Rise Of The Godking - Chapter 141 A Test 2

Daneel took his time walking out of the grove, enjoying the brief moment of peace that he knew might just be the last one he would experience in this place that was definitely going to get chaotic.

Tests were always chaotic. After all, anyone looking for a savior would search for an individual who could hold their own no matter what the situation was, so he already had an inkling of the fact that he was going to step into an action-packed situation.

Sure enough, the moment he entered the maze of trees…the world all around him changed. In the same way that the woman had transformed the stream into an ocean, a small patch of earth that was empty of grass near his feet began to spread out, eating everything else until it was all that remained. Then, like a game developer from Earth adding details as he went on, different things started to pop up around him.

First, he saw that he was on an island much like Larefa. It was small, capable of holding only a few thousand, and the water around it was crystalline and almost inviting. The only difference from reality was that the sea was empty, which meant that this must be a time before the island had been conquered and brought to join the area surrounding the Mainland…so with one eyebrow raised, Daneel waited to see what the test was going to be.

The sky blackened, then rain began to descend from above. Moans filled with pain, screams filled with anger echoed from all around him, and as he looked around, he saw soldiers popping into existence, bruised, bloodied, and battered so much that it was abundantly clear that they were fighting an enemy much, much stronger than them.

All of them ignored him, as if he was invisible. They were retreating, looking over their backs repeatedly for an enemy that he could not see, yet. Folding his hands behind his back, Daneel waited for the reveal…and when it happened, he wasn’t surprised, not in the least bit.

The Mainlanders were dressed in full, silvery armor, from head to toe. It was the same style he had seen on those that the beggar king had brought along, and now, he understood that it must be something that had been given by the family on the Mainland who had made him its puppet. They all seemed to be capable of magic, too. Their hands were raised, shooting out bars of fire or sharp icicles or even earth, ripped out of the ground below, and each attack struck true, killing an inhabitant of the island who screamed and fell to the floor, his hopes and dreams destroyed in just a single moment.

Before he could notice anything else, the ground below him moved, making him speed past all the retreating soldiers to reach a camp at the very edge of the island, on the other side of the attack. A man caught his shoulder, startling Daneel a bit, and when he spoke, he made Daneel purse his lips and tut, understanding what the test was and disappointed due to how primitive it had turned out to be.

Moral dilemmas. This was what he was going to be tested on, and back on Angaria, he had gone through so many that the answer left his mouth within a second of the question being asked.

“Yes.”

Everything around him vanished again, and he returned to the forest with the trees.

Leaning against one of the massive trunks, he waited for the second test to start. He could tell that things were going to get worse and worse, and he would soon reach a moment where a decision would have to be made where the choice was definitely going to be tough.

He didn’t know whether he was imagining it, but he could swear that he heard the sound of someone gritting their teeth nearby. Before he could investigate, though, the world changed again, and the battlefield returned.

This time, the soldiers seemed to have won a brief victory. Just like back on Angaria, many of them were just body conditioners, fighting with spears and swords and arrows. There were a few mages mixed into these forces, but all they managed to do was use sneak attacks when they reached close to the soldiers of the invaders, before being killed instantly as they painted a target on their backs by exposing who they were.

He moved again, and he was back at the command tent. The general was there, and looking at him, Daneel waited for the question that would be asked this time.

Oblivious to how bored he felt and looked, the generals seemed to be discussing something. A few seconds later, one of them turned to Daneel and asked, “We must make the decision now, commander. If we send a few of our soldiers on a suicide mission, their lives will buy the safety of a thousand women and children. They will all die, without fail…but they will have saved their families. What do we do, Sir?”

His face remained calm, but inwardly, he couldn’t deny that he was a tad bit affected by the situation that he had been thrust into. It was very similar to one of those he had experienced in the final war that had left him with no choice but to sacrifice the lives of all those in his homeland with the promise that he would return to resurrect them… so it hit too close to home. Still, it wasn’t too hard to give the answer, so he said, “Send them. Their lives will not be lost in vain.”

The forest returned. Daneel frowned, knowing what was going to come next, and this seemed to satisfy the woman he had met before as he heard no sound like before now. This, actually, confirmed his suspicion about this place…and with his eyebrows drawn down, he thought about what he was going to do next.

