“Given what you know about Khosrow—if anything at all—if he were here right now, able to look out into the universe and see how the world he built fares now, what would he think? What would he say?”

Sasan’s question left Leon speechless for several long seconds. His eyes raked the struggles and triumphs commemorated around him, all while Sasan and Akeron’s eyes bored holes into him, such was the intensity of their gaze.

‘Where’s my Ancestor when I need her?’ he silently bemoaned.

After a deep breath, he said, “That’s a heavy question to ask about a dead man.”

“A dead man?” Sasan responded with amusement pulling at the corners of his lips. “The Great Lord went missing, did he not?”

“He could still be around,” Akeron said playfully.

“Unlikely,” Leon replied. “It’s been so long, and there’s been neither hide nor hair seen of him.”

“Maybe he retired?” Sasan joked. “Maybe he accomplished what he set out to do and left the universe to its own fate?”

“In that case,” Elise said, “the answer to your question is that he doesn’t care. At least not enough to do something.”

Leon nodded in agreement even as Akeron and Sasan turned their gaze momentarily upon his wife. “A man who goes to war against the greatest powers in the universe and turns over the entire universe’s status quo wouldn’t just retire somewhere and be forgotten about. More likely, he died in the final stages of the war. Died or killed himself. He lost all of his sons, didn’t he? That kind of loss can lead a man to an end at his own hand, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sasan smiled at him for a long moment before tentatively saying, “That… is a fair statement, I suppose. Much was lost in that war, and Khosrow lost much, himself. But… humor me, if you will. Let’s assume that Khosrow died then, but I snapped my fingers and brought him back right here, right now. That Khosrow, the one that had successfully liberated humanity from its masters, laid low the Primal Gods, struck down the Primal Devils, and hunted down the greatest of the Divine Beasts… what would he say about the state of the universe?”

A chuckle forced its way through Leon’s mouth, soft as a whisper. “Fine, I’ll indulge the mental exercise. I think… I think Khosrow would look out upon the universe and see a job half done.”

“Only half?” Akeron asked. “Humanity rules the universe, doesn’t it? Was that not Khosrow’s intention all along?”

“Was it?” Leon pointedly asked.

Valeria backed him up. “We know the Law he laid down. We know the writings of his sons. But we have precious little of Khosrow himself.”

Cassandra joined in as the silver-haired woman paused. “We can guess his intentions from his actions, but no more. And actions taken in one moment do not necessarily mean the goal is clear.”

[Like a river eel,] Maia added, taking Akeron and Sasan a bit by surprise given her lack of audible speech. [It hides in the mud of the riverbed to conceal itself and catch prey by surprise. But if killed before it strikes, we might mistakenly assume that the eel only wanted to hide.]

“Or that it just liked to play in the mud,” Cassandra said with a challenging grin.

Sasan nodded along with every statement, his smile fixed even as his eyes swept through the temple until they landed on the immense statue of Khosrow himself, stoic and full-bearded, glowering down on them like an imperious god, coldly regarding his worshippers. When Sasan’s deep brown eyes flitted back to Leon, he asked, “You’re still making assumptions, though. What do you think Khosrow would see about the universe that isn’t finished?”

Leon stroked his clean-shaven chin and followed Sasan’s example in gazing upon the alleged visage of the Great Lord of humanity in an age long past. “It strikes me,” he said, “as a temporary thing. The division of mages by their magical elements, I mean.”

“How so?” Akeron asked. “I would think it gives mages identity and a greater sense of unity than the chaos that reigned before.”

“Maybe,” Leon conceded. “But it also keeps humanity divided. It solidifies those divisions and creates the potential for conflict. What happens when an Anax grows too powerful for his Elemental King? What happens when a Lord of one element is vassalized by a Lord of another element?”

“There are problems, to be sure,” Sasan conceded, “but why would you say that such a system was only temporary?”

“Mere speculation,” Leon said with a brief glance from the corner of his eye. “Was Khosrow given the title of ‘Great Lord’ posthumously?”

“Not by our reckoning,” Valeria stated.

