Chapter - 85

Elder Baez was on his hands and knees, wheezing like a broken bellows. Dark, thick blood dripped from his nose and splattered onto the dusty stone floor.

His eyes were wide and black, staring at the floorboards as if the ground was about to open up and swallow him whole.

Leo watched him from his seat by the fire with a mean, predatory smile. He reached into his storage and pulled out a square of white silk.

It was a cloth he had stolen from Seraphine's nightstand. It had her family crest on it and smelled like lavender and sweat after a long night of sex.

Leo leaned forward. He dangled the expensive cloth in front of the Goat's shaking face.

"You are leaking, Elder goat," Leo said, his voice dripping with fake concern, "High heights or high stress can be fucking dangerous for old men. You should be more careful where you stick your nose, you old goat."

Baez jumped back as if the silk were a blade covered in poison. He scrambled away, his hooves sliding on the dirt until his back hit the wall.

He didn't see a young human anymore. He saw the Titan from the vision. He saw the God of War standing in a burning world.

Leo smirked and tossed the handkerchief onto the Goat's lap.

"Clean yourself up," Leo said quietly, "You are making a mess on the floor while I am trying to eat."

"Holy shit, boiy," Grendel whispered from the dark, his voice shaking, "You fucking broke him."

"Shut up and stay in your corner, old man," Leo replied without looking back.

Internally, Leo was cheering.

'Nice work, Aiva,' Leo thought, 'That hit him harder than a fucking truck.'

[Affirmative, Master. I isolated the memory file of 'Eldora Online - Server First Kill of the Void Dragon'.]

[I amplified the sensory input and removed the interface overlays to make it appear as a genuine memory of lived experience.]

Leo laughed to himself. The goat hadn't actually read his mind; he had just watched a high-quality replay of a Level 100 character killing a raid boss, boosted by the AI.

In this world, seeing that level of magical destruction was enough to break anyone's brain. To Baez, Leo was an ancient monster hiding his true power to toy with mortals.

Vesper, the Dark Elf, stepped closer. She didn't even look at her leader shaking on the ground. Her eyes were locked on Leo.

As a Dark Elf, she was much better at feeling mana and killing intent than the others. She hadn't seen the vision, but she had felt the blast.

There was no chant or magic circle. It was just a massive, crushing wave of pressure that had exploded from Leo's mind for a split second.

She watched him wipe a speck of grease from his lip. He wasn't even sweating. Her hand, which had been ready to pull her dagger, slowly moved away to rest on her hip.

She realized with cold certainty that if she tried to fight him, she would be dead before her blade even left the sheath.

She licked her lips behind her veil. In Zarth culture, power was everything. And this man had a strength she couldn't understand. Her look changed from wanting to kill him to a sharp, intense curiosity. She wondered what else that power could do.

"ELDER!"

The roar broke the silence. Korg, the Tiger Beastman, shook his massive head. The fur ball was confused.

He was a creature of muscle and instinct, not magic. He hadn't seen the vision or felt the psychic blast. All he saw was his powerful leader bleeding on the floor while a skinny human boy sat there smirking at them.

"That big cat is gonna snap, boiy!" Grendel hissed from the dirt in the corner, "He's too fucking dumb to be scared. He's going to tear your throat out while you're busy staring at that elf's small tits!"

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO?" Korg screamed, stepping forward. The noise shook the dust off the ceiling beams, "Did you poison him? Did you use some cowardly trick, you coward?"

Korg faced Leo, lifting his jagged greatsword. His muscles tightened and veins popped under his fur. "COWARD!" Korg yelled, spitting everywhere, "FIGHT ME WITH REAL STEEL DAMNIT! I'LL FUCKING CHOP YOU INTO LITTLE PIECES!"

Leo didn't flinch to Krog's threats. He leisurely reached out to pick up his cup and took a slow drink, "Sit your ass down, Kitty," Leo said in a bored voice, "The adults are talking here."

"YOU… DIE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Korg growled as he lost his cool. He lunged forward, swinging the sword down at Leo's head.

"STOP!"

It was not Leo who cried out of fear.

It was the goat man. Elder Baez slammed his staff against the stone floor with a crack like a gunshot. He struggled to stand, leaning his shaking body against the wood.

"Don't..." Baez wheezed, blood foaming on his lips, "Don't... piss him off, Korg."

Korg stopped the swing. The blade was inches away from Leo's head. He looked back at the Elder, totally confused.

"Why? He's a damn toothpick!" Korg argued, pointing at Leo, "I can chop him in half right now! Let me skin the bastard!"

Baez glared at the Tiger so hard his eyes started to glow.

"Shut the fuck up!" Baez screamed, "You have no idea what you are looking at!"

"You see a man? I saw the Void! I saw the end of everything!"

He pointed a shaking claw at Leo, "If you touch him, we are all dead."

"Not just dead. We will be wiped out. He will turn our souls into hell fire, leaving nothing for reincarnation!"

Korg paused. He had never seen the Elder this scared. He looked back at Leo. The human was just watching them with a small smile, not caring at all about the giant sword next to his face.

"Gods, boiy," Grendel hissed from the dirt, "That blade was a hair's breadth from your nose. You're going to get us both killed just to look tough."

