Are people ever truly born to be evil?

~ 

“No.” Dream said in a steely voice. The bed chamber was large, but not grotesquely huge. Dream had not made it more lavish over the years--all the money from taxes were supposed to go to the people in his opinion--but he had maintained it. It was luxurious to a degree, but for the king of a country that had been doing quite well compared to the rest, it wasn’t very fitting. A wide empty space lay in the center of the room, decorated with little drops of blood dragged into the room by a dripping blade. A large bed, a tremendous amount of natural sunlight, some hung up weapons, a few bed dressers and other things a king would keep in his bedchamber sat in efficient places across the room--Dream could walk from any one thing to the next quickly. 

RangTrue chuckled at Dream’s response. His voice had been quite childlike--which was fitting considering his apparent age, derived from his features, which seemed disproportionate to his height--but now held a bitter undertone to it. His disbelief rang through the chamber like the harsh crack of a whip. His previously sing-song voice had turned cold and hard, solid--like a well forged sword. 

“Excuse me?” 

“You don’t scare me. Kill me if you’d like, but I am who I am. Not who you want me to be. Not what your prophecy wants me to be. Just me, Dream, the king of this land, who will be mourned after his death. I wonder how many candles they’ll light for m-” 

It happened in an instant. Rangtrue was standing there, his shadowy hand gripping Dream by the neck. His white veins bulging through the subtle muscle that lay there on his seemingly skinny arms--it was unnatural. He wore no gloves despite his butler attire, and he had his sleeves rolled back. All this was accented peculiarly by the red stains across the clothing. The red, gooey substance glowed in the sun's killing beams. The way it illuminated the blood of his subjects disgusted Dream. He wondered if he would ever truly want the sun--it had illuminated far too much blood in the past for Dream to ever see it as a force of good.

“I already told you. You don’t sc-” 

“I should.” RangTrue interrupted. His grip tightened as Dream pretended he wasn’t struggling for air. 

“I am aware,” Dream said, with no significant change present in his tone. He tried to pretend he wasn’t fighting for air, though his words were clearly choked. “You teleported to me--I know it was teleportation since there is the mark of bubble teleportation on the floor, a small indent which also clearly represents you’re stronger than the tier five runes in the building--without a single magical object. That is, I didn’t detect any. And I have a special skill that does just that, detect magic objects. If your unique magic is capable of teleportation that happens instantly, even without knowing the other rules and conditions, I know your powe-”

“Shut up! You saw the vision, right? He will destroy you, seize everything from you agai-”

“First, please stop interrupting me, for god's sake. Second, that isn’t me, that’s-” 

“That is yo-” 

“I told you to stop inter-” 

“Oh, shut the fu-” 

“Please, let me just fucking talk-”

They devolved into shouted interruptions. Dream felt childish but felt he had a right to act this way considering his guards had all been slaughtered and his people massacred--a right to be angry at the absurdness of the reasoning behind the massacre. Then RangTrues grip tightened. The air was ripped out of Dream. That is, what little air he had a moment ago. 

“I have too much on the line to listen to what you have to say. We have ALWAYS worked together. Always. Without your immediate cooperation, our plans could be delayed by as much as fifty human years.” Rangtrue snarled at Dream. “The Hero Canon has the backing of The Church of Prime, works for The Evening Star, has connections in The World and The People, and has friends in Ketterburg. For god's sake, Dream. He can destroy anyone on this continent besides Theseus and a select few--even Theseus could fall should Canon call upon all his political and military might. What makes you think you’re an exception? Do you just not believe me?” RangTrue slackened his grip. 

“Don’t treat me like you know me,” Dream muttered. “How long have you held power?” Dream asked, relieved that Rangtrue had weakened his grip from that of a mad dog's bite--which would’ve killed him without enhancement magic--to that of a child his age. It was more than weak enough that a foolish man would have been able to break the grip with relative ease. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You want me to believe you slaughtered the Knights of Welnheim? I don’t believe it’s out of the realm of possibility, especially if you can use such a powerful teleport ability without reservation, but I don’t believe that would fit the agenda you revealed to me of having every tool possible at your disposal. Especially due to the fear the knights command among the masses of criminals and the power they wield over bandits that plague the roads.” 

“Ahh. That. Yes, I had them all either sent away to do tasks, forced to stay back or--for the ones who know of me completely and obey me--simply leave me alone or evacuate the non-important individuals from the castle.” RangTrue let go of Dream's throat, stifling the urge to cringe at the mark he had left. “I was waiting for the ripe time to show you how The Hero Canon wronged both of us.” Dream rubbed his neck. 

