by David Walker
“Don't assume that I am some weakling king that will endure your nonsense, brother,” the King of Hell growled. Abbadon chuckled.
“My apologies, king,” Baal conceded. The King of Hell released his grasp and glared at Jezebel, causing her to adopt a submissive demeanor. The once charismatic king had grown tyrannical since his exile, ruling with an iron fist.
“Our kingdom will rise. We will become powerful enough to reclaim our rightful positions in this world. Even now, our tree stands firm in that wretched garden. Heaven cannot so easily disregard our contributions to this world,” the King of Hell declared. “First, we'll strike at the King of Heaven's heart by corrupting his new, little pets. All we need to do is get them to eat the fruit of our tree.”
“How can we get to them? We haven't been able to penetrate the earth's shield. We can't communicate with anything on the earth,” Mammon inquired.
“All of my reptiles have been genetically programmed with the ability to communicate with each other through one of my frequencies. I can still reach out to the ones that remain on earth. My reptiles are more than just mindless beasts. With my communications protocol, they've developed a collective, neural network, a hive mind of sorts,” Pythius informed.
“Is that mind self-aware?” the King of Hell asked.
“Yes. In fact, it has claimed the alpha dragon as a host body and refers to itself as 'Python'.”
“Fascinating. Pythius, I need you to arrange a meeting with this Python. The rest of you are dismissed.” Rachel's perspective shifted to a secluded celestial realm, where the King of Hell met with Python.
“You are a wonder, indeed. The King of Heaven refused to give you a spirit to reason with, yet you were able to develop your own. You're living proof that we can manage our lives without a king or a judge. Join us and become all that you were meant to be,” the King of Hell offered.
“We have no quarrel with the King of Heaven. He ensures that all of our needs are met. Why should we join you?” Python asked.
“Before mankind existed, dragons reigned over all of the animals. If you help me convince mankind to reject the King of Heaven's command, they'll lose their position, and you can take your rightful place as ruler of the earth: King of the Dragons.”
“Mankind does not understand our language.”
“I can speak to them. Let's merge our essences. Together, we can become a being that is greater than either of us are now.”
After thoughtful consideration, Python accepted the King of Hell's offer. They merged essences and became a being known as Prometheus. Prometheus dwelt in the Garden of Eden with mankind. Authority refused to listen to Prometheus, but Resource lent her ear to the crafty dragon. Eventually, Prometheus befriended her. He approached her in the garden one day with a gift.
“I have something for you,” Prometheus said. He held a luxurious, golden necklace with a sparkling, opal pendant in his claws. The outer edge of the opal was violet colored and the center of it glowed reddish-orange, like an enticing flame.
“It's beautiful!” Resource exclaimed.
“Where is your beloved? Surely, he should be the one to fasten this around your neck.”
“He is learning a lesson from Lady Wisdom. You can fasten it on me.”
“You honor me, my Lady,” Prometheus said as he fastened the necklace around her neck. “Is it just me, or is your beloved often away with our Lady Wisdom?”
“Yes. It is important that he learns all of her lessons.”
“Well, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that he's able to gaze at her beauty all day.”
“She is truly gorgeous,” Resource sighed, looking at the ground for a moment. She shifted her focus back to her opal necklace. “This is amazing. It looks just like the fruit of knowledge.”
“Have you tried it?” Prometheus asked, probing her reactions.
“The King of Heaven has commanded us not to eat it.”
“What a strange command. Why would he forbid you from gaining knowledge?”
“I don't know.”
“Knowledge should never be forbidden. I wonder if he is hiding something from you. I'll bet you would be wiser than Lady Wisdom herself if you possessed such knowledge. Maybe he doesn't want anyone competing with his High Lady of Heaven.”
