In The Central Hold's central region, Karsus sat on the ground as he infused Aether into the shards of Wilhelm's Core.He had been doing this for quite a while, during which The Council had once again rebuilt The Central Hold.
The Aether that he had been supplying for more than hundreds of years now was adding something special to the shards, ensuring they would completely exist and no longer flicker between states.
Aether, after all, was a form of Reality. By transfusing immense amounts of Aether, one could give Existence to Nonexistence.
Another way of interpreting this was that Karsus was essentially creating 'something', following a specific set of instructions that made this 'something' unique from any other spontaneously created object.
In simpler terms, Karsus was inflating a balloon to keep it from sinking to the bottom.
He had actually completed the process of stabilizing the shards. Now, he was giving individuality to the shards, forging them into a new being.
It all began with a simple thing: A Name.
Names were directly tied to one's Existence, as was all other information regarding a person.
Yet, names were considered special due to the fact that the True Name most of the time was the first piece of information ever linked to one's being.
The True Name wasn't necessarily mystical, but it was the original name granted to a being. This could be something like "The Stone Knight" or "Wilhelm," but there always had to be a name.
While Karsus could easily assign any random name to the shards, he didn't feel it was proper. After all, in his hands were the shards of a man who had been caught in a tug of war for trillions of years, only to have his Soul torn apart in the end.
"What he sought was what the rest feared... Death," a thought occurred to him, and an idea began to form. Since he was essentially resurrecting someone, why not give the name a theme tied to death?
As quickly as he thought of it, a name emerged.
Karsus's eyes gleamed as he gazed upon the shards.
"Mortis... Mortis Vangieri. That is your name."
As he uttered the name, the shards glowed with a pristine light, as a permanent information slate linked itself to them.
The Horseman of Death had been named.
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Inside El-Eudo.
The particles had finally drawn close enough to one another to exchange information.
Their primitive intellect would have made this difficult, but with all the threads working in tandem, their combined intelligence was equal to a human's, even if one were to lowball the estimate.
However, they didn't need to think—commands had already been issued, and they were bound to follow.
Until now, the threads had gone undetected, as they were too weak to be picked up by any large-scale scans. They had embedded themselves without influencing a single thing, merely riding the tide.
But now, the commands required action.
Their move would likely result in their annihilation, but they didn't care. Commands were commands.
Thus, in one fateful moment, the countless lower-dimensional threads acted.
Instantly, they began dispersing parts of themselves into the other infinite threads.
The paradox's effect began to permeate, and change ensued.
A cyan ray appeared on the threads.
El-Eudo had detected interference!
Immediately, the infinite threads began purging the particles. Yet the particles fought back!
They knew El-Eudo didn't understand their full capabilities and was using less than a millionth of its power.
They had to complete the command!
Suddenly, all the infinite threads vibrated.
Each adopted a light green hue.
The infection was successful!
With the first stage achieved, the now higher-dimensional thread began its operation, sensing that El-Eudo was calculating a procedure to eliminate them.
At the border regions of Paradise, a thread lurched out from El-Eudo.
Instantly, it severed a portion of itself and flung it away.
In the same moment, the thread was pulled back, with the light green hue being wiped out.
The threads were destroyed, but the command had been fulfilled.
The green blob would soon reach a human.
The human would then be infected.
And The Horseman of Famine would be born.
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As Vendrick gave substance to the shards in his hand, he began thinking of a name to give them further substance and link an information slate.
"A name for you, eh?" Vendrick wore a peculiar expression, almost amused.
He was certain The Sovereign had already taken 'care' of The Everlasting Soul Beings, so he could simply bestow one of their names onto the shard.
"But which one?" Vendrick pondered, gazing at the shards.
These shards had belonged to a member of those who had escaped The Sovereign. Vendrick had known this, but he never considered them worthy of being The Sovereign's enemies. Now, with the emergence of someone who knew The Sovereign's True Name, perhaps there were some who could indeed be called opponents of The Sovereign.
Thus, The War hadn't ended, as long as they remained.
"War... yes, I remember that one," Vendrick's eyes gleamed as he recalled a certain name.
"Ramael. This will be your name," Vendrick decided.
The Horseman of War had been named.
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In a forest in The Wildlands.
A crow was being devoured by a salamander, flames rising from its snout.
After finishing its meal, the salamander promptly burned the crow's bones to ashes before heading in another direction.
The Fire Salamander reached a village where the natives wore only loincloths.
The moment the villagers saw the salamander, they knelt on the ground and bowed deeply.
"Greetings to The Fire God!" they roared.
The Fire Salamander puffed its nostrils in response.
This was its kingdom. These were its subjects.
And it was their god.
Tlace—that was what it was called.
The name of The Horseman of Conquest.
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As all The Horsemen began their tasks, in a void that existed within the mind sat a youthful figure.
His entire being was emboldened with the flames of ambition.
He calmly observed the actions of The Horsemen.
No joy could be seen on his face—not even the slightest hint of emotion.
"Tharmas, let's begin," Carto ordered.
"Commence The Horsemen Protocol!"
[Acknowledged.]
With that, Carto sat back and watched.
Watched as the entire world descended into chaos.
Even The Sovereign would fall in the end.
Only he would remain as the sole victor, and no one else.
This was his decree.
His will.
And the Beginning of the End.
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Interludium [Complete]
Arc 2 - Death [Commences]