Zephyr: The Elemental Clans

189.1 - Love, Lies & Betrayal (Part 1)

*Thirty Years Ago*

Seraphim Zephyr the Third - POV;

I bent over at my desk as I scoured the manuscripts, pages and notes laid out over it. How long had I been engrossed in these words? An hour? Two hours? Five hours? I couldn't tell. I had lost track of the time completely but it didn't matter to me at that moment. Fifteen years ago I had made a grave error; one which I had long forgotten but which rose up to haunt me suddenly like a ghost of my past. What was that mistake? Handing over a weapon of world-ending proportions to our enemy...

"Dear?" Sophia called out to me as she peered into my office.

"Is something wrong?" I questioned without sparing a single glance in her direction.

"You bet there is," she huffed, walking over to me and hugging me from behind, "You've locked yourself away in here for the past two weeks only appearing for dinner and immediately resting before waking up to start the cycle again. Incendio and Kristæl are missing their father. I'm worried about your health too."

"I'm sorry Sophia but I can't afford to relax. Not now. This is my fault. I handed the Gladius over to Serena and Vardain. Now, with them both killed, the whereabouts of that sword are unknown. If it falls into the wrong hands, it will spell disaster for life as we know it," I muttered.

"Come on, Seraphim. You are stretching yourself too thin," my wife continued as she lay her head on the back of my neck, "You are the leader of this clan. The Regulus of Zephyr himself. Dyer has sworn his life in service to you. Aero heads Zephyr's forces of great warriors under your decree. You can depend on us too. You don't have to save the world from everything on your own. You already have the duty passed down by your forefathers to keep Zephyrus' powers sealed or it could destroy everything. Now you want to find this sword before it can destroy everything... You're the greatest man I know Seraphim, but you're still human. You can't kill yourself over everything. Your people need you. Your sons need you. I need you."

A prolonged silence washed over me as I considered her words. They bore much truth. That I could not deny. However, reality was not so simple.

"My father and forefathers have attempted to move that blade for centuries; to plunge it into the furthest depths of the Earth where it could never see the light once more. Every time the outcome was the same: the moment they lay their fingers on that coffin, their very soul was ripped from their bodies. Yet, I was able to carry that box without consequence right into that conniving woman's hands. Dyer lay his arm on the coffin as I lifted it and was not further harmed. Then, when the remains of the coffin washed up along the border of our influence, those curiously researching it showed impeccable health. Why is this?" I proposed the question.

"Why did the coffin not hurt anyone now? Hmm. Why's that? You seem to have figured it out," she assumed accurately.

"Personas are an exaggerated reflection of us... taking certain aspect of our person and running wild with it. The Draco Diabolus Gladius craves blood and the weapon knows it. It's almost sentient. We've seen the Devil at work. He isn't one to be taken lightly. Wrong him and this world could cease to exist. There is no one that can stand up to him. Our family has long feared Zephyrus as the most pertinent threat, but he does not come close to that thing. They never saw him, but I have. Now then, think of the potential hidden in the weapon forged from his being. In the wrong hands, the Gladius will spell a fate no different from crossing the Devil himself," I muttered.

"Okay... but that doesn't explain the coffin," she pondered aloud, "Besides, it's not like if anyone could use the sword. Look what it did to Dyer."

"I was just about to get into both of those points actually," I told her, " It was never the coffin which killed, but the blade inside it. The Gladius' sentience grants it an intelligent mind. It knew the intentions of those wishing to starve it of blood and extended its powers to the coffin in an attempt to protect itself. However, for whatvever reason, the Gladius responded to me laying my hand on the box. The weapon suppressed its fatal tendency, allowing its morbid case to revert into a harmless object once more. It knew. It was aware that I was preparing to deliver it to one that would satisfy its brutal needs."