The Stonehearted Knight
Chapter 262: I am [Blank]

Chapter 262: I am [Blank]

Even broken and torn he wished to take her with him.

That gesture alone filled her heart with warmth. She cherished the feeling. It wouldn’t last. Her heart was turning cold as she threw him up. As soon as Hex landed on the deck, she sensed her humane side starting to fade.

The voice remained silent. Althea knew the reason. It fused with her. Her thoughts and the voice became one.

"You.took.everything."

She heard the King shriek as he dashed toward her. The lack of spears or broken pieces didn’t worry her. Within a blink the King jumped at her, his talons aimed at her neck.

With a thought, the golden light wrapped around her neck. The talons struck them, creating sparks. The sound of metallic grinding fell on her ear while she aimed a punch at the King. Her fist wrapped in a layer of gold hissed as she connected. The punch sent the King a few steps back. His blackened blood trickled down the corner of his maw. But he only shrieked.

She could feel his anger. She sensed the Laws bending to his will. Any other person, even at a similar stage as him, would suffer against him. She wasn’t any other person though. Her presence prevented the Laws from being broken.

"I didn’t take anything from you. You lost everything yourself. In fact, you gifted me something I didn’t even wish to have."

Althea spoke in an even voice as she moved against him. She wasn’t ready yet. She waited for all the golden light to fuse with her. Only then would she be able to wield all her might. She waited. But it didn’t mean she could only remain passive in the fight. Even before accepting Fate that hadn’t been her style of fighting.

She struck with a thundering strike, using herself as a spear. Her hand impaled in the chest of the Heartless. The viscous blood splattered on her hand. The corrosive nature of the blood made the golden light sizzle but it couldn’t eat away at the light.

The King retaliated with his frenzied attack. He slashed as his hands blurred. Unending sparks flew but Althea stood firm. As more of the light fused with her, she started to sense the Laws around her. The Laws of Thunder and Lightning wrapped at first around her fist.

Her punches turned lightning fast and produced a thunderous sound. The King tried to gain an advantage over her but she fended him off. Her lightning strikes pushed him back.

She sensed the rate with which the light fused with her, increase. Her attacks turned more ferocious. She, on her own, caused the King to retreat as they fought.

Suddenly, she noticed him jump and create some distance between them. She knew he wasn’t running away. The berserk look in his eyes told her as much.

She saw him jump toward her. She ducked and kicked him. She felt his abdomen bend around her foot. She injected enough power of the Laws to send him flying in the air.

She squatted and then jumped behind him. She could feel it. The Laws of Wind and Water. Gales appeared around her. She used them to whip him higher in the air. She heard the Sky beckoning her.

The ambient moisture listened to her call and wrapped around the King’s maw. She sensed him trying to control the Laws around him. He even tried to bend them. But she was there. The Laws obeyed her. Only her. She started to feel it. The light around her almost faded. She felt it inside her.

She reached the dark clouds. In the distance, she saw a boat sail away. The girl at the helm ordered others with a stern face. She kept biting her lips though. Althea grinned. She recognized Cella’s old habit when she was worried. Seeing her glance toward the Temple was enough to know why or whom she was worried about. She would miss that look on her face.

On the ground, like two specks, she saw the bodies of two humans. She wondered what they would say if they knew who or what she was. Maybe they knew. They acted as her father. Having lived among humans, she knew that nothing could be hidden from fathers. But would they still see her as their daughter? She didn’t know. She would never know. Irony? Perhaps. She, who knew almost everything, wouldn’t know what she wished to know the most.

On the other side, she saw a ship flying in the sky. It struggled to get away from her. They worked in a frenzy. Everyone, except one boy. He just looked at her. She didn’t know if he could see her. But she wished to say one last thing. She wished him to know her truth. The truth. As the warmth faded, and the cold filled her heart, she commanded the Wind to bring one message to him.

Her eyes turned cold and distant. The memories of her childhood blurred. The memory of the warmth under the wings of the Commander blew away. And the memory of a black-haired boy providing peace and calm darkened.

She stood in the middle of the clouds, amidst thunder and lightning. She spread her arms. The shrieks of the King lost on her.

She eyed him as nothing but what he was. A Sinner.

Thunder and Lightning wrapped around her. The Sky rumbled. The King stared at the massive fist manifested in the Sky. Fear and regret filled his eyes. Althea saw it. But she didn’t have mercy.

"Sinner, hear my judgment and bear Heaven’s wrath."

Her voice echoed through the world as her fist of Laws descended.

The King shrieked but it couldn’t resist. The Sky collapsed on him. The Wrath of Heaven shook the entire creation. The collapse didn’t stop when it connected with the King. It shattered his body. It devoured the pieces. And then...it landed on the land.

...

Hex watched Althea kick the King in the air. Even with his enhanced vision, she was nothing more than a speck. A golden speck. He saw her follow behind her. He watched with a blank stare as she controlled the elements.

He watched the fist appear. And he saw it descend. To him, it looked like Heaven punched the earth. He stood frozen in shock as the boat rocked. The screams and shouts of those on the ship were lost on him.

Thunder filled his ears. Lightning his eyes. The Wind blasted in his face. The Water evaporated. The Earth disappeared from his senses and Darkness filled him. At that moment, when he felt lost in the Void, he heard a voice in his head.

I am the Fated One. The Heaven’s Chosen.

But that’s not all.

I often wondered why was this my Fate. Why did Heaven choose me?

But now I remember.

I chose.

For I am Fate...

...and I am Heaven!