Lord Shadow

Chapter 1606 The Best Of Us

"But we are not talking about her right now. But I could say something. Your fate and hers are inextricably linked closer than you thought. You have a part of her. That's her price. And you must pat that price. Since then, your fate and hers are inextricably linked. Do you feel familiar with this kind of thing?" Azief nodded

Eriak price was her eyes. And her eyes are now his eyes. 

He sees the future and she became One Eyed. There is a price he paid and there is a price she paid. 

She is linked to him by her eyes. Just like how he is linked to the Etherna by the rings. How he is connected with Azul because of the sabre. 

There is cause and effect. He might not see it all the time but cause and effect exist. And it works in mysterious way. 

Fate and destiny guided the way or was it already written? He sighed and Borgan continue her story

"At first when I have finally deciphered all of those vision, all I wanted to do is to deny it. But then, I began feeling anger. It seems cruel and unfair…that future of ours"

Smiling bitterly, she continues 

"And then I wanted to bargain. I seek the Gate to go to His garden. Maybe, if I plead with Him, maybe He wanted me to see it, to stop it"

She chuckles and there is sadness in that laugh 

"Maybe it is test from Him towards me. Maybe, it is just according to His whim. Or maybe, I was reading too much into it"

"I searched for a thousand years and I see no gate. And He did not talk to me. And so, I fell into sadness. And when you are sad, you could not do anything. For a few years, only this sadness accompanies me. And then I accept it" 

"And when I accept it, only then could I see a new path. Things that should happen will happen. Because I realize the will of one being could not change the general trend. If I wanted to change it, the whole world has to be willing to be changed. And since it did not want to change, the general trend will swallow all of them"

There is a moment of silence before Azief sighed

"And that is one of my stories. It is not that long, is it?" Borgan asks, with a gentle smile on her face

Azief shakes his head. 

Borgan then clicks her fingers and the scenery that was paused by her moves again. 

In the forge, Phaitos, Vorgan, Asargan and Borgan all began to move 

Azief notice Phaitos. 

Phaitos look at the forge and see ten Etherna being swallowed by the fire. 

Borgan looks at Phaitos for a moment and her eyes turns sad. Asargan look at his sister and frowned

"Borgan, what did you see?" Asargan seems to feel that there is something wrong with his sister gaze. Why would her gaze become that sorrowful when she is looking at Borgan?

Just that one glance and her expression after that shows that his sister had seen something. Phaitos realizes that Borgan has seen what he isa bout to do and he looks at her with a bitter expression

"That eyes of yours…...it really could see everything" he paused for a second before smiling bitterly and spoke

"What a curse that is."

Asargan could tell that something is wrong.

"Phaitos what are you about to do?" 

Phaitos did not answer Asargan instead he looks at the forge. 

He looks at the ten Ethernas that are being dissolved by the fire. Etherna bodies are very sturdy and hard.

It could not be broken by normal means. An adult Etherna could slam their bodies on planets and planets would shatter

Stars, moon, suns, planets are all like toys to Ethernas.

But then the Ethernas still need weapons. 

And these weapons should also be able to cut through the skin of an Etherna. 

Because in the war that followed the unification of the Etherna world, Etherna fight against Etherna. 

And such weapons need a fire that could craft such weapons. And the fire that is in Phaitos forge is exactly the kind of fire that could craft a weapon that could cut an Etherna

It is the Fire of Creation. 

No one knows how it forms but it is one of the first fire in existence. Many Etherna has posited explanations for his fire. Some believe it is the fire of the Supreme One when he created one of his creatures.

His Angels. Some refuted that saying that the Angels of the Supreme One is crafted from light itself.

And the fire is actually when the Supreme One is angry and his anger manifested into a fire. There are many theories of what these fires are and why it was never extinguished. 

Why it burns with such bright colours that if not for the formation surrounding it would be brighter than Quasars

The Elders of the Etherna at that time take these fires and brought it back and put it into a planet 

The planet then melted into space. It is only after one of the prophets pray that the fire shrinks and the Etherna could transport it.

