No True Hero: Chapter 1 – Secret for a Reason

“There was a time in the past where the world was governed by one city that lit up the world with its divine light and blessed the world with a flourishing civilization where everyone within it thrived. This light was snuffed out for a time by the Fiend of Black Thorns, but thanks to god-saints Eliza, Lucian, and the pantheon, the world was restored to the way it was meant to be. Thanks to them, mankind no longer needs to suffer and can even ascend to godhood.”

-          According to the New Testament of the god-saints

 

Chapter 1 – Secret for a Reason

Doing the same things every week may drive people mad, but this is not true for the people who live in the Land of Light since they live in peace and happiness. Despite this, there are many within the land that want more and will kill and steal to do this. Valerius is the son of a guard and the nephew of an uncle that the world once labeled a criminal. Because of his influences, he knows both how the criminal underworld works and how the law can be manipulated. Today, he is going after the artifact that gives a person godlike powers. His allies and he have one of them that has made the world the way it is, but more is always better as they say especially since his enemies are after these artifacts. Valerius readies his poison knives and blades before he heads out as he thinks that he’s finally found where these artifacts originate from, however, this information is in the hands of a shady dealer.

Before he goes, the leader of the world, Lucian, meets him and asks, “Watch yourself out there, Valerius. I can’t lose you.”

“Where’s this sentiment coming from?”

“What do you mean? You’re my most trusted ally. If you’re gone, then I can’t keep the others in check.”

“Oh, right, your fellow ‘gods’. You have plenty of them to replace me if I die.”

“I can’t trust them as much as you. You know that I don’t approve of the name that they give us.”

“But you and your friends seem to revel in it and the praise and gifts that come with being considered gods.”

“Little g, Valerius. Not capital G. There’s no point in arguing about this again. You could have the same abilities that we have and never fear death.”

“I don’t fear death and I don’t need your ‘abilities' to do what I need to do. Moreover, you can’t have more than one ability. I don’t want another incident like we had with Jude.”

“Poor boy. He was brave to volunteer for the test, but still, you should bring someone to help you on your mission.”

“It’ll be fine even if things do go wrong. It won’t be the first time I killed a god.”

As Valerius leaves, he crosses paths with a young knight in training.

“Saint Valerius!” the young man says with a bow.

“Hello, Sir Killian. I told you that didn’t need to call me a saint. Sir or saying my name is okay.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was wondering…”

“About Eliza again?”

“I, uh, yes.”

“Me too, honestly, but we still haven’t found her yet nor any hint as to where she went. I’m sure she’s somewhere brooding like always and will come back when God needs to her just like she did last time.”

“I hope she will! I still have to give her my thanks for everything that she’s done for us. Even though it’s been over a hundred years, I’ll wait a hundred more for her return.”

“It’s been five-” Valerius is stopped midsentence by a supernatural power.

“Hm? What’s it been?”

“N-nothing. Don’t worry about Eliza so much. Isn’t there another girl that has your attention?”

“Oh, her? I…I don’t know yet.”

“Your hesitation tells me that you like her. Ask her out yourself this time so I don’t have to embarrass you by asking her out for you.”

“Okay! Thank you, sir!”

“Anytime, Killian.”

Valerius speedily walks away from Killian while murmuring to himself, “Can’t lose me? Pfft. I’m just another tool to him. Why does he need me when he’s man a god over the truth that we speak to people? I can’t even say that it’s been five years. Not the hundred that they lie about to make themselves look better.”

He then mounts his horse and rides off to his destination while being waved at and cheered by the citizens of the Crown of the World, which is the capital of the entire world and has since been moved to the top of the world to further show its importance. While riding, Valerius wonders to himself where Eliza is since he feels that he needs her help. He rides to his destination and leaves his horse close by the meeting place. Right now, he’s in a dark forest with trees that reach the sky and are said to be taller than the tallest mountains in the world. People live in huts in the trees and on the ground that have been made specifically for them as parts of this forest could be considered a forest city. Here he meets the shady dealer who is wearing armor made of the thickest tree trunks and cloaked with leaves.

“You came alone as you promised?” the dealer asks.

“I’m alone and I’m sure that you can tell if I brought anyone with me,” Valerius says with his hands on his swords and knives.

“My forest lets me know of the animals and people that enter and exist in it though I don’t know their intentions nor who they are though you seem to be telling the truth or you’ve made friends with the animals or have made a man a god that can transform into an animal or command them.”

“Be calm and cease this useless guessing. Once you give me the information I need, I’ll be on my way and leave you alone.”

“Do you really think that they’ll leave alone a god like me? A god that can plant forests with the seeds that fall out of the palm of my hands? They used to trust me to make the world more beautiful with my green vegetation, but now they’ll replace me now that they have no more use for me.”

“Your unfounded worries and planting of forests in places of civilization are what got you kicked out of the pantheon. You still have a place back at the Crown. Believe me when I say this. You and your people will not be harmed.”

