The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 260: Call of Fate

Chapter 260: Call of Fate

This is your identity. Accept it.

’No!’

Althea screamed. She grabbed her head. It didn’t help though. It never did. The voice inside continued to talk. It had been there. Forever.

She had learned to suppress it. She had learned to live with it. She hoped...hoped to die with it suppressed. But her suppressions broke. It had to do with the beam of golden light. Maybe not. Maybe, if she thought about it, it had to do with her losing her strength. She couldn’t forget seeing her two father-like figures lying in the snow. Without their warmth. The warmth she felt ever since they found her.

She remembered.

She laid on the foot of a small hill. Heaven was the first thing she saw when her eyes opened. And then the voice appeared. She didn’t know any better, so she accepted it. And she remembered seeing lightning strike a wolf about to pounce her. Its blood and innards splattered. Nothing reached her though.

The lightning during clear sky drew the attention of two people flying. She remembered seeing those two the first time. One stern and one smiling. The voice said to strike them too. But she felt warm. The warmth of their hugs. She accepted them too. Their soothing voices drowned the voice in her head.

She forgot the voice. But it hadn’t vanished. It was there. Only too soft for her to hear. But she heard it. Again. She remembered that day too. She was playing. She wasn’t alone. A few children and she were playing. Cella was there too.

As they played, Cella said one of the guards invited her to show some interesting flowers. They were deeper in the jungle. Althea loved flowers. She loved the bees and birds that hovered around them. She insisted to join Cella. She refused. She said the guard made her promise to come alone. So, she left alone. Althea, sneaked behind her.

She was excited. She would surprise Cella. But when she found her friend, she was screaming. The guard was forcing her. To do something. She didn’t understand it. She was scared but her feet moved. Before she realized it, she was scratching and biting the guard. Enraged, he hit her and her friend. She didn’t forget seeing Cella bleeding. Without moving. Her mind went blank. There was no sense. And then she heard it. The voice. It spoke again.

Accept Fate.

Accept who you are.

No one can stand against you.

Not against your wish.

She heard the voice as the man walked toward her. He was saying something. Spitting even. But she couldn’t hear him. She only heard the voice. And once again, she accepted it.

She wished the man to be thrown away from her and Cella. The wind suddenly gathered and blasted the man away.

She wished the man to suffer like she and Cella did. The man hit the ground. Spikes shot out the ground, impaling his limbs. The man screamed. At least, she thought he did. He did open his mouth and looked to be in agony.

She smiled. She wished he would remain like that. Always. So, lightning struck him. The man didn’t blast into pieces. No, he just died. Frozen like that.

Before she could wish something else, the Commander appeared. This time, he looked at her with less warmth. It scared her. But the others who arrived after helped her friend. So, she rejoiced.

That day she realized the power she had. And it scared her. She didn’t regret her actions. But she feared the way she had felt. She had felt...nothing. She killed someone but she didn’t feel anything about it.

Once again she suppressed the voice in her head.

As she grew up and as she fought battles, she was forced to accept the voice. She survived each time. She helped others each time. But each time, she felt less human. She realized she didn’t only feel nothing for her opponents but she also felt less for her team. For the people she knew. For her friend. It scared her.

People called her Heaven’s Chosen. The Voice called her Chosen. It called her Fated. But she wished to be neither. She feared what she would become. She feared not being human.

She learned to suppress the voice. She didn’t use it even in the most dire situations. Not even when Briella killed her captain. Suppressing it, hurt her. She felt incomplete. Always. Maybe not always. No. There was one exception – Hex.

Everytime he was around, the voice disappeared. It was as if his existence weighed heavy on the voice. She couldn’t understand why it happened. It just happened. Without the voice, she also felt more joy. Or was it because he was there. Maybe it was both.

But then the beam of golden light appeared and the sky turned gold. She remembered it. And then, everything blurred. Her senses filled with a cry of the voice. It urged her to fuse. To become one. To accept Fate.

She cried. She wailed. She screamed. She hoped the warmth of the Commander would help her. But he was cold.

She hoped her friend would save her. But she wasn’t there. Althea knew she had gone. She had send her away. To save the others. And deep down, to save Cella from her. She feared having to become one with the voice.

But then she heard it. She heard him. He called out to her. The voice tried to keep it away. This time it fought back. But he reached her. His soft shout stirred her mind.

She remembered.

The world appeared once more before her. The white snow, dark sky, golden beam of light, and a blood-red body.

Her body stiffened. She saw, as if moving at a snails pace, the King heal. She saw him drag himself to the bloodied body on the ground. And she saw him lift his talons.

He will die.

You can’t change Fate.

Unless, you accept it.

Become Fate.

She didn’t think. She grabbed the broken pole beside her and threw it. She didn’t notice the golden light wrap around it. It shot faster than a blink. It hit the King. He flew away.

Althea stood up. She heard a screech. She didn’t pay it much heed. She opened her arms and accepted Fate.

The golden light started to pour in her.