Sovereign of the Karmic System

Chapter 671 A Simple Choice

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"Are you sure that War is dead?" Order asked the aspect of Sentience, now busy staring at the events that were unfolding in the middle of the battlefield with dumbfounded eyes.

"I have no doubt." Sentience responded. "His consciousness is gone."

"Check again!" Order bellowed. "We both know that a power of existence cannot manifest itself without a consciousness to wield it!" His words came out with misdirected anger, for he knew all too well that there was no room for mistake in Sentience's powers. Had there been anything left of War's consciousness he would have felt it, so he did not bother to respond, adding only to Order's frustration.

He felt powerless. Powerless to act as vast chaotic energy filled the endless battlefield, giving a grim accompaniment to the existential power of War which was shrouding Der's body in a red fog. Daniel's attacks had halted, but he could tell that, had he intervened, he would have to do so at the risk of his own life.

For a few seconds he could only observe and feel his nature tremble, weighing his options before his own mind could. But that did not last long, for in about a minute, his mind had been set. He had to act, even if that meant being hurt in the process. His fingers squeezed the polished handle of his greatsword and his knees bent gently in preparation for a charge. Faint movements that did not escape Daniel's notice, as he prepared to intercept him with power of his own.

Before either of the two could move, however, their attention was drawn by a heavy gasp. Him, Sentience and Daniel turned towards the aspect of Instinct, who was staring at the unconscious man and the red fog with wide eyes. "The power.. the power is picking its new wielder!" He yelled with a shaky voice.

-----

The few drops of power left within Der's body had left him with his last strike, after which he fell to the ground, unaware of his surroundings. His hands instinctively reached for the sword and shield he had dropped, only to thrash pointlessly in the slush he lay on. The gentle motion of the blood pool cooled his skin like an unused pillow on a summer night, dragging him to sleep before turning uncomfortably warm. His eyes closed, and he fell asleep.

When his eyes opened once again, he found himself in a foreign place. The blood-soaked clearing was missing, and so were the mountains of corpses, the constant echo of distant endless battles, and the deafening ruckus Daniel and Roley were making during their fights. What was in front of him was almost complete darkness.

His hands pressed heavily against the ground, or at least he thought he did, for he could see neither the ground nor his hands. His body rose in a fluid motion, devoid of any of the pains he would have expected to feel after the constant hammering of War's attacks. "Where am I?" he muttered to himself as his head turned left and right. What he saw was further darkness. Absolute obscurity not unlike that of space, but lacking the comforting lights that reflected on the surface of near planets, or which originated from further stars.

More questions appeared in his mind. How did I get here? What is this place? Did I win? Am I dead? All questions he was eager to have answered, but he was never the type to ponder over questions. Not unless there was someone with him with answers. Instead, he focused on one problem in particular. How to get out. 

He called for his immortal essence, willing it to respond, and then he felt it. He turned around in a quick motion to find a small flame lingering at what he felt was waist height. It was white in color, and as weak as candlelight, but extremely familiar. It flickered as Der's eyes laid upon it, as if in response to his attention. The flicker of this flame brought a semblance of joy to Der,'s mind as each of its movements played out like a dear memory.

Drawn by this flame Der headed in its direction, trying to walk what he thought were just a few miles of emptiness. However, he soon came to realize that no matter how much he walked, he was coming no closer to it. His failure played in his mind like a minor development, but which filled his heart with feelings of sadness and anxiety. 

A disappointment he delved into for only a few moments before something new caught his eye.

Not too far from the white light a second flame had appeared. Of a more common red and yellow color, this flame burned at thousands of times the intensity of the white one, bringing with each of its suave motions feelings opposite to those of its smaller counterpart. In it Der felt promises of power and authority and victory, assuring him that, had he always wielded this flame's power, few of the beings he had met in his life would have been able to stand his power.

To Der's right side the enormous red flame burned with power, ambition, and dominance, while on the opposite side, the white light burned feebly with warm feelings and memories. Between them was a patch of trembling space, shaken by the impact between the two powers of opposing nature.

As this larger red flame appeared, Der felt the desire to reach for it just like he had the white one before. This time, however, his steps brought him closer to its mark.

The red flame reacted wildly, elated by the man's approach the same way a bonfire would be at the addition of dry sticks soaked in oil. Every step Der took made the red flame double in size, covering more of his surroundings the closer he got. With its growth, the white flame flickered in pain, struggling to stay lit under the red flame's power.

