'I am the Scaled Emperor, Chosen of Heaven and a God of this World. I alone stand at the peak of the Known World, and have subjugated all lands.'
'My Empire stretches across every charted continent, and has birthed innumerable countries and kingdoms.'
'Why, then, do I feel this apprehension?'
'Is it because of the vision Heaven has given me? Is it that I am wary of the path I must follow? No.
'Is it because I do not wish to sacrifice my offspring? No. Crimson alone has been able to grasp the knowledge of my nature; the rest are disappointments.'
'Is it then because of the Lord of Hell I am tasked with defeating? Heaven has revealed its name to me, but has forbade me from speaking it to anyone. Perhaps that is why I feel uneasy.'
'Perhaps it is because of Gilgamesh.'
|Thoughts of the Scaled Emperor As He Awaits Crimson's Return|
The Seven Wyrm Lords gathered around the extinguished campfire, shifted their attention away from Gilgamesh and the topic of his insane nature. Part of the reason for this was, of course, that he inspired a new kind of fear in them.
It was a feeling of fear that they could not get used to. Not at all.
The topic of Crimson's Investiture was again brought up, something the siblings had spoken about amongst themselves quite a bit. Ever since the Scaled Emperor officially named Crimson as Heir-Apparent, their brother had changed.
He was still his hot-headed self, quick to anger and slow to calm, but his flame seemed to burn with far less passion than it once had. There was a necessity to its rage now, as though it fought on for its own survival and nothing more.
They assumed it was the pressure brought upon him by the new title and expectations that came with it, but that alone was not a sufficient answer.
They knew something happened during the ceremony.
Crimson looked at each of his brothers and sisters, and his waning flame weakened even more, threatening to be put out. Gilgamesh shifted in his seat, and his movement caught Crimson's eye.
Seeing Gilgamesh's smirk, Crimson felt there was something more to it than just unfiltered arrogance. Something told him that Gilgamesh already understood his situation, and was doing this to reassure him.
Crimson could all but hear Gilgamesh's voice, loud and proud in his head.
'If I choose to scheme against this world, all the world's schemes no longer stand. My whims alone are the guidelines by which this very planet operates; I am the axis upon which it turns. All hinges on me!'
The dying light in Crimson's eyes found new life, and steadily grew until it was its former self once again. Azure and the others did not notice this brief exchange, nor did they notice how much their brother had benefited from it.
"I apologize for keeping you all in the dark; I simply saw no other way to ease your suffering."
This gave them pause, and caused them to wonder what kind of suffering they were unknowingly enduring.
"I thought that I had to carry this burden on my own shoulders, and did not trust you all to help me bear it. In truth, I..." Crimson looked to each of them and faltered, but pressed on.
"I could not let you all be dragged into this any further than you already are."
This time, they sensed the somber melancholy in Crimson's tone. He could no longer keep up the facade and hide it from them.
"I will show you all what happened. Be mindful, however, of the fact that this is information our Father does not want you all to know. Be prepared for a backlash."
At the mention of this, the Wyrm Lords tensed and their auras peaked. They were all equally prepared for the worst; for some machination put in place by their father to strike.
They were more than just familiar with his methods.
Ishtar frowned and turned to Gilgamesh, then spoke in a soft voice. "Show? How is he going to do that?"
Gilgamesh shrugged. The others had, of course, caught what she had asked him. Azure was the first to speak up.
"You command the power of the Obscure Spark but do not know this?"
Gilgamesh turned to her, looking a bit puzzled. In Azure's eyes, however, she felt that she had insulted him with her tone, and thus was cowed before his gaze. She shrunk back and immediately looked to Crimson for support.
"The Obscure Spark is the precondition for life and the experience of it. If one is enlightened of it, they can even give memories a physical manifestation, and allow them to be shown and passed on."
"Then what about transmitting a memory through a spiritual link? Isn't it the same thing?" Ishtar posed the question to Crimson, and they all eyed her strangely.
Verdant opened his mouth, but he did not know how to respond.
"Not all spirits have this nature. If you were to try such a thing with us, we would feel your intent but be unable to see the images you wished to share." Surprisingly, it was Gold who offered the explanation, and his siblings nodded in affirmation.
"I see..." Gilgamesh and Ishtar were then reminded of what Azazel had told them, and realized that their idea of the 'spirit' was limited due to their contact with Heaven.
They had seen only one formula of spirit, and though it was hailed as the ideal to strive towards, that was only because Anu sat at the top of it all. If not for him, Lesser Gods would not need to spend their lives attuning their spirits to Heaven in order to ascend.
They could simply ascend by walking their own path, and crafting their own variation of spirit.
"Now then," Crimson cleared his throat, "watch closely, and listen well."
In their midst, the charred firewood was swamped with crimson sparks, flashing about it as though trying to kindle a flame. As more and more of those sparks appeared, they coalesced until a singular conflagration was created, persisting in a constant state of ignition.
