《The Crown of Judgment》 Zero: The Birth of the King It was not my destiny to find it, but I was there to witness it ¡ª the birth of a king. But he was a man already, fully grown yet lacking. Not the tallest, not the shortest. Willful and dauntless, but a sensitive heart that overwhelms. Innocent yet not pure, he expects the worst out of everyone but trusts everyone till proven dishonorable. He picked up the small broken pieces of a crown-like object scattered throughout the ground. Quickly, he assembled them, and glanced at me with a smirk. Nimble hands were not as I called them, his strength was inborn, even as a child few could hold him steady alone ¡ª yet his mind was in focus, and what he willed to do, he could do. However, with each piece correctly placed, memories of his past haunted his mind ¡ª somewhat distracting him unintentionally. This, he told me: "When I was but a boy, my father left." He began. "Years without him was neither good nor bad. I was indifferent to it¡ª" The memories he started to tell played inside my head as if our minds were one. This startled me a moment, but his eyes were set upon me with tears welling up. I found myself tearing up as well, and tried to calm myself but I could not stop the pure sadness. Something was amiss though. Each memory that played out was full of depression or despair, or just simple things like heartbreak. Yet something was different from how I would normally feel ¡ª and suddenly he explained it to me.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. "I have no empathy." He chuckled. "You saw everything. Loneliness, misery, pain, anguish, death." The highlights of which he mentioned replayed inside my head. "And yet, I enjoyed them." He smirked. "I''ve always wanted something, anything to happen." The crown was nearly finished, and as he placed the final piece¡ª "So I killed all of them." Memories suddenly washed over every thought left inside my mind, overwhelming me completely emotionally and mentally. It was too much for my feeble mind, but he forced me to watch, especially this one scene that played over and over again. "What happened?" My voice was raspy, but I managed to ask. "A lot of things happened." He gripped my shoulder lightly, whilst his other hand puts the crown on his head. "And as my first follower, you will experience it first-hand." As he said his last words, my mind began to clear and my voice returned to normal. "What kind of experience?" I asked. But he never replied, he simply gestured me over to his position and pointed at the sky. At first I saw nothing, but then I saw it... "What is that?" I asked. But he only smiled. First: Change was coming Humanity began evolving. Although some sought the more fundamental, in essence the entirety of the human race could not remain unchanged. Seeking to reconnect with the old and even ancient, there were factions that divulged in the practices of strengthening flesh and bone, and worshipped the ancient gods using methods of which aren''t secret but discreet in specifics. Vastly outnumbering those who sought what had passed were the ones who established new connections to the rapidly growing technology. Arming themselves with steel and properties of which also aren''t secret but difficult to explain. Though the status quo was held, change was coming. And like a premonition, a comet landed on the planet-sized spaceship.
A voice reverberated throughout the room with a hint of agitation. "Even allowing their mere presence inside the Arkus is insulting and corrupting." The man''s voice growled the last two words out, connoting his substantial distaste for the subjects in the conversation. "Then do you propose we kill all of them?" Short bursts of breath that implied sarcasm came out from the other man who had a long platinum hair compared to the grayish black undercut that the first man sported. The first man who spoke was Colonel Odin Vidar. The only reason he remained a colonel was because of the lack of personnel to command, being a colonel and being a general was essentially the same for the time being. There was another reason, his fiery temper and unreasonable impulsiveness, however this was kept behind the back of everyone''s minds as his talent in combat matched his disposition. The second man in question was Ambassador Clark Lehmann. His wit and sharp tongue almost always got him in lethal situations of which he showed no regrets; it seemed as though every enemy he made was part of his experience and plans. Despite the outright hostility he showed to people he disliked, those who curried his favor and those who were part of his agenda he gladly partook with in amicable discussions. Openly showing his irritation, Odin crossed his arms but never spoke a word in retaliation. This was what made the Colonel even more intimidating, for violence was repulsive but control of violence through somewhat stoic means was