CHAPTER 75: RELIGIOUS ZEALOTS

"INHALE..."

"EXHALE..."

"INHALE..."

Each breath seemed to carry the weight of absolute faith, the kind of belief that could move mountains or start wars depending on how it was directed.

’System,’ Jack thought desperately, his mind reeling as he tried to process this surreal situation. ’Please tell me you have some explanation for this madness.’

[Analysis: Religious zealots. Probability of rational discourse: 12.7%]

’That’s... not particularly helpful.’

Through their soul link, Corvin shifted restlessly on Jack’s shoulder. The raven’s supernatural senses were picking up something that made the creature deeply uncomfortable.

Not fear, exactly, but the kind of wariness that ancient predators developed when facing something they couldn’t categorize.

"Great Lord," the lead figure continued, his voice muffled but fervent, "we have traveled from the sacred lands of Sanctorium to witness the awakening of He Who Walks Between Storms."

’He Who Walks Between what now?’ Jack’s confusion deepened with each cryptic word. ’What the hell is he talking about?’

"Rise," Jack commanded, his voice laced with authority. "I don’t speak to people who grovel in the dirt. If you have something to say, say it properly."

The three figures rose as one, their movements synchronized. When they pulled back their hoods, Jack was struck by their appearance.

They weren’t the wild-eyed fanatics he’d expected. The lead figure was perhaps forty years old, with silver streaking his dark hair and intelligent eyes that held the depth of someone who had seen far more than most mortals.

His companions were younger, a man and woman in their twenties, but both carried themselves with the disciplined bearing of scholars or priests. Their faces showed the kind of calm certainty that came from absolute faith in their beliefs.

"Forgive our reverence, Divine Avatar," the leader said, his voice now clear and educated. "I am Brother Matthias of the Sacred Observatory. These are my companions, Sister Elena and Brother Thomas."

’Avatar?’ Jack’s eye twitched with irritation. ’I’m getting really tired of people calling me things I don’t understand.’

"I’m not an avatar of anything," Jack said flatly. "I’m Jack Kaiser, heir to House Kaiser, and I have no idea what you people think you know about me."

Brother Matthias smiled with the infuriating patience of someone who believed they possessed secret knowledge. "Oh, but you are so much more than that, Lord of the Thirteenth Throne. The stars themselves proclaimed your awakening when the white lightning split the heavens."

’Thirteenth Throne?’ Jack’s confusion was rapidly transforming into annoyance. ’System, any idea what they’re babbling about?’

[Unknown references. "Thirteenth Throne" does not match any known political or divine hierarchy in available data.]

"The blood of storms flows through your veins," Sister Elena added. "Born beneath the convergence of temporal streams, marked by the Forgotten One’s favor, destined to fulfill the Prophecy of Elemental Convergence."

’Prophecy of Elemental... what?’ Jack felt his patience wearing thin like worn cloth. "Listen, I don’t know what religious texts you’ve been reading, but you’re clearly mistaken about who I am."

"The bloodline stirs, the ancient power awakens, and the cosmos prepares for the fulfillment of prophecy written before your kingdoms were even dreamed of." Brother Thomas proclaimed.

"CRACKLE!"

"POP!"

"HISS!"

The electrical discharge from Jack’s growing agitation was becoming more pronounced, purple arcs dancing between his fingers while the air around him grew thick with barely contained energy.

But instead of showing fear, the three cultists seemed to draw energy from his display of power. Their eyes lit up with religious fervor as they witnessed what they clearly interpreted as divine manifestation.

"Yes!" Sister Elena breathed, her voice carrying rapture that belonged in bedchambers rather than public streets. "Show us your glory, Master of Elements! Let the unworthy witness the power of the Thirteenth!"

"Stop calling me that!" Jack’s voice cracked like a whip, electricity arcing from his body to strike the cobblestones around them. The stones hissed and glowed red-hot where the lightning touched, sending up wisps of acrid smoke.

"SIZZLE!"

"CRACK!"

"HISS!"

The sound of superheated stone cooling in the evening air created an ominous soundtrack to their confrontation.

But the cultists remained unmoved by his obvious irritation, their faith apparently strong enough to override self-preservation instincts.

"We know of the shadow that fell across your childhood," Brother Matthias said quietly, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "The cursed blade that stole ten years of your life, the enemies who sought to prevent your awakening before it could threaten their plans."

Jack went completely still, every muscle in his body tensing like a coiled spring. The assassination attempt from his youth was family knowledge, carefully guarded information that few outside House Kaiser should possess.

"Who told you about that?" Jack’s voice was deadly quiet, the kind of tone that made experienced warriors reach for their weapons. "That information isn’t public knowledge."

