Reborn: Age of Heroes

Six - Best Quality

Big man’s laughter echoed through the hollowness of the cave. “This boy is our leader?” Magat drew the torch that he held closer to my face and inspected my features. “The Archangels must be blind. Or insane. How could this kid defeat the King of the Second Hell? He looks like he is going to cry any moment!”

I did cry, not out of taking offense, but out of overwhelming joy. “Thank you!” I remarked, to which the big man responded by scratching his head. I was so thrilled that I almost leaped and hugged the burly Magat. I stepped sideways to look at the robed man. “See? I told you, Amias. I am not a warrior. Your big guy here agrees!” I walked over to Magat and reached my hands out to him. I squeezed his swelling biceps with my fingers. “You are mistaken, Amias. I am not your leader. This man is!” I mused. “Look at all these hard muscles. Big, big guy! Strong!” Magat wriggled, and I let go of him.

Amias sighed. “The Archangel Raphael is certainly not blind. He is neither insane, Magat,” he said. “And he makes no mistakes, Samuel.” He stepped inside the chamber and walked past us, his cane tapping against the stone floor. “Where is Lyana, Magat?”

“I’m here,” said a cool and melodic voice. I turned my head toward the source of the sound and saw a ball of fire floating in the air like an angry ghost. It took me a second to realize that the flame was not a ghost but a torch held by a statuesque woman with hair the color of aged wine. “I am glad you got back here safe,” she said and looked at me. “I see you have brought the last warrior back.”

“Yes, I have.” Amias smiled at the woman. “Lyana Teresi, this is Sh’muel Chazaklev. The leader of the Divine Quest.”

Lyana blinked hard and fast. She swept her gaze from my head to my toes and settled back on my face. Lyana’s lean body was clad with leather gear. She was wearing what looked like reptile skin sandals on her feet. A quiver was tied around her waist, and a short bow was strapped over her shoulder. “Harika,” she said. “It’s an honor to meet you, Sh’muel.”

“Lyana!” Magat’s voice thundered across the space. “Do you really believe that this boy will lead us to victory in a fight against the King of Hell?”

“I don’t,” Lyana admitted after glancing at me. “But if he is what Amias believes the Archangels are referring to, I guess we should have faith in him. He doesn’t look that young and weak,” she said, smiling at me. “Maybe just a little.”

“By the spirits of the seas!” Magat turned around and started to walk away. “We are doomed!”

“Don’t mind him, Sh’muel,” Lyana mused as soon as Magat was out of earshot. “I think he is just jealous that he is not the destined leader. He was the village war chief of the place where he came from. That’s why he thinks he is best suited for the position.”

“He can have it,” I said. “I don’t want to be a leader anyway. I have no knowledge about battle. I only know how to make bread. Or if you want it too, you can have the position. You look… strong. Are you a warrior princess of sorts?”

Lyana’s laughter chimed in the air. “Silly boy,” she said. “I am flattered that you think that I am a princess. However, I’m afraid I am no royalty. I am not a warrior either. I’m a huntress.”

I turned to Amias. “Can’t you see? I do not belong in this group of yours. The big man is a war chief. This lovely lady is a hunter. She even has a bow and arrow. I am just someone who cooks olive oil and flour.”

The robed man dismissed me with a wave of his hand. “You do not see it now, Samuel,” he said and walked to follow Magat. “But I guarantee, you will. You will.”

-0-

“What now?” I asked as I stared at the people around me. Amias was sitting on top of a flattened rock in one corner, Magat across him. The village war chief was sharpening what looked like a silver dagger against a whetstone and was eyeing me like I killed his pet dog. I averted my eyes and gazed at Lyana. She was combing through her long spill of dark wine hair with her deft fingers. We were gathered in another chamber-like formation inside the cave. After I was introduced to Lyana, we walked to the furthest end of the cavern. As it turned out, there were numerous hollow pits inside the rock formation. The one where we stayed was the biggest. Faintly glowing moss carpeted the walls of the makeshift room. Aside from the luminous lichen, the flaming torches buried in the walls’ crevices provided light. It was a closed space, however, as if by some miracle, there was no shortage of air to breathe. “Aren’t we going to think of a plan to escape this Hell aside from running to our deaths by facing the Demon King? There must be another way.”

“There is no other way, boy,” said Magat, his eyes still focused on me. “Among the three of us, I was the first to be resurrected. I wandered this hellish plane for what felt like years. I’ve killed hundreds of demons looking for a way out. I thought I was the only human alive in this desolate place until Amias found me. You know his story, and if you could be reasoned with, boy, you will know too that fulfilling the Divine Quest is the only way to escape.”

I swallowed the lump forming inside my throat and turned to Lyana. “How about you, huntress? Do you think there really is no other means of escaping this Hell? How long have you been here?”

Lyana shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “Without the sun, I cannot keep track of the time. Not getting tired, sleepy, hungry, or thirsty has also thrown my body cycles off. So I did not bother to take notice of how long I was trapped in here. In fact, I already accepted that I will be spending my eternity in this Underworld given that….” Lyana stopped combing her hair and took a deep breath. “I have killed my fair share of humans back on Earth,” she announced. “Oh, don’t worry, Sh’muel. I’ve only killed filthy and vile men,” she said to reassure me as she probably saw the shock displayed on my face.

I wasn’t reassured, though. “Oh, my King David. I --” I wasn’t able to finish what I was saying as the ground beneath our feet shook. I stood up in reflex. It was unlike what I felt when the Tyranid demon chased Amias and me. That quake was isolated. Only certain parts of the ground shook. This one was spread everywhere. No matter where I swept my eyes, the rocks were trembling. Even the very walls of the cave trembled. One torch fell to the ground, dousing its flames. “What is happening?!” I yelled as I grabbed the nearest rock growth to me.

Lyana and Magat stood up. They looked alert, like hunting dogs on point. In long and quick strides, Magat went over to Amias to help the robed man. “Get up, old man!”

After a few violent trembles, the quaking stopped. I let out a breath that I did not realize I was holding. My heart was dancing to a war song only it could hear. I placed a hand over my chest to calm myself down. “What was that, Amias? A Tyranid demon moving underground?”

“No,” he replied. Amias wiped the beading sweat on his forehead. “That was not a worm demon. Something far more dangerous. Make haste, gather your things. We need to leave as the tremors will come back!”

“No!” I protested. “I’m not going out! What’s more dangerous than a giant worm monster with rows of wickedly sharp teeth? Who knows if that Tyranid is just waiting for us outside?”

“Then feel free to stay here and be buried under the rocks, Chazaklev!” yelled Amias. “I told you that a Tyranid demon did not cause the tremors. Their mouth-heads cannot dig through the cave’s hard stone.”

I felt goosebumps run across the length of my arms and back. “Then tell us what’s happening!”

Amias took one of the torches still buried in the cave walls’ crevices. “That, Samuel, is a Hell quake,” he shouted as he nudged Lyana and Magat to go forward. “The lower rings of Hell are moving, rotating. They will not stop until they’re all realigned. So, unless you want to stay here and be buried alive for eternity, I suggest that you run before the quakes begin again!” He looked over his shoulder at me. “That’s what you are good at, after all.”