The Cast Die

While Nero battled Cassius, Morta had a different battle.

Morta Venti had been caught off guard several times in her life, but she'd never had it happen in such frequent succession. First her old friend Cassius, traitor to their people, had shown up. He'd started to go on about his reasons, but she really couldn't understand them. ‘I wish that fool had died instead of falling this far. For the sake of ‘our’ people? He didn't properly understand our ways, and I was too blind to see that. Should I have realized that sooner? Could I have convinced him to change his mind back then? Should I have heard him out instead of rejecting him outright? I don't have the right to respond here.’

And so as she had struggled to respond, her grandson did so first. It was as though he'd taken the words out of her mouth. ‘I’m so proud of him.’

But as her grandson threw the mana rock, she noticed the man with the sword who'd been relaxing in the background suddenly tense and shift his stance. She'd had her eye on the swordsman from the start. He'd seemed detached from the situation as a whole, and the look in his eyes made it clear that he was a true warrior, unlike the other soldiers of the followers of Minerva, as they tended to treat their activities more like a job.

Her eyes widened as she saw the man run straight through the smoke, and when she noticed his target, rushed to intercept him. ‘He’s fast!’

As she used wind to intercept the overhead sword strike and push it to the side, she took advantage of the momentary loss of balance she'd induced by releasing an incredibly quick blast of wind that launched him back. The swordsman twisted in the air as he was launched back in order to land straight back on his feet, and then immediately began to close the distance again. ‘Dammit, I hoped that would hold him back for a moment longer.’

She risked a glance at her grandson, and saw him breaking open the large glass panel behind them and jumping out. ‘What is that kid doing?’ But then the swordsman caught back up in an instant, and she was forced to turn back. She rushed forward as though going for a frontal attack, but slowed down for a moment and then with a flick of her wrist, used a powerful burst of wind to launch a table at the man from the side. As the swordsman was preoccupied with the table, she used a burst of wind to close in, and struck at a chunk in the man’s armor with a fist covered in compressed air.

Or at least that had been her plan, but to her surprise, the man pulled out a knife hidden in his sleeve and threw it at her head. It delayed her for merely a moment, but that was all he needed as he sliced off a part of the table, sidestepped to let the rest move past him, and struck back at her fist with his sword. She'd watched in awe as his sword cut through the table like it was made of butter.

As the sword reached her fist that was covered with compressed air, she quickly began to back up. But it was a moment too late, as the sword cut through the air and into her knuckles. As she leapt back, she quickly wrapped it up in a spare piece of cloth. ‘Proper first aid will have to wait. This man is fast, almost ridiculously so. His reactions are being enhanced with goddess Minerva's magic, and his skill with it is impressive. That sword is dangerous. And the armor would make it difficult to cause any real damage. I'll have to use lightning.’

Every diety’s magic had a higher stage of difficulty. For Jupiter’s magic, the basic magic was wind manipulation, and there were two advanced stages; air purification magic and lightning magic. And Morta Venti was one of the few people who could use the latter with any level of proficiency. But it took even her some time to use.

As the man pressed her further, she followed her grandson’s decision and leapt backwards out the broken window, and stuck to the walls of the mana vat with her boots. As she'd expected, the swordsman followed her down, and stuck to the vat with his own boots. The rest of the fight was like a tricky dance. In order to move, they had to constantly stick and unstick by pressing the back of the heel of their boots. But she had her wind manipulation, and therefore has a greater degree of freedom when it came to her movement.

The swordsman had taken another sword out, and was now duel wielding blades. But only one was glowing, so it was obvious which one was the dangerous one.

She was running out of energy quickly as a result of her old age. ‘It’s time.’ As the swordsman held the swords behind his back while charging in for a final strike, she focused most of her remaining energy on the lightning spell. She pretended to stumble, leaving an opening that the swordsman took. She then used a subtle gust of wind that just slightly altered the direction of the sword strike, as it cleaved into her right shoulder. As the swordsman tried to pull back his blade, she caught his hand. ‘Now I have the dangerous blade.’ Now at point blank range, she pointed her left hand at his chest and intoned, “Fiat fulgur.”

As she recited the spell, the swordsman brought the other blade to block the strike, but an ordinary sword couldn't block lightning. But as the lightning flew, it clashed against the blade, which was now glowing. ‘Shit, the blades can cut through even lightning!? Moreover, they were both special blades! He'd hidden that aspect in one sword to lure me in! I was outclassed in every respect. I'm out of energy while he barely looks winded. I guess it's over.’

Her entire life, she'd held an unfounded confidence that things could be worked out. It was the sole thing that had kept this brave woman going throughout her long life. But now, she truly felt like she was at rock bottom. The swordsman sighed and in a cold voice said, “I respect your skills, woman. And I don't particularly want or need to kill you. I'm here to bring back the kid and the artifact he stole. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just business.”