Dream chuckled and stepped over to his dresser. Rangtrue assumed he was grabbing painkillers. “That’s old us. Maybe he will hunt us down again, but why would he? We will clearly reincarnate—that is, going by what you told me. What’s the point of slaughtering unkillable ‘unbalances.’ He can kill us a thousand times, it won’t do him any fucking good. He might as well hunt down the killable ones.” Dream felt the rage boiling up in him--if he had been surrounded by these people, that meant his life was practically a lie. Every step had carefully been planned to reach this moment. 

“He has a magical object. It’s called The Aspect of Time, and it’s aimed at destroying souls before they reach a soul point. I won’t get into the specifics, soul magic is complex, but it destroys even the small section of the soul that is supposed to be indestructible when you get binded to those crystals.” 

“You’ve lost me a dozen times in this ‘conversation,’ if you can call it that. But I don’t understand how you could have knowledge of said magical object.” And, Dream thought, if that was the case wouldn’t the main objective be simply to lure Canon into a false sense of security so he would bring the object and then kill him? 

“Please. Maybe I’m not the most intelligent creature, that title would either belong to that bloody maniac or the guy in charge of The Grand Scheme of Things, but I am one of the most cunning people there is. If I wasn’t I would be dead by now.” 

“So that’s your excuse? That you’re smart. I don’t trust you as far as I could throw you.” 

“I am quite heavy. I am no wall of muscle, but between my high stature and dense muscles, I weigh a good more than any normal person would guess looking a- you got me off topic on purpose, didn’t you. I forget how cunning you are. A little twitch of the fingers, huh. Trying to prove you’ll use it on me if you need to. I should watch my back, huh. That’s the message you’re sending.” 

“Please, save me the flattery. I just appealed to your narcissism.” 

Rangtrue scoffed at the irony of that statement. He also made note of Dream’s weakness: Dream was incredible considering he had not trained the power, but RangTrue could easily detect and shrug off his unique magic easily. For a power famed to turn ‘the most holy priests’ into ‘the worst of sinners,’ it was quite mediocre. Still, Dream clearly had faith in his power judging how he had moved the conversation when it came to issuing RangTrue the warning. RangTrue grinned even more chaotically. “So how about it. Other Dreams have been tough to convince, too. But if you stick with me for a month or two, you’ll realize what you really are, and understand the significance of Canon's actions three-hundred years ago.” 

Dream laughed and grabbed his knife in his dresser. He had been pretending to fish around for painkillers, aware that rubbing his neck would give that impression to RangTrue, but he had really been looking for his knife. It was enchanted to poison people, cut through flesh easier, and send magic shockwaves through the nerves to send blood to uncut areas, normally causing blood clots. “So, you want help because you’re not strong enough to beat Canon?” He turned the weapon over in his hands from the secrecy of the dresser. 

RangTrue chuckled. “You’ve got it wrong.” Dream averted his gaze to stare back at RangTrue again. “You’re all weak.”

“Well, I guess compared to a multi use, no incantation, TP unique magic, most are weak. But Theseus, who I assume you serve based on context, is stronger than you.” Dream pondered whether or not the knife could do anything to RangTrue.

“No. You’re mistaken,” RangTrue said, a grin forming. “I’m not afraid of Canon because he’s strong. But because of his increasing strength and his allies. They consistently take everything from us. Rather, our plans are complex: as you described it, an intricate web as unique in every small movement as a snowflake. We must take formative movements now, to set us up for later in the game.” 

Dream grabbed the knife. He had to be lying. Theseus was much too strong to be considered within the range of mere mortals to beat. At one point, some of the nations had even considered eliminating him as a threat to the world. 

“I could kill The Hero Canon, but that’s not in our plans.” 

~

“We shine subtly, not uncontrollably.” Spoke the priest, a crack to his tone from his many years of age and despair. “We anguish in our cages made out of emotion without understanding.” The priest had horns and an old, withered tail, which occasionally flicked with frustration due to the unresponsiveness of the crowd. “The only thing important in our lives is the thing which drives all life!” he yelled, his voice cracking with hoarseness. “This thing is more important than life itself! Worship and devotion to The Hero Canon, who is the source of all good and the greatest of all things!” 

The priest, who’s name was Salzared, turned his old, decaying body, and stepped towards the lump covered in cloth in the middle of his conversion stage. He unshielded the demonic bones and showed them to the crowd, who muttered to themselves in wonder: It had a large, misshapen head with bones sticking out of where the ears should have been in a long, horn-like shape. They were much more devil-like than the horns of the priest uncovering it. Its skull looked like it could create massive jaw force with its powerful jaw, and its jagged teeth were curved inwards.

