Startled, Kesshō turned and instinctively hissed at the stranger, only to find an old man wearing a white robe with golden linings, a symbol of a red burning bird engraved on the chest area of the robe. Holding a wooden staff in one, he slowly lifted his other hand gesturing he meant no harm.
He walked past Kesshō and settled himself on a boulder about three steps from her. She followed him with her eyes as he sat down and rested his staff beside the boulder. His eyes seemed to be closed but Kesshō sensed that he saw more than even she could yet.
His patterns were mostly white with some black. The patterns flowed like waves, receding and then surging away, it was calming and she found herself lost in it for a while, alerted to her surroundings by the old man coughing. His orb was also almost pure white, nearly invisible in the patterns.
“Is there something troubling you young lady?” He inquired in a soothing voice.
Kesshō thought about it for a while, and, being honest, there were a dozen things troubling her. From the king to the impending war to herself. She had no idea of what she could do, what she should do, or what she is doing.
“‘You are who you believe to be’, a saying I heard once, though this applies to you in a more literal way,” The old man said.
Kesshō tilted her head, not grasping what he meant by that.
“Everyone is many things, they can do many things, they are capable of doing many things, they are doing many things, some realize this, and some don’t," The old man stated.
Kesshō tilted her head again, still not understanding much.
“Seems like I would need to use much simpler language," The old man sighed. “Let’s start with a question, what do you want to do? Not what others want you to do, but what do you want to do?”
Kesshō thought about this for a while as the old man waited in silence. There was nothing she could think of at first, all she ever did was do what others told her to, she didn’t have a choice but to obey. Now, however, it was different. There were many things she wanted to do, two of which she wanted to do more than anything else.
“Seems like you are conflicted," The old man observed.
Kesshō nodded hesitantly. The first of the two things she wanted to do was to stay with Kurai, the second person that tried to do something for her, and the first that succeeded. The second thing was to explore, she wanted to travel far and wide, a dream she had since forever, but was never able to realize.
“On one side, is a perfect world for you, peace and love, on the other side, is the entire world, danger, uncertainty, and chaos," The old man informed.
From his words Kesshō drew that staying was the best option here.
“I suggest you travel,” The old man said with a smile.
Kesshō tilted her head at him. On one side he talks about danger, uncertainty and chaos, on the other he tells her to do it.
“A bit of chaos and danger is good. A child of chaos like you wouldn’t possibly be able to withstand a life like a caged bird," He explained.
“A child of chaos?” Kesshō questioned, speaking due to her curiosity.
“Yes, your very existence is chaos in itself. Forty-six of the strongest and deadliest species combined into one being, how glad the goddess of chaos would have been to meet you, a child somewhat like her, but with an infinite amount of potential, something even she lacked.”
“The goddess of chaos?” Kesshō asked.
“Yes, the one you created everything, your predecessor of sorts. Now, you are to inherit some things from your father, then perfect your arts, and then finally meet the gods themselves.” The old man said in excitement.
“My father?” Kesshō said, not liking the idea of having anything to do with her father again.
“Not that insolent fool, the one who created you, the one who let you into this world, he might not have done anything ease your suffering, but a sword needs to be beaten to be rid of impurities. His goal is your better future, you are the one thing he lives for currently, and the one person he wants to ensure a safe future to. There are many others, but you are the most promising," The old man informed.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
At first, he seemed like a very insightful person to Kesshō, but now he seemed more like a madman. Most of what he said seemed made up and went over Kesshō’s head.
“My apologies, I got a bit excited on seeing my queen’s descendent,” The old man sighed.
“Your queen?” Kessho asked him.
“Yes, I was one of her six immortals, people blessed with immortality that directly served her and helped maintain order. Any who broke the immortal code of conduct were stripped of their powers. After our queen’s death, our bodies lost their immortality, so did our souls, but they gained an extended lifespan. We are destined to roam the world, with or without memories of past lives. Only the strongest six still remain, all of whom failed to lose their memories even after much trying,” He explained.
Kesshō’s doubts turned into excitement and curiosity. If the old man was telling the truth, then there was so much that no one knew about, except her now. She was more excited about the story itself than the idea that she is a descendent of a goddess of chaos.
“I am the second strongest of the order of Immortals, Lyranse, my name,” He introduced. “I trust that this little secret is safe between us?”
