The Destiny of Nexus

Chapter-17

                               Even though everything was comfortable, the questions I had kept haunting me. As a result, I couldn't sleep. I looked at Luther; he was already staring at me. The comfortable bed and royal treatment don’t let these fool you. The royalty loathes you, he said. I wanted to ask why they weren’t happy to see me and also, why the teenagers were they picking on me. Well, the only reason he became the king was the death of your father. Your return would now threaten his rule because rightfully you should ascend the throne. There were even rumours that Archie got your parents killed. But there was no solid proof for that. No one would want to welcome a new member easily; especially if you are a prodigy then they'll resent you. What do you think about this rumour, Luther? It's difficult to know who is helping you or who is trying to sink you, in politics, son. Don't let your eyes deceive you. What a person is projecting about them might not always be true. The best thing that you can do is "Trust no one." Not even your advisor, he said.

‘I want to know everything about Nexus, Luther. I don't know what to ask you so please read my mind and answer them.’

‘Do I have your consent?’

‘Yes Luther, proceed.’

He closed his eyes and put his hands around my forehead.

‘I don't understand.’

‘What happened, Luther?’

‘I am not able to read your thoughts. It appears to me that you are stronger than me.’

‘I may physically be strong, but I'm too weak mentally.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Back on the Earth, I did some things with my mind that drained my energy completely. On the other hand, you teleported us both, carried me in a sphere and you barely look weak.’

Luther chuckled.

‘What's so funny?’

‘You are not weak, son. You are half-mortal and half-Arcana. All these times when you used your mind to do your bidding you felt weak because you used the energy of your human form rather than the Arcana form. Since you are here I'll help you to tap into your Arcana form too.’

He asked me to close my eyes and to focus on my breath. I did as he asked. He started saying, focus on the flow of air, in and out. Focus on your heartbeat now. Both these functions occur simultaneously but yet you could concentrate on only one. Just like that both human and Arcana form co-exist. You just need to learn to tap into the particular form when it is required. It's like he is hypnotizing me but I'm fully conscious. As per him I had only two forms, but in the core of my heart, I could feel many forms. I thought maybe that's how it is. I opened my eyes and asked him, what about the spells then? Spells are used by witches. We control things by the mind. The stronger one's mind and willpower are, the powerful he/she becomes. So what are you saying, Witches live here too? Not only Witches but also Vampires, Werewolves, and many more live here. Unlike on the Earth, we don't have billions of population. We have less than about a lakh I think.

                                As Luther was saying about the Nexus, a person entered the room and said, Welcome to the Citadel of Arcane. My name is Charlie Hardwell, Advisor for Lord Archie Tardiff. I couldn't welcome you there because of the king. He doesn't really like you, Steve. There's nothing hidden in that, I replied. I admired your father, he is inspirational though. Is? I asked. Pardon me, my mistake; he was an inspirational and a person with great vision. Did you like our arrangements or do you need anything? Don't hesitate, Steve, ask whatever you want. I have a meeting to attend to if you'll excuse me, he said. Yeah sure go on, I replied. He seemed like a good person, doesn't he? Well, he always gets what he wants, said Luther.

                                    Okay, you were going to tell me about the vampires and all. Fine, let's start with vampires. Vampires are blood-sucking creatures. They'll never age. The older they are, the stronger they become. They can't travel in sunlight. The sunlight would burn them. A vampire can be killed by sunlight or plucking out the heart or beheading or stabbing on the chest with wood. Also, vampires have the ability to compel humans. Since there are no humans here that ability is in vain. But you have a part of human nature. So you have to use a vervain herb in order to be immune to their compulsion. Vervain is used to stop vampires from compelling humans. Its negative effects on vampires are a result of nature's attempt to create a weakness for every strength that a vampire gained after being turned. So vampires are stronger than us? I asked. Well, we are the superior beings but we'll suffer a great loss if we fight against them head-on. Won't vampires come out at night to feed on other species for blood? In the past, they acted like this. So to keep them in check we made witches put a boundary spell. Hence vampires are confined to a specific territory. How do they increase their population? How do they drink blood? It is forbidden to enter their territory, it is against their rules? I shooted a lot of questions to Luther. If any other species break their rules, they will be converted into vampires. All the species supply blood to them weekly to satisfy their hunger. We came to this understanding, so vampires didn't retaliate for keeping the boundary spell. Why did witches help us? Comparatively, they are weaker than us. If vampires aren't controlled, they would go after the witches for sure. How we are Arcana's stronger than witches? Well, they need to recite spells to make something happen; we can do the same with a mere thought. They need to study and learn new spells while we just need to improve our focus, concentration and will power.

