MLTNO P4- "Shadows Of Doubt"

"Shadows Of Doubt" is the fourth and penultimate Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Noble One". It was released on 15.09.2020.
== Plot ==
Jared, Devin and Akari travel to the city of Paris, where our hero explains how he came to know about Dorikas and how dangerous he really is, endangering the safety of the world even further.
Although Devin is very honest about his intentions and desire to kill the man that he accidentally helped with his foolish actions all by himself, Jared and Akari are very doubtful whether the young man can do it, unsure if he can defeat such a powerful foe and its allies all alone.
In the end, Jared makes the hard decision whether to help Devin understand the truth or not, something that really helps the young man understand the true meaning of friendship.
Meanwhile, Dorikas watches the youths curiously, patiently planning his next move.
== Story ==
Jared, Devin and Akari enter the portal that leads to the city of Paris and soon find themselves on the attic of the Kaos residence.
Or, at least, what is left of it. The hostile Vahnatai have devastated a very large part of it. It will take a long time to be restored to its former glory.
The three children go upstairs.
"So. You promised to tell us more about Dorikas."- Devin reminds Jared- "Can you please get on with that?"
Those words make Akari snap. She points her weapon at Devin's chest.
"You're pushing your luck, kid!"- She yells- "Jared's the one who will ask you questions, not the other way around. So, I will ask you to do something for us- keep your mouth shut. Be a good boy and everything will be alright. Gotcha?!"
Devin nods and bows down.
"I'm sorry!"- He says- "I am so sorry, Ms. Minamino! I didn't mean to be such an annoyance! I will make up for it, I promise!"
Jared taps Akari's shoulder. When she turns around, he slaps her on the face.
As she stumbles back, he shakes his head angrily.
"Akari, I warned you about this many years ago and I will say it again- this is not how you treat a friend!"- He yells- "Friends are supposed to be respected, loved, shown the errors in their ways in a peaceful way, not be yelled at and made uncomfortable!"
Akari looks at Jared, guilt burning in her eyes.
"But Jared!"- She tries to defend herself- "Devin did something very wrong! You shouldn't trust hi-- "
"Oh, I do trust him, mind you! I trust him a lot!"- He interrupts her- "Unlike you, I can see Devin's honesty in his eyes. Although he has made mistakes in the past, and has paid a great price for them, he is not a bad boy! And, unlike you, I trust him in helping us defeat the evil man who roams the lands of Avernum and tries to build an army."
He turns to Devin and smiles warmly.
"I am sorry for my friend's behavior, Devin. Sometimes, she is very mistrustful and doesn't trust someone she hasn't met before immediately, but I assure you- once she warms up to you, she will be a very trusted ally. And I am sure that you will see that."- He says.
He turns back to Akari and looks down.
"And to you Akari, I say sorry for acting so hostile."
He looks up and gently touches the spot on Akari's cheek where he slapped her a minute ago. Akari blushes.
"I am so sorry for slapping you and yelling at you. Sometimes, I become very angry and I cannot control my own body. I... really, really regret it afterwards. And I take all the blame for it!"
He takes a step back and turns his face to the left.
"So, I want you to slap me back!"- He says- "Don't hesitate. I know how much you want to do it! Go ahead!"
Akari stares at him for a few seconds, unsure what to do. Then, she hugs him.
"I would never hurt my friend in any way."- She says- "Even though you slapped me and yelled at me, I understood that well. And I forgive you for that."
"I know that you wanted to defend Devin and that he is your friend, despite the fact that you barely know each other. I know about your way of honor, how you always think that every person should be treated with calmly and equally, no matter if they are a friend... or a foe. And you know what? I totally respect that. Not just because you're my friend, but because you are someone who is wiser than myself, someone who has seen many kinds of people, fought many foes in the name of Light and Order and saved many lives from the clutches of evil, many more than I ever would."
She lets go of Jared and turns to Devin.
"As for you, Devin, I apologize for acting like a jerk and mistreating you for something that you didn't do willingly, something that you were forced to do and didn't have the chance to process. I promise that I will treat you better and regard you as a friend. I will even help you see the right way and go forward. I promise that!"
Devin smiles and shakes Akari's hand.
"Ms. Minamino, I would never hate you for this!"- He responds- "I will always respect you for saving my life from that ruffian, and my desire to prove my loyalty to you will always win against my doubts regarding our relationship."
Akari smiles back and looks at Jared.
"So, Mr. Hero of Avernum. The kid asked you a question and I hope that you have an answer for it."
Jared nods and smiles.
"I promised that I would tell you about Dorikas."- He says- "And I am a man of my word. So, here we go."
The three of them sit on the ground, where Jared starts to speak about who Dorikas really is.
"Most of this information was given to me by my grandpa, so it might be outdated. However, one thing is for sure. Dorikas is a powerful and crafty foe, who is always looking for ways to succeed in his plan to get his revenge on Avernum and take the throne, the place where the mighty and wise Emperor Redmark sits and rules the Empire. Although I think that this quest for revenge will most likely end with his inevitable demise."
"From what I know, Dorikas was once a Dervish in the Empire Army. He was stationed in the city of Formello. At first, he respected the people of Avernum and helped them out- a sign of the honor that he had in his heart back then. However, his heart was tainted by the darkness when he realized how weak the Empire had become, how dependant it was to the outside forces. And saw Avernum as the main cause of this calamity, the main problem that made him lose his mind."