It had a massive body that was proportionate to the huge skull, and its ribs were far more numerous than that of a normal human or monster. In fact, the ribs ran not just vertical, but horizontal as well. They connected in a strange criss-cross fashion that would’ve shielded the internal organs like armor, not bones. A small hole was poked in one of the criss-cross bone slats, right where the demon's heart should’ve been. The hole went through the bone slat in front, which faced the crowd, and the one in the back, as well. It was perfectly circular. 

The main bone that made up the arm was, almost disturbingly, exactly like that of a humans. All while appearing vaguely similar to the normal anatomy of the common monster, although only a third of monsters could be classified fully within the ‘common’ category. But the peculiar thing was the three overlapping slats of bone that ran in a spiral surrounding the arm, conjoined with the main bone by little bone spikes, which formed additional little rings within. The leg was quite similar, but the spirals were connected at about an inch away from the main bone instead of two, although the leg bone was much thicker than that of a human or common monster. 

“This is no monster, nor is it one of the obscure beasts that still vaguely exist in the very corners of this world. No, it is a demon. Creatures spoken of in legend only, led by the devious demon king Ozymandias. Yet, despite Ozymandias rising four times, The Hero Canon has crushed him. Four times The Hero Canon has crushed his devious machinations, against all odds. Though it has cost his life many times, he is a being far too powerful to die after one terrible fate.” 

~

Dream swung again, missing by an inch. He was exhausted, sweat pouring down his face. “I have restrained myself for years! You will not ruin my self control!” 

RangTrue grinned, sidestepping again from the knife with ease. “You will never have to control yourself again.”

“I don’t want that! I have fought tooth and nail, until my hands were bloody from beating my door, until my room was destroyed, cracks running through the beautiful floor.”

“And why is that? It’s because this is what you were born to do!” RangTrue swiped his hands out theatrically. “Vengeance is so much stronger than self control. Normally this works. After all,” RangTrue wickedly smiled at Dream, “I’m shattering your reality.” 

Dream shook with rage before dashing forward again. RangTrue was bored with the game of keep away. With one practiced strike, Dream felt pain shoot through him. He doubled over with a cough, dropping his knife. A quick strike to the liver had ripped through his enhancement magic and left him feeling like he was dying. He felt like he would shit himself, and vomit. And sure enough, the latter of the two happened. Dream felt the pain tear through him, and he quickly diagnosed himself with internal bleeding, although a proper evaluation would be needed later. 

“So? Why do you resist?“ 

“Never!” Dream coughed. 

“Never what? You’ll never join me?” 

“I’ve never lost control. Not for eight years. I haven’t manipulated anyone, not even once, for eight years until today.” Dream coughed up blood and bile. The blood mixed with the bile and Dream decided that he must have under-diagnosed himself if he hadn’t thought that his lungs were damaged. “That’s because of my friends. I’ve been manipulated, rather, allowed myself to be manipulated, beat down; tricked, deceived, and weakened dozens of times. Over and over again, I sit in pain, buried by the voices in my head telling me just how to bend them to my will.” Dream wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and fake reached for his knife, aware RangTrue would kick it away. 

RangTrue appeared in a leaned down position, an instant movement that Dream hadn’t even seen happen, and picked up the knife. “I can get you better weapons.” 

“No.” 

“How about this,” RangTrue sighed. “I’ll offer you a position of power, to prove you would have freedom under me, and allow you to leave later if you really decide you don’t want to be there.” 

RangTrue kept the smirk off his face. 

Dream hesitated for a moment before coming to a conclusion. “What sort of trick is this? You think I don’t realize what that implies? You’re too smart to not see that I would just find powerful magic and try to destroy you with a group of high tier magic casters. Rather, now I know this no matter what, I cannot accept a deal that involves spending too much time with you. You have some confirmation that I either will or probably will join you with time.” Dreams intuition let him know when he was being manipulated. It’s why he hated allowing himself to be controlled like a normal person--though he allowed it anyway.

“You called it the Ringing Gambit.” RangTrue laughed. 

“What?” 

“If it succeeds, then you either join me or underestimate me and get killed—I get a new you if you die anyway. But if it fails, then you see through me and will not allow yourself close to me at all. I have to lure you in from the outside.” 

“The Ringing Gambit. I see.” 

“Dream.” RangTrue said. 

“What? I’ve made up my mind, I won’t join you.” 

“What does it feel like to love again? I forgot, but I know old you told me that to love is to lose. Yet, somewhere deep down, old you also felt that love was something amazing. Yet… pitiful, because of how fickle and breakable monsters relationships are: only slightly more stable than that of the short lived humans.” 

“It’s wonderful. And I won’t let you take the happiness I’ve fought my whole life for. I love my friends. I love my kingdom.”

