Ultima Ratio

Chapter 28: The Legend of Concordia

Once upon a time, three gods lived alongside humans in harmony on a small island called Concordia. The eldest was Orel, known for his love of humanity and vast wealth of knowledge. Next was the goddess Danya, a fierce and loyal warrior and protector of the people. Finally, there was the youngest god, known for his fiery temper and unrivaled ambition: Verus Rex.

Unfortunately, their peace couldn't last. A thousand years ago, Verus Rex began to grow bored of the continuous days of leisure. So, in the middle of the night, he ventured out into the world without a word, hoping to find the excitement he craved.

What he found instead was a world of war and death, of pain and suffering. Humans were destroying themselves in their lust for power, not realizing that none of them were worthy nor capable of such responsibility. No mortal was, and no mortal could ever be.

But Verus Rex was.

When he returned to Concordia, Verus Rex proposed an idea to the others. Humanity outside of the island was failing, but with the three of them, they could save it. Together, they could lead the world into endless prosperity, just as they did with Concordia.

While Orel and Danya commended his intentions, they disagreed with his methods. Orel, wise and all-knowing, foresaw that what Verus Rex wanted was to force humans to live under their rule, essentially subjecting them to an eternity of servitude. What they could do instead was guide and mentor humanity in the right direction, and only if the mortals were willing to listen.

But for the ambitious Verus Rex, this was far from enough. So when Orel and Danya refused to cooperate, Verus Rex vowed to do it himself, and he wouldn't let the others stand in his way.

And so they fought, their gruesome battle lasting for a month. Unfortunately, Orel and Danya, as wise and strong as they respectively were, were no match for the ruthless determination of their former friend.

In the end, Verus Rex defeated them both, then forced Orel to join his conquest to make a new Concordia to rule the world from the skies. As for Danya, Verus Rex buried her alive in the heart of the island, threatening the locals with painful deaths if they were to save her. And, fearing for their mortal lives, the humans listened.

But they couldn't ignore Danya completely. Because every month, when the moon was as full as the night of Verus Rex's betrayal, they would hear her anger resonating throughout the island, her vengeful bellows shaking the ground beneath their feet.

"Damn you, Verus Rex!" she would exclaim. "Damn you!"

And eventually, her rage broke her free, a thousand years later.

Now, Danya roams the earth. Her mission: save humanity, free Orel, and put an end to Verus Rex once and for all.

***

The changes in the legend were too accurate to be a coincidence. Everyone in the Crusader's debrief room knew that, but Major Roth seemed determined to emphasize it in the way he did best: bitterly yelling.

"This is an absolute disgrace to OPSEC!" His booming voice crackled through the speakers, and while his breath and spit couldn't be transmitted from Base through the large briefing room monitor, Akira could perfectly imagine both of them flying into her face. "If the public knew that we're this incapable, they'd lose trust in us! It's bad enough we have to fight a war against Concordia; we can't be dealing with public unrest as well!"

"I agree, sir, that would be a terrible situation," Akira said, doing her best to keep her tone professional and her posture at attention as she had done for the past half hour. "But, as I've previously mentioned, I trust that no one in this room would divulge such critical information, much less spread it on the internet."