Arc | Chapter. 58: Book One Epilogue: Corruption and Subservience (Patreon)

Chapter. 58: Epilogue: Corruption and Subservience

The Hero of Shadows was stuck in a limbo, one that seemed everlasting. His body felt as if it was in freefall, and yet the sense of direction had long vanished. He just flailed in a dark abyss that seemed to show him a flickering system notification every so often, yet none of it could be read.

It was some sort of garbled script that he didn’t understand. He had never seen anything like it before, but eventually, he had learned to ignore it. He had learned to pay no attention to what was happening physically, but instead focus on his mind and harvest it. To polish it, to rationalize and justify all of his hatred.

He replayed the scene in his mind, the moment where he met the red armored man, Siegfried didn’t know who he was at the time, but after thinking about it for some time, and thinking back on what was said, it was clear to him.

The man had made a punishment, he had acted in such a mechanical way that it was clear to him.

It was the keeper of order, the Hero of Arlas, Uwell.

Siegfried didn’t understand what had been done to him, he didn’t understand the limbo he was in or the bullshit the man had spoken about. Punishment?! Punishment his ass! How was he even going to help the world while stuck here?!

How was he going to enact his revenge on the Hero of Flames here?

How was he going to make that wench pay?!

Anger had long overcome him, sometimes it was overflowing and other times it was like a lingering resentment as his body fell down the void. Everything in this world was dumb, the System was dumb, the idea of heroes was dumb; he wanted to make everyone pay! He wanted to make everything pay.

Perhaps he was deluding himself, but his burning hatred convinced him that everything was rotten; that everything was stacked against him. And it was his very duty to show the world itself that they were wrong.

It was just a matter of time before it came to be⁠—

And he hit the ground. The Hero of Shadows blinking, his arms and body trembling as he looked at an aged and moss covered ground of rock tiles. It was dark, the place was humid, and his senses felt limited. Confusion hit him for a moment before he shook his head and stood up.

“So I’m finally where Uwell sent me,” he growled. “I won’t be here for long!”

He extended his hand, preparing to use a skill only to realize that there was no connection to the shadows he had left behind. He was isolated. Why? There was something that must have severed the connection⁠—

And it clicked.

“Uwell!”

He shouted, his voice echoing through the ruins he was in, and then he heard chittering. The Hero of Shadows frowned in displeasure as he turned to look at the exit of the pillar filled room. The chittering sound was unnerving, and it grew closer by the moment, but the Hero of Shadows braced himself to kill whatever was coming.

He was certain that something was wrong with this place, but  he would deal with that later. First came the potential threat. The chittering continued and eventually reached a crescendo, he saw the shadows past the room grow darker, and then he saw it.

An ugly and malformed body, a two legged being⁠— a monster that was flickering and twisting in its own existence, and then a system window appeared one that made the Hero of Shadows truly shiver.

[̷̨͖̕G̷̤̅ư̵̢̱̂ă̶̹̬ṙ̷̥d̸̩̾i̶̩̝̅a̵͍͗͌n̷̙̦͠ ̶͙̿̾ò̸̡̓f̵͙͔̄ ̵̀ͅţ̵̊̾h̷͔͍͆ȇ̸̮̱̄ ̶̨̾Ț̶̪̂e̴̖̍ṁ̵̘p̷͍̫̓́ĺ̸̺͙̆ḙ̴̛̎.̶̩̪̆͝ ̵͉͒T̵̗́ĭ̷̬́ë̵͎͜r̵̮̈́͠:̷̬͆̿ ̵̦͋S̷̘̘̒S̶̗͙̿̀]̸̧͗͛

All his senses told him that what he was seeing, what he was witnessing was wrong⁠— that what was before him was something else, something that shouldn’t exist. Fear gripped him, it was just not possible.

“What are you?!” he screeched bracing himself for battle.

And before he could do anything else, the malformed beast pounced as a battle for his life immediately started.

* * * * *

Perhaps I hadn’t come here to do this, but now it was the only option I had if I wanted to have any semblance of control over the dragons…

I had killed the Dragon of Frost, any kind of negotiation that I had had automatically been broken down by that act, and even though Malz was on my side it didn’t matter. Given the fanaticism that I had witnessed over the Dragon of Frost this was for the better. This was the choice that I determined truly allowed me to get something more.

Of course, I understood that ruling with an iron fist created enmity, but this was the first step.

If I did and played my cards right, then I could turn every single Grand Dragon Elder into a subservient ally, and that wasn’t an opportunity I was willing to let go of. It was either that, or threaten them to leave me alone⁠— which wasn’t going to happen. And yet there was no doubt in my mind that if I just left amicably they would eventually come to seek me out for one reason or another.

