EPISODE 216: POTENTIAL MADNESS 6

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

Perhaps I'm not mad… but we magi… to the outside world under the guidance of our Lady… We Are Mad .

— Lawruthian Imperius Koltius Edryani

"Just… one… minute."

For the first time, she could see it. And, because she could see the chance, she laughed. It was loud, boisterous , similar to the laugh displayed by her son in the earlier battle. She didn't understand his laugh then; even now, it was still confusing. His words on {Madness} struck a chord deep in her heart, perhaps her Sol. It finally put a name to her desire, her goal of ascending to become a new Goddess for the magi-humans to worship.

On this path, many had died. So many friends and family died that it should have driven her mad long ago. Yet, she sustained herself… how? So much blood was on her hands that scholars equated a 10% drop in Great Edryan's population during her rise. Of course, not all of it was directly by her blade, but a Queen's word was as good as any sharp weapon. And, a beautiful woman that many desired could cause nations to collapse.

…

This was her {Madness}.

…

One that littered her deepest, inner Sol with scars from her actions. One that caused her to constantly use (The Queen's Indifference) to escape the nightmares and piled bodies she left in her path. She hadn't always been cold, unfeeling, … indifferent . She was once a young girl with a loving mother, brothers, and a suffering father. Once misunderstood, misguided, and uncertain of her future.

Queen Titiana's laugh was beautiful but unnatural as her indifferent expression didn't match. Yet those beautiful indifferent features slowly melted as the [Demigoddess of Love] went on the attack. No—not the [Demigoddess of Love… this person with a vicious light in her eyes and the willingness to sacrifice not just the enemy but her men to see her goals accomplished was the [Iron-Blooded Queen]—Titiana Koltius Verlio Edryani. She heeded Akeem's words and threw herself forward with renewed gusto.

"HA—HAAA—HAAA—HAHA—HAAAAA," Titiana laughed. She laughed because it was the only thing that kept the pain away and kept her mind focused on the goal.

…

Just… one… minute.

…

Akeem Oni putting his everything on the line gave them exactly one minute of a weakened [Final Dragon]. On a mortal scale, a single minute could be a long or short time. It took a single minute to clean a spilled drink, make a bed, brush their teeth, and so much more.

On the scale for those who approached that limit, those who nearly grew their tree to its full potential… a minute could be an eternity.

[Heavenspear] flashed, its tip nearing the scales of Rasheed. The dragon quickly recovered from Akeem's attack, for once its mocking voice had gone silent. Its body flashed, and Titiana's spear missed its mark as the dragon teleported.

"Liana," Titiana commanded.

No other exchange was necessary as the large woman followed. She clawed her way into the sky, sword-shield placed before her as she once again rammed into the red dragon.

"Camilla," Titiana ordered. "ARMY COMMANDER."

The Queen moved as she did so, body flashing upward and toward the [End of Adventure]. She would not let Akeem's attack go to waste. It would take him several minutes to recover from that, even with Marna's help, and who knew if such an opportunity would appear again.

The Central Gate Army responded to its Queen's call, rising with their mounts under the leadership of their army commander. They fought through the mutations and broken, failed experiments of Rasheed as they heeded the call of Titiana. Then, with no regard for their life, they plunged upward toward the dragon. They were a well-honed spear tip that sought to pierce the mighty foe before them, even knowing their attacks would be useless. They were bred for a sole purpose—to accomplish whatever their Queen desired.

The Central Gate Army crashed toward the [Final Dragon], uncaring whether their attacks could inflict damage or not. As long as they proved to be a distraction or even an annoyance, then their goal would have been accomplished.

Rasheed's yellowed eyes aligned on Liana; the hint of {Madness} within them spreading at the sight of the returned saphen. He growled, a guttural, feral sound that truly made him appear beast-like.

"You shall not survive this minute of weakness," Rasheed declared, voice crazed with hatred and more. "Let the Astral Above bear witness."

The Final Dragon clawed at the air, striking against the unusual weapon of Liana and forcing her on the defense. Liana grunted; a portion of her Health Points decreased as she took damage from the blow. Even weakened by 25%, the [Aspect of Knowledge] was still a terrifyingly strong opponent.

"I have been benevolent, sparsely using the skills and abilities of an Aspect. Allow me the opportunity to educate you—(Knowledge of Causality)."

Camilla struck at this point. She focused on her divine spell (Null World) and manipulated the Time element. This time, the very air itself seemed to turn dull and grey within the Mountain of Final Hope. Titiana's spear moved in slow motion while her mind fired out a thousand-thousand thoughts per minute. Everything turned agonizingly slow, but Rasheed's actions became clearer than ever as the minute pass. Camilla directly extended the effects of time at a ratio of 1:10—she did her best to ensure Akeem's opportunity wasn't wasted. Her skill only targeted the physical, outside effects of time, leaving everyone in a state of slow-motion.

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A single, yellowed eye accosted Camilla's position. She was stationed nearly a kilometer away from the dragon, but it was clear his gaze landed on her. Then, as everything approached in slow motion, the dragon's lips curled upward into a smile.

Camilla's heart froze; she didn't know what was wrong, she couldn't even detect it, but that dragon's smile spoke of a future she didn't want to pass. Rasheed's smile was bright; it held a smile more near to a smirk. One that said, 'You're exactly where I want you.' Camilla's mouth began to move; this time, she focused on the space element—it was better to restrict everything rather than allow the red dragon to complete whatever he was planning.

His spell (Knowledge of Causality) hadn't had a physical appearance. Camilla and the rest weren't even sure if the spell had truly activated. However, the very next moments began to display exactly what the [Aspect of Knowledge] was capable of.