Kessho created a cross with both her index fingers in front of her mouth before ordering her tails to not tell anyone of this. "Why are you here?” Kesshō inquired.
“I came looking to train my queen’s descendent. I was in a nearby world and sensed a large amount of chaos energy, so I came to check, hoping for the worst, but met with the best," He informed. “Though I do not fully agree with The Creator’s way of treating you, I can’t deny that a soul as gentle as you would be crushed by the responsibilities of these powers if not careful. The powers of chaos are the strongest in existence, to the point many even believe it to be non-existent.”
“I don’t understand," Kessho said shaking her head.
“The powers of chaos can be used in the real world only if someone has mastered the imaginary plane, a place that exists, but only in non-existence. If any who exist enter it, then they don’t exist, but they exist again once they exit it.”
“Do you understand what you are saying yourself?” Kesshō questioned.
“It is complex, I know. The imaginary plane pushes the boundaries of existence to the extreme," He sighed. “Just know that when your imaginations are strong enough to affect the real world itself, you have mastered the imaginary plane.”
“How do I do that?” Kesshō asked.
“I don’t know. The only one that has ever done it is the goddess of chaos herself I believe. But not to worry, I am sure you will succeed sooner or later." He nodded with a smile.
Kesshō shrugged, trying a ‘we’ll see’ gesture.
“To gain the powers of chaos, you will need to understand what chaos is, have any idea?” He asked.
“Disorder?” Kesshō answered, not certain however.
“Yes, and no,” Lyranse replied. “Chaos is order and disorder, existence and non-existence, everything, and nothing.”
“How is that possible?”
“Chaos is everything, but there isn’t anything that can be everything, so it’s nothing.”
“You are not making any sense," Kessho sighed, waving her hands in annoyance.
“Okay, let’s just say the definition of chaos differs for everyone, not how it’s supposed to be but whatever," Lyranse sighed.
Kesshō nodded.
“Once you have mastered the powers of chaos, you can control reality itself as far as I know, you can be invincible and immortal, if you want to be. You can use them in any way, just remember one thing, your imaginations are what control your powers of chaos, if you can’t control them, you can’t control the powers of chaos.”
“Okay.”
“Good, finally making some progress,” Lyranse sighed.
Kesshō wasn’t certain how much progress there truly was, but she didn't mind.
“Nothing to worry about, even the goddess of chaos was never able to explain her powers or what chaos truly is,” Lyranse reassured himself.
“Why not?” Kesshō questioned.
“Unlike most powers, it’s not finite, or measurable, neither were there multiple users, there was only one to ever exist that we know of, and would be if you fail. But, if you can master it, maybe you will be able to teach it to others, but only those who are worthy.”
“How will I know?”
“You will when the time comes, no need to worry about that, by the time you are even able to do that you will easily be over a billion years old, not that you would be old even then.”
Kesshō tilted her head, gesturing him to elaborate.
“Your lifespan, due to your forty-six constituent species, and what would happen to you most likely in your next life, would be much longer than most, the aging however, doesn’t change much. I believe that your lifespan would be around two thousand years currently, which means you will be a child till you are about four hundred years old. Basically, you are going to be a child for a very long time.”
“Will others be there till then?” Kesshō questioned.
“Most likely no, but some might be. The new souls would be, ones created not long before you. Average lifespan of a soul is twenty of your years, which the goddess of chaos called Crystallized Years,” Lyranse explained.
“That seems like a long time," Kesshō sighed.
“It certainly is, that is why the goddess of chaos created us immortals, it’s because she wanted friends that will stay with her as long as she lived. You might be able to do that as well.”
“Really?”
“There are many things you will be able to do which you can’t even imagine, but you can do them only if you imagine them.”
Kesshō shook her head in annoyance, not liking this complex and confusing conversation.
“Come on now, I understand it doesn’t make much sense, but know this, anyone who gains the powers of chaos, controls everything that exists, if not careful, they can also destroy everything that exists,” Lyranse warned.
Kesshō nodded her understanding.
“There is much to learn about the world if you ever hope to learn the powers of chaos, I will teach you all I know, but you mustn’t ever tell any of this to anyone who isn’t worthy," Lyranse explained. “As for who is worthy, you will know when the time comes.”