Mt. Ohm - God Slayer - K. van Marshall (books recommended by bts txt) 📗

up. A small crystal no taller than his knee, flickered as he passed, dimming slightly before the glow grew brighter - eventually it out shone all the other shards in vicinity.

 

“I guess this is the one”, said Knoah.

 

In response the shard called out to his soul, pulsating wildly with glee - like a pet reunited with its master. Knoah sat with his legs crossed and the shard straight ahead of him; closing his eyes, he counted to 5, pulling air deep into his stomach, before exhaling, and entering his inner world.

 

When Knoah opened his eyes he found himself floating in a space of pure red nothingness, the nothingness went as far as he could see in every direction. In his astral form, his body was formed of a pure gold light; no flesh at all to contain his burning spirit. As usual his physical senses remained, he could smell the faint smell of something sweet in the air, while a suffocating pressure embraced him kindly. Oddly, he could hear nothing but a deep uninterrupted silence. His form was light like a single scale of a slithart, a total contrast to the dense atmosphere around him. The air was both comforting like the bosom of a mother to an infant yet stifling like a life of servitude.

 

ZAAAAAAM! With of flash of light, two equally large suns emerge out of the nothingness. The heavy green and black sun rays bathe Knoah in a healing light, searching his soul with scan like beams. Around him four moons appeared, each made of a rare substance: obsidian, onyx, platnite and something unfamiliar to him, sekium. Gradually the satellites begin to orbit him, each taking its own peculiar route.

 

“Wow, I’m in a two-sun solar system… just like Gaiterra used to be”, said Knoah, recalling old astro lessons. “Maybe we are all our own system, floating around, doing stuff... But why are my suns black and green, red is more my vibe”.

 

As if in answer to Knoah's musings, worlds emerged into the space, each taking their place in orbit around the binary suns. Gradually, Knoah and his moons soon joined the circuit. He continued to think, hoping another epiphany would strike and help move him onto the next phase, but nothing meaningful came to him.

 

After awhile, Knoah even deduced that the sun's represent the two aspects of the Great Wheel, but still nothing happened at all. So he waited, and waited. With no way to judge, an undetermined amount of time passed.

 

Knoah sat for what felt like entire cycles, hovering along in orbit around the binary suns. Sick of the inaction, Knoah began to probe, periodically searching, and reaching out with omnipsy; only to find endless amounts of nothing.

 

“I am sick of this, what am I meant…”. Knoah stopped mid-sentence as the red surroundings and mini solar system began to spin randomly, breaking away from their orbit.

 

Without delay, their speed rockets up to a violent extreme, and suns, moons and planets start to collide - creating a vortex of burning matter and energy. Knoah was now in the eye of the storm. Chunks of debris split apart and scatter, hurtling towards him - they tear through his ghostly form - in response he throws his hands up, the experience leaves him shaken, but unharmed. Eventually the vortex died, leaving the energy and matter dissipated, and nothingness gone.

 

Knoah open his eyes to a glorious purple mountain. He hung in the air before the mystic mountain, frozen in place and waiting once more. This time however he did not have to wait for long. An immense power oozed down the mountain, washing over his astral form, giving him a taste of true power.

 

Ooooohhhhhmmmmmm...

 

“What is this place, it feels so real... It’s calling me, pulling at my entire being”. Floating high above the ground, Knoah looked down trying to figure out if this place was in reality or just another dream-vision. All he could see, were bodies stacked in piles and strewn all around the foot of the mountain - it looked and smelt real. The buzz of red vultureflies filled the air, while the smell of decay engulfed his nostrils.

 

Knoah did not have to look at the horrors for long as his journey continued briskly. His astral form is whisked up the side of the mountain at lightning speed. With no control of his movements, Knoah relaxed, instead of struggling he allowed the journey to take him where it wished, trusting it would lead him where he needed to go.

 

The rocky mountain landscape continued to flash by - the jagged features of the mountain becoming an solid purple block - until his soul came to a sudden rest at the summit. Above a field of fire red of grass, the peak is topped by a large crystal tree. The cosmos itself seemed to dwell within the tree trunk and branches.

 

At the foot the tree stood a solitary man, Knoah instantly recognised the figure, Sabo. Although his face was shrouded by a haze, Knoah's minds eye reacted, his soul knew this energetic template; it was definitely Sabo, although he did not have a mohawk. The figure turned and pointed to the tree behind him. As Knoah looked away from Sabo towards the tree.

 

Oooohhhhmm, rang out from the world and his soul sprang out into a thin ether like ribbon and was sucked into the universe within the tree.

 

Again, Knoah opened his eyes to a new scene. This time he saw himself, he was surrounded by people and laughing; an ecstatically happy scene. Unlike before he seemed to have a lot more control of his spirit. Guiding himself through the gathering he studied the group.  Although there were many he did not recognise, a few were vaguely familiar.

