Hero of Darkness

Devastation washed over Brutus as he learned how his name was etched in the annals of history.

'Brutus the Coward.' The weight of this title struck at his pride and psyche in the most shameful and hurtful way. A man of pride, he couldn't fathom how things had taken such a turn.

For a brief moment, he was left in disarray, grappling with the reality that instead of being hailed as a liberator or a hero who did what was necessary, the world deemed him a traitor. The burden of this ignominious label weighed heavily on Brutus, casting a shadow over the very ideals and aspirations he had once fought for.

"Is that true? Is what you said the absolute truth?" he asked Kahn with a desperate look on his countenance.

Kahn in response, nodded silently.

"Why should I believe you?! All of this could be an illusion!" rebuked the Necromancer Hero.

BOOM!!

But the very next second, Kahn let out his true aura of darkness. Gasp!

"This!... This aura is exactly the same as the 7th Hero of Darkness, Darius Ashborne." spoke Marcus Brutus as he gasped in disbelief.

"Oh, so that was his name. Well, it's been a long time since then." said Kahn who was still in his real human appearance.

"I'm the 9th Hero of Darkness, Kahn Salvatore." he introduced himself.

"I was summoned to Vantrea 6 years ago. I have been in the Nadur Empire, the one you knew as the Falkor Empire, for the past 1 year." he iterated with a stern look.

"You… What are you doing here? I don't think any empire or even gods would allow a coalition between 2 chosen Heroes.

So what the hell are you doing inside Hesperides, precisely in the peninsula of Babylon created by God of Nature at that?" he asked quickly to Kahn with an intrigued expression.

Kahn did not hold back and told him how circumstances forced him to enter Babylon this way to save his own life.

Even Marcus was taken aback after hearing how fate had brought Kahn inside this place.

"So a lot happened in the outside world ever since I was stuck here." spoke Brutus with a contemplative countenance.

Next, it was Kahn who asked the question…

"Tell me something. How come you've been trapped here for the past 700 years?

To my knowledge, no empire would abandon their hero inside Hesperides during the Conclave of Heroes." To his query, Brutus did not see any point in hiding for some reason.

"I'm here thanks to a fault of my own.

And if what that lionkin said is right, then there must have been an uprising in the Falkor Empire when the Conclave of Heroes was happening back then.

And as per my memory, the Emperor and the Abbot of Falkor Empire were also with us here.

They probably went back to Falkor to fight the uprising and died there." he hypothesized.

"That's understandbale." said Kahn in a soft tone.

"But what did you do to deserve such solitary damnation that made you stay here for 700 years?" asked Kahn curiously.

Kahn could understand what happened outside when the Beastkin races had rose up against Humans who enslaved them and thrown them away as the ruling power of the Beast empire. But what he did not understand why was Marcus Brutus, the 7th Hero of Nature who chose amazing Divine Abilities such as Necromancy and Visionary's Reality was condemned there.

"It's because during the trial I had to face inside Babylon… I committed a taboo." spoke Marcus.

"My trial was different than this one you have faced.

It was more about completing nigh impossible tasks that would make one question their own sense of justice and morality.

After a lot of days and nonstop efforts, I managed to reach the final part of the trial.

However, it required me to do something I never thought of." he divulged a harsh memory of the past.

"In the final test… There were four altars in front of us. Each required the sacrifice of a saint who had a particular element.

And there weren't just 6 of us back then… there were 10." he spoke with a somber tone.

Stunned!

Kahn was stunned after hearing this.

"So you sacrificed the lives of your own party members?" he asked.

"Yes, I did so regrettably. I used my divine abilities to capture and sacrifice them to those altars to succeed in the trial.

Back then, I told myself it was for the greater good." spoke Brutus with an ashamed expression.

His expression then turned that of a guilty and apologetic man.

"I told myself that I needed to succeed in the trial so that I could become strong enough to kill the Demon God and save this world, like I was supposed to.

And to do so, I had to make a great sacrifice." he revealed. "But I realized later that it was just an excuse I used to justify my cruelty against my own comrades. That I took the easiest route."

"Hmph!" scoffed Kahn.

"If I was in your place, I would have never done so.

I would have rather died with them than use their lives as means to advance in my own ambition.

And trust me… I'm the type who barely trusts other people." said Kahn in an admonishing tone.

Marcus nodded and chuckled sarcastically.

"You're correct. That is what I should have done." he spoke and his shoulders slumped down.

"After completing the trial and entering the God's Altar… I met the God of Nature.

But contrary to my belief, that I did what I had to do for the greater good… The God of Nature thought otherwise." he iterated solemnly.

"He then told me that the last part of the trial was a test that I had to overcome as a Chosen Hero.

Instead of sacrificing my comrades, I should have offered my own life since I was the Hero of Nature with maximum affinity to all those 4 elements in the first place.

The trial was designed so that my character would be tested and also offer me an opportunity to become a different man, a true hero... not by name but by conviction." revealed the 7th Hero of Nature.

After hearing those words, Kahn spoke…

"I guess that trial gave you an opportunity to receive redemption for betraying and killing Julius Ceasar who was once your friend and your comrade in arms.

Yet you made a similar choice by sacrificing others in the name of the greater good for the world and betrayed them just like you did with Ceasar, saying that it was for the good of Rome." he declared his honest opinion.

Only a sense of regret and face full of tears was revealed in the next moment as Brutus started to give up.

"You are correct. I had a chance to change into a better man. But I chose the same path even in this life." he spoke with great regret in his voice.

"Instead of becoming the Savior, I chose to become the Sinner."