The Newt and Demon-7.80 - The Choice is Yours

Theo felt his hands sweating as he gazed up at the man behind a curtain of steel. He had a commanding presence that washed over both the soldiers and the alchemist’s party like a wave. His power clashed against the dark aura, unable to penetrate but never probing from the outside. Fenian moved to the front of the formation, arms held wide with a broad smile on his face.

"My dearest Ealar," Fenian said, giving a deep bow. "Sorry for the show, but we're looking for somebody."

The commanding elf looked to the sky, his eyes narrowing as he tracked the dragon through the air. His gaze shot back to Fenian, and he shook his head. "Call the dragon off. Perhaps we can talk."

High in the sky above, Trevor released a gout of white-red flames that streaked through the air. Even far below, Theo could feel the heat against his face, and he smiled when he saw the elven soldiers flinch. Perhaps they weren't as battle-hardened as he had originally thought.

"Perhaps you can call off your goons,” Fenian said. “I believe that being in possession of a dragon gives us the upper hand."

Elrin shook his head, grunting as he strode forward. His signature halberd appeared in his hands, and the soldiers prepared for a fight. But there wasn't a fight—not when the man's strength came out to play. Instead, he vanished for a moment, appearing behind Ealar, grabbing him around the chest, and then reappearing with the group. Theo didn't miss a beat. He dropped them through the void to the first place he could think of. In a blink, they were standing on Fenian's world, outside of the version of Perissart that Fenian had imagined.

Ealar sputtered, his silver armor clanking as he fell to the ground.

"The best way to get information is to question the commander," Elrin said simply, looking back at the imagined city of Tudding. There were crowds of people moving toward the gate. “This thing is an affront to my memories.”

"I think it feels like home," Fenian said, preening. "Now, let's get down to the questions."

"What do you want, Fenian?" Ealar said, standing to his feet and dusting himself off. He could have drawn the sword at his hip, but he didn't. Instead, he stood there in indignation, looking over his captors with contempt.

"As a dude made of paper showed up in your town recently," Tresk asks, placing her hands on her hips, "he looks really weird and he's super powerful. You can't miss him."

"What are you even talking about?" Ealar said, looking down at the marshling and shaking his head.

Theo explained the basics of the situation. He left out a lot of information, but he detailed what Leon looked like, his name, and his old station.

"Tarantham prides itself on keeping tabs on visitors. We have wards placed everywhere that alert us when someone crosses our borders. We even saw you people appear on the continent, in the west. If this being had appeared, we would have known about it."

Theo needed to gather more information. There was a simple way to determine if their wards were powerful enough to detect a being nearby. He asked if they had detected when Balcour's shade had entered their territory, and the elf confirmed that they had. This only meant one thing.

"Leon didn't go to the mortal plane," Theo said, his brows knitting. "And I don't think he went to any of our worlds either."

"Well, what does that mean?" Fenian said, huffing.

"Is there anywhere to go but our planets? Or the mortal plane?" Tresk asked. "Do you think he's hiding out somewhere?"

"Underestimate King Leon at your peril," Elrin said. "Assume the worst. If he's out there, free in the void, who knows what he could do?"

"What kind of trouble did you get yourself into this time, Fenian?" Ealar said with a chuckle. "I can assure you that Tarantham had nothing to do with this entity. If he had appeared, we would have fought him with everything we had, down to the last man."

“Now that I believe,” Fenian said.

“I’m not the emperor,” Ealar said. “But I have control of the nation until the reset. During this time, we have no intention of starting a fight with any other nation. For any reason. We’re eager for a new start.”

“That’s refreshing to hear,” Theo said.

“Archduke Theo,” Ealar said, bowing his head slightly. “I assume we’re welcome to the games.”

“Of course,” Theo said, blinking away his surprise. “We just didn’t know if you were planning to attend in the spirit of cooperation. Now with the kidnapping…”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Ealar shrugged. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been captured, and I doubt it’ll be the last. Now that I know Fenian isn’t trying to break into the capital to assassinate me, I’d invite you back to the palace for some food.”

Theo and Tresk shared a look. “Okay,” they said in unison.

As the group chatted about whatever—all tension broken in an instant—Elrin’s gaze was fixed on the imagined version of Perisart. The scars in the walls still resonated with his soul, the sound of the eastern gate shattering still echoing in his mind. The hallowed halls of the palace were stained with the queen’s blood shortly after the assault. And the man responsible had just fled into the void.

The end days of the world would be an interesting time indeed. The hunt was on.

