Dark Lord in Chains - Epilogue 1 (Patreon)

“Fascinating,” I murmured, though, for once, it was not about the next brunette on my lap, exhausted after our explosive embrace…

No, it was about the intense connection I could feel with the ruins, this time directly rather than through Audrum after our magical marriage ceremony was successfully completed…

And, what I found was fascinating, and much weirder than I expected. I could actually feel the signs of anxiety in the ruins. The ruins were not sentient, but only barely, and fascinatingly, there was no hint of necromancy or any dark tricks that could enhance the magical entity. 

It was pure magic and nothing else, yet somehow reached the level of a near living being. It was an incredible achievement. 

I closed my eyes, exploring the ruins through the magical connections, the information easily presented now that the near-intelligence of the ruins acknowledged me as the owner. Then, along with it, came fear. 

Not me, but the ruins. It felt like trying to pet a scared kitten who just saw a rabid dog, ready to escape. Frightened, but not sure what to do. Doomed with nowhere to run.

With the fear, came disjoined memories about the past. A time when that ruin was the center of the world, the ruling seat of an Empire that ruled the whole world. 

No, not the whole world, I realized, but many worlds. Worlds that were not only occupied by humans, but also elves and phoenixes, along with many other legendary beings, with permanent pathways created between the worlds. 

I shivered. 

It was the same magical paths that the Empress wanted to open the address the issues of the North, about the disappearance of the towns. But, according to that information, the moment those paths were powered with an Eternal core, they would be functional … which in turn allowed the transfer of the otherworldly forces. 

The realization of just how close we had been to a disaster was a tough bit to swallow. Just a small difference in how I handled the Queen … by giving her what she wanted to gain her favor rather than what she truly needed, I would have likely triggered an intense war. 

I had no idea how it would have ended, as I had no idea who was behind that particular plan. Maybe elves or phoenixes, but unless it was another faction leading that, it wouldn’t be the case. Their current plans didn’t require the sudden invasion of an army … and I doubted that their current managers actually required one. 

It was better to assume it was a third mythical entity trying to invade … hopefully not the ones responsible for the destruction of the magical empire in the first place. 

I continued to browse the incomplete magical records more. Memories of an invasion that came from darkness … magically strong enough that any recording of them had long corrupted and destroyed, leaving only a gap. 

However, the other parts stayed strong, showing armies being destroyed, cities falling…

However, the defending armies were interesting. They were not made of humans or elves, not even phoenixes… No, they were made of magical constructs. Some were similar to the guardian I had fought against, though more streamlined and less elegant. Weaker as well, but considering their numbers counted in many thousands … maybe even millions, that was a reasonable compromise. 

And, mixed with those soldier constructs, there were bigger entities, creating a shadow for the others to hide. A majority was around fifty feet, but a few among them easily surpassed a hundred feet, moving with a shocking elegance and a magical output to match. 

Endless Legion, a name popped into my mind … but the following memories disagreed with that name. In every fight against that nameless army, the so-called Endless Legion dwindled further. 

Ironically, as the memories continued, I realized it wasn’t the enemy that destroyed their vaunted empire. Whatever the threat was, they were strong … but they lacked the ability to move between the worlds. 

The empire ended itself. The Endless Legion dwindled, and along with it, the power their rulers had, unaware of the brewing danger. Then, once the whispers of weakness reached their peak, the rebellions began.  

The species living at the edge was the first to depart … but that could have been stemmed. But it was enough to make the ruling class panic. The magical nobles fled, the great artisan houses responsible for the Endless Legion started accumulating guards for themselves rather than replenishing the legions, and merchants hunkered down, afraid of moving between worlds. 

The empire had already collapsed before the rebels started to capture and sabotage the paths between the worlds… That just made that collapse permanent. From there, the recordings got sketchier, the memories of many proclamations of wannabe-conquerors, intimidating Dark Lords that destroyed multiple worlds, planets retreating to manage their won.

Then, the recordings from the other worlds stopped, replaced by the nobles building the magical ruins we were in. A magical bunker, it turned out to be, built by all the riches of the family ruling our current world — which turned out to be one of the premier families —  that would allow them to sleep for a while while keeping the paths closed. 

They wanted to wake up after the chaos ended … but their fate was far more ignoble. Even before they could go to their magical sleep, they had died in the hands of magical elven assassins, leaving the ruins a secret. 

“Fascinating,” I thought as I continued exploring my connection. The history was fascinating, but ultimately, it was an intellectual exercise for my short-term priorities. I already knew that both elves and phoenixes — and the mysterious party in the north — wanted to take control of the world, and they wanted to control the paths to do so. 

Phoenixes wanted to use the Dark Families for that, Elves were determined to take control of the Empire of Light, and the mysterious third party wanted to push the Empire until they were desperate enough to open the gates…

Pity that I had the undisputed control, and used that control to bind the paths to me. I could feel several breaches, breaches that I could immediately close with my control … but there was no hurry. I focussed on getting tighter control first. 

Taking a panicked action would force them to act before I was ready.