CHAPTER 30 - MATHRIM EL'DOR (PART 1)

Currently, Sen who was supposed to be in a coma was actually leisurely looking at the frantic people by his bedside. It appears as if he had become a ghost. No matter how he touched, screamed, and called for them, it was like they didn't even exist.

Fatima was currently pacing around the room anxiously when an old woman appeared out of nowhere, Sen was a ghost but could still feel power, and this woman's pressure screamed 'Powerful'.

"Grandma! What happened?" Fatima rushed to the woman and anxiously asked, "Is it what I think it was?"

"Yes my dear, but don't worry, your friend will be fine"

'Hello, old lady, I am a ghost, find a way to bring me back' Sen stupidly waved his hands in front of the old woman, but she just went through him towards his body that's on the bed.

"What happened?" Nivera asked.

'Good question Nivera' Sen commended.

"Fatima told you that since your friends here created the fused energy, as he calls it, many people found out about it and managed to track him down to Lavin city right?"

"Yeah," Nivera nodded.

"Well my dear, these people resorted to trickery. You see, regarding holy, or fused energy, there is a certain material that when within its vicinity, creates a disturbance that renders the fused energy chaotic and unstable. A part of your friend's soul is now trapped inside these daggers."

"What are these daggers, are they what made Sen like this?" although Leonas understood very little of what was happening, he was seriously anxious for Sen right now.

"Yes, young drow, they are"

"Then let's just break them and free his soul."

'Good idea Leonas, I knew I could count on you' Sen proudly nodded while patting Leonas on the back with his ghost arm.

"Do that if you want to make him stay in this condition forever, his soul wandering aimlessly for eternity."

'Idiot Leonas! What a terrible idea! Totally unreliable'

"Then what should we do?" Nivera asked.

"These items, which we call chaos items, are not from this world. There exist many planets in this realm and the knowledge we have of them is very limited. and these daggers came from one of these planets, and by the way, chaos items are unbreakable, so even a world rank mag like wouldn't be able to leave a scratch on them. "

"How about Sen, will he stay like this forever?"

"The only way is to enter the daggers and find the missing piece of his soul, but the only person who can do that is Sen himself." the old lady's eyes wandered around the room, "if you've heard what I just said, then go into the dagger and find your soul" she spoke to no one, but Sen knew she spoke to him.

'This old lady really is something. Well, not like it can get any worse.' Sen floated towards the daggers and his vision suddenly changed.

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In the great hall of Farahasi. The walls were embedded with gold and purple alloy spreading like spider webs from one wall to the other. Their shine reflecting the sunlight as it bounced from one placed to another. Perhaps the most Breathtaking thing about this place was the well-designed huge dome. Spanning for hundreds of meters. Painted on it was the great battalion of the first humans when they fought the earlier forsaken.

The image was so breathtaking that thousands of people just stared at it. Rarely do they get the chance to enter the great palace hall. Normally they do only when the royalty or the seer has an announcement to make. One that would change the fate of the empire. But these people knew what was going to happen, and they held their breath in anticipation.

A moment later, chimes were heard and a circular platform was raised from the edge of the hall. It was high enough that everyone was able to see the people dressed in the golden royal robes. Without question, these people were described by one word, angelic. Silver hair braided differently with each person and smooth skin that looked like it was oiled.

Among them was a woman with dark skin and impeccable beauty, surpassing even the royal family with her long thick golden hair tied underneath her chin like the mane of a lion. She was holding a golden staff that shone like the sun and wearing a white robe with golden ornaments, whoever saw her was mesmerizing. She stood at the front with the royal family seated behind her.

"The blessing of Am' Saul, the god of the sun, upon his followers, the Solari. May the sun guide our path!"

She spoke into no device, but her voice carried far into the hall, booming into each one of the audience's ears like thunder. But no one ached from pain, instead, they all seemed to be more lively and energetic.

"May the sun guide our path" they echoed

The woman, who the people called the seer, raised her head and spoke again,

"My children, whenever we gathered at the sun keep, we'd share the most joyous of news and celebrate in the glory of the sun together. However, not today…" she stopped and took in all of the audience as if looking each of them in the eyes. And certainly, everyone felt the stare of her golden orbs.

"War is upon us my dear children" they gasped, but she paid no heed and spoke again, "the north is in rebellion, from Masume to I'chtar, the heretics took in the worship of the accursed Alune, the fallen goddess of the moon. They have forsaken out teachings and chose the darker side of the day as their home and joined forces with the demons of Andres. Their armies account a hundred thousand strong."

Her voice sent fear into their hearts, 'could she have foretold our empire's doom?' they thought, minds in disarray. However, the seer smiled and quelled their fears.

"Fear not my children, for the god of the sun has not forsaken us." She waved her staff a few times.

