Originally uploaded Mar 6, 2024

Arthur Pov

Tessia Eralith, The lone heir to the elven throne. A childhood friend, past lover, a warrior princess, the vessel for the legacy.

All these images of the girl that stood before me flashed by like blurry vision. I didn't necessarily hold disdain for Tess.

If anything I pitied her. She was just a young girl caught up in all this mess. She didn't deserve for the blade that was Cecilia to be hanging above her head. My internal feeling for her were still complicated to say the least.

There was a moment when I considered a swift mercy for her. No one would have known, her parents would have only presumed she lost her way home in the forest where I found her.

But Fate was a tricky thing. Past events could be changed slightly, yet the outcome was all the same regardless. Dealing with her then would have only postponed the problem and taken away one of my very important cards.

No, the thing I could do now was to comfort this young child. I owed it to her, for the hell she will go through in the coming years.

I lightly grabbed her soft dainty hands. She was technically one year physical older than me, but my asuran physique as well as my aether core seemed to accelerate my growth to my physical peak. Perhaps that is why I was regarded much more as an adult than I was in my previous life.

Or was it even before that? Having lived through so many lives both literally and within the 4th keystone has heavily warped my perception of time and my age. I eventually stopped counting after the first couple hundred years.

"Come on princess. Let's get you out of this drab room." I said in a friendly tone with a small smile.

She didn't seem to protest as she silently followed me out of her room, allowing me to led her around by her hand like a small lost child.

Our footsteps echoed through the castle hallways as I took measures to make sure we won't run into any people.

But pretty soon we were sandwiched, as a pair began walking towards our general direction at the far end of the hallway. While a small family was fast approaching from the rear. I stopped in my tracks, considering what to do. Tessia didn't seem to notice as she just stood there with an empty look in her eyes.

I looked back and forth as both ends of the long corridor. Before I pulled in Tessia closer to my body. She let out a small noise in surprise of my action but I decided to ignore it as I channeled aether into my back.

Reality and space warped around us as aetheric pathways carried us just outside of the castle onto a patch of grass that overlooked the edge of the flying castle.

A gust of wind blew through our hair as Tessia gasped surprise. She gave me a sideways glance.

"I could never get used to that." She grumbled.

"Seems like you are in a talking mood now." I joked as I poked her side.

Tessia threw her fist at my abdomen and I took the hit.

I tried to think about other methods to lift her mood when she lowered her head. Her gunmetal grey hair forming a curtain that obscured her face.

My laughter died down as I bent forward to try to see her face.

"Tessia." I said in a sincere voice.

"I can't help you if you don't talk to me."

Still she was unresponsive. Instead choosing to plop herself down onto the grassy ground. She turned away from me as she brought her knees up to her chest, hugging her legs tightly.

I took a small sigh. Emotions were never a strong suit for me. I had chosen to ignore such things when I became a king back on Earth. And aether only seemed to bring out the cold ruthless part of me whenever I delve deeper into its secrets. It was also the reason why I despised using King's Gambit unless absolutely necessary.

The godrune heightened all of my sense and perception, as well as increase my thinking capacity to the point it took off much of the load of using multiple godrunes in tandem with each other.

But it came at the cost of my humanity. Only seeing facts and logic as I saw it. Other's lives turned into mere pieces on a gameboard for me to control. While useful in a war against gods, it made me much more akin to the Kezess or Agrona than I would have liked. And I was still apprehensive about fully returning to Grey as a mask to hide under.

A moment of silence hung in the air between us. Only filled by the soft cool breeze of air that danced on our skins and hair.

"I can still picture them." Tessia softly said after a couple minutes.

I turned to her as I drew my body closer. She flinched back in response but continued in a quiet tone.

"I can still see their faces. The- the look in their eyes as death came for them."

"I could see their eyes. The dread that filled them, the regret. The-" With each word she spoke her voice grew desperate and out of breath. Like each word she uttered was a struggle.

She clenched her chest as she rest her entire body on me. I gladly took her in as I embraced her.

She began sobbing into my shirt as she continued to mumble.

Not know really what to do I began to gently pat her on the back, like a mother would when comforting her baby.

Before long she stopped crying as she looked back up at me. Her face was red and swollen from the tears but that did little to detract from her natural beauty.

"How do you do it?" She meekly asked.

