A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

Chapter 362: A Greedy Man - Part 5

"You always attempt to," Ingolsol said, the disdain obvious in his voice. "But chaos is my domain. When the scales change and shift, it is I that hold the advantage, and no one else."

The pressure on Beam's hand increased even further. It was a miracle that the bones had not yet broken. Beam could feel the tension running up the length of his arm like a thunderbolt, the pain as numbing… but there was something about the state of his battered body that served to remind him of something.

Indeed, the more pain he suffered, the more he seemed to remember that 'something' of importance. He felt more like he was framing the situation right.

With a motion of his hand, Beam cast Ingolsol off him.

It was done with such contemptuous ease that it made the man's eyes go wide with surprise. Claudia shared that same surprise, but with it, there quickly came a smile.

Beam dragged himself to his feet, using the throne to steady himself, he drew himself back to full height.

He was surprised to see that he towered over Ingolsol, who he was sure was over six feet, but here they stood, and Beam was a whole head taller than him.

With Beam glaring down at him as he was, clutching his injured arm, and having fresh blood pour down his side, Ingolsol soon dipped his head in an expression of respect, as an amused smile played on his lips.

"It was merely a jest, my Lord," he said, taking a step away. "Merely a jest."

"A jest gone too far," Claudia chided. "We both swore it," she reminded him. "As unconventional as it may be, we both swore our loyalty."

"For a fragment of a mighty God to have to bow to a mere mortal," Ingolsol said, lowering his voice in mock horror. "It still shames me to this day to consider it… but then, we've had so much fun, have we not? The games we have played together, my Lord. The battles we've fought together. We've both grown tremendously from it, have we not?"

"I hear you, at times," Beam said. "Whispering to me, demanding things from me – and yet you dare to praise me as your Lord."

Ingolsol chortled at that. "To have such lucidity, despite sitting so deep within the void, I must commend you."

Seeing Beam's raised eyebrow, Claudia moved to explain. "Ordinarily, a mortal wouldn't be able to swim so deeply," she told him. "And yet you find yourself able. You have a thicker rope than most dive with. We've never spoken directly, but the three of us are always in conversation. You might feel my intent, just as you feel Ingolsol's."

"And what of those two?" Beam said, with a gesture, as he looked down at fragments of Ingolsol and Claudia that had wounded him earlier.

"It would likely be best to ask Ingolsol that. I have a feeling that this is likely the doing of his main body," she said.

Ingolsol chuckled at that, flashing a devilish smile. "I can imagine that. A perfectly good idea. If I had as much divine energy as I'm sure he has, I would find myself doing much the same thing… But I will say, his understanding of the situation is likely lesser than ours."

"Lesser?" Claudia asked, with a tilt of her head.

"Lesser," Ingolsol agreed. "Your main body likely has even less understanding. She does not involve herself with such things, this kind of deep diving into the mortal mind. I expect no other such thing has ever happened before. As soon as a fragment like myself worms its way inside, the mortal's soul collapses, and that's the end of it."

"But our Lord did not collapse when you forced your way inside," Claudia said, there was an accusatory edge to her voice that made Ingolsol laugh.

"Don't stare at me with such venom, woman, I am what I am. You accuse a snake of feeding itself. I merely have my impulses, and I have them out. To last as long as I have away from the main body, that's something to be said in itself… Regardless. I was meant to destroy this little ship, and I was meant to claim that throne," Ingolsol said.

"And let me tell you – it was never such a grand thing in the past. Back then it was a wooden chair. As was my own mind, my own development. True claws instead of hands. Now look at me, civilized."

"Civilized is an overstatement, but I understand your point," Claudia smiled.

Beam listened to them with interest. He found it strange that the two engaged in such cordial discord, despite his feeling that the two were endlessly warring inside of him. They didn't seem to be warring here – they merely seemed to be wary of each other.

"You've grown then," Beam noted. There was a degree of fluidity to his thoughts now, though perhaps 'thoughts' was still the wrong word for it.

"As have you, my Lord," Claudia said. "When I first made your acquaintance, this vast hall was no more than a tiny room, with a tiny chair. I too had no clear will of my own, merely instinct, the instinct that Claudia instilled me with – the instinct to protect you from harm.

It is you that has nourished both Ingolsol and I, strangers in your body, and it is for that reason that you continue to live."

Beam frowned at that, thoughtfully. "I feel as though I am missing something. This conversation interests me, but it unsettles me. I've left something undone, somewhere, and I can feel it. There's terrible danger. And what of those divine fragments down there, what of their nature, why are they so different to the both of you?"

"Ahhh, there we get to the heart of the matter. Always striving, always wanting. That's the Lord we know and love. Even without knowing, the boy still knows," Ingolsol cackles. "You rarely listen to me, but there's that emotion in you that I like. There's that greed.

Experience tales at M-V-L

If not for that, we would never have been able to understand each other. Indeed – you are missing something important."