Twilight of a Hybrid

by Ryan Johnson

  Valverno, Flavius, and Marina stood while the people still retained unhappy faces.

  “What’s with the looks?” asked Kelda.

  “That’s right!” said Bjorg. “We’ve won and the enemy is defeated and it seems their memories have been wiped clean. What do we have to worry about?’

  Valverno looked at Marina and Flavius who gave him the same looks he gave them. Then he looked at the three clan leaders, Sora, and Teutates. He stepped forward and said, “Belverda and Uragiru are dead indeed, but Lusìvar still remains a threat.”

  This sudden news suddenly silenced the joy everyone was showing off and silence struck the room. The silence didn’t seem to surprise Teutates as he knew there were dangers lurking on the island.

  “You people may call it a victory, but there are other people allied with Lusìvar. The Snake Clan is hiding in mountain border of the Northern Region. The Piper, the servant of Belverda’s witch sisters, still lives. Stephanie may take the throne after she hears the news of Uragiru’s death. And ultimately, Lusìvar still remains our biggest threat. I could hardly call today a victory.

  “Not to mention I haven’t found the third armor artifact that will restore my broken power back to its full potential. The power you all have witnessed didn’t come from me; I used a dark power I’ve got from the Pool of Shadows to summon worth the god. My divinity at its two-third potential is not enough to summon one of the gods from their realm. Just was just power from the Pool of Shadows.

  “And not to mention we lost a White Knight on the battlefield. Geraldus is dead, and he was the White Knight of Loyalty. Now his power is going have to be transferred to the next person who is to be the next White Knight of Loyalty. And another problem is new leadership of the island and its future. There are many so things to do and little time to do those. But first, there is something else I need to do. Sora, do you have that book?”

  Sora dropped her mug and stepped over to Valverno. She placed out her hands and the book of failed experiments appeared before her. Valverno took the book and angrily looked at it.

  “The last legacy Belverda has left behind and here it is: the book of Failed Experiments. Now to be a pile of burned ashes.” Valverno dropped the book and unleashed dragon fire upon the book, created and written by Belverda and Ralenskrit. The hard cover erupted into purple flames upon meeting Valverno’s dragon fire.

  Everyone around him saw the big book burning before their eyes. They knew very little of whom Belverda was or what she even was trying to do. It would seem she was in rush to go places that she just questions around and leave once she required to get the information she was trying to get.

  Valverno turned to see Teutates standing in the corner he was in; he gave a small nod before turning away. Valverno knew there some respect Teutates showed, some agreement the book needed to be burned away and forgotten.

  “Now we should head back to the Western Region to discuss the next form of leadership of Shimabellia. Lusìvar is on the loose, the Snake Clan is hiding in the mountain border of the Northern Region, and the Piper is waiting to strike me in the darkness when I am not looking. We have tons of stuff to do that needs to get it done in the next three years, before the solar eclipse happens on the Summer Solstice.”

  Valverno turned and left the tent. After he left, he soared to the sky and weakly rose about a hundred feet into the air. This was about how strong enough he is to fly high. He could see it was night already and there were noises booming throughout several tents. He turned to the west and headed in that direction. He would wait there for some of the people to come the Western Region to talk about the island’s future.

  THE NEW RULER OF AN ISLAND

  Two weeks went by after the battle took place. Several leaders from around the island came to the Western Region. It took only a few days only for the united army to heal their wounds and march back to the Western Region. With the Northern Region on the other side of the island and a large range of a mountain border, it was easier to travel to the Western Region where there were foothills and valleys.

  Not just the human leaders started to come from around the island, but the rulers of the creatures came as well: Centaurs, Dragons, Fairies, Griffins, Pegasi, Unicorns, Sea Serpents and the Merpeople. The sea creatures sprouted though big water holes that were dug deep in the earth that were made in tunnels that came through the seas to the island’s inland.

