The Villain's Story

Chapter 845: The knowledge within the darkness. (5).

The spells engraved on the gate began to crumble under Ariel’s power. Alan silently watched as it happened, amazed at the sheer level of power used. A single spell sealing the door held more mana than he had, and Ariel was destroying dozens upon dozens of them with ease.

And so quickly as well, he swore he heard the dragon let out a tired yawn as she dealt with this trivial task. She must want to finish this as quickly as possible and go back to sleep.

’Ariel, why do you sleep so much?’

Alan asked, it was a question weighing on his mind for a long time. He understood she was old, and old people liked to sleep, but Ariel seemed to have other reasons. Actually, she may have told him already but missed the crucial details.

He had an idea of it as well, it was probably related to the Trickster of the Profane, Shape Shifter of the Divine, as well as the Phoenix herself. Those two beings were mentioned in the tablets found in his dream.

He hadn’t found them in this world, though.

[Hmm? It’s what I get for doing what I did. I broke some laws in anger and sealed the chains that bound me even tighter. It’s a curse, although recently it is getting weaker.]

For a moment, Alan considered who it could be that cursed Ariel. It could be one of the two mentioned before, or other Primordials, regardless, he wanted to know. Guessing by himself wasn’t going to get him anywhere.

”Who could curse you?”

He asked aloud, curious to know who it was. Although the answer was quite shocking.

[I did.]

’What?’

Alan froze, questioning how and why. The answer shocked him, Ariel had cursed herself?

[Well, I told you, didn’t I? I broke some laws, and that is what I get in turn.]

”What kind of laws?”

[The law of death, I made it and broke it. I killed someone, and this is what I get.]

The gate opened, ushering forth a wave of dust from within, along with a foul odor. Alan waved it away and blocked his nose as he made his way through it.

’Was this someone, the Trickster of the Profane, Shapeshifter of the Divine?’

There was no reply, just like Alan had expected. He knew she would be surprised by how he knew that. Before his dreams, all he knew was that the World Serpent had killed the Dragon of Death, but then he came to know who it really was.

[Hmmm.]

He eagerly waited to see what her reaction would be. But it was milder than he had expected. He thought she would go into a fit of rage. It was why he had waited for the door to fully open before mentioning the Trickster.

[So that snake filled you up on numerous things, huh? How much?]

Alan paused for a minute, before letting out a sigh. Hiding anything wouldn’t work.

’Not a lot, It all comes to me in dreams. All I know is you made death, killed the Trickster of the Profane, Shapeshifter of the Divine, and somehow the phoenix is involved.’

[Hmmm.]

Ariel took a deep breath and explained.

[Well, you’ll know it soon enough. The serpent probably planned this from the start. Yes, I broke the law of death I created and killed Loki, making sure he had no way of coming back. It’s like the effects of Lapsus, but instead of everyone forgetting about it, they all remember.

Personally, I think that is better. It’ll make anyone think at least a dozen times before messing with my family again.]

”If you created it, why does it affect you?”

[Child, everything has a price. In the old times, where everything was endless, I merely got sick of it and introduced an end in a fit of rage. I wanted to introduce the end to make the endless shake in their boots, but unfortunately, the price I paid for it was that I couldn’t inflict it.

The Weave works in many ways, this is but one. My creation of the End later became known as Death, it’s become different now as well.]

Alan walked through the door, it led to a large dark room. The darkness within wasn’t anything special like the usual darkness on this planet. It was the simple kind of it. Alan didn’t even need [Dragon Eyes] to see through it. Although the dust was getting to him.

There wasn’t much in the room, no books or even a few pages scattered about from what he could see, there were simply a bunch of artifacts and paintings in the room. Interestingly enough, he couldn’t peek through their abilities even with the help of [Dragon Eyes].

There were many artifacts, and Alan knew they were powerful, but with no way to ascertain what they were exactly, he soon lost interest. However, his interest was piqued once more when he saw a row of weapons.

An unusual sword, a robust pair of gauntlets, a chilly scythe, a large mace and a broken axe, and finally, the weapon he was most familiar with, a spear, although with a curved edge. Alan approached the spear, but a warning from Ariel made him stop.

[Don’t. You don’t want to go near those bastards.]

’Bastards?’

A chilling laugh rang in his mind as Ariel asked a simple question.

[Alan, did you ever wonder how one can kill an endless existence? Beings like me, and some Supremes?]

Alan gulped as the atmosphere seemed to tense up. With shivering eyes, he gazed at the stack of weapons once more, he had grasped the answer already.

Ariel’s cold voice rang in his mind, it was as if his resistance to frost was nothing in front of her simple whisper. For the first time, he actually felt a chill, a genuine chill run down his entire body, spooking it.

[To bring an end to the endless, you transform them. You rip their egos out from their existences, you rip their pride apart, you rip everything that is them from themselves and it is then when you turn them into what you desire.

You defeat them in the purest sense. That is also Death.]

Alan jumped back from the spear and looked at them with fear apparent in his eyes. He asked, stuttering.

”S-o... Thos-e are?”

[Some Divines, some Supremes, and some Primordials as well. Loki is there too, the damn trickster is the sword. The newest addition to my fabulous collection... I was wondering where all of these guys went after I was cursed. Valus has been taking good care of them.]

Alan looked all around the room, at the many other artifacts placed on the pedestals... and gulped.

”Are these...?”

[Hmm? Oh, I don’t know what they are, although I sense some of my authority in a few. All of them are artifacts Mythic and above, special ones even among those. That is why Azmakul kept them.]

”Azmakul? Isn’t this supposed to belong to Valus?”

[Didn’t he tell you? Azmakul is older than all of my children and was the dragon directly beneath me before I gave him to Lanesha. He was my reaper.]

”A reaper?”

[I made death, I created the end, but due to the price I paid for it, the restriction cast on me... I needed someone to deliver it. That was Azmakul. That dragon has killed more powerful existences than anyone else. Even Izikil learned from him rather than his dad.]

It’s funny, you know? The other houses, the God Beasts, and everyone on the level of Mythic and Divine don’t fear my house because of me, Valus, Kulak, or Lanesha. They are scared shitless of him. That dragon has changed a lot now, though.]

’Monsters, all of you.’

[Of course we are, sweetie. Huhuhu]

It was as if she was reliving some of the most glorious memories of her life. Alan was sure they were filled with the screams of despair from the victims present in this very room. The information on Azmakul struck him as a surprise though.

He should have expected it, however. Azmakul had trained him in how to fight and use the unique properties of his dragonic body... and quite a lot of these ways showed him how to deal a lot of pain. He knew that Dragon had killed plenty of people.

But to the one who has killed the most powerful existences? That was a surprise. Furthermore, these beings were ’powerful’ by Ariel’s standards.

”But I have a question, How did you kill the Trickster of the Profane, Shapeshifter of the Divine? Because of creating death, you can’t inflict, can you?”

[There are plenty of restrictions placed on me, but they aren’t absolute. Rules are meant to be broken in extreme circumstances, aren’t they? He killed my daughter, I ripped him from his very existence. I would be damned if I did anything else.

I made sure his entire clan was gone, only a single damn snake remains, hidden in some far away corner... But I’ll find that damn son of a bitch.]

Alan decided it was best if he stopped talking, the tone of Ariel’s voice had changed drastically, the death of her eldest daughter was traumatizing... It would be best for his own safety if he left the topic of the trickster and moved onto something else.