ARTHUR LEYWIN
The light at the end of the tunnel. A luminescence heightened by the surrounding void.
"Ah, welcome to the world, Grey."
A man with piercing red eyes and ornamented onyx horns of an elk holds me aloft.
Agrona?
Behind him is a woman, her gorgeous pearlescent hair shimmering in the low light. Her violet eyes gaze at me with a complex countenance.
At the woman's side is a younger woman, a teen in late adolescence. Her wheat-blonde hair and amber eyes are exactly as they should be. The horns that frame her head are larger than I remember.
Years pass.
"Just like that, Grey! Absorb the mana while you walk. It will become easier to do it while doing more complicated things the more you practice."
The woman with white hair claps in congratulations as I walk gingerly, trying to take one step after the other.
"It's hard, Mom! My legs are so short and my balance is off!"
My voice echoes, yet I did not speak. I pitch a fit as the woman chuckles and brings him into a massive hug. In her amethyst eyes, I can see my own reflection. Hair draped down to my shoulders with horns protruding from my head that I can barely see in my upper periphery.
"I know, my sweet boy, but you're smarter than any other boy I know."
Years pass.
The mirror. I stare intently into the mirror.
My horns are a near-olive color. My wheat-blonde hair sits tied tightly behind my head.
A figure appears behind me in the reflection.
"Mom and Dad said to be ready in a few minutes. They're bringing the others over."
A mid-twenties woman, my older sister, calls out.
"I know, Sylvie. I'll be there in a few minutes."
She nods and exits, her feathery hair waving in the draft from my open windows.
I bring my hands to my head and grab a strand of hair from my ponytail, letting it drape along the left side of my face.
"I haven't seen them in so long. Will they forgive me?"
Years pass.
A family dinner. Seated at the left side of my father, he complains about the affairs of Alacyra. The various domains and their hassle.
"We get it, Agrona. Now eat before the food gets cold," Mom reprimands.
"Well, Sylvia, if that happens, we can have Cecilia reheat it. Right, Cecilia?"
"Yes, High Sovereign."
To my left, at the other end of the table, a young woman sits. Her forlorn eyes... they're devoid of emotion or complex thought.
At her left, a young man with features similar to my father's only nods in agreement, his demeanor equally as sedated.
---------------------
"And with that, I conclude the meeting."
A man in a lavish suit and tie with cufflinks of multiple-carat diamonds orders.
Finally.
I stand, annoyed by my own mental exhaustion. The meetings are relentless.
The monolithic mahogany doors sway without so much as a creak. It's my 'home.' As King Consort, I have no choice but to attend these meetings in Cecilia's stead as she fends off the nation that sought her powers. Trayden is soon to fall, and when it does, we can live in peace.
"Was it that bad?"
My old friend, my closest companion, and my trusted advisor.
"No, Nico. I'm just tired of waiting for this war to end. If only Trayden would just capitulate. We've seized their capital and decimated their army, yet they remain persistent. At this rate, Cecil and I won't ever get a chance to have kids."
He brings a contemplative hand to his chin.
"Hmm. Tough indeed. Let's talk about it over dinner. My treat."
He grins widely.
"Fine. Dinner it is."
Years pass.
"Daddy's home!"
My voice echoes throughout the halls of the grand castle. Two sets of footsteps pitter-patter across the marble in their white socks and catholic-school-like shoes.
"Daddy!"
My daughters jump into my arms at the very moment I reach the deepest point of my squat.
"Sylvie, Ellie, how was school?"
Their faces scrunch in agitation.
"Boring!" Ellie shouts.
"It was okay, I guess." Sylvie murmurs.
It was expected. Sylvie has always been covert about her enjoyment of academics. She doesn't want her tomboyish sister to mock her. It'll be a cold day in hell when I walk these kids down the aisle.
A third set of footsteps rings out atop the marble. A head of brown hair and almond-shaped eyes round the corner of the foyer. In her arms, a swaddled infant coos softly.
"Home a little early today?"
My wife, the love of my life.
"Ever since you've been home on maternity leave, I've been put to work relentlessly. I got sent home out of pity. Turns out being Regent of a nation is hard."
Cecilia chuckles at my obvious comment.
