Embers Of A Jaded Flame

The throne room was already shaking from Lucius’s arrival, but when he moved, the walls screamed.

He didn’t waste a heartbeat on Xallarap, Iscarius, or the Hourmen. They blurred into nothing as he vaulted forward, fists blazing with the green light of Eternal Genesis.

He roared, every ounce of fury condensed into a visceral sound.

The Amber King didn’t rise. He simply lifted one hand, halting his lieutenants with a flick of his gaze.

“None of you interfere.”

Lucius struck first. His fist carved forward, and with it, the floor split. Vines of jade erupted from the cracks, spearing upward, wrapping around shattered pillars like living serpents.

The King raised his palm. From it, Infernal Dominion bled outward. The air turned heavy with molten iron, and the vines blackened, crumbled, and collapsed into ash.

Lucius surged higher, pulling both hands wide and releasing a storm of unfurled curved blades of emerald light, sharp crescent arcs that split the air. They streaked across the chamber like a rain of shooting stars.

The Amber King stepped forward. He clapped his hands once, and the arcs froze midair. The weight of Infernal Dominion bent them, their paths curling inward until they smashed into each other in bursts of green flame.

Lucius roared, breaking the hold with sheer force of will, slamming his palms to the ground. The shattered tiles exploded into a field of blossoms. They bloomed instantly, glowing, and from each flower shot a spear of light, all converging on the throne.

The Amber King exhaled slowly. He extended one arm, palm outward. From his hand spread a field, a red lattice that absorbed the spears and swallowed them whole. Where the blossoms had been, only cracked earth remained.

Lucius shot forward anyway, wrapped in emerald. He skidded along the ceiling, kicked off, and descended like a meteor.

The Amber King raised his finger, suffocating the descent.

Lucius slowed, his body hanging against his own momentum.

But he snarled, pushing against it, emerald veins glowing brighter. He swung his arm, and the severed constructs regrew in an instant, spearing down past the invisible weight. He snapped them into the King’s barrier, cracking it, forcing the palace walls to rattle from the strain.

The King’s blank eyes narrowed. He shifted, and the constructs shattered again. But this time Lucius was already inside the guard, fist cocked. His punch landed clean against the King’s chest.

The explosion of resonance ripped through the chamber. Entire rows of crystalline windows shattered, and pillars leaned precariously.

The Amber King slid back a step. Just one. His chest smoked faintly where Lucius had struck. He looked down at the mark, then up at Lucius.

“...Better,” he said simply.

Lucius was already behind him, dashing low. He struck again, both fists hammering. Trails of emerald lightning rippled outward from each blow, spiderwebbing into living cracks that birthed new growth, roots and flowers splitting the floor with every impact.

The Amber King caught one fist. Then the other. His resonance pulsed, a tidal wave of oppressive heat.

He wrenched Lucius off his feet and hurled him across the chamber. Lucius smashed through a wall, hovering just above the ground and diminishing the full impact.

Emerald starlight rained down around him. He caught his breath, his body burning, veins pulsing with power he could barely contain. Green life against red decay, birth against erasure.

The King stepped forward, voice calm, deep. “You create. And yet, creation without dominion is chaos.”

Then, with a sigh, he raised one finger.

Snap.

The sound echoed, the verdict solidified.

Lucius’s jade blaze sputtered, then snuffed out completely. His veins stopped glowing, and his body dropped from the air with a sickening thud. He hit the floor hard, gasping, clutching at the emptiness inside him where his resonance should have been.

“No... no, no, what did you do to me?!” His voice cracked raw. He tried to force the light back into his hands, into his chest, but nothing came.

The Amber King stepped forward, every stride heavy with inevitability. His voice was cool, almost bored.

“I was expecting more from you. You had a spark, yes. But sparks die when the flame has no source.”

He turned, not even bothering to face Lucius as he gestured lazily to his lieutenants.

“Xallarap. Iscarius. End this now. They have no more use to me.”

“No-wait! NO!” Lucius’s voice tore out of him as his eyes darted toward his companions.

Xallarap was already moving. His shadows coiled, whipping across the floor. With one fluid gesture, his blade pierced Ultra through the chest. He choked, blood spraying the tiles as his body slumped.

Umbra screamed, thrashing against her chains. “Lucius!”

But Iscarius was already there, his Cursed Gladius humming with malice. One swift arc across Umbra’s throat, and her cry was silenced in a gurgle. She collapsed, crimson pooling around her.

Caesar was last, his battered body pulling against his restraints, magenta eyes blazing with defiance until the very end. He didn’t beg. He just spat blood at the King’s feet.

Iscarius drove the gladius straight through his chest. Caesar’s head fell forward, and he went still.

“NOOOOOOO!” Lucius’s scream rattled the walls, his voice breaking as he clawed at the floor, dragging himself toward the bodies. He felt every death like his own bones breaking, every heartbeat ripped from him. “Why?! Why are you doing this?”

The Amber King finally turned back, his expression unreadable but still burning steady and red.

“Why?” he repeated, tilting his head slightly. “Because meaning is not theirs to decide. Nor yours. You have not served your purpose yet.” He paused, hollow eyes glinting. “Come. Let’s walk. I want to show you my home.”

He stepped toward the towering doors of the throne hall, not even glancing at the corpses left pooling on the floor.

Lucius lay there, powerless, hands trembling with rage and grief. He had no choice but to follow, dragging himself upright. The King’s shadow fell over him as the doors groaned open onto the palace beyond.