"Do what?" I asked out of genuine confusion.

"How do you deal with it? The pain, the regret, the expectation." She questioned as she pulled away from me, wiping the tears away.

I pondered her question as I leaned back and watched to setting sun. the sky was a mix of vibrant orange, yellow, and purple as the clouds looked like fluffy candy that decorated the sky than actual clouds.

Tessia looked at me expectantly as I took a deep sigh. In truth I didn't deal with it in a sense. I simply march forward. Knowing that if I don't than all of this would all end in ruin. Someone had to be the one to bare to weight. To lead us into any semblance of a salvation. And if that costed me dearly than what choice do I have? A single life should never stand in the way of countless souls.

I thought back to my parents. And a deep regret floated up from the depths of my mind that I tried so hard to drown. I had referred to them as parents of my vessel. But I still knew that they were the only parents I have ever had. The ones could cared for me. Raise me from a small child. And loved me unconditionally. Even when I revealed my true identity to them in my past life they still welcomed me back as their child.

But this time I had turned them away. Saying that abandoning them was a price I must pay to achieve my goals. When in truth that was a flimsy excuse at best. And a woeful self-delusion at worst. That costed not only me dearly, but no doubt costed my parents as well as Ellie dearly as well.

If only I could turn back the clock. If only I wasn't a reincarnate brought into this world to be a mere chess piece. If only I was just a simple boy, with a carefree life. What would I have become then? Would I study hard to become a mage? Or would I follow in my parent's footsteps and train to become an adventurer?

Tears threatened to well in my eyes and I swiped them away as I answered Tess' question.

"Can I be honest with you Tess?" I asked as I turned my head to look back at her.

She seemed a bit taken aback by my request but nodded her head in response.

I took a deep breath. And for the first time in this life I allowed Arthur Leywin to bubble up to the surface.

"In truth Tessia, I don't know myself." I answered. Which seemed to shock and confuse Tessia but I continued.

"I know I may seem all confident and strong but that is just a mask, a veil I put on for the outside world to see. Honestly I am afraid. I am absolutely terrified of the future and the things I have done to make them happen, of things I will do." I said as my voice shook.

"There are things, things I have seem, things I know that I couldn't even put into words let alone try to explain. I have trouble sleeping. Whenever I close my eyes or allow my mind to drift I am constantly haunted by images. By things I have done and seen. I can still hear them, the screams." Before I knew it I was in the fetal position, hugging my legs tightly as I continued to speak.

"I may seem mature to you Tess. But I am not. I focus so much on my own physical prowess because that is all I am good at. When it comes to dealing with emotions I may as well be a newborn.

So you ask me how I deal with it... I don't. I simply move forward. Ignoring such feelings as I march towards the end. Is this a good solution? Absolutely not. But it's the only way I can keep going. I have so many regrets Tess. So many things left unsaid, so any things I haven't been allowed to do. So many things. So little time." I stood up as I clenched my fist.

Tessia stared up at me with a look that was a mixture of sorrow and shock.

"I'm sorry princess, but I do not hold all of the answers. But it is through talks like these we grow closer in understanding each other. All we have is each other in this war. I may not be able to answer all your problems Tess. And I don't believe you could answer all of mine." I offered her my hand and helped her up to her feet.

"But we are all in this together. I don't doubt the trauma that you have faced and will face if you choose to continue to fight in this war. But I tell you this, your family and I will support you all the way. Because at the end of the day what else do we have? Feelings and emotions are such complicated things. But don't we owe to all of the ones who have died to keep going? To keep moving so that their deaths weren't in vain? War is cruel, one second you are laughing with your comrades around a fire sharing jokes and stories, and the next you are fighting for your life as people around you drop like flies."

I couldn't quiet tell whether I was saying these words to reassure Tess or myself. And at this point I don't think it hardly mattered.

"I don't expect your nightmares or regrets to disappear in the blink of an eye. But Tessia, you can grow beyond them. To learn from your failings and make their sacrifices count."

Tessia's face seemed to relax as her eyes seemed to fill with a new found conviction. The sorrow still lingered, and perhaps it will never truly disappear. Always lurking deep within her mind like a prowling predator. But it is enough for now. Hopefully with more help from her family she will be able to bounce back. She was an important key in events that have yet to transpire.

