saw some kind of book on a stone table. He went over to it and flicked through the pages carefully. He could understand every word in it, even though he never learned how to read. He read about a certain potion that could make the dreamer have a brief moment with a fraction of the Gods knowledge, only it would only work on those ignorant of the Gods themselves.

He also learned about a jewel hidden by the Gods. A green stone that could match the power of the Gods, at the expense of it eating at your own soul, to the extent that you would no longer be God or man. Then he heard something, like a voice. It got louder and louder, until he realised it was someone calling his name, and then he found himself lying down on the floor, with the archer guy pushing gently at his shoulders. Was that all a dream? He felt a little dizzy.

“Come on, get up. I’m cooking some bacon.” He said. Ignis took this time to get ready. His body felt sore from the hard ground. The shackles were off him, just like in the dream. He went outside of the cave to see the archer guy over a fire, frying some kind of meat. It only just occurred to him this guy was a lot nicer than before, despite the killing of his family. “I’m sure you have some questions you want to ask.”

Ignis had some. “Why should I trust you?” he asked with an air certain loath to his voice.

“I haven’t killed you now, have I?” He put the bacon in some bread and passed it to Ignis. “I would have killed you in your sleep if I wanted to, and I’m a very impulsive person.”

Ignis took a bite out of the meaty bread and his mouth yelled with delight. It was the best thing he had tasted in his entire life.

“What’s your name?” asked Ignis.

“My name….doesn’t matter.”

“Did you have to kill them?” Ignis asked with a bit of a sulk.

“I was blindfolded at the time.” said the archer guy. “It was my test to these ‘Gods’. Should they really care, they would stop the arrows. It was no intention to whom they hit. Now, I do believe in the Gods, but I don’t like them. They are power hungry beings that hardly care for what happens to us. They throw us in the middle of all their wars and make us fight for them, and what do we get? Deaths of loved ones, a destroyed city, little food and hardly enough money to support what’s little left of our family. It makes me sick.” There was certain contempt in his voice. He continued.

“So then I found a book from an Elder that had some knowledge on Gods. Well, I did, but it got burned by some arsonists in my house back in my home town. No doubt some highly religious followers of some God not wanting me to know certain information. But I remembered one thing. A potion to make people know a fraction of the Gods knowledge. Tell me, before you met me, did you know what a God was?”

Ignis shook his head,

“You were on the edge,” said the archer guy. “You almost knew what one was, but just took Apollo as some other king you might have heard of. It was a good thing as well. If you knew about the Gods, then you wouldn’t have a dream about them. Ironic, really…” He laughed a bit. “I could tell you were having that dream, you mimicked the movements of flicking through a book in your sleep. I didn’t think the potion would have that effect. Tell me, what did you read in the book?” Ignis told him of the Posion-green Jade. The archer guy seemed excited.

“Then let me ask you a question.” Proposed the archer guy. How would you like to get rid of the Gods? Let’s face it; they haven’t done anything good for us in a long while. Imagine how good it would be if they didn’t interfere with our affairs. Had he not sent men to your village, none of this would have happened.”

“How do we do that?” asked Ignis, his curiosity rising.

“Simple, we go for the Jade you mentioned. It sounds like the perfect thing to start off with. You should know the way, seeing as you know of the Jewel. Is it far?”

Ignis thought for a bit, trying to remember the dream. He had a vision of the general area of where it was kept, at least, and that was south. He still didn’t forgive this guy. If he got this power of the Gods, then he would be his first victim. Then that sparked another question.

“This Jewel would eat at my own soul.” Ignis asked. “How long would it be before my soul disappears?”

“I don’t know. I never read that passage.” And with that, Ignis set of in a seeming random direction to where this Jewel was. He had a feeling that now he knew the presence of the Jewel, he would be able to find where it lied, despite how well it was hidden. Before he got too far, however, he turned around to look at the cave, and then noticed something odd. He looked to the right and then to the left, and saw that is bared a resemblance to the location he saw in his mind. He set back to the cave.

“Where are you going?” said the archer guy. Ignis continued to walk back into the cave and saw a little crack in the very back of the cave. He threw a rock at it, and it crumbled away to reveal a path.

“Wait, are you telling me that for the past several years I spent in this cave, there was a secret passage there the whole time? And all I had to do was throw a rock at that crack? If it leads to that Jewel….I mean, what are the odds of the Gods hiding it in there, and me living here?”