  During the time many diverse leaders were taking to get to the Western Region, Valverno and the family of Geraldus held a small funeral for their father. He was buried at a valley of hills covered in blue roses. There was a small tunnel built that goes into the hill with a small statue built on the hill’s top resembling the person buried there.

  Just on the right was a statue of Alaric, Geraldus first son. The three girls were crying heavy tears from their eyes, and the twin boys did show some tears.

  It was now going to be hard for the family to cope with the loss of Geraldus. They lost their mother about a year ago, and now they lost their father. With Flavius now taking on the role as the Head of the family and inheriting the White Knight power, pressure would fall to the next eldest child: Eliana.

  Valverno lost a good fighter and a father as did his foster siblings. Now with Flavius, with no experience with wielding power of a White Knight, was going have to be trained from Valverno into how Flavius was going to be the next White Knight of Loyalty, even though Flavius may not put his loyalty into Valverno. Valverno had no idea how the future will hold for the Cornelius family.

  He had three years until the day would come for Lusìvar would be able free his Titan followers and wreak havoc on the two islands. Even if he had command of all the military of the islands, there would be no way the hundreds of thousands of soldiers would be able to take down seven Titans. He would have to be the one to take down the Titans, and without the animal DNA upgrades he had, he would have to find the third armor artifact to that would fully restore his ripped power.

  He didn’t know what the future would be in store for Shimabellia or the other island. He needed to protect the freedom for life and the future of future lives, and with the problems he was going have to deal with were not going to be easy tasks.

  After the funeral was held, Valverno headed back to the village and through the many buildings. He saw many people now staring at him with many looks. The people didn’t just show odd or strange looks; the people were looking with great amazement. They have heard him being the legendary demigod.

  It was one thing for parents to tell their kids fairy tales and legends of a certain hero who leads a group of chivalrous knights against dark cults wanting to take over the islands. It was another thing to see at the actual legend standing in front of them, and they’d never expected to see Valverno and one of the White Knights walking about them.

  Valverno was joined by his sister as they walked through the village and to the barracks where the leaders from around the island were gathering. Valverno saw not all the leaders were there. This was possibly due to some people still being loyal to Uragiru, no matter what he said to the island through Valverno’s own crystal orb

  The leaders sat all around the training grounds. There were ten rows of stacked tables sat with leaders around a few corners of the island. Each leader was dressed in different garments and armor; there was a mix of soldier and nobility among the small crowd.

  The three clan leaders were gathered with Teutates at one table. The rest Valverno didn’t recognize since he didn’t explore the rest of the island. He didn’t know what leaders from the rest of the island were there.

  From the spot he walked on, he saw the Dragon King standing on a high point overlooking the crowd of island leaders. Next to him was the Unicorn King. They both were accompanied by their bodyguards, as with the rest of the ruling creatures. The creatures stood apart from the humans and kept their distances.

  Valverno walked across the yard filled with human leaders that began to talk softer and stare at
the demigod as he walked passed them. Soon, their soft tones of whispering turned into a loud talk if he walked into a grand hall of a mighty castle.

  In front of him, there stood a small platform with a small table big enough to seat four people. This was the point of the main point where the host, which is supposed to be the main person in charge of the meeting. Valverno was the one who called them, and he was the host of his gathering of the island leaders.

  At the table there was Monico seating there, as well as Sora and Flavius. The White Knights who would stand behind Valverno. There was an empty spot for Valverno to stand at while the White Knights sat ahead of the position.

  Valverno walked past the table corners and joined his three companions. They looked at the people who ceased their talking and looked at Valverno. The men and women staring at him were waiting for him to say something.

  “As you all now know, I am Valverno, demigod from the world of Pangaea. And I have come to fight against Lusìvar and what remains of his forces.”

  There small mutters of the people talking in the crowd.

  “Then you know all about the Titan King: the Leviathan, but here is something any of you don’t know: the Leviathan is the father of Lusìvar.”

