The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 261: I am Fate

Chapter 261: I am Fate

Thunder filled the sky. Lightning flashed. The wind howled.

A silver eagle glided on the turbulent flow of air. Silvera’s bond with it helped steer it without much effort.

"The weather did change out of nowhere."

She grinned as she avoided the lightning strikes.

"It’s like the Altar foretold. Make haste. Waste less time admiring the mortal grounds. We need to reach the ruins on time."

"I know. We will be in time," Silvera eyed her companion and sighed. The Altar partnered her with this young Templar – the youngest ever she was told – when she returned to the High Temple. The girl was diligent. Almost too much if you asked Silvera. She stuck to the rules. And she hated being late. Silvera would like to believe, like a younger version of her. But she would be lying. She never followed rules and the one time she was on time, her old teacher nearly died of shock.

She loved to be back in the little temple in that little town. At least, she could do as she wished there. The near-infinite number of rules inside the High Temple suffocated her. But she couldn’t leave. Not until her partner completed her quote of mandatory tasks. Come to think of it, this would be the last one. Spurred by the possibility of leaving the High Temple, Silvera put some haste in her mount.

The sooner they received her and returned, the sooner she could fly away from that nest.

’Let’s soar, Soran.’

Soran whistled and spread his wings even more. They pierced through the winds.

...

"Heavens is with us! Sail!"

Cella urged her team to take advantage of the howling winds. Where she lacked in sailing, she made up for with the knowledge of wind. As a Hawk, almost everyone understood wind and weather.

The boat parted the water and glided away. Cella manned the helm. She heard the thunder roar in the distance. She turned her head and saw the lightning flash. She didn’t know what happened for the weather to change. But it occurred when the golden beam vanished.

The thunder made her think about her friend. Worry filled her heart. She had to focus on the waves ahead but her heart wished to see her again. To have her back with her. Safe and sound.

...

Gronke shuddered at the roaring thunder above.

He hated bad weather. He hoped to avoid getting struck by lightning. Again. Seeing it flash between the dark clouds, he remembered the times he was hit by it. All five times flashed before his eyes.

He lost a lot of fat each time the lightning struck. It took him a lot of time to recover. Not to mention the amount of coins he had to spend.

At least, the change in weather came at the right time. He didn’t see the spear flash away the King. That didn’t stop him though. He heard the King screech. But his task didn’t involve him. He reached his real target.

He found the Queen’s corpse a meter from the monolith. The beam of golden light seemed to be vanishing somewhere. Despite feeling curious about where it went, he didn’t check. The pay didn’t cover that. He operated based on what he was told to do and more importantly, what he was paid to do.

He kneeled beside the Queen. Seeing her charred and almost in pieces corpse didn’t deter him. Gronke pulled a dagger with golden engravings and rubbies embedded in it, out and started to work.

It took some effort. Working with finesse wasn’t his strong point. He knew that. He took some time. The screech sounded closer and closer. To be honest, Gronke heard them too close to his liking. His heart thudded loudly against his ribs. He sang a little rhyme to remain calm. And to avoid thinking what his fate would be if the King found him mutilating his beloved Queen.

’Done.’

He nearly burst out in a song but the screech – it sounded just a few meters away – gripped his throat shut. Annoying as it was, it did help him remain alive, he thought.

He put the eyes in an intricate box and moved away. He ran and saw the lowered rope. It dangled from Sky Serpent. His client waved at him with a smile. Gronke wondered whether he was the only one who felt annoyed at that smile. Every time he saw it he wished to punch the silver-haired bastard. But he couldn’t. The anticipation of coins in his pocket helped him forget all other feelings.

"Let’s get out of here."

Reaching the deck, he gave the box to Sterling and shouted at the men manning the wings.

But the silver-haired boy didn’t take the box. And he shook his head.

"We can’t. We need my friend to come too."

Gronke followed Sterling’s finger and groaned. The black-haired kid lay in his blood.

"No!"

"Yes."

...

Hex lay in the snow. He expected to have died. But he lived. Not only was the King shot away. He felt something seep out of his robes. It flowed and wrapped like tendrils around his cut-up parts. It even wriggled up and around his neck.

’It’s working as a bandage and as splints. To Hex’s shock, he sensed it wrap around the injuries, organs, and shattered veins. He grunted but he forced himself to take a look.

It was a black liquid.

’Ink.’

That was what came to his mind when he noticed the source. It flowed out of the leather-bound book inside his rope. It was drenched with his blood. But it held on. The other stuff, such as the morphuse box was lost. Or broken.

’Even the grimoire she wrote is at such a level?’

Hex sighed. But he could move again. Perhaps he could help Althea. But he couldn’t. He realized that as soon as he moved. The Ink only helped him move. The mind-numbing pain was still there. He groaned.

Screech!

The King appeared again. And it shrieked. Its hollow eyes ablaze. It had seen something. Something where the Queen lay. And it made him berserk.

Hex could move. But not well. He stumbled. And moved half a meter. More than he was able to a second ago. But not enough. The King stood before him.

Hex saw its talon close in. It was about to pierce through him when the King moved. He let Hex go. It wasn’t mercy. Hex knew that once he saw the King intercept another strike at him.

The broken piece of pole wrapped in golden light sent him tumbling. This time it didn’t send him flying.

’He expected it this time.’

The King screeched. Hex looked and saw a girl appear in front of him. Her short hair lay still. She looked around her shoulders. Her eyes were the first thing he noticed. They were calm. Still even. Only a hint of warmth in them.

"Go. I can handle him."

"He is a Heartless. A Sinner." Hex argued back. How could a girl who wasn’t even a Refined Knight handle someone like that?

"I know. But I am the Chosen."

"So? What does that mean?" Hex asked. He noticed the thick layer of golden light around her. It was still fusing with her. He thought he knew what it meant. She was the Fated One. But that wouldn’t help her.

"It means this me. You will see soon." She said, sounding too calm, too detached for Hex’s liking. He heard her reply. But it wasn’t enough. She wouldn’t survive against the Sinner. He was about to protest when she looked at him.

"Go. Please. The next time we meet, it won’t be me you meet. So, do what you think is right. Please, remember that."

What did that mean? Hex didn’t understand. But she grabbed him. Hex saw a bit of the light wrap around him. And then...she threw him up.

He flew until someone grabbed him.

"Now we move! Hurry!"

He heard Sterling shout. But he kept looking down. And it seemed she looked at him too. And then she turned into a golden phantom.

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