A greater smile could not be seen throughout the Nine Realms at this moment. Beaming brightly, jubilant at the circumstances, was none other than Demon Lord Asura. Lightly clapping his hands, he announced, “Scribe! Record this monumental occasion!”
A small imp scampered forth, pen and paper already in hand and exclaimed, “At once my Lord! How would you like this entry titled?”
Immediately, the horrifying smile that terrified nations downturned into an equally horrific frown. The Demon Lord pondered, in a pensive mood. What would most exemplify and deify me? He snapped his fingers, ordering again, “Advisor! Give me your most appropriate thoughts on the matter!”
This time, the tall, wiry figure of an aged demon strode forth. “Milord, I presume to imagine that only the most grandiose and awe-inspiring of titles would suffice?” he ventured.
“Indeed!” Asura laughed. “You know me the best!”
A thin smile graced the Advisor’s face. “In that case, your Lordship, I humbly offer up the suggestion of ‘The Great Demon Lord Asura obtains the supreme treasure, the Golden Lotus!’”
Booming laughter resounded once more as Asura exclaimed, “Very good! I like this title quite a lot! Scribe, hurry up and write that down!”
“Certainly, your Lordship!” the imp’s simpering voice cried out.
Once more, a grand, malevolent smile adorned the Demon Lord’s face. Future generations would surely sing the praises of the greatest Demon Lord to have conquered this land and acquired the fabled Golden Lotus. With this in mind, Asura turned his attention to the scene ahead.
Asura and Co found themselves at the shore of a benign lake. It was not a large one, nor a small one. It was appropriately and averagely lake-sized. This far out from real civilization, it was not surprising to see the lake devoid of any signs of intelligent habitation, in a peaceful equilibrium with its environment. There was nothing remarkable about it save for one thing.
Nestled within a mass of unassuming lily pads, the Golden Lotus would have remained nearly inconspicuous were it not for its vibrant golden glow. Clearly unnatural amongst its lotus peers, the Golden Lotus seemed inordinately beautiful in the lake. The aura it radiated was perhaps even more special still. Even as an immensely powerful Demon Lord, Asura still felt a special resonance deep within his soul. He was almost certain this was truly the mythical Golden Lotus.
“Scribe, recite the legend of the Golden Lotus once more,” commanded the Demon Lord.
It was better to be safe than sorry.
“Of course, your Demonship!” the imp promptly responded, picking out a tablet from within his spatial storage bag. “Where should I begin?”
“I don’t need to hear it all,” Asura waved impatiently. “Just summarize it.”
The imp furiously nodded, “Certainly! Your Lordship is wise! Let me begin!”
Clearing his throat, the Scribe began retelling the fable of the Golden Lotus, “A noble hero with a heart set for change will set out on a quest for a great treasure! He will cross many hardships, traversing the multitudes of nations and territories. He will acquire companions of all stripes and creeds to help him throughout his quest. When he finally slays the great beast guarding the treasure, he will find a cave devoid of goods. Then he will realize the grand truth. The real treasure was the companions and friends he made along the way!”
“What!” The Demon Lord yelled, “What am I looking at right now then? And what beast? Scribe, I will wring your brains out if you have misled me this entire time.”
“N-no, no, no! I deeply apologize, your Demonship, I’ve read from the wrong tablet!” The imp profusely kowtowed, kneeling for forgiveness.
A short cough interrupted the pair.
“Perhaps I could simply tell milord instead?” The Advisor offered.
“Perhaps that would be for the best,” Asura derided with a cold snort.
“Very well,” the wiry demon began, reading from his own tablet, “A beleaguered and war-weary survivor of a calamity mustered up the last of his strength in a last ditch-attempt to obtain a great treasure. His intent is none other but to avert the disaster in its entirety, hurdling through the dimensions to arrive at a time before the event even occurred! When he finally arrives before the treasure he realizes an awful truth. His greatest nemesis, the catalyst of the calamity, has followed him along. In a terrifying turn of events, with the unintended activation of the treasure, both survivor and foe are thrown back into the past!”
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“You are both courting death!” The Demon Lord screamed, snatching the tablets from both Scribe and Advisor. “Let me see what you’re even reading.”
The chilly reception of their stories startled both demons as they exchanged anxious glances. Asura was stony faced as he parsed the text. In neither story was there any mention of a Golden Lotus to begin with. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a tenable connection to any sort of lotus. Turning back to look at his subordinates, he snarled, “You’re both beyond useless. When we return, I am replacing the both of you.”
