Chapter 22 – Life 5 – The Skeleton Emperor

A few days ago, I asked my former Master how such weak skeleton monsters had threatened the Empire. She had given me a look of, well, pity, and explained that not *all* skeletons were weak. I understood that pitying look, now. Getting behind the front lines was easy enough, the local Metal-Molders had rebuilt the city with precisely that in mind. Getting into the front lines was also relatively simple, we just had to arrange it with the local Master in charge of that day’s shift. When he called to halt, all the sounds of wind, cracking rock, and roaring flames ceased with clockwork precision. In its place, the sound of crunching steps on icy ground and the creaking of bones unnaturally set in motion.

Getting *through* the front lines, that was another story entirely. With the halt in attacks from this area, whatever minds were contained in the skeletons’ thick skulls were clever enough to change direction. Skeletal cattle, horses, birds, snakes, lizards, and some species that I couldn’t even recognize, all came for us. Naturally, we responded. My teacher had given some of us shields that we could use to charge forward. A few bones crunched in that charge, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. Then, we were in the thick of it. My skills in combat were quite good at this point, but I was only one man. At one point, I had to break off an attack so that I could rescue an Earth-Maker who had used his Qi too quickly. At another point, three boney oxen charged at me at once, and I had to be saved by the armored Metal-Molder I had given one of my swords to.

My swords were, indeed, quite powerful. They were not massive, two-handed swords that could sweep through multiple enemies at once, but wherever they *did* hit, they would slice at least halfway into a bone, if not all the way through. Truly, their sharpness was unmatched. But 6 perfect swords could only do so much against an army. Eventually, we picked up our shields and charged once again, this time in a temporary retreat. This had been only a test of our expedition’s abilities. My former Master and a few others went deep into the camp, no doubt going off to judge our performance in front of the 3rd Emperor.

I hadn’t seen much of the Child-Emperor during our travels. I knew he was there, but he almost exclusively stayed inside a heavily guarded carriage pulled by his most trusted servants. I had, for a time, thought to ask him what his combined element was. He said that he had become young when he combined his Life element, granted by the imperial bloodline, with something else. However, he did not say what that ‘something else’ was.

Had he used Earth to become a Bone-Maker? To fight against the Skeleton Emperor with his own power? Or had he used Water, like I had seen in my nightmares of a Blood-Maker? I hoped it wasn’t that, as the blood required to make enough soldiers to contend with the skeleton army would ruin the Empire as much as the army itself. Or perhaps he had combined it with another element? Metal? What would that look like? Would it make some hardy substance that could heal itself from injury? Now wouldn’t THAT be a sight! In the end, though, I was too wary of the man behind the child’s face to ask his element. If he had wanted me to know, he would have told me, and that was that.

I eventually was called in to report my progress with the swords. While I was able to make a 6th sword that was finally as powerful as the first 5, it seemed I could go no further. I blacked out almost instantly the moment I tried. Perhaps 6 was an important number in matters of Qi? There were 6 moons, after all, 6 uncombined elements. I explained these thoughts to the child who ruled the Empire, and he nodded. “That will have to be enough. I don’t think I need to tell you that this expedition is of the utmost importance. Should we fail, the Empire may soon crumble to dust. And that is why… when we venture out tomorrow, I will be going with you.” I was shocked. “M-my Lord! Surely you don’t- I mean, to risk yourself- the Empire would-“ He held a palm up. “Silence. My decision is final, a good leader does not only risk his subordinates. Besides… there is a plan in place to kill the beast in my brother’s skin once and for all, and I am a necessary part of it.”

We left at first light, and true to his word the 3rd Emperor was a part of our battle group. The group also contained everyone I had given swords to, as well as several Metal-Makers and -Molders, assorted combined element Makers, and strangely, a man dressed in black who carried a similarly black box. I had no idea what was in the box, and he didn’t seem inclined to tell anyone. Regardless, we left under the cover of the young Fog-Maker girl’s ability. The skeletons, thankfully, did not seem to have the ability to smell, so Fog was a useful element to block whatever rudimentary sight they had. We did still come across shapes in the fog, some seemingly the size of houses, but the girl was an expert at guiding us around them before they could clatter and raise the alarm.

