The two looked at one another in shock. Centuries they had spent looking for one another, always having the goal of reuniting lodged in the back of their minds, and only now they realized that, for years, they had shared the same universe.
“Der.. What are the chances..” Roley muttered to himself as the man’s rough hands squeezed his shoulders. As his eyes met his old friend’s, however, he noticed something odd. Happiness, but also confusion and, to some degree, compassion.
“What happened to you?” The middle-aged man asked as he looked into the worlds of light and darkness that stood where once were a pair of human eyes he could still remember. The young man in front of him had little more than the face of the scholarly young man he had known.. The spiritual cultivator with a comprehension of the elements only second to one more individual of their shared past.
Roley, almost as if embarrassed by Der’s inquisitive eyes, looked down. He had always known that, if he managed to find the people of his past, he would have likely been a far different person than they had remembered him as. And even if he had not gone through significant physical changes, two thousands years had still passed.
A time in which more than once he had hoped his friend would have found him, for together they had already envisioned and created a world where elementals did not fear for their lives.
Unfortunately, he had changed more than he had wanted. Study was of no interest to him anymore, nor was cultivation. His entire existence now revolved around the support of the elemental kind.. He had become a champion to them, weaponized to fulfill their long wish. Yet, he did not regret that. He had always had a kind spirit, and his love for the nature of mana had always held a soft spot in his heart. To be bound to fulfill such a destiny, regardless of how difficult and lonely it had been, was something he had worn with pride.
He closed his eyes, hoping that hiding them would help Der remember of his former past, and said, “Many years have passed, old friend. The times have changed me.” His figure stiffened, and he faintly shrugged his shoulder, hoping that the man’s hands would not come in contact with one of the treasures that were embedded into the skin of his back.. Or even notice them at all.
He wished to appear as human as he possibly could. If not to ease the embarrassment he was feeling, at least to ease Der’s mind.
In response to the light shrug, Der took his hands off the young man’s shoulders. An action that had created somewhat of a line between their merry reunion.. But he did not mind. After all, they had considered each other’s ultimate enemy for the last several years, and as Roley had reminded him, many years had passed since they had considered each other friends.
He too knew that the young man he had pointlessly attempted to teach martial arts to many a time before was long gone, and a powerful leader of many had taken his place.
As Der composed himself, he started to remember the type of situation the two were in. After all, while he could understand the distrust the Elementals had for cultivators, they had also killed millions of innocent people. He was no stranger to the character of mana sprites, for he had experienced the same world Roley had. One where cultivators and elementals could coexist.. So he knew how uncharacteristic of them such malicious actions were.
p、a,nd a-n、o、ve,l As his arms slowly lay down by his sides, he took a deep breath, and asked, “What is next? I believe we might have gone.. Too far from any chance of cohabitation.”
While keeping his eyes closed, Roley nodded. “I am afraid so.” He said in response.
Despite agreeing on this, both Der and Roley were feeling conflicted.
Der had complete trust that, had Roley known he was the one leading this particular group of cultivators, he would have thought better than ordering the attacks that welcomed them into the universe, as well as betraying the agreement upon which the truce had been signed. He knew that, had Roley known it was him, they would have done the impossible just so that a war would never start.
Roley’s train of thoughts was somewhat similar, but also drastically different. He knew that his old friend would have never allowed the mistreatment of the people he was leading, but at the same time, neither of the two were truly immortal.. Eventually both of them would have died. Who was to say how long the cultivators of the future would have respected Der’s will after his passing.
After regaining his composure, Roley carried his body backwards a few feet. Then, his demeanor changed. “We have colonized this universe first, so you will have to leave.” He demanded with the tone of an emperor. “Find a home elsewhere.”
Roley’s words stung. Not because they rejected the connection that had existed between him and Der, but because what he had asked, was little more than demanding their suicide.
“Is that what you want?” Der asked angrily. “After all the work my people put into making this universe safe, and despite all the innocent people those you lead have killed!! FIND A HOME ELSEWHERE!?”
“My people did nothing wrong.” Roley argued, “They saw your arrival as just one of many invasions from the uncountable groups of rogue cultivators, and yet we have let you find refuge here until you started attacking us.”
Der was shocked. “We.. we attacked you?” he asked with sheer astonishment. “Only twice have we been at war, and both times we only responded! Most of the lives we lost since entering this universe were taken before any conflict even started! DON’T YOU DARE DENY IT!!”
Roley was taken aback. He had known about the ancestors of light, space and darkness breaking the truce, which explained why the cultivators had come here. But both him and his people knew, or at least believed, that the previous war had been started by the Armada’s attack.
For a moment Roley started believing that Der had lied, but as he saw the fire of indignation burn in his eyes, he suddenly realized. Those whom he had hoped to bring into his cause, and to whom he had given a palace on To’han, and allowed to be a separate independent faction in the hope that one day they would accept that he acted for the betterment of the elementals’ existence.. They were more out of control than he had imagined.
