EPISODE 210: PRELUDE TO POTENTIAL

— GREAT EDRYAN, YEAR: 7292. SEASON: NEW BEGINNING.

"What is Madness ?"

…

He laughed.

…

A joyous, spontaneous thing that hadn't stopped since they defeated the wyverns of the roost—it was different from the boisterous, loud laugh that came before.

…

He laughed .

…

Lawruthian, [Chosen of Madris]… [Hero] laughed —a sound that caused many Imperius soldiers to gaze at him strangely. The battle was over, but the prince's laughter hadn't stopped since they entered the inner regions of the forest.

This was a sound they never heard the Chosen of Madris make. Not in their first year of service under him… not during any of the times they interacted with him—not even in the accompaniment of his generals, not truly.

"Oh… Madness oh… Insanity… … … … …what a lovely thing you are."

His voice was rueful, like he was before a friend's grave, giving his final goodbye. To the nearest soldiers, it felt like something that should remain private, and they should not be close enough to intrude.

A thrum was in the air, a long, resonating hum that was like the reverb of a drum came from the Mountain of Final Hope they approached. It came from deep within the mountain, a mystery to the approaching forces. Minerva's words still echoed in his mind, and the scenes she shared—the memories she shared—made him sit and ponder as they prepared themselves for the final battle. He was updated now—updated on everything his Perk did during the time she was away. The air swirled, and the ground rumbled like a sleeping giant was shifting during their dreams—should they wake, then the world would tremble from their might.

Lawruthian faced the mountain, his bond—one as deep as the Sol—grew stronger with each step completed. He reached out an armored hand, gently closing it into a fist over the mountain—crushing it completely from his sight.

"Lawruthian, friend…," a familiar voice hesitated. "…is everything ok? Your behavior worries me and the soldiers—if there is some debuff on you, I can remove it." Madria gazed up in concern at the Prince. "No matter what, you can't show such a weird behavior to the soldiers; we don't want them frightened and susceptible to strange debuffs."

Lawruthian paused, slowly removing his closed fist from superseding the mountain. "What debuff do you think {Madness} is? What effects do you believe {Insanity} has? Our host, Rasheed, is a connoisseur of both, but his schemes run much deeper than what he's shown."

Lawruthian's eyes burned with a strange passion, a strange light that made Madria frown. She took a step forward and reached out a hand, and Lawruthian grabbed it, pulling her up to take a seat atop of his perch on a large wagon full of supplies. He ignored the touch of her mana on him; its checks for afflictions could not solve what he had.

She sat next to him, leaving a space of nearly a meter. Madria was quiet at first; her battle robes hugged her body, and she shifted to give herself a much-needed release. Her hair was free, black with golden brown streaks in a bob style that was slightly longer than her usual. She'd grown it out and looked very similar to the rest of the women in her family, especially her mother who stayed closed to Lawruthian's above. She swung her legs as they sat, pondering over his questions before mustering her response.

"What do you know of {Madness}? What do you know of {Insanity}? They are far from the normal mental afflictions usually seen. From what I know, it is a state incurable—not even the power of the Goddess can fully flush away the affliction."

Lawruthian's eyes burned with curiosity and understanding. This was information he understood already, but hearing it from another perspective outside of the recorded documents he read could help him in the battle to come.

"{Madness} is defined as irrational behavior to the point it becomes a danger to oneself or those around you." Madria's voice was soft, and her gaze remained on the mountain in the distance. "It can be displayed in different formats, with the most famous cases in Edryan being Duke Ernan Maar in 5999 and Marquess Jada Romus in 6256. However," Madria hesitated. "You can say it erupted to some extent during the events of the rise of the [Iron-Blooded Queen]."

Lawruthian smirked and glanced upward at the bright pink star hovering in the sky. Next to it was two other stars, one multi-colored, seemingly with every color in the rainbow. The other was magenta, with hints of black and white within.