                             Learning about new species is enough for today. I have one last question, Luther. What was my father's goal? This is the most important thing that you need to know. Your father wanted to do something that none had ever thought of it before. He wanted to unite Nexus and the Earth. He convinced the leaders of almost every specie that only God knows how. But earth is considered as a weak realm. Nexus see Earth as to how the owner sees his servant. Even visiting Earth is considered a shame. That's the reason no one opened a portal to Earth until your father. It is considered a crime. During the process of unification, he passed away leaving his legacies behind. It's upon you now to carry his vision. I am confused; I don't know where to start. Then I thought maybe my council would give me some clarity. Thank you for the information, Luther, I said. I'll rest now. You should probably rest too. Saying this I laid on my bed and closed my eyes.

                       Soon I fell asleep and entered my sub-conscious. Welcome back, Boss said Mr. Smart. Okay, council, I have something to discuss with you all and I hope I will figure out what my next step is.

Mr. Smart: We have three things, one is to resume our father's vision, second is winning every species heart, and third is ascending the throne.

Mr. Angry: f**k everything, ascend the throne and people will listen to you then.

Mr. Fear: Going up against a king alone is suicide. We should have everyone's support before we do something that can't be undone.

 Mr. Smart: Both of you are correct. But Archie isn’t going to give us the throne that easy. But the throne is our birth right, so we'll demand it and see for his reaction and about winning people's hearts, our father convinced them all by saying something, we should figure it out. If they listened to our father then they'll listen to his blood too.

Me: Well I think I have some clarity now. Bye for now fellas.

                        I woke up. I figure you couldn't sleep, said Luther. I am not here to sleep, Luther. I have work to do and I have to return to my Earth. Two guards came and said, Our Lord is requesting your presence in the royal hall. They conveyed the message and left. Let's go, Luther. It's time to reclaim what's mine. Now, I walked confidently as a royal. My eyes were sharp and I kind of felt powerful. No teenager bullied me this time. We finally reached the royal hall. Archie is sitting on the throne and Charlie Hardwell, his advisor is standing beside him.

                       Son of August, why are you here? Archie asked. I am here to fulfil my father's goal. His legacy is mine now and I would start it by reclaiming the throne. I said. You want the throne? Archie chuckled. An 8-year-old wants to run Nexus, what a pity. I am 24; by the way, perhaps the king is weak in mathematics. You fool; time here runs 3 times slower than that of the weak earth. Your 24 years on earth is just 8 years here. Well, that's new, I thought in my mind. You, who do not know about the basics of Nexus, how should I entrust you with the responsibility of being a king to an entire realm?  Fine then, Luther Wing would be my regent until I learn everything around here. Recollect one thing, Lord Archie, you are not people chosen leader, my father was. You seized the moment and became the king. If you don't give me a chance that might mean you has something to do with my parent's death. Charlie then whispered something to Archie. All right, I'll give you one month and grant you all of the king's power. At the end of the month, if people don't want you as a king, you should accept me as your king and never defy me. I accept the challenge, I said in a bold voice. I and Luther returned to our room. You were just like your father back there, he said. I smiled. So which specie should I talk to and convince first? Deal with the predators first. If vampires agree, others would be easy, I guess. He advised. We have the telepathic ability too. He shared the location of vampire territory. He asked me to focus on the location and teleport there. After tapping into Arcana form, doing things with my mind became easy. Be careful, one wrong step with the Vampires and you are dead, he said. I closed my eyes and focussed. Whoa!! I did it, my first teleportation.

                              Now I was standing just outside the boundary of Vampire territory. They can't come out of it so that's a relief. They too have a castle, but it’s smaller compared to Citadel. Their territory is covered completely such that the sunlight doesn't reach them. Suddenly a person appeared before me, I moved back. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, he said. That's fine, I replied. Why don't you come in? He said. The moment I enter, I am dead, I thought in my mind. I'm alright here; can you call your leader or someone who is in charge? I asked. Do you see the castle over there? It's called "The Tomb of Blood." Our leader resides there, come, I'll escort you there. I didn't know what to do. I can't just go in without knowing whether they would attack me or not. I haven't come all this way just to die in the hands of vampires. I should have a contingency plan if things go south. I need to think smart if I'm going to unite the realms. I stood there devising a plan….