Chapter Twenty: Compromise

*

“That’s a lot of information to take in all at once,” Aiden said, sitting back. “So, you need me to allow you access to Halla, the literal underworld.”

“Correct,” Khione said, nodding.

“I’ll be straightforward. I don’t trust you or any of the other beings from the upper realms, and for good reason.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Who selected me as a Candidate? I know it wasn’t random, and with what you’ve said and how well you knew how to communicate with me in the book, I believe it’s you. Am I correct?”

She seemed stunned for a moment, but it passed just as quickly. “It was me, yes.”

He wanted to rant, rave, and rage at her then and there. However, he kept his calm. “I won’t agree to release the seal on the upper realm to allow you to travel through Halla.”

“That’s truly disappointing.” Her eyes shone with an intensity that left him breathless. “That leaves us at an impasse. You won’t do what I’ve brought you here to do, and I don’t like that very much. What do you think I should do about it?”

The energy he felt inside him started to turn violent, a brewing storm—no, something more chilling. A blizzard began to pick up speed, fueled by the energy he’d taken into his soul. He gasped as he tried to take control of that power, to stop it from shredding him into a million countless pieces or freezing through his entire being.

He couldn’t.

“Stop,” he weakly muttered.

She didn’t.

“S—stop!” he shouted more forcefully, gasping as the energy came to a rest. Despite being still now, he could feel the potential storm’s power just as clearly as when it began raging inside of him. If he wasn’t careful, he might never return to Midrath. “I—I won’t let you go, but that doesn’t mean I won’t go for you.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” she said, smiling dangerously. With a casual wave of her hand, the violent energy pacified and became energizing once more.

Shit.

“But if you want me to go to Halla, I’ll need more power to claim enough territory in Midrath to complete the quest for the throne and to survive the journey.” No matter how hard he tried, he could no longer still his rapidly beating heart. Despite the cool feeling of energy rushing through him, his soul construct shook with fear. “That’s why I came here in the first place.”

“You came because I summoned you,” she said, her predatory grin softening. “And for that, I thank you. I’ve waited a long time to contact one of the Game’s Candidates. For all the times we’ve tried to put someone on the throne to replace Emery’s Candidate, none last. They fall prey to the others of the upper realm, to childish politicking, or other unfortunate events.”

“How many Candidates have fallen since the time of the Etherene?” he asked. Midrath did feel like it hadn’t been lived in for a long time. There were natives, but aside from Avacyn and the Osh’Tika’Varu, none made themselves present much. Even the creatures one would find inhabiting such a world were lacking. “From what Avacyn showed me, it seems like we’re the first batch.”

“That Etherene is a pitiful creature,” Khione said, shaking her head. “Her kind would’ve been fit to rule had they not been too powerful. Unfortunately for them, the Shadowborn handlers eradicated such talented people because of their fear.”

I was right. The Shadowborn are tools of the upper realm, but how? He collected his thoughts, trying to hide his excitement. “About the Shadowborn, they don’t make sense to me. There’s a bunch of things surrounding them that don’t make sense to me. If the upper realm controls them, then why have I seen visions of a war between them and the beings of the upper realm? Where do they come from, and why have we been forced to fight against them?”

She smiled. “You’re more perceptive than I first gave you credit for. Honestly, I’ve heard of nothing about a war between the upper realm and the Shadowborn. Someone—or something—has likely gifted you with insight into times before recorded history. The only thing we know about them is that they originate from the Far Realms. But through all my journeys out into the void, I’ve never encountered another of their kind.”

A vision from a being that has more information than Khione? The only being she’s mentioned to be greater than her is this Elder Rune who created the system. And that, the system available to us is only a limited version that those of the upper realm control?

There was so much information to process, he started getting dizzy. “Wow. Just… wow.”

“All these things, beings like myself came into the world knowing. As for how the Shadowborn are being controlled, I don’t know that either,” she said, pursing her lips. “Never really mattered to me. They’re like domesticated animals to us at this point, so questioning how they came into our control never really mattered.”

He rolled his eyes. “Everything that isn’t your peer is just an animal to you, right? The mortals, despite having the ability to control the authority of Midrath, and the Shadowborn. I can only imagine what your friends think of you. You’re probably not very fun at parties.”

“Friends and parties are a distraction.” She frowned.

Struck a nerve? He frowned as well, a realization striking him. “You have nothing but your power and an insane work ethic. You’re lonely.”

“I’m not!” she growled.

Definitely struck a nerve. He didn’t think twice before pushing the hole in her facade. “Is that why I’m still here? You’ve been waiting for so long, I can’t imagine that’s healthy. Just from what you’ve told me, you don’t see many as an equal. Truthfully, I don’t think you see this Elder Rune as someone who’s superior to you either, just as someone who was farther in their journey in the pursuit of Truth.”

Her nostrils flared, and the world around him vibrated. “You think you know my struggles? You think you can understand—”

“As you said before, I’m pretty perceptive. I can deduce things given enough context.” He pointed at her and then at himself. “We are similar, believe it or not.”