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I could feel my deeper more sensitive emotions being pulled back down under the surface. As a shadow loomed over my mind like a blanket. The Arthur side of my soul began to slowly fade as a familiar yet cold feeling filled my heart. But I still smiled with tears in my eyes, The words I spoke here were all true to some extent, I just wasn't sure which part of me it was true to. But I reassured Tessia one last time and brought her into an embrace.

"I am with you, here and always."

Tessia Pov

Arthur slowly led me back to my room. There was still a atmosphere of gloom that hung over my head like a dark cloud. But Art's words seemed to have reached me.

Perhaps I was the one in the wrong here. Always putting my childhood friend high up on a pedestal, as always a goal to strike for. To train more, to harden myself so I won't be a burden for him. So that I could stand proudly right beside him. Not as a weak princess who needed protecting but as an equal.

But his words. The truth he spoke about. Peeled back the layers of his person that I have never deeply thought about before. While the way he spoke about things, about the past made him sound much older than he truly was. It made me wonder just what kind of life he had lived.

And in truth he was my oldest friend yet I only knew him on a very surface level. Before he rescued me from the slave traders I know nothing about his past. And judging from the way he conducted himself and fought I knew he was much more than just a talented boy.

Even after that he always seemed to keep me at a arms-length away from me. Treating me more as a rowdy child that was several years his junior.

But with his words came a new sense of dread and doubt. If someone as talented and skilled as Art still had no answers. Still held so much regret and pain from a life I don't know about than what if that was it.

There was no answer. To all of this, to deal with the pain. All we can do is move on. Allowing for the wounds in our hearts to simply heal with time and to be scars of our past actions. And if we can't are we just consumed by the demons that lurk just below the surface of our waking minds?

I knew I had to be strong. To be a leader just like my parents and grandpa. War was here, and I wasn't going to be just dead weight. But I still couldn't, I still couldn't wrap my head around all of this. The more I thought about it the more nauseous I grew.

I fell to my knees as I dry-heaved, I would have spewed out digested food if I had eaten any. Alias, only acidic bile filled my mouth as Art quickly bent down to support me.

I stopped him with a hand, waving him away as I rose to my feet. I reached out and place one of my hands on the nearby wall to steady myself as I did.

I quickly tried to bury the thought that seemed to grow like a hungry fire deep within the depths of my consciousness.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked, his voice laced with concern.

I racked my brain, trying to think about something, anything else than the growing dread and paranoia that was slowly eclipsing my whole mind.

"Arthur." I said in a quiet tone.

"You speak as if you are far older. Just what kind of life did you live?" I questioned, desperate to put on mind on anything else.

"Well about that... I can't exactly tell you."

Before I could protest Art placed one finger over my lips to silence me.

"But I will reveal everything with time. In the meantime let's get you back to your room." He said with a small smile, but behind his eyes was a small sense of sadness that you could have easily missed.

And with that he quickly guided me back, in silence. With my hands still in his. His hands were much larger than mine. Yet still oddly soft, despite the years of training he no doubt went through. Did Art have some unknown skin-care routine for such clear skin? Or did it have something to do with his status as a beast tamer bonded with a dragon.

We soon reached my room. And just outside the room stood a elf attendant, her blonde hair was neatly tied in interlacing braids that fell across her back. In her hands she held a tray of food, no doubt for me. But she looked frustrated as she knocked on my door.

Feeling our presence she quickly turned to face us. Art tried in vain to above her but alias even he seemed to have lowered his guard after his heartfelt speech.

The elf woman gasped slightly in shock, before bowing at us. At first I presumed she was bowing to me, which was something I disliked. Being treated as some untouchable princess had placed me within a glass bubble, and the reason why I had very little friends growing up.

"Your majesty." She said, which only confused me. Majesty? I had never heard someone refer to me by such titles. I looked at Art and while his face was the ever unchanging stoic expression he defaulted to I could see his eyes dart around trying to find a way out of this situation.

His eyes locked with mine. And we stared at each other for a second before he seemed to relent.

Art slightly raised his right hand as if dismissing the elf servant.

"Please leave us." He said in a stern voice. The elf woman simply bowed again as she excused herself and disappeared into the castle corridors.

My eyes darted back and forth from the hallways she disappeared to and Art. If what I think just happened and wasn't just a part of my imagination, then that would mean Arthur is...