I stared at the trembling elders.

So in the end, this was for the best if I wanted to have the least involvement with troublesome things.

[Frost, Stasis, Eternity and a Prophecy] was still active, and I was going to make full use of it. My blood-filled aura was overwhelming, enough to make one of the elders shiver, but finally after a moment I let it go as I laid back on the throne, looking down at all the present dragons.

“Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-Yes…” The Dragon of Wind replied, quivering.

My eyes wandered to the Dragon of Nature, who nodded swallowing.

Soon, all the elders began to agree until I landed on the Dragon of Earth who stared defiantly at me. Then, a moment later a silent sigh left him as he lowered his head.

“I understand…”

I nodded before closing my eyes for a moment. “I’m no tyrant, for now there is only one request I have of the Grand Dragon Elders.”

They paused, listening attentively, and with a nod I continued.

“I wish to go where the corruption resides.”

Malz gasped, Regis’karr shook his head, and the rest of the elders broke into a panic, all for one who just stared at me in shock⁠.

“You mean…?” the Dragon of Earth looked at me wide-eyed.

And I nodded, as a vehement and fervent refusal towards my request broke out.

* * * * *

Jaye had arrived a few days ago at the capital of Draliz, and he had yet to see any trace of Siegfried. He had entertained the thought, but now it was clear to him.

A sneer left him as he overlooked the grand city from one of the castle towers.

“If he wants to be a fool then I’ll let him be.” He shook his head. “After all, Arc isn’t as simple as he thinks.”

With those words he turned back to the dark room, shortly after taking a seat on a chair as he thought. He had ruminated on his encounter with her, and it certainly seemed like it would be a hard battle; however the thing that he kept thinking about was her gaze. It was deadly, it was dangerous and it was excited.

He could see it, he had seen that type of gaze before, he himself had been on that side too.

And yet, Arc’s went beyond anything he comprehended. Things unfortunately weren’t as simple as he wished they were, but…

Jaye smiled.

He was the Hero of Flames.

And, he wasn’t one to shy away from adversity. Of course, he wasn’t planning on going to pick a fight with her, but if she came his way he wouldn’t hesitate to put an end to things. However, first he had other things to worry about, and that was who the new king was going to be.

Was it going to be his new pawn?

Or was it going to be someone else’s?

In the end, he didn’t know, all that was left was to wait for the announcement to be made at the grand ball in the next month.

Apparently they had acquired an ice sculpture that would never melt for it.

The Hero of Flames smiled, he couldn’t wait to see what would happen.

* * * * *

The elders tried to argue with me, even Malz did, however in the end I was resolute. In the end, after explaining that I wanted to go alone they relented.

“Still, we shall accompany you to the destination.” The Dragon of Earth shook his head. “This is a matter that concerns the world after all.”

That had been the only compromise, one that I didn’t have any problem making since it was all for my benefit. After, everyone was dismissed to spend the night in the Maw of Dragons, and after a brief discussion with Regis’karr and Malz the next day came.

Where I was greeted by all the elders as their queen, finally cementing my status to the dragons.

And shortly after, we set off to find the entrance to the Forgotten Places.

The place where I’d acquire the strength to protect myself from all the other heroes.

* * * * *

What was a hero?

A red armored man walked through a roofed bridge, its sides lined with hundreds of arches that gave sight to a vast abyss of darkness.

There were those that refused to die, those that kept pushing forward in the face of adversity, those that overcame the tribulations by the System.

His cloak draped, dragging through the ground, the horns of his helmet stood tall, bobbing with every step, and his boots sending clanking sounds that soon faded to nothingness.

And in exchange they were granted power that they would have never been able to obtain otherwise.

Straight purple lines flickered intermittently in the distance, rays that would vanish in a blink, and appear elsewhere.

Often times however, they ended up broken ⁠— dysfunctional. Changing their very character into something twisted and unpleasant.

The man watched the Hero of Spiders in his mind, but the vision changed to the Hero of Shadows as he screamed in pain, and then after to the Heroine of Frost.

Heroes continued to live and thrive and yet watched everything with an inhumane gaze, monsters in human skin that needed to be watched and balanced.

His steps continued, for a never ending amount of time.

That was why order was needed.

He paid no mind to anything as he continued, all the visions fading from his mind. Soon he saw the end of the bridge leading to a pair of doors.

That was why Arlas had to be protected.

And finally he arrived, placing his palms on the closed entrance.

That was why he existed.

Then he pushed as it cracked open, the edges flickering and distorting as it gave way into a castle that was coated in corruption.

He was the Hero of Arlas, Uwell, and his mission was to protect it.

His hand extended as a greatsword appeared, and without hesitation, he stepped into the corruption.

End of Book One