Der kept approaching the enormous fire, feeling his cares and worries for others slip out of his consciousness, replaced by thirst for power, and feelings of superiority. He reached forward, fingers lingering just inches from the wild red flame, when suddenly, he stopped. "So this is what happened to you.." Der muttered under his breath in realization. The fire in front of him crackled in response, eager for the man to wield it. But Der didn't. His hand was lower as his body turned to face the white light, now close to being extinguished. Then, he started walking.

Behind him the red flame exploded, turning into a red colored fog that surrounded what Der had now realized was only  a world within his own consciousness. It lingered around him invitingly, waving gently in hope to coax the warrior to pick it. "I will make you stronger than the ones that came before you." the red mist said, using Der's own voice. "Wield me, and set it all ablaze in the flames of war."

Every word spoken was sweet and tempting. His spirit as a general and warrior was screaming at him to take the offer, to accept that power and use it to protect and conquer, like he had done so many times before. But Der never hesitated. He stepped forward with purpose, shattering any barrier the red fog put between him and the small white light with sheer conviction.

Once at arm's reach of the white light, the red smoke had started shifting with aggression. It barred the man from moving, its words lingering in his ears still in an attempt to coax him, to give up what the white light meant and to embrace it instead. But it was all pointless. Der never stopped, not until he heard a deep and unknown voice. A gritty disembodied voice that belonged to no man he had ever met. "Why not me?" The voice asked.

Der finally stopped. On his nonexistent lips appeared a faint smile as he turned to face the now immense angered mist. "What makes me fit to wield you, is what I would lose were I to do so." He responded before turning to look back at the white flame, and falling on his imaginary knees.

Once face to face with the light, Der reached forward, unhindered by any of the barriers placed between the two. In a moment, his finger plunged into the white light, and Der saw it. All his connections to others, his compassion, selflessness and empathy, and desires of vengeance and to protect. Everything that had fueled his actions for the thousands of years he had lived. They all dove into his skin, alongside the pure white light which Der immediately recognized as the power he had wielded against the aspect of War.

"Sorry I hesitated." he told himself as his consciousness dissipated once more.

-----

"Lord Order, what is happening?" Asked the eerie mixture of voices that belonged to the aspect of Fear, now lingering on the other side of the battlefield, next to the aspects of Order, Sentience and Instinct.

The large man in platinum armor did not respond. Instead, he turned to look back at Instinct and asked, "Are you sure this is what we are seeing?" His eyes did not wait for an answer, and instead moved to the middle of the battlefield, where the lingering red mist had turned into a powerful storm that warned the observing fighters from approaching.

"I have no doubt." Instinct said, "I had no idea our powers had this level of sentience." 

"They don't!" Sentience chimed in.

"Awareness, then." Instinct corrected himself before his lips came to a close, pressing tightly together. His feline eyes lingered onto the red tornado for a few moments, then continued. "It must have judged the mortal worthy of his power. More than any consciousness it could have developed in the future, given enough time."

Order felt a shiver run down his spine. "What would happen, were it to succeed?" His question was aimed at Instinct, the only creature present who could give him some answers. "Would the existential power of war merge with that.. odd power of his?" 

"I can't tell with my powers. I know nothing of the power he uses.." Instinct responded. "But I doubt it. If the two powers could merge that easily, would it take this long to do so? Worse case we would have a new aspect of War, closer in nature to him." His eyes moved back to Daniel, now busy observing the odd spectacle the same way they had been for the past few minutes. "Regardless, I think it's wise we finish our business here, before things develop further." He then added.

Order nodded. "Fear, we need your help here." he told the ghastly figure that lingered within the dark mist. His eyes then reached for those of Sentience and Instinct, who nodded back at him in understanding. The four prepared to resume battle openly and from within the shade alike, but then, the red storm stopped, as if halted in time.

The four turned to look back at the middle of the battlefield, and then they felt it. The power of war, cut from whichever form of awareness that had controlled it after the death of its wielder, was dissipating like it should have after War's death, uncovering the figure of an unconscious mortal warrior.

The chaotic energy that had been created by the odd behavior of the existential power of war followed soon after, clearing the sky of most of its dark clouds. 

"Did it fail?" Sentience asked Instinct.

"No." Order interjected. "The mortal refused it." He said as he noticed that not all of the chaotic energy was gone. Just that which was created by the power of war. He then sighed deeply at the sight of the unconscious man. "At least we are in no worse position than we were before." He added.

Just as he finished speaking, the dimension began to tremble.

Order and Sentience looked at the shaky mountains of corpses and darkening skies with confusion, as the ground they stood on turned softer under their weight.

"The Endless Battlefield is collapsing!" Instinct said. "Prepare yourselves to get thrown out!"