Adam was standing on the peak of a tall battlement, quietly staring into the starry sky when Gabon joined him.
He took in Adam’s contemplative air in an instant, and joined him in staring.
For a time they stood there, and let the world bleed away.
Finally, Gabon broke the silence,
“Copper for your thoughts?”
Adam was silent.
“Silver then?”
Adam smiled but remained silent.
Gabon sighed.
“Whatever this is, you need to get it out. It's eating you up.”
Adam absentmindedly grabbed a cooper puzzle out of his pocket and started to fiddle with it.
“What's that?” Gabon questioned.
“Puzzle.” he replied absentmindedly, then continued, “You're right. I need your help.”
“With what?”
Adam half heartedly reached for the distinct stars before letting his arm drop once more.
“Why am I in command?”
“Because you’re the best for the job.”
“No, I get that. It's just… Why is there a command in the first place? All men are worlds unto themselves. You taught me that.” he turned to look at Gabon, “What gives us the right to command entire worlds?”
Gabon was silent for a second before sighing,
“Nothing.”
“Then why do we rule? Why do we condemn worlds to their deaths instead of dying ourselves? Why do they listen to our commands?”
Gabon was silent and Adam continued.
“Why? It doesn't make sense. If all men have the potential to be great then why aren't they?”
Gabon finally spoke,
“That is a complicated question, one whose answers have been sought for millennia. But the truth, at least for our situation, is that we assume unjust command because we must. If we stepped down this city would fall within the day. Idealism is a luxury we don't have. Even the mightiest of ideals must bow to reality.”
“Must they?” Adam questioned.
Gabon opened his mouth only to be interrupted by a clerk bursting through the door.
“Milords!” he panted, “The Fraldians have launched a full assault!”
Adam paled,
“How many?”
The man hesitated, then swallowing spoke,
“Three… three full divisions.”
—-------------------
Adam and Gabon stood on the walls, looking at the cloud of dust in the distance. It was beautiful in a way, their approaching death. The rays of the myriad stars refracted off the numerous dust particles, staining the sky a kaleidoscope of colors.
“Where did I go wrong?” Adam lamented, “They should have not seen us as a big enough threat to send three damn divisions.”
Gabon placed a comforting hand on his shoulder,
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“It's ok Adam. Can't predict everything.”
Adam turned to face his father,
“How could you say it's ok! I messed up and now we’re all going to die!”
The soldiers around them stirred uncomfortably.
Gabon just stared at him,
“So what will you do? Run? Hide? Defect?”
Adam drew himself up in indignation,
“No! I vowed to serve these people. I will not leave them.”
Gabon scrutinized him for a long moment, observing how he stood firm.
Then he relaxed.
“Good. You’re ready.”
“To die? I'd prefer not to.”
Gabon chuckled.
“No. To rule”
He go down on one knee,
“By the authority invested in me, Gabon an Erduk, Archduke of Parrick, I hereby surrender the full measure of my power and authority to Adam an Erduk. May he rule with grace and benevolence.”
For a moment there was only shocked silence.
Then all the soldiers on the walls kneeled at once, the ring of metal on stone announcing their new lord.
“All hail, Archduke Adam an Erduk!”
With a gaping mouth, Adam stared at his father.
“Why?”
His father gave him a sad smile,
“I’m not long for this world.”
“None of us are”
Gabon ignored him.
“Serve the people in the best way you see fit. I have taught you everything I know, but in the end I want you to execute your own judgment. Create something new.”
“What are you talking ab…”
“Don't be afraid to make something of yourself. There is not can’t, only won’t”
“Dad! What's going on?”
Gabon turned to smile at him reaching over a hand to ruffle his hair. Adam was so surprised he didn't stop it.
His father suddenly felt different. Less substantial and yet more powerful at the same time. It reminded Adam of burning wood, when the very essence of the wood empowered the flame.
An ethereal ghost of glorious flame.
“You asked,” his father continued, “If ideals must bend to reality and the truth is… No. They can force reality to bend around them. But the price is high.”
He reverently touched the hilt of the blade at his waist.
“This is God-Slayer, the sword of our ancestors, forged for one purpose. To cut. Anything. Physical. Astral. Divine. Nothing can stop its blade.”
Around them muffled booms began to ring out as the long range weapons began to pelt the walls.
“Watch closely. This is the subversion of reality.”
Adam and the soldier instinctively retreated as the space around Gabon seemingly turned into an infinity of blades.
For instance the world stood still as Gabon breathed in and slid into a low cutting stance.
Then Gabon blurred.
And the world was CUT.
To Adam's eyes it was like a veil had been pierced.
The world rippled, reality in front of Gabon seeming to dissolve, trees, sky and dirt subsumed before the inexorable will of blade and wielder.
And through the fading veil of reality, something new was revealed.
Adam felt it more than he saw it, its very definition resisting physical form. It was a seemingly infinite web of strings, binding all things together. The strings were so numerous they seemed to form a solid shape. A blob of infinite connection that seemed to stretch to eternity.
Blood began to run down Adam’s nose as he stared into infinity.
Around him soldiers were collapsing with muted moans.
It seemed impossible to find anything substantial in the sea of threads, but as the blade approached it seemed to zoom in on a single portion of the grander whole. A smaller web centered around a single person.
The Savior.
Time seemed to stop as Adam observed the web spinning from the Savior. Threads spun off him connected to thousand upon thousand of people, bound by love and hate both. It boggled his mind that one man could hold dominion over so many, and the nagging question remained in mis mind; what gave him the right to hold such power? He observed the web of the Savior, laid bare before his questioning gaze. Past, present, and future acquiesced to his desire, granting him the answers to his question. Nothing. There was nothing special about him, nothing special enough to warrant the power he held. He was merely an intelligent man that had taken advantage of hatred to rise to power. Hatred he now wielded, not out of actual hate, but rather as a way of maintaining his power. He was no king, merely a lucky man.
Time resumed.
A brilliant blade appeared, looking very different than in the physical. Here its true nature was revealed, not merely a sword, but as something meant to slay gods, something meant to do the impossible.
Before it appeared a great red giant, forged of the combined hatred of a united people. It roared in defiance and struck out with a mighty arm.
And it was CUT.
One moment it was there. One moment it wasn't.
Adam watched as the webs connected to the Savior instantly began to sag, now devoid of the empowered hatred. The army approaching them, a tangle of threads composed of smaller tangles, turned around and began to march home, now devoid of purpose.
He was still watching when reality reasserted itself and pulled him out of the astral realm.
Gabon was gone, a sword sheathed in steel the only proof he had ever existed.