Without giving him too much time, the world changed again. The battlefield was in the worst condition he had seen, yet. Thousands lay all about, dead or dying, and the invaders, whoever they were, were laughing between themselves while marching in the direction of the command centre, where the leaders and those who couldn’t defend themselves were waiting to be slaughtered. The ground below him moved, pushing him to where he needed to be. The generals all had grave faces, like those who just been told that they would die, soon. And with a dejected sigh, the one closest to him said, “It’s over, Sir. It’s been an honor. All we have is a tiny chance…they gave the option that they are most displeased with the commander. If you willingly give up your family…they said they will spare the thousands of women and children hidden in the bunker beneath his. The decision is yours, Sir. Whatever you do, we will stand by you.”

A whimper made him turn to his side, where six individuals stood. There were three women, all lovely, dressed in silk gowns but with swollen, red eyes that had been shedding violent tears for quite some time now. One of them held a small baby girl who was bawling her heart out even though she didn’t understand what was going on. In front of the other two were two little boys, aware of the fact that something was wrong, but still not certain as to what it was, and whether they should be worried, too.

The moment Daneel laid his eyes on them, the two boys ran to him, hugging his legs in a way that made it obvious that they had done it a million times before asking why their mothers were crying. The women ran forward, next, and hugged him as fiercely as if it was the last they would feel before their deaths, and even though their faces were not similar, at all, to the women he truly loved… Daneel found himself looking at two of them and imagining the features of his two wives overlaid on top of their faces. As for children…they had never talked about it, seriously, but the little boy with black hair could almost be Daneel’s son, and the little girl had cheeks as plump as those that his queen, Eloise, had mentioned she had had when she was a baby.

He knew the decision that was expected of him. He knew that this wasn’t even the final test, and that he would have to make even worse choices.

If he was anyone else, he would have no option but to relent and go along with what that woman who was like a God in this place wanted. But he…was the Godking.

Anointed and raised by millions of Angarians who had loved him, adored him, placed him in their hearts so firmly that they had been ready to even give up their lives for it meant that they could save him, he was not just some normal guy passing through this island, sent into this test to check whether he could be a saviour. He was Daneel Anivron, king, emperor, beloved ruler of the masses, precious son of the Will of Angaria who had bound the very world to him and controlled it as he pleased. Blessed by the Mother of all Godbeasts, he was a legend capable of taking on terrifying forms that could defeat an army just by their overwhelming aura of strength.

He was a husband to two of the most stunning woman in the world, and he was a friend to a true Dragon, and men who had walked through the deepest pits of hell to stay by his side. He was the disciple of the Emperor who had come before him, he was a World Dominator armed with an existence far above even this entire world, in all probability, and he…would never be pushed to do something he didn’t like.

He suddenly drew himself up, making the women and the kids take a step back as they suddenly felt that they couldn’t recognize who they were hugging. His back straightened, his head rose, and all around him, time and space froze as an aura of command, an aura of sheer domination affected the world that had been created by someone who dared to doubt his conviction, his ideals.

Squinting, he sent his senses out and was able to rip through the fabric of everything around him as easily as if he was tearing through paper, using just an ounce of the true strength of his consciousness, molded and bathed in the fires of damnation, evolved step by step by experiencing and causing events that could easily be called legends. He closed his eyes, then, and searched for a familiar being. He had already connected with three of them, so it was very easy to find the Will that was even weaker than that wisp that had been left behind on that dead island…and beside it was a tiny consciousness that squawked with fear and surprise when it felt him come near.

It was small, so small that he could have crushed it with a single thought…but he didn’t. The strength of his own consciousness had been hidden by the system, compressed into itself so that it would not be detected by anyone or anything. He exposed a small part of it now, again, but that was enough to sever the link of the being who had tied itself to the Will. The Will, itself, had no thoughts or feelings of its own. It just wanted the help of someone it could trust, and the moment it felt his touch, it responded with excitement…and completely shoved aside that other being.

It had somehow sensed that he had already been accepted by three of its kind. Welcoming its support graciously, Daneel tugged at that little consciousness that had been left to pasture. He opened his eyes to see that the forest had returned, and in front of him, the woman appeared out of nowhere and fell on the floor.

She looked at him as if she was seeing the most terrifying thing in the world, and scrambling back like someone cornered by a lion in its cave, she stuttered, “That…was not in the script. What…just happened? Who…are you? Actually, WHAT are you? This is cheating! I won’t accept it! THIS IS CHEATING!”