"This child's core that I hold has seen the devastation the Scourge's machinations have brought first-hand. And yet, each time, he was always on the front lines to defend his home, friends, and loved ones. I, for one, would be remiss to allow such a faithful servant of the Sea to be discarded in such a way," she continued in a reverent tone.
"Many have fallen in service to the Sea; friends, family, and loved ones. You should know this well, Lady Syldir," the voices said, causing her features to fall just enough for me to notice they'd struck a nerve.
Bastards, I thought, shielding my mind as best I could.
"But even after all those sacrifices, there will always be more to be made so long as the Scourge remains, and even beyond that. What makes this child so special that you would risk your titles to come to us and ask for our blessing? Why should we grant this incongruous existence a second chance at life, when it could very well corrupt the child again? Do you believe we would be ignorant to that possibility?" the voices asked, leaving both Syldir and the Mouth in stunned silence.
I admit, there was something about the word incongruous that wasn't sitting well with me. Where did the alternates really come from, anyway? I thought I'd had the answer to that already, but thinking back on it, there was never a truly solidified answer in any of my memories.
I could feel the gears turning in my mind as I wrestled with the meaning of their words, and as the final gear clicked into place, the only person I could think of was the anomaly I called my friend, Athar.
"You are because it's already happened once before," I said in realization, not intending to have done so aloud. I could feel whatever essence was within the confines of the room immediately turning on me with a rage that I could only describe as god-like. "What did you just say, child? Who are you to challenge us? Even worse than that, how are you even capable of speech before us?" the voices snarled.
Both Syldir and the Mouth looked at me with a mixture of worry and astonishment, but there was a sensation coming specifically from Syldir that I could only describe as the word challenge.
I swallowed dryly, feeling my mind begin to race as I gathered my thoughts. My palms began to sweat profusely, and I knew that one misstep, one ill-spoken word, could spell the end of me. The Eyes didn't have to tell me that; it was instinctual.
There was only one thing I could say.
"Athar," I said in an attempt to let my mouth try to catch up to what my mind was trying to do. "What of him?" the voices asked, but said nothing further.
"My lords and ladies, Athar's only alive because Nexis placed his core into his alternate's body. What difference does it make if we do it ag-…" I halted, feeling another pulse of mana race through my body. I could feel them trying to dig through the memories embedded in my core to see if I was lying, but after a few breathless moments, it faded away.
"It would seem he's telling the truth," the Eyes said with a small amount of disbelief.
Wait, do they not know what happened because of the veil that was around Vareluth? I wondered, stumbling upon a loophole in their logic that I could potentially exploit. Syldir seemed to understand my realization and gave me a subtle nod to continue along that line of thinking.
"I am telling the truth, and the fact remains that Athar, even with his core forced into his alternate, has shown nothing if not exemplary control of his sense of self. While I only know of the conditions for the exchange from his recounting of the events, I humbly ask that you consider our request," I said, moving a little closer to the table.
"No. There is no condition you could impose upon us that would make us agree to such blasphemy!" the Eyes retorted angrily, prompting me to take a deep breath.
"You speak of blasphemy, and yet you've ignored your own rules because you knew it suited your ultimate goals of stopping the Scourge. No, Mideia," I said the name with a snarl, knowing full well it was going to strike a chord with them.
The swirling mana around me filled with rage once more, but this time, there was little to no effect on me. "What is the meaning of this?" the Eyes asked, turning on the Mouth rather than me. He didn't verbally reply to them, but instead turned to look at me, giving me a wink and a subtle nod.
I don't know how I knew what he'd meant, but like with Syldir, it was almost an instinctual understanding that formed between us. I suspected it must have had something to do with the fact that her blood was now coursing through my veins, but I left it at that.
I felt a wry grin begging to tug at the corners of my mouth as I stepped toward the alternate and formed a scarlet dagger in my left hand that I held just above the alternate's chest.
"W-What are you doing? Have you gone mad?" the Eyes asked as the rush of mana approached me once more, but I turned my eyes and head to look at the alternate on the table.
Keep pushing. This is a time of proving, one for you to show that you've earned your right to speak to them, Syldir sent me with another subtle nod.
