Chapter 1623: Spark of Conspiracy
<Okay, we really need another kaijin or make the kids constantly watch the feeds while we’re doing stuff, because how the fuck did we miss an important lore drop like that?!>
=The fact that none of our records show signs of a conflict must mean that you didn’t get caught,= Logos surmised. =So what happened after that sentient aether flame ominously said [Chaos]?=
[Well...]
...
"[Chaos]?" Hulna and Ferroxa repeated the word, it sounding both foreign and familiar on their tongues.
"What is that?"
The clearly sentient aether bonfire didn’t answer its two adherents.
Instead, it released a small wave of power that indicated that it wanted the two of them to take care of the Acolyte whose mind it had just probed.
"Eh?"
"Ah."
Fletcher didn’t look too good after having been released by the sentient aether fire.
Which was understandable, given that having one’s mind thoroughly probed by a naturally occurring aether treasure so powerful that it had developed sentience was a rather invasive affair on multiple levels.
"You two. Get over here and take this man to the infirmary for treatment."
"At once, Abbot Hulna."
"Of course."
This wasn’t the first time they had to treat one of their benefactor’s probed subjects, but that didn’t make it any easier to clean up.
They knew Fletcher would be fine; perhaps he would even get lucky and absorb some of their benefactor’s power. But alas, the man would be horribly bedridden for the next few months, possibly years.
Regardless, the order of the removal of the injured Fletcher from the room had the unexpected consequence of having everyone but Ferroxa and Hulna leaving the chamber.
Well, there were also the kaijin hiding and watching from all sorts of angles, but their presence hadn’t been noticed yet. That or the sentient flame didn’t care about them.
As such, it didn’t come as a surprise when a weird, slow voice began to come out of the bonfire.
Chaos is...primal.
Force of...universe.
All...things...came from it.
My... predecessor came from it.
When the universe...dies...all shall return to it.
"I see..."
"Wait, does that mean this [Chaos] stuff is even more powerful than true aether?" Abbott Ferroxa asked, his eyes glowing with the possibility of finding an even more potent power to enhance his fighting abilities.
Not...quite...
"Oh?"
The flame began to dance once more, creating shapes and images that would better explain its point.
Chaos is...powerful...but...untamed.
Many mortals...tried.
Many mortals...failed.
In the end...most of them...disappeared.
Thus began...the era...of aether...of the Divine.
"Most of them? You mean to say there are people out there that can wield this ancient power? Even to this day?"
Yes...but that’s...not...all.
The flames continued to dance until they had created a single figure made of a dozen different colored flames.
One...in particular...learned how to make life from the lifeless.
To give...form to the formless.
To turn their very existence into a being beyond...understanding.
Demonstrating this, the multicolored figure appeared to pick up a flower before turning it into a humanoid one, then proceeded to turn smoke into another humanoid, and then finally transformed itself into a monstrous being.
And just as quickly as they appeared, they disappeared from sight.
Ferroxa and Hulna were intrigued by the sight...but then they realized something as they continued to watch the bonfire’s exposition, eventually coming up with a theory.
A theory that was confirmed almost immediately by the fire itself.
The...ones who learned...this...formula...were...the basis...of the End Ballads.
"I knew it!"
"Oh...shit."
Every aether warrior who has even been tangentially inside of a tavern has heard an End Ballad before.
These strange ballads were always dedicated to infamous aether warriors who all three shared traits between them, but only two were known to the public.
These publicly known traits were that they all were the reason why a civilization collapsed and that they all had a band of loyal yet strange warriors that helped to cement their cause.
Evidently, that would make the third trait something quite easy to guess...if one knew what to look for.
"Does that mean whoever this new... End Ballad subject may be is a threat to our way of life? To you?" Hulna asked.
No...if anything... it is...the grandest...opportunity.
Before elaborating, it first formed fiery shadows of three distinct objects that appeared to be a fire poker, a bellows, and an orb.
Needed these...treasures...in order to...surpass...them.
