The cavernous throne room, for it was indeed a mountain cave turned into a throne room, was designed in such a way that its guests would have no choice but to look up to the throne even when standing. It was designed to impress obedience onto the visitors, to remind them of their lower status, that they were not fit to be eye-level against its supreme ruler.

A carpet weaved in ornate black threads led to the granite throne on its raised dais platform. And on the throne sat a hooded shadowy figure garbed in midnight robes. So still, so unmoving was the shadowy figure that the three Beldini envoys kneeling before the throne might have even suspected the figure to be a statue were it not for its frightening visage.

In place of what should have been a face inside the hood were instead inky shadows squirming animatedly, covering the entirety of the face. Like peering into a dark abyss. Except this abyss peered back, with penetrating eyes the envoys imagined hiding behind the shadows. Eyes which made them feel as if every little secret of theirs had been exposed. They felt as if they were being observed from the back, stalked and scrutinized by the predatory shadows of the dimly lit cave. Shadows which seemed to come alive through the half-glimpses from the corner of their eyes. Shadows that became still the moment they turned their focus onto them.

A suffocating, eerie silence. The three envoys waited for even the slightest bit of movement or permission from the shadowy figure to allow them to rise from their kneeling postures. But no signals came forth. The inhuman stillness of the shadowy figure commanded further silence.

Long, uncomfortable minutes trickled by slowly and the three envoys began to grew impatient. But not one of the three envoys made a move to address their impatience, nor did they switch from their knelt positions. The three envoys had been specifically told by their superior that to affront the shadowy figure was to inevitably result in their deaths.

All the information the three envoys knew of the shadowy figure before them was that the being was unimaginably powerful and not to be crossed. After being blindfolded and escorted to a secret location, the three envoys found themselves standing before a teleportation gate and witnessing a secret ritual to activate it.

They had then been told their only job was to deliver a piece of information to the being that resided in the location the teleportation gate would send them to. Specific directions had been given to the three envoys to kneel before the being and treat it as if they were meeting the Beldini emperor himself. And especially, they were told not to speak before being spoken to.

“Speak. What have you come here for?” A harsh, jarring voice spoken in Trade Commons. As if a monster had taken over a human’s body, but knew not how to speak properly in the human tongue.

The lead envoy, a slightly pudgy man stood up, but was instantly—

“Kneel.”

A scream accompanied the command to kneel as the lead envoy was suddenly overwhelmed by an invisible and irresistible force from above. It was not long before the lead envoy realized that it was only him who was screaming from both fear and an indescribably heavy weight. Fear from the sudden killing intent that had engulfed the entirety of his being. It was impossible to resist the urge to scream in fear. Fear was the only sole emotion left.

And the weight on the lead envoy—it was as if the very mountains had been placed upon his shoulders and back, their sole purpose to crush him into dust. The relentless weight of the force precisely pressed down upon the pudgy man, shattering his kneecaps. And for the briefest of a heartbeat, the weight relented before it came back in full force in the next heartbeat as the lead envoy found himself with his face buried into the carpet, his quiet sobbing accompanied by dry, wracking gasps.

“Devour.”

As if prompted by the word, the shadow of the lead envoy, casted by the dim lighting, began to quiver. Like a pulsating wave, the shadow grew larger, solidifying into a liquid pool of darkness around the prostate man. Inch by inch, the pool grew larger, slowly engulfing the lead envoy.

“Please! No. No. No,” the lead envoy desperately begged the shadowy figure.

The shadow pool continued its engulfment, not paying any heed to the plight of its owner. The shadow was lost in its single-minded desire to consume its owner. “Please! What did I do wrong?”

The shadowy figure perched on its throne did not deign to answer the human envoy. He merely watched the shadow engulf its owner. The screaming abruptly stopped as soon as the shadow pool covered the human’s face, pouring into every orifice it could find, forcing itself through the nostrils, the eyes, the ears, and the mouth frozen halfway in the midst of a scream.