Titiana's spear was a centimeter away, just a centimeter away from piercing the dragon's tough hide. Liana was close, and Camilla kept her distance, as did Marna, who delivered both Akeem and Vivian to a safer location. That dragon's eye focused on each—Titiana saw this, Camilla reacted to it, Liana exerted herself harder, and Marna prepared to ignite her everything and allow a [Messenger] to inhabit her body—a magi warrior of older times who could be of great use in slaying this creature.

…

Then Causality struck.

…

"Every action has an opposite and equal reaction," Rasheed's calm voice rang over the battlefield. "I burned the sky, and you stopped all fire, no longer allowing it to be displayed in this space. You slowed time… then I will remove its need altogether."

And, with his words spoken, the surrounding world changed. Its appearance, once greying but still filled with color, was broken. In this space, there was neither black nor white; colors didn't exist except for the sole exception of one . Titiana's spear halted altogether, as did her thoughts. Camilla's reaction completely paused, her next activation of (Null World) frozen. Liana's exertion… simply… didn't happen; how could it when the Law of Time was removed altogether?

Rasheed's yellow aged eyes continued to shine in the… not quite reality as lanterns that kept a record of all present. Rasheed's eyes glanced over his body, and with each movement of his eyes, shades of red came back into existence.

The [Final Dragon] took a long deep breath, nothing entered his nostrils and nothing left. The Law of Time didn't exist within this space, and by extension, this area was NULL.

"Not quite there," Rasheed muttered, his eyes on the bright light erupting from his chest. It illuminated the space, providing light on the saphens and keeping them from the edge of nonexistence.

"God Knowha would be upset to know his spell (Knowledge of Causality) was used against saphens—such a shame he perished in the fight against [Oblivion]."

Carefully, gently, Rasheed reached to his chest and grabbed the egg, G.E.N.E.S.I.S. or Genetic Engineering: Neo-Embryonic Synthesis Initiating Spawning. Then, he removed it, pulling it closer to his face as he studied it. He seemed to be reading as his eyes flickered to a screen only he could see.

"Not… quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite. Not quite," he repeated like a broken record. "It needs more—more Sol, more, Vitality, more Endurance, more Power, more Mind, more Intent, more Self—it needs more—it needs a spark of divinity to reach Ascendant and give them the best possible start in this forsaken realm. Rasheed released the egg and gazed downwards, down at the little saphen whose perk believed it could plot against him. He chuckled at nothing… at everything.

Then, his gaze traveled until it settled on a large woman who had escaped death once before. Those yellowed eyes narrowed, and a large claw reached out.

"Tempus Protocol: Null Detection. Automated restoration is activated."

Rasheed's eyes widened, and his gaze flickered to the bubble golems. Tempus, the golem created from time, was no longer in a frozen state under his reality bubble. The moment the Law of Time was affected to such an extent must have activated some hidden protocol its master programmed into it.

A rainbow bursts from its body, faster than Rasheed's ability to stop it. The rainbow was composed of hard light that wove itself over reality like a tapestry composed of yarn—knitting everything back together again. This was the effect caused by his actions. It was still too late.

A single claw swipe crushed her head and killed the Prestige. Although they were no longer mortal, most beings who hadn't completed the First Step would die from such things. Whether it be a torn body, crushed head, or consumed Sol—such actions would immediately kill them just like a mortal. This was especially so for a Prestige who held no law weapon to protect them or could rely on the faith of the people to revive them. A Prestige was just an advanced form of a mortal—nothing more, not yet.

As reality wove itself back into normalcy, it returned the minds of all present. Queen Titiana's spear extended into nothingness, and her eyes widened as the dragon once again disappeared. Her red-gold eyes gazed around, quickly spotting their adversary. Titiana felt her blood run cold as a familiar lifeless corpse dropped to the ground below. Air left her lungs, and precious seconds passed as she stood there in stunned shock. She hadn't even seen him move, yet once again, her Liana lay slain before her.

"Ahhh," a small groan escaped from her lips. "Ahhh."

Rasheed recognized this sound, and the red dragon turned toward the Queen. His face was filled with bitterness, as if he shared in the pain the Queen felt. "Don't worry, it won't stop hurting—not even eons is enough to ease its pain."

"Tempus Protocol: Null Detection is complete."

Tempus opened its eyes, gazing on its frozen companions as it immediately acted and dispersed the reality bubble that surrounded them. Its gaze then settled on Rasheed; it quickly understood the situation and how the dragon froze them in a bubble of reality. This information was passed onto its fellow [Realm Guards] through a silent and wordless communication.

"Rasheed," Ignis spoke, flames igniting on his body. "Your actions will not bring her back… it would not make Uterra happy to know what you've become."

Camilla's spell seemed to hold no power over the [Realm Guard: Fire] as the temperature in the room quickly heated. The [Magi] halted her activation of space, confused as she held no clear recollection of the Final Dragon's last movement. If he had teleported, she would have detected it, but there was nothing. In one moment, he was a distance away, slowed by time, and in the next, Liana was dead. Camilla was nearly experiencing the same shock Queen Titiana was under.

Minerva quickly came to her senses as the temperature around her heated up. She shouted a warning before hurriedly flying toward Lawruthian. "Rasheed is changing reality; you must be careful of him when he says, 'No, it did not.' He's done it at least three times with us!"

Minerva barely paid any heed to the [Realm Guards] after that. Her mind was completely occupied by Lawruthian and his weird state. She called out to him, trying to get his attention as she flew closer. Her large, red-gold eyes landed on the young man. They widened by a few degrees as they spotted him.

Lawruthian… was kneeling. If it was just kneeling to retrieve a dropped item, then Minerva wouldn't have found it weird; instead, the [Chosen of Madris] was knelt in… prayer .

Minerva's breath hitched as she watched.

Lawruthian Imperius Koltius Edryani… was praying .

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