They walked down the passage, going deeper and deeper into the depths. The archer guy brought a torch when he saw how dark it got. The stone around them grew more shiny and whiter the further they went down, like polished marble. They came to an opening, which at first, appeared to be a dead end.

“Well, this seems to be the end of the road.” said the archer guy. “Let’s turn back.” As he went to go back up the tunnel, a black stone door slid down, trapping them in the opening. The torch blew out, despite there being no wind. For a moment, they were trapped in total darkness. Then, there was the sound of stone being moves, the cracking and turning of marble, and then, without any source, was light. As if an invisible sun was on the ceiling, shining light on everything there. There was a pillar in the middle of the room, with four deep holes sections surrounding it. There was a tornado in one; floating pieces of earth in another, and in the third and forth, water and magma were filling in until it was level with the ground. Then elegantly, a green stone, big enough to fit in the palm of your hand, floated down on the pillar in the middle.

“You have got to be kidding me…” said the archer guy. “All this time….That seems so, so, so…..lazy. Damn the Gods! They hide a Jewel with the power of the Gods in a place that could have been easily accessible right under my nose?”

“If you think about it,” said a soft female voice. “Practically no-one knows about this Jewel. And besides, would you think to throw a rock at a crack and expect results? More over, it was designed to repel mortals away or even notice this cave. I was surprised you even lived there for several years.”

“Show yourself!” said the archer guy.

“I have no body to show.” said the soft female. “Nor a spirit, nor a figure of any kind to show. The voice is the only thing about me. I expect you want this Jewel.”

“Yes, very much” said the archer guy with a certain lust for the power of this Jewel. Ignis had a feeling he should stop him, but felt like it would all play his way in the end.

“Then you may take it,” said the soft voice.

The archer guy went to take the Jewel floating from the pillar, but he couldn’t quite reach it. It looked like there was some force field around the Jewel, and the harder he tried, the harder it resisted. He swore.

“Oh how I do love to play these games.” said the soft voice. “Go ahead and take it now, the force field is gone.” The archer guy looked a little annoyed, but went to grab it a second time. His hand went right throw the Jewel. The soft voice giggled rather cutely. “The Jewel is now real. I promise you can now take the Jewel.” The archer guy went to grab it, and successfully wrapped his hands around the Jewel. He picked it up, but then the Jewel went red, burning his hands. He dropped it, and the Jewel fell to the ground, bouncing up over one of his feet, and landed there, with the weight of several tonnes, cracking a toe. He blurted out some colourful language.

“Stop this!” said the archer guy angrily. “Stop these tricks.”

“I cannot promise that.” said the soft voice. “But I can promise that it cool to the touch and weighs a lot less.” He picked up the Jewel again, and for a moment, everything seemed alright, but then the Jewel began to turn soft, and then soggy, until it became a much. As it hit the ground, it turned into that same Jewel again. Ignis got the idea that this might be a distraction, so he explored the room as the voice toyed with the archer man to further anxiety. It was clear the archer man was very single minded. Ignis found four broken pieces of a sphere around the wall of the chamber, and began to piece them together. They formed a green Jewel, and as they came together, the cracks sealed perfectly. The soft voice now focused all her attention on Ignis.

“Thou art not fooled by thy tricks.” She said more formerly. The archer guy looked at his fake jewel, now no longer a sandwich, assuming she was talking about him. “I must warn thee, the path you choose can not be undone. The element you choose to be bonded with will be with thee for the rest of thy soul.”

“And how long would that be?” Ignis asked.

“For as long as thy would live with such power.” replied the voice. The archer guy noticed now there were two Jewels now.

“What if I got a soul of a God, how long would this power last me?”

“To do such a thing…” replied the voice, a little less soft that normal. “Well, for eternity would this power be bestowed upon you. Now, pick an element.”

“Why are there two Jewels?” asked the archer man.

“You were too easy to trick.” giggled the soft voice. Ignis knew he wanted the power, so he had to choose quickly. Wind and earth seemed too weak for his liking, while water seemed too silly. Fire was the only one that made sense.

“I pick fire.” said Ignis.

“Then jump into the fiery substance with the Jewel close to your chest.” said the soft voice.