“Besides a select few you’ve surrounded yourself with separate from me, I’ve orchestrated all this. You’ve been surrounded by people who suffer so you can learn less sympathy by normalizing pain. So you can want to help them and end up failing without using manipulation. But… Dream, you, without your old memories and mind, are a genuinely strong person. You have a mind capable of twisting others to your will, yet hold every single one of your tendencies back.” 

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“What’s your point? Is that a challenge? Are you saying you’ll be the one to break me?” 

Dream sucked in a breath and barely kept his composure. RangTrue had stood and was staring upwards, a single tear sliding down his face. “No, it’s not a challenge. It’s an admission that I almost don’t want to break you. Because it’s pitiful to know I have to give you pain in return for a life you’ve fought so hard for.” 

“What do you-” 

“Not today. I’m not strong enough for that… yet. But soon. Soon we will return to our normal life, Dream. Because…” RangTrue reached up towards the sky and grabbed the air tightly—it could not be held. “I hate you as much as you hate me. And yet… deep down, you’re the only type of love I have that isn’t an obsession.” 

Dream stared at him now, his normally well built composure shattered. He could not comprehend. “So, in a way, you’re all I have.” 

~ 

Ozymandias chuckled as he stood upon the ruined wasteland. He couldn’t be careless with this power, he understood that much. Even if the third phase gave him the power to wipe out a continent, he was aware that any hasty moves would drive either the Gods to take action, The Church of Prime, Theseus and his people, or Billiam. As it stood, the only reasonable course of action was to use forms one and two for his campaigns, and save the third to create powerful future soldiers and prepare for the main course. He licked his lips. He couldn’t wait to enjoy his feast. 

“Baba, return time fifteen seconds back.” 

Baba nodded, bowed and snapped his fingers. The Sandy wasteland returned to its original state, its green trees and large hills dotting the landscape like pieces on a chess board. Ozymandias had known he was strong, but needed to test it at least once.

”Mundi Exitium, do not use this power again unless I tell you. All of you should wander The Caves of Cragmaw and encounter my other disciples. The caves should be safe for us since they belong only to me, but should a god appear, all of you must flee. Only fight if the god is less than half of Scriptiums power. If that is the case, then you are to stay out of the fight, Mundi Exitium. If you involve yourself you will alert the gods of my true power and bring oblivion upon all of us.” Ozymandias sighed. “Baba is in charge. All orders from him equate to an order from me. Scriptium, you will be doing most of the fighting.”

~

Dream sat there shaking. He was healed because of a potion RangTrue left him: its quality was clearly higher than his own, only lending to the theory that RangTrue was in a league of his own. He would be retrieved eventually. His time with his kingdom was limited. He now knew three things: 1. RangTrue was insurmountably strong, perhaps even stronger than the Gods and Galaxy. 2. Theseus was weaker than him but was defended, thus was invulnerable. And 3. RangTrue planned to make Dream partake in his sins of the past. 

The door burst open, sparking the battle instinct Dream had developed for years. He grabbed his knife and dashed forward, preparing to impale the person stepping through the door. 

Dream was forced back by a thrust from a sword. He leapt back with spider like precision. “Calm down, Dream. Are you ok?!” 

Dream sighed when he saw it was George. “Yeah, I’m good. I, uhh, was just spooked because, you know…” 

“Yup. Sapnap is inspecting the area. Casualties are in the thousands, but we believe it was two or three people with Calamity level power because there are no soldiers dead from a different side. Or maybe a summon army.” 

Dream nodded. “It was one individual.” 

“What do you mean?” asked George. “He went after you? I mean, I knew it was strange. We assumed you would either be dead or captured when we saw all the death. But, you were left here after the attacker found you?” 

“Yup. This individual exceeds the simple Calamity ranking.” This caused George to raise his eyebrows. 

“If this guy's past Calamity ranking, he must either have been a god or a subordinate of Billiam. Calamity is a pretty broad ranking.” 

Dream nodded. He would deal with that question another time. “Any survivors?” 

“None. But do you mean past Calamity in power? Or with unique magic?” 

“I’m not sure if it was his unique magic, but he had an instant use, no incantation teleport power that overturned tier five runes with no magic struggle as far as I could tell. He also was able to massacre everyone here, so…” 

“That’s… strong. We’ll look for marks of bubble teleportation, but we should probably get you somewhere secure. We’ll look to set up a group to hunt him down, he is a threat to our world, after all. The Gods may even aim to kill him if we make it known that he exists.” George grabbed Dream's wrist lightly, the touch was not painful and was almost reassuring. Dream still felt the pain in his liver but was sure it would fade with time. 