Korg lowered his weapon slowly and he stepped back while growling low in his throat. His fur was still standing up but he did not try to attack again.

Baez turned back to Leo and his whole attitude had changed completely. The arrogance of the powerful mage was gone and it was replaced by the fear of a man facing a god.

He bowed very low and his forehead nearly touched the dirty floor, "Forgive this ignorant fool, Sir Hero," Baez said and his voice was shaky and humble.

"He is just a dumb beast of the earth and he only sees the surface but he does not see the mountain that lies beneath your skin."

Leo waved a hand and he looked totally bored. "He is a noisy prick but I will let it slide for now because this steak is good and it puts me in a decent mood."

Baez nodded fast and he said, "You are generous and truly kind."

"I can't believe this shit, boiy," Grendel whispered from the dark and his voice was full of shock, "You've got this powerful shaman bowing like a whipped dog."

The Goat Beastman stood up but he kept his head lowered. He reached into the empty air and the space rippled with magic and he pulled out a heavy object.

It was a circular token made of black iron and it was heavy and cold. It was carved with a three-eyed goat skull and it pulsed with a faint and dark energy.

Korg gasped and he looked shocked, "The Elder's Token? You would give this to a fucking human?"

"Shut your mouth," Baez hissed at him and he offered the token to Leo with two hands, "This is the Sigil of the Silent Moon," Baez explained and he sounded very respectful.

"It is a mark of our highest respect and if you ever travel south then you can show this to any Zarth patrol and they will treat you like a guest."

Leo took the token and he flipped it in the air and he watched the firelight catch the black iron and he caught it in his hand.

"Shiny," Leo said and he acted like the gift was nothing. He shoved the iron coin into his pocket and he did not look at it again, "I will keep it but if the food down south is better than this meat then I might visit."

Baez looked happy that the gift was taken.

Leo wiped his hands on a cloth and he was done with the games. He had shown them who was boss and now it was time for the job.

"Alright," Leo said and his voice got sharp, "Enough of this chit chat. Where is my delivery? Remus told me you brought the 'Black Sky'."

Baez nodded and his face turned serious again.

"It is outside," Baez said, ""We dared not bring it into the outpost. The aura... it disturbs the spirits. It makes the shadows hungry."

"Instead of such big words, just show me," Leo said and he stood up.

They walked out of the broken building.

Grendel had been hiding behind some rocks, and he peeked out to see. He saw Leo walking in front of the monsters

At a short distance from the outpost, there were four huge shapes waiting in the dark and Leo narrowed his eyes.

They were Gorilla Beasts and they were about eight nine feet tall and very wide. Their fur was silver and black and they wore heavy, rune-inscribed iron shackles on their wrists and ankles, chains dragging in the dirt.

They did not move and they stood still like stone statues. Their massive chests moved at the same time but their eyes were dull and empty.

"Did you break their fucking brains?" Leo asked.

"They are bound," Baez said, "To carry the Black Sky requires a mind that cannot dream. A mind that cannot fear."

On their massive shoulders, supported by thick iron poles, rested a heavy, black-lacquered Palanquin.

It looked like a small, portable temple. It was draped in heavy purple curtains that were sealed shut with glowing yellow paper talismans.

The air around the palanquin felt colder than the rest of the forest. The grass beneath it was withered and grey.

Baez gestured with his staff, "Lower it."

The four Gorillas grunted in unison. They knelt, their movements mechanical and synchronized. They lowered the heavy palanquin to the ground with a heavy thud.

Baez approached the curtains. His hand trembled as he reached for the seal. He muttered a quick incantation, and the yellow talisman burned away into ash.

He pulled back the heavy purple curtain.

"Behold," Baez whispered, "The burden of Zarth."

Leo stepped closer. He looked inside the palanquin.

Sitting on a cushion of black velvet was a box.

It wasn't large. Maybe the size of a big jewelry chest. But it had a presence that filled the clearing.

It was carved from a wood so black it seemed to absorb the moonlight, drinking it in and giving nothing back.

Leo leaned in. The surface of the box wasn't smooth. It was etched with thousands of microscopic carvings. He squinted.

They were faces.

Thousands of screaming, agony-filled faces carved into the wood with impossible detail.

The lock was made of white bone, shaped like a skeletal hand gripping the lid shut.

Even from five feet away, Leo felt a chill. It wasn't the cold of winter. It was the cold of the void. It was the feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff in the dark.

[System Alert: Calamity-Class Artifact Detected.]

Leo whistled low, "That is one ugly box."

Baez looked at it with pure fear. He stepped back, putting distance between himself and the object.

"It whispers," Baez said, his voice barely audible, "At night, when the fire dies... it whispers names."

He looked at Leo.

"You are just trying to scare me," Leo smirked, "Don't bother."

Baez shook his head, "It is yours now, Hero. We wash our hands of it."

Leo looked at the box. He didn't feel fear. He felt the gamer's itch. That box was high-level loot. That box was power.

"Fine by me," Leo said.

He walked forward, raising his hand to check out the goods.

"Don't touch it directly!" Baez warned.

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