A Greater Threat (29)

It's been three years since the man known as Z and the now imprisoned former Knight Casey have been defeated.

Airson had just recently turned nineteen. He was one of the more popular Knights, now that he's been in the Omega Squadron for a while now.

Same goes for Nigel.

Airson was walking home from the market. He had picked up some fresh fish and vegetables for dinner that night.

He reached his home. It was a large luxurious mansion that came with a huge garden that was tended to by his servants.

He took it all in. "So much has changed..."

Airson walked down the short concrete path leading to the double wooden doors.

He went inside. "I'm home."

Miraka met him by the door and took the bags of food. "Welcome home!" she greeted.

Ever since Airson bought this new house three years ago, Miraka has been living with him. She claims it's because "he wouldn't know what to do all by himself," but she's been a great help. She has her own room and everything. Miraka's also a wonderful cook.

Airson walked through the front living room through a long hallway into the kitchen. Miraka set the bags on the table.

Pachi turned around from the sink to get the ingredients prepared. She was helping with dinner.

Pachi also lived with Airson, for about a year now actually. She was sixteen now, and she really grew a lot over the past few years.

Most people would probably tell you that she looked older than what she was. Staying with Niwea's family taught her a wide array of skills, from house chores like cooking and cleaning to fighting with spears and staffs. But Pachi had no interest in fighting. She just wanted to live peacefully with Airson, but she didn't tell him that.

"Dinner should be ready in an hour or so." Miraka said.

Airson walked to his room, which was probably near the size of his old house by itself. He took off his outside clothes and put on a white t-shirt and shorts. He laid back on his bed and closed his eyes for a moment.

After about ten minutes of relaxing, the doorbell rang.

Airson slowly got out of bed. "Who could that be?" he said.

He walked out and went to the door. He opened it up to see a Royal Guard member awaiting him. He knew this man by now, his name was Barras.

"Yo Barras, what's going on?"

Barras bowed slightly then gave Airson a friendly salute. "Hey Airson, sorry to interrupt you if you were busy or anything, but I'm just here to deliver a message from Her Majesty."

He handed him a scroll that was held closed by a satin blue ribbon with silver ends.

"Oh, uh, thanks." Airson told him.

Barras gave him another bow then walked off to his horse-drawn carriage and left.

Airson closed the door and walked back toward his room.

"What's that you got there?" Miraka asked. She noticed the scroll in his hands.

"Barras told me it's a message from the Queen, it's probably important." Airson took it to his room and shut the door.

He sat on his bed and unraveled the message. This is what it said:

>*Greetings, Airson. This message is being sent to you, and only you.*

*As my number one ranked Knight of the First Order, and as a good friend of mine, I am sure that I can trust you with this information.*

*As many have probably noticed, I have strayed away from the public eye for some time.*

*The reason being that I have been bearing a child.*

*As of right now, the only souls that know about the baby is you, myself, and a select few under my direct watch.*

*At this point, you must be thinking, "Well who is the father?", and that's the issue here.*

*This baby has no father.*

*You might not have known this but I am of partial goddess blood.*

*When a baby is born without the need of a male's sperm, the baby will always be born a pureblooded goddess.*

*I have named her Athena.*

*She was born with a Saint's Blessing, meaning that she has an extraordinary healing power that can be compared to none.*

*When a goddess is born with a Saint's Blessing, all of the other gods alive will feel the new presence.*

*This wouldn't be a problem normally, but the Seventh Order holds dangerous gods that need the power of a Saint's Blessing to heal their ruler, the Goddess of Night, Nyx.*

*If they get a hold of my child, the world as we know it will undoubtedly end.*

*I assume that they will send some of their strongest gods.*

*As Queen of the Country of Arbok, I, Emilia, beg of you to the utmost of my ability to do everything in your power to protect this child.*

*Absolutely no one else can know of this.*

*You are the only person to have knowledge of the situation to this extent.*

*I hope you do your best, not just for me, but for the world.*

*Sincerely, Queen Emilia.<*

Airson dropped the scroll when he was done reading it.

He got up and started quickly pacing his room back and forth, deep in his thoughts.

"What in the world is going on right now?" he said to himself. "A goddess? Born? Now? The Seventh Order? Gods? The world ending? It's just too much right now."

Airson eventually calmed down. He took a deep breath. "Okay, Airson, you got this. It's just the world at stake here, nothing too crazy. Just do your best like the Queen asked you."

Airson's never seen the Queen humble herself this much, so he knew it was serious.

Far away, in the underworld of Olympia, Nyx sat in her throne blindfolded - she had no eyes.

Her face was hidden in the shadows.

She called to her servant. "Bring me those two."

The servant obediently fetched the two she called for.

Soon, two gods walked into her presence.

They bowed on one knee. "My Lord." they both said in unison.

"I know you felt it. The Saint's Blessing. You two are to retrieve it for me."

The two gods put their fist over their chest. "Yes. My Lord."

Nyx smiled. "Anuk, God of Darkness, and Anubis, God of Death. You two are two of the strongest warriors in my possession. I expect you to do well. Off you go."

Anuk and Anubis stood up immediately. "Right away!" they said with a booming voice.

They left the room.

Nyx laid back in her throne. "I need these eyes to heal. Or else I can't fully conquer this world."

"Airson!! Your food is ready! Come eat it before it gets cold!" Miraka called down the hall.

Airson straightened himself up. "Coming!" he called back.

He went to the dining table.

Pachi had her head held high, you could tell she was proud of herself.

There was a spread on the table.

Cooked fish, rice, vegetables, bread rolls, you name it.

Airson sat down to enjoy his food. "Thanks for the meal!" he said.

He grabbed his fork and dug in.

Miraka and Pachi both stared at him intently, hoping that he'd like the food they prepared.

He noticed their gaze. He almost choked from laughing. "Relax, it's delicious, you two need to eat too. Dig in!"

The girls looked at each other and smiled. They sat down. "Thank you for the food!" they both said politely, before digging in as well.

Airson watched them eat. "Well?" he asked them.

"Delicious!" they said together.