Radiance (Three)

"You're not human," Karyl said.

He'd chosen that as his opening line. To be honest, it wasn't a good choice—in fact, it was an awful one.

But his tone was perfectly calm, as though he were simply stating a fact.

"Neither are you," The Emperor replied.

He was just as calm.

"That means we've officially started talking."

Karyl nodded serenely. "So, what is it you had to send them away to tell me?"

"A great many things," The Emperor said.

He didn't deny that he'd sent them away.

Then the giant took another step forward and extended his right hand.

The hand, covered in golden armor, hung suspended in the air, perfectly steady. An Aquila relief gleamed on the armguard, its brilliance impossible for even the darkness to conceal.

In truth, the darkness feared him.

Before he appeared, every beast on the wasteland had fled. Their meager intelligence couldn't understand what was happening, but their instincts could.

Run, or die, their instincts told them.

"What does this mean?" Karyl asked slowly.

"A greeting, a necessary courtesy, or a pact. The choice is yours."

Karyl laughed.

"I don't think you're giving me a choice—and besides, we've already shaken hands once."

"That was to save you."

"But you never mentioned the cost."

"The cost doesn't matter right now."

"Doesn't it? I want to hear it."

The giant among giants slowly lowered his noble head. Golden light shone in his eyes, and a laurel wreath gleamed upon his brow.

Karyl remained unmoved.

He was utterly unmoved by that godlike face—or mask. Something even stirred at the very bottom of his pitch-black eyes.

".You want to know the truth," The Emperor said slowly. "But you may not like what you learn."

Karyl Lohars met his gaze. The golden radiance did nothing to change the darkness in his eyes.

Then he stepped forward and clasped that hand, far too large for him.

"I have nothing left to fear," he said.

--

The world spun.

His reason was torn apart, then pieced back together.

Memories too ancient to bear surged over him, along with the choking dust of countless buried horrors. Bandages wrapped their fingers; their bodies had been hollowed out. The scent of a peculiar herb began to spread through Karyl's nostrils.

He breathed.

Then he breathed again—deeply.

"Mummies?" he asked.

"Yes." A man in a white robe stood barefoot on the tiled floor and answered Karyl's question.

His face was just as weary as before. He wore no laurel wreath this time, nor golden armor. He simply stood there like an ordinary man.

"Egypt?" Karyl asked again.

"Yes."

"So, you were once a pharaoh?"

"Yes," the man said.

Karyl shook his head and began to wander through the flaming pyramid. His voice remained calm. "The place you showed me last time was a primitive tribe. You said it was near the border between Eurasia and..."

"That's right."

"So you went from being a savage to a pharaoh of Egypt?"

"No, not only those. I've had many identities and many names."

The man paused, a dazed look crossing his weary face. As if he'd just realized something, he said, "You may call me Neos."

"I wouldn't dare call you by your name. Your armor says a lot. If I'm not mistaken, you must be an emperor."

"The Emperor," Neos corrected him. "I've designed many identities for myself and played those roles. I don't usually do that unless humanity is facing a catastrophe."

Karyl chuckled. Turning, he leaned against the pharaoh's tomb and rested his arms on it. "How many?"

"Countless."

"What kinds?"

"God, man, madman, king, prophet. Man, woman, old, young. I've lived every life you've ever known."

"Immortality?" Karyl asked.

Neos didn't answer. He knew Karyl already had his answer. The Ghost from the distant past was looking into his eyes, and this time, he wore no mask.

Karyl Lohars wasn't blind, so he could see.

"Immortality." Karyl nodded. "What a cruel punishment. Were you born this way, or was it a sentence?"

Neos smiled. This was the first time he'd shown any emotion.

"I'm glad you can call it a punishment—but I'm afraid humanity has no power to punish anyone this way."

"Maybe it wasn't humanity that punished you," Karyl said calmly. "Maybe it was them."

"They couldn't do such a thing. Besides, you seem to have known something about me before we met. Did they tell you?"

"Prometheus." Karyl slowly spoke an ancient name. "The god among gods, whose name means foresight. A Titan who stole the sacred fire and brought it to Earth and humanity..."

