Hoarfrost and Sarah followed Thirteen, mutely looking around at the vibrant, pulsing red lines around them. Their footsteps echoed as they walked down the dark, empty hallway.

I’ve heard rumors and legends about a secluded temple that belonged to the Crimson King that flowed with ancient secrets and powers.

I had always thought the Crimson King was more of a title, but maybe it is something deeper.

Hoarfrost glanced to the side and looked at Sarah, whose eyes locked onto Thirteen but didn’t show any emotion. Was this according to her plan too? He couldn’t tell. Then Hoarfrost looked at Thirteen himself, who strode forward with unusual energy, the crimson light dramatizing his dark-clothed form.

I wonder if I’ll finally find out more about him in this place, about why he’s so strong and what made him the way he is…

No, I can’t get distracted by this location. The reason we came here is to meet with the Federation leader. I’ll find out about Thirteen by proving myself and asking him directly.

Thirteen stopped in front of them, causing them all to stop. In front of them was an enormous double door made of dark wood and reinforced with bands of steel. Two guards stood holding poleaxes and guarding the door. Hoarfrost took a sharp intake of breath as he saw that neither of them had facial features. Instead of a nose, eyes, and mouth, the guards had intricate glowing red lines where their faces should be, and these lines extended down their necks and throughout their bodies. They were puppets acting autonomously through the power of intricately woven animus.

Golems? I’ve never seen remote, autonomous golems this sophisticated. Hoarfrost thought, And it looks like they don’t answer to Thirteen.

They didn’t make any move to stand aside until Sarah waved a hand towards them, gesturing to open the doors. The golems wordlessly held down their weapons, then pushed open the doors.

Beyond the doors was an enormous throne room. Hoarfrost looked around in awe. A path lined from the door to the throne, lined with blazing torches on stands and golems quietly standing at the ready with weapons in hand. Pillars carved of black stone also lined the pathway to the throne. Hoarfrost followed the pillars up with his eyes up to the roof high above, which was covered in an enormous glowing mural of a crowned man raising his hand and touching the outstretched claw of a red dragon and light glowing between them.

After a few heartbeats of getting lost in wonder, Hoarfrost refocused his attention on the throne hewn of translucent black rock that glowed red from the inside. A man sat straight upon the throne, wearing a stately robe of black and crimson. A Federation flag spread out behind him, almost covering the entire back wall.

This is him… the man at the top of the Federation.

The man was tall, powerfully built with medium-length brown hair and dark eyes. He had his elbow propped up on the armrest of the throne and leaned his head on his hand as if he was bored, his expression not changing as the group walked in and slowly approached him.

Sarah knelt as they approached the throne. Hoarfrost and Thirteen kept standing, meeting eyes with the man on the throne.

The man only passingly met Hoarfrost’s eyes though his dark eyes didn’t really meet Hoarfrost’s gaze. His eyes looked beyond, looked through him as if he saw something else entirely instead of Hoarfrost’s eyes.

Hoarfrost felt an icy wave of fear wash over him at those unnatural eyes.

As Hoarfrost watched the man’s eyes for a couple more moments as he locked eyes with Thirteen in a similar eerie way, Hoarfrost instinctively knew this man was completely and utterly insane. It was like he was looking at a completely different world with those eyes.

After looking at Thirteen in silence for a few seconds, the leader of the Federation sat up and folded his arms with a smug smile. “You actually came, Broken One.”

“Seems like you were dying to meet me since you stole both my name and my temple,” Thirteen said.

“Soon enough this place will truly belong to me,” The man said, “Before this meeting is over, in fact.”

“Is that so?” Thirteen said, “I can’t really transfer the Crimson King’s power to the puppet body you’re possessing though.”

The man paused, then laughed, “You really don’t waste time. Yes, you’re right; the man you see before you is the body of my subordinate that I have changed to my likeness and am controlling remotely.”

That explains why his presence seems far weaker than what I expected, Hoarfrost thought.

“As usual, Kairon, you’re never true to your nature. You believe the strongest should stand at the top and yet you act like a coward,” Thirteen said.

“Ah, but when will you understand that my true nature is insanity,” Kairon said with a grin, “Your inability to understand my insanity is why you’re coming to me broken right now, Alister, and why you can’t comprehend any of my plans or powers.”

Hoarfrost spun around quickly to look at Thirteen, his eyes wide. Even Sarah’s eyes widened at the revelation.

Wait… did he just call him Alister?

Alister was the founder of the original League, the charismatic and immensely powerful flame hero. He was the original One, who the world respected as the greatest hero of his time.

I had my suspicions that he was the founder but I couldn’t bring myself to consider it because of how different their personalities were…

Thirteen didn’t react to the drop of the name. Was it true then, or was Thirteen denying it by not reacting?

“It doesn’t matter who you are or what nature you have. I’ve come to make right the wrong you committed five years ago,” Thirteen said.

“I don’t know, maybe you should worry a little more about who I am first before jumping to conclusions,” Kairon said, still smiling, “Instead of just wanting to kill me, you should probably be more concerned about who I am exactly and how I stole your powers and certain memories of yours and how I caused the destruction of the original League. You need to know because if I exploited your weakness before I could do it again, right?” Kairon laughed.

