Chương 91: 158 - Foresight

Vivi followed Cinereus's path. He hadn't gone far. She popped into existence at the peak of Thronemont, so high up that most of the sky islands floated a mile beneath them. The wind was razor-sharp and frigid, not that either she or the man beside her was bothered. Cinereus walked over to a stone jutting out over the edge and sat, gazing out across the Sky-Pillar Range. He gestured to the spot next to him.

"I am flagging more than I present. Join me?" Her eyebrows almost shot up. He's so tired he wants to sit down? And is admitting it? That didn't seem like something the Dragon King would do. She appreciated the honesty. Then again, is that his plan? An act? He's not your friend. He's a ten-thousand-year-old monarch. Pretending like this man's actions weren't measured down to the detail would be naïve.

Or maybe he was a man who had almost died and lost his family and kingdom in the process, and simply wanted to sit down. She walked over, lowered herself, and dangled her feet off the edge of the outcropping as well. The wind whipped at her hair and robes in an annoying fashion, so she erected a barrier to protect both of them.

"Maybe you should drink a potion?"

"Better to recover naturally," he said.

"I may need my strength in whole, soon enough."

"Will your people really… revolt? Over this?"

"It is unlikely, but possible. And thus worth accounting for." She nodded slowly. Again, a ten-millennium life didn't come about from shrugging one's shoulders and assuming things worked out.

"I would have preferred a more formal reception, but insisting would be rather absurd, given the situation." No matter how exhausted he might be, his calm and steady manner of speech had gone nowhere.

"Though as I said, this conversation cannot last long."

"That won't be a problem. You'll probably need to think through what I have to say, so broaching the topic now and coming back later works fine." She hesitated.

"Still, I have to ask." She was incapable of not, even if she doubted she would be rewarded for her efforts.

"Those flames."

"The Fires of Creation."

"You really… borrowed… them from the Mother of Fire?"

"Stole." There wasn't a shred of humor in the correction. His words earlier had made it clear that he was ashamed, yet not regretful, of his actions. Kind of like me with the Amulet, I suppose.

"And yes, I did. I spoke true."

"I'm assuming you don't want to tell me more about how those flames work?"

"For all the debt between us, no, Sorceress, I am afraid that will not happen." Vivi sighed. It'd been worth a shot.

"It's kind of cruel, showing me something like that when I can't study it properly. I'm really curious how it would interact with, say, a certain dimensional portal hanging over Prismarche right now. Would it seal it? Damage the barrier further? Something else entirely?" Cinereus paused, then slowly turned a serious, slightly incredulous gaze on her.

"I would not advise burning the dimensional barrier with the Fires of Creation, Vivisari."

"W-well, of course not." She cleared her throat.

"Just talking theoretically." She'd been silently judged all day by an Archbishop, once. Now the Dragon King too, a supposed partner-in-arms in the pursuit of magic's pinnacle? How unfair.

"It's an interesting thought experiment. I know better than to mash together forces I don't understand." He said nothing, and his expression gave little away either, but somehow she felt doubt exuding from him.

"It cannot be taken from me, regardless. Not even from my corpse." That was a morbid turn. Vivi had no intentions of hunting down the Dragon King and peeling a primordial power from his soul, or however that bond worked. She took offense that he thought she might. But maybe there'd been no such implication, and it'd simply been worth saying aloud. To discourage the idea. Not that she could take him at his word. It seemed like the kind of thing he would—wisely—lie about.

"How many other tricks like that do you have?"

"As many as there are clouds in the sky." Vivi snorted. She hadn't expected a serious answer. His response, though joking, reminded her that he didn't see her as an ally either. He was avoiding explaining his capabilities, even in the broadest sense. Did he truly have a second Fires of Creation up his sleeve, though? That would be insane. She wanted to know. It's probably not worth upsetting global politics by bullying him into using it, Vivi sighed, knowing the thought was absurd.

She was already getting distracted, and he'd humored her by answering her off-topic questions. She refocused with, "The biggest thing we need to talk about is the void invasion."

