Lord Shadow

Then for a moment that lasted for an eternity, it stabilizes.

It was at that time, the clouds disperse returning to their positions, the earth stops trembling, the mountains immovable, the thunders silence itself.

For the spectators that were able to saw the weird phenomena they quickly shares it with their friends.

They all thought it was something like a portal opening or a portent of disaster. Some believes it to be an omen of dark days ahead.

Some believes a treasure was being born by the energy of the world.

Many speculation but none could guess it was Azief forming his seed that cause such weird natural phenomena to happen.

Inside his consciousness when the orb stabilizes all the energy, a world was created inside Azief mind.

It was a true world.

It was like was seeing the formation of a planet inside his mind. A brightly shining core appears entangled by the energy he possessed.

It floated inside the darkness of his mind. Then this core radiated life and form a world. The energy collided and binding each other.

Some disperse, some bonded.

Energy filled this world, dense and thick energy sank to the center, while the lighter energy created the stabilizing factor inside Azief inner world.

It was then he created his first Disk.

The first Disk was he created was of course the most accessible energy near him. It was the Worldly Disk.

Worldly Disk is formed from the World Energy. Now, Azief could truly manipulate the energy surrounding him on Earth.

In extreme cases he could truly use the worldly energy to destroy someone by taxing his own stamina and vitality.

It takes him one year to absorb all enough worldly energy and refines it until it is completely molded into a Disk.

One could form the Disk anywhere they wanted. But usually it could only be formed on the outside.

Somewhere visible.

Hikigaya has one on each eye. Raymond formed his Disk below both of his feet. When one activated their Disk, their Disk will appears in a translucent image like a halo ring.

But Azief was different.

Since his circumstances is different so does the way he form his Disk.

He forms his Disk inside his inner world. When that Disk appears inside his Inner World, that first Disk spins and rotates and turn into a sun inside the Inner World.

It shines upon the dark Inner World, bringing light and bringing life. Then a few days after that, he started absorbing new energy to form his Second Disk.

The Universal Energy.

The fact was that he sense the Universal Energy when he was being burned. The fact he could sense it means he can absorb it.

So, he absorb the Universal energy by absorbing it from the sun, and from the moon. So, his Second Disk was formed.

The Universal Disk.

With such energy inside his body Azief could manipulate the stars, the moon to supply him with energy when his energy runs out.

When he has drained all the worldly energy he could absorb the energy of the moon, the sun, and the stars.

That took him only six month.

By now, he could no longer be classified humans. Just by absorbing energy he would never go hungry or tired as long as the energy exist.

When the Universal Disk was created inside Azief consciousness that Disk spins before it disperse inside Azief Inner World, turning into the moon and stars filling the inner world with gravity.

Azief then understand that this two energy was the basic energy one could form.

Since it is always around them.

Azief also quickly grasp that everyone that reach Disk Formation could fly.

When the gravity set in in Azief inner world, Azief felt the Law of Gravity. And his body becoming even lighter.

Usually in the world, only a few people who have the ability to fly. But when one reaches Disk Formation, everyone could fly unless one block the Space with magic or brute power.

With his body slowly recovering, his absorbing power increases.

Azief was frozen yet frozen as he is, he still make people wary even though only few people believe he is truly alive.

Azief had a hard time then. He wanted the world to believe that he is incapable. He wanted to draw out the mouse and serpent lying in the dark.

That is one of his concern. And he could hear from the occasional people conversation that approach the mountains about the hardship of his companions.

But that was the result he did not like.

He could break the mountain after he formed his First Disk and helped his friend yet he did not do that.

Because he could not leave Katarina to suffer the severe backlash. Thus, he could not leave the Ice Mountain.

So, Spain kept getting hit with mysterious phenomena.

People like Hirate, like the head of the Merchant Association, Boris, and some other people who hides in the darkness believes the mysterious phenomena that keeps happening in Spain has something to do with the ice mountain.

But since they have no evidence they do nothing. Azief on the other hand by the time two years passed have formed his Second Disk.

The Worldly Disk.

The Universal Disk.

Both were refined to 100 percent completion. It was then he understand what that runes Alsurt gave him.

When he understand it, he finally understand what Alsurt gave him could not be calculated by some meager type of profit.

Now that he understand, he was feeling even more grateful to that Jotnar.

The snows keep falling in Spain, and as years passed by the desire for Azief to be stronger did not diminished.

Instead it burns even hotter.

So, he uses the rune.

Azief absorbed the rune and he could feel an ancient and a very old energy slowly meld and mold inside Azief consciousness

He formed his third Disk almost immediately.