These fire then feel into the hand of Phaitos

As he is known by many as someone who loves forging, the fire finds the perfect master. 

Who else then is suitable to have this fire than a person who loves crafting as he is?

It is only with this kind of fire that could forge a weapon, or a shield

It is only with this kind of fire that it could forge a weapon that could cut through the hard skin of Etherna

But it is precisely because it is that kind of fire, that it hurst. The kind of fire that when it burns you, it did not only burn your body, it burns your entire existence with it. 

And so, as Phaitos look at the ten Etherna, some of whom he knows personally, he thought to himself

"That must be painful" 

The kind of pain of being slowly melted. 

Each moment must feel like torture. 

Each moment a kind of pain that could not be imagined must be attacking every sense of those Ethernas. But other than wincing in pain, they did not scream or shout. 

They could but they didn't

There is determination in their eyes and there is a desire in his heart. They bet on a far distant hope.

Phaitos is a simple Etherna. He simply likes to forge. He likes to craft things. Create things. Mould things. 

Those war that are being fought, those ideologies that the scholars and the intelligent spout, none of them is something that interest him.

It has been like that since a long time ago. He never wanted to sacrifice his life for those things he is not interested with

But time passes, and he meets more and more Ethernas. Some disgust him, some made him admire them, and some made him feel heartache and pain

Seeing more, knowing more, experiencing more and being changed by those things he saw and those things he knows and those things he experiences. 

And today, he would do something he never thought he would do in his life

"The forge would swallow our heroes and it would take a long time for it to swallow them all" Asargan nodded but he did not understand where this conversation is leading to

"They should not suffer so much" Smiling Phaitos then said

"When I was a child, my father venture to a certain point of creation and took a sliver of the fire of creation. He then transplanted it into me. And that is why the Fire of Creation under my hands burns brightly, burns beautifully and yet does not burn me." 

Hearing this Asargan seem to have some kind of premonition of what Phaitos is going to do and he feel that he won't like it

"What are you thinking, Phaitos?'

Vorgan also began understanding what Phaitos is trying to do. His face expression turns sorrowful.

Even Azief who is just brought to this conversation all of sudden also understood what Phaitos is trying to do

"You already know what I am about to do"

"It is unnecessary" Vorgan said. 

Phaitos look at the ten Etherna in the forge, their body is slowly being melted by the fire and shook his head

"These heroes already suffer for us. They should not suffer even more. If death is to be their final sacrifice, then let that death be as swift as possible. This kind of torture, even I dare not accept it. But these.... Ethernas bet on us. Bet on you" Phaitos said as he looks at Borgan

"They bet that there is hope. That amidst the dusk of our race, there is hope for us still. A Warner had come, and many does not listen. But they still believe. They believe in good. And so, they have hope. Even now, even as they are being in such a form, filled with pain…. I know inside their hearts, that hope shines brightly"

Asargan face expression right now is hard right now. Trying not to show emotion but there are signs that he is about to break down.

"How do you know?"

"Their eyes" Phaitos look at them again and chuckles a bit

"And so, even though they were the ones that have warned the King repeatedly to surrender, to turn back, they did not listen"

Then he snorted 

"But where are the ministers, where is those general that called for war back then. Where are those killers and mass murderers? In the end, the one that have to suffer here today, is not those Ethernas" 

"But these ten Ethernas. They were mocked and ostracized because they don't want to fight an unjust war. They don't want to massacre other living beings that is different from them. They don't want to kill based on distorted views"

"Hahaha!" Phaitos laugh but there is a feeling of desolation in that laugh, a feeling of loneliness

He shakes his head slowly and tears seems to fall from his eyes

"They…. are the best of us. And now, they suffer for us. I could not bear to see them suffer even a second more." He chuckles and then said

"What is death anyway?" saying this with nonchalance, Phaitos runs toward the forge and jump into the fire

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