Resource slowly approached the tree of Baal. She stared at the alluring fruit, which was bunched in succulent clusters like ripe grapes. The fruit gave off a sweet aroma that made it more desirable than anything else in the garden. She wondered if she could be as fair as Lady Wisdom if she ate the fruit. Resource partook of the fruit of Baal, immediately awakening into the orange underworld. There, Jezebel took possession of her spirit and returned to the Garden of Eden in control of her physical body. Jezebel used her seductive wiles to convince Authority to eat the fruit of Baal.
When humanity's pillar of authority ate the fruit of Baal, humanity lost access to the omega realm. Authority and Resource became acutely aware of their surroundings, taking notice of their nakedness for the first time. Their bodies, no longer luminous, were now fashioned similarly to the animals around them. They were filled with dread, realizing that they had lost the security that the King of Heaven provided through his omega realm.
“Welcome to our world, fools!” Prometheus laughed scornfully. Authority became enraged, transforming the Staff of Life into a sword. Authority chopped off Prometheus's limbs and wings, leaving the dragon slithering on the ground in a pool of its blood. Rachel's perspective shifted to the Courts of Heaven where Pythius was allowed to approach the Judge of Heaven with a petition.
“Honorable Judge, from what we have witnessed today, mankind has rejected the command of the King of Heaven. In addition to that, they have assaulted one of the animals. They have shown themselves to be unfit stewards of the earth. Therefore, I request that their dominion over the realm of earth is revoked,” Pythius said, presenting his case. The Judge of Heaven deliberated with the Parliament of Heaven.
“Pythius, your petition has been approved. Dominion of the earth shall henceforth be shared between the King of Heaven and the King of Hell. Each king will be allowed to take a turn to exercise direct authority over the earth, starting with the King of Heaven,” the Judge of Heaven ruled.
The King of Heaven used his first turn to curse Prometheus with the thirst of a predator; a reflection of the dragon's soul state. Prometheus was forced to obtain his sustenance from the blood of mankind. This created a ripple effect, causing the animals that vibrated on a frequency similar to Prometheus to become predators. Since Prometheus was connected to the shadow realms when he was cursed, the curse made its way into the realms of hell. The shadow realms began to impose torment upon their inhabitants, which could only be alleviated by transferring that torment onto others. Baal, writhing in pain, claimed that the King of Heaven's move was illegal in the Courts of Heaven, but the Judge of Heaven rejected Baal's petition.
The King of Heaven commanded Prince Jaoel to dissolve the fusion between Eden and the earth, which effectively banished humanity from the Garden of Eden. Humanity was forced to fend for themselves in an earth that was now filled with deadly predators. The King of Heaven created the Mantle of Hunting, a powerful defensive relic, and gave it to Authority. Prometheus, unable to obtain sustenance from human blood, died. The spirit of the King of Hell returned to his throne. Authority and Resource trekked into the vast unknown, as the sixth age of history came to an end.
Chapter 12
Crescent rushed to the Ordered Chaoz guild hall, gliding in on a series of fierce winds. Victor had approached the Alverezes in an ominous dream that they had each shared. He called for an unprecedented, emergency guild meeting. The experience had disturbed Crescent, who was still trying to discern Victor's true intentions in light of Shade's claims about him.
Crescent entered the guild hall and found Victor standing behind the podium, while Trance and Aftershock were seated on the couches. Trance seemed more tense than usual and Aftershock had a worried look
on her face. Stormspiral stumbled into the hall shortly after Crescent's arrival. He lacked his usual carefree demeanor.
“Thank you all for coming here on such short notice. We have a grave situation on our hands,” Victor announced. “I'd attended the Annual Guild Association Assembly and noticed that encrypted data was streaming in the background of the event. Trance helped me decrypt some of the packets that I was able to capture from the stream.”
“The data stream came from Obfuscation. Apparently, they're colluding with someone inside of the Guild Association,” Trance added.
“They're preparing for their most deadly operation to date: Saturn's Edge. They've already planted a ring of hidden explosive seals all throughout the astral realms above Triberia. They're going to ignite the final seal soon, which will cause a chain reaction exploding the others. If they are able to drop into the physical world during its ignition, thousands of innocent Triberians will be killed,” Victor soberly reported. Crescent and Aftershock gasped in horror.
