The Soul Engine Ch. 8 (Original Fantasy) (Patreon)

A/N: Mikael finds out all about what it means to be a Summoned Hero. Its not good news.

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All but vibrating with excitement, Thayla seems to need a moment to prepare herself… and then she launches right into her explanation.

“Long ago, Vaclatora was not the mostly civilized place it is now. It was-!”

“Vaclatora being the world you’re standing on, Mikael.”

Avina’s voice suddenly cuts in, her dry tone slicing right through Thayla’s words and forcing the female knight to fall silent for a moment. A blush spreads across the white-haired woman’s pretty face as she coughs delicately.

“Err… right. Yes, apologies Sir Hero, I forgot for a moment that you were not of this world. Stupid of me, considering the circumstances.”

Mikael just shrugs to show he takes no offense and gestures with his empty hand for her to continue, still holding her sword in the other. At the same time, he files the name ‘Vaclatora’ away in his head alongside all of the other information he’s learned so far. He’s in the City of Alether, ruled by a Lord Zadicus Quinn, located within the Kingdom of Ocreatha, which is neighbors with something called the Zuverian Empire. And now he knows that all of that is on the planet Vaclatora.

Is it a little weird that people in a fantasy world have a name for their world? Maybe, maybe not. Mikael honestly can’t say for sure and he’s too busy listening to Thayla to spend too long pondering it.

“Thousands of years ago, before the Zuverian Empire, before the Kingdom of Ocreatha, before anything… Vaclatora was a savage and untamed place, filled with dangers and horrors beyond our imagining. Or so the records we have of those times say. Even worse than the Savage Lands of the modern era.”

Mikael furrows his brow at that, while Avina rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to speak. But to her credit, Thayla catches herself all on her own this time, perking up and quickly expounding before Avina can once again cut her off.

“T-The Savage Lands are the lands beyond the Zuverian Empire, Sir Hero. It is there that the orc tribes roam and there that the Empire fights constantly to maintain it’s borders. The Savage Lands are not controlled by any one entity, hence their name. However, even they are nothing compared to what Vaclatora once was.”

Here, Avina does interject, perhaps disgruntled that she didn’t get a chance to speak up before.

“She’s not wrong… so long as the records are telling the truth, of course. But if they are, then yeah… Vaclatora was basically jumping from one world-shaking cataclysm to the next in those days. Kingdoms would rise and fall on the whims of monsters said to tower over mountains. Humanity was said to be constantly preyed upon. Which is partially why I sometimes wonder if the records are entirely truthful. How did we even survive to this modern day if THAT was what we were up against?”

Huffing indignantly and even puffing her cheeks out, Thayla turns her icy blue eyes towards Avina and frowns.

“I know not what records YOU have been able to peruse from this basement, ‘Soul Mechanic’… but the records of the Citadel are not to be impugned. There is no doubt in my mind that everything I read within the Citadel’s library really happened. After all, it was a Summoned Hero that established the Order of the Rose in the first place, millennia ago!”

Avina just rolls her eyes at that, curiously enough. Mikael is definitely expecting her to throw another verbal jab Thayla’s way, but instead she holds her tongue and lets Thayla continue.

“Through those records, I can say beyond a shadow of a doubt how exactly it was that humanity survived to this day and age. It was the Summoned Heroes themselves, Mikael. Heroes just like you, who fought for us and defeated the monsters that plagued our world.”

That… sounded a lot like what Mikael could remember of the stories he’d read back on Earth. Where the Hero was summoned to another world in order to complete some task. And once he was done, obviously he was to be showered with accolades and adoration, and in some cases he was even able to return home.

That thought catches on Mikael’s mind, but before he can pursue it, Avina pipes up again.

“And then what happened, hm?”

Thayla shoots the raven-haired woman an annoyed look before letting out a low sigh.

“… Around a thousand years ago, something happened. Something that made Vaclatora much less… dangerous. Much more stable. There are musings on this in the records, of course. Most believe it was something the Last Hero did. Unfortunately, despite being the last major Summoned Hero, records of his existence are actually sparser than records of those who came before him, irritating as it is. So it’s all conjecture. But the point remains… a thousand years ago, Vaclatora stopped needing Summoned Heroes.”

