Will of a Prince

Jacob’s head felt dizzy by the sudden revelation.

’Peter is the warden?! How does that even make sense? Wasn’t he always a part of the noble clans? I thought he got captured just like everyone else?’

Peter noticed the confused gazes of everyone around him and slowly stretched his neck.

"I’m sure you all have a lot of questions about how this is possible. However, I would encourage you all to throw away anything you may think impossible in this world. Jacob can tell you himself, this world is nothing like how we thought it was inside those cramped walls. There is no such thing as no such thing anymore."

Lidia continued staring at him in disbelief.

"Peter... you are family to us. How could you join these crazies? What is it they were offering you that you had to betray your own family, your own kingdom to gain?"

"Salvation."

Jacob’s stomach churned slightly.

"What do you mean by salvation?"

Peter seemed to study Jacob and Maria carefully.

"Are you going to be the one to tell them, Jacob? Or should I do it for you?"

Everyone looked at Jacob, suddenly intrigued.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

"Oh? You mean to tell me that you don’t know what that mark on your arm is? Do these lovely people even know you have it? Wait, how silly of me! Of course you wouldn’t want to show them!"

Luna walked towards Jacob cautiously, but Maria stood in between them, ready to defend Jacob. Her face was slightly panicked as Peter seemed to be revealing their dark secret to everyone.

"What is he talking about, Jacob? What mark are you hiding from us?"

Jacob refused to meet her gaze and stared at the ground.

"Maria and I have been branded with an insidious mark. However, I can’t show it to you all without you experiencing an immense amount of pain."

"I see you left out the most important detail for me to explain. That mark is also a timer, counting down the days until the end times arrive. Since it has been marked on him, it means he is destined to either be a bringer or a survivor of such terrible times. His destiny has been locked in place."

Everyone around him gasped upon hearing Peters words. They all looked at Jacob with a hint of hesitation. Zoey was the first one to interject.

"So, does that mean he’s dangerous to be around? I don’t think I get it. How could someone who walked hundreds of miles to save us be so dangerous?"

Jacob added on to her words to defend himself as much as he could.

"I just wanted to protect you guys. I was going to tell you the moment we escaped this place! I didn’t even learn the true secret of my mark until the kingdom fell into the hands of my uncle! I didn’t want to hide it from all of you!"

Maria walked closer to Peter. Her eyes started narrowing down on him, trying to burn him with only her gaze. Everyone could hear her heart beat growing wilder with anger.

"If you dare to try and lay a hand on Jacob, I won’t hesitate to paint this prison with your blood."

Hearing Maria’s threats made a few of the noble’s tremble slightly. Serena whispered into Zoey’s ear. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Is it just me, or is Maria much more powerful than I remember?"

Peter seemed to be amused by her confidence and simply laughed.

"You are all fools. These two bear marks that threaten your very lives, yet you still defend them. Such incompetence. Will friendship really matter when you’re all suffering painful deaths thanks to these two?"

Zoey stepped forward. Flames started roaring out her hands.

"I’ve known both of them long enough to understand they would never bring harm to anyone. They could have left us all to die and rot in this camp, but they still risked their lives to save us. There’s no way I couldn’t put my faith in them. If there’s any evil here, it’s you!"

Jacob walked next to Maria and gazed at Peter.

"What salvation did these cultists promise you?"

Peter smiled darkly.

"They promised me a spot below the most powerful members of the Profane Trio as a commander of the dark army, leading a siege against humanity."

"A siege against humanity? Why the hell would you want to kill your own people? What has humanity ever done to you?"

Peter seemed to be upset by these questions and shouted back at Jacob.

"I believe a better question is what hasn’t humanity done to me? Do you truly expect me to back the same people who killed my son? Who took my wife? Who turned me into this... freak of nature with these powers? Do you think I wished for any of this? Because I can assure all of you, for every good thing I’ve seen humanity do, more than a thousand evil things were done in between. That kind of corruption can only be cleansed with a fresh start. This calamity that is upon us is the fresh start that the world has been desperately hoping to receive for ages. I will do anything to create such a world, no matter the cost it takes."

"You’ve completely lost it. You’re talking about mass genocide. You’re no different than the beast you just killed. If anything, you are much worse for betraying your own family."

Peter seemed to finally be done talking and prepared to attack everyone. The wood around him seemed to react to his negative emotions and slowly surged around him, creating a wooden armor. He stretched his arms and cracked his knuckles before speaking one last time.

"Family? Who needs a family when you can have the entire world at your hands? Whether you like it or not, I’ll spread the Epigones Gospel to the very ends of the earth. Hopefully others can save themselves before it’s too late."

Jacob had heard enough and activated the charm that was surrounding his neck, the one that his father had laboriously built for months in the kingdom.

"Then you will die as nothing but a martyr. Go to hell, bastard."

As the light inside the charm smacked against Peter’s manifested wood, it seemed to slow their growth tremendously. However, Peter didn’t seem intimidated by its presence.

"Ah, that’s right. Your fathers’ funny little charm."

Suddenly, a dark wooden pike snapped through the ground below Jacob’s feet and pierced through the charm with ease. When the charm broke, a massive energy blast shot out of it causing Jacob to fall on his back. Jacob looked at the shards that laid on his stomach in horror.

"But... how? You were being suppressed."

"If you tie a piece of rope around a beast’s hands, he may struggle to punch you, but he can still move his arms. Besides, such cheap tricks are so unfair."

The wood all around Peter multiplied drastically.

"Now then, let us fight on even terms, shall we?"