Tales of PulchraGea, Vol. 1

Chapter 9

Everything was white. There were no walls or ceiling, and I only knew there was a floor because I failed to fall through infinite space. I had no shadow. Neither did the angel.
Its features were indistinct, featureless, amorphous, yet clearly it had a distinct form, a humanlike face and body contrasted by the fact it was dressed in robes of light and had closed eyes.
It was the same being as in the mines, with the same terms offered as then, the purple Keystone for the princess' heart. He meant Katy Greyson, adopted daughter of Gavin Rinnal. It wasn't my soul to give, I said. But the angel dissented, claimed it was, that the King's Sacrifice was the King's authority.
The King's Sacrifice, I mused. The notion that the Kings of PulchraGea would inevitably go to Hell as a substitute for their subjects.
When the King accepts the Key, he accepts Gershom's Covenant, it replied. The Ancient PulchraGeans, little more than Animal, knew no sin. Any introduced lay on the heads of their rulers, as asked of God by Gershom, the first king, lest the people fall back to knowledgeless savagery.
Which meant, to me, it was even less possible.
Again the being disagreed. It was within my rights to command the sacrifice. I argued it was within my right not to. Katy was an individual, with free will; I refused to use her as a pawn...
For an item I could not do without, it reminded.
But if not for her I wouldn't give a damn about the stones, the gates, or being king at all. I was livid; so was the entity. I could feel it like static in the air, building and searching for a place to discharge.
If I did not give, I would not receive. My quest would end in failure either way.
You. Will. Not. Have her.
And something changed. The air thrummed almost visibly, my opponent perceivably flustered.
Then I could not have the stone, the angel said with finality as it began to fade from existence. My determination hardened.
"You're not going anywhere!" I shouted out loud for the first time. Up till now this had been a battle of wills, of thoughts.
It was almost as if the sound of my voice snapped it back into corporeality.
Why? What was the test here? It was suddenly apparent that it was not sacrifice. Then I remembered when Gavin Rinnal sent me after the first stone. I recalled the thrumming I'd felt when he foretold my success, as if the very universe itself were under his command: because it was. One of the old books on the Covenant of Gershom I had read said that because of his sacrifice a dutiful King's voice was always heard by God.
And I knew, suddenly. The test here was the King's Command. The other Keystones might possibly be gathered by normal mortal means, however unlikely. Only the true King could command the Stone be given to them. If I'd given what it wanted for the stone I would've failed, been unworthy as King of Narakh-Sha. So I commanded the angel to give me the stone and the universe shattered.