Omega Wars Chronicles

Chapter 105: Roots Part 2

Being both shocked and horrified by Kiorra's revelation, Cloud stayed silent for a few seconds. His hands slightly shook as he was trying to process the information he had received, leading him to stare at the surface.
"My ancestors were.... My ancestors were... No... No! No! No! This cannot be true! It cannot be..." Cloud said, "This is a lie. You are lying... You have to be."
"Poor boy, finding it difficult to believe the past?" Kiorra's voice echoed, "Even with all the evidence presented before you, you would still call it a lie? I cannot say i am surprised.
One of your biggest flaws is denial. Always lying to yourself about the things that are and the things that aren't; always trying to create a fantasy world for yourself to live in in order to escape the truth."
"You're wrong." Cloud said as he was still facing the surface.
"I am?" Kiorra asked.
"My ancestors cannot be them. It... It can't be true..." Cloud said.
"It is true. All of it." Kiorra said, "Your ancestors were mighty. So mighty that their enemies feared to whisper their name."
"The iron era lasted even to the next generations." Kiorra said as he showed Cloud a female Tageira soaring forward and leading an ocean tide exuding lightning.
"More and more races fell before the power of the Tageiras." Kiorra said as a Tageira man summoned numerous beams of fire mixed with lightning from the sky to wreak havoc in an unknown realm, "And just as i said before, the Dreygars were considered as the strongest clan of the human race but the power of the Tageiras were feared the most."
"Even to the point the humans themselves distrusted them."
Kiorra showed Cloud a time when a group of Dreygars stood in a terrain while the Tageiras were riding four-legged giant armoured beasts with glowing eyes, spikes and markings. The beasts also possessed a tail with a tip made of different elements; some fire, some ice, some lightning and other kinds.
"Wait, are those terror beasts?" Cloud asked.
"Yes. Your ancestors were the first and the only ones to ever tame a terror beast." Kiorra replied.
"I have had encounters terror beasts." Cloud said.
"They let you live." Kiorra said.
"What?" Cloud asked in confusion.
"They let you live." Kiorra said, "You believed the two encounters you survived was because you outsmarted the creatures but it was never true. You only survived because they sensed the blood of their masters in you. Likewise everything you have survived till this moment was because you are a Tageira and my true other half."
"Anyone that was the minor you were playing would have been dead." Kiorra said as Cloud tightly clenched his fist.
In the scene Kiorra played before Cloud of the of Dreygars and the Tageiras with their terror beasts in the terrain, a brown colored terror beast that stood in front of the other beasts took a few steps forward to the male Dreygar that was in front of the other Dreygars. The female Tageira that rode the beast, hopped to the ground and covered the distance between the male Dreygar and herself.
The male Dreygar had a long messy black hair, a long bang that covered the right side of his face and a black goatee. His eyes were red in color and he wore a red coat with black stripes on it, black trouser, black sandals and the traditional chief cape. The female Tageira that stood in his front had a long yellow hair that was braided at the sides, blue eyes and white markings on her face; she wore a short pale blue robe, brown open-toed boots and the traditional cape of the chiefs as well.
"Greetings, chief Ezkar of the Dreygars." The female Tageira said.
"Greetings, chief Ilo of the Tageiras." Chief Ezkar said.
"We agreed to meet here on this land for an important discussion." Chief Ilo said.
"Yes. A week ago, we promised the Stoun race they would be spared if they surrendered and cease fighting us. They agreed to our terms and we kept our word except you." Chief Ezkar said, "You and your tribe broke our word and made Agaroth look like a liar. A race with no honor. You and your tribe dishonored us all."
"May i remind you that we didn't make that promise. That the Tageiras were not present when the other tribes vowed not to harm that race." Chief Ilo said, "And since we did not make such an oath, we were not bound to honor it."
"You speak like you are not part of Agaroth." Chief Ezkar said with his arms crossed, "Our words to that race were 'By the blood of every human and creature in Agaroth, we swear that no harm shall come to you.'
Those were our words, the exact statements we used."
"Poor chief Ezkar." Chief Ilo said while smiling with closed eyes, "We are a part of Agaroth, but as i said earlier, we were not there when the oath was made. And besides, my people were restless."
"May we meet again someday." Chief Ilo said as she turned her back to walk away.
While chief Ilo headed towards her terror beast, a female Dreygar with long brown hair walked down to chief Ezkar and stood at his back.
