I saw my comrades and friends get cut down by these men… no, not men. They were mere dolls of flesh, their eyes empty of life, killing so many of us and then stopping for no reason. I didn’t understand at first, but once I began to count how many of us they killed before they stopped moving I began to understand. Each one was killing two of us before giving up, we outnumbered them two to one, they were fighting us on equal ground. It was unnerving, but this must have been how they were trained. They couldn’t be human, how could any human be like that?
Oh god, one is coming for me, I have to fight… but I know that I won’t win…
Ieros finished reading the book on the lastest experiences recorded by one of his observers, it seems that humans hold an irrational fear of the unknown, that is why they fear Death, for they do not know what lies beyond. It was the same with his golems of flesh, they appeared to be human but they weren’t, their actions something completely alien to a human. But then there was also the hopelessness, the surrender to their inevitable doom. While Ieros knew that as a whole, the entire human race would not submit, there were many individuals who would give up and he could understand their actions.
It was predictable, logic says that they have no chance against this obviously superior enemy so they just give up right then and there, there is nothing else they can do except to die. But the opposite of these people intrigued Ieros far more, for their actions defied its logic. But sadly, there were only a few among all of the records that his observers collected. For now he summoned another observer and converted the recorded information into a book and commenced reading, this one of the female general that opposed his commander golem.
I was tiring fast, separated from my men and no hope of winning against this enemy before me, the high warrior. He was highly skilled, far more than I for although I put my all in my attacks, I had yet to make him move a single step. His feet were planted in the ground like the roots of a mighty tree and I the lumberjack with an axe made of lead. Finally, I stopped, unable to go on any further. I took a swift look around me and saw that I had been separated from my men and that I was surrounded. But the soldiers made no move to finish me off, instead standing perfectly still, their lifeless eyes pointed directly in front of them.
A shiver made its way down my spine and I returned my attention to the warrior, whose stillness could match that of a statue, his sword at his side, his visor at me. I raised my sword and he mirrored me, although he made no move to attack. I guessed that he had only been ordered to stall me, as his troops could deal with my soldiers just fine without me there to defend them. But if he had been ordered to kill me, I had no doubt I would have died a long time ago. Suddenly, I heard a sound that filled me with hope, the sound of horses charging and the battle cry of m’lady, General Ilaris.
I then remembered that I still had something to fight for and so I prepared myself to fight once more, raising my sword. Soon, my general was at my side and together, we charged, this time forcing the high warrior to dodge and move but he was still able to block or dodge all of our attacks with ease. We knew that we had to defeat him quickly but our strength was still not enough, the chance for victory was gone and we could not retreat. But I will fight till I die, I won’t let them touch m’lady, even if it means my death.
But suddenly, the high warrior stopped attacking. I was too tired to take advantage and I could see that m’lady was in a similar situation. I briefly wondered what was going on, confused when a when the dark outline of a door appeared before me, the interior black as night.From within the inky darkness stepped forth a man, a man clothed in black and silver robes, his face hidden by shadows. My body froze when he appeared, the sheer power that emanated from him was so massive that it was as if I was before a god.
I had no doubt that this was the man that had trained these soldiers, that this was the man who broke their minds and created these… soldiers. The high warrior moved to the side and bowed his head. Suddenly, I found that I could move again, his oppressive aura gone and I charged, knowing that if he died, it would be our victory. But my attack was intercepted by the high warrior and I was knocked to the ground, too exhausted to get up.
I glared at him as he approached the general, who stood still, glaring defiantly at him. He matched her glare with an eyeless one, hidden by shadow. It was… disconcerting. Finally, he shook his head and said,
“How disappointing.”
At those words I was filled with rage, who did he think he was? As I fumed, however unable to speak, he turned to leave. The Princess retorted back sharply and he explained why he thought so, pointing out the flaws in our strategy and our overconfidence. As I listened, I calmed down and I understood, that he had ever reason to act the way he did for he was simply that strong. It was then that fear filled my heart, I was afraid before but I’ve always been able to control it, even when I faced the high warrior. I was fearful of him but I was able to fight on despite it. But this man, this man filled me with a fear that I could not conquer, a fear so overwhelming that soon, I wasn’t able to think.
