The Eastern Leader did not remember how he had been created.
He had never felt the passage of years, or months, or weeks, or days, or even individual moments. To him, and to all the other Faceless Beings, there was only a cold grey reality, like a half-tired slumber at the edge of one's consciousness.
This was the closest thing he had ever experienced to living.
And yet this was why Ashar frustrated him so much.
Who was this man who knelt in such a lowly position, and yet somehow looked down on him? What was it that he knew which the Eastern Leader did not? Why was it that he always looked at the Eastern Leader and smiled?
They had now entered the final chamber, the true gate of the Abandoned Kingdom.
Before them stood a door that towered over the room, enormous, carved with thousands of symbols from an ancient language. At its centre was a sealed lock shaped like an eye.
The inscription read:
Only those who see beyond time may enter the dream below.
The lock required precise Axiom input, yet the engravings constantly rearranged themselves. Each attempt caused the symbols to reset.
This puzzle could not be solved through logic alone.
There did not appear to be any risk of death here, but the problem was of a different kind.
The Eastern Leader realised immediately that the puzzle was incomprehensible to him.
He did not possess the ability required to solve it.
We need Bethryl for this.
Either that, or he would need to reclaim his own Eye of Sophia.
For now, however, what he needed was time.
"I've been thinking," the Eastern Leader said. "Why don't I simply kill you now?"
Panic spread across the faces of Issen and Maereth.
"And why would you do that?" Ashar asked calmly.
"Because we both know that you are going to attempt an attack at any moment. I see no reason to stand here and wait. It would be better to end this now."
"I did not expect you to be swayed by fear so easily," Ashar replied. "It is simple paranoia. You and I both know that there is nothing anyone here can do to you."
"Yes. I expected you to say something like that. And yet…"
The Eastern Leader paused.
"I have a feeling that something is about to happen. It must happen. And that feeling is becoming stronger."
"I want you to trust me," Ashar said.
"That is impossible. I trust the feeling I have. And so I will eliminate you now."
"I want you to trust me," Ashar repeated, "so I will make a concession."
The Eastern Leader hovered in place.
"I know what you are going to say," he said. "You do not possess the Eye of Sophia, do you? I have already figured you out."
A red blade flashed into existence in his hand.
"It was the girl who ran away. Your plan was to give it to her, then distract us while she escaped. However, that plan has already failed. The way out has been sealed by the Supreme Leader."
"That may be true," Ashar replied. "But only we know where she is."
"So what? We will find her."
"In one piece?"
A surge of instinct passed through every one of the five Faceless Beings in the room.
"Leader!"
"Yes, I know," said the Eastern Leader quietly. "One of the Soldiers has fallen."
"And she may be killed easily in that skirmish outside. If that happens, there is a chance you will never recover the Eye of Sophia."
Ashar tilted his head slightly.
"Is that a risk you are willing to take?"
The Eastern Leader raised his blade to kill him. But doubt appeared, only a small amount, yet it was enough for him to fall into Ashar's trap.
"I can show you where she is," Ashar said. "However, I also intend to progress further into this temple. I believe your Axiom abilities will help me do that."
"So… you wish to cooperate."
"Send two more Soldiers outside. We will handle matters here."
If they worked together, both sides could achieve their goals, that was Ashar's proposal.
Yet the Eastern Leader already knew that this was a lie. He knew it because he possessed Ashar's memories from his former life. And those memories told him the truth; there could never be cooperation.
He had seen this before, back when the Fifteen Realms had become Thirteen.
In those days, when the Realms first began creating armies of Third Tier beings, such as the Supreme Leader, they understood the danger of releasing such entities into the world. Their power had to be restrained.
If large numbers of Third Tier beings clashed, it would not be a war, a collision between forces of nature, and everything between them would be destroyed.
This was why, when the Fourth Kingdom and the Fifteenth Kingdom first entered into hostilities, they did not immediately fight. The threat of total destruction restrained them. Many believed this balance of terror might one day bring lasting peace to all the Realms. But fear remained.
What if we make the first move, and they answer by destroying us completely? What if they destroy us before we even have the chance to act?
It was foolish to live in such uncertainty, immature to wield overwhelming power without restraint. And so the first limited uses of Third Tier power began: small poisonings of enemy lands, controlled natural disasters, measured retaliation. But such limitations never lasted. Escalation followed.
And then one day, both Realms were gone.
The Eastern Leader understood now that he stood in the same situation.
And so he chose to take the risk.
"You have lost your chance to live," the Eastern Leader said. "Tell me where the Eye of Sophia is, and I will grant you a painless death."
"You want to know where it is?" Ashar asked.
"That is correct."
Ashar leaned forward slightly and smiled.
"Behind you."
There was a single moment of hesitation.
And in that moment, the Eastern Leader was stabbed through the stomach.