But...if...what...you’re saying...is true. Then we...no longer...need them.
After making this declaration, the image of the three items burned away into nothingness.
The fire then began to take on a more sinister light, as it detailed a scenario.
First, it showed the multi-flamed being alone once more.
If we...can...find them. We can...convince them...to assist us.
The multi-flamed construct is shown being approached by two different figures made of white and black flame; presumably these two were Hulna and Ferroxa. The two figures appeared to be doing their damnedest to convince the multicolored flame being into following them. Eventually, the multi-colored being agreed.
Then...we...bring them...here.
In the flames, the multi-colored being was guided to a bonfire that looked somewhat similar to the one making this whole production in the first place.
With their power...I would no longer need...the Tender Trio... I can...evolve...into something greater.
The multicolored figure proceeded to lift a hand and released a stream of flames that then fused with the bonfire, causing a strange chain reaction.
The end result?
The bonfire had transformed into a humanoid figure that looked significantly more regal and powerful than the multi-colored being.
I will become...something...greater...than MY origin.
The transformed being then proceeded to go on a rampage until finally confronting what appeared to be another bonfire guarded by a small figure that seemed to be in communication with it.
The regal humanoid and smaller figure proceeded to fight before the former destroyed the latter and then proceeded to absorb the bonfire that was originally guarded.
At the end, the regal figure now had dozens upon dozens of smaller figures bowing towards them, like he was a god.
And we shall...rule!
Ferroxa and Hulna didn’t look surprised by this scenario depiction; in fact, they looked oddly giddy over the idea of his sentient bonfire becoming a form of new god. However, they did have one question.
"That sounds all well and good," Hulna nodded in agreement. "But...what if whomever or whatever wields this ancient power refuses to assist?"
"Worse, what if they actively oppose us?" Ferroxa asked.
...
The bonfire was oddly quiet, but it had changed the shown images to reflect this possibility.
At the initial point where the black and white figures attempt to convince the multicolored one, the latter outright shook his head and refused.
Isn’t it obvious?
The power can be taken.
Shortly after this refusal, the two snubbed figures looked at each other for a brief moment before nodding and then releasing a jet of flames that utterly destroyed the multi-colored figure.
In the end, all that remained was a single glowing ember that the other two greedily took into themselves.
If they refuse to...help, then...we...shall...take it!
The two figures then began to subtly change into something vaguely resembling the being they had slaughtered earlier and then perform the exact same actions that would’ve occurred if the multicolored being had agreed to help them.
Although there was an additional scene tacked on.
Hmm...perhaps it’s better...for us...to take it!
After the point where the regal being was being worshipped like a god, the black and white figures appeared once more and began to release more of the power they had stolen, creating more and more monstrous beings that all began to worship the three of them like gods.
Needless to say, this particular vision appealed to Hulna and Ferroxa a touch more.
"Wonderful. Truly, wonderful..."
...Outside analysis...
[...]
[...]
[What the fuck was all of that?!]
[If...I had to guess?] Blazejudicator rhetorically asked. [A part of the Sacred Flame had somehow become separated and sentient enough to now want to supplant it; as such, it decided that the best way of doing so was to rope these two into becoming its minions in exchange for power. After doing that, it had begun to sink its fiery tendrils into the Theocracy by providing some presumably much-needed manpower in the form of those "False Guards", and using the political power these two twatters wield to probably change society to fit its whims as well as secure some ancient aether treasures meant to empower it somehow. However, because of the Executor dealing with that Bishop Olma guy and somehow acquiring all three of those fucking treasures at the same time like the world’s biggest trouble magnet, he is now on the radar of a creepily sentient bonfire with dreams of world domination. Aforementioned fire now either wants our boss to be his bitch, or dead so they can claim the power for themselves. ]
[...]
[...]
[What?]
[I feel like we could’ve just summed this all up as, shit’s gone south, we need to fucking leave the city ASAP.]
[That was implied.]
...
[Which leads us to now.]
<=...=>
’Fuck.’