"You say that to the Queen. I know how it is, Mr. King Consort."
I sigh heavily at her remark.
"No need to rub it in." I loosen my grip on my daughters and stand before gently walking to my wife. I plant a soft kiss on her lips and turn my attention to the bundle in her arms. "Hey there, Regis. Mind if I hold you?"
A second sigh resounds, this one of relief and not from me.
"I sure don't mind, Grey. Now come on, dinner is set."
-----------------
'Child, these were all possible. Only but a few minute changes were made. Seconds here and there in the occurrence of events. Such is the nature of Fate. Your kind has given this phenomenon a name: the "Butterfly Effect." It's because of this that you mustn't abuse this power. Your intentions for after this war ends are clear. Let the truth be known, your actions are irreversible.'
I continue to wade through the expanse of black and white.
"I understand. You've opened my mind. I'm ready to accept your blessing."
'Then be off, Dynasty. And good luck.'
The horizon ceases to be, and the two shades mix once more, leaving me in the same expanse of grey. It tears like fabric, the very fabric of reality.
From beyond the gash, a bright, oscillating glow appears, composed of red, orange, and white.
I wade through the expanse as if it were mud, my legs struggling to make any progress. The atmosphere around me grows sweltering hot, leaving me heaving and drenched in sweat, yet I persist. As my hands reach both sides of the tear, I pull myself through with all of my might.
The oscillation stops. The glow goes monochrome, yet the heat remains constant as motes of red and purple lay in complete stasis.
I move through the immense heat and viscous liquid unabated. My progress upward remains unimpeded until my form emerges from a deep pit of magma.
Right. I fell into Mt. Geolus.
I continue to move freely in any dimension, my paths infinite.
Upward once more, to the summit of the ledge, reveals a scarred caldera.
My greyed-out vision reveals blue, red, green, yellow, and purple in abject stasis. Only black and white float freely.
In the heart of the caldera, Agrona and Kezess are locked in a clinch, their bodies essentially devoid of mana. Only that which is necessary to sustain their existence remains.
I relinquish my flight to instead walk among them only to be horrified at a discovery.
Off at the rim of the caldera, a woman lay, an eerily familiar sword pinning her to the sloping ground she rests against. Motes of black and white cling tightly to the blade.
My steps couldn't carry me as fast as I wished. My mind raced. My heart pounded.
No. No. No. No. No.
Shit. How? I can't reverse time on her body, the motes of aether are stuck.
Black and white dance to me from the blade of Kezess' sword. Black meeting at my right hand, the white at my left.
Objective good. I understand.
My left hand grabs the hilt and pulls the sword from Cecilia's chest. The white dances down the blade to the open wound at her sternum. The gash ceases to be, making be bring into serious question if it were ever there or if that event ever happened in this timeline.
It didn't happen now. I changed her fate.
Rage-driven steps bring me to the humanoid forms of the two Asuran lords. Their arms tangled and fists firmly planted in each other's ribs.
I take Kezess' sword and drive it through both of their conjoined chests, pinning them together.
My job is finished.
The particles of the rainbow begin to circulate once more as Kezess and Agrona fall to the ground in pain and shock.
"H-how?" they collectively wonder.
I rip the blade from them with the fullest extent of my ability, sending abhorrent pain through their bodies. I push motes of white to their wounds, allowing them to live without mana as powerless beings.
Their fates have been changed.
"Fate smiles down upon me. You take for granted the abilities you were bestowed because of your heritage and refuse to acknowledge those which can be harnessed through effort. I've been to the deepest depths of the fabric of reality and spoken with its seamstress. Your fates have been sealed," I declare, finally answering their question. "Persist for now as the average human would, without power, without mana or power. You will know justice soon enough."
Kezess chortles at my words. "Justice? What right do you have to impart justice on a land you owe no allegiance?"
"I owe the whole world my allegiance. I will serve as its protector from tyranny. You are powerless in the face of Fate," I answer.
"Hah. All over, just like that..." Agrona scoffs and stares into the starry night sky. His cracked horns slightly hold his head aloft as lay on his back.
"Disbelief is an emotion that doesn't befit you. Now stay put," I lament. I conjure earthen shackles around their limbs and waists, pinning them to the floor in the meantime.