Ieros paused, feeling the sensation of pure fear for a brief moment before purging himself of it, recording the memory. Fear, an emotion that was quite common among humans, of things that they know to be bad and of things that they do not understand. Then there was that anger, anger that there was someone who would dare to look down on her. It was curious about that particular aspect, why would humans be angry if one thought less of them? Besides, it was her fault for underestimating him. That brought up another trait of humans and all living things in general, Selfishness.
All humans were selfish in one way or another, Ilaris was a spectacular example of such a person, only thinking of her title and not focusing on the actual battle. But of course, this was a limitation that these humans were created with, for their minds were not like Darkness’s who took the meaning of multi-tasking to a whole new level. The fragment was just a piece of Darkness’s Mind, it was Darkness but not… at least, by human terms.
But there was also another trait, Loyalty. A trait that was shown in many of the soldiers and in Avelina in particular, the willingness to do anything for her liege. This one Ieros could remotely understand, for in a sense, he was loyal to Darkness. But rather than to call it loyalty, it would be better to call it an obligation perhaps, that it had a duty to fulfill and there was nothing that it wouldn’t do to complete it. Its lack of “fucks to give” was similar to how humans don’t care that they grow a culture of bacteria and then wipe them out with either extreme heat or experimental antibiotics.
An interesting concept is it not? That the idea of Good and Evil is relative and if one was to really think about it, there really is no such thing as good and evil. But having gathered all the information that he needed, he closed the book and dismissed the observer, summoning another one. He proceeded to read, although he kept an eye on Rose while she read. This particular book was about another rare variable, a man who actually enjoyed war, addicted to the adrenaline that combat gave him and the sheer joy of fighting an opponent who was of equal strength.
Yes! This was what I was looking for! The adrenaline that pumps through my veins, the excitement of combat where one mistake equals death! Ah, this is how to live!
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
Ieros briefly sampled the excitement that this man felt, immediately sealing it away once he felt the addiction. That was close, but just to be sure, he would have to create a copy and then purge himself. But this was something else that was interesting about humans, almost all of them were unique and although most could be categorized based on similarity, not one was truly the same as another. Truly fascinating but as he read, he was disturbed by the conversation a male was having with Rose.
Ieros decided not to interfere, even though he knew that this male would be a bad influence on Rose, he was curious to see what she would do. Besides, she had to make decisions for herself, not to always depend on him. It eventually ended with Rose refusing to go and Ieros personally stepped in, the male meant to hurt her and he couldn’t have his specimen get damaged.
He easily dealt with the boy who ran off, to get his teacher. But the teacher did nothing, he sensed that Ieros was someone that he could not trifle with and so left the situation, heavily berating his student once out of sight. Ieros then decided to take Rose to Meralia seeing as she was back in her tower. Meralia had been training herself, trying to make it so that her body could channel more dark energy. She was done for the day and returned, Ieros had decided to speak with her, it had been awhile and he needed to keep his persona as Ieros.
He also knew that Meralia would be the best person to be Rose’s friend, for he had known her for six years and he had studied her extensively, everything about her was known to him. Of course, Ieros did not know this and he prepared the appropriate persona with the fitting memories. But remembering the mistakes of his predecessor, he made sure that the persona that was Ieros was not perfect.
He arrived at the Tower, people staring at him and Rose as they walked. The jealous eyes of the females of nobility followed them, each wondering just who was Rose and why she was next to Ieros. But none of them had the courage to ask for Ieros was no longer the shy boy he once was, he had matured with inhuman speed. But of course, not all of them were lacking the courage, one made her way to Ieros, demanding just who Rose was. Her courage began to flag once he turned his gaze upon her, his grey eyes glinting silver in the sunlight.