"I am standing on the shoulders of dragons, and all those who have come before me and sacrificed for the greater good of the Sea. You're capable of seeing much, far more than I ever could, but not everything, apparently," I said, raising the dagger a little.
"You said that the alternate didn't belong to this realm and that it must be destroyed, correct?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "Athar's alternate technically did die, but then again, so did Athar," I continued, feeling a sense of apprehension and concern flow through the room.
"What are you trying to say here, child?" the Eyes asked with added emphasis on the word, blatantly suspicious of my actions, but I could only chuckle. "My name is Thoma Fayren, my lords and ladies," I said, ensuring I only tinged it with disrespect. "And as fate would have it, we're in an eerily similar situation to Athar's," I continued, raising the dagger a little higher as I spoke.
"You see, I killed the owner of that core. I watched him die, with absolutely no satisfaction, I might add, to prevent Mideia's reach from spreading further. What I didn't do was destroy his core in hopes of seeking a potential resolution, one I would very much like your blessing for," I said flatly as though I were giving a lecture.
"Now, I might be stupid, but I'm not an idiot. I'm also not going to stand idly by, while you speak of sacrificesbeing made as if they were mere check marks on a list, or numbers on a merchant's sales report," I said, finally lifting the dagger to its full height, feeling their attention shift to my halted hand.
"However, in doing so, I'm also going to meet your demands. You wanted this creature to die? So be it," I said, plunging the knife deep into the alternate's chest and dragging it along through bone and flesh, leaving about a hand's length hole in its chest.
Blackened blood began to pour out rhythmically, eventually coming to a slow halt as I watched it begin to pool around the body and drip onto the floor. I shifted the mana from the dagger toward the edges of the wound and pried it open widely enough for me to continue what I had in mind.
"What have you done?" the Eyes asked slowly. "I've met your conditions, my lords and ladies," I said, allowing my eyes to flare with scarlet mana as I infused my voice with power. "Syldir, the core, please," I said, gingerly taking it from her.
Thoma, your eyes, Syldir sent me with an air of pride, prompting a slight shift in my focus.
There was something I hadn't quite considered after Syldir gave me her blood: What would happen to me if I used more mana than I needed to sustain the fifth stage? The answer, I found through an abrupt shift in my field of view, was the fact that my pupils had also turned to slits with the amount of mana I'd pushed into them.
Well, that's interesting, I thought.
"You…" the Eyes hissed dissonantly. From what I could tell, there were some who were glad at my appearance, while others were, uh, less than pleased. I, for one, knew I had to act like I knew what I was doing all along.
An obvious lie, but it's time to make them believe it, I thought, desperately holding onto what little control I had over my faculties.
"Yes, me. I'm the one who killed Nexis and the one who put a stop to Mideia gaining a stronger foothold in this realm. Of course, I had help, but that doesn't change the fact that I am the only non-born-dragon to wield true Autarchica Primaria," I said, allowing the words to hang for a moment.
"You might have looked into my memories to see whether I was lying about Athar, but your eagerness to find that information, while ignoring the rest of who or what I am, is what allowed me to do this in the first place," I continued with yet another nod from Syldir.
However, the Mouth's, er, mouth was wide open in shock at my candor.
"You think you can treat us as senile fools? How dare you be so brazen to pull something like this! This is outrageous!" the Eyes said, but like before, there was a sense of them all being less unified in their rebuttals, some of them even bordering on laughter.
"I don't take you for fools, but I will exploit the rules you've set in place for something like this. You've allowed Athar to live so far, knowing full well what he is, only because he met your conditions of destruction. This is just another case in which your own rules have turned against you," I said with as straight a face as I could manage.
There was no immediate reply, but I could tell that while some of the voices would accept their defeat, there would be others more than willing to challenge me and refute my claims.
"Very well, then. We will allow this to happen, but there will be a price to pay for your insolence at a later time," the Eyes replied after another few moments of silence. "Insolence? The only thing he did was follow your rules," Syldir leaped to my defense. "If we cannot follow our own rules, then what does that make us?" she asked, spreading her arms broadly.