Where The Dead Ones Go Book 1 -Magistracy-

Chapter 16

Pax...

That was the name of the ancient civilization that existed thousands upon thousands of years ago.

The United Empire of Plurinational Alliance Xenocracy or Empire of Pax for short.

It is a single multinational entity that controls the whole Tieran continent in its entirety.

The concepts of protectionism, racism, discrimination, and prejudice do not exist.

Every single mortal, be they demigods or not, are all equal under the banner of the empire, and only the gods are above them, which treated them like advisers and concerned family members.

A time when immortals set aside their differences and work hand-in-hand with mortals to usher and maintain an era of stability and prosperity.

When wars and famine are nothing but mere words in dictionaries and encyclopedias.

The only enemies of humanity and gods are the never-ending tide of monsters that are always successfully kept in check by the combined efforts of mortals and immortals.

We have today merely shadows and remnants of what our ancestors have in the last golden age.

Indescribable feats, majestic displays of elemental magics, and reaching even beyond the skies into the space unknown above the stars.

"But why did it end?" Morris asked curiously after the Second Magister narrated what he has learned, persuing the ancient records the magistracy kept in its most secure vaults, "That level of civilization is already too high and powerful even to fall."

I nodded and looked at the stacks of papers around us that we managed to sort out as we listen to his stories, "Logically speaking, you are correct. It is indeed impossible to even consider it is falling, but what if the impossible happened?"

"Impossible?" Morris asked quietly.

The son of Athena nodded thoughtfully, "An impossibility born from the very earth itself specifically created to destroy everything the mortals and immortals stand for."

"I don't understand," I said honestly that just made Kestrel smile sadly.

"Neither do I. If you want more information about it, then the Republic of Anoixi holds the answers to what exactly that impossibility is," he answered clearly before heaving a sigh, "But that's where it ended. In a single day and night, the Empire of Pax fell into ruins. Nations once united were destroyed and fragmented. From the ashes of destruction rose five individual countries, and it was said that everything was never the same again. Humans, deeply scarred by the fall of their once seemingly eternal Empire, lose the spark of innovations and breakthroughs. We "discover" these days are nothing but reverse-engineered or copied from the almost lost technologies of the past. Why bother striving for the pinnacle of life when you know that everything can be gone in just a blink of an eye."

Morris and I looked at each other as Taurei raised his head after burying it for a long time under the towers of paperwork, "What happened to the "impossibility"?"

"It was defeated by the combined efforts of man and gods but at a great cost. The immortals are wounded, and needed eons to recover as wells as humanity, as I said earlier, were deeply scarred emotionally and psychologically," he answered clearly before looking at the dying flames of the fireplace, "But it is clear that although it was defeated, it was not conquered for good. It is foretold that it will appear once more to end the immortals and mortals once and for all truth."

There is a moment of silence as we finished all the tasked relegated to us, and the door of the office suddenly opened, revealing a familiar face that made me smile.

"Boris!" I shouted as I ran to him and let my oldest friend hug me.

"Vivet! How are you? I hope you are enjoying your time here in my domain?" he asked cooly that made me raise an eyebrow.

I don't remember him speaking in such a confident tone.

Mostly he is very humble, cordial, and friendly.

Come to think of it, and he never offered to hug me before.

"I don't think that is the Boris in your memories, Vivet," Morris warned me in my head as I slowly try to get away from my friend's embrace, but he even hugged me tightly.

"Aww, c'mon, why not stay here in my arms a little while longer?" he asked teasingly as I feel his cold embrace in my back after he rested his head on my shoulder, "If you want, I can create a castle just for you and him here in my magistracy, Vivet."

"Elpis: Repulsing Shine!"

My body began to glow before blinding even me, and I felt the arms constricting released me, and a cold breeze suddenly entered the room.

"I got you!"

I heard my companion's reassuring voice, and the light faded away, revealing me safely in the arms of the god of death as I saw Boris standing at the door, levitating and grinning at me.

"That was quicker than expected," he said appreciatively as his eyes, skin, and hair changed color to as pale and beautiful as the snow, "And here I thought I could whisk you away safely."

We heard Estelle's father sigh disapprovingly as he stepped forward and bowed his head, "My Lord, that is rather rude of you. What would your beautiful daughters say if they heard you treat a girl like that?"