"I probably should have told you." Arthur started to speak as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Wait. Arthur. You are telling me-"

"I'll explain it to you, but I don't think we should be discussing this in the hallway."

I whipped my head back and forth to make sure nobody was nearby to see us as I grabbed Arthur by the back of his shirt and dragged him into my room.

'Well, at the very least I'll have plenty of things to put my mind off of more darker subjects.'

Neoth Pov

Cold air flooded out as the large doors leading to the stasis chambers lifted open. Before they were fully open I stepped inside. Channeling mana across my entire body it was bearable despite the uncomfortable temperatures.

Such rooms like these once held most of my realm's residents. Each djinn that followed me, either by choice our enslavement were brought deep underground. Each enclosed in a separate stasis pod that would preserve their physical form for centuries, millennia to come.

Yet, while we had gasped the basics of aether and its inter-working with the material world the metaphysical world of the soul and mind was still mostly uncharted territory when the day of our race's fall came.

While we may be able to evade death at least in the physical sense for some time. The natural entropy of this world shall make us all to ash.

Degraded minds were the least worrying thing about the reawakening process. Many realms fell to chaos as its residents were driven mad, losing all sense of identity as their minds devolved to that of feral beast.

Or even worse, some realms shall never wake. Hell, some realms were utterly destroyed. The relictombs as the lesser have titled were created by carving out a pocket of space separate from our own. It is quiet similar to Ephetous from many viewpoints.

How ironic, in a desperate attempt to preserve any semblance of our culture and history we were slowly turning to the thing that destroyed us.

But unlike Ephetous the tread that tied us to the material world are near nonexistent. No tether of mana that supplies the asuras their source of power and keeps their world alive. No, within the relictombs if enough time passed the aether reclaims itself. Unmaking our life's work, all of it reduced to nothing but more than mere cosmic dust.

I couldn't help but smile at our race's terrible luck. Even our last ditch attempt at some kind of survival is still doomed to fail.

Perhaps it was better if we had died within the fires of the warlord's ambitions instead of decaying away slowly like this.

Maybe that was the reason why I still assist that demon called Grey. I couldn't exactly pinpoint the reason why I am still by his side. Perhaps he reminded me of the warlord the rest of our race calls Emperor.

When the day of his rebellion came I was not by his side. I simply fled and watched from the sidelines. Do I feel guilt for abandoning my race at some subconscious level?

Or have I recognized that despite my very long life up to this point that it is in the end pointless.

I had originally created my galleries to display our history. But it soon grew to encapsulate everything I could document and find. With the hope that one day I'll be able to share it with whatever remained. But with time even my museum will be forgotten and be nothing but dust.

Before long I had reached the stasis chamber I was looking for. I waved my hand over the base of the pod and the runes etched upon them lit up. Placing my staff upon the base I channeled my own mana through it.

The stasis pod and my staff both hummed with power as I could feel the aether and mana intermingling with each other.

I could feel runes upon my arms and back glow warm as I peered into the soul of the occupant.

The once weak soul that resembled a dying flame was now somewhat stable. Glowing a mixture of dark purple, almost bordering on black and a gleaming white. Which was quiet strange for a soul to shine in such two distinct colors.

That basilisk clearly doesn't fully understand the concept he is dealing with. While the original soul of body is dead the afterimage of sorts of it still remains within the body. Probably due to the rushed incarnation process on a fresh dead body.

The second soul, the invasive one was strong. Despite having been suppressed and memories locked away it still was strong.

I lightly probed it, as if poking an animal that appeared to be dead. The soul had little to no response. I pressed a little further. Trying to peer into the locked memories. Each layer of past events laid beneath a wall.

But mental blocks like these were the work of an amateur in the field of soul manipulation. With ease I broke through each lock and with each layer waves of emotions, so raw, so full of hatred and anger flooded my own.

Every year seemed to pass by in seconds, all of the events compressed into mere moments. I saw certain things I recognized from Grey's own memories when I had peered into his own soul.

Images of a drab orphanage. A young girl in red dress. The same girl now grown laying dead on the ground. Her midsection red with her blood. I could see her lifeless eyes staring back into mine.

Despite it being just a memory I could feel the sheer heat and power from her soul as it still laid within her dying body. It resembled a miniature sun than anything else. When I saw dark claws emerge from the shadows. They clutched at her soul, wrapping their murky fingers around its brilliant surface.

