Curse of Cognizance: Chapter 2 – More Appropriate Heroes

Chapter 2 – More Appropriate Heroes

While civil war rages across the land to retrieve the keys to the Flame of Cognizance, Tenebris rests and eats before heading back out again. He’s eating at a restaurant that’s been vandalized by a party. Clothes, blood, alcohol, drugs, and food litter the floor with some of the original party goers still here whether dead, alive, or Purposeless. Judging from the mess, it appears that the party was had since the Flame of Cognizance was being abandoned. Thankfully, some of the leftover food is still available and still edible after being heated in the kitchen for a bit.

After he’s finished eating, Tenebris gets up from the table and turns around to see a group of people enter. Them seeing him causes them to have an idea.

“You’re Tenebris! The black and white doves have been talking about you and how you got the first key to the Flame of Cognizance. Why don’t you sit with us and tell us about the big battle that happened?” one of them says.

This group of people appears to be a normal group of adventures with one who’s the knight, one’s an archer, another has short swords, and the last one is carrying heavy bags, but there is a certain thing about them that Tenebris doesn’t trust as if his guardian angel is telling him something that he can’t see, so he immediately draws his sword in a defensive way.

“What? Don’t trust us?” one says while the others casually walk around him, “We’re just a bunch of normal adventuring kids taking advantage of the situation given to us. We explore the world, take in nature’s beauty, help people we come across…take revenge.”

The group tries to kill Tenebris in one unified strike, but he causes an explosion with his black flame arm by striking it into the ground that ends up killing the one who was carrying the bags and injuring the knight.

“You bastard! You’ll pay for everything that you’ve done!” one of them says as she goes after Tenebris with her short swords.

Her form and speed are impressive, however, they’re nothing compared to Tenebris’ experience and he kills her. The archer tries to catch him off guard, but Tenebris manages to dodge the arrows and spray flames at the archer to kill her as well.

“How many more lives will you take?!” the knight says as he charges at Tenebris, “You’ve inspired so many to rape and kill for power! You must be put down before you can create more monsters! A devil like you keeping the Flame of Cognizance alive? What a joke! You’ve inspired parents to kill their children, and my friends and I were the survivors among an orphanage of children that you created. We should be the ones to put you down! We should be the ones to keep the Flame alive!”

What the knight says about his background causes Tenebris to not immediately kill him. Instead, Tenebris leads the knight outside of the restaurant while pretending to take the fight seriously.

“But…now that you’ve killed them. Now that you’ve taken the last of my loved ones away…I’ll carry on their dying wish!” the knight says in an exhausted but energized voice.

Tenebris dodges the knight's attack and knocks the sword out of his hand. Despite not having a weapon, the knight still fights with his hands. With no other way to stop the knight, Tenebris knocks him out and takes him away from the burning restaurant. He leaves him in the care of a nearby village and heads off without saying anything to them. Once he’s far away from the village, he starts punching trees to get the frustration out of his system until he calms down with a silent prayer. He then happens to come across a convey of soldiers on horses who are escorting a soldier with flames coming out of his body. The man has been blessed with powers from the Flame of Cognizance and is bearing the cost associated with it as his body and horse burn with an intense heat.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this, sir?” one of the soldiers asks the burning man.

“Don’t worry about me. My crimes against God have warranted this kind of punishment. I must bear this cross for the good of humanity,” the captain says.

“Yes, sir.”

The group comes across Tenebris along the way and appears to be unsettled by his appearance except for the captain.

“Your services are no longer needed, Tenebris,” the burning captain says, “My penance requires me to keep the Flame of Cognizance alive and your black flames will sully the Flame. If you have good intentions with the Flame, give up the key that you got and stop this quest for your own good.”

Tenebris shakes his head then holds out his hand as a sign for them to cooperate.

“My Flame allows me to see that you have a penance to do too. So be it. A duel it is then to see who God favors for this task.”

“Captain, is this truly necessary?”

“It is despite what you and I might think. The Flames tell me so.”

Both the captain and Tenebris ready themselves before dueling. Their flames are equal in strength along with their skills with the blade. Even though Tenebris’ blade seems broken because of the cracks and missing pieces, the black flames within it give him the edge to overpower the captain’s defenses at certain points, and eventually, Tenebris wins after cutting off a piece of the captain’s armor.

This ends the duel in the captain’s opinion as he bows then says, “I see that you are the superior warrior and the one that God has primarily chosen to keep the divine Flame alight.”

“But sir!” one of the soldiers say.

“Do not worry. I am going to complete my penance a different way. God has already blessed me with a second chance, these penitential flames, and the friendship of all of you, most of all and despite my checkered past. I am forever grateful for you allowing me to become your captain and your friend.”

“Sir, it’s our honor to serve alongside you. You’ve earned everything that you have now because of your bright and noble spirit.”

“Thank you. All of you,” the captain says as he gets back on his horse and as his loyal soldiers cheer for him, “Tenebris, we will go ahead of you and clear whatever dangers we can. God bless you in your journey and let’s meet together again in better circumstances, possibly in Heaven.”

The burning captain heads off with his soldiers with Tenebris continuing on his own way. Later down the road, Tenebris finds a village that’s being burned to the ground by black flames. He tries to see if anyone needs help only to find Divinus that are consumed by the flames. They are more beastly than human with some crawling on all fours or flying in the air. These Divinus attack Tenebris who fends them off until one last man approaches him. This man in light knight armor appears to be Purposeless with how he moves at first with slow and unenergetic movements. The man’s energy then seems to shoot up as he goes on the attack against Tenebris. His skills with the blade are almost as good as Tenebris and the ferocity with which he attacks is nearly blinding.

Because of the past few fights, Tenebris is exhausted and almost has his head cut off and limbs dismembered at certain points, but Tenebris manages to slash the man’s arms and legs to bring him to his knees. Tenebris has to take a breath before he lifts his sword for the final blow.

“What are you waiting for?! Finish me off!” the man says.

Since the Purposeless hardly if ever talk, this catches Tenebris off guard and stops him from finishing the man off.

“Kill me! I deserve it for burning down my home and so many more things that you yourself would know. I thought I could gain the power to do more with my life and tried to do something similar to what you did when you lead your cult. It was an insane idea. I know your story and the regret you felt, but I’m not strong enough to repent like you are doing, Tenebris. Please, end my life. I can’t stand to live in my own skin anymore.”

Instead of doing what the fallen man wants, Tenebris puts his hand on his shoulder then hugs him while whispering encouragement that made him change his mind. The man’s want for suicide begins to slowly disappear as he starts to cry. Tenebris then leads the man to a church along his path that is taking care of the Purposeless, injured, and needy. He himself rests at the church for a bit before heading back out on the road. After a long trip, Tenebris makes it to the next city where the next key is located, and the city is burning because of civil war and a war between kingdoms still going on within the city.