“Wait, jump?” said the archer guy. “This is another one of your tricks isn’t it? We would die if we jumped in that. Don’t do it!” It did seem a rather stupid thing to do, to jump into something that was hotter than a furnace. Water didn’t seem so silly now he thought about it. He hesitated for a moment, and then decided that there was nothing left in the world for him. If he died, he died. He jumped.

The instant pain he felt when his body was submerged in the magma was incredible. It felt like his skin was burning up, as if it was catching fire. The magma seemed to borrow deep within his body, merging with his blood, muscles and bones, increasing the pain over the maximum. He felt like death itself, and decided that what ever was on the other end of this was not worth it, yet he couldn’t get out. He thrashed and turned in the fiery liquid. Further the magma seemed to borrow, merging with his very soul, causing him feel he was pain itself. He had visions of angels, green haired Goddess, and an army so abundant that none can hope to stop it. Just as he thought he would explode, the pain stopped. Having so much pain and then it stopping suddenly was more than bliss. It was heavenly, he felt angelic. No, he felt like a God! He felt so light yet so powerful. He began to laugh manically under the magma, as if someone had seen death in the face, but were spared with mercy. He then impressively launched out of the magma and landed on his feet. The Jewel was gone.

His appearance seemed to have changed dramatically. For one, his skin was red with some gold guilds around the body. His entire body was captured in flames, his hair like campfire in the wind. He also became much more muscular than he remembered. He heard a voice behind him.

“Ignis?” said the archer guy.

“No, I am no longer Ignis.” he said, slightly drunk with power. “I am a God! My new name is,” he thought for a moment. “Pyrrhon! And you will address me as such. Now just to take care of avenging my family.” He turned to the archer guy and began to summon a fireball in his hands to kill him. He fired at the mortal.

“No!” came a familiar voice. The fireball was deflected and there stood Apollo.

“What is the meaning of this?” said Pyrrhon.

“You are now a God.” said Apollo. “Gods cannot interfere with man-kinds affairs.” So when someone kills their parents, it is ok for the Gods to let that happen. But when a God see’s fit to punish a mortal, he is not allowed to? He saw now. He saw everything. It was the archer’s affair to loose arrows blindfolded to kill some people, it was his choice. That was why the Gods didn’t do a thing. The anger welled up inside him.

“Then I challenge you, Apollo!” said Pyrrhon. “For position of the new Sun God. Right here, right now.” The chamber increased in size as the challenge was accepted. The archer guy must have made a run for it. As Pyrrhon wanted, the fight started there and then. Apollo was amazingly defensive, while Pyrrhon was incredibly offensive, making an interesting battle. Fire and flames were blasted everywhere. Close up combat was done and great power was expressed with soundless yells. It looked like the Gods were evenly matched. The soft voice began to sing, and Apollo couldn’t help but appreciate its soft voice and beautiful singing. It was, after all, a nymph, a very special one at that, but still Apollo was like a slave to their song. He was less reactive, causing Pyrrhon to deal a fatal blow to the Sun God. In slow motion, Apollo flew through the air, and hit the back of the chamber. Pyrrhon walked up to him, and drove his hand into his chest and put a tight grip on his heart. With a little effort, he drained Apo
llo’s life away, as well as his Godly powers. The battle was over. It, in itself was all over…

 
“Pyrrhon took away Apollo’s life away” As Pyrrhon wrapped up the tale. “He was surprised to see the nymph was on his side, noting the pain Pyrrhon had been through. Pyrrhon was worried that other Gods would be after his powers. So he decided to summon the Aurum to gain control of an army to awesome that none could hope to stop it. Then no-one would, not even the combined power of the Gods could stop me. All Pyrrhon had to do was let the Aurum know there was a planet here, and they would come. He came up with that Book of Devine Prophecy section to make it sound real. It’s a good thing that Viridi Fortune Teller didn’t catch on.

“Pyrrhon decided to think up stories of himself over the vast length of time to tell everyone when he should surface. Pyrrhon ran it though his head countless times, which would explain Pyrrhon’s third person talking.

“There, you now know of Pyrrhon’s greatest secret. Now Pyrrhon is tired. Allow me to rest.”

And so ends the Legend of Pyrrhon.



Hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to drop a comment, I really want to know what I could do better next time I make a fan-fic.