The Lightning Phoenix kept charging forward, its figure nothing but a blur. Its hasty advance was partly fueled by the fact that it had been delayed by the Lightning Snake. It had wasted some time killing off the beast and consuming its corpse. The other half of the reason was that it had just come face to face with the most frightening existence that a Sacred Bird could have come across. It had come face to face with the one known as The Beast Slayer; The Devil Maker; Destroyer Of Kings; The Ghostly Paragon; and most famous of all; Basileus!
That man was known for his driving desire to possess the corpses and blood of precious beasts. He had killed many, and several members of its race had fallen victim to him. The Lightning Phoenix was not foolish enough to believe the claims of The Beast Slayer that it was spared because it was a precious beast. Which of the beasts that had been killed by the Devil Maker had been average? Which of the beasts that had fallen prey to the Ghostly Paragon hadn't been sacred? Even its very own race had been driven to the point of near extinction by the mad actions of Destroyer Of Kings. It was one of the few remaining, and the fear that had been engraved in its bloodline over the years of abuse its race had faced in the hands of the Beast Slayer was not fading anytime soon.
The terror from meeting Basileus fueled its drive and strengthened its resolve to get to The Citadel as quickly as possible. When it recalled the smile of Basileus, it shivered all over again, relieving the fear that it wasn't used to experiencing. It was a Lightning Phoenix; a rare beast with strength exceeding the Nightmare Realm and extending into the Phenom Realm – a realm that was at the near peak of this world. Yet it could do nothing but escape before the might of the being that even the Dragon Lord would certainly avoid. The only reason the Dragon Lord had been able to live so long; the only reason the one who ruled The Citadel still had life in him; the reason The Citadel still stood strong was because its leader didn't dare leave the fortified walls of The Citadel! If he did, The Destroyer Of Kings would definitely find him! The Lightning Phoenix screeched loudly and sped away, headed for the city hidden in the valleys and shrouded by the great invisible barrier – The Citadel.
Down below, Basileus watched the Lightning Phoenix escape with a small smile on his face. "It's all because of that dastardly oath that that weak city remains standing," he smiled bitterly and said.
Years ago, long before even the Lightning Phoenix was born and during the years of its predecessors, the three major races of this world – the Ancients, the Barbarians and the Elementals – had struck a deal with each other. They decided that they would refrain from harming the world of humans. They wouldn't touch the humans who had been born long after the three races had already been established, and due to the fact that the humans were efficient procreators, very much unlike the three Great Races, they were willing to remain hidden and cede the world to this race that posed no threat to them. That was until the appearance of the Black Dragon Of The East.
Humans were weak, and even after stealing the blood of Ancients – an action that left the other two races mocking the Ancients until they found out that it had been the plan of the Ancients all along – they didn't have the potential to grow much stronger. The Predator level was like a cap, and it kept them within the lower rungs of society. Of course the naïve humans thought that the world was theirs. Their narrow understanding of the history of this great planet had convinced them into believing that they were the first intelligent lifeform, when in fact they were several thousands of years late. And up until the rise of the Black Dragon, the Three Great Races had focused on their battles against each other. They completely abandoned the weak Human Race, and focused on themselves. However, they had to change their minds when the Black Dragon rose from the lower reaches of society, and reached into the stars that had always been beyond his race. True to his name he rose past the clouds and stole the light, leaving nothing but darkness in his wake.
The Three Great Races couldn't ignore the humans anymore, but their oath to never directly interfere with human life fought against them. So they were tied by the promise they themselves had made. That was until the scheming Ancients discovered a way out of their predicament. The oath stated that they couldn't interfere directly, but they never said anything about indirect interferences. They never agreed to never scheme or turn humans against humans. So that is what they did. At the time, the Great Basileus was still with his people. He hadn't turned into the famous vagabond he was now. Using tricks and schemes, he was able to place a curse on the Black Dragon, pushing him into a depth of madness that saw the powerful legend become a nightmare in the eyes of his people. Basileus hoped that the humans would come together and deal with the Black Dragon, effectively ending this threat. But he failed.
There was none worthy; there was none capable of taming the Black Dragon, let alone killing him. Rather, the fearsome beast grew stronger and stronger, and by a miraculous stroke of fortune, the curse was broken and he regained his senses. But he had become so powerful that even the Three Great Races had to be cautious in acting against him. Unfortunately for the Ancients the Black Dragon had come to know who had caused his miserable plight, and the Elementals – sworn enemies of the Ancients – sold them out, revealing that there was an oath that would save the Black Dragon even if he was to go against the Ancients. And so he did. For an entire year he went against the powerful Ancients, getting stronger each time. Soon, he was only weaker than the most powerful warriors of the Three Great Races – a feat that was remarkable for a member of a race initially dismissed for its lack of talent.
Unfortunately for the Black Dragon, all good things come to an end. Basileus found a way to retaliate without breaking the oath once again – beasts. As long as he had other races do the attacking for him, he would be fine. So he started hunting down Sacred Beasts, the only ones with power comparable to the Black Dragon. And he slayed a mighty amount of them, earning a new title to his already vast accolade of terror – Beast Slayer. With his skills he didn't need the beast alive. As long as he had their corpse and their blood he could give them life again after killing them. False life yes, but enough for what he wanted to do.
Basileus sent the Sacred Beasts he had spent years hunting after the Black Dragon, but the man escaped. And he established a city; a city that was protected by a barrier built on the Oath of the Three Great Races. It was a barrier not even Basileus could breach. And his beasts couldn't do the job either. As for who had built the barrier, Basileus had no clue. What he knew was that this person was very likely to be at his level. However, neither of the other two races had any such characters. There was someone behind the scenes who kept him on his toes, and made it difficult for Basileus to act inside The Citadel.