nerve-racking. Clark quickly noticed this and simply relaxed his posture and countenance in response, and sent a glare toward Odin, who returned it with knitted brows. This exchange provided the vast difference of the two men, one leaned over to the instinctual but surprisingly wise approach, the other focused his efforts to the analytical but aloof method. Neither held the upper hand, neither wanted to submit. If one were to look at them from an outsider''s perspective, they would assume the two were enemies. In reality, they were on the same side, at most they were rivals vying for the same goals. As if to lighten the increasingly hostile mood, a wrinkled face of an old man inclined from the shadows of the room and coughed with a handkerchief raised toward his mouth. One could mistake him for a blind old man due to his unnatural white irises, but essentially, one could be right in their thinking. While he did open his eyes to exert his will upon the two who were silently bickering, he quickly leaned back on his custom-made chair that doubled as a wheelchair and loosened his eyelids to slowly close his eyes. August Churchill had a special condition that disallowed him from exposing his bare eyes for too long. But he trained his other senses to cope over his situation, and his perseverance even with his disability granted him a short route to the Chancellorship. It was not all pity and admiration that won him his position though, he had climbed his away from the slums to the top with his extraordinary abilities. Odin and Clark felt a shiver run down their spines as August opened his eyes. This was his first ability and the representation of the evolution that Humanity was undergoing. August was about to open his mouth when a bright light blinded all of them, even through closed eyes he had to squint just like the others. This light not only blinded the three in the enclosed meeting room, it was an event that covered the entire planet-sized spaceship, and it was a declaration. Change was coming.
On the other side of the Arkus stood a white palace shaped like a dome with five skyscrapers protruding from each side forming a pentagon within. Each skyscraper was connected by smaller structures lined up that emphasized the pentagon shape when seen from a bird''s eye view.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The Palatium Ebur was surrounded by a walled city that was constructed to follow suit to the pentagon-shaped palace. The whole wall and, each and every single building inside the Walled City of Aevum, were painted white. But the whole city structure was only subpar to the foundation. If one were to look close enough, streams of water cycled throughout the city like a whirlpool. The whole framework of the city helped sanitize the water and avoid various diseases by disallowing it from stagnating. What makes the city even more impressive was if one were to know that only the palace stood on land, and that the rest of the city was a few meters above ground, floating through unknown means. This was the City-State of Primaevus. Home of the Elvenity, the origin of humankind as they declare themselves to be. While there was enough of the population to expand their territory and with their mysterious powers, the bigger factions never allowed them to gain any footing on the continents. Though the mystical barriers protected the City-State from any kinds of attacks, the other factions would always try once in a while, and this deterred them from leaving the First Sea, or as they called it, Mare Primus. Inside the palace five elves knelt before a sphere with green sparks and particles dancing around it. Each elf was positioned at each corner of the five-sided hole where the sphere continued to float. If one were to look down the hole, one would find the vast and deep waters that flowed beneath the city. But this did not make sense for the palace stood on land and not floating above the sea. The pointed ears of the elves flickered as if hearing a loud but momentary noise and raised their heads in response, glancing at the sphere with reverence in their eyes. They have been doing this for some time now since the bright light, which they call Supremus Lux, enveloped their whole city. They took this phenomenon as a sign of a new age coming, and the most drastic outcome to this, and what would make much sense to them was the rise of an elven empire. So they prayed and showered much attention to the sphere that gave them mystical powers and freed them from the forceful so called "progress" that the other factions were obsessed with. Though much of the days that passed in the palace was used to worship the sphere for long periods of time, this time was different, for they felt a growing power from the sphere that continued to grow in size as well. And so they continued to kneel and bow and say words of praises to the unresponsive sphere.
