A Warrior's Despair

Chapter 4

Alaric sighed inwardly. He really did not like talking about that woman, but he was given no choice.

"I discovered that woman by chance around 10,000 years ago in a place where a very strong smell of death lingers. I found out that she was already as old or even older than me at that time so we became acquaintance. For a few hundred years, we were inseparable, but in the end, we decided to go our separate ways. 8,500 years ago, I came across her again, but she is now with her precious blade, Ragnarok. She had just finished decimating tens of thousands of Knights. When I confronted her about it, she said that they were scums. We had our first battle that day, but we didn't get to finish our fight because of several high class monsters interfering. I found out later that those knights were possessed by demons and are wrecking havoc in the human world so she had no choice, but to destroy them. We separated again, but this time, I secretly monitored her."

Several gasps can be heard around the room. Some even have their eyes bulging in shock.

Even Mallard cannot believe what he just heard. He had already theorized that she was at least the same age or even a senior by a few years to Mormont, Isumbras and Isabel, but this! He hadn't seen her yet, but by the surprised look of all the Knights, he could confirm Freya's words when she said that Celeste looked very young. Even younger than Ivan Bordeaux. Who would have thought that she would also be this ancient.

Before any of them could speak, the Grandmaster continued.

"4,500 years ago. I finally found Lukedonia. I decided to invite her as my colleague to help me run this place which she willingly do so because of loneliness. After a thousand years, Mormont, Isumbras and Isabel came along. When I saw the sadness and longing in her eyes, I decided to let her have a taste of a new life. In order to fit in with the others, we hid her real identity. From then on, she became my student. With her newfound friends, she became lively and a completely different person. However, due to the large age gap and experience, she was by far the most powerful amongst them. At that time, I thought that I already know her well enough, however, it was not the case. I noticed that her growth was not stopping. After some years, she suddenly changed as her powers had grown to a level that I could not even imagine. She never used her sword when fighting demons or other Knights. She only drew her sword when she was fighting with me. After 300 years of being my student, she disappeared for 500 years. When she came back 2,700 years ago, it was the time I had founded the Order of the Holy Knights. I gave her the title as one of the original Commanders. Since then, she became cold, distant, and always had a bored expression of her face. She quit the Order because she no longer cared for anything and was against Lukedonia's laws. That was after 400 years of service. Mormont, Isabel and Isumbras had not even come close to becoming a Commander. It was also around that time that we discovered something special about her eyes. I have been her acquaintance for so long, but she never bothered to explain what they did. She would always say that they held mighty powers. When she told me that she was stronger than me, I refused to believe it. To show it to me, she released her powers. I had never felt something like that in my entire life. It was the first time I knew I would not win a battle. 2,300 years ago, she once again disappeared and could no longer be seen. Isabel found her a two hundred years later. But she was now different. She had gone through an evolution. Aside from her original powers, she could now use demonic powers. She retained her original form, unlike your student, Mallard."

The said man nodded. He already knew that Celeste could use demon powers. He just never knew how she came to use those powers. It was written that the key lied on her eyes. However, no one was able to find anything about them. She never told a single soul about it.

The Grand Master continued while the others listened in disbelief. "Ever since she was a Commander, the Council had always been wary of her because of her powers and the fact that she was always against their laws. However, because no one was fully able to tell how powerful she was, they did not do anything. Once, when I found her under the orders of the Council, she absorbed my powers. That is how she gained the younger look she has now. That is also the time when her energy completely disappeared. She explained to me that she was only lacking a bit to evolve further, and absorbing my mine filled it up. She also explained that I could no longer sense her energy because she was in a higher plain than any of us. She refused to fight any further before I could release my full power and said that she would no longer live under the deities rule. She would become one herself. Upon hearing this, the Council wanted to send all the Knights to kill her, but the deities forbade it. During the War of Wars, she simply watched and refused to take part in it. She said that it was of no interest to her. This pushed the deities to act. There was also the fact that she kept disappearing without a trace. She had also demonstrated that she could do things that no one could. The deities then sent their Royal Knights to deal with her. Celeste had been expecting this. The Royal Knight could not kill her because she was immortal so they settled to seal her. They achieved the feat, but three days later, she escaped her seal and once again disappeared. It was not the first time she had done it. We later discovered that she had gone to her own dimension. The dimension of a true god as she called it. She always went to that dimension whenever she disappeared. The Royal Knights came back with means to open a portal which they succeeded as they were blessed with the deities powers. At that time, the original Order of the Holy Knights as well as 12 Royal Knights travelled towards the dimension as no one below a Commander-lever can exist there. The aura was so thick, dark and potent. Anyone less than a Commander will cease to exist upon entering her dimension. The Royal Knights were the one to fought with her. We were told to return. We waited for a few hours before Callus came back. He was already half dead, but we managed to heal him. We only learned the truth when Callus awoken from his coma. They were indeed successful, but not without a heavy price. On that faithful day, only Callus lived to tell the tale."

The place become quiet for a few moments as everyone digested what they have been told. The woman was truly powerful. Even Mallard found himself surprised. The books he read had made her look less powerful than what Alaric had said. He could not help, but compare her to Kayden. The traitorous man also sought to become a god.

While the others felt wary of the woman, Accolon merely grinned in an unhealthy way. He can't wait to face the woman in battle.

Another that was grinning was Kahedin. "Is this dimension of god still accusable?" He is excited. Just thinking about all the research that he could accumulate makes him drool, but his daydream was crushed as soon as Alaric opened his mouth.

"No."

Mallard almost snorted when he saw the priceless look on Kahedin's face. How he wished he had a camera to capture this moment.

"After she was sealed, the deities tried to enter her dimension as they wanted to take it for their own use. According to Callus, her dimension was a lot better than their's, but it was impossible to gain access to the portal. It was later hypothesized that no one could enter unless she was inside. The key was Celeste herself and her blade." Isabel explained taking over from Alaric.

Kahedin frowned even further. Finally realizing something that had bothering him since her awakening. "So this explained why she was not brought back with her sword."

"Precisely."

"So we can assume that she was not as strong as she was once?" Sir Claudius crossed his arms on his chest. Trying to hide the goosebumps building up on the pit of his stomach. He may be the youngest, but he was not stupid. He cannot imagine the destruction that the woman would bring should she be brought back with all her glory.

"She was not as powerful like the old days. If she was, all of Lukedonia would have been destroyed on that faithful day."

"But she can still fight?" That came from a wide grinned Accolon.

"Yes, using a sword was not the only thing she could do," Mormont stated, "Celeste was very skilled in every art, there was no question to that. She was at her best when it comes to blades."

That was what the blood thirsty Knight, Accolon wanted to hear. Nothing else mattered to him, as long as the woman could fight, he was happy.