"I expected her to at least show some remorse but she didn't show any." The woman said to chief Ilo, "Funny though, the other tribes see the Tageiras as the black sheep of Agaroth; a tribe with a destructive impulse that rivals an unsterilized Dreygar. Even the minors don't seem to like them"
Chief Ezkar's irises glowed as he glared at chief Ilo who at the moment was riding on her beast. Another scene plays in a forest during the cold night as chief Ilo was emitting her aura with her irises glowing and staring at the sky as it had the face of Kiorra.
"Master, i feel it. The distrust from our brothers and sisters of the other tribes." Chief Ilo said, "I have always felt it each time i am around them but this time it has gotten stronger.
Master, you showed us the future of what would happen if we didn't attack first. You should us that the Stoun race would secretly ally with other races and seek Agaroth's destruction if we the Tageiras didn't strike. I wish to tell them what we saw but you forbade us from doing so just like our predecessors were forbidden from telling the truth of their power."
"Master, may i ask why you forbade us from telling the other tribes what we saw?" Chief Ilo asked as she bent down her head.
"Because they would not have believed you." Kiorra answered, "They would not have taken your word if you had told them. They distrust you just like they distrusted your predecessors and very soon they will stand in your way of destroying races."
"Master if that happens, this could lead to a large conflict between tribes." Chief Ilo said, "Agaroth will be weakened in defense and our enemies will take advantage."
"I do not care about Agaroth, for it is insignificant to me. My goals are beyond one tiny nation." Kiorra said, "I am becoming dissatisfied with the blood offerings i receive. A new blood must be offered."
"And by new blood you mean...?" Chief Ilo asked with a raised brow.
"The blood of the other tribes of Agaroth." Kiorra said.
Chief Ilo's eyes widened, leaving her in an instant shock with the demands of Kiorra.
"But master-!"
"Silence, child!" Kiorra cuts in, "Are you questioning my demands?"
"N-No. But master, what you are ordering for is too much." Chief Ilo replied, "You are telling us to destroy our family... Our nation. Master, i-"
"I decide who is your family." Kiorra cuts in, "The only reason you exist is because of me. If it wasn't for me, your predecessors would have been destroyed. You would have been another forgotten tribe; a tribe whose death played no impact in the affairs of your family.
This clan has been seen as second place long enough. It is time to step out of the shadows and act. It is time to destroy."
Chief Ilo bowed her head with a conflicted countenance while gritting her teeth.
The state of disturbance for Cloud increased with he had seen, leaving him short of words for a moment.
"The stories of when they attacked Agaroth and destroyed so many tribes... It... It was you. You gave the order." Cloud said to Kiorra.
"Yes." Kiorra's voice echoed.
"But why?! Why would you do such a thing?!" Cloud asked in anger, "Why would you order them to turn them against their own?!!"
"Do i need a reason? I simply needed a fresh offering and the blood offerings of humans seemed better." Kiorra answered, "And if they hadn't attacked, Agaroth would have been the first to strike, so i made them do it first."
"From the stories, it was told that once they destroy a group or a race, it would rain blood as a testimony of their destruction. Were those rains of blood their offerings to you?" Cloud asked.
"Yes. Every time they destroy, it would rain blood as sign that i have accepted their offerings." Kiorra answered, "The blood of other races couldn't compare to the blood of humans."
"The destruction they wrought on Agaroth was magnifying. Different tribes wiped out by your ancestors." Kiorra said as a scene of countless villages laid in ruins, "But the Xohalis... When they stood against the Tageiras and lost, the offerings was so great that it rained bones."
With the information Kiorra provided, the shock of Cloud increased even further.
"Wait, you mean-!"
"Yes. The cursed land... Mal'torr." Kiorra said, "The land that rains the bones of the Xohalis."
Cloud's mouth opened in horror. Words couldn't describe the amount of shock, disgust and terror he was feeling at the actions of his ancestors.
"The other higher ranking tribes banded together to fight the Tageiras but the Tageiras stood tall until the Dreygars arrived." Kiorra said as he played a scene of numerous dragons breathing fire on terror beasts and Tageiras at the time Dreygars hopped off the back of the dragons to attack the Tageiras, "A war like no other. "
Another scene takes place as chief Ezkar and chief Ilo stood in the midst of higher ranked corpses while they locked eyes with one another and panted for air.
"Why? Why are you doing this?" Chief Ezkar asked.
