Zenith Online: Rebirth of the Strongest Player

The resentments had seethed and grew turbulent in Kieran's Realm but proved incapable of completing the job.

Though his mind was tempered by the fires forged from the resentment's energy, there wasn't enough to elevate it as high as the Flame had wanted.

"Light and Gods be damned! It's not enough. You need to absorb more resentments or feed me. Of course, part of this is your fault, silly child."

Kieran arched a brow with subtle intrigue flashing in his eyes. Understanding what it is the Flame referred to, Kieran looked at the resilient Furthered Scales of Balance and smirked.

"It has been making your life insufferable, hasn't it? I did what I had to keep from losing myself."

The Flame drifted closer and circled Kieran nonstop.

"I understand why you did it. But it's part of the reason you fascinate me. Though you resist me through Will, you have mystical forces — perhaps the theurgy of a God — enhancing your performance. It's kind of unfair if you ask me, but hey, that's how the game is played. It's part of the means you have accessible."

The Flame tarried before Kieran, then resumed its drifting behavior.

"The question of how this came to be remains a mystery to me. When were you approached by a God? Could it be you were a Touched along?"

Cluelessness shaded Kieran's eyes as he looked at the Flame with his head acock.

"Touched? Are you calling me crazy?"

"...No. Yes? You have done some crazy things. You can't deny that fact."

Kieran didn't.

To arrive at this point, he had done some heinous things. In fact, his situation was a prime example of the logic behind the Flame's existence. Kieran used the end — in this case, subverting the Flame's plans — to justify the means, which was killing whatever stood in his way and bonding with evil itself… the Flame.

The Flame didn't stop talking, of course.

"It was sublime, though, and I enjoyed it in pure bliss. Now, you asked what a Touched is? Quite simple. A Touched is the Holder of a God's Gift. At some point, they showed a supreme affinity for whatever Domain the God held dominion over. As such, the gift befell them. I assume you are one of them."

Kieran nodded, not in agreement but understanding.

He wouldn't disclose such vital information about himself. He'd leave the Flame to make endless inferences while keeping that knowledge secure and under impassable guard.

Since the Flame had roots in his mind, however, Kieran avoided the thought like a plague.

More than that, Kieran began guarding all sensitive information about himself by fixating on one thought — he was Valdu and nothing else.

If the Flame realized that's all he believed, it would never realize the seditious and cunning thoughts that swam beneath the icy surface of Kieran's mind.

How did it go?

'How did it go? Right! Revenge is a dish best served cold.'

And so Kieran's mind was glacial, priming his hidden thoughts for the chilling events soon to come.

With the Flame unable to temper his mind further, Kieran exited his Realm of Self. When he came to, Cardinal Weiss and the others stared at him with reverent gazes.

Cardinal Weiss led the conversation.

"You disappeared. So, did you speak with the Flame?"

Kieran responded with a nod.

The Cardinal of War and Flame immediately realized the issue. He was speaking with an Unspoken. All he could do was move his head or gesture in reply. Thus, the Cardinal switched to more explicit questions.

"Is the Flame ecstatic to have you as its Firebearer?"

Kieran thought for a second, then inevitably nodded.

Cardinal Weiss gave an overjoyed grin.

"I suppose the Great One intends to make you something similar to a Cardinal. It seems I will soon have a peer. On that note… has the Great One said anything of our grand purpose? It will apparently speak through you from now on."

To that question, Kieran shook his head. He was in a situation no different from the rest. The onset of the end remained a mystery to Kieran.

The Cardinal War and Flame was surprisingly undisturbed by the lack of answers. Then again, the Flame had supreme control of their minds. Cardinal Weiss' Significance had already withered and retreated back into the reclusive hole it reared its head from.

"Very well. It's about time we leave the sanctuary. It would also seem there is no need for Cullings."

That came as no surprise.

The Culling of the Voiceless may have been the result of Cardinal Weiss devising a way to worship and honor the Flame, but the Flame saw it as a method of choosing. A grim selection where endless carnage was the fire that forged and steel was the guillotine that fell.

With an Unspoken of matchless affinity in its possession, the Flame had no need for the slaughter. What Kieran initially saw as needless slaughter was actually a purposeful selection.

'Another tally towards the Flame's evil ways. Selection by way of slaughter. What a ruinous method. Ah… but it is Ruin, so it tracks.'

Led by Cardinal Weiss, Kieran walked with the followers in tow and left the Altar of the Flame. Upon reaching the temple's transept, he paused.

"You may all return to your own devices. Your duties have been accomplished, and you need no longer be in attendance."

Without tarrying, the followers of War and Flame broke into streams of movement. Some walked forward through the nave, others went left and right, entering areas Kieran knew nothing about, but he remained, standing behind Cardinal Weiss.

With his arms clasped behind his back, Cardinal Weiss moved as if he stood on a swivel and rotated with effortless grace.

"Condemned Fiend, Valdu, you have stayed. Is there something I may help you with?"

In his usual silence — the condemnation he was forced to suffer — Kieran lifted his crimson blade and brought it close to his face with the tip pointed skyward.

A faint smile crept upon Cardinal Weiss' severe visage.

"So, you're itching to battle? You can't wait to understand what you're capable of, right?"

Kieran nodded. Those were his exact sentiments. He needed to understand the limits of a Fiend to better understand the power Masters could wield.

How dangerous were they? How much destruction could they unleash? The questions burned and demanded answers.

"Come along. Step outside with me. This is not a battle that the Temple can endure. We'll walk upon the Lands of Ruins. It has been years since you've gotten some fresh air."

Kieran's eyes glinted with harsh light, and his face seemed far more gruesome when he smiled. What should have been seen as childish delight… came across as sinister glee when a Fiend smiled.

Cardinal Weiss shuddered as his expression grew unnerved.

"Maybe… maybe don't smile. It doesn't suit you anymore. Instead, keep that grim air of severity. It fits the whole aesthetic you bear."

Taken aback, Kieran gave dull blinks with a slackened jaw.

'The gall of this old, unsightly man! Is he calling me ugly?'

Then, Kieran brushed that thought aside and strode after the ambling Cardinal of War and Flame.

It was time for some fresh air, and after understanding his limits… he would push beyond to explore more.