Then. Only blissful silence remained with the still corpse of the lead envoy, a shadowless, dried and blackened husk of the former pudgy man. Granted, true silence could never be gained. The shadowy figure’s senses were too sharp for that. He could smell their fear, their urine in the air, and their fiercely pounding hearts, unable to be disguised by their erratic breathing.

“Speak,” the dark figure simply said in its jarring and distorted voice. Only the slight masculinity in the voice gave a clue to its true nature.

The remaining two envoys, anxious and terrified, looked upon each other for the briefest of seconds, pleading one another to speak first.

The left envoy briefly glanced down at the corpse of his superior, a shadowy caricature being the only reminder of its once former vitality not even a few seconds ago. Compelled by the horrific sight, the left envoy gathered his courage, speaking slowly and with as much care to his words as he would give to his newborn daughter. It was only with the greatest of his gathered courage that he dared to look upon the shadowy visage of the figure. “From the pact signed with the very first emperor of the Beldini Empire, we are here to report to you of suspected otherworlders, humans with strange titles who have been found—”

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The shadows inside the hood of the figure squirmed violently as if in anger, or was it surprise. “That is enough.” The voice was omnipresent, as if the words had resounded close to their ears.

The cowled figure then cocked his head toward the right envoy, a movement so fast it took both envoys time to realize his neck had even moved.

“No, no. Why!” The shadow of the right envoy began to quiver, awakened by hunger. The right envoy watched in fear as his own shadow began to pool around his knees, growing into a larger and larger pool. “What did I do wrong!”

Once more, the shadowy ruler did not deign to answer.

The left envoy watched in numbed horror as his companion was devoured by his own shadow. But he did not dare move even the slightest muscle to save his companion. What could he even do in the face of such horror, such power? Except to throw his life away? He had a family back home to think of too. They would be left destitute without him.

For a moment that seemed to be an eternity, a precipice upon which his very life hanged upon, the left envoy watched as the cowled figure watched him in return. While he could not see the shadow-veiled face, the eyes hidden behind were no doubt peering at him. He felt the cold sweat on his palms and a cold sensation piercing his chest.

Would his life come to an end today, in no man’s land, in a secret cave that only a select few knew of? He would likely not even have a grave to be buried in. His wife and newborn daughter would not even have the decency to see his corpse.

“Leave.” the distorted voice finally resounded.

The left envoy was left perplexed by that single world. Why had only his life been spared? His curiosity, a morbid curiosity that had landed him in many a precarious situation throughout his life, could not be stopped. “Why was I spared?” he asked.

“I see no reason for your death,” the shadow-veiled ruler said. “Your sins were not heavy enough.” Perhaps seeing the hesitation on the envoy’s face, the cowled figure continued, his voice a soft but firm whisper that would allow no doubts to the veracity of his words. “Of my many sins, lying has never been one of them.”

The envoy was surprised. He had known his two companions to be good men. Once ignited, his curiosity that had always gotten the better of him, could not be stopped. “What were their sins?”

“Two of the very worst of sins. The plundering of another’s free-will and the pillaging of blossoming innocence.”

It took the envoy a few seconds to come to terms with the words. Slavery was legal in the Beldini Empire, the majority of the slaves coming from debtors, lawbreakers, war criminals, and monster slavery. As for prostitution, it was also legal though even in the capital city with its frequent armed patrols, the seedier parts of the trade were unable to be stopped. Surely, his two companions couldn’t have been involved in the darker and illegal parts of the trade?

“Are you certain of their sins?” In his mind, the envoy cursed himself for his stupidity. The stupidity to not take his leave after he had been granted permission. But here he was, courting with death itself.

The shadows inside the cowl of the robed figure quivered again, this time so violently that they revealed two fiery, glowing pair of vertically slit pupils, not quite unlike that of those found in cats. The pair of golden eyes were revealed only for a blink of an eye before the shadows once more covered them. “Leave now while you still humor me, human.”

