Presence VS Presence
"Your holiness, are you sure we're going to deliver this letter of challenge? Please mind your position..." a crest holder half-kneeled before Calvaros with both of his hands on a letter.
The word "Challenge" is written on the surface of the envelope.
"No need to persuade me any longer. Deliver that letter to Marcos brat name Aiolos, and tell him that the God of War is challenging him to an honorable duel," Calvaros said. To someone as prideful as him, the losses of his confidence can only be found from the one causing it.
"Your holiness, you're an Upper-Tiered Wargod! How can you step on a junior god two ranks below you? Please reconsider!" the crest holder continued. Although he's confident that his god would earn his victory, as always, a win from bullying is hardly noble in the eyes of other gods.
Furthermore, how can a god no less than 1,500 years old bully a less than 2 years old god?
"Just go. My pride can only be won back if I defeat the Craft God. There is no other option. As the only one that's capable of destroying the chest piece of my Heilig-Reincar, how can I stand a step behind him?" Calvaros stomps the ground, creating an earthquake within his sanctuary.
"Even if he's a newborn, I'll challenge him and remove the weaknesses of my holy armament! Heilig-Reincar's reputation will never go down on the hand of a nameless child!" Calvaros lost his calmness. As long as he thinks about how Aiolos' spear touches his bare chest, the feeling of threatened keeps surfacing in his mind.
--------------------
The story has to return to when ten Ancient Gods came to this barren, lifeless continent. When Raven Sarira combined the first Xuanwu Shell with the nameless cavern, Heavenly Dungeon appeared.
But that was a story which barely fits what happened on that day.
The ten boulders blocking the cavern was the first obstacle to encounter the combined power of ten ancient gods. While the cavern is ultimately made into the Heavenly Dungeon, the ten boulders eventually became treasures worth the bestowed name of "Tianyuan."
The encounter created a seed out of each boulder, ten in total.
And although their arrival of existence is sudden, their departure is even quicker. Ten seeds of unknown origin seep away into the earth without acknowledging the god.
Hence, the gods, knowing half and oblivion about another half, named the ten so-called seeds Origin Seed of Tianyuan, or the Tianyuan's Yuanzi. The only thing they know about it is what time they're born.
Then, a miracle appeared.
A nameless god, not even worthy of a-tenth of what the Ancient God could do, obtained one of the seeds. It came in the form of a cloth, which was ultimately named as the Robe of Tianyuan.
Then, another seed appeared. This time, in the hand of an Ancient god of Craft. He named it the Chisel of Tianyuan.
The seed came and gone with no specific condition on how one could become its owner, but what the gods know is the miraculous ability it could bring them.
One after another, six Yuanzi made their appearance into the life of the gods, but with power came greed. Two gods ultimately clashed against one another within the Heavenly Dungeon, but neither is the ultimate winner.
The dead contender leaves with the Robe disacknowledge the ownership and vanishes like how they did on their first day coming into existence. Thus, the fact only one Yuanzi per god spreads around until they're forgotten.
Although each of them possessed outrageous abilities, flexible, and overwhelming, they ultimately quieted down until their existence is disremembered.
But right here, right now, within Parthenos' Sanctuary, two Yuanzi clashed against one another, just like how it is thousand of years ago. The only differences between them are the shape and also the family relationship between them.
The furnace moves like a flying chest, trying to subdue the hammer. And at the same time, the hammer behaves like it was going to flatten the chesty flying box.
"Control your Godhood Power to subdue your treasure. They're a treasure that no more than ten people could declare their ownership." as Marcos speaks, Godhood Power gathered on his right palm.
His action brought the Hammer of Tianyuan into obedience. Dancing on top of Marcos' palm, incantation circles stack on top of the hammer as they're slowly combined into a thicker layer of a magic formation.
Aiolos immediately followed his father's guidance. Godhood Power gathered on both of his palms, which called his Furnace of Tianyuan over. The forge absorbs the nutrition gathered on his palm quicker than the water flowing into the sand.
Honestly said, Aiolos' level of Godhood Power is too meager to satiate its hunger.
"Each Yuanzi is unique. It can be a forge like yours, or a hammer-like mine. If Tetros were the one who got it, it might turn into a cake that won't finish no matter how you ate it."
"But first, you'll have to learn how to control it." Marcos moves the Hammer of Tianyuan to his chest and stops feeding it with Godhood Power. The moment nutrition stops flowing in, the magic formation circle transforms into an ethereal needle about the size of a potion vial. (Note: Imagine it to be like a tube of slim bottle potion)
"The Hammer of Tianyuan can create a Sky-Needle each time the Magic Formation Circle is perfectly formed. Five incantation circles turn into one Magic Formation Circle, and five needles merged into an Origin-Needle."
Marcos opened his right palm to withdraw a so-called Origin-Needle out from the Storage Space. The Sky-Needle is just as long as 6", but the Origin-Needle is 18" long.
"Not only the needle can be used to attack an opponent, but it also crushes their mental. But if it was used on ourselves, both needle can temper our mental fortitude, making it stronger against mental attack." Marcos said.
Sweat as big as a bead rolled down from Aiolos' temple, showing how much he's struggling. Not even a speck of dust came out from the furnace after he exhausted his godhood power twice.
"Keep it up. It takes time to obtain a substantial result." Aiolos' father said. The father guides the son on how to use the potential from the Furnace of Tianyuan to cultivate.