“You think you have me wrapped around your little finger don’t you?” Thirteen said.

“Oh no, of course I don’t. The Crimson King has been invincible for as long as history after all,” Kairon said with an eerie grin, “There’s no way you’d be desperate enough to do what I ask for the information I have, is there?”

Thirteen held up his hand, “All I have to do is touch this puppet body of yours to trace back the animus connection to your real body. Keep that in mind as you embarrass yourself with empty taunts.”

“Now now,” Kairon said, “You wouldn’t cut our conversation short when you came all this way, would you? You want to know so badly, after all, what happened on that day… the day you lost your memories, the day your power cracked, the day the original League fell…”

Thirteen blurred forward to the throne and grabbed Kairon’s collar. Thirteen’s eyes glowed crimson and he looked straight into Kairon’s eyes.

“You’re pretty far away,” Thirteen said, “Don’t think that makes you safe though. I warned you.”

Muse rushed to her leader’s aid but the man waved her away. Thirteen let go of the king and stepped back to his original spot, his eyes returning to their normal dark shade. Hoarfrost had summoned cold animus just in case but quickly dismissed it as the situation deescalated.

Kairon smiled and fixed his collar, completely unfazed, “Let’s not get too carried away, Broken One. We’re still on neutral terms here, remember?”

“I don’t know about our organizations, but I know you were involved in what happened back then,” Thirteen said, “You have a heavy price to pay before I can look you in the eye.”

“Well past grudges aside,” Kairon said with a knowing smile, “Why don’t we cooperate for now? I want a favor from you and you want information from me. If we start fighting, neither of us will get what the other wants. There’s no need to be in such a rush.”

“Tell me what you know then,” Thirteen said.

“Gladly, though in exchange for a favor.”

“What favor?”

“Even when I am here in person, my amount of crimson animus is not enough to be completely recognized by this place. That is why I need you to fully unlock and awaken this temple for my use,” Kairon said.

“A steep price for the information you originally said would be free in the invitation video,” Thirteen said.

“That was my subordinate acting on her own,” Kairon said lazily, “I’ll punish her later for it.”

So this is how Kairon’s insane nature influences his negotiations, Hoarfrost thought. He gives off so many different emotional and informational signals that it’s difficult not to get caught up in his chaotic pace and fall under his control. Right now this strategy is clashing against the exact opposite of Thirteen’s calm straightforwardness and I can’t tell who’s winning…

“You understand what you are asking of me?” Thirteen said, “This temple has been passed down between the Crimson Kings for as long as superpowers existed on this earth.”

He gestured at the size of the throne room and the ancient, mythological mural on the roof before continuing.

“The information, secrets, and power accumulated within is something only a true Crimson King can inherit. You said you’d own this temple before this meeting is over, but I can’t even pretend to accept such a ridiculous exchange where you receive that.”

“So you remember the significance of your former title, Broken One,” Kairon said, “Well, no matter how long that’s been true in the past, times have changed. A new age is beginning, one where the world will thrive with power and life.” Kairon’s face became serious. “One I will lead, not you.”

“That’s a pretty arrogant tone you’re taking when you’re the one asking for my powers,” Thirteen said.

“Ah, please don’t get the wrong idea about what this meeting is about,” Kairon said, “I don’t have any intention to beg you for that favor. In fact, I don’t really care what you do —whether you willingly submit or go down struggling to the end— either way my victory is certain.”

Kairon continued with a grin, “This is not a negotiation. This is actually an obituary. If I’m going to properly succeed to the Crimson King’s throne, I’d have to give the last line of kings their proper closure. What kind of king doesn’t honor his predecessor’s legacy?”

Thirteen was silent. Kairon leaned forward and spoke in a loud whisper.

“You’re here for my entertainment. I want to see how you react as I tell you how exactly you failed and the face you make as I bring your legacy crashing down around your ears. Here’s some advice, all that talk about exchanges and favors, it’s all a formality, it’s all part of the game, so try to keep up or you're going to get even more hurt than last time.”

Kairon tilted his head and smiled condescendingly and met Thirteen’s calm gaze with his crazy eyes.

“You see, I don’t just want to defeat you. I want complete domination.”

The chaos in his words and the insanity in his eyes, Hoarfrost thought. He’s promising that he’ll do anything, absolutely anything to get what he wants. What he has goes far beyond regular resolve… almost beyond what is human.

Hoarfrost shivered.

Fear. The monstrousness of this man is something that can’t be understood and is therefore feared by humans on a primal level. Just the fear caused by a look into his eyes is enough to make a regular person submit to him.

I think I’m only just beginning to comprehend how strong this man really is… and I haven’t even seen any of his powers yet or have any idea of his identity nor what he’s done in the past.

“Go ahead,” Thirteen said evenly, “Though you might find that you never really understood me or what I am in the first place either.”

“We’ll see,” Kairon said, leaning back into his throne, “Well then, after the introductions, the next part of this little show is storytime. Let’s go back over those fond memories from five years ago, shall we?”