Tales of Zeroth

A beam of light hit the eyelids of Rapl Tsukumo, he grimaced and groaned as he rolled in his bed. But after a while, Rapl sat up, his eyelids opening to reveal his bright blue eyes; around him was a room, it was big, but aside from a chandelier, a drawer, his bed, and a mirror, it was a bit empty.

He stood up, his mind still processing the morning as he fully opened his windows, seeing the snow fall outside, "This is my life now huh?" exclaimed Rapl Tsukumo, the child of Kenjiro and Irene Tsukumo, and the new apprentice of the Great Lich, Artefus.

It had been two days since Rapl had come to Nerio, and all the revelations that had opened up to him were too much at first, but Artefus had given the party space to take everything in. Rapl opened his drawer as he took off his clothes and replaced them. He was still getting used to the Zanian clothing, the dark colors, long robes and capes, and how they were worn.

As he put his robe on, he exited his room and walked through the massive hallways of the Lich's castle. His eyes darted everywhere because he, a relatively wealthy village boy, had not seen this level of wealth before, "Rapl!" A voice called from behind him.

He turned to see three figures, Rico, Sevi, and Alex. The fire mage and salamander were still groggy, unlike Alex who was a bit more expressive, or as expressive as she could be, "Morning guys!" Rapl called as the three began to walk with him.

"So, we'll discuss things with the Lich now huh?" Alex remarked, staring at the floor, her face was still smiling, but inside she was a bit worried.

Sevi, being her brother, got wind of this, "You said yes, don't forget that," he pointed out, leading the ice mage to turn to him, her brows curled and her mouth slightly opened.

"You said yes too," she replied, leading Sevi to scoff.

"Yeah but at least I actually thought about it, you just said, 'uh yeah,' when Artefus asked you," as Sevi said this, Rapl returned his mind to that discussion back on the peak of Nerio. Rapl had immediately accepted the Lich's offer when the Lich gave it, there was a sense of both wonder and conviction in Rapl's voice as he accepted Artefus' offer. Influenced by his curiosity for his future, the tales untold to him, and conviction to keep the smiles of those in Zan.

When the four walked more through the maze-like hallways, they came across Bok. His hair was disheveled as if he had just woken up, "Morning guys, you ready for today?" Bok asked as he walked alongside them.

"I don't know what Artefus has in store for us," Sevi exclaimed, his voice unsure. The Lich had given the party two days to do whatever they wanted around the Kingdom, but he did tell them that after two days, he would have to gather everyone up for an announcement.

As the group left the room area of the palace, in one of the dining areas, they immediately came across Leena, her face stuffed with bread as a maid was trying to tell her off, "What's happening here?" Bok called out, walking towards the two women.

"Sir Bok," the maid called, "Miss Leena took the bread for today's breakfast!"

Leena still munching on her piece of bread turned to the maid, "I took my portion early, I don't see anything wrong about it, I was just hungry."

Bok scoffed as he turned to Leena. "You could've just asked her to prepare breakfast for you. Now you look like a hog with all the crumbs on your robes," Bok stated, leading the elf to turn away, realizing her faults.

As the maid sighed, the problem was semi-solved, she turned to the party, "His Majesty has told me you guys should eat breakfast first before anything, so I prepared some food for you, please take a seat." The group made their way to the seats and tables in the room, and one by one, the maid presented some delicious food for them.

Everyone ate well, even Rico, who was given a meal better than most pets. When they were finished, the maid took their plates as she instructed them to meet the Emperor at the royal planning room.

The group walked through the halls when they arrived at a big door, they all collectively took a deep breath as Bok opened the door for all of them. Inside was the Emperor of Zan, the Great Lich Artefus, pointing at a map of Zeroth whilst consulting with some hooded figures.

Rapl knew them as part of Gamma, an organization that specializes in many things, one of them was to gather intel both internally, and externally, and filter them out for the higher-ups of Zan to know. Led by the Grand Chancellor, Rapl knew they were a vital part of the Empire's structure, and their presence there meant there was some critical information the Emperor himself had to know.

As the group entered, Artefus turned his sights to them, "Come in, we have a busy day today," he greeted with a warm smile, "Just give me a second." Artefus turned back to the figures, he talked with them for a few moments before they all bowed to him and began walking away.

As the hooded figures approached the group, they turned, and bowed to everyone, taking the twins and Rapl off-guard. The figures left the room with the sound of the door closing, Artefus beckoned the group to come closer.