“Don’t compare yourself to me,” she said, leaning back and crossing her arms.

“Why did you select me as your Candidate then? What did you see in me that you couldn’t find in someone like the ruler of the throne from before? You may say you seek Truth, but I think you ignore your own flaws in some confounded sense of superiority.” He pushed himself up from the chair and took two steps forward. “Tell me.”

“Do you not think you’ve pushed your luck enough, Aiden? I am patient, but you should not take my kindness and mercy as weakness,” she said, rising from her chair and dissipating it and the table with a flick of her arms. She scoffed as she took two steps forward as he had.

“You didn’t answer my question, Khione,” he replied, imitating her way of address as he took two more steps forward. Soon, they would stand at the same distance they once had. “What do you truly want from me? You may want me to retrieve this mystery item that’s been stolen from you by the others. Perfectly reasonable, I would say, but I don’t buy it. Not completely, at least.”

“You could have been anybody. Be sure you don’t forget that.”

“Then why me and not someone else?” He took two more steps forward, and the ground around him shook unstably. “I’m not happy you selected me, dragged me into this bullshit, and brought all the others with me, including my sister, but I can’t change the past. What’s done is done.” He took another step forward, gritting his teeth as the intensity of the cold bit into his soul, but rather than tense up and fight it, he accepted it and pushed forward. “I have every right to be pissed at you, to want to forget your existence and damn you to never receive that part of yourself you’re missing or to give a single shit about your goals and pursuit of Truth, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

He watched and waited, adapting to the intensity of the biting cold energy seeping into his soul. Through that energy, he found…

Is this Truth? he thought, feeling absolute certainty in his deduction. I can see why someone would be so addicted to pursuing Truth if each revelation feels like this. It’s like the feeling of progressing back when I first started obtaining Orbs and pushed myself beyond human limits. It’s thrilling.

Before he’d come, he could reason out how to apply each of the concepts in order to draw power from them, to use them as tools. The strange feeling he experienced, however, made him realize just how blind he’d been.

Rather than respond, Khione tilted her head and smiled softly. “Your soul has grown tremendously in such a short time, just as I’d hoped.” In the next few seconds, she crossed the distance between them to stand before Aiden. “Then, maybe you’re not so hopeless after all.”

When she’d moved, panic had sunk into his gut at the memory of their previous attempt at proximity. However, no such event repeated itself. In fact, standing so close to her made him feel invincible.

Again, dizziness assaulted him. But, unlike last time, he managed. “Wow, that’s…”

“Yes, your first taste of Truth. I’m quite surprised by your rapid adaptation to my authority. I don’t think many beings in the upper realm could do as easily as you have, yet, here you are.” She reached forward with her hand and rested her hand on his face. “Truly incredible, you are.”

Something shifted in her face. Aiden couldn’t tell what it was, but he could determine it unsettled him. She’d been so cold, similar to the power she wielded. Now, when he looked at her, he almost felt warmth exuding between the short space.

She softly caressed his cheek. Surprisingly, her fingers were quite soft and warm. He fought down the instinct to smack away her hand and take a step back, instead choosing to lock his eyes with hers. Her piercing blue orbs stared into his being, almost as if seeing through him.

To be fair, she’s literally staring at my soul.

A short moment passed, and she dropped her hand. “You have potential. This is why I selected you.”

“What kind of potential?”

The scope of everything was getting so massive, he didn’t know what to think. Time and time again, ever since being whisked away from Earth, his idea of reality had been shattered. He didn’t know what to believe anymore, nor did he know what he wanted to believe.

Back in the good ‘ol days when his biggest concern was whether he’d fail a math test and be able to keep playing sports, he had a firm idea of what he wanted to do with his life. Ever since being forced to transmigrate to Midrath, he really hadn’t determined what pushed him to do the things he did aside from the basic level of survival.

I’ve been searching for something myself, it seems, he realized, letting out a deep sigh.

At some point, the paragon had realized his attention had diverted and had waited for him to process. Once Khione noticed he focused and had his attention again, she answered, “Your soul is adaptable. Even if limited in its current form, you’re like ice.” She moved her hand from his face and held it between them, a ball forming. As she spoke, it changed, shifting in the same ways he’d discovered through his own sessions of contemplation. “I like ice and enjoy working with it. That being so, I’ll hear you out.”

He nodded. “Awesome, that’s progress. Now, even if time hasn’t moved a single second outside of whatever this is—what is this place, by the way? I was in my Orrery, which I thought was an isolated place outside of time and others’ influence. Yet, here you are. The announcements made by Loki also went through while here.”

“Very perceptive. Your Orrery doesn’t exist, not truly.”

“Come again?” He stared at her dumbly, waiting for an explanation. When she didn’t immediately provide one, he groaned. “Yes, I might be able to use my head to understand things. I could probably figure it out, but you can also save us both some time by explaining things.”

