The Sword of Vulcan: Part 5

When the flames devoured the blade of the sword something in Paul altered. Something fundamental within him shifted and changed. He was angry, furious even. Suddenly Paul wanted nothing more than to kill. Reason left him and fury consumed his every thought.

He felt his body change; muscles grew and rippled with new-found strength. He shot up several inches taller and his shoulders widened greatly. His hands became the size of dinner plates and his legs the size of tree trunks. He felt powerful and capable of overcoming any obstacle placed in his path.

“You can feel the power can you not? Imagine all that you could do to fix this world and your own failed race. You shall be my instrument and your duty shall be to purge this earth of all of those who are unworthy.”

Having thus proclaimed, Vulcan turned and limped to a nearby table. On it was a massive suit of armor. It was beautifully designed and covered with intricate etchings that entwined and curved around each other. The armor was made of some unrecognizable metal that had been polished so that it gleamed.

“Step forward, my minion and take this armor that I gift to you. I forged it in the eternal fires of Mount Etna herself. No weapon, no matter its destructive force can so much as dent this fire-hardened shell. When you wear it the power and strength I have given you shall be increased a hundredfold. You will be unstoppable, relentless and filled with the fury of a too long forgotten god.”

At Vulcan’s thunderous command, Paul began to walk towards the hotheaded deity. His newly reinforced body responded of its own will; unquestionably it answered the demand of its master. Moving mechanically, Paul dressed in the armor, amazed to find that it fit him perfectly. It was almost as if it had been made especially for him.

Looking pleased, Vulcan stepped back and looked over his latest creation.

“The name given to you by your mortal parents no longer fits you. I shall give you a new name: Nex Necis.”

These words suddenly emblazed themselves upon Paul’s chest-plate. With a flick of his hand, Vulcan opened a portal through which could be seen a raging battle in progress. Men scurried back and forth below them and the scene looked like a mass of ants teeming over a flat plain.

At the sight of this, Paul was again filled with rage. He wanted to go on a killing rampage. He wanted to eradicate all those who stood before him. He wanted to destroy, to annihilate, to kill.

Vulcan turned from the war playing out in front of him and smiled at his toy soldier.

“I will send you back to earth now and you shall do my bidding. You shall be the tool I use to recreate this flawed realm of men. Jupiter has failed where I shall succeed. Go, Nex Necis and honor me with the deaths of the countless.”

Paul the construction worker had disappeared and in his place, a monster was unleashed upon the world.

To be Continued in Part 6!