When the group was in front of Artefus, the Great Lich took a deep breath as the party got ready for what he was going to say, "Today, we're going to start shaping you all to be the next champions of Zan," he uttered, leading all of them to nod, "I have some free time, so I'll personally train you all today, I already called in some Gamma scientists and trainers to develop Rico, he's a special salamander, and that potential he has is very high."

Artefus then walked past the party, beckoning them to come with him. The group left the main palace, but there was an area behind the walls of the castle, they passed through a garden with an inbuilt river, and a greenhouse full of plants and botanists. Finally, after passing through all that, they entered a stone building. There, two hooded figures and a woman were waiting for them, seeing them, Artefus guided Rico to follow them.

Artefus opened the door of the building, revealing a room with swords, axes, spears, staffs, wands, and grimoires lined on the walls, and in the center was a slight dip with stairs leading to a massive patch of dirt, "This is my private training area, it's a bit small but this is where I specialize in combat involving Kutha," Artefus remarked, taking off his cape and all the jewelry he had on, also taking off his ornate shirt, only wearing his skin-tight black shirt on.

The group was in awe with Artefus' toned body, it spoke of his status as the mightiest champion in Zeroth. Artefus did some stretching as he approached the middle of the room, a smile came over his face as he turned to the group, and a dreaded stare on the group's face as they realized what Artefus was doing.

"Alright, who's taking me on first?" Artefus remarked, "Let's use only a bit of magic, I want us to get to know how to precisely use magic more than us hurting each other, we're also not allowed gifts so it can be a bit more fair." Everyone froze up, leading Artefus to sigh, "I'm only going to use a bit of my physical strength don't worry," he remarked.

Although trembling, one person did step up, stunning the whole group, "I'll be the first," Rapl remarked, also taking his cape and robe off. This made Artefus smile as he entered his fighting stance.

"That's my successor," he complimented, leading Rapl to also enter his fighting stance. Sevi observed the two, although they were both using their hands, Rapl's stance was more upright, his hands curled into fists, showing off Rapl's style of using a lot of pulse and blunt attacks. In contrast, Artefus' posture was more fluid, his stance more grounded, like was going to use his legs and fists equally, and his hands resembled that of claws, or better yet, half-fists, showing Artefus' versatility, for he can open his hand or claw to use rend and slicing attacks, or fully close them and use pulse and blunt attacks.

Although the battle had not started yet, Sevi saw that it was already over. Artefus rushed at Rapl, his body loaded up for an overhead swing, Rapl saw this as he tried to protect his head, but Artefus' hand opened last minute, and instead of hitting Rapl, he grabbed his arm. Before Rapl could comprehend, Artefus set his arm, down, as the Lich threw a rising uppercut square on the boy's chin.

"Listen all of you!" Artefus yelled as he pushed Rapl away, "Battle is about precision, for hunts like what all of you have been doing, it was alright to overcommit." Rapl recovered from the hit but realized it didn't hurt too much. Then he understood that Artefus, instead of hitting him, stopped millimeters away and used a gust of wind to push Rapl's head back, "But in battles with another Child of Elios, it just takes a single mistake, and you're done for," he remarked, his spiral eyes pointed at Rapl, it was a warning, "You got that?" Artefus asked.

Rapl nodded, getting back to his posture. Yet again Artefus led, charging at Rapl, his body just running forward, not letting Rapl know his next move, "I need to be precise," Rapl thought, "Wait till the final moments." He waited, and as Artefus approached, his hand was preparing for a punch, but Rapl, waited. And a few milliseconds later, Rapl lifted his feet, blocking a kick from Artefus.

The Lich scoffed, his student didn't fall for his tricks, "That's it," he remarked with a smile, but even with the blocked attack, Artefus still followed through. The power was too much for Rapl to bear, as he was sent tumbling, "Brute strength needs to flow with precision, for a wave is strong yes, but that wave that might push you back will become one that will cut your hand off if all of its strength is precisely concentrated in one area."

Artefus continued to train Rapl, and after he was done, Sevi stepped up. Sparks of flames filled the arena, throughout his life, Sevi had never met a being that could follow where he was going, up until now. "He's got his eyes on me like a hawk," Sevi said inside his mind, "He's not even using his gift." But as Sevi darted and blasted himself around the arena, he noticed Artefus hadn't turned fast enough to face him, leaving his back wide open. So in a burst, he fired himself the fastest he ever went.