“So then he would’ve imagined the universe with him in charge of everything,” Leon continued. “The Elemental Kings would’ve been his vassals, not themselves independent. He would’ve been there to solve any disputes and to keep the peace. His Law depended on the Great Lord being there. He built a system that relied on him.”

“He wouldn’t abandon that,” Elise said. “And if he did, then why should we venerate him? He brought only destruction and left humanity to fend for itself otherwise.”

“Or he allowed them to figure themselves out,” Akeron said a little testily. “To decide what they wanted to be.”

“Again,” Leon responded, “I don’t think that’s all that likely.”

“A respectable perspective,” Sasan said. “But what I find curious is the focus you give to the political situation. Is there no other aspect of the universe that you think Khosrow might be drawn to?”

Leon’s pleasant smile turned bitter as his eyes turned to the Aurichalcum doors. “That’s… hard for me to say.”

He knew Khosrow’s attitude toward the Ascended Beasts well enough thanks to the Thunderbird, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to speak on that in the man’s own temple, especially with Sasan, who he felt was asking these questions for a reason.

“As Valeria said, we have few writings from the man himself, so his mindset is hard to gauge. Hormizd’s attitude is easy enough to judge given the vehement denunciations in his Canticles; he’d launch genocidal wars against all those who bear an Inherited Bloodline, I think, and not stop until the universe had been ‘cleansed’. Kavad… he seemed most concerned with conquest, and in what few writings I’ve seen of his, he’d probably look at the disunity of the universe and despair.”

Mir had certainly colored his opinion of Kavad, but that was just another thing he wasn’t going to be too open about, even though Sasan had pointed him in Mir’s direction in the first place.

“As for Anoshazad… his record as a diplomat was undeniable…” Leon’s golden gaze turned toward one of the temple’s more glorious projected triumphs, where Khosrow, along with a figure next to him who could only be Anoshazad, received the submission of a hundred human Kings, all post-Apotheosis. It was that alliance, forged in the darkest moments of the war, that formed the core of Khosrow’s armies and paved the path out of darkness. It was those men kneeling to Khosrow that did most of the work, even if Khosrow and Kavad led the most daring and successful campaigns. And it was Anoshazad who had forged that alliance, who had cajoled, threatened, bribed, and convinced those Kings to lay their crowns at Khosrow’s feet and fight against the Primal beings that ruled the universe.

“With all of that,” Leon continued, “I suppose I can guess as to the nature of their father. I would guess that he would despair at the sight of the universe so disunited. I think he might even take umbrage with how influential many of his former enemies’ descendants became following his death. I don’t know what he would say, but that is how I think he would feel. Does that answer your question?”

This story originates from NovelBin. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Sasan leveled his heavy gaze onto Leon, the weight of it even sending a shudder down Leon’s spine. For a moment, Leon thought he’d angered the fifteenth-tier mage, but when that moment was over, Sasan smiled and laughed. “It does, young brother, it does!”

“I take pride in having given such a… satisfying answer,” Leon said as Sasan continued to laugh. “Though it leaves me curious as to how you might answer. Both of you.” He glanced at Akeron, who smiled and looked to the farthest pillar, around which spiraled a projected mural of Khosrow’s final triumph: the Scouring of Tirgobad.

The Tirgobad Cluster had been the final stand for the Primal Gods and Devils, their respective sides having taken so many losses that those remaining decided to band together to resist the nearly-triumphant humanity. Angels and demons fought alongside each other as wave upon wave of men and metal crashed upon them. If the legends were true, then a quarter of a trillion men and women were involved in the campaign.

At the top of the pillar was recorded the end of the campaign: Khosrow stood against a large and fiendish quadruped, its body silver, its horns curved like a pair of quarter moons, and all around it was an aura of Lumenite dust. This was the King of the Primal Gods, and in single combat, Khosrow struck him down.

Such was the legend as recorded on the pillar, and how Leon had heard it since arriving in the Nexus. The Thunderbird had told him that the two Kings of the Primal Gods and Devils had fought against each other early in the conflict and killed each other. The King Khosrow slew could’ve been another, but Leon supposed that they were supposed to be the same.