"You never trusted us. You and the others never trusted us!" Chief Ilo said, "No matter what we did for Agaroth, you majors and minors would look at us with disgust!"
"And that's enough to commit treason?!" Chief Ezkar asked, "I don't believe your words. There is something else driving you to this."
"Nothing is driving us!" Chief Ilo said, "We are the Tageiras! We destroy all that stand in our way!!"
With a deepened yell, chief Ilo spread her arms apart and created an ice tempest and chief Ezkar responds with a powerful roar and spread his arms apart, creating a great flame that swirled round him. The two chiefs charged at each other and created a mighty explosion.
"The Tageiras were defeated. They lost the war." Kiorra said as chief Ezkar stared down at chief Ilo's corpse, "Agaroth stood victorious again despite the power of their foe. Agaroth has defeated entities, gods of old, other powerful beings but none of those wars shook them like this one, because this was a war against their own. A war like no other, indeed."
"The remaining Tageiras fled and Agaroth didn't pursue because they needed to recover. The war with your ancestors weakened them and left the other higher ranked tribes open to the attacks of other races." Kiorra said as the reptorix, the lerekons, the red and green orcs, the high goblins, the minotaurs, the moabians, and other races that possessed kan stepped out of portals into the earth realm, "They saw the higher ranked tribes as their prey and they felt this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to obliterate the power of Agaroth. However, though Agaroth chose not to go after the Tageiras, there were a few that made it their sole purpose to wipe every last one of them out from the face of the Earth. Those that were heavily clouded with vengeance."
Another scene takes as a large number of Tageiras hid in a forest; some laid on the ground injured, some sat in despair while some stood, awaiting their destruction from the hands of the other higher ranked tribes.
"So, this is how it ends." A Tageira man with black hair and brown headband said to a Tageira man with a flaming orange ponytail and flaming orange eyes, "The mighty Tageiras defeated and fleeing for their lives. Very soon they will close in and kill us all."
"Everyone of us including the little ones." The man said as he glanced at the children and babies.
"We deserve it." The man with the flaming orange ponytail said, "We deserve to die. We turned on our own and slaughtered a lot of them; fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, little ones. We slaughtered them all just to appease our god.
When we fought other races, it barely bothered me because we were in a war, but this time we betrayed our own to wage war."
The man with the flaming ponytail scoffed.
"I remember the stories of how the so called god saved our predecessors and granted them powers to become great warriors, but they were never warriors, they were just tools that were used to appease his bloodlust.
If i could go to the time of our predecessors... If i could go to the time of Edon, i would stop him and let him know that it isn't worth it. What will be given... The power, everything... Isn't worth it."
"And the worst part is that after everything, OUR FOOLISH, SO-CALLED GOD ABANDONED US!!!" The man with the flaming orange ponytail said in anger as his irises glowed, catching the attention of other Tageiras in the forest.
"Appease me, appease me, appease me, appease me, oh i hope you choke on the amount of blood you drank today!" The man with the ponytail said as he shook his fist at the sky, "I hope all that blood gets stuck in your throat and you die! Gods can die. I hope you die! I hope you die!!"
"Stop." The man with the brown headband said as he held the ponytail man by the shoulder.
"Unhand me!" The ponytail man said as he shrugged off the man with the headband's grip.
"KIORRA! YES, I CALLED YOU BY YOUR NAME! SHOW YOUR FACE!" The man with the ponytail said as he shook his fist again, "YOU ORDERED US TO TURN AGAINST OUR OWN AND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE US TO DIE?! SHOW YOUR FACE RIGHT NOW!!!"
"You dare summon me like this, mortal?" Kiorra asked as his face manifested in the sky which darkened it and struck fear into the hearts of many Tageiras.
"Yes, i dare!" The man with the ponytail said, "You made us fight and kill our own and now you want to leave us to die?! After what you made us do, you want to leave us to die?!!"
Despite the level of disrespect from the human, Kiorra's face showed no emotion.
"I'm talking to you, you overgrown wolf." The man with the ponytail said, "We are all going to die but at this point, it's nothing more than we deserve. And if you are going to kill me for my words, go ahead, i've got nothing to lose.
But i just want you to know that i curse you! I curse you! You are not a god, you are a devil! A gluttonous bloodthirsty devil, and i am done worshipping you! So go ahead and kill me if you want! I don't care!!"
"...As you wish." Kiorra said.
