Chapter 123: The Four

“Your eldest brother has already told you the truth about the armor he and the others wear.. I was unfortunate enough to hear them being made.

I can still hear the crackle of the flames. The ringing of hammer against anvil… it all plays before my ears as clearly as you are hearing me now.”

For the first time since appearing, Eir’Vael looked rattled by something. Their posture became noticeably more tense and rigid.

But more than anything, they seemed haunted.

“I-If everything you said is true, then how is it possible that you are here, right now??” Nila questioned. “Y-You’re supposed to be sealed or whatever!”

“And indeed I am.” Eir’Vael nodded. “My body rests deep within what humanity calls the Black Depths.”

Solomon tensed up at the mention of the place. Something that did not escape Raizel’s notice.

“The reason I am here right now, the reason I can do anything at all, is that, as time went by and my binding seal weakened, I have learned how to project myself.

At first, I could only make my body ethereal. Like a breeze. But after a period of around 3,300 years… I eventually had enough stored energy to make that body physical.”

“If you can do that, then… aren’t you free?” Nila questioned.

“Sadly not, my dear. These temporary bodies drain what little energy I have massively. I try not to linger too long so as not to find my powers fully depleted once again.”

Raizel was truly baffled. He had never heard any part of this when he was still among the deathless.

Not from Kinslayer, who famously loved to chatter, and certainly not from Redeemer, who boasted quite a lot about his accomplishments when the final rift opened.

“How… how long have you been sealed down there?”

“Fifty-three thousand years last I counted… though that was some time ago.” Eir’Vael admitted.

“And the first thing you did when you got out was start having children with random monarchs..? For what purpose?” Solomon’s eyes narrowed.

“Well, I wouldn’t say that it was rando-”

“E-Enough!” Everett yelled, red-faced. “Don’t tell me you guys are actually buying this?! T-This thing just showed up out of nowhere, starts telling us some crazy story, and we’re supposed to believe that we’re related to… him?! Her?! What even are you?!”

Eir’Vael suddenly split their body into two—one with accentuated hips, and one with a noticeably flatter chest.

“”You may take your pick of either. It is inconsequential to me.””

“Oh, great, and it’s got jokes. Hilarious.” Everett rolled his eyes so hard they nearly came out of their sockets.

Eir’Vael pursed their lips in a thin line.

“My, you’re as stubborn as your mother… I don’t understand why it is so difficult for you to accept the truth of my words. Do you not note our resemblance?”

Everett had been low on patience before, but now he stared at Eir’Vael as if they had genuinely lost their ancient mind.

“WHAT?!”

Eir’Vael suddenly placed their fist into their palm.

“Oh… that’s right. I made your blood dormant in a better attempt to keep you safe. My mistake.”

Eir’Vael flicked his finger at the group, without warning and the air was instantly chaotic.

For Solomon, it felt like his blood had been electrified. Every blood cell in his veins and coursing through his flesh hummed with a deeply familiar power.

While he was trying to wrap his mind around this, his entire body burst apart.

As did those of Nila, Dakota, and Everett.

Raizel shielded his eyes from the blast and took a few steps back out of caution.

“Nila! Solomon, are you-”

Raizel’s entire body stiffened.

Standing in front of him, staring at their bodies were a quartet of inhuman figures.

Each of them easily matched Raizel’s height, even within his armor.

Their bodies were strange, seemingly made of cosmic dust and muscle.

They all looked different from one another.

At 7’7 Dakota was the smallest, but she was still far taller than her usual 5’6.

Her body was a deep, rich amethyst color. In certain parts of her body, she had spines that were as sharp as blades while others looked to be made of clouds.

Her hair had somehow become even darker and more silky. A violet flame blazed between the two obsidian horns curling out of her head.

Her usual innocent and pretty face had disappeared. Instead, she had a mouthful of large, sharp teeth with no lips to cover them.

Everett was easy to pick out. He was the only one with 25-foot white wings coming out of his back.

At eight feet tall, his chest had broadened and become more muscular while the rest of him seemed to take on that same smoky hue as his siblings.

While his skin appeared as an ashen gray, it wasn’t easy to tell at first glance. His cobalt blue eyes and the flame billowing atop his head appeared to give him more of a blue coloration than anything else.

His face was completely different from Dakota’s. It resembles a horned skull, with piercing blue eyes and sharp ridges along both sides of his neck.

Nila looked the most ’normal’ but still far from human.

Her entire body was a deep scarlet. Her musculature had exploded along with her height, allowing her to stand at a staggering 8’1.

Her face had become much more chiseled and melted away the last of it’s baby fat. At the same time, her hair had shrunk and taken on an entirely different texture.

The deep, crimson glow of her eyes was nearly as bright as the flame atop her head.

Her pointed ears were nearly as long as her new, thick horns.

Solomon was the last and the largest of the bunch.

At 8’5, his resemblance to Everett was deeply uncanny.

Both bore skulls for faces and had jaws that never seemed to open, but where Everett’s pointed up, Solomon’s horns curved downward.

He also had somewhat grey-colored skin, similar to his brother. But that was where the similarities ended.