He narrowed his eyes at the ordinary, weary man before him and shook his head.

"What have you been through?" Karyl asked softly. "What has humanity been through?"

"Disaster." Neos gave a terse reply, a deep crease appearing between his brows. "A great disaster."

Karyl shook his head.

"What a cryptic conversation. And you seem to be enjoying it?"

"Some things are destined to be buried. So yes, I do enjoy letting you learn the truth while sparing you contact with the dust of that history."

Karyl laughed again.

"Let's talk business," he said briefly. "What's going on with my body?"

"It has to do with your nature." Neos answered his question in an even calmer voice. He was focused; his eyes made that clear.

"My nature?"

"We both know that a Ghost drifting behind the Veil is unlikely to be human."

Neos's voice was low, echoing off the ancient walls. "As for your body... I merely brought it back to life and made a small change. What truly changed it was your nature."

Karyl nodded without comment. "And what is my nature, Mr. Neos?"

"I can't answer that," Neos said.

He wasn't refusing. He was stating a fact. His eyes looked so sorrowful then, as though he pitied the questioner for what lay ahead.

Karyl waited calmly.

Just as he'd said—he had nothing left to fear.

"Words have power. To bring your body back from the dead, I made a pact with it. If I speak, your soul will be changed by your flesh. They've already become closely bound, Karyl Lohars. You can no longer become that Ghost."

"Good," Karyl said. "It wasn't a pleasant experience."

Neos smiled again. "Do you hate that feeling so much?"

"If I still consider myself human, how could I like it?"

"What about immortality?"

Karyl laughed too, his smile plainly contemptuous. Neos wasn't offended. He knew who that contempt was aimed at.

"If this is a test, then your communication skills are downright terrible."

"Perhaps. Perhaps this really is a test, or perhaps it's just a question I don't particularly care about—but none of that is the point."

Pitch-black eyes met a pair of tired, ancient ones. Neither looked away. Both were trying to dig out the other's feelings and buried answers.

Like two people gripping the same knife, they struggled against each other, trying to cut open the other's heart and see what lay inside.

"The point," Neos said slowly as he rose to his feet, his form changing.

He grew tall, becoming godlike. Thunder and lightning circled him, flames bowed beneath his feet, and the darkness scattered in an instant, trembling as it became dust in the air.

The pyramid vanished in an instant, transforming into a winding river. They stood in its waters, gazing at each other.

"What is the point, Emperor?" Karyl asked calmly.

"Whether you're willing to make this pact."

The Emperor replied without warmth or feeling. "The Eighth Tool considers you his father in every meaningful sense. So if I need that blade, I must have your consent."

Karyl didn't answer right away. He remained silent, looking at that merciless face. A trace of pity even flickered in his dark eyes.

"First, he's a person."

He spoke slowly. "Second, I won't direct his actions. At most, I'll offer advice. His future should be his to decide."

"He's a Primarch," The Emperor declared coldly. "One of the futures I shaped, and so he must follow certain rules."

"He makes his own rules, Emperor."

"You can't truly leave his future up to him. You and I both know what lies in the darkness."

Karyl only smiled faintly. "That's right. And that's why I don't believe the Night Haunter—or Konrad Curze—will lose to them."

He burst out laughing, his laughter filled with contempt and coldness.

"Those lowly, twisted monsters are too afraid of the light to face it. They can't fool him."

"..."

The Emperor nodded in silence.

"Then," he said slowly, "welcome, Karyl Lohars."

"No need," Karyl said.

He gazed at the man who looked like a god, then slowly shook his head. "That heartless mask is hurting you. You're bleeding. Can't you see?"

"I know," The Emperor said. "But I have to hurt myself to ensure humanity survives."

"One day, it will hurt others too, Emperor," Karyl said softly.

Maybe I should post another chapter. I shouldn't post too much while the book is new, but I can't help it. It wouldn't feel right to stop here.

Though the updates aren't great for my backlog either. (Sigh.)

I'm trying to create the Emperor I imagine. I hope you enjoy reading.