First Arc = Complete

I won't take a break though.

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It was the 362th council after the end of the Ninth Great War seven years ago.

The Twelve Lords of the Supreme Beings, the Thirty-Seven Heroes of the United Races (Elves, Humans and Beastmen), and lastly, the four remaining Rulers of Sin, with my wife and I counted as one person.

The Council had always had ‘world peace’ as goal, though always failed to maintain at, as seen by the eight Great Wars after the first meeting of the Council.

This Council was the same as always.

The Thirty-Seven Heroes complaining about their violated ‘rights’.

The Twelve Lords as disdainful as ever with their emotionless faces.

The Ruler of Greed saying the world belongs to him.

The Ruler of Pride simply regarding everyone as unworthy of their attention and complaining about it.

The Ruler of Wrath being held back before he could start a war at the seemingly insulting attitude of anyone.

Me sitting there thoroughly disinterested whilst my wife tried to control the hectic situation.

It looked the same as always, but, without my knowledge, all of them must have made some sort of backdoor deal.

Because that day was when tragedy happened.

As always after a Council, my wife tried to furtively explain everything that was said while preparing for sleep. I simply looked at her, smiling, until she stopped bothering me with it.

And then, I was woken up by my wife screaming in pain.

Beside me, lying in the bed, I saw her writhing in agony, her eyes frantically shifting at me and around me. On her skin were blue dots from which came a horrible smell and a black smoke.

I had seen it before. It was developed during one of the Great Wars and designed to slowly burn the very soul to ashes along with the body. An immensely painful process even the worst physical torture couldn’t compare to.

And, even worse, the more powerful one was, the longer it burned.

I too was targeted, but such a spell couldn’t pass through my defences. But, even though the spell was child’s play to me, it definitely wasn’t so for her.

And dispelling the fire is impossible, since it would just feed off of the Energy used to dispel it.

So all I could do was watch her burn slowly right in front of me, with the culprits standing around the bed in the spacious room.

The Twelve Lords, immaculate as ever while poring the Energy into the spell.

The Thirty-Seven Heroes looking satisfied at the removed threat, also putting their Energy to work.

The Rulers of Sin, grinning in a satisfying manor, one coveting my power, one fulfilled of an old grudge and one fulfilled as the only one stronger than him burned.

All of them contributing their Energy to torment my only love.

A conspiracy, a betrayal, but I spared them no thought.

My mind fully occupied seeing my wife die in front of me while I frantically tried putting each of the fiery blue dots out, only to have them reappear in twice the number, paying no attention to the fire trying to consume me.

Eventually, they figured out their power had no effect on me, and must have fled in fear.

But I did not notice it, my attention completely occupied by the last moments of my wife, tears falling from my eyes that had been unshed for more than a billion years.

It lasted for three days.

Three days of unending torture.

Three days filled with seeing her in agony, my tears endlessly spilling as I continued to hold her.

The first day, her legs and lower body were consumed by the blue fire, leaving only half of her left to be cradled in my arms.

The second day, I cradled only her upper body, containing her lungs and heart, and her head. The rest, consumed by fire.

The third, only her head remained. Unable to scream without lungs, I only saw the tears silently leaving a trail across her cheeks and her eyes, darting madly in their sockets.

The fourth day, I held nothing and was hollow.

The fifth day, the whole world was as empty as I.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Cirly Solomavon Andronevon.

The name of the familiar face, given to me by Lillian, made me remember it vividly once more.

But there were no more tears to shed, and the anger didn’t come, suppressed by me.

But the good mood I held over the last couple years, melted away like snow in the summer.

I felt empty as Lillian fell silent, not knowing why but clearly feeling my depression.

I felt empty as Emily entered the room, fearfully telling diner was ready.

I felt empty as dinner was eaten in silence, Emily and Lillian throwing worrying glances at each other and threw questioning glances at Solomavon, Lillian knowing I became like this after the mention of his name.

He knew what was going on. As soon as I entered the room, shifting my hollow gaze onto his eyes, he knew it was the end for him and hung his head low as the feast was served.

