Find my sword
"Caspian Soren."
The name reverberated through the cavern, settling over him like a brand.
"I choose you to be my successor."
Caspian's breath stalled.
"My place in this world is long gone. But unlike my brothers..."
The statue's gaze bore into him, and Caspian felt the weight of eternity pressing down.
"My power. My legacy. Shall live on in you."
Caspian's heart lurched.
His thoughts faltered.
His body felt weightless, as if reality had slipped through his grasp.
But then
A single thought pierced the haze.
No.
This isn't right.
Nothing good ever happened to him.
His rotten luck was legendary.
This—this was a deal too good to be true.
A deep, grating chuckle.
"Ah. You are right."
Heka's voice curled around his mind like a vice.
"There is no such thing."
Caspian's pulse pounded.
"The power of a god was never meant for a human."
The fire flared, the shadows convulsed.
"You may die. Your body is too weak a vessel."
A pause.
A whisper.
"But there is a chance."
Caspian's throat went dry.
"A chance to rewrite your destiny."
A chance.
Everything could change.
No more scorn. No more hate.
Power. Revenge.
He could have everything.
His lips parted.
"I ..."
His breath shook.
"I want ..."
There was never a choice.
The fire struck.
Faster than his mind could register.
A red-hot inferno seared through his armor through his clothes, through his skin.
Caspian's body convulsed.
Pain. All-consuming. Endless. Infinite.
His nerves ignited his body screamed.
He collapsed.
He was burning.
Burning from the inside out.
The agony was inhuman.
He screamed.
A raw, shattered sound ripped from his throat.
It did not stop.
The pain did not stop.
It only grew.
He wanted it to end.
Anything. Anything.
His mind splintered under the sheer, merciless torment.
His vision collapsed into nothing.
His body wasn't a body anymore.
Only pain.
Only fire.
When the pain vanished, Caspian was sure he had died. Nothing could have survived that much agony especially not him.
He was disappointed. Going through all that just to die? Still, he would do it again.
He was floating in limbo, his mind adrift in an empty void. Death felt anticlimactic. No fire-red pits, no great reckoning, just nothing. Not even other souls
"Not nothing, foolish one."
The voice cut through the void, curling through his thoughts like smoke.
"You are not dead. Your body has merely been destroyed. My essence is restoring it now, shaping it into something that can continue to exist."
Then, just like that, Heka was gone. No matter how many times Caspian called for him, he did not return.
Caspian wanted to curse him, but he didn't have the nerve.
Left alone, his thoughts wandered.
If he survived this, he would be akin to a god. So, what did he want?
For the first time, he had the luxury of considering his desires. Before, his mind had been wholly devoted to survival.
After a while, he decided he wanted a goddamn rest. To stand apart from the endless fighting, chaos, and bloodshed. To live freely. Maybe start a clan, or an empire, why not? Marry a beauty, live happily ever after, and do whatever he pleased.
He could already picture it.
But first, he'd have to kill his own family and offer their blood to his mother's grave. They deserved it. Then...then he would be free.
A force yanked him back into his body, like his mind had been hurled into itself. The floaty detachment was gone. He could feel again.
His eyes snapped open.
The world looked the same, yet everything was more.
His vision sharpened. He could see details he'd never noticed before, the smallest cracks in stone, the shifting grains of dust. His senses burned. He could smell everything, and God, it was overwhelming.
And then, the energy hit him.
It surged through his body, a wild, volatile force barely contained within his skin. He could feel it, like his veins had been set ablaze. It was too much. It felt like it would tear him apart.
Energy raw and infinite.
The power of a god, flowing through his veins.
Do not grow arrogant, the voice warned. You may still die.
The presence curled around his thoughts, heavy with something old, something dangerous.
Your body may be a suitable vessel now, but your mind remains vulnerable. Before long, my power will corrode your sanity. You will become nothing more than a mindless vessel for my will.
A pause.
Unless you find my sword.
Caspian stilled.
My brothers stole it from me, but I know it still exists somewhere in this world.
The voice darkened.
It is the only material capable of containing my essence.It would provide you the balance you need. Without it, you will be consumed.
Caspian exhaled sharply. How long do I have?
The moment you leave this cave, you have a day before the chaos overtakes you. That is if you do not attempt to use my power.
Caspian spluttered.
Of course there was a catch. Things were never straightforward with his wretched luck.
I could teach you ways to slow it down. If you are careful, if you are disciplined, you may survive long enough to find it.
The presence flickered.
But without my essence to sustain me, I will fade soon.
Caspian sighed.
Life was so damn unfair.
He clenched his jaw. Teach me.
"Not easily discouraged," Heka said.
"I have come this far," Caspian shrugged.
"Indeed. And the journey ahead will be more perilous."
Caspian sighed. So much for getting the powers of a god and living his best life.
"Sit down."
Heka's voice was calm, absolute. Caspian obeyed.
Before him, Heka materialized not as a floating voice, not as a presence in his head, but a man, solid and tangible. He moved with unearthly grace, sinking into a cross-legged position, knees bent outward, the soles of his feet touching, hands clasped.
"Do as I do."
Caspian hesitated, then mirrored him.
"Now, let us begin."Heka's voice softened, but it left no room for argument.
"We are going to seal a large portion of the energy that flows within your body."
Caspian's hands dropped. Indignation slid into his eyes.
"You mean to seal my magic? I'd be powerless. Defenseless."
Heka's expression remained unreadable.
"Your magic?" His voice carried the weight of something ancient. "You forget yourself."
The air in the room thickened, charged with something Caspian couldn't name.
"I did not say to seal the whole thing," Heka continued. "A fraction of my power would still put you leagues ahead of most people in your world today. But if you refuse to understand your power, if you only seek to wield it you will not survive it."
Caspian clenched his fists.
Heka's gaze was steady, neither kind nor cruel.
"This is the only way to preserve your life."
Caspian exhaled slowly. He set his hands together, mirroring Heka's pose again.
"Let us begin."
Caspian put his hands together.
"Close your eyes"
"And remember if you fail, your life is forfeit"