Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

“Revenge for my mother.”

The demon possessing Mikhail’s features uttered those words, causing Dale to draw an irony-laden smile.

“There is no doubt that you have every right to seek it.”

In the same way that Dale had to face his own final verdict in the past, it was natural for the gears of retaliation to continue their march, resembling an infinite chain of links. The order of the world does not experience variations, just as it happens with the ceaseless pursuit of revenge.

Mikhail Lancaster, wearing combat attire in red and snow-white tones, abandoned the throne. Faced with such an action, Dale formulated a new question.

“What is the reason you present yourself with the appearance of Mikhail Lancaster?”

“I have remained as an observer of an infinity of tales, from the days before you brought about the ruin of the Third Empire until this precise moment we find ourselves in.”

“……”

“Similar to my brother, who preserves the memory of times through the ‘Book of Blood,’ I am in charge of recording my own chronicle using the cellular heritage present in living beings.”

Stated Mikhail Lancaster.

Despite the fact that the Fourth Empire and Dale had vanished in time, the figures of that period had not been entirely extinguished. After the passing of countless eras, the apparitions of yesteryear came to life once again before Dale.

“Human beings are entities incapable of drawing lessons from the annals of time.”

“Unfortunately for your argument, I am not part of humanity.”

Mikhail Lancaster, manifesting his true identity as the demon of evolution, let out a burst of laughter.

“The trajectory of men is defined by their potentials. The ability to make life sprout in the most hostile terrains, the fortitude to oppose a dismal fate without laying down their arms; that stubbornness to survive constitutes the splendor of existence and of the human race. Just as you demonstrated, sovereign of mortals and of the creatures of the night, in this region.”

“……”

“And I have dedicated myself to documenting the evolution of living beings up to the Ninth Empire, patiently awaiting the opportune moment for revenge. In the shadows, calmly, making supreme efforts to transform myself into the ‘ultimate entity’ capable of being on your level.”

Mikhail Lancaster continued with his speech.

“You demanded to know the reason I use Mikhail’s image.”

“That is correct.”

“That paladin hailing from another dimension possessed great power. Despite this, he was incapable of defeating your version from back then.”

“……”

“For that reason, I investigated the trajectory of mortals. A chronicle filled with potentials, where Mikhail Lancaster represented the definitive resolution.”

Dale recalled the splendor that Mikhail exhibited in the past under the identity of the “Apostle of Fire and Light.” As mentioned, he was a fearsome rival who would have posed a threat of great magnitude to Dale in that era.

“Mikhail Lancaster harbored the necessary conditions. Within the chronology of existence, he stood out as the only individual with the capacity to match your strength, the Lord of Shadows who later rose as the Lord of Black Gold.”

Because of that, Dale had taken it upon himself to suppress him from the root at the time. Nevertheless, that sprout which should have been completely extinguished had returned to life in this place.

“Fortunately, my brother captured his traits in the chronicle of vital fluids. Thanks to that it was possible for me to evoke and restructure Mikhail’s biological patterns anew, managing to replicate his being.”

“You are referring to the Book of Blood, by Ray Uris.”

“Ray Uris and Mikhail Lancaster. Even under your severe gaze, they instilled the suspicion of transforming into the greatest dangers, and they certainly possessed the attributes for it. That was the reason you did not hesitate to extinguish their lives.”

“Events typical of a stage in which I lacked maturity.”

The chronicle of vital fluids and of existence itself.

“Immaturity reached us all back then. And, unfortunately for your records, my identity no longer corresponds to that of Mikhail Lancaster.”

The entity protected by the red and white armor issued his verdict.

“What is your current designation then?”

“Mikhail Uris, under that name I present myself.”

“Did you perhaps forge bonds of deep fraternity with Ray Uris?”

“Bearing Mikhail’s identity, I have dedicated myself to polishing the arts of this steel from the instant your trace was erased from the chronicles. Pursuing the definitive development of this organism, I gave myself over to relentless training throughout infinite centuries, while you and your domains remained trapped in absolute zero freezing, deprived of contact with the outside.”

Sentenced Mikhail Uris. Dale replied, expressing a questioning devoid of warmth.

“Does it mean that from the beginning the Ninth Empire or the rebel factions constituted mere smokescreens to conceal your true purposes?”

“My brother and myself have awaited your return since the origin of everything. We remained in expectation of you assuming your condition as the Lord of Black Gold, discarding the facet of a fugitive from the environment.”

“Was it for that reason you provided me support to cross swords with Lize and restore the domains of antiquity?”

“From the very first moment, the target I had to defeat was the ‘Black Prince,’ the deity who rules the shadows and, ultimately, the Lord of Black Gold. My purpose was not to confront a coward evading reality.”

“……”

“And at this instant, before my eyes, stands the authentic and undeniable ‘Black Prince,’ Dale of Saxon. I have remained alive for this precise crossroad.”

“An exceedingly extensive display of words.”

After hearing that, Dale executed a hand gesture that denoted an absolute loss of attention.

“The final outcome will suffer no alterations. Do you truly consider that the specters of past eras have the capacity to affect me in the present?”

The sovereign of futility expressed himself, restoring the value of the environment toward the most absolute void.

“As I have already mentioned, mortals are entities forged by potentials.”

At that precise instant, an energy of red and snow-white tones began to swirl forcefully around Mikhail Uris’s lower extremities.

“Even in a historical period where mystical arts fade away, you retain the faculty to employ a projection of combative energy.”

“Do you maintain that mystical arts are on the path to extinction?”

Mikhail Uris showed a mocking expression laden with coldness at such an assertion.

“Unfortunately for your perception, the mystical energies of this environment do not step down from their pedestal.”