***

The void was a mercurial thing. It was a space that spanned an uncountable distance. There were places that hadn't been graced by people since before the change. The system had seen fit to segment the places from here to there, the places that were merged during the change. Yet the people of this iteration didn't understand the enormity of the world they found themselves in. The galaxy spanned space, lying just beyond a border on the edge of this void.

But Leon knew.

Since before his world was destroyed and his throne dismantled, Leon had understood the void. The place between places was more of a home to him than anywhere else, even his ancestral homeland. Kuzan had cast him into the void before the change. No matter what story that ghost of a man concocted, it would never be the truth. The truth was that Kuzan had dismantled the Throne of Death before Iaredin was sealed, casting Leon into the void and ensuring the realm for himself.

It must’ve been easy enough for the shade to conquer the realm without a master. Now Kuzan sat within the endless road of Death’s Realm, ferrying souls from one side to the other. Leon no longer languished in that realm of banishment. More of his mind returned to him as the moments passed. A familiar sound fluttered into his ear as he approached the edge of the local iteration. The barrier near the end shimmered like a collection of stars ringing the endless void.

“I would advise against it,” the bird-like entity said, fluttering close with a snapping beak and sword-like talons.

“And what would you do to stop me?” Leon asked with a chuckle. He reached out to the seal, pressing his hand against it and passing through as though moving through the threshold to another room. The bird came along, passing with equal ease. “I must see it.”

Once within the void, Leon angled himself toward a familiar drop of energy. It lingered on the horizon like the setting sun, bleeding orange energy into the space between spaces. The humans from Earth had a way to think about universes, but they were stunted. Once incorporated into the system, the concept of ‘space’ was replaced with ‘void’, making travel between these words easy… So long as the monitor system allowed it.

“The other worlds aren’t ready,” the bird said.

“I have no intention of landing,” Leon said. “Has the entire local iteration been time-locked?”

“That’s right,” the bird said. “This was the special resolution we discussed.”

“What happened to the other?”

“Twelve was destroyed for violating the sacred laws,” the bird said. “It is the reason we picked this resolution.”

“I suppose it works,” Leon said, banking to one side as he finally spotted it. Sol, lingering in the distance. “I’m unsure what I expected to see. Thought you might be a liar.”

“When Earth and Iaredin were drawn through the void, Twelve took special measures,” the bird said. “It sealed the worlds away, but made a grave mistake, thus breaking the sacred laws.”

Leon’s eyes lingered on the Baleful Eye, still hovering near where Earth should have been. The planet-sized crimson eye gazed at a world that had been gone for a year. “I feel you have failed to prepare the world for what comes next.”

“Perhaps you are right,” the bird said. “But to do anything else would have violated the sacred laws by which I am bound. As the Baleful Eye lingers, so must I persist.”

“They may kill me before this is over,” Leon said. “But I would like to volunteer. I don’t have your power, but I’m willing to do what I must to ensure the survival of my people.”

“Your people faded sixty-thousand years ago in that bubble,” the bird said. “Like this ‘shade’ you speak of, you are a spectre.”

“Unlike the shade, I’ll have my moment of redemption. Not as a ferryman, but as a teacher. Come, let’s return to the local iteration,” Leon said.

Before long, the pair floated outside the massive sphere. From the outside, the local iteration the bird had created appeared as nothing more than a large black ball floating in the void. Within were the millions of souls bound to this mistake.

“Maybe they’ll never be ready,” Leon said. “When the iteration is released into the greater universe, what are the chances the local system will endure?”

“Fifty percent.”

“That’s higher than I expected,” Leon said. “You don’t mind if I get to work, do you?”

“As discussed, your special exception stands,” the bird said. “So long as the structure is confined.”

“I was thinking more like a pocket world bound to the iteration,” Leon said, scratching his chin. “An academy, of sorts, for those brave enough to venture out.”

“And that will wash away your sins?” the bird asked.

“Maybe. Perhaps it is only enough to ease my troubled mind. I spent too long in that place, losing my mind for untold eons,” Leon said. He tilted his head to one side. With a flick of his hand, he released his authority over the aspect of Death. Matter collected outside the iteration, turning concept into fact.

A new planet appeared just outside the containment zone, floating in the vastness of the void. Upon it, the bird layered the required wards and seals the Greater System demanded for incorporation. Time slowed, matching that of the space within.

“Now we only need to recruit some people,” Leon said, turning his eyes to the heavens. “Which world should we start with?”

“The choice is yours,” the bird said.

This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