The ponytail began to rapidly tremble and held his own throat as he could feel a tightening around his neck. The others watched in fear as the ponytail man levitated while choking and before their eyes, the man bursts into a pile of ash, leaving the Tageiras dumbed with horror.
"Now as for the rest of you, since you have failed to do as i ordered, you will die at the hands of the other tribes." Kiorra said to the Tageiras, "This forest will become a grave for you and your children. Consider this as your punishment."
The skies returned to normal as Kiorra had vanished, filling the air with so much silence. Among the humans, a red haired Tageira woman struggled to bottle her tears while exuding her aura but with the situation being too much for her, the woman fell on all fours and wailed heavily. Shortly after, the children and the babies followed in crying while the teenage and adult Tageiras watched in sadness.
"This is truly the end." The Tageira man with the brown headband said within.
Cloud's heart melted watching the scene and Cloud turned his face away with his eyes closed.
"Damnit." Cloud said.
"What's wrong? Cannot stomach a few tears?" Kiorra asked.
"They needed you." Cloud said, "They served you faithfully and did all that you ordered even the heinous ones, but when they were at their lowest, you abandoned them."
"They failed to do as i commanded so this was their punishment." Kiorra replied, "But i will confess, my judgement was a little harsh on them."
"A little?" Cloud asked.
"A little." Kiorra said, "But just as all seemed lost, hope glimmered for your ancestors. By coincidence, he appeared."
Another scene plays as the great sage Roku stood in front of the Tageiras.
"Him?" Cloud asked in a surprised manner as he recalled his first time meeting Roku (chapter 36).
"Yes, him. One of the great sages, Roku. One who claims to be a servant of mine but his actions says otherwise just like the others." Kiorra said, "He has played a huge part in the life of your ancestors and your life as well.
He is the reason your ancestors lived. At first, they thought he had arrived to kill them but Roku knew their hearts assured them he meant no harm."
"Fret not, humans, for I have come in peace." Roku said to the Tageiras.
"W-who are you?" A female Tageira asked.
"I am Roku and i am one of the great sages." Roku said as he bowed himself.
"Great sages?" A male Tageira asked.
"Yes." Roku answered.
"After conversing with them and learning their story, Roku offered them a chance to be saved." Kiorra said.
"A new beginning?" A blond male Tageira asked.
"Yes, a chance to start anew. A new life." Roku said.
"But why? Why would you do this for us?" The male Tageira with the brown headband asked.
"From the stories told of the Tageiras, you are not as heartless as they say. Perhaps this generation isn't, and you have shown remorse." Roku said, "There is a saying that there is always a second chance for the living, for those who truly want to change. Only the dead are denied those chances."
"We do not deserve any chance. We do not deserve any mercy." The red haired Tageira woman that wailed said, "We have so much blood on our hands. So much on our clothing.
In our road, we have destroyed many that were deserving and countless that weren't . This new life you offer is a future too bright for us."
"And what about the children?" Roku asked, "Yes, this new life is undeserving for you but what about them? Is it undeserving for them? They have shed no blood. Should the children suffer for the sins of their fathers and the evil doings of their mothers? Do you not believe they deserve a better life? A new future and one with their families in it?"
"We have robbed countless children of their futures." A Tageira man with brown mohawk said.
"I am aware." Roku said, "If i am to judge for your actions, for all the unjust killings you have done, you do not deserve to live.
What i am simply doing is tampering justice with mercy. I have seen your hearts, but if you still believe you deserve to be punished then use this new life i am offering as your form of punishment. A lesson so that the next generation and the generation after can learn of the life you and predecessors once lived.
In a few minutes, the ones that are after you will arrive and none of you are in any shape to fight them. These are people filled with so much vengeance and they will stop at nothing until they have destroy you and your children; people from the Dreygars, the Kenars, the Tenplars, the Bi'krus, the Ski kipars, the Graundars and the Ripars.
You have this one chance and you won't get another, so make the choice."
The Tageiras stared at Roku for a while and glanced at their children.
"This new life, how do you intend to give it to us?" The redhead female Tageira asked.
"By alteration." Roku answered while smiling, "I will simply make some changes with the minds and history of this world; the Tageiras will be no more but you will live."
"You can do that? Does such a power truly exist?" The man with the brown headband asked.
"There are many things you can do with kan that you mortals are unaware of." Roku said, "One of the things required for this ritual is that you mortals must cut ties with Kiorra. I do not have the power to break the covenant made by your predecessors but i can dull it, and for that to happen, you must cast away your power, your identities, everything that makes you a Tageira and this must be done willingly."