While all that most people saw was a bright light that blinded them for almost a minute, there was a young man who saw more than just the comet, but even knew the reason for it. This young man wore a gray crown on his head. It was less decorative than kings donned but more impressive and menacing. Erratic spikes protruded from its circlet and looked as if some parts were melted, though most of these were visibly sharp. He raised his hand and pointed a finger on the comet then provided a signal to his companion. "Let''s go." The crowned young man said with a voice of obvious excitement. His companion felt a tinge of shiver from the smile he saw but quickly shoved the feeling away, not wanting to remember the memories he saw, or rather, felt. As soon as they both took a step forward, their eyes turned completely gray with white and black circles pulsing on the surface of their eyes. Information that confused them at first but instinctually made sense filled their heads. The crowned young man waved his hand and a virtual-like table emerged before them.
Status Window
Name: Alric Age: 22
Race: Corrupted Human Affiliation: None
Power: B- Potential: (??)
Lineage: (????) Faith: (??)
Titles
The First Corrupted; Judgment Incarnate
Fame: Negligible Infamy: Negligible
Status Effects
The First Corrupted: Greater Increase in Intrigue; Lesser Increase in Statecraft and Fate
Judgment Incarnate: Greater Increase in Statecraft; Lesser Increase in Knowledge
Fame: (Depending on Fame level) Greater Increase in Statecraft; Decrease in Intrigue
Infamy: (Depending on Infamy level) Greater Increase in Martial; Lesser Increase in Intrigue; Decrease in Statecraft
Martial: Competent Statecraft: Superior
Intrigue: Adept Knowledge: Competent
Fate: Superior
Alric grinned. Second: You can do this, Casimir They had been walking and sprinting for over an hour, resting only to relieve themselves once in a while. Looking at it from his former position, it seemed to only be a few kilometers away, but his heart burning told another story. To a lively and active person, this might be considered whining, in truth he could be regarded as a man with unnatural endurance and strength, which he showed off to no one in particular as he outran Alric. Though it could also be a kind of payback for making him see all those fucked up memories. His companion simply laughed it off however, and by standards, it really was more like a maniacal laugh than an amused laugh, or maybe both. Either way, he was annoyed by the latter, and terrified by the former. All the running and ducking under tree branches without any out of the ordinary happening gave him time to think and look back at what happened before they began running into the forest...
He tried to blink once, then twice, then rapidly in succession, to no avail. The moment he stepped forward in sync with Alric, his vision went blank. If not for the fact that the whiteness of the surroundings contrasted too greatly to the usual darkness behind closed eyes, he would have thought he simply dreamt all that happened with Alric. But it was not to be so. What felt like eternity finally ended, the former environment filled his sight with Alric right in front, who had a face of confusion but with a smirk on the corner of his mouth readied. Alric waved his hand and a virtually-made table came into view. It was more or less detailed, but riddled only with the most important info we needed. Alric''s smirk turned into a full-blown smile that seemed just as creepy as his laugh, unfortunately even as a man himself, he can''t see Alric as anything but good-looking at the very least, especially when compared to him. He formerly had dark brown hair, but being Alric''s first follower, his hair turned ash brown, only a shade darker to Alric''s ash gray hair. His chiseled looks contrasted the soft, round face of his companion; the latter was as beautiful as he was handsome, the former became almost as good-looking as Alric but only because of the transformation. Before Alric crowned himself, he was only a plain-looking guy whose only hobby was to work on his strength and fighting ability, but during the coronation, he changed slowly. Alric was the first to change. Already considerably attractive, the transformation only served to emphasize his looks. Then the first follower followed suit, the plain countenance and relatively large built changed into a manly sort of look with a slimmer figure, though if one were to look behind his clothes, one would find that his muscles never toned down. In fact, his muscles even increased in density by a bit. "Mind if you show yours?" Alric looked at his first follower with eyes full of expectation, not even trying to hide his blatant excitement.
Status Window
Name: Casimir Age: 21
Race: (??) Affiliation: Alric''s Party
Power: C Potential: (??)
Lineage: (????) Faith: (??)