I was then violently kicked out of the memory. Returning to my own body I staggered back, using my staff to regain balance as I held my head in my hands.

I was still regaining my senses but before I could plan on my next course of action my entire realm shook. As if caught in an earthquake and the alarms blared.

My mind automatically connected to chief curator.

"Report." I barked, hoping it was just one of the larger display pieces breaking free of containment. But even I knew such a thing wouldn't shake the entire realm to its core.

The curator's voice came through in a gobbled mess before solidifying into actual words.

"A fleet has just translated into our realm my lord." He said with panic in his voice, something I didn't know he was capable of.

"A fleet?" Before I could ask who it was a layer of static cut through the connection. My mind shuddered as a new voice spoke to me, having forced a direct connection to my brain.

"Hello old friend." An old raspy voice rang inside my head. And instantly I knew who it was.

"Vago." I cursed.

"Yes, I have finally come for the many debts you owe me Neoth."

I waved my hand and images of the fleet that now hung over my realm appeared before me. Each one of them baring the imperial symbol on their hull, a three headed eagle with its wings wide open. Each head representing the three branches of aether as well as the past, present, and the future.

"You unleash your Emperor's own legions for a personal grudge. Ha, I thought at least you would be above such things." I mocked as I began creating a warp portal. My mind scattered into many parts each ordering the preparation of my own legions and fleet.

"Oh, Neoth. If it was a personal grudge I would have erased your existence ages ago. No no no. This is for your crimes."

"Crimes?" I scoffed. " Crimes for what? I didn't know you were judge, jury, and executioner."

"How about your collaboration with a being of the draconic variety? Or you unleashing your armies upon the material world with no word from the council?" Vago said, and despite not being able to see his face I could just picture the smile that was on his face.

Grey, it was always him that caused me problems these days. Without words I ordered one of my own servants to convey a message to him. Whether he can even deal with the empire's might was one thing. But at least the sword he carries would be distraction enough. If it came down to it I'll just have to sell him out to save my own skin.

I appeared before my chief curator. He bowed deeply as I stepped out of the portal but I had no time for such gestures.

And I saw behind the pitiful gathering of djinn warriors. The only notable forces I had here was just the two praetorians. And my fleet department wasn't looking any better.

I turned to face the curator.

"This is all I have!?" I yelled at him. He flinched back at my tone as if I had struck him.

"Yo- your forces are stretched too thin my lord. Many of them are still stationed at Dicathen-"

Before my servant could finish his word I cursed loudly as I stomped my feet on the ground with enough force to shatter the tiled floor.

But soon my anger subsided. No, being angry in situation like this will only be signing my death warrant. I'll have to make due with what I have and hold out until Grey arrives.

I shook my head. 'I truly am an old fool.' I thought in my head.

Vago's voice cut through my thoughts. Each word just oozed with joy as he finally found a good excuse to get rid of me.

"Worry not Neoth. I shall illuminate you to the truth of the future before I free your soul."

Forcefully disrupting the mental connection I turned back to my legions. It was quiet a pitiful sight. The galleries of Sullamance were one of the very first few realms that awoken from the Great Slumber. And in turn retained a vast percentage of its original numbers.

While not being in the Emperor's graces meant that my forces were no way near the level of the imperial army they were still numerous. I had originally theorized that my numbers would be enough, in addition to the captured museum pieces I could unleash as distraction to buy me enough time to escape if Vago truly came for my head. But on Grey's insistence many of the legions were shattered around Dicathen to be used for his own war.

I'll just have to buy enough time for that demon to arrive. He must have some kind of connection to our race. His strange constitution, godrunes and aether core, to the very sword he carries. At the very least I am sure Varactor would be ecstatic to have him as a test subject.

My mind shuddered as I opened my mental floodgates, allowing for direct command over my army. Many of which were sadly reduced to mindless automatons who only followed orders.

I knew the mental and physical strain would burn out this surrogate body I currently inhabited but I had plenty of backup bodies, time. It was always time I lacked. I took a deep breath, it has been far too long since I commanded my armies for a full on war. I knew I had little chances against Vago and the imperial army.

But evading death was something I was quiet good at. I straightened myself and held my staff high above my head for the generals and captain of my legions that still held onto a small shred of their consciousness.

"For the glory of Sullamance!"