Huh. That was actually pretty… cool? It sounded like this Last Hero person had done what all the others before them couldn’t. They’d finished the job and ACTUALLY saved the world. That was pretty awesome. Though, where did that leave Mikael?

“And then what happened?”

As Avina repeats her question, clearly enjoying pressuring Thayla on this matter, the white-haired knight huffs again.

“Even though Vaclatora stopped needing Summoned Heroes… that didn’t stop people from summoning them all the same. The Hero Summoning Ritual wasn’t known to everyone, but it was known to enough people that its use continued to propagate. However, rulers no longer summoned heroes from other worlds in order to save their Kingdom from great calamities. Instead, they summoned them to do battle against their neighbors, to aid in conquest or to defend against it.”

Here, Thayla looks down at her hands. The knight in literal shining golden armor looks almost… distraught just thinking about it. That more than anything confirmed what Mikael already suspected. She was a total Summoned Hero Fangirl, wasn’t she?

“Heroes were never meant to be used for petty things like wars between Kingdoms and Empires. They weren’t supposed to be used for conquest or expansion. It was… abusive. To both the heroes themselves and the world they were being forced to come to. So… likeminded people, such as the Order of the Rose and other righteous and just organizations… came together and put a stop to it.”

Biting her lower lip, Thayla looks at him apologetically.

“These days, most places have outlawed Hero Summoning altogether. At the very least, use of the Hero Summoning Ritual has been illegal in both the Zuverian Empire and the Kingdom of Ocreatha for hundreds of years now. The Order of the Rose has championed that cause in this part of the world, to make sure that Summoned Heroes would never again be used to wage war or abused for the sick purposes of greedy individuals like… like Lord Quinn.”

Straightening her back, Thayla lifts her head high.

“That’s why I’m here. In this city. To put an end to his crimes, once and for all. But… I can’t do it alone. This issue is clearly much larger than one knight.”

The look the armored woman gives him is very much imploring, as if she’s begging him to consider her previous offer. And to be fair, Mikael IS still considering it. He’s been considering it this entire time Thayla has been waxing on poetically about Summoned Heroes while Avina provided color commentary in the background. But now he needs to actually make a decision.

Frankly, this discussion about Summoned Heroes has given Mikael even more questions. But there’s one that needs to be answered before all the others.

“… Is Avina right? If we go to the Order of the Rose with you, what will actually happen to the two of us? Sure, I might be direct proof of that bastard Zadicus’ wrongdoing, but what is the likelihood that I’ll be killed or locked up just for being alive when I should be dead? Or even just for daring to be a Summoned Hero in a land that’s outlawed them?”

Thayla had been cringing at everything up until that last question. At that, she actually perks up and shakes her head.

“Oh! No, Sir Hero, you misunderstand something. The Order of the Rose currently has NO standing orders to lock up Summoned Heroes. None of you ask to be brought to this world, after all. You aren’t the criminals, you’re the victims! It’s not illegal to BE a Summoned Hero, only to summon one. In fact, I’m confident that my Order would be happy to take in any Summoned Hero and make sure that they were comfortable and safe, especially in a strange land like this!”

She looks so pleased with herself that parts of Mikael take great satisfaction in bursting her bubble.

“And the rest?”

At that, Thayla deflates. She looks away from both him and Avina, quiet for a moment as she collects her thoughts. Just as he’s beginning to feel impatient however, she speaks.

“… I cannot deny that the Order would want to study the thing in your chest at the very least. And of course, they would need you to stay put while they did so. I’m sure once I explained the circumstances to them, they would not unceremoniously execute either you or your… Soul Mechanic. Of course, there would have to be certain restrictions on your movement. You aren’t just a Summoned Hero, but proof of deep corruption within the Kingdom of Ocreatha’s political system. I can’t… I can’t say exactly what would happen…”

As she trails off, it becomes obvious to Mikael that she doesn’t expect her Order to let him or Avina go, even if she seems unwilling to outright say it. And if they aren’t killed for whatever the fuck Avina did to bring him back, they’ll probably be locked up for the rest of their days in this Citadel place at the very least.

Avina unknowingly agrees with his reasoning when she scoffs from off to the side, crossing her arms over her chest again.

