Chapter 206: There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (VI)

Name:Master of the Loop Author:
Chapter 206: There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (VI)

Chapter 206

There Was Once a Man Who Could Not Die (VI)

There was a world once upon a time where now only desolate wilderness stood. It was dark and bleak and lifeless, with a thick layer of black soot covering everything in sight. All the trees were dead, and were still the solitary reminder that there once was life here. The ground was uneven and unnatural, with jagged obsidian rocks jutting up from the decaying earth, forming a sort of landscape infernal souls envisioned suffering within in the afterlife.

The sky above was dark and clouded, a perpetual blanket of misery that loomed overhead, never giving way to the warmth of the sun. The air was thick with an acrid smell of smoke and decay, taking the role of a constant reminder of death.

Within it, three figures stood, much to Sylas surprise. It was not just the King and him this go-around, but there was a newcomera woman dressed in a simple garb, sporting a look of calm and curiosity. Queen Lea was the last figure he expected to see here, and yet there she stood, surrounded by death and decay.

Dont mind me, she chuckled at his expression. I was told this would be the last time so I came.

... youre a devoted one, eh? Sylas asked, smiling lightly.

I am indeed. Weve sworn each other, after alltill then and everafter.

...

It feels as though there is nothing left to say, the King spoke after a moment of silence. Strange, isnt it?

See you on the other side, Sylas said, drawing out his sword.

Yes.

An array of light erupted from the silver-coated blade, shattering the craft. It was a swing so quick that it broke the speed of lightit broke the laws of known, unknown, and designed. For an eye it looked like absolutely nothing happenedbut for the world, it all began to end by the hallowed design.

The array of light was a culmination of all laws coalesced into one, a capitulation of death itself. From the pure, milky-white, it turned ashen grey, and then obsidian black. Energy began to seep from the cosmos, drawn by the call of the undying. It was a howl that had gone comatose for so long, and it was awakening. Hundreds of prying eyes woke from their slumber, peering out past the curtain of infinity and gleaming at the singularity borne within a single stroke of a sword.

Winds blew back and forth, invisible, intangible, eternal. The entire world began to unwind like the tailspin of an hourglass, crumbling from within and without. Sylas eyes began to glow, enshrouded in a gleam of something that could not be withstood or understood. Suddenly, a flutter of darkness sprouted from his back, and a mirage of a crow appeared. It was an ordinary-looking crow, yet it bore an air of something beyond primal.

The reality was shattered, its shards dismantled by the power that could undo all. The King and the Queen were the last and the first of mortals to bear witness to something that would never be witnessed again. Hand in hand, they held each other as the weight of primal death bore down upon them. However, rather than suffocating, unbearable, and painful, it was freeing. Their souls felt liberated from the chains, usurped from the pained mortality, and they were manumitted from their human selves.

Darkness swallowed the world and all there was within it. Death enshrouded eternity, and from within its grasp a hand gasped out. It broke through the curtain of shadows and pulled forward, escaping. A fatigued face emerged, a pair of black eyes sounding songs of oblivion. They streaked through the gleam of mortality and stepped past it, pulling the rest with them.

From the fog of lament, that despised and yet beloved curtain all called death, a figure enshrouded in darkness further emerged, smoke like smog dancing around it. The crow behind it was vanishing, its figure faint and fading. From behind it, a blur of white light blew through and a beautiful, white doe emerged, its eyes tainted in sorrows beyond reproach. It cried outa cry so lonesome, so woeful, so heartrending it could end all joys known to man.

The crow turned, its eyes bleeding shadow, its feathered wings dilapidating one by one.

Weep not, dearest Doe, the crow sang in a voice of death. Smile. For me. One last time.

I will never forget you, the doe spoke. Never. NEVER.

She sounds like a proper bitch.

Oh, shes the worst.

You think youll ever forgive her?

Sounds like Ill have a lot of time for it, too.

Yeah.

Look up, he said as he gently lifted her chin with his finger, smiling down at her. Shame doesnt suit you. I dont know how I know this but it feels like our time here is running out.

You really are remarkable, she sniffled, pounding his chest lightly. Does anything faze you anymore?

Well, there is this one tidy-bitty thing that does, he smiled, pulling her in. Hear em?

What?

The pounding, he said. An orchestra of hearts singing a love song.

...

...

Wow.

Khm.

That was just wow.

Yeah, he looked away. I dont suppose one of my new magic powers includes making you selectively forget things?

Nuh-uh. Youll have to live with what you said. Forever.

A grand opening to a new life, eh? Ha ha.

Yes, awkward laughter really does dispel the uncomfortable feeling.

Really?

Nope.

Oh well. I have the eternity to recover from it, at least.

Yeah. That you do. That you do.