"And so, he decided to flee Formello and go into a more secluded place- the Northern Frontier, where he could develop his plan to destroy Avernum and bring back the old ways of the Empire, despite the mixed thoughts of its citizens. He recruited mercenaries, bored soldiers, mischievous thugs and other such rabble, in an attempt to take over the frontier. Once he had enough power, he invaded Empress Prazac's palace and attempted to assassinate her. However, this attempt proved to be futile and the Empress survived this cowardly attempt of assassination."
"Once Dorikas and his remaining assassins escaped the palace, the Empire decided to send some of its own assassins to kill Dorikas... and one of them was my grandfather- Lethal Kaos. Led by him throughout the whole adventure, the five of them eventually found Dorikas and killed him, ending the tyrannical rule of the Darkside Loyalists. Or so the people of Avernum thought."
"Although they had no leader left to guide them, the Darkside Loyalists remained intact and spread havoc in Avernum, trying to take it down for good. Unfortunately, none of those attempts were successful and soon, those remnants of the mighty enemy were taken care of by ambitious adventurers and mercenaries. The Loyalists were kept weak and divided... until now."
"Now, I can see how everything will go. Dorikas will find the remnants of his army and unite them, possibly taking out a large part of Avernum's human and humanoid population and causing irreversible damage, both physically and emotionally, to the poor. unfortunate residents of Avernum."
He sighs.
"And that is the end of the story."
Akari looks very shocked by what she just heard, barely believing those words.
"So. Dorikas was once... a Dervish? An honorable man?"- She says, fear choking her tone- "And this means that... it can happen to every single person, no matter how good or bad they are?"
Jared nods.
"Unfortunately, yes."- He responds- "No one is invulnerable to the darkness in the heart. We all have our demons, and if we fail to keep them under control, well... "
He shakes his head.
"No. We must not think about that."- He adds- "We must keep fighting and either save the world from evil or die trying, as true heroes. Until the very end."
Akari nods. Devin looks even guiltier than before.
"Mr. Kaos, I am very sorry for dragging you into this mess."- He says- "The fault for helping Dorikas is entirely mine. And I want to redeem myself in front of all the people that I have wronged."
He pulls his sword out and looks at it.
"By defeating this ancient evil. Alone."
He walks downstairs, approaching the door that leads to the outside world.
"I don't trust him."- Akari whispers to Jared- "He may look confident, but I'm sure that he won't survive a fight against Dorikas and his all army. Not all alone."
She sighs.
"But I don't want to stop him from trying."- She continues- "If he wants to be a fool, let him be a fool. It's his fight, not ours."
She grabs his hand.
"Come on. Let's get out of here. Only the two of us."
Jared does not listen. Instead, he lets go of Akari's hand and hurries down stairs, grabbing Devin's arm before he can open the door.
"Devin, I am afraid that I cannot let you fight this madman alone."- He says solemnly.
Devin looks at him sadly.
"It's because you don't trust me, isn't it Mr. Kaos?"- He says- "It's because you know that I will die and try to stop me. Isn't it?"
Jared nods.
"Maybe it is. Maybe I don't trust you and worry about your well-being."- He responds- "But I am doing it mostly because we don't fight such an enemy alone."
"This... is not the way of a Hero."
Devin raises his eyebrow.
"I... I don't understand, Mr. Kaos."- He says.
Jared sighs.
"Do you remember the Codex of the Hero, Devin? It has one rule that is very important to heroes and commoners alike. And it says: "Never go on a dangerous mission without a friend whom you can trust and rely on.". Friends always support each other and fight against the enemy together. That is what makes us heroes special- the fact that we have friends who always have our backs."
He turns back to Akari and smiles warmly.
"Isn't that right, my friend."
Akari nods and smiles.
"It's an oath that we silently make when we become friends."- She says- "We always think about each other and fight side by side, not fearing anything... and anyone."
She turns to Devin.
"And I believe that you feel the same, Devin. You won't ditch your friends, just to fight a very powerful foe and try to be a hero. Right?"
Devin looks at Akari. For a few moments, his brain tries to process all the things that have just been said to him. He tries to understand the danger that he is willigly putting himself in.
Having finally come to a conclusion, he steps away from the door and sighs.
"You're both right, Mr. Kaos, Ms. Minamino."- He says quietly- "Friends must always be respected... and trusted. And, if we are to win against our common enemy, we must trust each other and fight side by side."
Jared and Akari smile.
"Now that we have settled this minor issue, how about we go outside for a while?"- Jared says- "We can take a long break and talk about the great problem that Paris is currently facing.
Devin and Akari both raise their eyebrows.
"Great problem?"- Devin asks.
"But... but you never told us!"- Akari exclaims- "What in the world do you mean by that?!"
Jared sighs.
"It is a long story. And it includes hostile creatures that are known as Vahnatai."
He sighs again.
"I will tell you everything, but only if we go outside first. I... have the feeling that we are being watched."
Devin and Akari nod and leave with Jared, leaving the remains of the Kaos residence behind them.
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Meanwhile, Dorikas watches the residence from the orb in his room and smiles. It looks like Jared is right, after all!
"How interesting."- He says to himself- "Vahnatai? And they aren't... friendly to the citizens of Paris?"
He looks at his right window, at the Abyss.
"Although they might be hostile to humans, maybe they can be good allies. For the right price of course."
He looks at the door that leads out of his room.
"And I think that I can make it happen. Those creatures might prove to be valuable in my conquest of the lands of Avernum... and the world above."
He approaches the door and grins.
"Looks like I have something important to do now."- He says- "Something that will help me establish my dominion about this foolish world, once... and for all!"
He laughs aloud, his mind filled with all kinds of insane and deranged thoughts and leaves the room.