Turning around, I'm faced with the sight of Cecilia wiping her eyes at the edge of the crater, her rosy-pink hair is dyed red and matted to the side of her head because of her own and many others' dried blood. The steps toward her are exhausting. My legs threaten to give out with each successive planting of my feet. She brushes the few loose strands from her face and peers through narrow eyes in my general direction.
Step, Step, Step, each one a movement toward the rest of my life.
With one final pace, I allow myself to collapse into the dirt at her side.
We did it, Regis. It's done.
'The battle is effectively at its conclusion here. You're gonna be needed soon. The Alacryan half-breeds are getting a little rowdy. Probably some remaining deep-rooted prejudice toward the asuras flaring up.'
Got it. Give me a few minutes to recover. Stay there so I know where to go.
'Aye.'
"Are you that tired, Arthur?"
Rolling over to my back, I glare up at Cecilia who's wearing a shit-eating grin.
"Nope. Right as rain, Cecil. Killing dozens of quasi-deities is just another day's work," I groan as I nurse my broken -but now healing- ribs.
"What happened while I was out?" she asks, nodding toward Kezess and Agrona who are wordlessly looking to the sky.
"Fate. I found it. It spoke to me and showed me what could have been and what could be. Either I or Fate halted time, this time beyond what I had with Static Void. Even the aether ceased to move. I used that chance to cut them down. It seems I'm able to interact with the frozen world in that state, but it's taxing beyond belief," I answer. She tilts her head slightly before taking in the information fully.
"So it's over?" she asks.
"It is for now"
------------------
ALDIR
"Lord Thyestes, we await your order," a young pantheon declares from a single knee while looking to the ground. The girl's short and kept, silver hair just barely fails to cover the two eyes at her nape.
"We wait. I will defer to the decisions of Arthur Leywin. He has more experience in statecraft than I do," I reply.
"But sir. He's just a les-" she attempts to protest.
"We will wait. It is because of my immense respect for him and his skills that I do so. Do not equate him with a mere human. He is greater than you or I. Humble yourself," I reprimand.
We wait for only a couple minutes before a portal opens and four figures emerge, two bound and hogtied while the other two limp. Arthur and the Legacy drag both Kezess and Agrona behind them as they fail to protest, either from shame, anger, or indifference.
"A job well done, Aldir. Your people should be proud," Arthur calls out. He struggles to stand to his full height as Kezess and Agrona are dropped to the floor with a meaty thud.
"It is my specialty, General Leywin. The road ahead is a territory I must learn," I answer, stepping wearily toward him. Kordri follows suit but has a substantial limp akin to Arthur and the Legacy.
When I finally approach him, he offers a hand. I take it firmly in mine as we don't even shake, just holding them while staring into each other's eyes with determination.
"The tyrants are to be put to death, but first, we must convene. We need the highest command from each of the Eight Great Clans," he orders and releases my hand.
"Consider it done," I reply, turning to the young pantheon girl who has only recently risen to her feet. "Find the newest lords of each clan."
She nervously nods and complies, hurrying off into the battlefield littered with corpses, debris, and weapons of war.
"I once heard all-out war between the asuras would result in the end of the world, yet it seems quite contained. Is that because you refused to use the World Eater technique?" Arthur asks.
"I could have used it, but there is no honor in it. Forcing us all to fight in one area, regardless of where, mitigated the damage. My destroyed homeland will serve as a testament to the consequences of tyranny," I answer.
Shortly, the young pantheon returns with six more people.
"Sir, we can't seem to find anyone suitable for the role of the head of the Indrath clan," she remarks, slightly out of breath.
"I will take it."
A serene and graceful voice, unfettered by the typical rasp of age declares. Its owner, the facade of a young Lady Myre, emerges from a Tempus Warp portal a few yards away.
"You're quite late, Lady Myre," Arthur groans as he sends her an annoyed side-eyed glance.
"I was trying my best to dig out from Mt. Geolus, General Leywin. You wouldn't know something about what happened there, would you?" she shoots back.
"I blame it on them," he replies, nudging both Agrona and Kezess with his foot.
The atmosphere grows tense. Before us is the former queen of all of Epheotus, yet here she is, part of the group deposing her husband.
"Shall we begin?"