“He works for Theseus.” Dream murmured quietly. 

There was a moment of silence as Dream felt George tighten his grip with fear. Theseus was the kind of king who made the world shake. He made the room quaver with fear. He made armies shudder, and rewrote all the best books on war. His punishments were cruel. Dream recalled meeting him, it was terrifying…

They went to the safehouse. 

~ Some days later.

Dream chatted with the Chancellor of Foreign Affairs of Ketterburg. Normally it would be improper for a nation not to send its king when many other kings were going to a feast, but it was known that The King of Ketterburg was still struggling to strike down the rebels instigating a civil war. Ketterburg was the most powerful nation in the nearby continents, amongst both monsters and humans, because of its economic power, military, and land. So it was easy for others nations to see how rebellions were frequent--though it was not helped by other world powers offering rebels aid and stealing small bits of land. 

“Well, the pirates are quite an issue for our merchants, but we believe that our economy can tolerate a little more difficulty while we wait for the military to mobilize against them.” Dream responded to the chancellor's inquiry on the pirates. “Of course, that’s why I’m interested in forming a coalition against these pirates.” 

“But what benefit would there be to Ketterburg and the other nations to band together against pirates that are mostly plaguing you and the other countries in your area?” Dream was the king of the only major country in his area. And this meeting was mostly centered around major countries, so the other countries near him were of little importance in the meeting. Dream was on the lower end of the spectrum of powerful countries, and he was large compared to his neighbors. 

“Because the pirates are getting out of control. They mostly work to gain wealth and power, but they are not traditional pirates. No country commissions or pays them, they are just people who fight against our government.” 

“I see. Without a strong presence against this sort of economic warfare, we could end up creating a divide. We don’t want the humans to back the pirates. It could spark another war, similar to the one that took place when we sealed The Horrors, or Beasts, I don’t quite recall what your country calls them. And the monsters may not win considering we were the ones who stood up against Ozymandias the most this last campaign.” 

“Beyond humans and monsters, though that is important to this issue, we need to solve this before it becomes more massive. If we allow the pirates to undermine my nation, then they will begin to move to larger targets. Perhaps my nation will be bled out, but at what cost? There is no lack of future pirates. It is a wonder this blight is starting in my nation, considering we barely involved ourselves in the conflict with Ozymandias due to our distance.” 

“And why is your involvement with Ozymandias significant to the pirates? If anything, it means you have more resources, making you an even riper target.” 

“That is where you are mistaken. The more a country fought against Ozymandias, the more ammunition there is against them.” This perked the Chancellor's attention. 

“Oh? Why is that?” He asked guardedly. 

Dream tread lightly. There was a reason he was involving himself with Ketterburg so directly: he wanted to ally himself with them to prevent what he believed RangTrues plan was; to tear down his nation and make Dream go to him for vengeance. He had confirmed he was a resurrection when he saw six other ‘Dreams’ had existed before him. All kings, all enemies of Canon, all people who allied themselves with the forces against Canon. Dream had probably even missed some other resurrected Dreams.

“Because that is where pirates originate: people, strong people, who wanted to fight against Ozymandias. The sons and daughters, the brothers and sisters, the fathers and mothers, they lost their children, siblings, and parents to Ozymandias. They want vengeance, but with Ozymandias defeated again, they have nobody to fight. You have strong, angry individuals who have lost everything taking out their anger on the only thing left they can take their anger out on: their country.” 

“I see. I believe I understand your thought process.” 

“Yes. They say, ‘why didn’t they fight to keep them alive,’ or, ‘why were they drafted,’ or, ‘why did the commander order that attack.’ And they have this burning rage inside them. This rage of learning,” Dream took a deep breath, “that it was all a lie. Every last bit of it.” 

The Chancellor nodded. “And if we can create a union against this, we can prevent the problem from spreading.” 

“Exactly. What does a disease do when it goes uncontested? It keeps on going until it kills the host. Then it spreads from the corpse.” 

“So by forming this Union, you protect yourself from the pirates plaguing your economy and defend other nations from a much more difficult problem. You’re smart, Dream. But why should you be trusted? The only outcome for this Union is to crush your enemies to prevent having more, that is its purpose, but if this is a lie, you just solve your problem with little difficulty and strengthen yourself in a time where all the major monster nations are struggling. If anything, it benefits Ketterburg more to pressure you to solve the issue, under the threat of economic tariffs that would do even more harm, and prevent any future issues while further weakening your country.” 

“You could crush my country if that was the case. If you do that, you risk sparking a war in and off itself.” 

“Oh? Can’t you deal with a few tariffs? Maybe the issue of the pirates takes more than you let on.” 