It was somewhat mind-numbing, walking through the icy ground surrounded by a cloud of endless white, but eventually a new figure emerged, one that surprised me. The Fog girl dropped all pretense and ran towards this new presence, saying, “Mother! I’m so happy you’re alright!” Ah, this woman dressed in all black was the silent one I had met earlier. I could barely see in all the fog, but it seemed to avoid covering up the woman, and I noticed the cut in her throat that likely prevented her from speaking. She hugged her daughter gratefully, then realized that the 3rd Emperor was also there. She seemed briefly confused by his child-like status, but quickly corrected herself and gave a deep bow. The child-Emperor paused for a second, then nodded, and simply said, “report.”

Another person from my past emerged from the fog, this time the Magma-Maker I had been with on the Sand Python mission. He seemed quite a bit wearier than when I had seen him before. “We currently hold 8 crystals, though the furthest one north hasn’t reported in for 3 days. We lost the tunneling rat one to the enemy but gained one with some beetles. Though, I don’t know if beetles even have bones for the Skeletal E- enemy to work with. More and more of them have the joint armor that makes it harder to split them up. And… well, one of the men says he took one down with two skulls. Needed to destroy both of them before the thing stopped moving, he says. Official word is that it was just one bastard that picked up another, but that’s just to keep morale up. They’re getting smarter, alongside stronger, My Lord.”

The 3rd Emperor nodded. “It seems we have come at a good time, then. This ‘Skeleton Emperor’ may have a new trick, but so do we. Your new orders are to follow our group, guarding this man with your life.” he said, pointing to… me. I blinked, and so did the Magma-Maker. “Him, My Lord?” “Yes, he has supplied us with swords created with a… unique ability. There is reason to believe that, should he perish, so too would these swords. They are necessary for the plan to come to fruition. Do not fail me.” He then went off into the fog-enshrouded camp. “Well, guess we’re stuck together, kid.”, said my new bodyguard.

The man took his job seriously, not even letting me shit out of his sight. He explained that skeleton patrols, or worse, one of the ‘big ones’, would travel into foggy areas to seek out their makers. That was another example of the skeletons getting smarter. Ideally, each camp within the wilderness would be protected by TWO Fog-Makers, but that was rarely possible. This camp, deep inside enemy lines, only had the silent woman, who apparently was the strongest Fog-Maker in the Empire. Her area of effect allowed over 100 men to stay here in this dreary place and have a bit of room to spare.

We did spar a bit, agreeing to not use his Magma or my swords. Interestingly, I still won quite handily. At first I thought this was my bodyguard being gentle with me, but I told him so and he just laughed. “Kid, I only did that for the first match or two. The rest has all been you. You’re a monster, even without one of your fancy dark swords, you know that?” Interesting, the man was nearly twice my size and yet I was still pushing him to the brink. I had, back in the Old City, noticed that I could exercise with more Metal-Maker-created weights than before… but I hadn’t realized it was to this extent. Had my years of isolation left me so strong? Curious.

We picked up many members from the enshrouded camp and left a few behind to help manage the crystal it controlled. Among those left behind was the young Fog girl, who seemed more than a little dismayed that her mother was coming with us. The sword I had given her was also passed to her mother, though my Master gave her a new, regular one of her own making. It seemed she still was not allowed to know the secret of my swords. The 3rd Emperor must be very worried about the madness that the process induces. Which, to some degree, I understood. Unpredictability was the last thing we needed right now.

The group had several battles with skeletal monstrosities the size of buildings, but by the Emperor’s orders, the Magma-Maker and I avoided them. In one instance, several people had to be pried out of the grasp of a giant hand that one construct had in place of a face. In another, 2 Air-Makers were crushed under 2 of the 6 feet of a colossal lizard-like skeleton. It was difficult, to say the least, to watch people fight, become injured, and even die when I could have prevented it. But the 3rd Emperor’s word was law, and his word was that I was too important to risk before the final conflict. For what reason, that was unclear.

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Finally, we heard it. It was unnerving, it was relentless. It almost pulled me towards it at the same time it made me want to run away. “Heh heh heh heh HAH heh heh HAHA heh heh…” It was the sound of the mad would-be emperor’s laughter. And it pulled on our bones.

The 3rd Emperor motioned for the silent Fog-Maker to stop walking. He made some hand signals, which I barely caught a glimpse of, to some other members of the group, including the man with the black box. He then walked out of the fog and announced himself. “I… am the 3rd Emperor of the Immortal Empire! And I have come to talk with the man who seeks to threaten that rule!” I could tell many of the group were worried about what he had just said. Yes, a man, not a monster, not a crystal. But it was not a man who walked towards us through the forest. It was a beast.