Part cosmic dust and part behemoth, his entire form was lit by the glow of the orange flame all around him.

His biceps were as thick as tree trunks, and his chest was like a concrete wall.

He didn’t seem to be more powerful than before; in fact, none of them felt particularly stronger.

But Solomon’s body felt more energetic than it ever had in his life. If he concentrated, he could feel all of the cells in his body individually.

He could become pure dust if he felt like it, or he could make his musculature explode.

“Do you see why I have done all of this now…?” Eir’vael asked patiently. “You four, made from my flesh and the most powerful minds I could come across, all are our greatest hope against the deathless.

In Raizel’s timeline, I had enough energy to birth you all, but doing that nearly erased me. I gave you parts of myself that I did not have to give at the time.

Being so weak, I could manipulate next tonothing about your lives. I could not even ensure that you all would meet or come into your powers… I thought I had failed. When I sent Raizel’s soul back in time at the moment of his death, it nearly cost me everything. Even my senses.

I only sent him back because all of you… had already suffered unfortunate demises. I thought that surely, a deathless who was willing to turn against his own would surely be able to change things so that the future would not become so dire.

But I had not anticipated that I would be able to use Raizel as an anchor of sorts. Perhaps because he had once been deathless, I was able to absorb a modicum of the energy from his soul, even in the womb.

It gave me a bit of strength, and using that, I was able to make certain moves to hopefully bring you four together and prevent the tragedies of the past.

I had a vision before I decided to birth you, you see… Of four riders on black steeds, wielding will at levels far beyond what has ever been seen before.

My Horsemen… You are the last hope we have to avenge the fallen natives of this world and prevent further tragedy. The blood of your ancestors flows through you. It empowers you.”

Eir’Vael reached out suddenly. They cupped Dakota’s face in their hands with a warmth that brought tears to her eyes.

“My sweet daughter. As gentle as a flower. As innocent as a lamb. Beautiful as the setting sun. You have known much struggle within your life. As such, you are the perfect person to act as an avenger of the broken and downtrodden. Take their hurt. Take your own. Inflict it upon those who are deserving. You are Torment.”

Eir’Vael released Dakota just as a tear spilled from her eyes. Next, he took both of Nila’s hands and held them gently.

“My strong, righteous daughter. Your honor, like your beauty, knows no bounds. Your joy for life is without equal, but somehow your excitement at the unexpected is even greater. You will be the strength of your siblings. Always charging out in front to protect them. You are Mayhem.”

Eir’Vael clasped Everett on his shoulder. For a moment, it seemed as though he was going to pull away, but for some reason, he did not.

“I have watched you the most, my son. You possess talent, but you won’t sharpen it. You won’t use it to its full potential. I know the reason, and I will not condemn you for it.”

Everett’s fists clenched.

“But mark this… Just as you are capable of changing your nature, you are capable of changing your destiny and that of your siblings. Be their eyes in the sky. Guard them, and their loved ones with a watchful eye, and bring chaos to those who would bring them harm. You are Havoc.”

Finally, Eir’Vael released Everett and reached out for Solomon. They placed their hand over the small flame burning within his chest.

“I admit… I have likely watched you the very least, my son. With Raizel at your side, I was sure that you would not need me to hold your hand. And in truth, I was right. You’ve become a good man without me hovering over you like some old crone.

Strong. Dependable. Righteous to a fault. I know your battle with your anger. But I have never once believed that you would be bested by simple emotion. You possess far too much discipline for that.

May’Afar calls you Disaster. It is unflattering and not at all indicative of your true character. I look at you, and I see a man who perceives falsehoods and sin and resists all forms of temptation and moral distortion.

You will be the center of your younger siblings. Lead them well. Keep them grounded. Share your wisdom with them. Love them as only you can, and they shall love you. For you are Absolution, Solomon. And it is only through you that we all shall find our way.”

A strange, dark liquid dribbled past Eir’Vael’s lips. They smiled bitterly as they wiped it away.

“A pity… It seems I am truly out of time now. There is so much more that I wished to talk to all of you about, but… I’m afraid you’ll have to learn the rest from here.”

A book appeared in Eir’Vael’s hand in the blink of an eye. It was an old, simple thing, hardly something that seemed to be worth all of this ceremony.

“Ah… and one more thing.”

A wooden box appeared on top of the book. It was a bit larger and more decorated too. Eir’Vael seemed to have taken special care of it.

“I have missed.. so many birthdays.” They said bitterly. “I hope that this in someway will make up for that. And know that these will protect you, my children.”

Solomon took the book and the box with a range of uncertain emotions running through him. He stared at it with eyes full of uncertainty.

“What is inside?” Nila asked curiously.

Eir’Vael looked at her for the final time and smiled.

“Mantles, I suppose. I hope you like them.”

They reach out and touch Everett and Nila as they begin to fade from sight.

“Your mothers helped me make them. They’re waiting for you, you know? You should go and say hello.”

As soon as Eir’Vael disappeared, Nila immediately fell to her knees, the wind in her lungs having left her without warning.

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