“Oh, they won’t unceremoniously execute us, will they? But I’m sure the Order will be just fine executing us with plenty of ceremony and pageantry. Probably even through a parade in our ‘honor’.”

Avina’s dry tone and cutting words cause Thayla to flinch and fall silent, unable to meet either of their eyes. Mikael doesn’t mind too much though; it gives him a chance to think. His jaw clenches as he considers his circumstances and what HE wants for a moment.

… This is so fucked. All of it. From being yanked out of his world and into this one by some outdated, antiquated, and BANNED ritual. Then his memories get fucking bulldozed by a big bad City Lord and he’s thrust into an arena to die on the end of the blade he’s now holding in his hand. And now here he is, a killer with a device in his chest that eats souls.

What is he supposed to do? Maybe if he was a purely selfless person, with a heart of righteous gold, he’d be willing to go with Thayla to this Citadel and present himself as evidence. Let them take him into custody and do whatever they wanted to him so long as they ensured Zadicus Quinn paid for his crimes and couldn’t continue doing what he’d done to Mikael to even more helpless people from other worlds.

That would be the ‘right’ thing to do. That would be the selfless thing to do. Unfortunately… Mikael isn’t a selfless person. He’s not sure he was even before Zadicus fucked with his head, but he’s certainly not NOW. The foreign half of his brain wants to live more than anything, especially since more than a few of their memories end in their deaths. But the native half of his brain is in full agreement with the desire to survive.

He’d died once before. For real. And it fucking sucked. Setting aside that feel of the sun beating down on his face in his last moments, getting stabbed in the heart and then dying from the resulting gaping chest wound was NOT fun.

Mikael didn’t want to die again. He didn’t want to be imprisoned again either. He wanted… honestly, he didn’t know what he wanted. Except that he couldn’t do what Thayla was asking of him. There was just one thing he still needed to figure out as far as the Dame was concerned. Was she asking? Or was she going to force the issue one way or the other?

Looking at Dame Thayla Dawnguard, still holding her sword in his hand, Mikael hesitates for a moment. He can feel the foreign entities in his mind aching to run her through. And some more of them are pushing for him to execute her now than were before. Some of the more pragmatic ones are starting to agree with the more bloodthirsty ones. She’s a liability. She’s a threat. And she’s already offered him her life.

But Mikael doesn’t want to kill some defenseless woman for what she MIGHT do. And that offer of her life… it’s given him an idea.

“Dame Dawnguard.”

Jolting out of whatever internal monologue she’d had running, Thayla looks up at him, eyes wide.

“A-Ah… yes, Sir Hero?”

Lifting her sword a bit, he holds it at a slant and spends a moment inspecting it. It shines bright in the powerful teal glow still coming off of his overcharged Soul Engine.

“You offered me your life a little while ago. Did you mean that?”

Thayla’s face falls… but she slowly nods, before descending back down to her knees. This time she drops to both knees as she lowers her head and reveals her neck.

“… I did, Sir Hero. My actions remain a stain on my knightly honor that can only be erased by death. A life for a life, Sir Hero. My life… for yours.”

“Except I’m not dead. And you keep offering me your life, while seemingly asking me to kill you.”

Mikael’s nonchalant words cause Avina to jolt from off to the side while Thayla raises her head to look at him once more. Her blue eyes are wide as she stares up at him in confusion. Holding up her blade, Mikael runs a hand down the flat, humming in appreciation.

“This is a fine blade that you ran me through with, Dame Thayla. A fine blade indeed. And I find myself in need of such a blade… wielded by the knight it belongs to.”

Thayla blinks owlishly, so Mikael spells it out for her.

“You offered me your life, Thayla. NOT your death. I’d prefer you wash the stain on your honor away by service… not execution.”

He holds out his empty hand to her at that, hoping that she’ll take it. Because if she doesn’t… Mikael is already steeling himself to do what must be done. If she refuses, then he WILL have to kill her. But if she accepts, then he’ll have a fully trained knight on his side. And that… that’s the start of something, at least.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Finally got to the point where Mikael voices the decision he made back at the end of Chapter 6, heh. Some of you called it. Thayla might owe him a life, but that doesn't necessarily mean she has to DIE~

Anyways, as always I hope you guys enjoyed and please be sure to let me know what you think! Your feedback sustains me!