The flow of mana in the atmosphere had reduced to minute levels, the mystical bastions had been stripped of their vitality, and the combative energy of warriors no longer flashed with the magnificence of yesteryear. They were passing through the era in which the end of the mystical arts was widely assumed.

“…!”

Under the condition of the emissary of fire and light, a release of disproportionate luminosity occurred, emulating the phenomena of the solar surface.

“Is there the possibility that…?”

A radiance equivalent to that of the king star flooded the environment, and tongues of fire capable of causing absolute devastation, charged with an extreme temperature, began to cover Mikhail Uris’s physiognomy.

A manifestation of combative energy of such disproportionate magnitude that it was inconceivable, even by the parameters known to Dale.

“With the passing of days, I have dedicated myself to insatiably absorbing the mana present in this plane, reserving it in the form of combative energy within my own organism. An exact replica of my brother’s actions. Throughout innumerable periods, while various dynasties flourished and fell into oblivion.”

“……”

“At the same time that my brother, Ray Uris, took it upon himself to strip the surviving mystical bastions on this soil of their essences and magics, I appropriated the edge and combative energy of the entirety of the warriors.”

The biological need and boundless ambition of the lineage of the beings of the night, belonging to the Uris family, took physical form through the “sword.”

And with great certainty, Ray Uris satiated that same need and ambition resorting to the expressions of “magic.”

The suspicion of ill omen that had settled in Dale’s thoughts gained complete certainty.

“While these events were unfolding, the inhabitants of the earth fell into the false belief that mystical forces were becoming extinct.”

He who proclaimed his heritage in the lineage of the beings of the night wore, contradictorily, the metallic protection of the dawn, dissipating the shadows prior to the sunrise.

The demon of evolution.

He had harbored a constant yearning throughout the chronology of existence to behold the supreme entity capable of subjugating the Lord of Black Gold, and finally, said manifestation materialized in the real plane.

He who harbored the conditions to subdue the “Black Prince,” exploring the limit of capabilities within Mikhail’s organism.

In the same way that Dale no longer corresponded to the inexperienced “Black Prince” of bygone eras, Mikhail did not retain his old limits either.

The sovereign of Fire and Light, Mikhail Uris.

Facing that presence, the Lord of Black Gold, who also ruled Gold and Shadows, Dale, proceeded to deploy his upper extremity.

The definitive consequences would not vary.

The ramifications of the gloom twisted beneath his feet as a watery expanse of shadows propagated. Darkness seized the existing plane.

In the heart of that opacity, a warrior of the dawn emitted flashes of great intensity. The luminosity of the dawn, incandescent as vital fluids and at times possessing an absolute whiteness, expanded through space.

The ramifications of the gloom executed violent movements, and the combative energy of the dawn providing cover for Mikhail Uris neutralized the darkness.

“Well.”

For the first time, Dale exhibited a gesture of complacency born of genuine curiosity.

At the limits of this plane, an opponent of sufficient level to match him finally manifested. This certainty stoked an unknown fervor in Dale’s spirit.

“I have lived awaiting the arrival of this day to measure my strength against yours definitively.”

“Under that premise, I consider it fitting to delight myself with this distraction.”

Pronouncing those words, Dale replied with a tone devoid of warmth.

At that very instant, the skeletal warriors structured from the darkness of the watery expanse of shadows emerged to the surface.

Knights of the Abyss.

The hosts forged from the gloom of the abyss launched a swift assault, prompting Dale to extend his extremity. A cold capable of freezing the senses emanated from the tips of his fingers, projecting bursts of icy projectiles.

It was impossible for him to recall the previous occasion in which he found himself needing to structure a spell with such visual characteristics. In spite of that, finding himself facing Mikhail Uris, Dale voluntarily chose to resume his old combat methodologies.

Was it a display of formal respect before a long-standing adversary, or simply an ephemeral recreation? Not even Dale himself possessed the certainty of that.

Icy flashes charged with the low temperatures of the end of times were launched, which were deflected by the steel of dawn carried by Mikhail.

It was not the favored weapon of the former paladin, Peacemaker.

“Have you taken possession of a new bladed weapon?”

“Countless experiences have taken place to shape this steel.”

Mikhail modified the pressure exerted on the grip area of the combat tool, evidencing the luminous reflection that ran across its cutting structure. It was evident that the mystical components harbored in the steel were far from common.

“Under what designation is said weapon known?”

“Lucifer.”

An apparition from past eras, an entity of great power belonging to the period when Dale confronted multiple adversaries of immense potential, gained presence once again before him.

At that precise instant, Mikhail Uris exerted forceful pressure on the ground. In his extremity, the Sword of Dawn, also known as “Morning Star,” traced a violent trajectory in space. Before its advance, Dale gave shape to the “Midnight Sword,” scattering an ancestral opacity in the surroundings.

“Does your steel possess a designation?” Mikhail demanded.

“Despair,” Dale ruled, employing an unyielding intonation, as a mechanism to invalidate the radiance of the Morning Star manifesting before him.

“I too possess vast knowledge concerning potentials. The gloom that was granted to me by the Mother of Ancient Shadows constitutes the testimony of it.”

In the origin of everything, gloom prevailed, not radiance. An opacity with the faculty to transform into any element, and from said opacity the existing plane was structured.

Therefore, gloom represents the primal potentiality.

To maintain that human beings are entities forged by potentials equates, in its essence, to declaring that they are beings born of the gloom.

Clinging to the Morning Star, there was a demon associated with hope, in pursuit of the only viable option against an opponent prone to absolute victory.

And in counterpoint to that entity, the sovereign of men exerted a firm pressure on the Midnight Sword. Protected by the gloom of the origin that had the property of adopting any nature, he presented himself as the emissary of despair, nullifying any kind of sense and potentiality.

The Morning Star linked to hope entered into direct collision with the Sword of Despair.