Soul Under the Mountain (Legend of Reason Series) (36 page)

"So religion of any sort is not for you then?"

Rommus raked his fingers through his hair. "No, no, I don't mean that. I don't have a problem with religion at all. I don't have a problem with anyone believing anything they want, as long as their beliefs don't end up causing them to harm others. I was speaking more generally, about the nature of man.

"But what I have discovered about the gods does disturb me.
Their indifference to humans doesn't seem right.
I suppose all of it falls into place and the puzzle pieces fit, but something
deep within me tells me something isn't quite right. It feels like there is something missing from the information I know. My eyes have seen the gods, but my heart tells me there may be some greater truth beneath all of this."

Song snorted a laugh. "If you depend on your heart instead of your eyes, then you are a man of faith, Rommus."

"I guess it does sound that way, doesn't it? Well, regardless of that nagging feeling inside me, I try to base all my actions on reason and fact; not hope and faith. The truths that lie beyond my reach will remain a secret to me, and I will not assume that my beliefs about them have any impact on their validity.
"

They walked on for a while, surrounded by the lifeless gray
. Rommus searched everywhere for
a temple or another being or anything that might help them in their quest. But hour after hour, the endless gray was all they found. Ruined cities speckled the land, but no other soul presented itself.

Finally Rommus stopped. "We can't keep doing this. This is becoming pointless. Eventually we
're going to have to turn back or we might end up walking this place forever. As much as I enjoy your company, that's not how I want to spend eternity."

"Well what do we do? Do you want to go back?"

"I think so. I can't think of how to find this missing piece of my soul, so I guess we'll have to figure out another way. This place is beginning to scare me. I don't want to end up lost in here."

They turned around but immediately stopped in their tracks. On the far side of the city,
shrouded in mist was the doorway they had walked through to enter the void. It was close enough to walk to in mere moments, but they had been walking away from it for many hours. Both of them looked to each other in confusion, not knowing what to think.

"That's impossible," Song said.

"Song, all of this seems impossible. Does this really surprise you at all?"

"Yes, Rommus, it does. We haven't been walking passed the same ruined buildings over and over; I would have noticed. I pay attention to details like that. I have been carefully keeping track so that we didn't get lost."

"Well, I don't know what's going on, but that looks like the doorway we came through."

The doorway was adorned with carvings that were very specific, unlike the identical doorways they encountered earlier. It had a carved depiction of Demeos at the top, and carvings of the two giant statues on the sides. The carvings were not quite as detailed as the actual statues, but there was no mistaking them for anything else. Rommus was almost certain that the doorway was the same doorway that led them into the void.

Rommus bit his lip. "Maybe this city is much bigger than we thought and when we get to the edges, we are somehow transported to other parts of it. I know you said we haven't been walking by the same buildings, but you have to admit that everything does look almost the same everywhere. Whatever the case, if there's an answer to be found, it should be here. If we can't even get away from this door, then there's something we are overlooking."

"Well what could it be? I can't think of anything."

Rommus stroked his chin. "Maybe the light. There's no real light here, but it's not dark. If the Triultti were telling me the truth, then the light in here is the light of souls. Maybe there are souls here, and we're just not seeing them."

"Well if we can't see them, what good does that do us?"

Rommus ignored the question and spoke to the air. "Are there any souls here?"

The air suddenly changed. Streaks of light began to form into luminous clouds before them. They swirled and tumbled and some began to separate into individual orbs of light hovering in the air.
The light that emanated from these orbs illuminated some of the ruins nearby, and everywhere the beams touched them, they became solid structures instead of ruins. It was like looking at two different worlds at the same time. One world was old and destroyed, and one was brought to life with light. Rommus was dazzled by the sight.

He spoke to the hovering orbs. "I seek the part of my soul that was lost. Can I find it here?"

There was no spoken answer
but the balls of light wove erratically around each other. A hissing sound came from the orbs as the glowing light around them wavered and took on a sickly yellow color. Eventually they returned to their original state, but several of the lights trailed away and some went out.

"What does that mean?" Song asked. "Are they trying to tell us no?"

"I guess so. But your guess is as good as mine. I can't say I have had many conversations with balls of light before."

"Yeah, same here. What else can we ask?"

"
I was hoping you had an idea."

Song looked to the ground as he thought. "Can any of you help us to restore Rommus's soul?"

Once again the colors changed and several of the lights fled. Only a handful remained hovering before them, and their luminance was fading. It seemed that the souls were losing interest in answering their questions, or they were somehow offended. Whatever the reason, it looked like there would only be one more question that they could ask.

Rommus hurried to think of what to ask before the
remaining
lights went out.
"Can we find Arius here? May we speak with the god of war?"

The lights grew brighter as they danced in elaborate patterns. Their speed eventually got to the point where they seemed to be a single light and not several. Other lights appeared nearby and joined the
m
, making the ghostly glow even more intense. But the searing radiance did not hurt their eyes, and they did not need to look away from it.