“You make a compelling point,” Akeron said, “about Khosrow seeing the universe as incomplete. His work as incomplete. You suggest that the Law he laid upon the universe was temporary—I presume you meant that Khosrow meant for another Law to take its place once the war was over and the universe could be consolidated?”

Leon nodded in confirmation.

“If Khosrow were here right now,” Akeron said, “I believe he’d launch a new crusade and unite the universe.” Akeron spoke confidently and succinctly, leaving no room to doubt his words.

Sasan gave him a low chortle and said, “I believe that Khosrow might have just been a lucky fool.”

“An odd belief to express here of all places,” Cassandra observed.

Sasan glanced back at the statue of Khosrow. “Perhaps. But no one accomplishes what Khosrow did without a great deal of luck. And who other than a fool seeks to tear a system down and replace it with one of their own making?” The man gave Leon a look that made him think his thoughts had been laid bare. When the Thunderbird had spoken of his death, Leon, in his anger and antipathy, had vowed to tear down Khosrow’s Law and replace it with one of his own. That was certainly a lot of work, but he’d done quite a bit so far. The titles he had that were associated with Khosrow’s Law, such as Strategos and Despot, had been presumed by other Lords, but he’d never claimed them himself. His Kingdom, he’d long decided, would not be following Khosrow’s Law, but instead a Law of his own.

Of course, he didn’t intend to specifically go to war against the entire universe just to change their ways, and his political goal was still to reclaim the title of Storm King… but after that…

“Can one be called a fool if he accomplished what he set out to do?” Leon asked.

“Of course he can,” Sasan said. “That’s where his luck comes in.”

Leon shrugged. “As one who has been enormously lucky himself…” He smiled briefly at his ladies, then at his Paladins standing a respectful distance away. “I fully agree that one can be both successful and a fool.”

Sasan burst out laughing and didn’t stop for nearly a full minute. When he finished, he wiped a few tears from his eyes and said, “What a wonderful way to think about it. Though, in the end, how much does all this matter?” He raised his hands and gestured at the temple around them. “Khosrow’s Law is hardly followed to the letter, is it?”

“And Khosrow himself is dead,” Leon pointed out. “I’d say that tends to put a damper on one’s ability to judge the universe.”

“That,” Sasan said, “depends on one’s view of death. The denizens of Death’s Kingdom, I believe, are fully able to see what goes on out here.”

“And,” Akeron cut in, “it’s unlikely that Khosrow is dead.”

Sasan sighed as Leon and his ladies gave Akeron a strange look. “What do you mean?” Leon asked, his smile thinning, his regret that the Thunderbird wasn’t around compounding several million times.

“Ancient legends—” Akeron began, but Sasan cut him off.

“Prophecies, hopes, and the denial of people who were terrified in the absence of their Great Lord,” Sasan said.

“But plausible enough,” Akeron insisted as his hand drifted to the sword at his hip. Leon didn’t take it as a threat, but more that Akeron truly believed what he was about to say. The man himself turned his eyes back to Leon and regarded him intensely. “Long ago,” he said, “in that final clash…” He gestured to the mural of Khosrow defeating the King of the Primal Gods. “… the Great Lord was mortally wounded. He lived long enough to conceal that fact for the sake of humanity, as our ancestors were still hunting down the remaining Primal beings who’d fled to every corner of the universe.

“When he took his first step into Death’s Kingdom, he was sealed into a casket of Adamant, forged with the blood he’d shed in that last battle. His blood had mixed with that of the Primal Gods’ King, and their power combined, now surrounding him, sustained his life. The casket was hurled into the Origin Spark, sank to the core, and it is there, Leon Raime, Khosrow lies. In the very center of the universe, Khosrow lies, until the time comes when his power is needed once again.”

Leon struggled not to laugh, especially since Akeron spoke so earnestly, so passionately. Sasan had no such self-control, however, and began to chuckle. Those chuckles turned into great guffaws that Akeron endured with stoic grace.

When Sasan was finished, he said, “Stories, brother. Stories. Khosrow is not in the center of the universe.”

“I pray we never have to find out,” Akeron replied.