The Ancient Rune Disk.

This time he did not have to absorb the runic energy. What is the Runic energy?

Fundamentally, runes are Word.

Words that contains magic. If it is magic and some form of energy where is it most abundant? The Eight Realms.

But Alsurt by giving him the rune, saves Azief time. The moment he absorb it, his Disk forms completely without flaws and without crack.

Inside Azief inner world, symbols floated amongst the stars.

This symbol then embedded itself into the stars, the moon, the sun and then Space and Time itself.

It becomes a part of the Inner World, merging with it silently and stealthily.

And this take only the time for one to blink for him to form the Disk.

Two years and three Disk.

Now, that he could harness the powers of Divine Rune even his word has power behind it.

For people with weak will, his voice and his orders could compel people to follow it.

And one could even be persuaded to kill themselves with an order. Runes are words. And words have power.

This is what Alsurt taught him. When you name something, you give it meaning. And when you give something a meaning, it gives that meaning, power.

By then two years has passed him by as he could by then free himself. If he went out he could dominate the world as he used to.

Now, he would even be more unstoppable after finishing the baptism of fire.

But he still did not.

He waited. But who does he wait for? Is it Sofia? No. He waited for Katarina. He could not repay what Katarina done for him with just mere words.

But he know one day he will pay Katarina back

He could break free.

But by breaking free, Katarina will suffer a heavy injury the moment the mountain is shattered. Katarina did not only seals herself and him that day.

She seals time and Space around her with it. By doing so, it preserved Azief life and at the same time saving her life.

That stunt she did, overtaxes her entire body and burns all of her longevity.

It was unconsciously done because of her desperate desire to save him.

Azief, from the day he woke up inside the ice mountain, has been feeding Katarina with his Life Energy.

With his life energy as abundant as the vastness of the skies, he felt not one ounce of hesitation to share it with Katarina.

After a month of stabilizing his Disk, he finally check the energy that enter his body when he was burned by the Purifying Fire.

What Azief found was a tattoo. Azief did not understand it when he saw it. But when he touches it the meaning made itself abundantly clear.

It was a character for Immortality in Jade Empire scripts.

It was a goodwill of the Jade emperor. Azief did not know what he did to gain such favor but he is not one to decline what is good for him.

He then without hesitation absorb the immortality character. The moment he absorbed it another Disk was formed.

The Celestial Disk.

The energy the Jade Emperor bestowed upon him was the Celestial Energy, the energy that is present in all Three thousand worlds of the Jade Empire.

So, right now, in only two and half a year he possesses four Disk, surpassing even Hikigaya records of three Disk.

One might even say he could take it easy now. But he could not. Because he is determined to once again pursue the pinnacle of Perfection.

He will create Thirteen Disk and summons the Supremacy Stairway.

This was the information that appears inside his mind when he passed the Purifying Fire.

If he perseveres and did not take the short way, persisting in forming Thirteen Disk he would be qualified to step on the Supremacy Stairway

There is thirty three steps on the Supremacy Stairway.

When one create Thirteen Disk, one could merge it to open the portal to the Supreme Dimension where the Supremacy Stairway is located.

It is called the Supreme Dimension because thirty three Supreme Beings created the dimension and each steps were forged by each one of the Supreme Beings will.

This means Azief will not be the only in the vast Universe that will be able to enter. Other people might also be able to enter.

There is another information about the Supremacy Stairway he was bestowed with. To climb Ten Steps of the Supremacy Stairway symbolizes Mortal.

Mortal of Supreme Dimension are capable to lord all over Mortals of other Realm. Ten steps alone are good and one could exit the Dimension with head up held high.

To climb twenty steps symbolizes Immortal. Thus, one would be titled Supreme Immortal.

To climb thirty steps symbolizes the Heavens. Thus, one would be titled Supreme than the Heavens.

In the Universe only a few beings was qualified to be spoken with this kind of appellation

And to walk the last three steps symbolizes the Three Steps to Perfection of Divinity. By walking this last three steps, one would have a chance to become a True Divinity in the future.

As Azief finished pondering all of this matter, he stopped his steps.

The wind stops around him as energy fluctuates and ripples of energy ripples from him as the focal center.

He look up at the skies and release a sigh. Then with a slightly smooth tone of voice, he said gently

‘Won’t you come out now? It’s not good letting your brother in the dark.’ For a while there is no silence before the sound of branches being stepped upon could be heard.

A person appears from behind a large tree. He was wearing a purple tight attire that covered his body.

Azief immediately knows his hunch was correct.

