Lord Shadow

BOOOM! 

Blue light exploded all over, as the power inside the orb seems to flow and coursing through every part in his body. 

The orb did not reject him instead it is eager to fuse with him. This orb is after all the manifestation of his path.

There is no orb. There is only yourself and your path. Once you understand that, the path is easy to traverse. 

In the blinding blue light that seems to cover every path and covers every orb, suddenly there is a long road that appears in front of Azief.

There is a trail. A straight path of ground. 

Beside the path is seas of clouds. Azief eyes is shining blue and he could feel that some of the restriction in his body is being broken.

His eyes then seem to see silhouette. A flash glimpse of an Etherna appear in his mind, leading tens of thousands of Ethernian

And a sound of a defiant roar. 

WHOOSH!

Azief felt wind come over him, trying to blow him to the cloudy side of the road. But it was almost like his feet is stamp onto the ground.

The wind was not able to push him backward and could not push his to the side. 

A hymn then echoes. It was a song full of melancholy and the melody is sorrowful. 

‘What is this? he thought to himself. And then before he could make sense of it all, a Gate appear in front of his eyes

‘This…. I have seen this before’ Azief said as he was almost stuttering.

There is a gigantic gate in front of him. He had saw this gate before. The last time he saw it, it was during when he treks the path of the supremacy stairway.

Azief is once again standing in front of that gate. 

‘What is this?’ Today, there is no suppression of the Stairway.

Azief look at that gate in awe and he was transfixed there. And then he took a step forward.

With a smile he takes another step and then another. As he came closer to that gate, a creaking sound sounded in his consciousness.

The Gate is being slowly opened.

At the same time, somewhere in the cosmos, sitting on a red throne inside a broken star, a powerful being suddenly glance toward his left.

His forehead creased and his eyes narrowed as he looks intently toward that direction. Like he is able to see something no one could

‘What a familiar feeling…..this fluctuation’ he muttered to himself. This being sitting on the red throne is none other than Wargod, the ruler of Interium, the sailing broken star

He, like always is sailing across the Omniverse with his broken star, in a journey that had never have an end. 

And like always he slumbers on his throne while the broken star keep sailing through the waves of the cosmic sea. 

But today, suddenly he was awakened from his slumber. His heart beats like a rushing warhorses and he was jolted awake by this sudden feeling of premonition.

And the moment he was awake, he glances toward the source of that premonition. A feeling that is familiar to him instantly could be sensed.

When he looks toward his left, his gaze seems to penetrate multiple layers of dimension, transcending space and time and finally his gaze landed on that person in the Milky Way galaxy.

He saw Azief sitting cross legged in front of black hole. 

The black hole itself is getting smaller by the second, its energy, its matter, it very composition seems to be absorbed into that person body

The figure of that human look eerily similar to his own race. Wargod felt a sense of nostalgia looking at the mortal.

‘The Fated One’ he said to himself. 

Wargod had always been paying attention to Azief since the day he had walk all thirteen steps of the Supremacy Stairway.

Wargod, since then had been sailing the stars with a purpose. 

That day, when he saw Azief walk all the way and knowing that there is the Will of the Etherna on that Stairway, he began having hope again.

Wargod had thought he had known about all the plans of the Highest Council during the last days of the Etherna.

So, when he saw that the Supremacy Stairway is actually the handiwork of his own people, a plan and a scheme to revive the legacy of the Etherna, Wargod then knew……that he did not know everything

That leads him to think that maybe, the Supremacy Stairway is not the only thing that is left behind by his people.

He of course had investigated and using some of his Etherna ability he had manage to reconstruct some of the locked memories node in the Supremacy Stairway

He knew then that the creator of it is Borgan. 

Borgan is a part of the royal family of Etherna. Her ability to see the future had given Wargod reason to believe that this is a long scheme.

Borgan created the Stairway for the Fated Person of the Etherna. 

Hence, it is not absurd to think that she had foreseen Azief would walk that path and accept the legacy of the Etherna.

A Fated Person of the Etherna. That title alone is enough to make Wargod would do anything to protect Azief.

Even in his slumber he was thinking. But the moment he senses that fluctuation he knows that something had happened that was out of his expectation.

Time is moving in a different direction this time, like there is a wind of change guiding these new directions

Wargod rise from his throne and he focused his eyes. Then he clicked his tongue.

‘I don’t think that I am wrong. This feeling…. this is the feeling of the appearance of the Gate of Eternal Immortality. But…. I did not summon it’

Then his eyes widened.

‘He did it?’ It was almost disbelief. The Gate of Eternal immortality is a doorway that leads to…. well, Eternal immortality

It is in the name after all.

But that gate could only be summoned by an Etherna. And the Etherna that could summon it is only the Etherna that is given the authorization by the Highest Council of Etherna

Wargod had been able to summon it before because he still has the authorization. 

This authorization is not some kind of normal decree. This authorization is stamp into the fabric of reality itself.

Last time, he summons it to give Azief the fate of Etherna. 

If Azief had walk inside and complete the transfer of power, he would then possess all the powers of an Etherna. His race and his physique will also be changed into an Etherna

But…. everything has a price. 

Certain restriction would be imposed on him and he would not be free. Or to be more accurate, it is his fate and destiny that would not be free.

Azul had stopped him by threatening to refine the entire Dark Universe. 

He had to relent. 

And after seeing Azief action after that, Wargod agree that probably opening the Gate to him is not a good idea.

But now, the gate is open? 

‘I could not see it al’ Wargod is feeling anxious. He could not see through someone consciousness. At least not when he is this far.

‘If he summons it……if he himself summon it…. the effect of the Gate of Eternal Immortality would have a different effect. After all, Eternal Immortality is not really the main purpose of that Gate. It is only for outsiders that it has such an effect’

Immortality has a price. Eternal Immortality have an even steeper price. And immortality from Etherna……now…. that is a bargain that would restrict one freedom.

On the other hand, the effect of that Gate toward the Etherna is unlike the effect it would have against those who are not their kind.

It is one of the most important legacy of Ethernian.

‘But how….was he able to ope-‘ And then he stopped muttering

All of sudden, he understood. He remembers what Azief had that others did not. He just never thought that it would enter the equation.

Because it did not happen in that other timeline.

‘I underestimated him and overestimated the power of fate and destiny’ he said it like he was complaining but there is a smirk on his face

A proud expression. 

‘That ring’ he thought to himself. 

And his eyebrow creased. Interium is still sailing the stars, but Wargod is now looking at Azief intently

He himself did not know what he should do. The Gate of Eternal Immortality is one of the methods of Etherna to break their limit.

But it also restrained them. But that would only be for those who have no authorization. As for Azief…even he doesn’t know

So, he could only look on. Then he sighed

‘Azul, don’t blame me on this. I did not summon the gate’ Wargod keep looking at Azief, hoping that nothing would be going wrong.

After all, this is the first time such a gate is summoned by someone that is not of Etherna. Even he doesn’t know what would happen and whether the gate would acknowledge Azief.

‘I hope you are able to see what is inside the gate and learn something from it’ he thought to himself.

>>>>