Even with the half-glimpse the envoy had caught sight of those golden eyes gave him unbearable pressure. His body shivered in fear and froze the next second. Every primal instinct in his body, long forgotten from years of disuse, was now screaming at him to flee. To flee before this unimaginably powerful entity.

A nervous gulp. A scrap of courage that still remained. “My name is Favo, one of the envoys of the Beldini Empire. I thank you for sparing my life…”

The intention of the slight pause from the envoy was unmistakable, but the shadowy ruler did not give the envoy his name. “Do note the teleportation gate will no longer activate once you return.”

Standing up while still bowing toward the cowled figure, Favo backed away slowly, not daring to make the slightest movement of disrespect. His curiosity had been sated enough and he dared not make anymore sounds. With his eyes downward, Favo peeked at the cowled figure in its statuesque pose, contemplating perhaps of some great secrets not known to him. When he judged the distance to be respectful enough, Favo turned his back and walked as firmly as he could toward the shimmering blue light of the teleportation gateway. It was only when he stepped into the safety of the light and onto the platform that Favo realized he had released the breath he had been holding back.

The shadow-veiled figure silently observed the human envoy disappear through the gateway. With a wave of his hand, he deactivated the teleportation gateway, destroying the ten-pointed star platform.

The shadowy ruler let loose a sigh, caused by his long slumber. If portents of the otherworlders in the information given by the envoy were true, then the dimensional seal of Auraerum was already weakening. He had been surprised he had slumbered this long without being interrupted.

In his lingering, enduring memories, he could still remember the pact he had made with the first Beldini Emperor more than a millennium and a half ago. In return for power, information of otherworldly happenings would have to be collected and given to him by the Beldini Empire, forever hence its establishment.

He had even gone so far as to create a teleportation gate to the cave where he resided. A cave located in the Forlorn Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world. It was there his home resided, isolated from the world, only to be disturbed by news of otherworldly happenings.

Thus, it begins. Once again, the destruction, the apocalyptic chaos of the Esotherial comes.

Such a dreary thought did not bother the shadowy ruler, for he was simply weary. Or rather perhaps, it was simply a tired indifference. Immortality, having cupped the sands of time, of thousands of years, had turned him aloof.

The mortals of Auraerum thought the Esotherial to be the driving force of creation and destruction, the invisible force that moved the soul and governed fate. Found across different dimensional realms, suffusing the worlds, and causing random happenings.

But in truth, most ignored the destructive aspect of the Esotherial. The Esotherial was both a boon and a curse. Shackles and the wings of potential. To gaze into the Esotherial was for the Esotherial to gaze back.

For almost all, the Esotherial was a boon, an increase to one’s potential. A way to quantify one’s status and with it, one’s importance in the world. But to the immortal him, the Esotherial was a shackle and a curse.

He knew that the Esotherial would subtly target him, for he had been the one to stop the very first apocalypse of Auraerum, the one who had created the ancient dimensional seal, allowing temporary freedom for the world to remain untouched by the most destructive and chaotic aspects of the Esotherial. Luckily enough, the Esotherial was bound by rigid laws. Laws which even the Esotherial, in its almost omniscient power, could not avoid. The irony was not lost upon him. All were but shackled beings. Even the gods. Even the Esotherial.

The shadowy figure too was no exception. He too was a shackled being, one shackled by the Esotherial. To a few, he was known as Khled zo’Gar, the last of the ancient dragons. But in most of the lost legends and myths, he was portrayed as the Shadow Dragon of Pestilence, Herald of Destruction, and The Ancient Calamity. And these were only a few of the names he had been called in the long millenniums.

And perhaps rightly so these names were titled. Or perhaps unjustly so. The only name Khled zo’Gar could agree with was the name of Immortal Sin. Truly, there were far too many sins he had committed in his immortal life. The subtle machinations of the ever-expanding Esotherial could not be avoided. Many had attempted to slay him over the thousands of years. But all had failed so far.