After Aiolos exhausted his Godhood Power for the fifth time, a small, rough edges piece of marble sits within the word "Tian." But in return for the continuous effort, how Godhood Power status roused by 50 points, now at 190.
But their induction class about the Yuanzi isn't over yet.
From the outlook of his Furnace of Tianyuan, Aiolos' expertise is likely in his control of flames. But for his father, his expertise consisted of many. Of course, there's a favorite.
Marcos' control in gravity and pressure is undoubted when using the Hammer of Tianyuan. He named the combination of Law "Presence" due to its overwhelming power upon arrival.
"Do you want to try?" Marcos asked. His question puzzled Aiolos as he did not expect his father to do so.
"I'm unsure, father..." Aiolos lowered his head. Although he's being honest, answering his father this way might be disappointing.
"Don't be discouraged. I've used it often to temper the confidence and fortitude of your mother's soldiers. Or else, how can they be this organized and trained?" Marcos said.
"You can execute whatever you have to deflect it. The longer you could hold, the better. As long as you can stay strong against the hammer for five inches, you're counted as a talent comparable to your mother's soldier out there." Marcos added.
"Are you... Heh..." Marcos distanced himself from Aiolos, but who knows before he asked, the son of his is prepared with the Oxaltheim equipped. The shield born between him and Tetros' marriage oath expands to cover Aiolos as he faced the challenge.
"Your father's Hammer of Presence strengthens by double for every inch it descends, so get ready." Marcos' palm opened wide as he prepares his attack. A hammer about the size of a mountain appeared above their head as it descends.
"1 inch!" the pressure immediately destroys half of Aiolos' shield upon arrival. The presence induced by the appearance of the mountain itself could bring all mortals to their knees. But against a god, moreover, one was prepared like Aiolos, more effort has to be given.
"2 inches!" Marcos' palm wobbled. The power of presence destroys all protection Aiolos has with twice the power. Except for his chest and leg armor, everything begins to crack under the innumerable pressure he has no idea where they came from.
"Are you able to take it?" Marcos asked.
Aiolos grits his teeth and gives his father a nod.
"3 inches!" this time, the power increases to fourfold. All of Aiolos' holy armament shatters beneath the force. To Aiolos right now, his body is strong enough to withstand the pressure, but he could hardly last.
Aiolos shivered. The feeling of facing the power of the presence of his father made his question himself why.
"Why would one shivers in cold, unknown of where, and how could it happen."
"FURNACE OF TIANYUAN!" Aiolos took the forge out to grant him assistance. The presence of fourfold quickly diminished against the prideful Origin Seed.
"4 inches." another wobble from his father brought Aiolos' confidence down. The force of eightfold force Aiolos to went crazy, as he channels as much Godhood Power into the Furnace of Tianyuan.
Then...
...
...
...
"Boys! It's time for... Dinner?" Parthenos entered the training ground where her husband and child spar with each other. But the moment the scene unfolds itself, she's taken aback by what was happening.
Flames from Aiolos' Furnace of Tianyuan engulfed the training ground intensely.
The tongue of flames on the left is a gentle, flexible, yet cooling flame known as Tianhuo, while the one on the right is a fierce, dense, and intense flame known and Yuanhuo.
Two flames, contradicting one another, battled against the threat mutually. Only through this way could they fought against Marcos and his Hammer of Tianyuan as an equal, which controls gravity and pressure.
"Heh," Marcos smiled as he's feeling proud of his own bloodline. His finger twitched slightly, bringing down the Hammer of Tianyuan an inch more to increase its presence within the training ground once more. This time, even Aiolos is brought down on both of his knees.
The flames from the Furnace of Tianyuan are not excluded from the pure pressure. They were pressed onto the flat surface, unable to move as freely as they are when making their debut.
"Enough, both of you." Parthenos clicked her tongue, hinting her disapproval of her husband's strict teaching.
The Hammer of Tianyuan retracts immediately at the end of her sentence, turning back into the measurement of a brush. The father steps out of the training ground without saying anything, leaving his wife and son there.
"Sorry, mother." Aiolos punched the floor. From the start until the end, the Hammer of Tianyuan descends by five times, equivalent to five inches. That's sixteenfold of power of presence delivered onto him.
"What are you sorry about? Being able to withstand five inches in presence means your potential is better than many gods in Lower-Tier. You're like a piece of gem that knows your own value but didn't polish itself to the point to match it."
"Always remember that power means nothing if you can't back it up. Losing doesn't always mean failure, but dying is. Able to destroy Calvaros' defense means nothing because his life is not in your mercy. Can you understand your mother's word?" Parthenos rubbed her son's head and his golden curly hair as she shows her love.
"I..." Aiolos stares at his mother.
"Remember this. The winner is not the one that stands. The winner is the one that stays alive." Parthenos pulled Aiolos up with one hand and guided him to follow as they left the training ground together.
Marcos and Tetros have been waiting for them to come out.
On the table are close to twenty piping hot dishes, from meat to soy, from bread to wine. Aiolos sits beside Tetros, accompanying his father and mother seated side by side across them.
--------------------
"We'll make sure our holiness receives your message. Please return." a Primus received the Letter of Challenge from Calvaros' subordinate.
He sighed after the crest holder left without looking back.
"What's wrong?" a few Centurions came forward to the Primus and asked.
"Get back to your post. Don't be a busybody." the Primus used his sword's handle to knock their heads before he gets away from them.
"Had Calvaros gone crazy? Challenging our young master???"