"Long, long ago, when Grand General Luxmi still ruled over (the formerly known) Lux Caelum with a benevolent hand, a mighty war raged on in the east between The Overlord and The Chieftess. I was but a young magi still wet behind the ears, burying my head into my scholarly pursuits and foolishly ignoring all matters relating to the outside world, but even I could not hide away from the aftermath of their conflict.
"The clash of the two Rulers echoed across the land and brought forth terrible disasters born from Creation's lament. Rain flooded every corner of the world and drowned the land in a perpetual downpour; wind spiraled into terrible, ravenous hurricanes, shredding both man and nature alike; and even the very earth itself quaked under their battle, rumbling and splitting apart until naught was left but a gaping, empty cavern. It was truly horrible, and after that day, the three nations of Polus, Augurium, and Lux Caelum swore to maintain peace between each other so that such a calamity would never plague the world again. Although that peace was eventually destroyed, the escalations never exceeded past that of the borders.
"However, I fear that disaster will soon descend upon the world once more. I have attempted to maintain my neutrality, carefully keeping the balance so that neither nation will be forced to call their Rulers to battle, but with Lorelai's death...this war will soon reach its apex. A clash between The King and The Grand General is inevitable; I can't idle by the sidelines any longer. I only hope that my citizens will forgive me for embroiling them in this conflict, but without my intervention, an endless period of bloodshed shall await us."
Arch Magus Virgil, Ruler of Augurium
———
Xeros
Even now with his scheme fully bare does Ascalon maintain his facade of righteousness. Curious, for what reason? The city's defenses have been sabotaged; the gates are on the verge of collapse; and for some time now Xeros has noticed the faint trace of scurrying rats plotting in the shadows, so why does he still have that infuriating aura of naivety?
"You speak of causes' just," Xeros says with a harsh tongue. "Yet in the end, you are a man akin to me, willing to further your goals by any means necessary. I already know of your true nature, King of Polus. Let us end this farce and speak with hearts true."
Ascalon stiffens his blade and looks at The Grand General with an expression of...penance? "It is true that this sudden invasion has put innocents within harm's path, and your citizens have every right to scorn my name for the lives taken from them due to my haste, but my conviction is not the same as yours. I am protecting my kin; you seek to endanger yours. I know not of what image you've created of me in your mind, but my heart in this moment has never been more resolute."
Odd. He speaks as if his naivety is true, but that cannot possibly be. An ignorant person could not have possibly planned such a prolonged ruse for all these years. Perhaps Xeros should attempt to push further; that same urge of unease is plaguing his heart once more.
"Do not speak as if you haven't plotted this day since your inception. Haste? Suddenness? Your little surprise would have been met with naught but futility if it weren't for the spies you've sent to infiltrate my echelon. Is betrayal included in those virtues your kind hold so dear?"
Hm? Xeros thought such provocation would rile his anger, but instead all he's met with is a gaze filled with confusion. "Spies? I would never resort to such ploys. If I were to force my own to subject themselves under your torment, I would not be able to call myself a King that treasures his people. You may think of them as mere pawns for your goal, but I care about each and every person who serves under me. I celebrate every life, I mourn every death, and I cherish the trust they confide in me to lead our nation forward."
Every word he speaks is devoid of deceit or hesitation. He truly is the ignorant, naive Ruler Xeros initially anticipated him to be. Impossible. That is impossible. Who else is responsible for this, then? Is he to believe that Polus happened to attack the exact moment someone destroyed the city's armaments?
The mere thought of such a preposterous coincidence is enough to send him into a roaring fit, but if not that then what other scenarios are there? That insipid gaze within Ascalon's eyes suggests that he's truly ignorant of the malefactors hidden within Nox Caelum, so it's unlikely that a defector or a slum rat has been feeding him information. Perhaps The Arch Magus is responsible? No, it would do no good for Polus to reveal their intention to other nations lest they suffer from a likewise surprise invasion. Only one other possibility remains.
An unknown variable, their true objective veiled from the sights of the world. Whoever this person, or party, is, they have meticulously orchestrated this series of events. Someone convinced Ascalon to invade with the entirety of his army after years of cowardice. Someone infiltrated Nox Caelum and received information of Xeros's leave to The Steppe. Someone brought together those revolutionary rats and led them to destroy the spire's core the very moment Ascalon's army arrived.