Demigoddesses conversed above, with very few around them. Notably, Sire Limitless and General Yûah plus others who slayed Zephyron. They were all a step closer to that limit, to that dream most never truly considered achievable. Queen Titiana started a new age of [Heroes], and her son below would continue it.

"Irrational behavior to the point it becomes a danger to oneself or those around you…," Lawruthian whispered. "Is it irrational…? Or are those around you irrational while you remain the only one sane?"

Madria turned her gaze away from the mountain and looked strangely at Lawruthian. She hesitated, then asked a question. "What is this about…? Where did it stem from?"

Lawruthian paused, glancing to the side at only something or someone he could see. He turned his gaze back to Madria and spoke. "Minerva misses you."

Madria's golden-brown eyes lit up, and her body fully turned to face Lawruthian as she leaned in closer. "You've regained contact with her! Is she ok? Is she safe? What is going on in the mountain…? What is that thrum?"

Lawruthian breathed in deeply; his red-gold eyes stared deeply into Madria's. He tilted his head slightly and smiled, feeling a sense of warmth and comfort he hadn't felt since this war began. "She is… alive."

Lawruthian hesitated. Minerva was alive, but she was far from ok or safe. And, as for the mountain? "Rasheed is giving her one final lesson, and, that thrum is the source… the answer to his {Madness}."

He laughed, a true, genuine laugh that brought a smile to Madria's face. She leaned back to her original position, patting a hand to her chest as if it would calm the rapid acceleration of her heart.

"Let me answer my question now. Let me tell you what I think {Madness} is."

Madria turned back to him and listened attentively. Before them, a lone mountain, its top covered in a silvery-white expanse, displayed its magnificence to them. Just hours away. They were just hours away from settling at its base and beginning a war that would change their history.

They were undergoing an [Adventure]—playing as pieces for a Goddess on a chessboard called Elrunian—nay— Genesis .

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

…

Beginning .

…

"What… is Madness ," the Chosen repeated. "It is Belief and Desire . The same belief that drives me to accomplish what must be done is the same belief and desire that powers Rasheed, Final Dragon. It holds two major parts, each stemming from one or the other." Lawruthian's red-gold eyes burned; the red within them seemed to match that of blood.

The noon sun approached the Mountain of Final Hope, but the combined forces approached faster. An image seemed to form before Madria as Lawruthian explained, and she pondered quietly on his words, not interrupting him. Time passed, and the distance they ate rapidly shifted as they drew closer and closer to the goal.

"Belief," Lawruthian said fiercely. "Is a consolidation of your ideals within yourself and an external expression of such actions. My goal is to conquer the realm, to complete this quest given to me by the Goddess. To others, to logical people… that is {Madness}, yet the trait does not exist within my System Affliction's page. That is because of Desire and my external actions."

Lawruthian eyes continued to burn; this time, the gold within them grew deeper, darker, and closer to the divine. "Every move I've made since the age of three has been in subtle preparation to ensure my Belief comes true knowingly or unknowingly. And, because there is Desire and a possibility, however slim, still exists, I do not possess {Madness}."

Lawruthian gestured to the sole mountain before them. The thrum grew louder with every step they approached. The very trees, ground, and air vibrated—resonating with the thrum of magic as it inverse within itself. Fire was still fire, but when it became inverted, it became chaotic—its Rules and Regulations changed. Therefore… would it still be classified as fire? A storm brewed. Not from the might of the mountain and the inverse of magic, but from the gathered magi—a sharp blade that cut through all opposition. At its helm was the [Chosen of Madris] and the [Demigoddess of Love].

" Desire ," Lawruthian spoke hoarsely. He rose from his seat and gazed straight up at the three demigoddesses whose forms remained covered in light. "Is a consolidation of your Belief into action, into motion . No longer do you daydream of that impossible dream, but you actively step forward to make it happen, to see it given birth under the light of day. It is a novice artist taking up a paintbrush and dishing out strokes over a blank canvas. It is a runner taking those first steps on a track before sprinting off into the distance. It is a writer pursuing a dream of a million words all for the sake of improving their craft."

