The light in the throne world slowly dimmed and number three stood right at the foot of the throne.
Number 3 had only been nine when he was eaten alive, "I was the first warrior, the throne should be mine, don't you think."
"I'll cut our enemies apart," he spoke in his immature voice but deep-seated hate could be heard in his voice, "I'll dine on their flesh and feast on their blood, JUST GIVE ME THE THRONE!"
"No, I'm next the throne is mine next, it will be mine all mine.", cried out number 2 in joy, "Yes, great emperor kill me faster so that I can be born." Number two cried out with his hands raised in celebration.
From the throne Samsara glanced to one of his later selves, the ones who kept their sanity, all his greats were gone but the others were still powerful he pleaded with his eyes for help.
"Do even remember our names?" one of his past selves asked.
"Of course, I do," he answered, but as he tried to recall the names of his past selves, his mind drew a blank his mouth moved wordlessly at a loss.
"Please you are me, so help."
"We can't even help ourselves without our names, for now at least we will not try to take the throne." Said one as he sat back in his seat.
He laughed inwardly at his own insanity; he had even forgotten his past names, so they refused to aid him. He even abandoned himself in the end, 'How pathetic I must be!' he cried miserably. He closed his eyes and waited for the death blow to come but after seconds had come he grew impatient and open his eyes.
Before his very eyes a tall and graceful woman in a fiery red dress stood with her back to him and her one hand raised, he couldn't see her face, but he could feel the fury coming from her.
He also noticed that a red handprint was on the emperors' face and he was looking at the empress with a stunned face.
"Since when do we even contemplate killing an innocent let alone acting on it, Albus."
"He is a god child Taliyah," Albus spoke still stunned by his wife's reaction, and he could feel the sting on his face wasn't getting any better, this is what happens when a warlock marries a saint, they would always lose in physical strength.
"His kind brings chaos, should the other civilisations learn of his existence and that we harbored him they will use all their means to crush us."
"Then we tell no one, we keep this secret hidden, the loyalty of my maidservants and your butlers is unquestionable, and even now they only have suspicions at best but no proof."
"What of the child Taliyah he can't stay here, no one below fifth grade is allowed on the homeworld, shall we smuggle him out and abandon him on some random world, it would be better if he died than to live such life."
After pondering for a moment Taliyah smiled while looking at Samsara, "You're right such a life is worse than death," she looked back to her husband meaningfully, ", as such I'll raise him myself, I'll raise him to support our empire."
"You mean to make him a prince.", Albus spoke in realisation with a stunned expression.
"Yes, it's the only excuse for me to raise him myself, and besides I miss having children of my own." She looked into Samsara eye's and gently raised him.
"From this day forward as The Empress of Clovis and in the Presence of His Majesty the Emperor I claim you as my own, I shall name you Lirian after my late father."
She caressed the smooth silver hair on Lirians head, "Perhaps one day the people of this empire shall know you as The Silver Prince.", she said as she pulled him into an embrace.
"Taliyah I promised you that I'd find a cure, one day we can have children again,"
"Yes you did, and I have waited for millennia," she stepped forward and caressed her husband's face where she had slapped him, "I know that you have tried but somethings are fated, I doubt that I will ever bear you another child that is not deformed."
Albus looked away dejected, this was his one failure as a husband, due to his marriage to Taliyah there had been many dissatisfied people, there were a lot of furious noblewomen and worst of all was his trusted uncle, due to this they managed to get close and give her a poison the likes of which they had never been seen before, it was completely undetectable and she lost the ability to have proper children.
Even when Albus managed to contact the immortal realm the details of the curse had baffled them and left him with no hope, in his retaliation he slaughtered as many of his suitors that he could get away with killing, unfortunately, the restraints on an emperor are tighter than any chains and as for his uncle he still lived in a dungeon deep beneath the world where no light would ever reach him.
Due to his uncle being a Saint with an extraordinary healing ability he ensured that every day his bones were stripped from his body and regrown, in an endless cycle of torture. Even after searching his soul, he couldn't find the cure for the poison, there were so many barriers on his soul that pushing a rough soul search would kill him.
"Very well, but you know the rules, a leader must not be pampered or spoiled, they must be forged in fire, without exception," Albus finally conceded he knew that he couldn't deny his wife of this not after her proclamation.
He truly hated the curse and all those involved in its inception, if not for it he would have had no need to take in a few concubines to produce heirs, he knew that even though Taliyah understood and accepted it, it always did bother her.
He looked at Lirian, he still feared what he might bring in the future but he relented, he murmured softly but Lirian still heard his words, "Do not die on her child, perhaps you are fated to be her salvation, perhaps you can give her what I cannot." He sighed and turned around.
The Domain of Pride
The Immortal Realm
In a location on the edge of the world where life was none existent, the strings of fate moved on their own, a great weave existed in this place and it began to unravel, a black castle floated through the air, occupying the empty space.
Hundreds of thousands of souls floated about moving objects around, it was a strange scene despite all the movement and the souls moving about in excitement silence filled the hall.
In the centre of the hall concentric layers of stairs led to a throne.
Upon the throne sat a beauty clad in black clothing and silver-colored accessories, her black hair flowed down her back and onto the throne, and in her blue eye's images of the past, the present, and the future were displayed, and around her billions upon billions of strings of fate could be seen.
Her fingers danced through the strings and struck certain chords, she played the world's most impossible instrument, the instrument of fate, and she did what even gods would call impossible, she struck the strings like a harpist without equal and divined the future.
Katerina paused and a smile blossomed on her face, "Finally my love you have arrived." She whispered softly.
At that moment a wisp of a wisp of a soul darted to her, "Mother are you speaking about father?", the wisp asked the soul shivered and became filled with light.
"Yes, your father has come little one, he has finally come to this heaven."
The wisp spun in circles like a hyper child, "When can we meet him, I want to see him, maybe father will forgive you when he sees me." The soul spoke ecstatically.
"No, your father is a kind man little one, it is for that reason that he will never forgive me."
"As for meeting him, that will happen in due time although we will soon be meeting a familiar face." She spoke with a smile and her gaze landed very far away on the figure of Killian and then her eyes moved onto Anuka.
"Even I did not see your arrival little pride, but I suppose that this also a part of fate." As she spoke her eyes moved to each of the avatars in all the universes.
"You were truly so very alone my love, you even managed to truly give life to your delusions." Her eyes moved once more landing on the sixth universe, "You are so predictable my love even without divination I knew you would go there, and it appears that my preparations have paid off and you have found yourself a mother."
Her eyes flickered once more a radiant blue erupted from her eyes as she spoke words of prophecy.
THE SILVER PRINCE IS BORN
BE WARY OF YOUR STEP
FOR IN HIS WRATH
THE SEVENTH PEAK SHALL FALL
THEIR FALL SHALL BE LIKE
DROPS OF RAIN IN A MIGHTY STORM
Her eyes moved once more to another part of the universes mortal realms, and in the future, in one of the great Civilisations as a princess was born, millions of the strings of fate around her began to twist violently, the little princess died but another took her place, "Be born again Elsie of the eternals.", she pulled back from her vision of the future.
Katerina slid from her throne and heaved heavy breaths, it was no easy task to move the souls of one of her kind across plains, her gaze once more fell upon Lirian, even with the protection he had created it just barely turned him into a blurry figure in Katerina's eyes.
"Have fun, my love, I do hope that we can meet again someday."