Titles
Harbinger of War
Fame: Negligible Infamy: Negligible
Status Effects
Harbinger of War: Immense Increase in Martial; Decrease in Statecraft and Intrigue
Fame: (Depending on Fame level) Greater Increase in Martial; Decrease in Intrigue
Infamy: (Depending on Infamy level) Greater Increase in Martial and Fate; Decrease in Statecraft and Intrigue
Martial: Superior Statecraft: Novice
Intrigue: Novice Knowledge: Competent
Fate: Superior
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Casimir squinted his eyes slightly as Alric grew only more curious to the status window his follower showed. "What''s this?" Alric pointed towards the virtual table, with a smirk slowly forming on his lips. "Harbinger of War? Question marks on the race?" Even the man in question knew nothing of the title he was given. Perhaps titles were given as well for the potential future as an advance, or perhaps he had done something he did not know of, or maybe there was an error on the table? And the race part, while his memories were enough to make him see his childhood, he never knew his parents. He was orphaned at birth, and this revelation about his race actually made sense. However, thinking too deeply into things never helped anyone, Casimir resolved to find out more but left that for meanwhile and focused on the immediate event. "The comet. We need to find it, Alric." He appeared to be resolute, but in all honesty he was scared. Everything was happening too fast, he was unlike Alric who wanted everything to happen. Adapting to the situation was difficult for him, but he resolved himself as he recalled jumbled up memories of his past and Alric''s past. The crowned young man returned Casimir''s look with a grin on his face and pupils dilated, indicating a sincere compassion for the situation and the actions they were to partake in.
After another half an hour of walking and running, Casimir finally saw smoke belching from the horizon. An indication that the comet fell nearby the area and caused a few of the trees to catch fire and friction. The group of two finally slowed their advance slightly to recover some of their stamina in preparation to what they might encounter when they find the comet. Crown, comet, and status windows. These were all relatively ominous signs that foreshadowed a change in the Arkus. While Alric was mostly curious and excited for what was to come, drowning out any speculations he might have for the events occurring, Casimir had a clear head that questioned many of the happenings. What was the crown exactly? How did it change their appearance and even their power? What were the status windows and does everyone have them? Where did that comet come from and what was it exactly? His mind was riddled with all these unanswered questions, and the more time he was left inside his head, the more questions piled up on top of each other. Suddenly, his thoughts interrupted, a scream came from the other direction of the smoke. It was a scream that most likely came from a woman. Casimir contemplated just running toward that direction and helping the woman, but he was frozen in fear. Despite all his strength, he felt a fear normal to most people encountering danger. Alric, though, simply changed directions instantly and motioned Casimir to follow him. This gave Casimir a short fright but ultimately followed as he felt a distinct connection and pull from Alric that he felt he could never detach. The amount of screams increased as they got closer and closer, which gave way to horrifying growls that drowned out most of the fear-induced, loud, piercing cries for help. As the two reached the clearing, they saw what was once a small settlement nearby a river, but the buildings were in disrepair. The damages looked as if they were freshly made, and if one were to think that, one would be right. Casimir scanned the surroundings and saw, more than just the buildings, humans being dragged and thrown and even eaten by some kind of human-shaped flesh creatures. He squinted his eyes and saw the features of one of the said creatures. Its head was pure flesh except for the hard-looking bone that covered the upper parts of its head. The lower parts were soft-looking though horrifying jagged teeth covered the whole area from horn to horn. They had no ears, in place were bull-like horns that protruded from the back toward the front, and were menacingly sharp. Dark and seemingly deep holes replaced where eyes were supposed to be in place. Its body was bone and flesh that looked to be brittle, but that would be wrong. As Casimir was gasping inaudibly at the terrifying scene of blood and carnage, Alric dashed toward the nearest creature and used both hands to throw it at Casimir who reacted quickly enough to catch the head and pummel it to the ground. Flesh and bone with not much blood except for their victim''s sprawled all over the ground. Casimir withdrew his hand and clenched it, his eyes glanced momentarily at the creature then his fist, then raised his head to meet Alric''s eye level. "You can do this, Casimir." Alric said with conviction in his voice and an unhidden look of admiration for the display of strength and reflex from his companion.