NOVEL NEXT Chapter 8: Repercussions
Hello Guys, Author here!
Firstly, sorry for the long ass hiatus. Annual examinations have begun… and, I don't think I need to explain it to you guys.
But! I've got good news. My book has passed the vetting and now you can vote for me.
Anyways...
As breakfast concluded, Helios kowtowed to The Emperor and took his leave, happy to see himself alive after the 'having breakfast together' eyewash with his father. To his immense relief, the emperor had already lost whatever interest he had in this particular son of his, and granted him leave with a mere wave of his hand.
Happy to have extracted himself out of that claustrophobic atmosphere, Helios headed back towards his living quarters, a small smile unconsciously tugging at the corner of his lips.
Funnily enough, in this life, meeting his father reminded him of his first interview with the chairman/owner of the school he used to work at.
And these moments when his first and second lives overlapped were crucial for him to hold on to his sanity. Otherwise a middle class guy from a third world country would simply cough up blood and then faint, or maybe even drop dead at the sheer preposterousness of the cruel tricks fate plays if he learnt of the fact that the meal he just feasted on was worth his entire annual income.
Well, everyone has their own coping mechanisms, and our MC is but a human.
Talking about Lady Fate, when her eyes fell an the small smile that graced Helios's handsome features, she decided to pull a fast one on him.
As Helios neared his rather humble residence, he saw … well, he saw something quite difficult to put to words, but I, as a diligent author, would try my best.
The wooden cottage he called his home was simply not there.
It had disappeared, without a single trace!
Confused, Helios debated for a long while if he had made a mistake with directions and had come to the wrong place. But soon he shook his head to dispel this thought.
Sure, he was not friends with directions. But that doesn't mean he was this bad. Plus he inherited the former Helios's memories to boot, who had spent his entire life in that shack. There was no way in hell he would be wrong!
But reality kept slapping him on the face like some perverted paedophile, his home was indeed not there.
Unless...
There's no way what he is thinking can be true, can it?
Hesitation creeped into Helios, and with a very unsure, faltering step, he inched closer to the area where the old wooden cottage once stood.
As he cautiously took a few steps forward, a vivid visual projection, much like a hologram, flickered in front of him apparently out of nowhere and soon stabilised, taking the shape of an aged man with cunning eyes, whom Helios could recognise as the chief adviser of his father.
The chief adviser, wearing a sparkling blue silken robe faced Helios with gaze cruel and calculating. He held a royal decree in his hands.
Under Helios's apprehensive scrutiny, the chief adviser began reading aloud the contents of the decree, a smug grin adorning his wrinkled face.
' Helios Raum Ignaz, the son of a mere slave has expressed his wish to vie for the Royal Throne of Ignaz with his half brothers, each hailing from a respectful noble family, and thus has committed a grave offence frowned upon by the heavens themselves, a great sin that demands immediate execution.
But Ignaz is an empire that gives the brave his due. And I, Vasilios Valentine Ignaz, duly honour my revered ancestors' teachings and offer Helios, my son, a challenge. Should he succeed, he would be qualified as one of my potential successors and granted the right to vie for the throne.
I, Vasilios Valentine Ignaz, thus hereby exile Helios Raum Ignaz to the Demantoid Wilderness for a decade.
If after a decade should Helios manage to return to the capital alive with all his limbs intact, he would be declared fit for the throne and would be granted a gift of his choice which would greatly enhance his chances to become the next emperor to make up for his absence from the royal capital for so long.'
Helios stood there stunned, words failing him.
Then suddenly, as if he had unknowingly stumbled upon something hilarious, he began laughing, a maniacal laugh that echoed across the deserted landscape.