by M K Drake
He and Olof went back to the rubble of the maze, but found no trace of Khan, no body, no sword, nothing. They surmised that the pressure above was so great, nothing was left. Khan was literally holding the weight of a mountain, it was a wonder he was able to carry it for as long as he did.
Elric still created a casket, something to honour Khan. Atticus can’t help but feel he deserves more. He hangs on Alfatun’s words, he promises that his friend, his brother will be honoured.
Atticus is concentrating on the words he needs to say now. Pali was sworn in during the morning assembly, and is now a fully-fledged member of the Majjai Six. She was always one in spirit Atticus thinks, so her coming into their ranks is not something that bothers him. What does trouble him is the continual playback of everything that has happened over the last few days. He is still trying to find a scenario where Khan lives, knowing that if he ever found one, he would be cursing himself for eternity for not doing it.
“It’s time.”
Atticus looks up to see his father, Joseph standing in the doorway of the chamber. Atticus stands and holds him tight. “When will all this death end, dad?”
Joseph smiles. “Death never ends, son, it’s the one truth that will always come for us. It’s how we live that is important. And Khan not only lived a hero, he died one, too.”
Atticus sighs, he knows his father’s words are true; still, he almost wishes that the Orb of Time was still there, with it they could have fixed so much. But then, meddling with time brings its own consequences. Atticus can’t help but think if this is Death teaching them all a lesson, especially him.
Joseph places an arm around Atticus and leads him outside to the Majjai grounds.
The Blade King is leading the ceremony, singing an ancient Majjai funeral song. The harmony is soothing, and evocative at the same time. The Majjai students sit and listen. At the end of it, Alfatun stands on a stage with a plinth in front of him.
“I am new here, but I have lived a long time. In all my years, I have not met many as brave as you. As brave as the Majjai Six, as brave as Abd Al Hakim Khan. He sacrificed himself to give all of you a chance to live. What you do with that, I pray is worthy. I could talk for quite some time, but it is not my place to do so. Therefore, I shall hand you over to Atticus, one who knew Khan as well as a brother ever could.”
Atticus walks up to the plinth, the casket sits in front of him, empty, but it is still there, and gives him something he can focus on while trying to find the words he needs. He thinks about what Khan would say, and smiles. “King Alfatun is right, Khan did sacrifice himself. He did it to give us a chance. Some think we have none, that we do not have a hope of defeating the threat knocking on our door. I can understand how some think it is almost impossible to win, but we will. We are facing our greatest threat, yes, Razakel is coming, do not doubt it. And we have all lost in this war, but we still stand. We still fight. Just like Khan did. We will show Razakel what it means to mess with our world. Khan has given us a chance and now I’m going to ask you, what will you do with it? Run? Hide? Or will you fight?”
Everyone in front of Atticus is at first silent, until it begins, one person raises their hand and shouts.
“Fight!”
Then another, and another, until everyone roars into the air in unison. “Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Alfatun stands in front of Khan’s casket and faces the Majjai, he draws his blades and holds them in the air. “Swords high!” he commands, watching as all of the students draw their Soul Swords and point them to the sky.
As they do so, Atticus watches each blade blast a colour into the air, up into the clouds in a glorious display of dancing lights.
Atticus smiles. “Wherever you are brother, I hope you liked that,” he whispers. He takes a moment to look over at Joyce, who smiles back. He watches Olof and Ju Long in a heated, whispered debate about something new, while Pali holds Safaya.
The Princess lost her guardian, her protector, her Prince, but she has found her sister again, and her brother. It is no consolation, Atticus knows this, but he hopes they can help her get through this. He and the others will need her strength for what is to come.
Atticus takes a long moment to take in what is in front of him, for a brief second, he senses hope. So much so that he doesn’t hear the portal open behind him. He doesn’t hear the words being shouted by the Majjai, by Joyce, by Joseph.
It seems to him as if everything has slowed down; he sees the Blade King running towards him; he watches as Elric and the Professors launch fireballs in his direction, and then he feels it. An arm around him, and the snout of Shadow Wolf next to his face.
“Told you I would get you one day Atticus!”
Shadow Wolf pulls Atticus backward and through the Portal, which closes as quickly as it opened, leaving the stage empty, and the Majjai looking on in despair.
Epilogue
Hel paces up and down, relishing in her own personal victory. She is happy with her new guardian, now that the Minotaur has joined the Majjai in their quest, he is not a threat for the Greeks. The Kraken is more than a worthy replacement.
She is even more happy about something else, however: that what she has planned, what she has longed for, for so long, since long before Razakel, is finally coming to fruition. Everything is falling into place, and soon, she will be with her own beloved, reunited.
She retreats to her chamber, which is adorned with many trophies of her victories. Her conquests, the souls she deems worthy enough to display. But her newest prize, this one is key. One she is quite proud of.
She sits at her table, admiring it, knowing that this thing, this vision of truth, this honest blood, this is what she needs to complete her plan.
She hears a knock at the door. “Enter.”
A large, shadowy figure comes in, and takes a seat at the table in the centre of the room.
“So, you have it then?” Kukulkan hisses.
“Yes, I do. Are you not glad?”
Kukulkan forms into his normal shape and stares at this new trophy. “I’m glad that your plan is working. The Old Gods will be happy. Well, happier than they are now anyway. Kartikeya is with us, he is quite eager to see how your plan unravels.”
Hel smirks. “Soon. It will not be long before the Proteus abomination and that upstart Razakel will end each other. And when that happens, what we have here, this beautiful, honest truth will be enough to douse the Flames of Skarvak. And then we will have victory. Then the Old Gods will rise again. And we shall annihilate these Majjai insects in their moment of grandeur like the insects they are. And those that doubted us, that fear humanity? They will have something else to fear.”
Kukulkan looks at Hel, his expression is a façade of joy, of eagerness, but he almost gives away a little of his fear. “Are you sure of all this? I do not doubt you, but perhaps, we need to plan some more contingency?”
“Your words? Or the words of your lack of courage? Do you not miss the days you were feared and loved at the same time? I offer to bring those days back to you.”
“I know. And I appreciate it, truly. But, there are powerful forces that will try to stop us, even with the Old Gods of War helping. Did you consult the Reaper on your plans?”
“He cannot stop this, his rules on balance are older than him. They are a hindrance. We shall see to him and his brothers first.”
Kukulkan chuckles, stroking his chin. “My, you are ambitious, but you are also right,” he sighs as he observes the adornment again, which stares back at him. “I must say, your embalmment of this creature is quite wonderful, it is keeping his blood very well preserved. What did they call this one again?”
Hel turns and smiles with an evil grin. “They called this one... Khan.”
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