The ground shook with its every step. A being made of gleaming white lines, all interwoven and connected in strange, organic patterns walked from behind a group of trees. It was at least twice as tall as the tallest man I had ever seen, and atop its head was a crown of bones and skulls. The thing rumbled. “Heh heh HAHAHA heh heh… so. My, my, my, brother. Brother in the womb, brother in blood… brother in bone. Younger flesh, it seems, but still my brother. Brother in betrayal! But now, it seems, you have seen the truth? Do you bring me… atonement? Do you bring me… tribute? Perhaps I could accept this… for now, hahaha, for now! Still covered in filth, of course, still covered in FLESH, but their true selves could shine brightly through…”

Many of the group with weaker wills were struggling to stay put, shocked at these revelations. I stood my ground, and so did others, but we all wanted to hear what the 3rd Emperor would say to this madness. “My brother… was a proud man, yes. An arrogant man, even. But he was proud of his people. He was proud of the Empire he would inherit. But one day, while fighting to protect that Empire… he changed. He fought a hard battle, and won, but it changed him. He started to think strange thoughts and do strange things. Things that hurt those around him. But he was still offered forgiveness… and he denied it. Does the man who stands before me remember this?”

The battle group began to mumble in surprise, until the fog thickened around us. I could still make out the strange sounds of the bone-man, though. “HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Yes, oh brother, I remember. My mind is not as addled as you think! I note, for example, that you speak of ‘your brother’ in the past tense! But my time is not in the past, rather the future! All filth-creatures give their bones to the earth, no matter how long it takes, and so I shall gladly accept their gifts as my birthright!”

A collection of skeletons that resembled no living thing, not even from my nightmares, began to circle us. Whatever the 3rd Emperor had planned, he had better do it quickly… But he simply spoke, with a waver to his child-like voice. “What is it you saw, then, you thing that calls itself my brother? What caused you to become like this? The brother I knew had honor, even if he didn’t always show it! Have you now simply gone mad with power? You could be the most powerful warrior on the planet, you could bring prosperity to the Empire… but instead you call our subjects FILTH? Why do you seek to bring darkness to our already ruined world?”

“Heh. Heh. HAHA. Heh. Heh. Hmm. An interesting question. You say the world is ruined, and once upon a time I would have agreed. We live in the shadows of the Ancestors, the ruins of their supposed paradise. But do you ever wonder… what casts those shadows? Do you ever look to the sky, so very different to what the Ancestors saw, and wonder… what changed? And what caused that change? I found the answers, you know. The Bone Spider we fought long ago… it had achieved power like none other. It could speak to me; did you know that? In its death throes it spoke to me. Spoke in a language not of words, but of vibrations, deep within my bones. It took me the whole battle to realize it, and years afterward to understand it. But I do, now, understand. The changed world we call home is one small part of a grander picture. The powers we call upon, the ‘monsters’ we do battle with… they are one and the same! ONE AND THE SAME!”

The 3rd Emperor looked startled at this. This conversation clearly wasn’t going where he had thought it would. “And… what power is this, then? What power took my brother from me?” “HAHA heh heh heh. I wouldn’t claim to have the whole picture. I know no name for it, for there is power in names, and I am not yet powerful enough to hear them. Any name worthy of these forces would rend mountains, split oceans. Fracture bones, even! Haha, THE BONES OF THE WORLD! But these powers are not our enemies, no no, we have received a gift. The energies you call ‘Qi’? A gift! The energies you call ‘monsters’? ALSO a gift! A lesson from our betters, and those who perish from it were those who failed to learn!”

The 3rd Emperor heard the ramblings of the bone-man that once was his brother and sighed. “It seems you have been given profound knowledge, then, ‘brother’. Knowledge that seeped into your bone marrow, where it will never be removed.” “AHAHAHAH yes, you see, you see!” “And that is why I also, have a gift for you. A ‘lesson from your betters’, if you will.” “Hah! Brother, if you think-“ The 3rd Emperor then screamed, “NOW!”

