Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 439: Amara (1)

A woman can be seen sitting near a great and tall tree, holy power is emanating from the tree.

But ordinary person could not see her. Only some things in existence can perceive and see her.

Then from a distance the clear sky turns cloudy and dark, heralding of a descent of something very powerful.

To her it was but a distance but to anyone else, it was a very far distance, one that no one could see by naked eyes.

'He is coming' the woman said snickering. She never likes him. Then and now. Now and ever. 

Sadly I'm not there.

Thunder boomed and the land shakes violently. The earth cracked. The plants wither. And smokes fill the beautiful lake. 

The crack of the earth is filling with miasma of black fog.

From the fog manifested someone old…someone ancient, aura of power enveloped his entire existence. But this ancient existence has a very young face

He has jet black hair and an uninterested eye, his finger has a black ring and he walk slowly but with purpose.

Each time he stepped his foot, as soul is taken somewhere in the wide Universe. 

'Amara' the voice was but a whisper but Amara could hear it as the man is standing beside her.

'I am not there' Amara reply. The man smiles a crooked smile and he closes his eyes.

Suddenly he appears in front of the great tree. He looked lazily at Amara. He said nothing. He twisted his hand and a chair made of bones and souls appears, as keep looking at Amara.

Amara is chained around the Godstree.

'How the mighty have fallen' the man said smiling. Amara just looks at him, clearly she is not pleased with his visit.

'Ashkenael. You come to mock my pain?' she asked

'On the contrary.'

'You wish to save me then?' Amara said perplexed. 

To her, Ashkenael have always remains an enigmatic existence, powerful, mysterious and very ancient.

'No' he said curtly.

'Then why have you come?' Amara said clearly annoyed by the response. If he is not here to mock her, and he's not here to save her, what could he possibly want?

'Asrana' the man reply.

'What about him?'

'He annoys me.' At this Amara smiles.

'Glad to know there is still something in this universe that could make you annoyed. I thought humans are beneath you.' Amara said mockingly

'There are but a dust beneath your nails, if I remember you saying'

The man said nothing and just look at Amara, a cold, dead gray eyes. It was almost like staring at Death. 

Then Amara remembers…he is Death. Or at least one fragment of him. There is the Creator…and then there is the Destroyer.

Seeing that Death does not respond, Amara asked.

'What could possibly Asrana do that could have annoyed you? He is a mortal. He never met you' 

Hearing this Death bitterly smiles

'Oh, you are wrong little child. We've met before. We even brushed past each other in many occasions. He just doesn't remember it. Each time.' Death said.

'Each time, I was about to reap his soul….something always interferes. He cheated me. Not once, but twice. And no one cheated ME.'

'So, why come to me?' Amara asked

'You help him. You aid him in deceiving me, in escaping me. Do you think your magic could escape my eyes?'

'I'm helping him also means I'm helping you. You know that the Great Darkness want you as one of his Guard.'

'Bah! A little child like him constraining me? What arrogance! I am one of the most powerful forces in the entire Universe and you think that a fallen Angel could bend me to his will? A winged creature that does not know that he is merely a small pawn in the entirely of the Omniverse. How laughable. His squabbles with his brothers are not my concern. I was tasked with a job. Reaping souls. That is my only job. And Asrana have been released from my grasp too many times. Nobody could live forever. Death is part of nature.' 

'Your problem is with him then, settles it with him.' And Amara smiles mischievously. 

'You already know I am not allowed to meddle in the human affairs. My job is to take souls. Destiny and fate dictates and then after they were done, it is my turn to be the finishing touches. But someone is playing too much with Destiny and Fate. Asrana has lived way past his supposed life. He was supposed to die under that basement, on that day when you meddle with destiny. He did not. And that made all the difference. To be more accurate he is supposed to die the way that fate has decreed'

'True, that made all the difference' Amara said this time smiling. Not every day she bested Death. She seems very proud.

Death said

'You…seem to enjoy my misery.' 

'It is but one soul. What's the harm?' fire burns in Death eyes as he rebuked Amara.

'What's the harm! You ask me WHAT'S THE HARM!' 

The voice tone of the man become higher and thundering booming can be heard in the skies, lightning bolt strikes the Triangle Sea and the sea is in chaos. 

Thunder boomed and the sea shakes, the creatures of the deep felt this disturbance of energy and went to some underwater caves.

'There's a man alive in the world who wasn't alive before. The whole world is different because he's alive! No harm? HAHAHAHA' the man laughed.

'People who supposed to die, lives. People who supposed to live, died. The order and balance of the Universe is thrown into disarray and chaos, and no harm is done?'

'It is destined for him to cheat you' Amara reply. 

'You know this. You know of his peculiar fate. In the end you will get him anyway. It will be just be late'

'The Hero journey ends in a final battle' Death said.

'Yes, I've heard of that little rambling by the Prophet' Death snorted

'But, I've seen enough destinies and prophecies to know not all fate are set in stones.'

Then Amara said.

'But it has been proven right before. And why would you take him before his promised battle? Tell me, are you not curios about the conclusion of the battle between these two bloodlines?' Death did not respond so Amara then said 

' There is Kane and Habel. Aero II and his sworn brother Demiurge Son of Xander. Leon of Carolingian and Salvatore, the founder of Salingian dynasty. The Great Prophet Nasrana and Brutus the Traitor. Levitia and Alexander. And the conclusion, Asrana and Vasir. Tell me you are not even the least curious. The brother's curse lives on across the centuries, their stories told and remembered, their battles and conflict fill the history of this world and stars up there in the sky shines down toward the world beneath.'

Death sitting on his chair just played with his black ring and saying nothing. Then he looks back at Amara and say.

'But you change the future. They never met. He should have not died in that basement if not for your interfering from the shadows. He should have met Vasir and form a bond with him. His destiny changed the moment, he step inside that Library. He never should have found the Library in the first place. He never should have even come to Vern in the first place. You knew what would happen Amara. You threw a stone into the lake of causality, changing literally everything. Now he is an Emperor. He never even has the destiny of a King.' josei

'Is it wrong to tip the balance to Light? To good?' Amara asked.

'There is a reason why it is called a balance, Amara. It is not your duty to do anything.' Death said coldly