 

“Who is that, is that Sabo - again, I knew he was alive! That's definitely Sabo, but kinda blue, and this one has something Princess Els-ish about her, but her skin is way darker. What are they saying?”. Knoah tried to listen closely, but could not make out anything.

 

Eventually he turned his focus onto himself, the older him. He studied himself thoroughly, he was the only one of the group he could see clearly. He was much older, stronger too, and his clothing was nothing like the usual garments you would find on Venzeca; a bright red leather suit made him stand out from the crowd. His short shaved head and face were almost the same as it is now; he looked very happy. The warmth he felt filled Knoah's spirit with hope.

 

Finally I get it, this vision is saying everything is gonna be alright, but I have to get stronger, and in getting stronger I’ll be able to reach Sabo, deduced Knoah.

 

His epiphany lead to his astral presence being pulled from the happy moment, and dumped into another time and place. This time, the place he came to witness was a world of desolation and hell.

 

Hovering over the broken, scorched earth in his ghostly form, he looked around, searching for something - anything in the hellish world. But all there was to see, were oceans of bodies and skeletons. The dismembered bodies of mortals, gods and demons. You name a rare race or creature and there it would be - sprawled across the ground, decapitated and brutally killed.

 

Amongst the sea of death, one man surfed the wave of bodies. Knoah himself, a much older version of himself. With his hair grown out into a wild black afro and a shabby beard masking the lower half of his face, he had the appearance of a man who no longer cared.

 

Astral Knoah glides over to get a closer look at at himself. Draped in a dirty green cloak, he fiercely stood - facing down eight behemoths, each larger than a mountain, maybe larger than countries.

 

“How did I not see these guys!!”, said Knoah, shocked to not have noticed the demonic monsters.

 

Knoah was awed by scene, he could feel the density of their strength; the power they wield was planet shattering. The scene unfolded in slow motion. In this vision he looked worn and ragged, but somehow even stronger.

 

Knoah searched himself, this time reaching out with his heart, rather than mind's eye. He could not sense any life or hope in the soul of himself, all he found was rage, regret and the lust for world ending power.

 

“This isn't real, why would, no, how is this me?”.

 

Thoughts of why and what he was, and then what he was fighting, dominated Knoah's mind, but before he could search himself for answers, the scene changed again. This time, when he opened his eyes, Knoah was back in the Glyphtomes. The glow of the shard dimmed back its usual radiance.

 

Knoah thanked the shard and his ancestors for their guidance, but continued to sit as he dwelt on what the visions meant.

 

Khahaahaa, that was one dire premonition and a warning. I could become a monster, although it would be to fight real monsters, it seems... should I pick warrior then. Then I might have a chance at finding Sabo, thought Knoah.

 

Eventually he got up, he could see one clear message for what path he should take. Becoming a Zulon would definitely make him stronger, the magi are another option, but Knoah had no real aptitude for mantra.

 

At the center of the Glyphtomes stands the Spire of Urha, a large mound not big enough to be hill, yet it still took Knoah a few minutes to reach the top. He was the last. The rest had already gathered and were waiting. Conscious he was holding up the pledge, Knoah stepped lightly through the group barely greeting anyone.

 

An air of nervousness already hung over the top of the mound, as if everyone was unsure, they were. The tension made it worse, the wrong choice, or not being suited to the path you have chosen are very real dangers for those unable to be honest with themselves.

 

Knoah walked to the middle of the mound, and looks into its hollow center. Several large clusters of spiky glyph crystals shoot out the base of the deep pit - they eventually merge to form a single towering glyph, the Spire of Urha. Unlike the smaller glyph shards, this tall spire has no markings, and emits a sharp white light. A platform like bridge stretches out from the edge the circular rim of the mound to touch the spire.  

 

“Join the group Knoah. It will soon be time”, said the Chieftain, her back was to the group, her focus on the spire in front of her. “Be careful the fall here is a big one”, she added, stood at the edge of the platform. “Although some have survived, we wouldn't want to test your durability”.

 

Knoah took his place among the others, all spread around the circular rim of the ritual mound. Looking into the void between himself and the spire almost gave him vertigo. The space under the platform seemed to have no bottom, there was nothing but pitch black fighting against the white glow of the spire. As Knoah wondered about the height of the spire, the Chieftain started the ceremony - performing a mantra - a prayer of blessings, hopes and dreams of fruitful futures for the soon to be adults.

 

“Els, come here”, the Chieftain gestured for Els to join her at the edge of bridge. “One day this will be your role, watch carefully”.

 

During the speech, Knoah's mind wondered, again it reverted to pondering what he should do and how he should pick, and if Sabo was truly still alive. One by one, individuals stepped forward to take their pledge, receiving blessings from the Chieftain, their ancestors and Els. Each was greeted warmly by the Chieftain. Touching her palm to their foreheads, awakening their third eye and igniting their spirits.

 

“Go forth man