He then said, “She is an amnesiac I found wandering in the forest, since my creations wouldn’t touch her, I was curious and decided to bring her to Meralia so that she can appraise her. If possible I want Meralia to take her under her tutelage, now, excuse me, I must get going.”
He then walked past her, Rose looking at her curiously before turning to Ieros, asking, “What did she want?”
Ieros said, “She just wanted to know who you were and what your relation was with me.”
Rose fell silent, thinking and they kept walking, the girl silent as they headed to Meralia’s Tower. She watched the two suspiciously until they disappeared into the Tower, not sure what to believe. Ieros never lied but the girl’s actions with Ieros said otherwise. Of course, this was just the human mind creating misunderstandings and believing what it chooses to believe other than to face the facts, often taking root so deep that the person who first created the misunderstanding believes it to be a fact of life, convincing others to think the same.
Ieros watched this happen and shrugged, this was a rather interesting turn of events, he would watch until Rose came to harm. He then attached an observer to the girl and then returned his attention to the task at hand. Once inside the Tower, he created a gate to the top, where Meralia’s room was. Once Rose stepped through, he knocked politely on the door and waited. Soon, she answered the door and was pleasantly surprised by Ieros’s face, which had a small smile on it. Rose was behind him and with Ieros’s memories on mannerisms, she bowed her head.
Meralia smiled and hugged Ieros, saying, “It’s been awhile, but shouldn’t you be at the Hollowed Pass?”
Ieros bowed his head, “My creations are holding it right now and even now, I have an eye on them. It is alright, there have been no problems so far.”
Meralia chuckled and then turned her attention to Rose, “Oh? And who is this lovely girl?”
Ieros said, “She is an amnesiac I found wandering in the woods. There is a strange force which protected her from my creations which was why I found her still alive. She was a curiosity and I decided to bring her to you for appraisal.”
The look of curiosity only increased and she ushered us inside, saying, “A strange force you say?”
Ieros nodded, “Yes, an energy which is independent from her command and yet it helps her. I studied her briefly but I could find nothing.”
Meralia nodded and then asked Ieros if she could take Rose to another room. Ieros nodded and she left, Rose following after Ieros nodded to her. Of course, Ieros didn’t expect to get any new knowledge, this was just an act so that he could get Meralia to train her. It would be the best choice for Rose and for him, that she would be a part of society and he wouldn’t be burdened with taking care of her. Of course, an observer would still be attached to her, just in case but other than that, he didn’t have to worry about her.
He waited for the results of the appraisal which went exactly as he had expected, Meralia had found that Rose had abnormally pure blood, just like Ieros and she also had high affinities for all types of magic. But she did not have a drop of mana in her body, although Meralia did notice the strange energy that surrounded her, Magic. She discussed this topic with Ieros while Rose looked around the room, the small dragon golems that Ieros had made long ago coming to life and playing with her.
They also nuzzled Ieros for attention who absentmindedly patted them on the head as he spoke with Meralia. Finally, he was done, and no less wiser than he began. All the things that he spoke with Meralia were things that he already knew. But once more, he looked at Rose who was playing with the black and silver dragon, finally shrugging. He then stood and said,
“I must go now, I am sorry that I could not stay any longer. And, if it is no trouble, could you please take care of Rose? I fear for her safety if she does not learn to control that ability.”
Meralia nodded, she was excited to train another gifted pupil, though, granted that Rose was not as powerful as Ieros. With that done, Ieros smiled and told the dragons to watch over Rose before leaving.
Rose protested but stopped when he looked at her, “It’s best that you stay here. You need to learn about this world and I cannot provide that to you at the moment.”
So Ieros left, the gate fading out of existence once it was used. Rose looked forlornly at the spot where he disappeared and Meralia said comfortingly,
“Don’t worry Rose, he’ll be back. He’s just very busy, now, do you want to learn about Magic?”