"Well, they won't know, right, Kestrel?" Boris asked as he grinned at me again, "I just heard from Aphrodite that Elpis' firstborn is still in the market since Thanatos' son is technically her guardian of sorts. I just thought I would give my boy a leg-up since he is quite slow. That won't do when your daughter found a fiance, and my heir has not."

It was Morris who spoke afterward, "This sheer coldness, it can only be Boreas, the god of the northern winds."

"As expected from the first-ever spawn of death. Immuned to my glacial powers," he said approvingly as he winked at me, "I guess the jig is up. As you already suspected, I am not your first acquaintance, Vivet. I am his father."

I sighed and berated myself, "I should've realized that there is no reason for a second year like Boris even to be here."

"Aww, don't be sad, your reaction is only a proof that he has a chance in your heart, right?" the god asked innocently that made me sigh.

"He is the very first boy of my age that called and treated me as a friend. But I doubt it's more than that, Lord Boreas. We rarely even see each other even if we now go to the same school," I answered respectfully that thankfully was not offending to him.

"Well, that can be arranged. A floating castle for the two of you will suffice?" he asked as he raised his hands slowly and summoned his winds once more as if to show he can easily make one for us should I wish it to be.

I shook my head and bowed respectfully, "A very generous offer, Lord Boreas, but I have to refuse for my life is not only my own."

Morris and I thought he would go ballistic when his eyes glow pale blue in power, and punishingly cold wilds emanated from him as he stares at the two of us for a few seconds as if looking straight into our souls.

Then just like the unpredictable winds, he laughed out loud and shook his head, "Right. It looks like I have to ask another god for your hand, and I don't think my chances are good enough now that he is fractured and divided. Oh well, anyway, there's another reason why I am here other than to meet the prospective wife of my Boris."

Before we can even react the electricity from the room suddenly went out and our oddly quietly classmate suddenly screamed in pain as he began to writhe on the floor behind us.

"Taurei!" Morris and I shouted in surprise as we rushed to his aid and tried to calm him down.

"Athena: Owl's Observation!"

An owl made of snow appeared above the Second Magistrate and tried to land on the head of our classmate, but suddenly, a peacock made of ice appeared from the hands of Taurei and brutally attacked the owl before shattering itself.

"I highly advise that you refrain from knowing any more than you suspect, Kestrel," the god of the northern winds warned as he raised his right hand and summoned a cold breeze that lifted Taurei from our arms, "Even your mother prefers to deal with "him" than "her."

Our classmate is still writhing in pain, but slowly, he began to calm down and regain consciousness, "It hurts! Why?!"

"The truth can no longer be denied, young prince," Boris said cryptically as he carefully lowered him down to our waiting arms, "The moment is upon you. I have only numbed the pain for a while, but it won't go away permanently. If you want it all to end, you know where the answers you seek can be found."

Taurei's eyes widened as Boris' father nodded at him knowingly before looking at the two of us.

"If you want to know the truth, son of Thanatos, you will have to pay the toll," he said grimly as he looked at me in pity, "The question is, are you willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice?"

"Father!"

"Morris! Vivet! Are you all alright there?!"

The wind god began to vanish in thin air as he grinned once more the same way his heir does, "If they asked what happened, blame it on me, okay?"

In a blink of an eye, he was gone, and the lights suddenly went back the moment Estelle and Zenith rushed inside the office.

"This wind, Boreas!" the son of Zeus exclaimed as he calmed down the residual cold air in the room and returned the heat of the fireplace, "Why is he here?! Did he attacked him?!"

Estelle looked at her father, who seemed like my close friend, prepared an ironclad alibi, "Lord Boreas attacked Taurei when he tried to stop him from taking Vivet and Morris here. I guess he wants to make the demiurge of Elpis, his daughter-in-law."

"But why take Morris also?" Estelle asked her father but rescinded it immediately, "Oh right, better be safe than sorry."

We just look at Taurei, who is at a silent staring contest with Zenith.

The Second Magister just cleared his throat and nodded, "Well, at the very least, you three managed to finish the task that was for a whole week in a single afternoon. Why don't you all take a rest for several days? If I need more help, don't worry, I will surely reach out."

Estelle and I helped Taurei get back on his feet as he returned to his discomfortingly silent self. Morris and Zenith are talking about their supposed "tasks" downstairs that ended in just mere observations meet-and-greet since the magisterial employees don't want the two to work at all.

"What will I have to pay to know the truth, Vivet?"

"Well, I think the real question is, how far can you go, Morris?"

