Devils Own ( Steam Punk Adventure ) 7.1 Finale

Part 7

The Return

7.1

Kassius stood there in bewilderment on his return to the world he once knew. He had left the world from the rear of a Hall by walking into a metal ring, He had returned by a similar ring in a dark cavern but what greeted him was different from where he had stepped before. There was no more the hall he once stepped in but a burnt down area where only three pillars stood reaching for the open sky. He looked back to the metal ring and noticed it had cracked in many place. It was propped up by the metal cables held by the hoists.

“Oh, my poor soul.” Merlin rushed forward to greet the newly arrived assassin. He was still clad in his heavy robe and with his fedora hat. The sorcerer looked fray in his torn robe, and his fedora was not spared with tear on the side.

“You made it.” Merlin exclaimed out. “Welcome back. I was advised that you have the Ark.”

The sorcerer held out his right hand for the Ark but Kassius ignored it. He stepped forth to view the sight beyond the walls. There were more rubble and collapsed walls, while in between it were people of all ages. They were clinging to their shelter while above them the sight of a dirigible flew overhead. Most of the looked wounded and there were many who were clinging onto their loved ones for the last moment of life. He saw then the wounded stepping up to the new call for volunteers to defend the Runes. Then there was the ground fire at the flying contraption, but it was ineffective at that height. The dirigible had its sides opened and explosives were rolled off to level the resistance at the ground.

“What happened here?” Irina who had followed close behind asked the older man.

“You have been away for over five years now.” Merlin explained. “Dimension crossing have their implications. What you may perceived to be weeks, could be months in the crossing.”

“When King Richard learned of your crossing, he had massed up more of his army to invade the Runes among others which are considered sacred to the people in search of the Ring. He had caused an exodus of these mis-placed people to come here to protect it. They have also heard of the Ark, and it was returning here. With that hearsay, they have flocked here despite the threats and killing. They will fight to the last to protect the Ark, which they believed will turn the tide of the war.”

“But not all is lost. While we defend here with the mass of bodies, we are preparing at other locations.” Merlin sounded out his confidence. “As we speak, we are building our own fleet of dirigibles, and weapons.”

“You are crazy.” Derreen spoke out. “Demented would be an appropriate definition. How could you sacrifice so much life on that crazy hope?”

“It’s a needed sacrifice for the future of this senseless war.” Merlin replied. “Yes, I am demented to ask them to protect what may have been a long wait, but that wait had come to an end. The Ark, please.”

Kassius reached into his bag and withdrew the Ark. He felt the weight of the quest had become heavier when he looked at the wounded and grieving families. He then saw the strangers among the people. He turned to Merlin.

“I recognized not them. Who are they?”

“Kassius, there are something you need to know. The world is no more the same when you left. We have changed. The world had changed. King Richard is now the ruler of more than you had known as the land. He now ruled over a bigger land, with numerous lieges’ under his influence.” Merlin explained.

“How could this be?” Kassius asked.

“It may be the Ark.” Merlin told him. “I had it moved when I found it had the power to shift the world events. When you moved it here, you created a new world. It thought it would bring about the downfall of Richard, but instead it built him an empire instead. Just as he had built one in the other dimension with his other self. When I came back here, I found the world had changed. I had been waiting here for you since then. I feared if I travel, I may come back to a different world much worse than this.”

“No, Merlin. You are wrong.” Kassius replied. “Richard had part of the Ark. He had used it to move the events of the World. He may had moved back in time and recreated a new world.”

Kassius looked to the Ark in his hand. He was tempted to destroy it but Merlin stopped him.

“There may be a way to put things right. We have to place the Ark back in its proper place and hopefully then, the worlds would revert to its original dimensions and courses of events would have been adjusted for better.”  Merlin told him.

“Then we have to find Noah.” Kassius told him. “It’s the only person who could control the Ark to its original course.”

End of Book 1