"Yes. I received news earlier, before my mind was… wandering… and my daughter spoke of it as well. It is a substantial threat, then?"

"I'm not sure how you thought otherwise." He thankfully wasn't bothered by her bluntness.

"The mortal lands contained it easily, did they not?" That was fair, actually, from a certain perspective.

"The monsters' levels were public, though." He surely had informants in Meridian, and they'd have seen the 1900-plus voidbeasts.

"I presumed they were weak for their level, or some other strange scenario. Again: the mortal lands contained them without issue. Clearly they would not pose a threat to my realm. Or so I thought." She couldn't argue the logic. In fact it was very reasonable, without him knowing just how strong Vivi had returned. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Of course, I see now that my view was dismissive. There was an unexpected factor that accounted for such easy containment."

"Well… yes."

"Dare I ask your level, Vivisari?" She had hoped he wouldn't.

"You didn't share your secrets either," she tried lightly. He inclined his head and didn't press.

"How substantial is the threat?"

"Very. And you should link scrying tables with Meridian in case a breach happens in the Sky-Pillar Range. We have an emergency alert system."

"You think we cannot defend ourselves?" For all Cinereus's composure, she felt a shred of outrage leak into the question. Still a dragon, she told herself once more.

"Possibly not, even if you combine your forces," she said as neutrally as she could.

"There were multiple Cataclysm-rank voidbeasts during the incident at Meridian. More importantly, there might be worse out there. Much worse." She took a breath and launched into an explanation of the void, the echoes, and the creatures that had broken the level cap. The beings that were so powerful that the System labeled them deities of the void. Cinereus's expression grew more and more solemn as she spoke, though he never started sputtering in surprise or rejecting her claims.

He listened with quiet intensity and, after she'd finished, sat in silence and ruminated over what she had said.

"I will speak with Solfirus, and my council, on what you have revealed. But we will render at least some aid, Vivisari, I can assure you of that. With research, and old knowledge. Though I will need to consider to what extent. This perhaps sounds odd to you, but I remain reluctant to mingle our affairs, regardless that my kingdom would be in ruins had my daughter not done just that." She wasn't happy about the answer, but she also wasn't surprised.

"Right. Speaking of Embralyne…" She had already brought this topic up earlier, but she hadn't been set at ease. Should she apply pressure, though, by implying that she didn't want to see Embralyne punished too harshly? Or would that hurt more than help? And was it appropriate to begin with? He wasn't going to execute Embralyne, but he really might be excessively punitive. Dragons were not soft creatures, and Cinereus less than average, for all his better qualities.

As usual, she wasn't cut out for the politics stuff. Or was this social and not political? Either way, not her area of expertise.

"She was very noble throughout all of this," Vivi finally decided to say. A smile.

"She is my daughter, after all." Leave it to a dragon to phrase such fond approval in context of himself. Vivi found it more amusing than exasperating. Hard to not be endeared by a proud father, no matter the delivery.

"Is it such a big deal that she acted without permission?" she asked carefully. A sigh.

"I assure you, Vivisari, I have conflicting thoughts on the matter. Your lands have benefited greatly from the seclusion I enforce. A law is meant to be followed, doubly so by a member of royalty. At the same time, she saved many lives. There was nothing immoral about her actions. But law is not morality." He was quiet for a moment.

"There is more than one reason I prevent our people from roaming as they please. For all that we are greedy and vain, we are also noble. And there is injustice and cruelty abundant in those poorly run kingdoms of yours." His tone turned disapproving.

"To avoid temptation, it is better that someone of proud spirit never ventures there." That was… rather insulting to mortalkind, she felt, but also not deniable.

"Indeed, the mortals outside my realm would profit immensely from a strong hand." He leveled a serious, implication-laden look at her. For a second, she thought he was suggesting that she let him take over the mortal lands along with the Sky-Pillar Range. But that wasn't it.

"I'm no leader," she blurted, so caught off guard that she almost started waving her hands frantically. The Dragon King's rule was undoubtedly beneficial to the people of the Sky-Pillar Range, which made it morally confusing to form an opinion about, but the only reason 'benevolent tyranny' worked at all was because this particular ruler really was strong, wise, and mostly a good person.

