"Crickle Crackle, snap and crack, the young man's arm won't be coming back."
The voice echoed in the empty chamber. It had come from a blonde-haired youth who sat in front of a budding fire, pieces of colorful bark burning with soft hissing sounds. Every now and then, a piece of burning wood would fly at the blue-eyed man's face, but he dodged absentmindedly.
"Crickle Crackle, where'd it go, the arm that swung the killing blow."
The man sang with a joyous voice and a hearty smile. His voice was gentle, like a calming ocean, while his smile was bright, like an illuminating summer sun. His body moved with the tunes, swaying back and forth with every word that left his mouth.
"Crickle Crackle, half a wave, the young man danced above his grave."
Leonidas's voice rose a few octaves; his tone was still soft, yet a storm of murderous glee shone in the depths of his eyes.
The lyrics flowed out of his mouth with surprising ease, a talent he never knew he had. Leonidas might have even appreciated it had he not been seething with the desire to kill his best friend, Red.
"Crickle Crackle, mark my word, Red's five eyes will meet my sword."
His voice grew louder, shifting into a haunting chant that would have made even ghosts cry out in agony. Madness radiated from every corner of his being, waves of invisible malice spreading through the hollow trunk of the rainbow tree Leonidas had sought shelter in.
"Crickle Crackle, something's wrong, a sane man wouldn't sing this song."
Leonidas was aware of the...disease that clung to his being like a shroud of fog, clouding his mind, ensnaring him in insanity. But what could he do?
Fight the entire Realm when he couldn't beat a single fucking Pilgrim?
A loud laugh escaped his mouth, as hollow as the tree he sat in. As if it helped, faint sparks of clarity emerged in Leonidas's eyes.
"Crickle Crackle, last I'll say, the mad don't know they've gone astray. But I know. So I'm okay."
The last verse left his mouth as little more than a whisper, but it seemed to do its job. Leonidas seemed better...as okay as a man who had just lost his arm could get.
Ahh, I went insane again.
Leonidas was indifferent to his harrowing situation, as if slipping into a poetic bout of madness was nothing out of the ordinary.
What good would worrying have done when the same thing had been happening to him for the past three hours? Every 30 minutes or so, Leonidas would go on a poetic rampage, hacking at the sturdy rainbow walls or cursing his life in poems.
It had happened four times already.
Where was I last time..? Ah, yes, Epithet.
He had been in the middle of reading the details of his Epithet and Edict when the madness had gotten hold of him.
With a long, draggy exhale, Leonidas closed his eyes and stepped into his Phosphene Space—the world behind closed eyes.
For a while, there was nothing but darkness, but soon that lightlessness gave way to a plethora of whizzing colors and materializing objects that came together to form a brilliant landscape.
The first thing that formed was, naturally, the ground. Only that it wasn't polished marble or cobbled stone. Plumes of smoke flowed from all around Leonidas, forming a floor of pearly clouds.
The next thing to form was the sky above, which, just like the ground, wasn't normal. Two bodies of still water floated side by side, one radiant, the other dim. Trees hung from their corresponding lakes, silver and gold greenery floating upside down.
Despite seeing it twice before, the sight shook Leonidas.
How could something be so beautiful?
Despite his best attempts, his mouth hung open, remaining arm hanging limp by his side. As much as Leonidas wanted to sit around and admire the beauty around him, he had pressing matters to attend to.
With a simple wave of his hand, a small stream disconnected from the radiant sea. The water slowly formed a rectangular panel of pure gold. With another theatrical wave, the golden stream dispersed into mist, and a single silver drop disconnected from the sea above.
It landed lightly in Leonidas's hands, who rolled it over twice before bringing it closer to the golden sheet. As soon as the two connected, the drop disappeared as if swallowed, and words started forming on the tablet.
————〔 PROFILE 〕————
Name: [Leonidas Hector]
Age: [17]
Source Element: [Bloom(70%)] [Peace(30%)]
Rank: [Enlightened]
Epithet: [Faithfully Faithless]
————〔 EDICT 〕————
→ [Gleam and Glow]
→ [Wisdom Of The Lamb]
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
Besides some personal information and his Edicts, tabs about many other things were also present, but at the moment, they weren't of much concern to Leonidas. He needed to quickly check his abilities before another... unfortunate accident happened.
He really, really wanted to move on to the description of his Edicts, but the damn Epithet had made it hard.
The hell does the damn Labyrinth mean 'Faithfully Faithless'? I'm the most honorable person in the world, both land and ground.
And that was not the only point of concern. What worried him more was that he had two Source Elements, when you could only ever be connected to one.
Leonidas pinned all the blame on his merged soul, which his profile screen—may the dead gods bless it—also so graciously stated.
Leonidas huffed once with indignation, and then twice with something akin to offense. He spun on his heel sharply as if daring the irritating, ever-shifting voice.
The Labyrinth itself sounds pleasant to the ear, even better than most musicians Leonidas had heard, but the fact that it kept changing genders pissed him off to no end.
"Huff."
He took a deep breath and settled down. Time was truly running out.
Leonidas tapped both of his Edicts simultaneously. As soon as his callused finger met with the golden liquid, the silver words twisted wildly before darting around the canvas and rearranging themselves, forming an entirely new scene.
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
Name: [Gleam And Glow]
Rank: [Enlightened]
Source Element: [Bloom]
Description: [Bloom was a kind woman, one who wanted everyone to reach their fullest potential.]
Free Will: [You possess the power to force things to reach the peak of what they truly are.] Mark Of Bloom: [Bloom into existence the symbol of the Goddess Of Bloom. You can make crystalline ruby flowers.]
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
Name: [Wisdom Of The Lamb]
Rank: [Enlightened]
Source Element: [Peace]
Description: [Peace is eternal and impartial. Peace is non-biased and uncorrupted. After war comes peace, after death comes peace. Peace is at the end and the beginning. Feel peace, accept peace, and know peace.]
No Will: [Peace is for everyone, and you are its herald. You can weaken others' will.] Inheritance Of The Dead: [Peace accepts all, yet not all accept it. Everyone who dies by your hand in peace will empower you.]
Leonidas could only stare wordlessly at the screen in front of him. Suddenly, the thought of getting out of the Labyrinth did not feel so distant anymore.
Let's see what my amazing epithet says.
With that, he raised his arm once more.