“Our economy has been weakened because of the pirates, but in general no nations can take high tariffs at the moment. Ozymandias decimated some of our largest trading partners, and we’re crippled in many economic aspects.” Dream had to concede some information if he wanted The Chancellor to take the bait. There was no point in Ketterburg damaging itself to harm a small and weakened nation, but there was purpose to stop a small country from becoming a continental power. And there was purpose for The Chancellor to achieve his own goals. 

“I see. So you’re saying that should this happen, there’s a chance you would go to war or try to chop off trade between Ketterburg and your closest allies.” 

“No. We would just pay the pirates to increase their forces. Perhaps even give them some new troops and unleash some trouble on Ketterburg,” Dream licked his lips slightly. “Perhaps have them target the Ketterburg navy in Salatia.” Dream had found the ripe moment. It felt dirty, but the entire conversation had been directed to this precise moment by Dream. RangTrue expected him to resist his ‘true nature.’ Dream would embrace it, even if only slightly, if it meant evading the cruel fate that surely awaited him as a subordinate of RangTrue. 

The Chancellor nodded his head with a stiff expression. “Perhaps it would be best to discuss with my superiors, an alliance could be beneficial.” 

Dream had to stop from changing his facial expressions. He disliked having to take off his mask, but it would’ve been disrespectful to wear it around kings and regents. Blood was in the water, and Dream considered himself an apex predator. “Then again, Ketterburg can’t keep Salatia under control, can it? Perhaps I should discuss with my close friends about possibly helping the Ketterburg navy build a name for itself.” 

The Chancellor surely understood: if he went to Dream's undesired outcome, not only would Dream strike a decisive blow against Ketterburg, he would destroy The Chancellor's son and his career. If he helped to convince The King of Ketterburg, King Jerrick, then it could lead to his son making a legacy for himself with the help of Dream. 

The Chancellor swallowed nervously and Dream felt his nerves fire up. The Chancellor wasn’t allowed to bite the bait, he just knew from seeing. Someone had commanded him to starve out Dream, or at least not allow him any benefits. 

“While that sounds appealing, I think the difficulties with the pirates are something you should solve as king of your country.” 

Dream nodded courteously and gave The Chancellor a subtle side-eye as he walked by. The man looked sick. 

It had been two weeks since the incident which had killed over two-thousand soldiers and servants in the imperial palace. Among the casualties were two Imperial class fighters. They died at roughly the same time according to Death Date crystals. They had barely used any Magical Objects or Usables, so it was believed that RangTrue killed them within a minute. Dream had made sure to issue muzzle orders for all the involved parties, and had made the information extremely classified. 

Dream talked with a few of his allied countries at the feast. “Is Theseus showing up today?” Asked one of Dreams' close friends. He was a king named Vie-Delligenter. 

“I haven’t the slightest.” Dream responded. 

Conrad, a general of the militaristic People's Army of Nartique, responded. “I’ve heard,” he took a champagne glass off of a waiters tray, “that he is currently in battle. That man never stops his war, he loves it.” 

“Ever fight him,” teased Vie. Considering they were in a very formal feast, it was surprising Vie never changed his way of speaking. But the question itself was unsurprising: The People's Army never stopped fighting, they had been in over two dozen wars in the past decade and their people were constantly in a state of exhaustion.

“I haven’t. My son did, though.” Dream admired how in shape Conrad was. He was a leader of an army that controlled a country, yet his posture was perfect, his eye contact never broke, and his tone never shifted. He was a subject of respect considering he was a fifty year old man who still waltzed to the battlefield every couple weeks to fight another rebellion--he was also an ally and friend.

“Oh? That’s interesting,” Dream pried. “How did it go?” 

“It was a minor skirmish over a colony. I sent my son to deal with it. I would’ve gone myself had I known Theseus was going to be there...” He sighed and looked thoughtfully at his glass. He turned it over in his hands. “I should’ve gone myself. That was where my son got his scar.” 

Dream nodded curtly. “Don’t feel pressured to tell us anything. I didn’t know it would be a touchy subject, but just know,” Dream felt his breath catch. He needed info, some of his natural talent was necessary. “That we are here for you. We’d fight the whole world for you, Conrad. You’re our friend.” Conrad was a fiercely loyal man who would never actually draw Dream into the conflict. That was why it was safe to say something like that. Dream knew they were Allie’s, and they would all likely choose their countries first and foremost, but they were also friends. 

