Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Chapter 10: The Interlude

At that very same time, in the main metropolis of the Ninth Empire.

A sovereign took his seat on a royal chair as gloomy as the deepest night. He held the authority of the “Lord of the Shadows” in the present era, amidst the perpetual ancestral battles that pitted gold against darkness.

However, at this moment, the stability of the monarch hung by a thread, like a flickering flame before a current of air. And the gale that jeopardized his existence possessed the hue of gold.

The historical course eternally unfolded under that tone. Darkness dominated, subsequently gold took over, and then darkness returned to power…

In remote times, only one individual managed to close this exhausting loop.

The Mage Emperor of the vanished Fourth Empire.

A being who managed to master both the force of gold and that of darkness, which was why he was known under the title of the Lord of Gold and Darkness.

However, after the extinction of his figure and that of his dynasty in the annals of time, the reality of the world did not undergo any mutation.

Gold and darkness bifurcated once again, and the incessant struggle of their rivalry continued its march, just as it used to.

There was a time when darkness rose victorious, but at present, it found itself close to submission before the advance of gold.

The kingdom had yielded more than half of its territorial extensions, and the only news coming from the combat line was reduced to failure, failure, and more failure.

As if that were not enough, in this environment where the mystical arts were becoming extinct, not even the vigor of the rulers retained the magnitude of yesteryear.

It was precisely at that juncture when the information concerning that individual reached his ears.

An enigmatic dark mystic who, individually, dismantled the armored magical combatants belonging to the Iron Brigade, annihilated the troops provided with the most avant-garde armaments, and transformed the domains of the insurgent group into a warfare scenario.

“Is said information veridical?”.

“Indeed, sovereign. However, the element that infuses us with distrust is that the faculty deployed by this dark mystic undoubtedly evokes the identity of the ‘Lord of the Shadows’…”.

Marquis Rosenheim provided this data with a countenance of concern, causing the features of the monarch to contract with displeasure.

“Is there perhaps some fool with the audacity to claim the title of ‘Lord of the Shadows’ apart from myself?”.

“Despite that, sovereign, his interventions prove beneficial for our nation in the current circumstances. Additionally, he gives the impression of possessing no ambitions toward the kingdom nor toward your royal chair…”.

“By no means!”.

Before Marquis Rosenheim managed to conclude his presentation, the Lord of the Shadows raised the tone of his voice.

“Is it possible that they allowed the retreat, without applying any reprisal, of someone who possesses the audacity to imitate my authority and imprudently employ the dark power?”.

“Nonetheless, sovereign, in the same manner, he supplied us with valuable data regarding the equipment of the insurgent group. Coupled with this, he seems to be an isolated individual, alien to the dynamics of the nation…”.

Exclaimed loudly the Lord of the Shadows, the sovereign.

“Did you perhaps set him on his way toward those insurgents for such an insignificant reason?”.

“… My apologies”.

“What a ridicule, what a lack of judgment! For what reason do I surround myself exclusively with incompetents?”.

Manifested with shouts the Lord of the Shadows, the sovereign.

Without paying the slightest attention to the dark silhouette projected next to the limbs of Marquis Rosenheim, he proceeded with his speech, resembling an infant plunged into a fit of rage.

“I, Wilhelm of Brandenburg, sovereign of the nation, dictate it to you! Immediately concentrate the most capable battalions and initiate his search! Do not permit the existence of him who dares to appropriate the identity of the darkness!”.

Upon hearing such directives, Marquis Rosenheim could barely contain a grimace of contempt deep within himself. Not permit his existence? What inhabitant of this planet possessed the capacity to face such a mystic?

Even this monarch, an incompetent lacking merits for his position, with what legitimacy did he dare to raise his voice?

The course of times duplicates and transformations are non-existent.

Reality remains unalterable, reiterating time and again the same blunders.

Gold and darkness lacked complete relevance for Dale at this moment. He did not mobilize for an ideal, nor in search of honesty, nor motivated by revenge.

It was a personal transition.

A path to find again the experiences of his memory, the beings for whom he felt affection, the experiences he safeguarded in his mind. To verify what destiny awaited at the outcome.

Heading toward a reality that not even the Lord of Truth himself would manage to tolerate lightly.

And finally, his walking brought him close to a clue.

The vestiges of the Fourth Empire, contemplated through the dark reflection of Eurys, were under the custody of multiple insurgents.

It gave the impression that they foresaw the arrival of Dale from the beginning. However, it did not constitute an unforeseen event.

Combatants, artillery pieces, firearms, and the highest distinction of the insurgent grouping, the armored magical combatants, gathered at that site.

Despite everything, Dale did not show any perturbation. And behind his back, Yufi did not find reasons to experience fear either.

Nobody on this planet possessed the potential to contain him, not even the battalion itself that extended in front of them.

“The monarchy or the insurgency?”

At that instant, Dale expressed himself serenely. His words were not directed to an evident recipient. It was at that moment when Yufi understood that the question was destined for her.

Consequently, she emitted her judgment.

“Neither of the alternatives.”

“Gold and darkness constituted the same entity.”

Replied Dale with a tinge of bitterness. Yufi tilted her head, showing bewilderment, nonetheless Dale chose to keep silent.

After a brief lapse of quietude, Dale resumed speaking.

“This environment continuously demands a position. However, from the beginning, neither of the factions represented the correct option.”