“Oh, but they will when I tell you what I know.”

“Then tell me it.”

“The Black Thorn is alive and he guards the fruit that turns men into gods.”

“The Black Thorn? You mean St. Matteo? How can that be?”

“I don’t know. I came across his cave in a place where the light doesn’t touch when I was growing my trees and uprooting old ones.”

“Did you get any of the artifacts? The fruit?”

“He didn’t let me because I was too corrupt to have them because I already had the power of a god.”

“When you met me first, you said that you had a map to the location. Give me that map and I’ll try to talk to him.”

“No, I’ve told you too much already! Find him yourself. My followers and I have suffered too much because of the pantheon and I won’t allow them to suffer anymore! Lucian and you took suffering out of the world and brought it back in!”

Roots and tree trunks begin to come out from the ground and attack Valerius. He uses his blades to cut at whatever is attacking him while throwing his poisonous knives at the forest god.

“I see that the god of the forge has made you strong weapons to kill me,” the forest god says.

“Stop this! There’s no reason for us to fight!”

“I have every reason to fight! We have to live in isolation because of you people and I won’t allow that to happen any longer!”

Valerius continues to cut his way through the attacking forest and manages to scratch the forest god with one of his poisonous knives that make his powers weaker and allows Valerius to cut him down.

As the forest god dies, he says to Valerius, “Don’t let them take them.”

“Worry about your own soul. You’re going to meet the real God soon.”

 The forest god slowly begins to realize his mistakes, regrets them, and repents of as many as he can with his dying breath. In a silent prayer, Valerius prays for the man then takes the map that he needs from him. Seemingly because of the man’s death, the forest begins to decay and everything starts to fall apart. Valerius whistles for his horse that comes to him and they ride out of it. While riding away, he watches as the forest city falls to the ground along with everyone in it while the trunks from above crush the residents below. Valerius tries to save a few people, but he is not fast enough and can only save himself.

He looks at the destruction of the forest from a distance and says to himself, “I’m sorry that I couldn’t save them from the hand of God, Radice. I hope that He’s had mercy on your people and you. Hopefully, this information will save someone.”

Following the map leads Valerius to a cave made of roots. Further into the cave, the roots are replaced by black thorns and at the end lays a man next to a black tree. This man appears to have a skull mask and is armored in black thorns.

The man looks up and says, “Hello, Valerius. I apologize that I’m not what you expected to see me as.”

“Are you really, St. Matteo?”

“I am.”

“There are no records of your death, but how are you alive?”

“God granted me the blessing to guard this tree and kill it so that no other fruit may grow from it. He also granted me the grace to suffer longer for the sake of the sins of the world so that His judgment may be lessened on it.”

“Then where did the first fruit come from?”

“It was one of my worst mistakes because I thought people would be responsible with godlike power, but I was wrong. It’s why I had my descendants guard it for so long. I’m sorry that you had to go out of your way only to find nothing.”

“I…I don’t believe you. The St. Matteo that I was taught about was selfless and wouldn’t allow so much suffering to enter the world without good reason and you expect me to believe that you are who you say you are when the world was rotting while you sat here?”

“What you say does make me sound bad, but this tree of good and evil needed to be destroyed, and people had to remember suffering because without suffering this is no love.”

“You’re a mad man if you think people need suffering for love to exist!”

Valerius cuts off the head of the man who the black thorns are connected to and see that the man’s body is mostly comprised of large black thorns.

“I’ve been long dead with one foot in Heaven. It’s how I’ve been able to intercede in prayers like yours, Valerius. I understand you better than you know not just because I’ve heard your prayers, but also because I know what it’s like to doubt the Will of God. My time on this earth has finally come to an end. Now, it is your turn to change the world.”

What Matteo says and the feeling Valerius gets convinces him that Matteo is who he says he is while a black thorn creeps up on Valerius and wraps itself around his arm. He tries to get the black thorn until he stopped by the sound of a relaxing voice.

“Come, Valerius. There is much work to do to save my creations from their false gods,” the voice says.

“My Lord God, is that You? Why have You taken this long to speak to me when I’ve prayed for guidance for so long?” Valerius asks while on his knees.

“I’ve been speaking to you and you’ve allowed me to speak through you when you spoke against Lucian and tried to comfort Eliza.”

“Do you know where Eliza is? She could help us like how she served You the first time.”

“She served herself and the Deceiver when she got those six arms. Do not worry about her nor where she is because she is receiving help from servants of mine.”

“That’s good to hear. Thank You for bringing that peace to my mind. Now, tell me what I must do.”

“You must collapse the Crown of the World and destroy a number of gods before the world can begin to heal from the damage done to it by the pantheon.”

“As You will it, so shall it be done.”

Valerius leaves the cave, gets on his horse, and goes to where God tells him to go as a renewed sense of purpose revitalizes his soul.