Vivi could claim maybe two of those, but she possessed barely enough of the last to realize that wisdom would be a ridiculous quality to allege.

"I'm no leader," she repeated firmly. She had nothing more to say on the topic.

"Your self-awareness would make you better than most of your petty kings. To say nothing of the many evil ones throughout history. Personally, I view my position as both a right and an obligation."

"I'm just here to help. Not… take over the world."

"Despite your vast power, you have no desire for either realm or worship. Yes, I have seen that. I understand it is odd even among mortals. Near incomprehensible to me, if we are honest with each other." She deliberately changed the topic.

"Besides the void, there's also the matter of the Selrath-Kyn. You told me a bit about them already, but I was hoping to learn more. Specifically about the Twilight Celebrant."

"My daughter mentioned him, yes. Prismarche. That too is something I will consider." She tried not to frown. She hadn't expected answers to spew forth, but she hadn't gotten much of anything so far.

"I see your frustration," he said.

"So I will offer some insight, and perhaps the most important piece I can. Motivation. The Selrath-Kyn are not unified and are ancient with members that shift over time, but there is a common goal in their organization."

"There is?"

"They seek an escape from death." She digested that, and her brow furrowed.

"Just so we're clear, by that you mean…?"

"True immortality."

"Like the Faceless Legion?" Cinereus shook his head in disapproval.

"Do not blindly trust the ridiculous crowing of your enemies, Vivisari. There are few true eternals in this world. So few. Both you and I could have unraveled that worm, given time. I simply possessed an… expedient option. One without risk of failure." And maybe because he wanted to remind me who I was dealing with.

"I see. But then the Fell Apostate. Him studying the heavens makes a lot of sense if eternal life is his goal, but why did he fly into the void?"

"The unknown brims with potential. There are rich bounties to harvest there, I have no doubt. You mentioned echoes. Of the mad sorcerer himself."

"Remian, yes, but I don't see how the Twilight Celebrant would have known about that."

"He need not have. The point remains. Potential." She guessed that was true. She also grimaced at the implication.

"Surely they wouldn't speak. The only reason Remian helped me was because the world is at stake. He was fighting back through me."

"And he cannot do that with the Twilight Celebrant? From what you described to me, the madman did not help because you adhere to heavens' laws, Vivisari. But because you were one of the living. He is as well." She was quiet. Obviously, she had no real idea how any of that worked.

"Worth consideration," he said.

"I presume those were the urgent matters. I must organize my response to the present-moment disaster."

"Do you need help?" Cinereus was clearly trying to be polite and grateful, but even he could only dignify that question with a complete lack of a reply. After the silence lingered pointedly, he moved on.

"I would like to invite you and your guild to visit at some near date in the future." Vivi was one step short of flabbergasted.

"Really?"

"I invited your party once before. It is hardly unprecedented. You have repaid the offenses given to me a century ago and more. Beyond that, you have grown… significantly. You are not someone any ruler can afford to ignore." His words were neutral, almost too much so. Then his tone turned dry again.

"I request you do not steal from me a second time, however."

"Of course." Though caught off guard, she knew what she should say.

"I accept. Thank you." The whole guild is invited? Maybe I can get Rafael to talk to him directly. That'd be useful. And she might get that damn demon to blink in surprise for once.

'Mind chatting with the Dragon King for me?' would be one of the more shocking requests she had dumped on him.

"Excellent. You may place a spatial anchor here, on the peak of Thronemont. We will register your signature inside the Palace. I ask that you remove any others you have laid."

"…noted," she said ambiguously. Because no, she didn't have any intentions of being bound to a single warp anchor inside the Sky-Pillar Range, even if she was trying to be on friendly terms with its monarch. Her masterful subtlety had the monarch sighing.

"Please depart, Vivisari. We will speak at greater length soon, and I will have made concrete decisions by then." She nodded, stood, and placed an anchor.

"Thank you. And best of luck." Then, though she'd rather have stayed and helped him sort things out, and spoken with Embralyne, she warped home.