"Do you accept?" Roku asked as his eyes glowed
The Tageiras unanimously nodded which made Roku smile.
"Very well."
Roku spreads his arms wide and created an enormous blue barrier covered the entire forest. Meanwhile the majors that were hunting after the Tageiras paused and were stunned as they took notice of the blue barrier.
"What is this?" A blonde female Dreygar asked.
White particles hovered around the Tageiras and they immediately took noticed of different scenes playing within the blue barrier.
"What are those?" A little girl asked.
"Different lives. Different choices. Different realities." Roku answered, "I am creating your new life. Your new beginning. This alteration is a technique that can only be used by a sage once in a millennium. Do not waste it."
"Now..." Roku said as large white portal appeared on the ground, "I want you to focus on the portal. Focus and feed it your power, your identity, all of it. Those that are with the babies, link your power with theirs and feed them to the portal."
The Tageiras closes their eyes and each of their respective auras were being sucked into the portal.
"To create something new, the old must be left behind." Roku said, "The life you lived as the Tageiras is gone. The life you lived as destroyers is buried."
"Feed it all. Feed it all! Cast them all away! Feed it all!!" Roku said as the Tageiras auras that were being sucked into the portal grew bigger, "Asagath Rigam By'u! Asagath Rigam Nayugi! Asagath Rigam..."
"TA'ASAGAR!!!" Roku said with a deepened voice as his eyes glowed.
A huge blue beam shot into the sky and created a storm in every corner of different realms.
"I could have killed them there. I could have killed them for daring to tamper with the covenant but I chose not to." Kiorra said, "They made their choice. A choice to live powerlessly than to die with power. Roku had warped fate and created in the mind of this world that the Tageiras were destroyed both in the war and by those that sought their lives.
With no people left to rule and with nothing left to do than to remain chained in that accursed island, i returned to my slumber. But before i did that, i decided to watch for a few days and see how they will live their lives."
"They chose to live as hunters." Kiorra said as little boy used a slingshot to kill a hare, "They created new cultures, new sayings, new festivals."
"This was their new life." Kiorra said as the man with the brown mohawk was carrying a deer on his shoulders, "The people of Ugathir were no more. The same could be said for the Tageiras. This was a new tribe... The Stormwind tribe, and they lived their lives as a form of redemption and punishment."
Another scene plays as Roku and the man with the brown headband were walking and conversing.
"We cannot thank you enough for all you have done for us." The man with the brown headband said, "Just as all seemed lost, you came and showed us a new way. Though we do not deserve it and but we are grateful."
"This new life of yours will be filled with the dangers the people of Ugathir once faced. You will be defenseless against those with kan." Roku said.
"We are aware and we won't make the same mistake our predecessors made." The man with the brown headband said.
"I see." Roku said as he glanced at the man, "There is something else you should know and remember: the covenant between your people and Kiorra is not broken, only dulled. It's just like using milk of the wylderin cub to dull the agony of an injured man. The pain will cease but the wound will still be there, that's the situation between your people and Kiorra.
If any of your people decides to reignite the covenant, the power of Kiorra will awaken within the person and little by little, as generations come and go, the Tageiras will be reborn."
"That will not happen. No one will dare." The man with the brown headband said as he glanced at Roku with a scowl, "I will make sure that island is heavily guarded with han stones and warn my people of the consequences for going to that island."
"Very well." Roku said as he resumes facing forward, "I must be going now. There are many things i must attend to."
"Wait." The man with the brown headband said before Roku could take off.
"I just want you to know that if you ever want to visit, then you are welcome anytime and day. This is the word of I Kenuel, chief of the Stormwind tribe." Kenuel said with a smile which made Roku smile back at him.
After watching the past of his tribe, Cloud stared in amazement and wonder.
"He always there for us." Cloud said softly, "He even told me he held me as a baby. But something isn't right. If the covenant was dulled then why do i have kan? How am i your other half?"
Kiorra instantly chuckled at the question of Cloud.
"Oh little boy, always groping in the dark, "The person that reignited the covenant with me and made you my other half... Was your mother."
"What?" Cloud said in unbelief.
Kiorra quickly plays a scene of Cloud's mother, Marida, kneeling in the dark forest with her baby raised high in her hands.
"Please, save my child! Please!!!" Marida said as tears were flowing out of her eyes.