Chapter 592: The New Monarchs

WORLD TREE -

The roots of the World Tree stretched endlessly overhead, vast dark arches of living wood older than most of the realms they sheltered.

Arthur led the way down, unhurried, and beside him Kaisel flew next to him, Kara settled comfortably astride his back. Arthur had insisted on it the moment they’d arrived at the tree’s threshold gently, but firmly enough that she hadn’t bothered arguing, refusing outright to let her walk or fly the descent herself in her condition. She’d rolled her eyes at the fuss, but hadn’t fought it either, secretly rather fond of being looked after so carefully.

The passage opened, at last, into a vast chamber deep within the tree’s ancient roots, the entrance to the Temple of the Monarchs.

Kara’s eyes widened as she took it in, the sheer scale of the space swallowing torchlight into shadow long before it reached the ceiling. "What is this place?"

"A place where I received the full extent of my power, like I’ve told you before." Arthur said, his voice carrying easily through the vast stillness. "It’s guarded by something rather formidable outside.. a being that refuses, quite stubbornly, to remain dead. Though it’s never once attempted to breach the temple itself. I imagine even it understands better than to try."

Raven’s gaze had already drifted past him, settling on the ring of towering statues that lined the chamber’s outer walls; figures carved in imposing detail, each one radiating a presence that had nothing to do with mere stone. Her breath caught, faint recognition dawning.

"The Monarchs," she said quietly. "That one in the middle is your predecessor..."

"Yes, Ashborn." Arthur confirmed, his eyes sweeping the ring of statues. "As you can see, only two of them are still lit." Two of the figures glowed faintly with banked, internal light, violet threading through stone. The rest stood dark, silent, empty. "The others remain unclaimed. Waiting for someone worthy to succeed them."

He turned to face Raven directly.

"You will take the authority of the Demon Monarch," he said, "as we discussed. Your power will grow considerably because of it."

Raven’s brows rose, and she glanced past him toward a low, dark stone platform set at the chamber’s center, an altar, unmistakably, its surface etched with old, worn grooves that ran suspiciously like channels meant to carry something other than water.

"Do I have to actually do something here?" she asked, eyeing it warily. "Because that altar looks distinctly sacrificial. Please tell me I don’t have to offer up a kidney, or... I don’t know, the heart of a virgin."

Kara, still perched atop Kaisel, glanced around at the looming statues and flickering shadows with a faint shiver. "The whole place feels pretty ominous, honestly."

"It is, in fact, a sacrificial altar," Arthur admitted, entirely unbothered by the description. "I stabbed my own heart on that very stone to assimilate with the Black Heart. That was what unlocked my full power as Shadow Monarch."

Kara and Raven exchanged a long, uneasy glance. Raven’s jaw tightened slightly, clearly bracing herself for an unpleasant answer to a question she hadn’t quite worked up the nerve to ask yet.

"Though," Arthur added, a faint smile touching his mouth, "neither of you will be doing that. I have another way."

He snapped his fingers, and every torch lining the chamber’s walls ignited at once, a wave of golden-violet light chasing the shadows back all the way to the temple’s furthest corners.

He turned to Kara next.

"You," he said, "will take the role of another Monarch. The Monarch of the Iron Body."

Kara blinked, glancing down at herself, then back up at him. "Is this... really necessary?"

"I’d rather the new Monarchs be people I trust completely," Arthur said, his voice softening with sincerity, "and there is no one I trust more than the two of you. There are no consequences to this that I’m aware of. Only benefits."

Kara considered that for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "...Alright, if you say so."

Arthur stepped forward, motioning for them both. "Extend your hands."

They did, and with a single, precise motion of one finger, his eyes kindling violet, he opened a shallow cut across each of their palms. Blood welled, and Arthur raised one hand toward the two statues behind him, the Monarch of the Iron Body, and the Demon Monarch and something ancient and black began pouring from them, twin streams of primordial darkness flowing across the chamber and converging on the fresh wounds in Kara and Raven’s palms.

Both of them felt it the instant it touched them a spreading numbness, a strange, disorienting sense of something merging with the very marrow of their bones, threading itself through blood and soul alike. Their jaws clenched against the sensation, a dark, coiling aura wrapping around each of them in turn, and Arthur watched in silence, patient, steady, allowing the process to run its course without interference.

It ended in a single pulse of dark energy that rolled outward through the chamber.

The two statues dimmed briefly then blazed fully alight, stone lit from within by an unmistakable, permanent glow. Raven’s eyes flashed a brief, brilliant blood-red; Kara’s flared an equally brief shade of green, before both settled back to normal, the strange light retreating beneath their skin.

Arthur smiled, satisfaction plain on his face. "It’s done. You’re both Monarchs now." He glanced toward Kara. "You can access magic now, properly.. Raven will teach you what you need to know. There’s even a world you could rule, should you ever wish to claim it."

Kara flexed her fingers slowly, testing the sensation, brow furrowing. "...I feel normal, though?"

"I told you," Arthur said. "You’ll grow stronger. You’ll simply never feel as though anything’s actually changed." He nodded toward her palm, where the cut had already sealed itself, whole and unmarked. Raven’s had done the same.

Raven studied her healed hand, turning it over once. "Was that blood magic?"

"You could call it that," Arthur said, "though it’s considerably more complicated in practice. I used their primordial darkness and merged it with your own bodies through your life force.. your blood, in this case. You were both compatible to receive it." His gaze lingered on Raven a moment longer than on Kara. "You especially. You’ve always carried something remarkably similar to what runs through me.."

"I’ve always sensed the depth of the darkness in you," Raven admitted quietly. "I simply never imagined we’d end up at this level of power together.."

"We have a purpose," Arthur said, something more solemn entering his voice now. "A goal we need to achieve, if we’re ever going to live freely in this miserable universe of ours."

"Right," Raven said.

"I also intend to confront the Rulers," Arthur went on, his expression darkening slightly. "They’ve been acting strangely. The gates never stopped opening, even after I killed every Monarch. Either they believe the Dragon Monarch would still challenge me on Earth and mean to intervene directly.. or they never truly intended to withdraw their gates at all, and now they’re simply afraid of what I’ve become. Afraid I might spiral out of their control."

He reached out and took both their hands gently in his.

"What they fail to understand," he said, "is that I only care about this planet, and the people on it. Everything else is irrelevant to me. Them included. And if the day ever comes that they turn their swords and spears toward us, I will raze their entire realm to the ground in answer."

Kara studied him carefully. "Aren’t they supposed to be the good guys? You sound really suspicious of them. Wary, even."

"For now," Arthur said, "I’ll deal with the enemies that are already obvious." His gaze drifted toward the ring of dark, unclaimed statues still waiting around the chamber’s edges. "We’ll need to find suitable candidates for the rest of these, eventually."

Kara hesitated, then asked, more carefully now, "Will any of this affect my Aurora...?"

Arthur’s expression softened instantly, a warm, private smile breaking through. "My Aurora. Already, hm?" He closed the distance and kissed her gently. "Don’t worry. Some of the power you just gained will pass on to her, layered on top of her own genetics. I suspect, honestly, she’ll end up stronger than I am.."

Kara simply smiled at that, saying nothing, content to let the thought settle.

Raven, watching them both, tilted her head slightly. "Are you also currently.."

"Fighting Darkseid?" Arthur finished for her, his eyes kindling violet once more. "Yes."

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