  The people started muttering to each other of this surprise Valverno gave them, revealing to them the ancient tales of ancient beasts had been true. And an addition to the revealing they had learned their biggest threat is a Titan.

  “And the rest of the imprisoned Titans are buried in an underwater prison that will only be revealed when the solar eclipse comes on the Summer Solstice three years from now. By that time, it will be too late to fight back. Even I and the Four White Knights combined won’t be enough power to kill the Titans, and there are seven of them. Uragiru and his witch friend may have been dealt with, but they were only tools for Lusìvar to use. And once he had no more needed of them, he would have killed them.

  “There is only a limited time before the Titans are released. By then, Lusìvar will use what is left of his living tools to kill all military might: Banshees, Basilisks, Black Dogs, Chimeras, Cyclopes, Harpies, Manticores, and Minotaurs. These monsters still exists and Lusìvar will use those monsters to destroy every human soldier who might stand up against him.

  “And I have yet to restore my full divinity to the fullest: one more artifact had been ripped from my half-divine body and I need to find that. As I know, Lusìvar still has me outmatched. And I would be able to overcome him, if I do find that artifact.

  “So we are gathered here to discuss new leadership of the islands. As I have shown you all, in my previous form, Uragiru confessed Stephanie is not a member of his bloodline and Uragiru was the last. It would make since for someone of a different bloodline to tak—”

  “Isn’t it obvious it should be me?” said Teutates’s voice. The man stood up from his seat and so everybody would look at him. “It must be me! I am a distant relative of the false king. And the throne is mine by blood-rights. I am the true ruler of Shimabellia.”

  There were many nods.

  “I won’t deny it, you are of royal blood. But as I recall, you hate the creatures standing here and you want to—”

  “You playing games with me?” said Teutates. “The throne is mine by blood-right. As a matter of fact, none of us should me here. We should be in the capital city watching me ascending my throne.”

  “Show some respect to this one!” shouted Kelda’s voice. The woman warrior got up and stood from the table she was at. “This one had did something none of us mortals have done,” said Kelda. “He summoned forth Origenes, the God of Shadows. This one managed to summon forth a god from the Realm of the Gods and bring that god to the Mortal Realm!”

  The people muttered loudly.

  “That is right!” said a man standing up. “My army from the Southern Swamps saw everything. We saw the god for ourselves, and it is known the gods made sacred laws that prohibit them from stepping into the Mortal Realm. This one… specimen managed to bend the law to his will.”

  “So what is so special about a failed science experiment that should have been long dead? There is nothing special about him!”

  “You’re wrong!” said Flavius. Flavius got out of his chair and stood in dead center of the seated people. “He journeyed to the Northern Region where he freed the people from Lusìvar’s grasp of fear. He reclaimed the Northern Region as part of Shimabellia. He fought against the witches who kidnapped many daughters, including one of my sisters.

  “But he managed to save several girls and kill the witches. Valverno fought with us against the witch and the king on the front lines. And it my father, who raised him the day Valverno was brought to my father’s doorstep, died believing Valverno can lead the two islands altogether.”

  Flavius drew out his sword and pointed it at Valverno. “No can lead us the better of the best than him. And I’d say he is the Chosen One and the rightful ruler: the true King… no… the Demigod of the Islands.” Flavius walked closer to Valverno and knelt before the hybrid.

  “I reckon that as well: he summoned worth a god and no one else has the power to do so,” said Kelda. She drew out a long axe-spear and knelt beside Flavius. “The Demigod of the Moral Real!”

  Then the two clan leaders got up, walked over to Kelda, drew out their weapons, and knelt beside her. “We agree: the Demigod of the Moral Real.”

  Then the Dragon King, the Unicorn King, the Centaur King, and the remaining rulers stood up from their sitting potions and looked at several more people getting up. The Dragon King walked away from his distant position and walked several yards to stand closer to Valverno.

