The being stood for a moment within the empty, cavernous hall, draped in shadows and darkness. Then, with a mere thought, he forced the space of the universe to bend, folding it in on itself right in front of him until, with a single step, he traversed millions of miles and directly into a tiny cave, hewn into sandy stone and gated with black metal bars at its only entrance.
The room was dimly lit, dark save for the light of one unique candle. The silvery glow cast from the candle illuminated the only other man in the room. His arms were spread like an eagle’s wings, his wrists cuffed and chained to the stone wall behind him. He slumped as low as he could, held up only by the chains pulling at his arms.
The man hardly noticed the arrival of the being, so focused was he on the candle that burned opposite him. The silvery light reflected in the man’s fearful eyes, illuminating the shock and terror that painted his face.
He’d seen the flame before, but only ever illustrated on the yellowed pages of the oldest of manuscripts he’d ever come across. But the descriptions of the flame had been so harrowing that they had been burned into his mind; there was no way he would fail to recognize the strange flame.
The flame itself displayed a most peculiar form. The edges were of a dazzling silver color, silver like the purest of moonlight. The core of the flame, however, was pitch black, an abyss as deep and captivating as the void of space itself.
The flame was small, hardly bigger than the Monarch's thumb, but it was by far the most valuable object he'd ever seen. Rare could not even begin to describe the flame’s scarcity.
“Do you know what this is?” the being asked the Insect Monarch as he grasped the small circular dish that the candle sat atop. The being’s gaze was almost reverent as he gazed into the silver flame.
“Chaos Flame,” the Insect Monarch answered, his voice but a breathless whisper.
The being grinned. “Indeed. It seems you are as well read as they say. Savor the sight, mage; you are among the few in the universe privileged to do so. This is Chaos Flame, the most powerful flame ever to exist. It is the flame that Death himself wielded, so many eons ago. A flame that has not sparked anew in so many millennia that the universe has all but forgotten of it.”
“The records claim it to be fake,” the Insect Monarch said, his voice hushed in awe and fear. “A flame like it cannot exist, they say. Its very existence defies the Astros. It cannot…” the Monarch trailed off then, unable to find the words to continue.
The being scoffed. “The authors of those records have not the strength to speak on such matters. They accept Astros' word as the law of the universe, as most do, but they don’t know. They have no idea how powerful mages can be. They have no idea how powerful Death had become, how powerful the Primordial Deities of today are. The mind cannot comprehend their strength; not yours, nor mine. And that is why we cannot understand the existence of a flame capable of doing what this flame can do.”
“Even if it can exist, how-” the Insect Monarch cut himself off suddenly, realizing who the person he was speaking to was. But, a second later, he continued again; he was going to die now anyway – why not sate his curiosity first?
“How could you have such a flame?" he continued. "The universe hasn’t seen even a spark of this flame in longer than most Immortals have been alive. Even with your strength and position, it should be impossible to capture even a candle’s worth of this flame.”
The being nodded. "Indeed. Even with the power I command, I could not even begin to form an existence that so boldly violates Astros’ law. No, this flame you see before you is not something anyone under the realm of the Primordials can hope to replicate. This flame you see is a relic, a relic of an age before you were even born. Before the first of your lineage was even born. It is the relic of a battle, a most legendary battle, the likes of which has not been witnessed since.” The being paused for a moment, fixing his gaze on the chained man before him. “Tell me, are you familiar with the saga of the Sword Deity?”
The Insect Monarch thought for a second. “Only the end,” he said finally. “Everything I could find on the Sword Deity merely referred to him as the most prodigious warrior to ever live, but frustratingly few actually detailed accounts of his life. In all my travels, I’ve only been able to piece together the story of his final battle.”
The being nodded. “It is a shame, but time is blind and merciless to the legacies of men; it does not spare even the greatest of them. Little is known of the man today, but I had the privilege to enlist in his personal army. I was but a humble Emperor then, ranked as no more than a mere foot soldier. Still, I was able to witness the final battle of the great Deity. I was present on that day, fighting on those plains. It was…” the being’s voice twisted wistfully, his eyes fully reverent as he recalled the great day. “It was nothing short of beautiful, the battle that concluded that day. But that is a story for another day. What is relevant is the blow that ended the Sword Deity’s struggle. The Sword Saint gave it his all, gave everything he had in that last battle, but in the end, all it took was a mere swing of a Chaos Flame blade, and it was over for him. One single blow, and he was gone, reduced to dust. All that was left of his legacy was the ruined planet on which he fought.”