"The stars remember everything, Divine Avatar," Sister Elena replied with infuriating serenity. "Past, present, and future flow together in the cosmic currents. Those who know how to read the signs can see the truth that others miss."

"Cut the mystical bullshit," Jack snarled, his patience finally snapping completely. Lightning erupted from his form in visible waves, making his hair stand on end while electricity danced across his skin like living tattoos. "Tell me what you know or get out of my sight."

"CRACKLE!"

"BOOM!"

"SNAP!"

The electrical discharge was becoming violent enough to pose a genuine threat to anyone standing too close. The cultists should have been terrified, should have been running for their lives.

Instead, they seemed to be drawing strength from his display of power.

"We know that Valderon the Usurper sent his agents to end your life before the prophecy could begin," Brother Thomas said with quiet conviction. "We know that the blade was forged in the Voidlands and blessed by entities that should not be named."

Jack’s blood turned to ice despite the heat radiating from his electrical aura. Valderon the Usurper was a name from history books, a would-be conqueror who had died centuries ago. But if these people knew details about his assassination attempt that even his own family didn’t possess...

"This is impossible," Jack thought, his mind racing. "Valderon has been dead for three hundred years. How could he have sent assassins after me?"

"Because death is not the end for those who serve the Ancient Powers," Brother Matthias replied, and Jack realized with horror that he’d spoken his thoughts aloud. "The Usurper’s spirit endures, bound by chains of ambition and hatred that transcend mortal limitations."

...

"Many things are impossible until they happen," Brother Thomas said with a smile that somehow managed to be both comforting and deeply unsettling.

"STOP!" Jack’s shout echoed through the empty street, accompanied by a thunderclap of released electrical energy. "Stop calling me that! I don’t know what throne you’re talking about and I don’t understand your prophecies!"

"BOOM!"

"CRACK!"

"RUMBLE!"

The lightning strike left a smoking crater in the cobblestones where it had struck, the stones melted into a glassy puddle that reflected the evening sky like a dark mirror.

But the cultists remained completely unmoved by the display of destructive power. If anything, they seemed energized by it, their faces glowing with the kind of rapture that belonged in religious artwork.

"The awakening proceeds exactly as foretold," Brother Matthias murmured, his voice carrying satisfaction mixed with awe. "Denial gives way to anger, anger breeds power, and power illuminates truth."

"What truth?" Jack demanded, his voice raw with frustration. "What prophecy? What do you people actually know?"

Sister Elena replied with absolute conviction. "Destined to stand as a bridge between the mortal realm and divine justice. We know that the Forgotten One chose you not for your lightning alone, but for what you will become when your true nature awakens."

Jack felt the world tilt sideways as her words crashed over him like a tidal wave. They knew that Draven was his patron god.

Jack hadn’t even told his family who it was. How did they know?

"This is insane," Jack whispered.

"Insanity is just truth viewed from an inadequate perspective," Brother Matthias said gently. "Come with us to the Sacred Observatory in Sanctorium. Let our scholars show you the prophecies written in stellar configurations. Let our seers reveal the cosmic forces that have shaped your destiny since before your birth."

"The answers you seek cannot be found in dungeons or politics," Sister Elena added with quiet intensity. "They lie in understanding your place in the greater pattern, your role in events that will reshape the balance between order and chaos."

Jack’s mind raced through the implications of what they were offering. Answers to questions that had been plaguing him since his awakening. Knowledge about his true nature and potential. Understanding of the forces that seemed to be gathering around him like storm clouds.

But traveling to Sanctorium would mean leaving his family, abandoning his growing business empire, and placing himself at the mercy of religious fanatics whose motives remained completely unclear.

’I need more information before I make any decisions,’ Jack thought, his tactical training from Sera kicking in as he analyzed the situation.

"Let’s say I believe you," Jack said carefully, watching their faces for tells. "Let’s say there’s truth to these prophecies and cosmic destinies you’re describing. Why should I trust complete strangers with knowledge that could be used against me?"

"Because we are the only ones who can prepare you for what’s coming," Brother Matthias replied with grim certainty. "The Ancient Powers stir in their prisons. The barriers between realms grow thin. Wars approach that will make the Dragon Conflicts seem like children’s games."

"And you expect me to just... walk away from everything I’ve built here?" Jack gestured toward the glowing windows of his successful store, toward the prosperity he’d brought to Sorne’s citizens. "Abandon my family and follow strangers into unknown territory?"

"We expect you to choose between comfortable ignorance and uncomfortable truth," Sister Elena said with quiet intensity. "Between the small destiny of a noble heir and the cosmic responsibility of a divine avatar."