Chapter 58 – Horus

In normal circumstances, Cassius would have been deeply reluctant to share such information in front of Océane.

The matter of the Revolutionary Army was one of the most sensitive subjects in the entire Kingdom. It was the period when the sister of the current King had decided to usurp the throne and to become the first ruling Queen of the Badur Kingdom.

She never succeeded. And ended up, as a mercy from the King — Cassius knew it was simply because of the Hood Family’s Rule forbidding them from killing one another — confined to the Elysia Academy as a teacher.

How and why his aunt, Seraphim Hood — elder sister of his mother, sharing the same blood — had failed despite her fearsome Revolutionary Army was unknown to most.

But one thing was clear to any players who had taken the time to read the kingdom’s backstory without skipping it: the King would spare no effort to slaughter that army and anyone connected to it. If only to satisfy the anger he couldn’t take out on his own sister.

Which was exactly why Cassius’s current proposal not only put him in serious danger, it put Océane and his family at risk too.

That was exactly why...

"Are you aware, lad, of what you are asking me?" The old man looked at him with a strange gaze. "You are willing to entangle yourself with a former soldier of the Revolutionary Army?"

"Not like anyone would know, unless you shout it to the whole world." Cassius retorted. "And I’ve seen how desperately you want to live. So I know you wouldn’t dare."

"Oh yes, lad. Desperate is not quite the right word though. When you have survived as much as I have, brushing past the Gate of Death again and again without ever quite meeting Vorn himself—" he bared his teeth into a grin "—you gain this innate refusal to let yourself be absorbed by it. That Gate is a nasty thing. And its master even nastier."

"Then we agree. Meeting the Lord of Death is not what most people dream of." Cassius smiled, Océane still holding the phone in a pointed manner.

"True enough. However," the old man cocked his head "what use could an old, crippled man like me possibly be to you?"

"Old, yes. Crippled?" Cassius snorted. "I’m not letting myself be fooled by appearances again. You have hands, don’t you?"

"I do not. I do." The old man shrugged. "I had to sacrifice my hands when I escaped the slaughter of the Revolutionary Army on that fateful, blood-mooned day."

He let out a shaky breath, lowered his head, and fixed his eyes on the two stumps. The old man seemed to shrink, as if something ancient inside him had woken up and was eating him from within.

Cassius and Océane said nothing. They only watched.

"I must add," the handless man continued, "that my core Aspect ability was to shift the composition of my hands in order to interact directly with the very concept of sky." He smiled wryly, moving his arms slowly. "Which is why, after I lost them that day, I didn’t quite lose them in a complete sense. My hands are simply now in a permanent state: the state they take when I use them to manipulate Sky."

He glanced up at the two watching him with surprise. "That’s why I say I don’t...yet I do."

"But," Cassius frowned, "you didn’t use that power when we were literally dying down there."

"Because I told you I am a dying old man." He countered. "Your lovely uncle — or grandfather, whatever you prefer — inflicted a tumour on every soldier of the Revolutionary Army. One that can only be healed by him."

Cassius and Océane both shivered. "What?" They said in the same breath, equally shocked.

"Oh yes." He twisted his weathered lips into a scowl. "A tumour made with his Aspect. One that will kill us sooner rather than later, even if he chose not to slaughter us outright on that day."

"Why do that if he already planned to kill you all?"

"Because of people like me." He grinned without humour. "People who, against all odds, find a way to escape. The King is no fool, lad. No one born into that family is. He was not willing to leave any risk uncovered, no matter how unlikely. So do you know what he did when he recognised that possibility? He came to us, placed a tumour on each one, and walked away without a change in expression."

The old man’s face fell, jaw tight.

"That is the King who rules this Kingdom. That is..."

He looked at Cassius.

"...your family, Cassius Desdemona."

Dead silence.

Océane, in particular, was too shocked to find any words.

She knew the Desdemona were not saints. She knew the Hood were no better. But to inflict an incurable tumour on people — one that would gnaw at their soul and body until it killed them — simply because he didn’t want loose ends?

’This whole family is madness.’ She thought, glancing at her young master. ’Yet here I am — even knowing all their cruelty, all their lack of humanity — willing to stay and do anything for him.’

Wasn’t that the same, then? Didn’t that make her one of them?

The thought both pleased and unsettled her in equal measure.

Cassius, meanwhile, was only interested in the new information, none of this had been in the game’s backstory.

As for the King’s actions...

’What can I say? I would probably have done the same if it came to that. He did what he had to in order to protect himself and his throne and his family.’

He couldn’t blame the man without being a hypocrite. And he wasn’t quite ready for that particular hypocrisy at this moment.

"Is that why you were in that building?" Cassius said. "Is that why?"

"Aye." He nodded, taking hold of his feelings. "I had heard of a skilled alchemist in the Outskirts. A rare thing. So I came to try my luck, to see if there was still any way to heal despite the odds. But I hoped, lad. I truly hoped that some miracle might come."

A weary chuckle left him. "I should have known better. But hope is a cloud. It blinds you in ways that even passion might not."

"Wise words." Cassius said. "And yet life hasn’t forsaken you yet, it seems. Old man, I don’t know what you did when you served under my aunt. I don’t particularly care. All that matters to me is that you swear an Oath of Allegiance through the System to me. And in exchange, I will not only conveniently forget your interesting background..."

He paused. The old man’s eyes widened slightly, already knowing what was coming.

"...I will do my best to heal you. No guarantees. But I’d say I’m your best option right now, if you want more years. Don’t you think it’s time to hope again?"

He sat back, satisfied to feel his body had healed considerably through the conversation.

He focused back on the old man.

The man was smiling. A strange, knowing yet tired. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"You are all the same, aren’t you?" He said, shaking his head. "Using everything at your disposal to reach your goals."

"I suppose that’s what makes us the rulers of this Kingdom."

"That I cannot disagree with." He nodded. "So here I am, letting hope of good health and greed for more years cloud me again."

"Like most people. Don’t be ashamed of the things that make you human." Cassius arched an eyebrow. "So you accept?"

"It’s either that or Vorn’s twisted smile coming for me." The old man said. "And I am not one of those heroes who find convenient meaning in death."

"Something we can agree on." Cassius nodded, pleased. "Your name, old man?"

"Horus." He said. "Horus Skygazer."

Cassius grunted in acknowledgment, then lifted his head.

"Mother System, I wish to bind—!"

BIB! BIB! BIB! BIB!

He closed his mouth.

Frowning, he snapped his head toward the sound and saw his Runic Phone in Océane’s hands, ringing.

Noticing his look, Océane offered it carefully. "It’s... it’s Lady Isolde, Young Master."

Without hesitation, Cassius took it and answered, assuming something serious must have happened for her to call this soon.

"Well, darl—!"

"CASSIUS FUCKING DESDEMONA!"

Cassius froze.

His lips twitched at the sheer volume of his wife’s voice nearly bursting his ear.

’Queen above. What did I do now?’

—End of Chapter 58—