After the last round of food was finished, the servants were ordered out and everyone remained seated in the grandiose, chandelier-lit dining room, Solomavon knowing what was coming, me preparing for what I had to do, Emily and Lillian unknowingly awaiting for what was going to happen.

I sat across of him, both of us with looking each other in the eyes, his eyes as empty as I felt.

“Cirly Solomavon Andronevon, Third of the Twelve Lords.” I slowly said, my authoritative voice harshly echoing through the silent room, Emily and Lillian freezing up hearing its tone.

“You seem different from what I would expect from a Supreme Being.”

The Supreme Beings I remembered never had a single shred of emotion in them, but, seeing his reactions from before and the attitude of his wife and daughter, it was clear he held emotions.

“I got married, had a child. I lived and loved.” He said, a small smile on his face, his life flashing before his eyes as one would experience nearing death.

“Then you understand your sin.” A statement.

“Yes.”

“You regret it.” Another statement.

“Yes.”

“You won’t struggle?” A sincere question. If he truly loves his family, he would struggle as long and hard as necessary, unless one specific condition was fulfilled.

“Will you let my family live? Will you promise not to harm them?” He countered.

“Yes.”

“Even if they fight? Even if they harm you?”

He looked into my eyes, filled with a determination to spring into action if the answer was unfavourable.

“They can’t, even if they tried.” A partial lie.

His daughter could harm me, with her powers, but she was still immature. There’s no way she could harm me. Probably.

A satisfied and sorrowful smile appeared on his face, as he gave quick, love-filled glances at his wife and daughter.

“Do whatever you want.”

Resignation.

But his family, having stayed silent during the conversation, now began to slightly panic, understanding something was wrong, but not what.

“Honey, what do you mean?”

“Father, what’s going on?”

Both asked simultaneously, rising from their chairs and looking at him, worrying.

He looked at me, seeing if I was planning to say anything, but cold eyes stared back at him, not showing any reaction.

I let him have these final words.

Sorrowfully smiling, he stood up gesturing his family closer for a hug, walking with them underneath his arms towards the door, me following closely behind. After going through several of them, we arrived in a walled-in courtyard, completely empty and covered in grass. There, he stopped looking at the sky with slightly teary eyes.

He said: “Long, long ago, I made a mistake. A big one. The man that saved you, allowed me to meet you, made me feel alive for the first time…. I’ve done something terrible to him, and he is here to punish me.”

Their eyes grew wide as they heard him explain.

“P-punishment? What do you mean?” Lillian asked.

“What did you do?” Emily asked.

“Death.” I said.

They turned around, leaving his embrace and looked at me in shock.

“His crime warrants death.” I said.

“Why does…” Lillian started, looking at me, terrified and shaking where she stood whilst her eyes were beginning to water.

“He murdered my wife.” As I said this, my anger slightly rose, replacing the emptiness with unwanted feelings.

Both Emily and Lillian were shocked even more than before, their focus alternating between me, the still turned-around Solomavon and each other.

“Is there anyway….” Lillian pleaded.

“No.” My anger rising once more.

“There’s no way….”

“No.” even more.

“Not even for…..”

“No.” even more.

She fell to her knees. “Please, I’d do….”

“No!” I said, my anger reaching its peak and my voice filled with rage.

“No! I won’t forgive! I won’t forget! Millions, no!, Billions of years of suffering and my only moment of happiness, the only one who loved me, respected me, treated me not as strange, not as something to be feared, revered or killed, was cut down after a short thousand years! CAN YOU IMAGINE?! AFTER LONGER THAN AN ETERNITY, MY HAPPINESS BECOMING SHORT-LIVED THANKS TO POWER-HUNGRY BEASTS, DISGUISED AS RESPECTED MEN! NO, YOU CAN’T! HE MUST DIE!”

With every word I became more and more furious, my voice becoming louder and louder and more powerful, making the earth shiver underneath my feet and the sky crackle with power.