The fog flowing in and around our group suddenly ceased, as if it was never there. And it revealed a large metal construct, made of all the armor of all the Metal-Molders in the group. At its base was the black box I had seen being lugged around. At its top, the 5 swords I had given out, pointing outwards. And the thing was facing towards the chest of the mad skeleton man. Before the construct of bone could react, a thunderous *BOOM* rang out, and I quickly had to raise my shield as the shrapnel from the explosion hit me. When I came back from out behind it, I saw what was practically a crater, but before I could figure out what happened, I heard a mocking laugh. “Heh. Heh. Heh. Toothpicks? You thought Blue-Metal TOOTHPICKS could hurt my most supreme creation?! There’s a reason creatures have bones, not metal, in their bodies. Bones are BETTER. STRONGER. They can HEAL. You may have tickled me a little with your whatever-that-was, but I can-“

The 3rd Emperor thrust his hand towards the skeleton man, who had 5 of my finest swords embedded in his chest. And from the child’s hand came a stream of light so beautiful it hurt to see. “GAHHHHH!”, screamed the Skeleton Emperor, as the light entered the swords. The child Emperor continued to pour more and more energy into the thing, even as he spoke to his lost brother. “For all our talk of knowledge. For all our talk of power. For all our talk of armies, leaders, and Empires. I remembered one thing. An Empire may be immortal. But humans… no human is immortal. Any human can die, at any time, even the emperors of the world. And you, you may no longer be any family of mine… but you! Are! Still! HUMAN!”

The twisted bones that made up the colossal being began to char, then crumble. First an arm, and the man tried to steady himself. Then the other arm, and he tried to turn around. Then a leg, and he fell, then tried to crawl, almost like one of his own skeletal puppets. The 3rd Emperor was having none of it. The furious light – Lightning, that’s what it was – came pouring out of the man, until he was spent. And the Skeleton Emperor… was now simply a giant skull, twisted and misshapen. All the bone creatures around us collapsed, as if they were puppets with their strings cut. The 3rd Emperor was panting, uncharacteristically out of breath. No-one said anything for a long time. Until I spoke up.

“You can come out, now.”

A voice responded from the massive skull. “Heh. Heh. Clever, so clever, who are you who is so clever?” The skull dissolved, revealing a man with a long beard and ragged clothes. He had been living inside the skull this whole time. As for how I knew he was still alive? He had picked up one of my swords. He pointed the sword right at me and looked me in the eyes. “Clever, clever… of course, it had to be you. The Bone Spider knew things, you know? Felt things, in the bones of the world. It told me of a certain kind of person. An upset in the natural order. An extra piece in the puzzle. Some would call you ‘special’. Me, I call you cancer in the marrow. You stick around, very sticky, very hard to get rid of.” The man was talking nonsense, and yet somehow it was nonsense that resonated with me. Did he… know about my nightmares, somehow?

No-one was willing to approach him. We had no idea if he could control the bones in other people’s bodies, but who would be willing to find out? We needed to keep him talking until the 3rd Emperor’s Lightning was restored. “A monster… told you about me?” “You and others like you, yes. A rare breed, filth cursed to defy the laws of the world. I should have known one of you would find me. The Bone Spider even gave me a message for such an occasion, hmm?” I couldn’t help myself. “And what message would that be?”

“Heh. Two words, that’s it.” I was wary. “And… what would those two words be?” “Heh. HAHA. Go. Faster. Go faster. GO FASTER!” Then he burst into motion. I dusted the sword he carried, but he looked barely surprised when he grabbed his own right arm and pulled it off with a sickening *pop*. Then he threw it at me, and though I tried to dodge, and my Magma-Maker bodyguard tried to catch it, it grew strange protrusions that let it change direction mid-air. I tried to slice it with my sword, but even cut in two it still came towards me. It stabbed into me, burrowing into my chest, and suddenly all I felt was pain.

My legs dislocated as if I had fallen from a great height. Then my arms. Then my ribcage ballooned outward. I screamed so loudly my throat went raw. Quickly, the Skeleton Emperor was killed, a mass of fire, magma, and even Lighting colliding with him all at once. But while I could feel the changes slowly undoing themselves, I was coughing up blood. The damage to my insides had been done. A crowd of people tried to gather around me, to help me. They said things to me, I’m sure. But all I could hear was the haggard voice of the madman.

“Go Faster”. It echoed in my mind. It almost felt like the message wasn’t meant for me… but someone else? But then why-

You have died as a Low Rank 3 Titanium Swordsman (Yang)