Legend of the Empyrean Blacksmith

INEVITABLE

Heaven’s Dome was currently doused in silence, everyone slowly getting up to their feet with their heads lowered . Among them, Alex seemed the least affected, merely lost in thought as he gazed off into the distance .

Glancing sideways, he saw rows of angry faces hiding embarrassment and terror; how can they, after all, reconcile it? A single man had managed to bring them all to their knees . Even if they may not be the strongest of the strong within the Holy Continent, they all had their own pride as the upper echelon of strength . It was futile, however, to try and understand it -- after all, the core of what made the Empyreans all so terrifying was that they defied all forms of logic and reason . There was seemingly no pattern to how strong or weak they are, and one can only hope and pray they are on the weaker end .

It was an uphill battle, Alex realized . The only reason they survived today was because of those who could not be seen protecting them . Yet, even so, just the Sword Maiden and the Empyrean had managed to cause such a stir and leave unharmed right after . If the war truly broke out, he sighed inwardly, it wouldn’t be the likes within which he could participate .

" . . . not a word of this can leave this place," the elderly man, titular Fury of the Seas, who confronted Lino, spoke out sternly, turning toward the rest . "Lest you leave this world headless . Understood?"

" . . . understood . " hardly a roar and barely a whisper, the compendium of hundreds of voices couldn’t even reach the edges of the clearing . Alex sighed, the last words the Empyrean told him still echoing throughout his mind .

Meanwhile, far off into the west, within the bends of reality, twenty or so souls were sitting in similar silence, frowns plastered on their faces . Among them, Erebus and Freya seemed the least surprised, merely slightly taken aback . The latter glanced back and sighed inwardly; the first act of winning the war was dismaying one’s foe . It hardly ever relied entirely on actual strengths; war can be often won before even fighting it .

"Your worries shouldn’t be the Maiden or the Empyrean," Freya said . "It shall be taken care of . I merely wished to show you our foe today, so you may realize why we fight . "

" . . . Mother," Erebus’ voice echoed solely inside Freya’s head as she glanced at him quizzically . "There’s something strange about his Will . Have you noticed?"

"What do you mean?" Freya asked .

" . . . compare it to all past Empyreans," he said . "Somewhere, at the core, it feels . . . different . "

" . . . oh, that," Freya chuckled faintly . "He’s attempting to embody Chaos through Entropy . "

" . . . so, he’s wasting his time?" Erebus’ lips curled up in a wry grin as he mumbled .

"Exactly," she said . "I suppose Ataxia still hasn’t let him meet Eldon . It’s lucky for us . "

" . . . should we proceed with the plan?" he asked, the tone of his voice turning serious .

"Yes," Freya nodded sternly, turning toward the rest . "All preparations of the Heaven’s Entrapment are done . Proceed with the next phase of the plan . "

"Yes, Mother!"

" . . . there is no return after this," an elderly man who sat cross-legged toward the end with his eyes closed mumbled . "Are you certain it is time?"

"We’ve remained passive for long enough," Freya said . "Any more, and he might truly reach beyond our grasp . You shall handle the Maiden, correct?"

" . . . I can hold her back for a while," the man said . "But, don’t expect a victory . "

"I don’t need one," Freya said . "Just ensure she doesn’t break through the Entrapment and help the Empyrean, that’s all . "

"Then that is what I shall do . "

"You are dismissed . "

"Good luck, Mother . "

"Likewise . " the group quickly dispersed, leaving behind only Freya . A mere moment later, crimson threads splintered through the spacetime and formed a figure of a young, pale-skinned woman next to her . "Are you ready?"

"Threads have been set up," the woman said . "Our victory is all but ensured . "

"Were you able to gauge his strength entirely?"

" . . . no," the woman shook her head, sighing . "He locked it up entirely . I’m fairly certain only Ataxia knows just how strong he is . "

" . . . it doesn’t matter," Freya said after a momentary silence . "Even if he were as talented as Eldon, he would at most have recently become a Fiend Titular . It is within our expectations . "

"Nothing can go awry this time around," the woman said . "Failure . . . would be catastrophic . "

"Then we shan’t fail . "

" . . . just to be on the safe side," the woman said, slowly transforming into crimson threads once more . "Hide your other Avatars . If he goes mad . . . there is no telling what he might do . "

"They’re already hidden, don’t worry . " Freya said . "I’ll merely be an observer this time around . All of it . . . depends entirely on you guys . "

Toward the far east, beneath the grand sunrise, five figures were currently hovering in the sky . Three through Seven were all gathered there, their expression complex as they stared at the mountaintop from which Lino and Ella had just vanished . Six sighed and shook his head; he was too rash, he mused inwardly, provoking them . Seven glanced at him and smiled faintly, patting his back . Five, on the other hand, had a rather expressive face, mixture of excitement and desire .

" . . . don’t ask too much, Six," Three said, glancing at the old man . "The most we can do is ensure he doesn’t die . "

"He can do that without us," Six replied . "Are we really going to let it happen?"

"It’s our priority," Four said . "Ataxia has gone entirely silent for a while now . We cannot afford too many years of this . Especially now with One gone . "

" . . . tsk, you morons," Five suddenly scoffed, grinning strangely . "If that bitch fails to contain him, he won’t just go after her, but us as well . This indecisiveness is exactly the reason the world’s as fucked up as it is . "

"Nobody’s stopping you, Five," Four said . "Go ahead and help him . "

" . . . help him? Wasn’t his Will practically screaming at us to fuck off already?"

"He truly is talented," Seven said, her face expressionless . "Especially when it comes to Will manipulation . Given a few more decades . . . he might have truly reigned over us all . "

"No one soul should ever reign the world," Three said . "Isn’t that why we came together in the first place? To prevent it?"

" . . . you don’t know him, Three," Six said, shaking his head . "Pray in all your hearts she manages to cripple him . "

"Are you terrified of a boy, Six?" Four mumbled, glancing at him . "What happened to you?"

"I’m not terrified of the boy, Four," the old man said, smiling faintly . "I’m terrified of the abomination inside his heart . He’s nowhere near kind as he’s led the world to believe," he added, sighing . "He’s merely been playing the long game . His roots, however, still lie in destruction and madness . If pushed to the edge . . . he won’t settle on fizzling away . "

"Your worries are unnecessary," Three said . "I’ll ensure it happens . "

The five fell into a lulling silence, all locked inside their own thoughts . Six’s eyes shimmered in a strange light; he’d grown to like the boy quite a lot, yet not enough to prevent what was about to unfold from happening . It was only a natural course of life; some fires burn brightly for a moment before being snuffed out . Lino, as it turned out, was just another one of them . He was too impatient, Six thought, and rushed too deeply into the tale too quickly .

Ever since he met him, Six suspected it would be that impatience that would eventually be Lino’s undoing; he simply didn’t have enough experience with the world at large to properly level out the hazards . Yet, Six didn’t for a moment think Lino was a dimwit . He must know that the walls were closing in, yet he still decided to openly meet with the world, and in such a brazen way no less . Could it have been a last-ditch effort, a desperate attempt to terrify the world just enough they would leave him alone for a little while longer? Six couldn’t say, not yet at the very least . He had no say in what was about to happen, just as no other individual in the world did . Not even One would have been able to prevent it .

Sighing, he glanced at the mountaintop one last time and vanished . Just before he did, however, a low whisper caressed his mind, cruising through it freely . He quickly recognized Lino’s voice, startling him greatly . I like you, old man, he said . So I hope I won’t see your face when the sky comes crashing down on me . . .