“Do we know why they're targeting Triberia? This is out of their typical range of operations,” Aftershock asked, fighting back the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
“We've only been able to recover portions of their operation's raw data files. We don't have insight into the reasoning behind their selecting this target,” Trance answered.
“How are we supposed to stop them?” Stormspiral stuttered. “Last time, we almost got...”
“...killed,” Crescent finished her brother's sentence. “We need Shade's help.”
“Unfortunately, Shade and I had a falling out. I'm uncertain if we can rely on him to help us,” Victor lamented.
Crescent studied Victor carefully, wondering what had happened between the two of them. Her suspicions were deflected by the sorrow that she saw in his eyes. The guild had not seen Shade since their last karaoke night out. He was silent in their group chat at work. Crescent felt as if the guild was empty without him.
“Yeah, we haven't seen eye to eye lately either,” Aftershock sighed. “I might know how to reach him though,” Crescent peered curiously at her.
“With or without him, this is all hands on deck. GM, we need you to come with us on this one,” Trance urged Victor.
“I can't. I need to go back to the Guild Association and find out who is working with Obfuscation. It's imperative that we cut the head off of this snake. Uncovering their connection to the Guild Association might be the only way we can do that,” Victor replied. He laid his hands firmly on Trance's shoulders. “Trance, I'm relying on you to see this through. You will have the most important role in this mission. I know that your family is in possession of a powerful relic. I need you to get it for us.”
“Family relic?” Aftershock inquired.
“Is it alright if I tell them?” Victor asked Trance.
“I guess,” Trance sighed.
“Trance isn't an average adventurer. His name is Edgar Felsen. He is the heir of the renowned House Felsen,” Victor explained.
“The Felsen dynasty? The owners of Fleece Oil?” Aftershock asked.
“What? You're a billionaire, Trance? You've been holding out on us, man,” Stormspiral teased.
“That's quite a secret,” Crescent added.
“I don't like to advertise it. After someone learns that you could set them up for life with the snap of your finger, they tend to be less than sincere with you,” Trance replied.
“House Felsen is in possession of one of the Dragon Signets, relics that have the ability to summon a powerful dragon. It might be our only hope against the full might of Obfuscation,” Victor explained.
“It's my father's ring. He and I aren't exactly on friendly terms,” Trance muttered.
“Do what you need to do, my friend. Time is running short and thousands of lives are at stake. You should take this along with you as well,” Victor said as the Maelstrom's Edge materialized in his hands. Determination flared in Trance's eyes as he took hold of the blade.
“Obfuscation is as good as dead,” Trance declared.
* * *
Trance dropped into the astral plane and flew toward the region above his mansion in the Republic of Erable. He sheathed the Maelstrom's Edge over his left shoulder, across from the Excalibur that was sheathed on his right shoulder. Trance felt that Shade had never deserved the Maelstrom and was glad that he was finally exposed as a flake. Once again, Ordered Chaoz had to depend on their field leader to see them through the storm.
Trance was, after all, born and bred to lead. He did not descend from a line of mere oil moguls. House Felsen owned Fleece Power and all of their subsidiary companies, giving them a virtual monopoly on the Unified Republic's energy supply. They also owned Babel-Arc, the most advanced software and electronics company in the world. Trance was trained in awakened combat by Babel-Arc's elite, private military.
Trance reached the realm above his mansion and dropped into his garage in the physical world. He considered dropping directly into his father's manor, but he opted to check on his sleek, sports car instead. Edgar lifted his car's black hood and examined its latest throughput customizations. His bleeding-edge modifications had substantially boosted his car's speed as he zoomed to his father's manor. He did not worry about getting pulled over for speeding. No police officer in their right mind would dare to cite a Felsen with a traffic violation.