‘You have returned. I would have search you if I still could not sense you. It is good now that you seek me first’

The person nodded and shot back

‘You too, brother. I know you would have not died. You’re not that easy to kill’ Azief chuckles a bit.

‘You know me best. Walk with me’ He then immediately said.

That person shakes his head. The pace of the conversation immediately went to Azief.

But that person also know Azief best.

That person suddenly appeared beside Azief in an instant. Azief was not shocked with this display of speed as he calmly resume his walk.

‘Who?’

The moment he asked this, electricity crackled from the purple man body.

The lightning crackled and spirals around his waist like an everlasting coiling snakes going in rotation motion.

There is no other person that has this kind of characteristic other than the Purple Speedster Will.

The brothers has finally reunited. Other people would have asked Will to elaborate. Who what? But Azief understood.

Just by looking at Will demeanor and feeling his anger, Azief knows what Will is asking about. Azief pats Will back and said

‘Calm down. I still don’t know.’ Will creased his eyebrows as he walk in pace with Azief.

The question was “Who”. The answer was “I still don’t know.”

Then what it is that they are talking about.

They are talking about Azief assassination attempt. It is why Will seems angry.

They walk through the woods, listening to the sounds of the forest, as the clouds atop of them with its carefree attitude passing by, snow drifting gently to the ground.

It was an idyllic scenery. Then Azief said

‘Do not worry. We will pay back anything that is owe to us. The pain and the suffering, we pay it back double.’

Will smirked.

As both of them walked down, they both could see the village nearby. It was the village Azief is staying right now.

Right under the very noses of the World Government. Then Azief stop walking. So, Will also stop walking

Then Azief look towards Will and ask him a question

‘Now, I believe you have a lucky encounter? Tell me your story’ And Will only smiles before saying

‘It is going to be a long story’ Azief then immediately reply

‘That is my favorite kind of story’ and Azief smirked. Will then nodded as he open his story with this line.

‘My story begins at a Temple….

***

On the highest city walls, a naked woman look upon the destruction of the world. That woman wanted to cry but there is no longer any tears for her to wash away.

The world was burning.

Fire from the heavens, fire from the Earth, fire from the four directions. The people screamed, and the Heavens weeps.

From the skies it rains fire, as the girl watched everything turns to ashes. Everything she loves. Everything she hold dear.

She saw people suffering. Seeing them despairing. The screams melded into a terrifying melody.

The girl hug herself like she could feel all the pain, her finger dug deep into her flesh, blood dripping from her wound

The Gods rages and so the world burns. Seven Gods clashes in the skies, the moon, sun, stars all are misaligned

Continent was taken down, the world climates changed, the globe tilting off its axis, and the darkness seems that it would last for an age

So, the woman, she sings….as everything burns.

And she was awakened from her dreams.

***

Erika opens her eyes as she realizes she was sweating all over her body. She sigh. The more time passes, the clearer she could see, but the grimmer the future she saw.

‘Seven Gods.’

She muttered. But then she muttered something.

‘The future is changing. Slowly the future is heading off to a different path.’

The reason why Erika felt disconcerted, sometimes in her dreams, she would saw Eight Gods clashing off against each other.

Sometimes, she saw only six.

Like the future is changing somehow.

‘Someone…is messing with Time and Space.’

That is the only explanation she could think off. As she wipes her sweat, she knows what she should focus on right now.

‘Loki’ she whisper that name. For some odd reason, Erika believes she would understand if she is able to meet Loki face to face.

‘I will find you.’ She said before she lying down once again, on her bed, trying to sleep, trying to dream again.

No matter how painful the dreams or the future she saw, she would not be deterred.

Because she somehow knew….this was her destiny. And it is her duty to walk to the end of her path…no matter how painful.

***

Ok, it opens with the reunited pair of sworn brothers. And what or who in the urn? And why Will is calling it master?

Azief and Will is surely planning to do something big. Katarina did not have screen time this time.

And the Oracle Erika has enter the scene. Is it the Time Crisis Arc already? Not really. But who knows. If Erika actions will expedite the timeline event. There is still the Partition of the World Arc.

You can expect the WG and RA will make moves in this arc. And Azief, like always while he put these petty schemes in his mind his eyes have always look far to his goals.

More power and more strength.

And Loki still didn’t show how he intend to deal with Morgana. He promises Morgana that he has a plan regarding her actions.

And remember his word toward Morgana in the last arc. Return to Origin. Think simply. I will not put too many hints about that.

And that is it for this week chapter. Hope you like it. Donate or leave a comment to show your support

***