And then the massive mana tank they were stuck to shook, and a powerful burst of energy flew out the top of the vat and all the way through the roof of the tower. And then a certain feeling spread throughout the entire island. Despite how she felt just a moment ago, she couldn't help a smile. Her crazy grandson had actually done it.

While his grandma was fighting the swordsman, and as Nero was trying to take down Cassius by himself, Vac was looking down at the mana in the vat while standing at its edge. He took a deep breath, and leapt in.

He nearly blacked out on impact, as the energy seared deep into his body. It was incredibly bright, yet frighteningly dark. His skin felt cold, as his body burnt up from the inside. It felt like he spent an eternity in there, yet he couldn't think clearly for an instant. He saw nothing, yet felt everything. He felt more power with him than he ever had, yet his world was naught but pain.

And then he heard a strangely familiar voice call out in a strong whisper, “Come, Vacuus Venti.”

Suddenly he found himself transported to another realm, face to face with a being who seemed to be made of power. The god looked like an ordinary human, and yet his instincts screamed against that thought. The man; ‘No, this is no man'; was incredibly well built, had a beard, and wore a classic Greek chiton like in the tales of old. The chiton seemed to be made of an ethereal substance that flowed freely on the being’s body, and the air around him crackled and smelled of ozone. Vac dared a glance at the being's eyes, and saw hints of lightning.

‘They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but I don't see anything. No, I see too much!’ The being's young appearance was undercut by the eons of experience that shone through. As their eyes met, Vac felt as though his entire existence was being seen through.

He immediately knelt down, and with his head to the floor muttered, “Lord Jupiter. I'm honored to be in your presence.”

As Vac struggled to come to terms with what he was experiencing, Jupiter spoke in a deep voice that seemed to echo in Vac’s head. “Well met, Vacuus Venti. You've managed to reach me. It has been ages since I've spoken to one of your kind. Now rise, and I will do you the honor of asking me anything you wish to know.”

He carefully got up, still not daring to meet Jupiter's eyes, and thought about the best thing to ask. After a brief pause, he asked, “What does it mean to be free?”

His grandma had given her thoughts, but he thought he might as well get a second opinion. ‘And who is better to ask than the god of freedom themselves?’

To his surprise, Jupiter sighed and answered, “I cannot answer that, simply because I am incapable of understanding such a question. It is like asking a human being what it means to be a human being. I simply am free. I'm the living embodiment of my domains, and all that they represent. Ask a different question.”

‘I suppose it does make sense in a way. Let's see what else… I could ask that, But…’

The question that had come to his mind could be viewed as sacrilegious, so he worded it carefully. He slowly looked up and asked, “So, In the ancient myths and stuff, you've done stuff that could be viewed as, uh, bad. I guess my question is, why?”

‘What reason does an all-powerful being have?’

Jupiter looked him in the eyes and with a soft chuckle answered, “Boy, I'm the god of freedom. Do you believe I'm bound by human morals that change over a mere matter of a few hundred years? I do as I please, with no limitations, while accepting responsibility for anything that happens as a result. That is what it means to be me. Your culture celebrates a particular kind of freedom, but in a sense, you bind yourselves to it. Every living being with free will exerts their freedom in a sense, even the gods, and that is why I'm the greatest of all the gods. Your limited life experience on a single island means nothing to the greater aspects of life that freedom represents.”

His mind whirled as he thought about what he'd heard. ‘Grandma said some similar stuff, but…’

In a soft mumble, he asked, “What about me then? What about us, your followers? Are you saying that even the people of Minerva are simply exerting their freedoms? How exactly are we supposed to break free like you? How —”

“Enough of that,” said Jupiter. “I have simply shared my perspective as a god. You are no god, you are a mere human. Live and make your decisions accordingly, and you will be as free as you can be. You've stayed long enough here, so begone. Your people need you more than I do.”

With that, he found himself back in the mana, though the pain didn't feel as drastic. ‘Maybe Jupiter lent me some help?’

Not a single instant had passed during his conversation, for the god realm was beyond the flow of time. He concentrated on what he needed, and with a yell thrust one hand up, and released an incredibly powerful burst of wind that blew the roof of the tower off. Since he was now using pure mana, he didn't have to bother with the sacrifice, and simply had to bend it to his will.

With another yell, he thrust his other hand up and connected himself to all the air on the island. He winced as he felt the toxic gas, but refocused his mind. He clapped his hands together and intoned, “Sit liber.”

Of the two spells he'd learnt of while training with the rebels, this spell had confused him at first. What does being free have to do with purifying? But he'd been understanding that better and better. To be free was to be well and truly oneself, free of all impurities, free to simply be. With his spell, the island’s toxic air was purified. While the air was not completely clean everywhere, Vac’s actions had given people a freedom they had long since thought lost.

As he fell through the now empty mana vat, he saw Aurea coming down to grab him. He didn't quite hear her voice. As his consciousness faded, he admired the clear and beautiful blue sky he could now see.