He could not help but look back at his people, and consider how the pride of so few had turned a community that fought for a just cause, into the villains.
Yet, he was still their leader, and while he did not like that his people had been tricked into a war, he still needed to support them. And so he did. He once again turned towards Der, and with a voice that resounded like the beat of a drum, he said, “I apologize for what happened, but I have to look out for my people above all. We will not take responsibility for the actions of a few traitors. My demands remain unchanged.”
After listening to Roley’s words, Der scoffed. “An apology? Millions of lives lost, and all we get is an apology. How do you expect us to be okay with that, when you haven’t even brought out those you claim betrayed you!”
“The three elementals who broke the truce are already dead, I-“
Roley quickly tried to correct the bad turn the argument was taking, but before he could finish speaking, Der interrupted him. With narrowed eyes he claimed, “Four.”
“What?” Roley asked with confusion.
“There were four beings. An elemental of space, one of darkness, one of light, and a fourth one. I saw them myself, as they caged my men within the formation, like insects in amber.”
A strange expression appeared on Roley’s face. One of realization. The notion that he had allowed too many snakes to inhabit his yard had finally dawned upon him. Yet there was also anger.. Because one of the entities that had lied to him was not someone he wished to be allied to, but one he had held captive.
Suddenly, everything fell into place. To him, regardless whether it was true or not, everything that had gone wrong.. Everything that had led to his people being at war with the Armada.. The Elementalist had a part to play in.
This thought caused a blaze of anger to surge within Roley’s mind, almost setting his body in real flames. In response, he hastily turned around to head back to To’han. He wanted to solve this problem once and for all.. Yet, as he turned around, the Elementalist was already standing there, quiet, and sporting a smug smile on his face.
“He is right, you know? It was four.” He spoke with glee, almost struggling not to burst laughing. He then added, “I can’t believe you bought that those three dummies could act on their own. They wouldn’t have understood what a formation was if they were stuck in it.”
His appearance had come as a surprise for both Roley and Der, as he had appeared quietly, without releasing any form of power. He had materialized the moment he had chosen to speak, almost as if he had emerged from Roley’s shadow. His eyes also lacked the characteristic golden hue of the champions of Destiny, a detail which revealed that he had not made use of his powers yet.
“I also cannot believe, for the life of me, that you would be this stupid.” The Elementalist said as he slowly floated around Roley’s furious figure.. Like a hyena taunting a lion. “But had I known I would have been blessed with witnessing such a touching reunion, I would have.. Well, done exactly what I have.”
The more the Elementalist spoke, the more cocky he.. Until finally, Roley could not stay quiet any longer. “One reason. Give me a reason why I should not erase you right where you stand..” he growled in between gritted teeth. The power of nine elements were rotating around his body, creating a large orb of colorful lights.
The Elementalist seemed amused. He stretched his arm through Roley’s elemental field, and effortlessly placed it around his shoulders, completely unaffected. “Maybe I am just sick of staying in that cell.. Maybe I decided that I was fine with dying.. Or maybe I have left a little mark in their little formation, so that when I die, it falls apart, leaving you to fight Horror’s horde.” He explained as he gradually moved closer.
A shiver ran down both Der’s and Roley’s backs. They knew that by now the full army of Horror’s domain was likely stationed outside the universe’s interdimensional portal. If the formation were to fall, that would mean the end for all of them.
Der, who had prepared to engage in a fight the moment the Elementalist had appeared, immediately put away the idea. Contrary to the elemental army, he had seen the brutality of Horror’s domain.. A brutality from which they had spent the past few centuries running from, and that they had done all they could to stop from reaching them.
“What do you want?” Roley asked dejectedly.
The Elementalist tightened his hold of the young man’s shoulder. “Since you were kind enough to make an army for me, I will take that.” He said with a friendly tone before pinching his chin pensively. He then added, “Although I think I will erase their minds.. I could never stand their constant whining..”
As he finished speaking, something cracked inside Roley. He once again opened his eyes, aimed at them at Der, and with an apologetic expression, said, “I am sorry..” A moment later, his arm flashed out of sight, and with impossible speed stabbed the chest of the Elementalist.
Dumbfounded, the elementalist felt the power of nine primordial elements flood his body. Feelings of burning, slicing, freezing, all piled up to one another, corroding his existence from the inside.
“NO!” Der shouted, but it was too late.
Slowly, the Elementalist’s body began to fall apart.. His skin peeled off, his flesh turned to dust, and his bones were swallowed by an eternal darkness. However, as Roley observed his nemesis’s last moments, his body froze. In the latter’s dying expression he could not see fear of death, but a simple malicious smile.