Conrad nodded. “They don’t lie about Theseus. He brought a small force, but attacked nonetheless. He massacred over a thousand soldiers himself, and his force ended up killing my sons strongest soldiers and best strategists. He seized two cities before I got into contact with him. It was clear the colony was his at that point, and he demanded a bribe of high platinum coins, normal platinum coins, enchanted iron, and a treaty guaranteeing we wouldn’t try to seize the colony for another two years. He also refused to pay war reparations. Whatever troops he captured he would either keep or offer at the cost of twenty gold coins. They were slaves--and many stayed that way, as his offer of buying them expired after half a year.” 

Dream wondered how he didn’t hear about any of this. He had known Theseus had captured a colony a year ago from The People's Army of Nartique, but had never been informed of the scale.

“I assume it was kept under wraps.” Commented Vie. “Did your son actually fight him?” 

Conrad nodded. “My son, my pride and joy, was beaten in not even a minute according to him. He didn’t want to do anything for two months after that. Theseus left a long scar from the far part of his left eyebrow,” Conrad traced the scar his son had, “down to the right corner of his mouth. His nose was so badly damaged they had to do a magical fusing.” 

“He probably scores well into Calamity then…” Vie trailed off. “I know we don’t frequently get people above Calamity, since The Church of Prime purges people who aren’t even in Calamity sometimes. But he seems rather powerful; maybe he counts as close to above Calamity.” 

“I hope not,” said Dream. “We just dealt with Ozymandias a couple months ago. If we have to unite again… I’m not sure. I think Theseus is just skirting the edge of getting labeled as above Calamity.” 

Vie laughed. “Even if he was above, that’s not an immediate death sentence. We’ve all considered purging him before out of fear already. But that was because of his strategy and magical power. Plus, we’re supposed to unite under him; not against him.”

Conrad was probably going to mention how certain nations might unite under Ketterburg, but he was interrupted. 

The door slammed open, alarming everyone in the room. A blood stained man walked in. He was covered in scars and still wet blood. This was the second time Dream had met Theseus. 

“Please clean that off,” declared the only one of comparable status to Theseus in the room. The Chancellor of Ketterburg grinned smugly. Dream resisted the urge to laugh; the chancellor clearly had never met Theseus. 

“Fuck off.” 

“Wha-what!? You can’t speak to me that way! This is a formal feast, not a pig pen!” He had seemed calm a minute ago, but tensions had been high between Ketterburg and Greater Talentare for years. This was partially because of the ‘greater’ royal family. Though the kingdoms had split up past humans and monsters into hundreds of nations, the real royal family still existed: Theseus and his siblings were the ones who could issue a command to any monster kingdom and probably have it heeded. Though he seemed to not be interested in wielding his power like this, he was capable of doing this and would likely be acknowledged as a grand leader if the humans made a move. The general plan for both species was to unite all their kingdoms should the other make a move. The library that Theseus controlled didn’t help, either. 

In walked alongside him The Ángel of Death, Philza of the Minecraft Family. He was not the biological father of Theseus, but he acted like a mentor to him and the other royals. 

“Pardon us.” He had less blood stained upon him, but some still was present. “We were a little late because we had to finish something up. We went to a teleport circle immediately so we could catch up, though. I hope we didn’t miss too much.” He smiled kindly, though the malice within it could not be hidden by mere words. The Chancellor of the kingdom that had pulled just ahead of them in power was standing before them, insulting them. It only made sense. Ketterburg was stronger now than it had ever been. 

Dream could not mistake it. He saw the grin on Theseus’ face when he caught sight of Dream. The Chancellor had not taken the bait, Theseus had grinned at him, and the pirates were somehow getting armed with stronger and stronger weaponry—which was what had really caused Dream to approach Ketterburg for an alliance; Dream wasn’t even sure mobilizing the military could completely crush the pirates. He now knew that things were in motion: The Church of Prime had been alerted to his presence, and Theseus was the one giving the pirates supplies that rendered them nigh unbeatable. 

Multiple moves were being made against Dream. He doubted that Theseus would make a direct move against him, but Ketterburg very well could. Dream doubted he could defend against any actions from Ketterburg. 

The feast seemed to die down a bit after Theseus’ entrance and even The Chancellor seemed to realize it wasn’t wise to create a scene right in front of everyone. Dream managed to arrange a time to chat with Conrad, Vie, and a noble by the name of Vekya, who was currently in the process of starting a civil war in his country, to see if they could use the pirates as possible weapons. Conrad was very in favor of the idea while Vie was uncertain. The noble was totally in favor as long as he got fair compensation in the form of the pirates being used against his enemies. Since Vie was currently not in any real trouble, he was the most likely to reject the deal. Conrad would certainly accept it as he was in a constant state of war. The noble had already decided he would, so long as Dream honored the deal of using the pirates against the nobles' enemies as well. 

