New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

A slam echoed in the room, as Argos Thornwood struck the surface of the table with his palms, standing up abruptly. A little mana emanated from the blow, in an attempt to augment the impact.

Astaroth’s eyes reduced to slits, as his gaze landed on the mage.

“Lord Argos. I realize you and I don’t know each other very much. But Aberon is a friend of mine and has just as much right to be here as you. And since I am the highest authority here, I don’t see why he would have to defer to you at all. Now sit back down.”

A cold aura started seeping out of Astaroth, as he said these words. Aberon, from behind him, only grinned at the mages’ guild representative, causing the man to become even angrier.

“King Astaroth. With all due respect, this matter concerns you not, and you best stay out of it. This… traitor has no right to stand next to another mage without a proper salute to his superiors.”

Silence permeated the room, as even the new arrivals could feel the rising tension. Leon sat back in his chair, curious as to where this would lead.

He was ready to intervene if Astaroth ordered him to. But he doubted the brazen young man would ask it.

Phoenix opened her mouth to ask the mage to calm down, but Astaroth rose his hand slowly, shaking his head at her. She understood he wanted to deal with this on his own.

Aberon snickered in the back, enjoying Astaroth’s reaction. Of course, the mage had all the reasons in the world to be angry at him, given the past Aberon had with his guild.

But Astaroth wasn’t going to take this with his mouth shut.

“Lord Argos,” he uttered, his words suddenly laden with Aether, “You misunderstand my words. This is my council, in my throne room, in my palace, and in my kingdom. Everything here concerns me. Now. Sit. Down.”

The pressure of his words climbed up a notch with every word of the last request. But he was talking to a mage well versed in the powers of the arcane, and a thick veil of mana was already covering him.

Argos looked at the king, his eyes filled with anger.

“King Astaroth. I believe you misunderstand my words as well. The conversation I want to have with the Omni-mage is not one that someone of your age gets to partake in, regardless of status. You are a hundred years too young to get a word in it, child.”

Astaroth and Argos stared at each other, their mana presence becoming steadily larger until most of the people here who weren’t mages were starting to feel their bodies become heavier. Leon put his hands on the table, ready to defuse the situation, before it went further.

Phoenix was already sporting a look of discouragement.

‘So much for a peaceful resolution, I guess,’ she thought, closing her eyes and rubbing them.

She knew of the mages’ guild better than Astaroth, since her master had told her about it, and was part of it. She also knew the list of traitors to it was relatively short, for an organization that had lived for over a millennium.

But she hadn’t asked for names. Now, hearing that Astaroth’s master was part of that list, put them in a tough position.

The mages’ guild usually regulated all the magic users of the continent, in hopes of keeping their powers contained to good use. Most of the traitors to this guild were mages that decided to use their powers where and when they wanted, without adhering to the guild’s rules.

Theoretically, if she had been a Native, she would already have been forced to join. But Abnormals were wildcards, and the guild refused to deal with them.

But right now, Astaroth risked earning the ire of the entire guild if he pulled any violent move on Argos. Seeing Leon about to intervene, she sighed in relief.

But a burst of Aether pushed everything away from Astaroth, the table, chairs, and people included. Phoenix yelped in surprised when her chair suddenly skidded ten feet back, almost slamming into the wall.

Astaroth got up from his chair, which remained unmoved under him, and walked over to Argos, with nothing in his way.

Astaroth’s Aether was pulsing off of him, putting even Argos in a tough spot. Argos Thornwood was no slouch in terms of magic.

But Aether was incredibly more potent than mana, and it took a lot of effort just to remain on his feet.

Astaroth stopped a foot away from Argos, their similar heights allowing him to stare into Argos’ eyes.

“Tell me again how I’m too young. Call me a child, in my own palace, that I earned through my efforts. Explain to me how an old codger like you gets to order me around, under my roof.”

The deadpan expression and emotionless tone he used were more worrying to Phoenix than if he had burst into anger. Astaroth rarely contained himself this way, and it was troubling.

She was about to stand up and put an end to it when something she hadn’t expected happened. The old mage snapped.

“Enough! You may be a king, but you don’t get to talk to me like I’m your subject! Get out of my way, or suffer the consequences!”

To which Astaroth replied with a smile.

‘And now we’re passed the point of no return,’ Phoenix thought, her heart dropping to her stomach.

“I’m glad you said that, Lord Argos. Now it means you have also threatened me, and an appropriate response is in due.”

And before anyone could react, horns erupted out of Astaroth’s head, as he melded with Asmodeus. He grabbed the old mage’s throat and before anyone could move, with a puff of smoke, they both disappeared from the throne room. ．

“Fuck!” Phoenix exclaimed.

Turning her head to Aberon, who was just as surprised as the others, she yelled, “You! This is your fault! Do something about it!”

Aberon jumped in surprise at the angry woman’s shout, and he laughed.

“I see why he likes you, woman! Alright. I’ll find them and separate them before any harm is done.”

Aberon disappeared from the throne room as well, leaving the people in it in an awkward position. No one knew if the meeting was still going to take place, but no one was brave enough to ask the queen, who currently looked like she could combust at any moment.

Meanwhile, miles to the south of there, in a deserted region of the forest, at the edge of Stellar Woodlands’ official territory, two men appeared in the sky, one of them throwing the other like a baseball, effortlessly.

Argos flew away, taking a moment to stabilize his flight before righting himself in the air.

“Now you’ve done it!” he shouted.

Astaroth stared back at him, his clothes vanishing from him, replaced by his combat armour, his weapon now in hand.

“Glad we agree,” he responded, having enough of false niceties.

It was time to make the mage understand who was boss in the kingdom he was stationed in. The mages’ guild might have their hand in every pie, but it wasn’t theirs to eat, and it was time someone reminded them.