From the very beginning, Polus and Nox Caelum alike have been strung along this puppeteer's string. Xeros, for all his years of planning and preparation, has been reduced to a mere pawn.
"...When did it all start to go wrong?" Xeros mutters. "With Nokron's deployment? With my departure? No, the source originates further back. The first upset, the first inkling of unease...it all began with that forest. It all began with Lorelai and Gravitas's death."
"It's too late to regret your choices now, Xeros." Ascalon readies his stance and prepares to charge forward. "Let us end this here before more lives are lost."
It doesn't matter anymore. Whatever this entity's goal is, it will not matter if Xeros falls here. He's stalled enough for his power to recover, albeit slightly, and Stars be damned if he lets himself perish under the blade of this idealistic fool.
"That sentimentality will be your downfall, Ascalon." Xeros brings his hands together, red lightning sparking from the fingertips. "No matter what the world pits against me, I shall survive. I've clawed my way through endless tribulation, endless hardship, to be where I am now. A sheltered little winged rat like you will never understand what it means to struggle for every waking moment of your existence."
"You do not know me, and I do not know you. But...no matter what you've gone through or what you've suffered, you have no right to undermine my own adversity!"
Ascalon surges forth in a ray of blinding amber and cleaves at Xeros with a powerful swing of his zweihander. Xeros quickly manifests The Corvid's Claw and clashes with the Astral Weapon, but the sapphire laden greatsword slices through the malformed flesh and almost bisects The Grand General in two. He avoids the attack with but a grain of space, however the warrior King is relentless and continuously assaults him, leaving nary a breath nor moment for retaliation.
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His attacks are simple, direct and honest when compared to Lorelai's dancing blades, but each strike of his blade is filled with a vigorous power. Unyielding, stalwart, and containing the might to sever anything in its path. No matter what Xeros conjures whether it be flesh or talon, Ascalon cuts through the manifestation and chases after him with a chilling determination.
The two soar throughout the sky, exchanging ear-shattering blows of might that send shockwaves throughout every corner of the land and rumbling the earth beneath them. The clouds part way for their battle and scatter to the far edges of the horizon whilst the two mightiest powers in the world descend upon each other in a flurry of conflict.
However, The Grand General is clearly faltering. Every manifestation drains at what little aura remains within him, but Ascalon himself is unbothered by their constant clashes. That damned invulnerability of his cannot be pierced for as long as his army remains within distance, but Xeros can do nothing about it while Ascalon continues his relentless assault. It will take ages before the Polus forces below dwindle enough for Ascalon's protection to weaken and he does not have the time nor leeway to fend off the warrior King until that period comes. In order to inflict any semblance of harm upon him now, he must separate Ascalon from his army.
Xeros hurls himself off into the distance. It is dangerous to leave the capital, especially since he knows not of when whoever unleashed that arrow of light will attack again, but he must deal with Ascalon here and now or else he will never be rid of him. The warrior King follows for a brief moment but suddenly stops in place and glares at him.
"I know your ploy Xeros," he says. "True, I lack in combat experience when it comes to the other Rulers, but do not think me naive enough to willingly cripple myself in a blind rage to chase after you."
"Is that so?" It seems there does lie an inking of rationality within the young King. "But as I said, I will do anything if it means ensuring my survival. Does your entire campaign not lie with my death? If I escape here, then everything you've done will all be for nothing."
"Hmph, don't try to deceive me Xeros. I know you will not abandon your nation."
"Oh? And what is it that brings forth this certainty?"
"Simple, because it means that you will lose all the power you've amassed. It's just like you said: if you escape here, then everything you've done will all be for nothing. All the authority you gathered, all the technology and weapons and people you've hoarded for the past twenty years...you will lose it all to me. You are too prideful to let that happen Xeros, and even if you do escape here, our army will track you down eventually. So, decide here: will you resist as Nox Caelum's Ruler, or will you be hunted down like a stray animal, wretched and alone?"
So he won't fall for the bluff, hm? Never the matter, there is still one trick left Xeros knows will stoke Ascalon's rage. "Heheheh, you are correct Ascalon. I would indeed suffer through quite a loss if I were to flee here, but would your heart truly allow that?"
"What do you mean?"
"Are you truly ok with letting the one who deprived you of which you most treasured? Your love for Lorelai, I know it well. I know just how much you two cherished each other, but now you will never see her again. Her smile, her might, her kindness...gone, as if it never existed. Her corpse shall forever rot amongst the maggots in that baleful forest, and it's all because of me. Your duty as King may stay your hand, but what about your soul? In the end, you are still but a boy."