But the boy's neck was grabbed by a hand, Artefus had caught him, not even turning his head, "Your opponent may give you a window to attack, but it is a window they will expect you to come," he remarked, throwing Sevi gently away, "Battle takes the utmost concentration, analyze your opponent, and it will further your success, analyze yourself, and it will lessen failure."

After Sevi finished his lesson, Bok stepped up, using one of the weapons on the walls, he entered the arena against Artefus. Their battle was a shocker to the party, unlike the other two, Bok looked to be holding his own, his skill even matching Artefus' at certain times. But after seven minutes of their duel, Bok took a knee, huffing and puffing, "W-What?" Bok exclaimed, looking up at Artefus, "You could've killed me every single time we clashed, I couldn't even hit you."

Everyone's eyes grew wide open in shock. Bok and Artefus were so fast, the party didn't see Artefus' small attacks. His hands moved so fluidly as if it was water moving into the small cracks in Bok's defense, "Your skills are impeccable child," Artefus complimented, "Yet you do not believe in them, you hesitate, and that hesitation led to your death. A battle is about being decisive, a blade that stops mid-way through will not cut further than a blade that follows through. Confidence in one's skill and humility in oneself will make a perfect warrior."

After Bok was finished, Alex was given a turn. Her ice magic was shocking at her age. Unlike her brother who relied on speed and burst attacks, Alex was more stationary, using ice walls and barriers to protect herself, "If I can wear him down, I ca-" But even with all her defense, the speed and power of Artefus were too much, even using only a fraction of his true strength, he broke through most of Alex's defense and even broke through her barrier, his fists inches away from her face.

Artefus stared at Alex, his face both uncertain but also very serious, "Why hold back child?" Artefus whispered, careful in case Alex wanted to share something she didn't want anyone to hear. But she didn't, her worried gaze instead turned cold as she stared Artefus directly in the eye. The Lich was unfazed, moving close to Alex as he whispered in her ear, "Remember, on the battlefield, do not show mercy to those who will not give you it."

After Alex's training, Leena stepped up to the plate. But this time, the two radiated different auras, unlike the others. Artefus didn't resemble a teacher anymore, he looked like the beast in all those tales. But in a move that shocked everybody, Leena's figure disappeared, and before anyone could comprehend, she was behind Artefus, her bow pulled back.

Artefus moved his head ever so slightly, making the arrow whizz past him, and as he turned, Leena disappeared again. But as she reappeared in the corner of the arena, Artefus was not there anymore, "Your speed is truly marvelous for someone so young," Artefus remarked, a hand touching Leena's shoulder as he was already behind her. In a blur, the two disappeared yet again, their figures only slightly visible to the party.

"What the- was Leena really that fast?" Bok exclaimed, his mouth dropped at the visual. After they were done, Leena was exhausted, leading to her body to fall. Artefus though was clean as always.

"Good sparring match," Artefus remarked, giving Leena a backhanded compliment, "You basically know the basic fighting skills, just continue to hone it." Artefus began to put his clothes back on as he sat on the floor, the stairs down to the arena he used like a chair, "I'll give you ten minutes to rest, and after that, all of you will spar with each other," he announced to the party, leading them to turn on each other, a slight grin on their faces.

After ten minutes, wind, fire, ice, and lightning filled the air, as spells were cast by everyone. Artefus stared on, shouting tips to his apprentices, and having one-on-one talks with the person taking a break. He was pleasantly surprised at the five's ability to fight each other, their potential was clear, and with enough training and growth, they would be the next champions of Zan.

But as Rapl finished his sparring match with Alex, Bok took his place as he took Sevi's place in resting. There he began to drink water that Artefus gave them, and controlled his breathing to make himself quickly recover, "Good show," Artefus called beside him, "Just don't hesitate, remember what I told to Bok?"

"Yeah I know, I'll try not to next time," Rapl replied, but as he did, he felt Artefus' mood change. It wasn't hostile, more like he was readying himself to announce something to Rapl, so he waited.

"Hey Rapl," Artefus called, leading Rapl to turn to him, "Remember my talk with the Gamma informants earlier this morning?" Rapl nodded as to reply, "They relayed to me information concerning you." Rapl's eyes grew as he tensely waited for what Artefus was going to say next, "...Next week, me, you, some members of the senate, and a few swordsaints will enter the capital of Kendro, Angelica, for Fegeko, the King of Kendro, wants to speak to you."