Asura readily ignored the apologetic stammering of the pair. Were all his underlings so incompetent? I need to recruit better servants. Still, the task at hand remained. He glanced back at the gentle glow of the Golden Lotus, if that was what it was. Pursing his lips, he tapped his chin. The connection he felt with the lotus was undeniable, while he couldn’t quite pinpoint its exact nature, he was certain that such a resonance was deeply meaningful. The only question was how?
Although it was indeed better to be safe than sorry, it was also the early bird that got the worm. Asura had not traveled leagues just to have his objective plucked out from before his eyes. It was still unbelievable that such a treasure remained unmolested in this rural, backwater country. Perhaps that was precisely why. No expert would go out of their way to this empty land bereft of qi or value.
“Very well then,” he decided. “Even if I cannot discern your origins, you are now mine, little lotus.”
“Master is wise!” The pair behind him chorused, eager to curry favor and reduce their punishment.
The Demon Lord swept his hand, moving the precious plant into his innate spatial storage. However, he still felt unsure of himself. He resolved to thoroughly examine the curious object once he returned to his cave abode.
“Fine, then. Let us go.” He muttered, ripping open the nearby space and stepping through.
“As your Lordship commands!” the imp squeaked out, scurrying past the Advisor to follow his master through.
Said Advisor furrowed his brow as he promptly followed suit. The imp had beat him to the punch.
---
The first thing that greeted the trio upon their return was a cheery voice.
“The air split in twain, sundered by the awesome power of Demon Lord Asura!” chirped a small demon. “Welcome back, your Demonship!”
“Yes, thank you Herald. You can stop blowing the horn now.” Asura responded.
The Herald hurriedly nodded, scampering forward to bow before the Demon Lord. “What are your orders, milord?” it squeaked.
Asura absentmindedly patted the small demon’s head, ruffling its hair. At least some of his servants seemed to be of use. “Go have someone prepare my study. I will need it shortly. Other than that, do not slack off in your cultivation!” he ordered. “I have hope for you forming your Demon Core in the next coming decades.”
The demon nodded once more, leaning into his hand before declaring, “I’ll have that done at once!”
As he watched the small figure disappear behind the turn of a corridor, Asura sighed, swiveling to face the two disappointments behind him.
“You two are quite lucky. Herald brightened my mood. Now get out of my sight before you become even more of an eyesore,” he said.
Two demons could not have been faster in their bows and subsequent escapes.
Tiredly shaking his head, the Demon Lord sauntered his own way forth, pulling out the Golden Lotus. It was time to consider the issue at hand. He had acutely felt the Golden Lotus bore a hole in his spatial storage, attuning itself to his aura. What was it doing? The only explanation he could muster was that it was recognizing him as its master, but that hardly made sense.
He had never encountered a treasure that showed such initiative. Even if he picked up the most basic flying sword off the markets and intended to make it his own, he still had to put in a token effort to refine it. To have a treasure that refined itself, for lack of a better term, was unheard of. The Demon Lord felt that he could take this unprecedented situation to mean one of two things: this was a characteristic unique to a world-shaking treasure, or that this was hardly a treasure at all.
An optimistic man would hope for the former, but Demon Lord Asura was neither optimistic nor man.
“Cave Spirit, is my study ready?” he inquired.
“Yes, Master. Your study has been prepared as necessary.” a mechanical intonation responded from thin air.
“Good. Take me there now.”
Instantly, Asura felt spatial warping as he allowed himself to be teleported by the Cave Spirit. A mere moment later, his surroundings instantly swapped from that of an extravagantly decorated hallway to that of a study of even more elaborate decor. Casually taking a seat behind his massive desk, he propped his hand up to look at the still-gleaming Lotus.
“Cave Spirit, activate all restrictions in this room and let everyone know that I am not to be disturbed,” he muttered.
Soon after, he felt the spiritual energy in the room grow more concentrated as all sorts of restrictions activated.
“Master, it’s done.” the mechanical voice said.
“Great,” he mumbled, entranced by the undulations and changes emitting from the lotus, “I’m going to crack the secrets of this thing.”
In his other, unoccupied hand, he began forming a razor-sharp scalpel of the purest demonic energy. It was time to conduct a few tests. A moment later, he resolutely stabbed at the lotus, intent at literally prying the thing open.
The lotus instantly crumbled, obliterated under the oppressive force of his attack.
“What.”