Ascalon begins to tremble in place, hands shaking as he struggles to find his voice. Yes, very good. Very good. Just a little more and he will be overcome with-
"...Hah..."
What? A laugh?
"H-Hahah..."
Xeros stares with incredulity at the visage of a bemused Ascalon struggling to keep in his laughter, hands wrapped around his waist while doubled over and letting out little inklings of poorly restrained glee.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" he shouts with a booming cackle. Has he finally lost his mind? "Ah, forgive my rudeness. I-I was just so amused by your attempt to rile me up. And indeed, it probably would have worked if what you said was actually true, but rather than despise you, I would actually like to give you my thanks. Because of you, I was finally able to gain the courage to reveal my love for her in full."
No.
"You speak as if she-"
No, no, no, that can not be. Impossible. Unthinkable. Xeros remembers seeing her decapitated corpse very, very clearly on that fateful day. There's no mistaking his memory, that body belonged to Lorelai.
"She is, and the pain I felt before she returned was unlike any I felt before. I was on the brink of despair and the whole world seemed as if it was encased in a perpetual coat of grey, but then I saw her. I saw her face, oh so beautiful as the day we met, and I felt her boundless warmth as it was time and time again. You're right Xeros, the me back then was still a young boy, but I am no longer held back by my fearfulness. Because we're together again, and so we shall be for the rest of our lives. United as one."
But then what is this madness being spewed forth from Ascalon's mouth? She returned? Xeros cannot understand. No, he refuses to understand. Nothing can be hidden from The Corvid's Eye. Illusions, manifestations, deception...all of it is revealed under The Corvid's gaze, and it clearly showed Lorelai's deceased body. He is not wrong. He cannot possibly be wrong.
"No, whoever it is that deceived you cannot possibly be Lorelai!" he growls. "I saw it. I saw her body, disgraced and muddled, on the forest bed. I-"
"Whatever it is you saw is wrong," Ascalon says. "Do you truly believe I wouldn't recognize the woman who's captured my heart for all these years? Face the reality Xeros: she survived. It's thanks to her that I now stand here before you, and I will not ruin her efforts no matter what vitriol you attempt to anger me with."
Everything Xeros thought he knew collapses in an instant, and all that is left is a sickening feeling of futility. Ascalon cannot be swayed, his strength is almost depleted, and if Lorelai truly is still alive, then Libevich and his soldiers below will not last for long.
Fine, then let it be so. He is not completely helpless just yet, and while there is still the option to invoke The Thing's power, that is the utmost, final resort.
"If words cannot chain you, then might it shall be." Xeros sends a blast of red lightning to his chest and manifests The Corvid's Heart up above. Ascalon attempts to stop him with a swing of his blade, but he becomes entangled within the same fate as the knight captain Joshua, body slowing and fists wavering until he freezes completely under the manifestation. The heartbeat of The Corvid has begun.
Thump-thump.
"Your body cannot be harmed, such is the blessing derived from the will of Freedom."
Thump-thump.
"But it does not provide complete immunity against the powers of others. It simply means you cannot be wounded physically."
Thump-thump.
"And so I wondered...what shall occur if I transport you to a different space? I tried to move you through deception at first, but you are more intelligent than I initially anticipated."
Thump-thump.
"If I cannot force you to move of your own volition, and if that blade of yours, The Mattatron, prevents me from hurling you away myself, then I have no other option left but this."
Thump-thump.
Xeros unleashes the red lightning into the entirety of his face. The Corvid's Maw manifests directly above Ascalon's head, the abominable marriage of man and corvid shrieking out to the Stars upon its malformed birth, and begins to encase Ascalon within the void in its mouth.
But maintaining two complete manifestations is not without its consequence. Raw, unrelenting agony tears away at Xeros's soul, searing pain from the red lightning boiling the blood in his veins, and his mind is subjected to a constant wave of headache and sores. The misery is unending, but to Xeros, the pain is nothing compared to the frustration threatening to consume him.
Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump.
"I suppose we are both victims of a scheme beyond our knowing, manipulated and coerced into this mockery of a play with you as its central character. Unfortunately for them, I refuse to serve as a puppet."
With a loud snap, Ascalon is devoured by the darkness.