~ 

The Blood God sat atop his throne. He could not be seen because of the bright light that shone through the stained glass window. The craftsman who had made the window had made it his masterpiece, he had worked on it every day for years--pouring blood, sweat, and hours of precious time into it. The Blood God had killed him instead of paying him once it was done, and added it to his throne room. It was one of many things with a rich history in his elegant throne room, decorated with masterpieces he had taken upon killing the creators. 

“I don’t care what you do. I need a new prison to hold it, for his escape cannot go unguarded for too long. If the good gods kill him, we will get another of his kind to rival me. I cannot allow that.” 

The lower evil god nodded his head vigorously from his kneeling position. “I will have the architects make haste in finishing the prison we were working on while he was contained. We didn’t expect he would escape so soon.” 

“Then your expectations disappoint me.” 

“I-I… I apologize.” 

The Blood God let out a chuckle. “And let me ask you,” his tone was so sinister even the god kneeling before him, who had massacred hundreds of thousands in the past, felt his blood run cold. “What does your apology do for me? Get to work before we lose him,” The Blood God clicked his tongue, “his loss means your head.” 

~

”Three years ago, the parents of Ranboo Starken were killed mysteriously. Their torsos were found a mile away from their necks and legs. Their house had crumbled in multiple spots. Ranboo, their son, disappeared and has yet to be found.” 

“And how does this concern me?” Asked Theseus, his voice contained a mocking tone. “Some young child dies and you expect me, the king of a giant nation and the leader of a world union, to care? Especially one dead for a year!” 

“No sir,” the man grinned from his kneeling position. He had confirmed what Canon had wanted: Ranboos' age was never mentioned in the conversation, yet Theseus assumed him to be a young child. It proved nothing, but it was enough evidence for Canon to be satisfied if presented well. Not to mention that Canon was sure that Theseus had already researched the Ranboo incident. Canon was a brat and would believe anything presented right. 

Soon, Canon would hunt down Theseus under suspicion that he had aligned himself with the King of Unablances, RangTrue, The Creator of Unbalanced Creatures. The God of Unbalance, The King Of Slaughter, and The Man At The Helm would clash. The outcome would be very strange indeed. 

~

The Hero Canon's steps could be described as perfect. Each footstep was perfected and honed, the product of constant training for perfection. 

He reached the doorway and grasped the door handles tightly. He tossed open the door. The men and women lining the walls could be described as motionless, their backs running so parallel to the walls it seemed unnatural. Even just one of them was powerful enough to throw the world off balance.

As the centerpiece, a throne. A giant graceful throne. It was made of gold and ridiculously expensive gems. The craftsmanship was so wonderful that the greatest artists would’ve fallen to their knees at the mere sight. The first time Canon had seen it, as a young child, its magnificence had been so excellent that Canon had cried at the sight. He had vomited and yelled and screamed and begged to offer his life to the artists who had scorched the divine, yet so impure sight, into his eyes. It showed demons and angels falling into a dark abyss, it showed a hero fighting a creature made of shadow, it portrayed a million things in such graceful ways that the world could’ve been destroyed by the information it held. 

Atop this throne was a man with an extreme presence—so much so even Canon felt himself cowering a bit. He was old, with lanky limbs and a paled face. His eyes were deep and motionless. 

“Director.” Canon said, kneeling to the ground. On either side of his magnificent throne, two brothers. One red and one blue, both wielding axes. The red one looked closer to pink and the blue closer to purple, they seemed exhausted—sure signs they had died recently. 

The man in charge of The Grand Scheme of Things… 

“Ahh. Canon.” 

The Director.

“I’ve decided who you will kill next.” 

The man with the most magical power ever to exist. 

“Theseus is our prey now. Kill him as soon as possible.” Eyes closed yet again, the exhaustion weighing down on him. 

…

Somewhere else, an unknown mage smirked. 

(Separate definition) 

Unbalance: 

A being deemed by The Church of Prime as someone capable of destroying or uprooting the world. An imbalance doesn’t necessarily have to plausibly have the ability to destroy the world, it just has to have a ridiculous amount of potential. Powerful people aren’t necessarily unbalances, though, as even some of the most powerful warriors are considered not unbalanced while some of the weakest unique magics have the capability of throwing the world off its axis. 

Unbalances can only be determined by The Grand Scheme of Things, and even The Director is not sure how it decides them. It’s believed by some that The Grand Scheme of Things simply labels things unbalanced if they need to be eliminated for the future benefit of The Evening Star and the continuation of The Grand Scheme of Things. 

Thousands of Unablances have been eliminated, including many of a species that swore themselves loyal to The Bloody King after being almost completely wiped out.