Chapter 18:

The Messiah

The Barrister From Beyond


Fredreich descended from the throne, his footsteps echoing through the room until he came within mere inches of my face, his gaze cold, his face showing little to no emotion.

“Aizawa,” he finally acknowledged my presence.

“Your majesty,” I bowed as courteously as I could.

He gestured for me to take a seat beside him at one of the chairs below the dais.

“I do have to say,” Fredreich spoke up, his eyes lingering at the murals above the throne as he sat beside me, “your little show at the dinner did impress me quite a lot.”

“I just spoke my mind,” I replied. “That was all, Your Majesty.”

“Yes, that you did,” he turned his face to mine, “but most people do not speak their mind to the King.”

“I did not wish to offend you, Your Majesty, I simply—”

“I’m well aware,” he sighed. “Spare me the apologies, Aizawa.”

He leaned closer. “Aizawa, where are you from, exactly?”

“The East, Your Majesty—”

“Where in the East, Aizawa?”

“Hyra, Your Ma—”

“That is a lie and it will do you no good, Aizawa,” Fredreich shook his head sharply.

“No, Your Majesty, honestly, I am from Hyr—”

“Then speak to me in their tongue,” Fredreich’s gaze fixated onto me once again. “And speak in your dialect, too, please.”

“Your Majesty, I am from Hyra, but I spent most of my youth traveling with sailors from Mittengrad,” I replied, my heart starting to beat faster, the air beginning to feel colder.

“Aizawa, don’t play games with me,” he spoke up, his voice cold yet restrained. “I have all day.” He walked over to one of his bookshelves toward the far side of the throne room.

I took a moment to breathe, weighing my options, my mind starting to spin. ‘Does he know? He couldn’t. Why would he?’ were the words that seemed to scream from within my mind, blocking out all forms of rationale as I tried collecting myself.

“A strange-looking man was found within the attic of a farmer near Luxion,” he said, walking slowly back toward me. “He claimed he was a representative of the King and took one of his slaves.” His eyes gleamed underneath the dim flame.

“This is the account of one of the slaves from a farm that was delivered to one of the guards at Luxion exactly four months ago,” he said, staring down at me as I sat in my seat. “Exactly around the same time my scouts reported use of one of the ancient shrines near Luxion’s outskirts as well.”

“What exactly are you implying, Your Majesty?” I said, finding my voice while desperately trying to regain my composure.

“Aizawa, has the All-Mother spoken to you?”

“What?”

“Has the All-Mother spoken to you?” Fredreich stared me down, his words slow, precise, as if each one he uttered carried immense weight.

“Your Majesty, I—”

“It doesn’t matter if you respond or not, because I know she has,” Fredreich dismissed the words I failed to utter. “And I know all about you, Aizawa.”

“Your Majesty, I believe there’s been some confusion,” I spoke up. “I do not know of this All-Mother you speak of.”

“Is that why you asked for a manuscript of The Covenant when you were at the archive mere moments ago?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” I stood up, dusting my coat off. “A conversation with my fellow travelers told me that I need to read more about religion than I’m used to.”

Both Fredreich and I stared each other down, the throne room dark and silent as ever, the occasional gust of wind finding its way into the room making the flames of the candles dance ever so slightly.

As soon as I turned my back to Fredreich, attempting to move out of the room, his voice caught me dead in my tracks.

“A being—not born to the All-Mother—shall soon arrive. He shall bring light to a world that is shrouded in darkness and justice to those that are shackled,” Fredreich’s steps echoed from behind me as he walked back up to his throne, reciting the prophecy. “And establish a kingdom that unites the children in harmony.”

“Aizawa,” I turned to face him as he spoke from atop his throne, “It’s likely that both that brute and my sister—your wife, rather—are dead.”

For a second, I thought he misspoke. Unable to even respond to such a claim, I stood there baffled, staring upwards.

“What?” my voice echoed throughout the room.

“You see, I know my sister has a stronger claim to the throne of Ur, and before you or her would get the idea of doing something, I realized that it was a possibility that I could simply not ignore.”

I stood there, my legs felt weak, and my heart began pounding, as if it wished to break free from my ribcage.

“Given that she was a slave, I doubt she’d be a fit ruler, but she did give me a tough time at that dinner,” he laughed to himself, a laugh that made my blood boil, and made me grit my teeth with such ferocity as if anything between them might be crushed in an instant. “But no matter, now, you only have one Kingdom you need to focus on.”

Without much thought, I found myself rushing toward the throne like an animal, climbing the stairs on all fours, trying to reach for Fredreich to crush him with my own hands, a loud scream leaving my mouth but coming to an abrupt halt almost immediately.

“Oh, no, Aizawa, this wouldn’t do,” Fredreich had his arm outstretched, the same purple light emanating from his palm as I felt my muscles contract, causing me to flop onto the staircase.

“This was a gift from my mother,” Fredreich slowly started descending the staircase, his arm outstretched, as I groaned and writhed on the staircase like a mad dog that needed to be put down. “It allows me to control the water in anyone’s blood.”

“Very similar to what my sister used on those bandits—although I won’t make your heart explode, don’t worry,” he laughed once again.

He proceeded to kick me in the chest, the force making me cough as I tumbled down the remaining stairs.

“Guards!” he yelled, as the door to the throne room opened, and armed men came rushing in. “Take him to the dungeons.”

My limp body was grabbed by a few of the men as all I could do was look at Fredreich as they dragged me to the exit.

“YOU’LL RUE THIS DAY, FREDREICH!” I tried breaking free from the guards’ clutches as Fredreich’s magic stopped working. “I’LL KILL YOU, I PROMISE, I’LL KILL YOU!”

“I’m sure you will,” Fredreich laughed as a sharp pain went through my head—the hilt of a sword—causing everything around me to go black.

Mika
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