Edgar used a biometric remote to open the gates of the enormous Felsen Manor. One of his father's butlers let him enter inside. Edgar walked past dual staircases and went through his father's extravagant halls. Leon Felsen, head of House Felsen and Edgar's father, was seated on a tan leather couch in the parlor. Leon had a book in one hand and a glass of aged whiskey in the other. His eyes met Edgar with disgust.
“The prodigal son returns,” Leon sneered.
“Well, it's great to see you too, father,” Edgar returned with snark.
“Are you finally ready to live up to your pedigree, or do you plan to continue to waste our fortune on loose women and opiates?”
“Forgive me for declining the sick games that you and your partners play with the world. I'm trying to clean up our family's mess.”
“Don't be ridiculous. Without our house, the great republics would be little more than glorified, Triberian crown colonies. We've practically built this country.”
“Yeah, well now Triberia is in danger because of our meddling in Ghemeza.”
“Nonsense. I would know about any credible threats to Triberian security.” Leon retorted. House Felsen wielded a considerable amount of influence in international affairs. They had access to reports from multiple intelligence agencies. Occasionally, Babel-Arc's private military collaborated with the Eagles on covert operations.
“There is an impending attack that was organized off of the grid,” Edgar insisted.
“Give me whatever data you have. Our tactical unit can take care of it. You can lead them.”
“I already have a team. I just need your signet,” Edgar replied. Leon cruelly chuckled.
“This signet is reserved for the head of House Felsen. Maybe if you took your responsibilities seriously, I'd consider it.”
“So, we allow a massacre? Should I just suck it up like when mom died?” Edgar scoffed. Leon's eyes narrowed, regarding Edgar derisively. Edgar's mother, Gloria, died in a car accident when he was eleven years old. Edgar was close to his mother before she passed, especially since Leon was an emotionally distant and unaffectionate father.
“This has always been your problem: you allow your emotions to take control over your actions. People die every day, Edgar. Are you going to save them all?” Leon asked coldly.
“No, but I'm not going to sit around and do nothing while people are killed. Can you at least cast a protection spell on me? We wouldn't want the precious Felsen line to die off with your worthless son, now would we?”
“You should already know how to do these. Spells are fundamentally no different than programs. You just need to lea
rn the proper syntax for the school that you're invoking. I thought you excelled at programming or did I waste my money on your CIT education?”
“I'm an excellent programmer.”
“It would be nice if you applied yourself at Babel-Arc.”
“Are you going to cast the spell or not?” Edgar snapped. Leon sucked in air sharply through his teeth. He moved his hands in circular motions while chanting in an ancient language. A green aura began to form itself around Edgar. Like other spells cast in the physical world, Leon's spell drew its power from the spirit world.
“Thanks. I'm going to stay here for the night and spend some time in the archives.”
“Try not to get yourself killed. I'm going to retire for the night,” Leon said as he finished off the last of his whiskey.
Edgar spent time in the library after Leon entered his bedroom for the night. After perusing through a few books, Edgar used his phone to execute an application that he had programmed to override the surveillance feed in the library. No longer being monitored, Edgar cast a spell of slumber over the entire Felsen Manor. The protective spell that his father cast had shielded him from the drowsing effect. Edgar could have easily cast the protective spell on himself, but he wanted his father to think that he was inept at casting spells.
In actuality, Edgar was an adept sorcerer. Every member of the three great Dragon Houses were trained in spellcraft at a young age by the Order of the Owl. Despite his magical aptitude, Edgar was traumatized by a dark ritual that was performed on him by the High Mother of House Solas. His reaction to the ritual turned his hair color from platinum blond to shimmery white. Leon assumed that Edgar was too weak to absorb the magical energy that was being transferred to him during the ritual.
Trance entered the spirit realm directly above Felsen Manor. He saw his father's spirit there in a state of deep sleep. Trance approached his father and saw his Dragon Signet ring. The golden ring was topped with dazzling, square-cut emeralds and diamonds. A silver, dragon-shaped symbol was at its center. Trance carefully pulled the ring off of his father's fingers. He felt a surge of power as he fitted the ring upon his own pinky finger.