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The being paused for a moment, shifting his gaze back to the flame in his hands. “Do you know what Chaos Flame does, that makes it so dangerous? That makes it such a blasphemy to the universe?”
“The records say it attacks the soul of a mage,” the Insect Monarch replied. “They say it rips the soul to shreds in the most painful way imaginable, reduces it to nothing but ashes.”
“It does destroy the soul,” the being said, “but that is only a fraction of what it really does. It erases, erases from existence. Whatever it burns simply ceases to be. It doesn’t obliterate, it doesn’t destroy. No, it erases from the very fabric of reality itself. You see? It destroys the very essence of the universe; it destroys space and time, it destroys energy, it destroys matter, in a way that should not be possible. It damages Astros itself.”
The being paused again, letting the full weight of his words settle. “The Legends – the most ancient of writings ever found – say that Astros created the universe in balance. ‘All that is is all that was and all that will be,’ they say. We as beings of this universe are embedded into its very fabric; we exist within it, and we are not allowed to leave, for what could possibly exist beyond existence? And as such, the volume of everything within is constant – it permutates, changes, of course – but ultimately nothing is truly destroyed.
When you burn a leaf, you have not destroyed the matter of that leaf. You have changed it, mutated it, broken it down into its parts, but you have not destroyed it. When you kill a man, you do not erase him from existence. His body returns to the physical universe, to nourish it and eventually be recycled into another life. And his soul returns to the metaphysical universe, to nourish the energy of the universe and maybe, eventually, be recycled into another soul. ”
The being paused there again for a second. “But Chaos Flame…Chaos Flame is different. Chaos Flame violates that sacred rule. It ruins the balance of the universe, for when it destroys, it truly destroys. It expunges from the very universe, from existence itself. That is what makes it such a blasphemy to Astros; that is why it should not exist, why it should not be possible for it to exist. That is why Death had to be put down by Astros itself, for Death was rotting the universe with its flames. That is why the Primordial Deity who killed the Sword Deity has not come out of seclusion since that day, for Astros holds a personal grudge against users of this flame, and the Primordial Deity is not yet strong enough to face the full wrath of Astros the way Death had.”
The being looked to the Monarch again then, staring into his eyes with the strangest, twisted glint in his eye. “Now then, tell me, Monarch. Do you wish to break free of existence?”
The Insect Monarch didn’t pause for a moment. “I’ll do it. Whatever you need, whatever you want. If I can do it, I’ll do it. Just keep that away from me.”
The being was silent for a moment, an almost disappointed look in his eye. “Very well,” he sighed at last. “The Frost Blade. The Lost Key of the 80th floor’s command gate. I hear you know of its location.”
The Insect Monarch shook his head. “I came across some hints on my travels. I never made finding it a high priority, though, because the most I could do with it if I did find it was present it to someone else for a favor. But from what I did find, I am reasonably confident that it should be on either of two planets: Adonis, or Argonis. But beyond that, I have no idea.”
The being frowned in thought. “Adonis makes sense, given its history and the mages who run it, but Argonis? I don’t believe I’ve ever even heard of it.”
The Monarch smiled. “Argonis is a small wild planet neighbouring Adonis. The only reason I say it could be either is because the manuscript I found the name in was too faded for me to tell which one it was specifically. And because the two are so close, they both fell into the bounds of any coordinates I could find as well. But given the difference in the two planets, I’d say it is far more likely to be on Adonis.”
The being was silent again, his face pensive. If the thing truly were on Adonis, it would be quite a headache for him to get. There was little chance the rulers of the planet wouldn’t have found the blade, given the aura it had. And there were only two ways he could get it from them: fight them, or trade it for what would surely be extensive favors. Both options were unappealing to him.
If he were to fight them, he would surely come out on top, but it would be at a sizable cost. And he couldn’t squander his troops now; he’d need his strength to face whatever lay on the other side of the command gate.
But the very idea of trading favors for the Council grated on him. His pride would not allow him to do so. Those conceited old bags would hold that favor up like a badge of honor, and every time they spoke of it, it would be a stain on his pride. And he would not have that.
With a heavy sigh, the being put the matter aside for the moment and made to leave the room, taking the candle with him. Then, just before he left, he glanced over his shoulder at the Insect Monarch once again. “A man will come by to mark your Core, and relay my first instructions. Serve me well, and you will ascend and find the strength you so desperately seek.”
With that promise hanging in the air, the being took another step and vanished from the room, leaving the chained man alone in the dark cave.