“I WON’T LET YOU!” Lillian, still on her knees, screamed and whipping her arm towards me.

An incredible amount of lightning shot from out of her hand.

Purple lightning as thick as an arm shot towards me, small branches reaching the ground, setting the grass on fire all around and ripping through the air, filling it with the thunderous roar of a terrifying beast.

I let it hit me.

It did nothing.

Not even a scratch was visible on me.

“THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME FOR GIVING YOU LIFE?! FOR GIVING YOU POWER?! FOR GIVING YOU HAPPINESS?!”

I shouted, the thunderous roar replaced with an even more terrifying roar, making the air sound as if it was being ripped apart.

“WHAT I GIVE, I. CAN. TAKE. BACK!”

Forcefully cutting the Soulthread, the earth covering the courtyard cracked and broke, the ashes of the burned grass filling in the gaps.

As I cut the Soulthread, she screamed in pain and her once-youthful head visibly aged at an extreme pace, changing from the mid-twenties to her real age, that of a sixty-your old. Wrinkling her face, greying her hair, sagging her eyes, everything happened at once and was accompanied by extreme headaches, making her clutch her head between her hands and throw herself to the ground in agony.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” Emily screamed, seeing her mother so tormented.

Gathering an enormous amount of Energy, she flung it wildly at me, over and over again.

I placed a shield in front of me, protecting me from the waves and sending them beyond me, impacting and destroying the mansion.

“FOOLISH GIRL! HAVE YOU NOT LEARNED!”

Without even the slightest motion, I heavily condensed an amount of Energy hundreds of time larger than hers and shot it towards her in a tightly packed small ball.

The ball having reached her, it expanded and covered her entirely, creating a bubble around her. With a flick of my wrist, hundreds of spikes shot through her, piercing both body and soul.

An extremely horrifying scream of terror came out of her mouth, one of absolute torture not even her mother had experienced, her special status of Immortal – I knew from experience – forcing her to be unable to pass out.

Seeing his wife having aged considerably and writhing on the ground in pain, clutching her head, and his daughter floating in the air, surrounded by a bubble and impaled from all sides, letting out a most terrifying scream, he had turned around and now stood listlessly between them.

“You… promised…

You….. promised….”

He said, over and over again, the look in his eyes revealing the same feelings I had as they burned my wife.

Remembering the scene, I instantly regretted what I had done.

But, it was too late.

This is why.

Why I shouldn’t bother with emotions.

Why I became lifeless in the first place.

Why I hope for death, hope for the afterlife, hope for happiness.

So I can end this cycle.

Everything that happens to me and everything I do to others….

Everything is painful.

My life only exists out of getting harmed or harming others.

I want to end this.

But the cycle is never ending.

“You… promised…

You….. promised….”

He was still repeating.

He didn’t do anything, didn’t attack me, either because he was too shocked or knew he could never win against me.

Without questioning him, asking him about how he survived, if others survived, if they were changed like him or if they were still the same, I send a blade of energy towards him, easily decapitating him and destroying his soul.

I don’t want to know.

Let me believe he was the last.

Let my wife’s murder be ended with this tragedy.

But… I knew.

Even if he was the last, the cycle will continue, though not with me,

One day, I will have to face Emily again, in the hope she finds happiness and meaning, and that I too, find meaning .

That would be ideal.

The ideal ending for both me and her.

But…

I doubt it.

She’ll become like me.

I know it.

It’s just a matter of time.

I condensed the bubble again into a small ball, and send it flying into Emily’s head, forcing her unconscious. Then, I gathered some Energy and shot it towards Lillian, knocking her too unconscious, while also giving her power, returning her to her previous state.

Not through Soulthread, but her own.

The same power Magic was once derived from.

They didn’t deserve my anger.

I never hated them and was still thankful for Emily

This is the very least I could do.

A splitting headache came.

As always.

It’s just to bothersome.

Life is a pain.

I want to sleep.

A sleep without dreams….

To carry me away from this tragedy…………