  The Dragon King gave a loud roar as did his dragon bodyguards. The Centaurs, Unicorns, and the Pegasi stomped their hooves. The Sea Serpents and the Merpeople, which were floating from nearby waterholes gave small shouts. All the creatures gave cheerful shouts.

  Then Valverno raised his hand and a shockwave was sent; silence filled the air.

  “You are right: I am not special, Teutates, I’m like Lusìvar, an ancient being from ancient times. But he and I are alive and living on Shimabellia. And believe me; you will need me like everyone here. In the future, evil will be lurking everywhere. As an island whole, we need to stand as a united people, not divided people. United as one nation, one kingdom, one banner.

  “And as one united army, one nation united under one banner led by one person, we will ride forth. We will succeed. We will march forward against Lusìvar. We will cleanse the islands of Lusìvar’s evilness and bring ever-lasting peace and prosperity to the island, to Mortal Realm once and for all!”

  Valverno drew out the Crystal Sword and lifted it sky-high, showing it glow brightly like yellow sun.

  Then after two seconds, Flavius, the three kneeling clan leaders, and all the humans, including the three White Knights, and the creatures standing from afar sprung to their feet and shouted endlessly: “The Demigod of the Moral Real! The Demigod of the Moral Real! The Demigod of the Moral Real!”

  Within seconds, all the humans and the creatures shouted “The Demigod of the Moral Real,” and this show declaring Valverno was ruler of both Shimabellia and Isla Maeli. There was no doubt for a second the humans and the creatures were proclaiming Valverno their ruler and the ruler of Shimabellia and Isla Maeli.

  Valverno looked proudly as he saw everyone calling him their new ruler. He saw Teutates with a mad face, but Valverno ignored him. He lowered his sword and breathed softly, knowing everyone was shouting at him. He will be standing on top of Teutates and the future seemed to shine brighter as these few leaders were calling Valverno their ruler.

  In the corner where Marina stood, Valverno saw her smiling small, but not a big-happy smile as loving him as the new ruler, but somewhat a concern smile of Valverno’s new position.

  Given this opportunity, there was still the matter of the capital city, where Princess Stephanie still lived. If a certain amount of time King Uragiru left and hasn’t returned, th
e city would assume the king has died and the throne will go to the princess.

  Valverno didn’t want the princess taking the throne. Therefore, he had an idea of how to deal with the princess and makes sure she doesn’t become the queen.

  THE HYBRID ASCENDS

  “Another two weeks had passed and there wasn’t any sign of King Uragiru, which meant it has been a month since the king went to war with this hybrid and I still remain here,” said Princess Stephanie.

  In the capital city, it has been a month since King Uragiru went to war against Geraldus, and he hasn’t returned since then. There had been no word and no message from the king during the time he was away. This meant he had died in the attack, and the throne was open for the next ruler to inherit it.

  Princess Stephanie had heard the king’s voice through a glowing orb she was adopted into the family and really was never his daughter. She saw the wretched form Vaeludar had taken: a villain with long red hair with dark purple, red, black colors on the dragon wings, legs, and tail. She heard everything they had talked about and the false alliance her father with the Shadow King Lusìvar.

  The princess thought these only to be lies of trying to get Vaeludar into saying what his true loyalties had laid. But she didn’t care. She received no word or message from her father of indicating if he had won or the enemy has. So she was moving ahead and going to take over the throne and the kingdom of Shimabellia.

  In the throne room, the princess was dressed in a yellow and red dress made of fine silk. She wore emerald earrings on her ears. A neckless with large and small silver diamonds hung on her neck. Her hair was three rows of her hair were braided thinly and pulled back.

  She, along with an escort of bodyguards, walked close enough in front of the throne. She walked on a red carpet trailing through a large crowd of people of the nobility class. Hundreds of nobility, all dressed in the greatest of fashion that made them very rich in wealth, had been gathered to witness the crowning of a new ruler of Shimabellia: the Queen of Shimabellia.