"Actually scrap that I can't sleep, general are you sleeping?"
Aegara replies:
"I was until you started talking, but jokes aside I wasn't sleeping either."
Arius is shocked:
"Wait, you actually know how to make a joke?"
Aegara summons a big sword pointing towards Arius's head and then tells him:
"This one is not a joke."
Arius starts panicking and tries to reason:
"W-wait a second now, you wouldn't blow a soldier's head off just for a joke, r-right?
This isn't how the strongest should behave right?"
Aegara unsummons the sword:
"I…..am not the strongest anymore….."
Arius is shocked and whispers:
"Eh? But isn't your whole thing being the strongest general? The one that won't stop at nothing to fulfill her goal?"
Aegara replies:
"Well I was until that trash emperor sealed away my powers....."
Arius is eager to know more about Aegara so he continues to talk, he wants to know her more and this is his perfect chance:
"Hold it right there, you met The Emperor of Cosmos? That emperor? THE EMPEROR?"
Aegara sighs:
"Yes I did, and it's because of him that I lost most of my powers, if it wasn't for him I wouldn't even be in this situation."
Arius clearly invested says:
"Cool complaints but just a little tiny question from this soldier of yours…..WHY WOULD YOU MEET WITH THAT GUY?"
Aegara turns her head and looks Arius straight in his eyes and replies a serious tone:
"Interrupt me again and you will never hear the rest of the story!"
Arius gestures like he is zipping his mouth:
Aegara starts talking again:
"For starters here's a piece of advice. No matter how far you climb you should not boast about being victorious. In this "existence" that we live in there are strong beings, and there are beings way beyond what we call strong. They have no need for the concept of "strength" and not because they are weak but because they are beyond it. God created everything and all things have purpose, their purpose is being what they are."
Aegara takes a deep breath and continues:
"Arius no matter how foolish you are there is a limit you should never pass. No matter what happens, no matter who you lose in the process never retaliate against them.
The first is The Emperor of Cosmos. The concept of Emperor was created by Adam the first human as a way for the lesser beings to differentiate the higher beings properly and not fall into despair as they would during Adam's time. We are currently on the 9th crown meaning there were 8 other emperors before the current one. I'll tell you later what happens to an Emperor Arius."
Arius nods calmly, but Aegara sees through Arius's calmness, he is terrified and excited at the same time.
"The second one is the ruler of Hell, Lucifer the Fallen. You probably have never heard of him since he is never mentioned in this era but he is real, he governs hell and from time to time out of sheer boredom he comes out to make some "deals". I can't properly describe him since he is a master shapeshifter and the best deceiver but you will know if you ever meet him and I pray to God that you don't....no matter how bad the situation is never accept any of his deals".
Arius starts sweating, the mere thought of him ever facing these beings is nothing, his mind is numb, only processing the given information.
"The third is Codex of Records, it has no personality but it has a will. The Codex of Records is one of Adam's codexs, it records everything and can materialize it, even us talking right now we are being recorded by it. It serves as the ultimate database for everything."
Aegara's lips start shaking, her voice refusing to come out, her eyes asking for help and her ORIGIN vanishing. Arius witnessing all of this wonders:
*What being could make her this scared, even the sheer idea of mentioning this being is scaring HER?!*
Aegara finally calms herself down and continues her ramble:
"A-and the last one is Azrael The Angel of Death. No matter what Arius, you do nothing if you ever meet him, just stay and pray to God because only God can stop him. The beings aforementioned are nothing compared to him. He is considered God's most trusted and his strongest creation. Only he is allowed to meet God directly, he is THE END of all things. Sometimes he descends to take souls with him and when he does I can feel it. The way he moves the way he does his job is scary, Arius you might be retarted enough to challenge the emperor, lucifer and even the codex but if you ever meet Azrael know that the concept of winning is devoid of meaning against him".
Arius then asks:
"How do you know all of this? What are you?"
Aegara looks at Arius full of pitty:
"I am the next emperor, since the day I was born I was marked and chosen. My very birth destroyed the boundaries of this era. By my teenage years I was flooded with memories that were not mine, of previous emperors that I didn't know even existed, that's how I know about all this stuff. I got greedy. With this knowledge and unlimited power by my side I thought I could replace the current emperor, but when I went to his palace he didn't even bother, he simply lifted his finger and I was gone, my powers my pride my future, all gone with just a lift of his finger. The only thing I heard him say to me was :"Too early". That was all"
Arius asks:
"How did you get out of the palace?"
Aegara closes her eyes, as she is trying to remember what happened after:
"His fake angels took me down and healed me. They were kind. I don't recall their faces but I remember their names. Archeus The Fake Angel of The Emperor, Deusiel The Fake Angel of Cosmos and Ultima The Fake Angel of Infinity. They took care of me and encouraged me to try again."
Arius curiously asks:
"These fake angels, why did they tell you to try again? I am assuming to become the next emperor you have to kill the current one, so why?"
Aegara opens her eyes:
"Yes your assumption is right, I have to kill him to take his place that's how it works.
The fake angels matter is simple, they are loyal to the title of emperor not the individual who bears it, they follow the rules."
The room is silent, the conversation died out but Arius has one last question, the question he fears to make and the answer he fears even more, but he has to ask it:
"Then Aegara, what happens when a new emperor is crowned?"
Aegara closes her eyes, tears start flowing down and she tries her hardest to stop them but she can't. Arius remains silent. He too wants to cry because he already got the answer but Aegara gathers herself and decides to answer to Arius's question.
"When the new emperor is crowned a new era begins, full of hope and new wonders but such future has no place for relics of the past, so over the course of 10,000 years the old era starts to vanish. There are no more children as every living creature cannot bear them anymore. Life starts fading away and wars go on and on. Everything has gone to flames and just like that the life of the old cosmos ends and a new era begins not aware of the cruel past but grateful of the promised future."
Arius closes his eyes and grabs Aegara's hand under the blanket, Aegara clenches Arius's hand back. They don't talk and just stay in silence waiting for sleep to take them and ease their mind of the cruel reality that awaits them both.
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To be continued