FATE\Deus Decipit

Chapter 97: The Fool Who Praised Princes

Not Long Earlier,

Yanni, deep inside his cavern, slammed his hands on the crystal ball atop the pedestal.

"Yes! Go my god!"

Drowning in glee, he looked up to the great marble statue of Heracles, adorned in silver and fruit, his handsome and beautiful body reflecting the warm light of the candles around him, making it seem as if he himself was radiating power. Though only a trick of the light, more of a moon than a sun, this sight reinvigorated him, and he returned to his crystal ball totally incensed.

Heracles, his god, was chasing the silver-armored Rider like a cat does a mouse. He pumped his fists and jumped up and down, his old age invoking a second childhood.

"Don't let him escape! Kill him! Kill him now!"

A moment later, nine strikes cleaved into open air- Rider dodged back in a burst of light.

"Dammit!"

He growled like an animal and searched his mind and globe for an answer. He was riding a rollercoaster of emotion as the tide of the battle ebbed and flowed; each slight victory brought a rush of elation and every whiff sunk his spirits. The battle against Rider was exhausting him, and that gave him an idea.

"Heracles! I beseech you! Ignore that silver mosquito! Attack the observers!"

He was never sure how his god heard him, but that question barely occurred to him at all; he was a god, after all. The bigger question was why he saw fit to heed Yanni Iole's commands. He couldn't answer, but the question filled his heart with a swelling pride, that he alone was fit for the role, and a mind-numbing anxiety, not knowing why or how he was fit. These feelings overtook him even as he watched his god prepare an attack against the flying ships.

-BOOM! CRACK! KAPOW!-

Though muffled through the crystal ball, sounding like it had been filtered through a gramophone, even he could make out the magnitude of the attack, though he had to linger on and wonder why his god had chosen to release all his attacks on only one of the enemy's ships. Nonetheless, he had faith that his god knew better-

The vision of the crystal ball could be moved, but was locked onto Heracles as its target. You could then imagine his shock as his musings were shattered by the sudden rushing and shaking of the point of view. When it did settle, he saw the man he called 'god' tumbling and turning on to his hands and feet.

"What?"

Heracles rushed forward, and Yanni's excitement rose. He had no idea what had happened, but he had no doubt-

In a burst of electric violet light, he saw his god rise into the air, his heart falling at the same time, and all the more so seeing the object of his faith slammed into the ground and subjected to a barrage of attacks from afar.

Tears stung his eyes, "No! No! No! Get up! Get up! Kill them! Kill them now! Give them everything you've got!"

He felt an electric tingle on his right hand, and found that one of the lines in the tattoo he'd received after calling his god, which looked to him like a fire made of polygons, had become little more than a red smear on his hand, like a marker that had mostly washed off, but retained a stain on his skin. He marveled at it, almost forgetting about the scene unfolding before him, and without the slightest understanding of what had occurred. He began to lose himself in his own bewilderment-

He then felt a prick at the back of his neck. For whatever reason, his elation, his excitement, dimmed immediately, as if someone had flicked a switch. He absentmindedly felt at the place and saw on his hands a thin trail of blood. Just a papercut, nothing to worry about...