A sly grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “No fun.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in fun. It’s not part of ‘seeking the Truth’,” he argued, shaking his head. “For someone with so much power and understanding of the universe, you don’t seem to have a very good understanding of yourself.”

“By design.” Her playfulness disappeared, and the mask of cold indifference with a hint of superiority returned. “I think that’s what was stolen from me.”

“How does that make sense?” he blurted out, wondering if the others of the upper realm had scooped out her brain.

“That’s not too difficult to explain,” she said, grabbing his arm. Ice encased it entirely, and he tried to struggle, to resist, but he couldn’t. “You can no longer feel an attachment to your arm. Imagine if I ripped it off and stole the memories of you ever using that arm and the feelings attached to them.” She instantly dissipated the ice, returning the feeling to his limb. “You can see that you have a second arm and something is missing on the other side. You can probably even conclude that you’re missing your other arm, but now, you have no memory of ever having it. Even if you had it, without the memories of using it, you would be uncoordinated as you tried to learn again, probably using your other arm as an example. You’d likely be bothered, constantly unsettled by a sense of being incomplete.”

“I see what you mean,” he muttered, rubbing his arm testily. “So what’s been taken from you is some kind of… emotional thing? I still don’t see how that works.”

“If you understand, then why ask? If I could tell you, I would. Having an understanding of what you’re going to Halla for would objectively make the venture far simpler.” She huffed a shallow breath, and the entire frozen wasteland shook.

“How do you keep doing that?” he asked, looking down at the unsteady ground.

“This entire area is my Domain and subject to my authority,” she explained.

Though, he felt more confused than before. “Yeah, I—wow.” He looked around at the disgustingly massive arctic wasteland and realized how many times he’d played with fire without getting burned. “That’s… impressive, I think?”

“You wouldn’t know since you don’t have any idea what a normal Domain looks like, nor what applying your authority to something does to it,” she said, shrugging. “There’s a lot for you to learn, my disciple.”

“Your wha—huh.”

Congratulations!

You are now a disciple of Khione, Greater Paragon of Ice and Nymphs!

The conditions have been set and are as follows:

Khione, Greater Paragon of Ice and Nymphs will mentor Candidate Aiden Pearce.

This includes, but is not limited to, providing resources, aid, and knowledge to advance his understanding of Truth.

In return, Candidate Aiden Pearce must win the Game of Thrones, travel to Halla, and retrieve what has been stolen from the Greater Paragon.

Correctional Action Clause:

If either breaches this agreement, intentionally or otherwise, and fails to uphold their side of the bargain, they will be subject to punishment.

In the case of Greater Paragon Khione, she will be permanently barred from accepting a new disciple and using the Patron system.

In the case of Candidate Aiden Pearce, he will forfeit any and all provided aid given by Greater Paragon Khione.

Aiden grimaced after reading the prompt three times. “Uh, I have a question and a few concerns…”

“Speak freely,” she said, gesturing him onward.

He ran both his hands through his hair nervously. “First, why didn’t I get a choice?”

“Are you planning on going back on what we agreed upon already?” she asked, dangerously tilting her head as her eyes narrowed.

“Of course not, but I’d still like to at least feel like I have a choice in the matter,” he grumbled, letting his arms drop by his sides.

“You did, and this is just a result of what we’ve agreed on.”

“You’re right, it is,” he admitted. Dropping the matter of not being able to accept or reject the newly formed bond, he voiced his other concerns. “Secondly, what would happen to me at this very moment if you were to take away ‘any and all provided aid’?”

He had a sinking suspicion he was too far gone already, but he wanted it confirmed and stated plainly by Khione herself.

“You’d lose my authority and die,” she stated simply and without hesitation.

“Yeah, thought so,” he said, huffing in annoyance. “Just crossing the bridge and making it to this point means I’m fully committed. That’s—yeah, I don’t like that, but there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

“Correct,” she said, nodding. “But you knew that from the beginning.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not pissed about it,” he growled, clenching his fists. He shut his eyes until he could calm himself down. When he opened his eyes, she hadn’t moved a single muscle. Sometimes, he forgot that she was a being that even gods feared. “Anyway, it's not worth wasting any more effort on that. I’m more curious as to what you can offer me now. Most of our agreement will require you to support me on the front end while I gain control of Midrath. What does that entail?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you? For now, it’s time you go. You’ve done what you can in your Orrery. Now you must learn how to claim that power for yourself and become worthy of being my disciple.”

“But… there’s so much we’ve yet to talk about, like what the Orrery is, all the things you told me about the different Eras, and so much more. Why do I need to leave now?” he asked, shaking his head. “I still have so many more questions.”

“There will be more time for that once you grasp a deeper understanding of Truth. For now, go.” She waved a hand, and the world around her vibrated then, all at once, disappeared.

Way too suddenly, he found himself inside his Orrery, alone, and very uncertain. “Damn, what just happened?”

He stared up towards the empty vastness above the Orrery.

“Damn.”

It was time to go back.