Sasan clapped him on the shoulder and grinned. “Wouldn’t that be ideal? Anyway, that’s enough philosophy and learning and discussions and all that. Leon, I’m rather curious—and I hope you don’t mind the change in subject—but I’d like to hear from you what has happened in the years since our meeting!”

Leon nodded, and with his wives, began his tale of his journey after leaving Redspark Forest. He was almost immediately interrupted when he told Sasan of his search for a guide to ascend Kavad’s Lance.

“Was my map not of use?” Sasan inquired with concern.

“It was…” Leon said. “But our guide had been talked up, and I was looking for any advantage I could get. In the end, the guide got us there, as he’d been hired to do, so—”

“Ah!” Sasan cried. “This won’t do! You did me such a service, and yet my repayment… Leon, I owe you.”

“It’s not like that,” Leon said placatingly. “You don’t owe me anything. I learned quite a bit from that enchantment of yours, and the Stormborn Oak rewarded me plenty as it is. I couldn’t ask for any more.”

Sasan’s heavy hand landed on Leon’s shoulder, and a gaze more serious than any Leon had ever endured was sent his way. “What you aided me with, Leon,” Sasan dreadfully intoned, the air even feeling colder with every syllable, “cannot pass unrewarded. I will not allow a tree to handle what should be my responsibility. I do not have anything on me that could help, but count on this, young brother: I will repay this debt one day. Count on that.”

Leon opened and closed his mouth several times, his brain wanting to instinctively refuse, but his tongue refused to form the refusal. Finally, he managed to choke out, “I… accept in the spirit of brotherhood.”

Sasan’s face nearly split in half from his wide smile, and he released Leon’s shoulder. “Sahada! In my native tongue, that is how we would express joyous agreement. In Nexus common, it would be, ‘Bright Day!’”

Leon nodded and repeated, “Sahada.”

Sasan laughed again, and Leon continued with his story. Leon noted Sasan’s gaze sharpen when he told the story of the monster in the floating hills around Kavad’s Lance, whose lair had clearly been built by the hands of man and which had complex spatial enchantments applied to it, but neither he nor Akeron interrupted Leon.

So, Leon pushed on. He skipped over much of what happened with Mir but admitted to taking the weapon and causing Mountainfall. Fortunately, neither of the old, powerful mages seemed to judge him too harshly. They even celebrated with him when he told of his return and had his final confrontation with Terris. Leon touched on Miuna, as well, but like with Mir, kept the details light.

“A great triumph,” Sasan said once Leon was finished. “My heart beats with joy, young brother. May you never be pushed to such a cliff again. Death’s Kingdom is full enough, I say.”

“The fools pour through its black gates, though,” Akeron said.

“Unfortunately true,” Sasan agreed.

“Well,” Leon said, “so long as I don’t run into those black-robed monks on the way back to my ark, I daresay I’ll live a long and healthy life. When the time comes to feast with my Ancestors, I intend to bring with them such tales of triumph and glory that all will be left in awe, and they’ll raise their mugs to me for the rest of time.”

This time, both Sasan and Akeron laughed boisterously, and when Sasan managed to compose himself again, he said, “I’ve spoken with the monks here. They’ve been… overzealous, and I believe their behavior will be reined in.”

Leon nodded, taking the man at his word.

Their conversation turned much lighter from then on, mostly walking around the temple and chatting about the various legends recorded within. They even walked around Khosrow’s statue, examining it from every side and giving Leon a good look at the partially hidden doors behind the statue, which provided access to the temple’s underground chambers—which he hadn’t even been aware it had.

Soon enough, however, the time came to part ways, and their parting went by well enough. Leon was satisfied and content with having Sasan, and now perhaps even Akeron, in his corner. Akeron was going to the Belicenian Games, too, so there’d be a chance to speak with him again, but Sasan had other business and wouldn’t be attending the Games this time—though he promised to visit Artorion when he could.

And with that, Leon, his wives, and his Paladins made their way back to Storm Herald, the time to leave Khosrow’s Fane swiftly approaching. Belicenion awaited, and their chances for glory in the eyes of the entire universe…