Observing the End, Volume 3: Protagonism

Chapter 3: Warchief

Observation Log: 153436

Observer 131, reporting on the Michael’s situation.

“We surrendered to the Warchief, so he must participate in the Ascension Ritual of Greystone Tribe!”

“No! The Chieftain has already undergone the Ascension Ritual of the Riverstone Tribe! If he receives another mark so soon, he may perish! You’re just trying to use tricks to assassinate our Chieftain!”

Within Michael’s tent, the two Prophetesses are arguing with each other. The Riverstone Prophetess is significantly smaller than the black-tusked, grey-skinned giantess. However, she is also pregnant, so her girth is rather large at the moment.

“What good would killing him do our tribe?! Our old Warchief and Stallions are dead! Without new blood, our tribe would die out within two generations! The new Warchief is the strongest I have ever seen! A gift from the Goddess! With his bloodline, the Greystone Tribe will be more powerful than ever! We’ll finally overthrow those Obsidian mongrels and reign supreme over the Holy Mountain!”

“Nonsense! The Goddess sent the Silver Champion to be the Riverstone Tribe’s Chieftain! Your Greystone Tribe are merely our servants! Your women will become the breeding mares of the Silver Champion’s children! I have seen it in a vision from the Great Goddess!”

“Will both of you please shut the f**k up?! You’re freaking out the babies!” Michael shouted at the two growling and roaring women, then whispered to the child in his arms “It’s okay Talia~... Don’t worry~, everything’s fine now~... You’ll have plenty of new mamas to feed you soon…”

After Scarface died and Talia was born, his behavior changed slightly. Although Rebecca, Jacob and Kara are barely able to walk now, at the very least, the other Riverstone Tribe treat them as their own. Talia is different though.

“That cursed child… Why does he allow it to live?” The Grey Prophetess quietly growled, while facing away from Michael.

The Green Prophetess murmured “She has the Eyes of Damnation, I know this… But if I tried to kill or abandon the child, the Chieftain might leave us… Or kill us.”

Although the lesser orcs are less intelligent, it also makes them more loyal and trustworthy. Their thoughts are simple and they are easy to control. However, these two are different. They are intelligent enough to manipulate the others. The true leaders of the tribes.

After being at war for so long, they are easily able to coexist, because they treat the other orcs as pawns. Essentially, these two are politicians. Perhaps if they were able to speak English, Michael would have executed them already. If I believed he could control the orcs without their help, I would have used the Assassination Drone to end their lives.

Unfortunately, they are too valuable to kill. If they perform the ritual again, I will unlock another piece of the puzzle that Sariel designed for us. Aside from that, their magical abilities are crucial to my own research.

***

Observation Log: 153437

Observer 131, reporting on the Michael’s situation.

This morning, a similar scene played out as the last ‘Ascendence Ritual’. The Green Prophetess allowed the Grey Prophetess to bring three females to mate with Michael. My attention was focused entirely upon the Warchief’s Rune.

Rather than placing the tattoo on his back, she chose to use his chest as the canvas instead. The ink was similar to the silver material in composition and mystical properties, but it was white instead. At first she drew a thick cross on his sternum, vertically. Except that there was a loop at the top, which was an ankh, from Ancient Cytherean lore and Ancient Egyptian mythology. It is a symbol for rebirth and eternal life.

Below that ankh, there was a triangle pointing upwards on his abdomen. The process required nearly two hours and used an enormous amount of ink. That entire time, the three females took turns riding on him… However, the difference in size was so large that it was almost comical. Michael was like a small child in comparison to the massive Greystone Orcs.

Anyway, let us return to the task at hand. Michael was guided towards the Riverstone Tribe first. Thus, it is safe to assume that the symbols should be ordered from first to last. Although, it might be a trick. There might not be a specific order. In fact, there could be a multitude of meanings for each individual part of every symbol.

There are two equilateral triangles. One on his back, pointing downwards. The other is on his abdomen, pointing upwards. In fact, the two triangles would connect at his diaphragm and almost the center of his back. Meanwhile, the river and the ankh could also be combined into a single symbol.

Wait, the Arcane Orb! I see… There are many different runes on the orb that resemble all four symbols. In some areas, they are even connected. Yet, if they are words, then they also have meanings. The meanings could be the key.

“Cross the river, to reach the mountain? Nah, the mountains are over there. On the other side of the river should be a desert, right? Hmmm, Inari, you’re ridiculous as always. You want me to cross the desert and find a pyramid that probably… Ah~, f**k. I should’ve known.”

After Michael returned to the tent and used his armor as a mirror, he was able to come up with some theories of his own. Honestly, I thought that it might be the pyramid in the desert as well. However, that pyramid had four sides.

“You want me to go to Alfirin. But how the hell can I even get there? It ain’t on this planet, maybe not even this universe. You’re gonna have to give me more to go on than just a destination.”

Alfirin… This name is familiar. From a series he worked on long ago, one which he eventually abandoned. He had always planned on continuing it eventually, but other stories were more popular and demanded his attention.

“Good girl Talia, aw~, you’re so cute~! You’re the cutest little baby I’ve ever seen…” Michael held the infant in his arms and then presented her with the Arcane Orb, as if it was just a child’s toy. She is gnawing on it!

“Hehehe~, if the Chaotic Void is the inside of Karma’s body. Then the Eternal Graveyard is basically the skin. Michael always talked about ‘returning souls to Karma’ or ‘sending souls to Karma to be judged’... In other words, he ain’t even in Karma, right? That means, if I wanna find Alfirin, I’ll have to leave Karma through the Eternal Graveyard. Or maybe the Eternal Graveyard is more like, where two different Titans’ are touching each other. Maybe Karma is getting f****d in the ass by some other Titan right now and from our perspective it feels like eons, but the Eternal Graveyard is just a single penetration? Anyway, let’s not worry about that possibility. Actually, it’s possible that the Chaotic Void is the space between Titans…”

Michael paused for a moment, before continuing to muse “No, never mind. It’s the space between regular universes, which Eternal Deities can snack on. In other words, it’s just the space within the body of a Titan known as Karma. Going by some s**t I wrote down when I was half-asleep, Karma should be a relatively powerful Titan. Maybe even the most powerful outta all of them.”

Then he looked down at the green-skinned little girl and saw her smiling at him, he smirked, before gently caressing her face. She giggled and he whispered “Don’t worry Talia. Wherever Daddy goes, he’s gonna bring you with him. At least until you become a teenager and start hating me for being a terrible father. Then who knows? That’ll be a long time from now though, so don’t worry about it and be a good girl for me.”