It was not a flame, though. It was an almost eternal spark, lingering for as long as Crimson was able to sustain it.
At the epicenter of that spark, images began to appear, whizzing by before anyone could clearly see what they showed.
Marshall gaped at the sight, and even Sylvia was perplexed by it. Her heart stilled just a bit, and she found herself beginning to relax. She leaned closer to her brother, and they both stared into the spark.
"The ceremony began with me bowing to the Grand Dukes in the presence of our Father..."
As they all looked into the spark, they saw the scene as Crimson described it. He knelt within a shady grey hall, atop its checkered floor, to six figures dressed in ceremonial robes. The image ended with Crimson kneeling to his Father, who sat on the throne at the far end of the room.
"It seemed fine at first. Just like you'd expect from such a ceremony, my title was proposed and accepted, while the notion of succession was discussed and agreed upon. However..."
The image vanished in a spiral, and was replaced by a new one. In it, the Wyrm Lords saw the Grand Dukes take their seats just a few levels below the throne, and the Scaled Emperor finally spoke.
Gilgamesh observed the Emperor closely, first taking note of his incredible size as well as his ancient aura. Even through these images, he could feel just how incredible the Emperor was.
For an Emperor, he was strangely unkempt. His hair and beard were overgrown and messy, and his clothes were rugged like a warrior's. From under his clothes, a number of scars peeked out, all of them frightening to look upon.
The last thing Gilgamesh noticed about him, though, was the fact that some kind of black-gold mist was expelled along with his breath. It was barely noticeable, but as the images showed more of him, it became easier to discern.
Then, the Emperor's voice came through the images, shocking them all.
Gilgamesh and the others were shocked to hear his voice, but the Wyrm Lords were shocked to hear what he said.
"Heaven has given me visions, and revealed to me the next path I must take in order to ascend. I have seen the Lord of Hell, wounded but still alive, lurking in the unclaimed land. It is Heaven's wish that I strike it down."
"To that end, I am going to use your siblings to help me succeed. As my offspring, their inherent energy is a direct link to me, and therefore shall send whoever kills them my way."
"Your responsibility as my heir is to the Empire which I have built. Once I ascend, it will be yours until you one day follow in my footsteps. Therefore, I expect you to prioritize it over all else, and do as I say. Disobey, and not only do you not save them, but you also damn yourself."
"Go to the forgotten land, and oversee your siblings efforts to claim it in my name. Ensure that their actions attract this 'Lord of Hell,' and return to me once they appear."
"Their deaths shall draw him here, to my domain, where I will have the advantage! I will unleash the full might of the Scaled Emperor upon this Lord of Hell, and will destroy him completely!"
"Your brothers and sisters will, with their dying breaths, aid me in my Ascension. That is Heaven's Will!"
...
Silence reigned among the Wyrm Lords. It was apparent that many emotions were flooding their minds, and they could not figure out how to deal with them.
Azure suddenly stood up, and walked over to Crimson, her movements loose and lackluster, but not at all lacking purpose. Her hair obscured her eyes, but the tears running down her face were enough for all to see that she was in pain.
"You... knew?"
Her hands, with a sharp movement that did not at all match her prior actions, grabbed Crimson's neck and held it firmly.
"You knew!"
With all the strength she could muster, she tightened her grip on her brother's neck and pushed him down to the floor.
"YOU KNEW!!!"
"Azure, no!"
"Sister!"
The Wyrm Lords rushed to stop her, especially after they saw that Crimson did nothing to retaliate. He would not stop her if she, in a fit of rage, decided to kill him.
He knew how hard it would be to understand.
Marshall and Sylvia watched with awkward expressions, and Ishtar seemed taken aback, recalling her own circumstances.
Gilgamesh had already figured out why these events had come to pass, and various explanations were concurrently running by him.
'Well you've been busy, haven't you Heaven?'
'For it to apply even here, though. Heaven's Edict must be more absolute than I thought. Conceptually, it must be of greater power than even Anu himself. It really won't stop until I kill ten more gods, huh?'
Gilgamesh looked at the chaos playing out in front of him, and he shut his eyes.
'I'm so fed up of it all. Anu, Heaven and its Edict. I'm sick of it.'
When he opened his eyes again, there were three colors that momentarily swirled in it before disappearing. A spark of violet, a shadow of crimson, and a spiral of black.
When those three colors appeared, even though it was only for a short second, his aura spiked and was instantly felt by the seven Wyrm Lords.
They all froze, all emotions subsiding to be replaced by innate fear.
"I see now why our paths crossed," Gilgamesh sighed, folding his arms as he looked down his nose at them.
"Lord of Hell? Hmph! Sit down, and watch. It's time you learnt the truth. Let me show you who I really am."