"{Madness} is the consolidation of internal and external Belief and Desire is the action taken to ensure your {Madness} is proven correct. To show your irrationality is right and THEY ," he gestured wildly through the air. "…are wrong."

He laughed and took a step—a step straight up and toward those lights—his eyes un-squinting as given the chance he would gaze upon their true forms. "The Goddess protects us, yet these three have decided to walk down a path no other magi has seen completed? Is that not {Madness}?"

The three lights seemed to take notice of the Chosen at this point as each radiated with a different intensity from his words.

Madria's gaze followed Lawruthian, but she still remained quiet, allowing his words to wash over her. It wasn't that she didn't comprehend what he said, only that she saw things through a different light.

"Rasheed, Final Dragon—is the sole survivor of an age—a period of time we know nothing of. We do not know what Gods roamed the Astral Above and what Titans built the Underneath Below. We do not know what Dragons acted as natural calamities to the Mortal Realm— HE DOES !"

…

The sky crackled, seemingly responding to the Chosen's words. A storm brewed as two opposing forces met one another. The magi's mana, still orderly and of a correct nature—versus the inverted mana, disorderly and chaotic. Like the meeting of hot and cold weather, a hurricane would form through their combined might.

"He… Does…," Lawruthian reinforced, gazing down at Madria and stretching out his hand. "He knows of a world most hold no clue of, of a time when Elrunian was not the name of the Realm but of the Realm Lord—the Almighty Creator fallen to Oblivion… is that not {Madness}, no?"

Madria hesitated, then a decisive look appeared on her face as she grabbed forward—tightly clasping Lawruthian's armored hand and never letting go. He pulled her upward, and she adjusted on her feet as she activated her movement skill. He, too, did not let go—tightly grasping her hand like a ship's anchor in the stormy seas grasped at the ground below.

…

The Chosen continued to teach.

…

"When the Aspect of Knowledge found himself a sole survivor from an age the new inhabitants of the realm knew nothing of—he went mad. His Sol goal emerged as a desire to bring a semblance of normality back to himself. He obtained a Desire to reinstate the life of his children—that is his {Madness}, one that he cannot see for we are the irrational ones in his eyes and he is the sole rational being left."

Lawruthian laughed, rising higher into the sky, uncaring of his appearance in the eyes of the magi below.

…

"What is my {Madness}…," he suddenly whispered. "What is my {Madness}?"

"Is it not your desire to conquer the realm," Madria whispered back, finally recalling her ability to speak.

Lawruthian smiled. "Then, do I appear mad to you? Does my every action have this obsession behind it?"

Madria shook her head, she didn't see it. Perhaps she couldn't see it. "I can't see the {Madness} within you. Perhaps an outburst of slight irrationality, but I can still understand your actions and more," Madria confirmed.

"Did you understand Rasheed's? Did you understand his actions toward us—in one moment, he would treat us with a modicum of respect, sitting with us at the table as he sought to exchange for benefits. In the next moment, his actions would change, turn hostile against me seemingly without reason? With what you know of him? Did you understand it?"

"Not then," she responded softly. "Even now, I still don't really understand."

"That is {Madness}—you cannot understand it, not unless you are the one who is rational and they are irrational. I am not mad, but I hold the Potential for it. I am to lead a nation of people against impossibility… and win… and win," Lawruthian clenched Madria's hand—seemingly attempting to merge their tightly clasping hands together.

The mountain loomed before them, the magi stopping at its base. Lawruthian's voice was just below a yell to be heard over the resounding thrum. To large, ancient grand doors covered in intricate runic script, colored the red of dragons, loomed before them. Grey clouds fought for their place above, quickly eradicating the clear sky.

A single warning sign, one put by some unfortunate soul who came before, stood by its lone some—carved from one of the large grey stones that settled at the foot of the mountain.

Here. Be. Dragon.

"Perhaps I'm not mad…," the voice of Lawruthian echoed, the hearts of magi strangely resonated with it. "…but we magi… to the outside world under the guidance of our Lady… We Are Mad ."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.