Now, he didn't know whether or not the Black Dragon was still alive. If he, Basileus was alive, then it was highly likely that that talented man was also alive. And maybe his strength was closer to Basileus's now with the kind of talent that he had. As for him exceeding Basileus, it was highly improbable. With the disgrace he had faced all those years ago, the first person he would seek to kill if he was that strong was Basileus himself. The fact that he remained hidden meant that he was still weaker than the combined might of Basileus's Sacred Beasts. And just like him, Basileus hadn't forgotten the grudge of that year. Even as he searched for the relic for which he had abandoned his entire race, he was still eager to get the head of the Black Dragon's prime descendent – the one known as the Dragon King.
"Well," Basileus stood up and brushed the dirt off his trousers. "It was because of the Black Dragon that the Great Races started scrambling to recruit talent," Basileus continued speaking to himself. As an Ancient who had made history himself, and who had several historical texts written about him, he knew more than most. The Ancients, Elementals and Barbarians had been dismissive of humans until the Black Dragon was born. Everything changed after that. The Ancients had gifted the humans a weaker version of the now missing Mystic Path Potion – the New Type Potion. The Elementals struck deals with humans to protect their cities. And the Barbarians procreated with them to create stronger humans. This was all because of the fact that they saw potential in humans. This potential had been displayed by the Black Dragon, and it was for that reason that they tried to get the humans in their ranks.
But the Black Dragon was no fool. He understood that humans would be foolish to allow themselves to be drawn away by the sweet gifts they were receiving from the Three Great Races. So he – through his descendants – set on a course to have every human under one banner. And that was what they were doing now. The Black Dragon didn't want humans to be a weak race ruled by the Great Races in the shadows. He wanted humans to become the Fourth Great Race. It was such a pity that humans didn't see this since they had no knowledge of the Three Great Races, and his quest was proving to be a difficult one.
"Komfo Anokye. Did you wait long?" the melodious voice of a woman was quite clear in this deserted land. A woman clad in a large cloak approached the solitary man who was thinking about matters of the past and asked. Her face was a thing of beauty, and her looks were out of this world. She looked like a painted masterpiece, something so unreal that even the Creator would marvel at his work. Slowly, she walked to the side of Basileus.
"Ah. How pleasing it is to hear one use my name. Of course, only you would be able to mention my name so freely now, Kiera." Komfo Anokye laughed heartily and gave the woman a friendly hug. He had many titles, and Basileus was the most famous of them all. Yet his name always had been and always will be Komfo Anokye.
"That is certain. We have known each other way before you became the most feared man amongst the Three Great Races. After all, you are my brother" Keira returned his hug with a smile on her face and said.
"Of course my reputation only works against these so-called Three Great Races. That white haired fool didn't think about offending me at all when he made his move on you." Komfo Anokye said with slight bitterness in his tone.
"But I did get something good out of it," Keira laughed and said.
"Indeed. A son so stubborn that he refused to accept his heritage," Komfo Anokye laughed as he assented to his sister's claims.
"He should be a man by now," Keira's tone reduced by a notch as she sighed and said. The figure of a brown haired, green eyed boy appeared in her mind. Her brain tried its best to morph that figure into that of an adult male, but it couldn't work with what it hadn't seen.
"He is," Komfo Anokye smiled and said. "In fact, he has a son now," he continued. "Really?" Keira's eyes lit up as she asked.
"Yes. He is here on this planet right now," Komfo Anokye stated.
"What?!" Keira exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me?!" she screamed as she rushed to Komfo Anokye – the fearsome Ghostly Paragon – and held his arms so tight that the powerful Paragon grimaced in pain.
"Because I knew that if I did, you would abandon our mission. All of us are doing our best to restore our home world to what it was before. And to do that we must find our Sacred Treasure. We must find Kerith." Komfo Anokye calmly explained to the frantic Keira. That was their true mission, their goal, and they shouldn't abandon it for any reason. The others were doing their best. They couldn't slack on their end either.
"I understand. I'm sorry. I lost control." Keira apologized with a crestfallen expression.
"You are my sister. You don't need to apologize." Komfo Anokye sighed and wrapped her in a comforting hug. "I don't know what it's like to have to give up on your only son. But I can imagine it must be devastating to have family close by and not be able to do anything about it. However, I assure you that I have friends keeping an eye on him. He even inherited our family's glow" Komfo Anokye smiled and said.
"Really?" Keira lifted her head from his embrace, her expression akin to that of a schoolgirl eager to receive an excellent grade.
"Really. He did what his father could not. He awakened Basileus!" Komfo Anokye smirked in pride, as if it was his own achievement. He may have been given the title, but it was a skill that existed way before he did. It was a power that belonged to their family and gave him the right to abuse Chaos in any manner he saw fit. Keira's son hadn't inherited this power. It had skipped right past him. No surprise there, since Komfo Anokye himself was the only one to have inherited it in their entire family. It was the reason why he was called Basileus, having being the only person in his family to inherit the powerful glow. Keira didn't get it either. But Keira's son had redeemed himself. He had produced an heir who carried the sacred skill of Kerith itself. He had produced a true son of the House Basileus.
"Come, let us go. We mustn't dawdle. We must find Kerith. And then we would rally to your grandson's side and introduce him to the family he never knew he had."
"Yes!"