Inside the light was a faint figure of a man. He slowly walked toward them and when he finally stepped out of the light he materialized into solid form. The light of the glowing doorway of souls went out behind him, but an odd glow still remained on his features. He was abnormally tall; taller than Tannis even. His hair was black, and somewhat longer than the typical Medoran
style
. It waved gently on the breeze, but appeared as if it was flowing under water.

"Arius?" Rommus asked.

His voice thundered through the gray realm. "I am Arius, Rommus of the bloodline Tirinius. I am the god who has fallen so that you could rise."

"I had no part in that, Arius. I swear I did not ask for any of this. I was murdered
with your sword. It was not of my doing."

"Take ease, Medoran. You clearly do not remember the time you spent here in the void when that sword pierced you. We have spoken before. Do you not recall?"

"No, I'm sorry. I don't."

"I know your godhood is not of your own doing. I know you were forced into the position just as
I have been forced into mine
. It was the work of those vile gods of darkness and their compliant human slaves who have brought about this fate."

"Can it be reversed?" Rommus asked. "Can you return through the doorway with us and reclaim your godhood? I would happily surrender it back to you."

"Rommus,
I cannot bear that burden ever
again. I could not pass from this world into another even if I desired to. I am trapped here in this world for the remainder of all time."

"Time!" Song
yelled
, reaching into his pocket to pull out the star of Tachion
. "I possess the star of Tachion. I can travel to whatever point in history I need to keep Rommus from getting killed with that sword. I can reverse all of this."

Arius turned to Song and lowered his head to meet his gaze. "No, Erratus of the bloodline Ridoria. That must not be attempted. You
would
not
be able to
prevent Rommus from being killed, but you would be able to warn me in the past. In your later years, you will encounter me as the god I once was. It is imperative that you not warn me of my fate."

"But he can save you," Rommus said. "If he can prevent your death and rid me of this curse, I would prefer he do that."

Arius turned to Rommus again. "That is not the fate laid before us, Rommus Tirinius. If I am warned of my death, you will never take my place. Replacing me was your destiny. It had to happen."

"But w
hy? I am not a god; I am a man."

"A man who comes to the void to restore his godly powers."

"I assure you
I don't want to be a god. I have only come to the void to
try to retrieve the missing part of my soul so that the other gods cannot assassinate me."

"Rommus Tirinius, you are the only being in any realm that has any chance of saving the souls in those realms. You stated that you are not a god but a man. Do you understand the impact of that statement?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"There are strict rules among the gods. The most important rule is that no god may harm another god. It is not just a rule; it is impossible. Being that you are something in between god and man makes you uniquely suited to the tasks that lie ahead of you."

"What tasks are those? Saving Medora?"

"While your efforts to save your people and their way of life are valiant and honorable, there are other important issues you will need to eventually deal with.
By this point Terinopus has certainly warned you that the gods of darkness wis
h to
kill you. Your death grants them
greater power than the gods of light, but there is another reason that
they want you eliminated. That foolish Oderion would even allow them to do it."

"What is th
e other reason? Am I a threat to them?"

"Yes, Rommus Tirinius, you are. You are a threat to them that I could never be. That is why I must not be warned about my fate in the past. You must take up Archenarius and become the god of war, or all is lost."

"How can I possibly be any threat to the other gods? I don't even possess the powers of a god. And when I
did
possess them, I didn't even really know it. I am really no more than a man."

"And
that
is the threat, Rommus Tirinius. You are a man who is not bound by the laws of the gods. You are not restricted from harming the other gods, but that same coin has two sides. They are not restricted from killing you either. They fear you, Rommus. They know you can harm them."

"So my fate is to kill off the remaining gods? I don't really desire to kill them."

"I do not know the full story that will be your life, Rommus
Tirinius
.
But what I do know is that if I had remained the god of war, I would not have the same powers that you do. Your powers of man, in a sense, are far greater than the powers of a god."

"Well the missing part of my soul down here in the void is a real problem. Without it, I don't have any protections from the other gods. They can kill me with ease; and so can any human lucky enough to strike me with a sword. I need to find this missing part of my soul if I am going to survive any attempts on my life."

"I can help you to recover this lost part of your soul, but it comes at a price. It is a price that I do not know
if you are
willing to pay."

"What is it? What do I have to do?"

"It is not a question of what you must do. It is a question of what you are willing to sacrifice. You see, to restore your soul completely, it needs to be taken from this world. If it is removed from the void,
it will have no way to return
Morendiir or
to this world
of the void
at your death. In essence, you will be giving up everything. You will no longer have a place to reside in this realm
or any other
.

"However, this only applies if you die as I did. If Archenarius should happen to pierce your father or any of your offspring, your soul will be lost forever instead of residing here in the void."

"What about death by other means? Can I be killed even with my powers restored?"

"Death by other means does not necessarily send a soul here. There are other worlds
, like Morendiir,
where most go after death. In your case, there will always be a danger of death by normal means. Swords and spears will still be able to kill you, although you may be granted some resistance to them. Your armor will protect you from these things, so wear it always.
But death by normal means will not send you to this world. Your soul will be intact and safe if you meet your end by sword, arrow, spear or old age. You will go on to a grander world than the void.