Seconds later, a blinding golden sun penetrated the dome like thunder. It was only a moment, but enough for everyone including the cold faced royal family behind her to gape in awe at the greatness of the light.

The light dissipated after a while and what stood in front of her is a circular golden sigil.

"The god of the sun sent us a part of his almighty power, a sigil that will choose its owner and fuse its power with him."

The crowd held their breaths. No one dared to utter a single word.

"May the seven knights of the Sun Order step forward."

Five men and two women, dressed in golden armor that shone like the sun, stepped up and knelt before the seer.

"You seven are the pride of the Solari, your courage, bravery, and valor in the battlefield is witnessed by the entire empire. The sun sigil shall choose one of you to carry out the sacred duty of defending our empire from the vile ideals of the heretics and demons"

The seven clanked their armored hands on the floor in unison, sounding their affirmation.

"Then, let the selection begin!" the seer held out both hands to the far end of the hall and people burst in shouting. For these ordinary people, one of the few catalysts for excitement is the choosing of a hero or a role model their children can look up to.

The woman with the golden hair chanted a few verses of what seemed to Sen as beautiful poetry, and the sigil rotated madly, sending rays of light in every direction.

The seven warriors held their breaths as the sigil rotated above their heads. Who would be chosen? Who had faith in the sun god the most? And who was the beloved that will carry the sun god's banner in defense of the empire?

They waited on needles. However, to their dismay, the sigil suddenly flew into the middle of the audience and stood hanging above a young man of about eighteen years old, with red hair and grey eyes. Which was odd, considering no one here had those traits.

"What?!" people shouted, "the chosen one isn't one of the seven?"

Even the seer seemed perplexed, but as the leader of the nation, she quickly got a hold of herself. "Young man, step up"

The young man who was still in a daze woke up and looked in the direction of the seer. "Y…yes" he stuttered and made his way towards the platform. People splitting to make a way for him. The sigil followed closely behind him.

"The sigil did not choose the seven and chose you instead, which means your faith and desire to protect the kingdom is the purest and the most extreme. What is your name?"

"Mat...Mathrim El'dor"

The name sent the hall into deep silence, even the seer had an ugly expression on her face. "The half-demon?" she said with a hint of disgust.

Of course, everyone knew the story of the half-demon. Born to the union of a Solari mother and a demon father, his father died in battle and his mother brought him here for safety, but her people were not welcoming for her half-breed child so they elected him to be killed. But his mother was someone who earned the Solari seal of honor, a seal presented to those who served the empire with sweat and blood and whose achievements were impeccable. The holder of the seal gets to ask for a wish from the royal family and the seer.

And the mother of course chose the safety of her son. Although she died later, no one dared to break the sanctity of the seal by hurting Mathrim.

The seer waved her hands and disappeared in a golden cloud of smoke, leaving behind a confused Mathrim, a hateful audience, and a raging seven warriors who felt that something was stolen from them, from right underneath their feet.

Moments later, the seer reappeared and addressed everyone, "I have consulted with the high seer"

The high seer was someone who never got involved in worldly affairs, as they prepared for their ascension. Of course, they were the ones with the highest divine magic power, more than the seer herself.

"Mathrim El'dor is the rightful holder of the sigil, and shall defend the empire with the blessing of the sun god as it is his divine wish."

These people's faith in this sun god must be incomparable, as they did not utter a single defiance word after they heard the seer.

But one person was still in a confused state, not keeping up with how his world was changing. It is Mathrim himself.

He knows he did not hold much faith for the sun god. Probably if his mother did not use her seal in exchange for his safety, they would've executed him a long time ago. If anything else, he was actually planning on leaving the empire and join the rebellion.

But something in him made him accept this task like a goal has been given to his meaningless life.

Sen's vision warped. that's right, sen has been floating above this hall, watching the scene with interest. how was he supposed to find his soul here? the weirdest thing was that he was able to feel the emotions of the people here, especially the red-haired boy who Sen assumed to be the protagonist of this story.

This time, it was the battlefield. Armies were fighting a bloody battle. Golden armors clashed with red armors and silver ones. Sen immediately judged them to be the Solari, the demons, and the Lunari.

He actually imagined the demons to be ugly with black skin and horns and fangs. However, they were really human-like, but their skin was paler than snow and had small horns on their foreheads.

Looks like the battle was in deadlock as both sides were taking heavy hits.

A flash of light drew his attention and he turned around to see a spectacular battle taking place.

A red-haired man with golden-red light armor stood majestically facing a demon holding a great sword.

Amazing the change he saw in Mathrim. The baby fat was gone and was replaced was masculinity and rough edges. He expected the weapon hero uses to be a sword, but Mathrim was holding a black twin dagger with gold and red carvings.

"Nazaru. Let our battle be the last of this battle" Mathrim bellowed to the demon Nazaru.

"It shall be your grave" Nazaru answered.