He just looked at me sadly as he relives his hazy memories in his thoughts once more as we walked outside the office and on our way back to the car that will take us to the manor of the son of Zeus once again.

-0-

"So we have concluded at the battle earlier that stupidity and water go well with each other," Narcine said happily as we all lounge at the living room of Zenith's home late that night after dinner, "Well, it's Syden summoning the water and infusing it with his powers from Koalemos and Rebie magnifying it and crashing the wave down the monsters."

Amphitrite's daughter nodded curtly at Narcine, "Okay, okay, enough of that gushing Narcine. I must say I am pleasantly amazed at how Avesa managed to hold herself well against the manticores and basilisks. That wall of cows made of wind you used for the defense was a spark of genius."

"I have to chip in no matter how small my contribution is," the daughter of Hera said humbly, "If you are all fighting then I must too. No excuses."

Vaski sat beside Morris and me, "Estelle told us that you two are almost abducted by the god of the north wind earlier, and Taurei here defended you two."

"Well, a lot of things happened but to put things simply, that's the summary of what happened," Morris said in calculated words that we practiced in our minds earlier, "His attention shifted from us to Taurei."

I just nodded as I glanced at our classmate, who is staring blankly at the raging blizzard outside.

The door opened, and Brent came in, "Young Master, it is time for your classmates to meet her."

"I don't think there's any need for that," Zenith answered back coldly, but his old servant made a stand.

"You must, Young Master," he insisted as he looked at each and every one of us, "They have conducted themselves well within our walls. Accepted our food with gratitude and are very respectful, even to us who are mere servants. We must follow the ancient decree. As they have been good guests, we, in turn, have to be good hosts by not withholding any secrets from them in return."

Asher looked at Estelle, who avoided his gaze, "Secrets?"

"Yes, young lord, even our manor holds secrets behind its old walls," the butler answered meaningfully as he returned his look at our classmate, "Young Master, your father is also the god of hospitality. As his son, you must practice what the Heavenly King has always preached."

Our classmate took a deep breath before standing up and heading for the door, "All of you, follow me. It is time for you to meet the current head of House Mycenae."

"What secrets, Estelle? I can smell that you and Gala know about this all along," the son of Lytta asked his girlfriend and the daughter of Athena, who just looked away and covered their mouths.

"Please, Asher. No more. You will all know soon enough," the daughter of Aphrodite implored her boyfriend as Gala just gave Morris and me a sad look as we passed the butler who nodded at us meaningfully.

When we reached the top of the staircase, Morris and I stopped at the foot of the life-sized portrait to marvel at the woman's beauty and serenity.

"If only you all can see her years earlier. You will find the lady one of the kindest and loveable woman there is," the butler said behind us as he motioned the two of us to follow the rest of our classmates, "I do pray you wouldn't think anything less of her after this, young lord and lady."

Morris and I exchanged a confused look as we followed our classmates on the wing of the manor that was forbidden earlier by Zenith.

"Wow, he is the apple of the eye of his mother. Look, Vivet!"

I followed my companion's thoughts and gazed upon the parade of portraits showing Zenith and his mother enjoying their time together with Brent and their other servants who really loved the two.

From the crib to the skies, our classmate's mother was there every crawl, step, and flight along the way.

We can see clearly in her eyes that she only lives solely for her beloved son.

"Zenith's face is way different here. He is kinder, calmer, and more approachable, Morris," I pointed out in my mind that made him agree completely.

"You are right. I cannot see his grumpy and insufferable expression in these pictures. I might go so far as to say that he is far more handsome in these pictures during his younger years than he is now. His face here reflects the gentle kindness of his mother, but now, I only see the face of the severe Heavenly King in his facade."

The two of us stopped walking when we saw Syden and Vaski looking around us.

"Where are the next pictures?" the son of the King of the Oceans asked in confusion as to the son of Koalemos just scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know, and it just stopped when Zenith reached his preteen years," Syden answered as we saw our classmates also stopped walking as the son of Zeus entered a room located at the far end of the hallway.

We all followed him except Gala and Estelle, who shook her head as they hide their faces full of tears from us.

The moment we entered the dimly-lit room, we saw more pictures of Zenith and his mother hanging the beautifully painted walls.

"I would like you to meet the current head of House Mycenae, Zenaira Mycenae, my mother..."

We looked at Zenith's direction, and what Morris and I saw broke our hearts into pieces.