“……”

“Society places its faith in a single option, not because it represents the authentically correct option, but because if it is not proclaimed as such, permanence in this world turns unfeasible.”

Exposed Dale. Yufi found herself unable to structure a reply.

His approach was accurate.

When they were initially questioned about the monarch and the insurgency, an ideal option did not exist. It constituted a dilemma where permanence depended on pointing out one of them as the correct option.

The blood relatives of Yufi and the inhabitants of the village met death solely for pointing out the “monarch.” However, the insurgency did not constitute the correct option, in the same way that the monarch did not represent it either.

It was simply an imposition dictated by the environment.

The helpless only counted on the option to comply with the impositions of the environment.

Despite not constituting the correct option, they saw themselves forced to bow and proclaim that it indeed was.

Upon assimilating this panorama, a slight gesture of amusement sprouted from her lips.

“Is it possible for you to reject the option in which they place their faith?”.

“……”

Under that premise, Yufi posed the question.

It did not originate from a mere desire for revenge nor akin motivations. It was a genuine question. Rather, it was due to the fact that she understood that the option in which they believed did not constitute the real correct option.

She longed to evidence it.

“Such determination does not fall upon my person.”

Upon perceiving these words, the individual moved his head in a sign of negation with serenity.

“It constitutes a determination that pertains exclusively to them.”

After performing the negation with his head, he expressed himself.

“Desist from your position.”

His tone of voice, magnified through mystical arts, rebounded with intensity.

“My sole purpose consists in inspecting the vestiges of the Fourth Empire.”

Aseverated Dale. His words did not enclose falsehood. Nonetheless, the insurgent battalion was not willing to unveil easily the enigma they guarded.

Even if that entailed human losses.

Simultaneously, in the distance, the fuse was lit and the artillery piece emitted its roar.

Boom!

With the objective of facing a single individual, multiple artillery pieces and marksmen oriented their armaments.

And at the backs of these, the magical combatants provided with cuirasses maintained their position.

“Give death to the adversary of the insurgency!”.

“Open fire!”

Clamored the insurgent battalion. Giving death to the adversary of the insurgency constituted, undoubtedly, the correct option for their cause.

Therefore, those who placed their correct option in doubt made themselves deserving to perish under the label of “adversaries of the insurgency.”

The contradiction of the whole situation resulted laughable.

In a reality lacking authentic correct options, they kept the certainty of having found the correct option.

“I also kept the conviction in the past that my interventions constituted the ‘correct option.’ No being possessed the audacity to question ‘my correct option.'”

The artillery pieces opened fire uninterruptedly and the offensive, evocative of a military siege, proceeded with vehemence.

Facing the onslaught of the ferrous projectiles and the combustion residues, a barrier of darkness was erected. The combustion residues turned absorbed by the darkness, dissolving without leaving any trace.

“That event marked the beginning of the calamity.”

Simultaneously, the firmament experienced an opening.

Through the fissure in the firmament, multiple “gazes” observed in the direction of the insurgent battalion.

From the fissure coming from an alternative reality, the deities blinked while observing the terrestrial surface.

Deities who did not profess affection toward the human species.

“The population frequently confuses might with the correct option. It is a behavior present between parents and infants, instructors and students, monarchs and vassals. In the same way that it happened between my blood relative and myself.”

“Blood relative…?”

Yufi experienced a shock at the mention of said unforeseen word. Blood relative? It constituted a concept that was perceived as highly distant from the nature of that individual.

And at that precise instant, through the fissure in the firmament, the “combat tools” of the deities made their arrival.

In the direction of the insurgent battalion that crowded the surface.

Deities who did not profess affection toward the human species. Nonetheless, that did not imply that they kept aversion toward them.

In reality, these deities experienced certain sympathy toward the human species.

Multiple filaments made their arrival toward the terrestrial surface, interacting with every human being they located.

However, the fact that they gave them a meticulous treatment according to their own parameters did not entail that it resulted delicate from the perspective of the human species.

Crack, crack.

Upon a filament exerting pressure, the human bone structures suffered fractures and a deity, dismayed, retracted its filament. Nonetheless, the damage was already caused. Resembling an infant who involuntarily spoils a game element.

And after performing several blinks, the deity oriented its filament once again.

Due to the fact that multiple human beings still remained in the lower part.

In the same way that a minimal force exerted by an individual possesses the potential to crush an insect, the deities who observed through the fissure in the firmament did not constitute an anomaly to said rule.

“Might constitutes solely might. It will never possess the capacity to represent the correct option.”

The individual expressed himself serenely.

“Despite that, I kept the conviction that an excessive might, one to which no being managed to oppose, would represent the ‘correct option.’ My correct option did not keep a great distance from the insurgency that they claimed with shouts.”

“……”

Yufi remained in a state of muteness. She did not manage to completely assimilate the message that he intended to transmit to her.

The sole knowledge she possessed was that the shadowy immensity that resided in the interior of that individual infused her with a dread that seeped into the deepest part of her being.

Nonetheless, in a peculiar way, once the dread found accommodation, she saw herself unable to elude a feeling of deep compassion toward his figure.

It was an affection that she did not manage to fully unravel.

“Uncle Dale….”

Without emitting any word, she placed her upper limbs around the cervical zone of him from the posterior part.

Dale interrupted his breathing for a brief space of time and subsequently extended his limbs to hold those of Yufi.

In the midst of the incessant laments that propagated as a product of the ruthless interaction of the deities, they remained united.