Chaosbound: Elarith Chronicles

Vyran stood on the terrace of his castle, the night wind whipping his hair and tugging at his cloak. Below, the lights of his sprawling Arkhanis Kingdom twinkled, a testament to his life's work. Yet his mind was not on the vibrant city, but on the fallen. His fallen brothers and sisters. A quiet sadness settled over him. He closed his eyes, the faint hum of his city's advanced machinery a stark contrast to the silence of his thoughts. He wondered if this kingdom was a monument to his failure.

Footsteps crunched on the gravel behind him. "Brother, do you mind if I join you?" It was Nephra, his voice a calm counterpoint to Vyran's turmoil.

Vyran didn't turn, only nodded. He was glad for the company.

"We have been together for so long," Nephra said. "Your drive to develop and innovate has made this kingdom what it is now."

"Yes," Vyran replied, "but despite our advancements, we haven't been able to save our siblings."

"You know Kaelith wouldn't allow that," Nephra said. "He always says you will one day be the hope for our survival."

"You don't believe that," Vyran scoffed. "I know what you truly yearn for."

"True," Nephra admitted. "But you know I will always be there to help you. My heart craves salvation for our kind, to be with the chaos god. It's why I'm so obsessed with studying chaos beings."

A moment of silence passed before Vyran spoke again. "Is there something you wanted to say, Nephra?"

Nephra's demeanor shifted. He took a slow breath, the air whistling past his teeth. "I can't hide anything from you, brother… okay. Luci has joined Aurel. And boy, you wouldn't believe what Aurel is planning to do… He's building his own territory."

Vyran's eyes widened, a flicker of excited energy passing between the two men. They clasped hands like two boys about to get into a world of trouble. "Our Aurel? Building a kingdom?"

"Wait," Vyran said, pulling back. "There's something more you want to say, isn't there?"

Nephra's expression hardened. "I plan to join him."

"You know he doesn't like us," Vyran pointed out. "To him, we're just monsters."

Nephra laughed, a bitter sound. "Hah! Right. And so is he."

A brief, tense silence filled the space between them. For a moment, it was as if a memory was rising to the surface.

"You know I never felt kinship to other abyssals other than you and Lysara," Nephra said, his voice low, contemplative. "At first I thought I'd just use you to help me with my experiments. That is what I do, I use people for my own selfish objective. Unlike you, you are a king, you have subjects, and you care deeply for them. You are just like Erynos."

Then Vyran said, "Erynos once said, we can't help what we truly are. Yet I have a new feeling, a desire growing in me. I want to burn them, I want to destroy them, the Athenari. They killed our siblings. I have been patient for so long."

Nephra then said, "Relax, brother, there is a reason why Kaelith didn't want you to reveal your kingdom yet and you know that, we are not ready. Lumiel's forces and power exceed beyond our understanding. Which is why… will you come with me in joining Aurel?"

Vyran said, "You know I want that too. But…"

Nephra said, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, he doesn't like us, but I have a way to convince him." He leaned closer and whispered his plan into Vyran's ear. As the words left Nephra's lips, Vyran's eyes, once full of a gentle, broken sadness, ignited with a cold, terrifying fire.

Flashback: The First Kingdom

The monster's memory was fragmented, a jumbled collage of stolen moments and echoes. "What is this?" a voice, not his own, echoed in his mind.

Memories flashed: people working together to build. "What are you gonna fix this time?" one person laughed. "Or maybe break?" another joked, and they both chuckled. The people waved at him, their faces filled with celebration.

His senses were overwhelmed. A face swam into his vision. The creature, pure chaotic energy, struck the man with a tentacle-like whip. The air crackled with a sound like shattering glass as the whip struck. A wet thud followed. "My people," the man cursed, "you monster, curse you!" The creature then consumed him, not with a mouth, but by sucking the very malice and life force from his head. The environment shifted to a battlefield littered with corpses—a kingdom ravaged by a chaotic being. The air was thick with the metallic stench of blood and the decay of countless bodies. Satiated, the being sat, its face slowly morphing to reflect the features of the many men whose malice it had absorbed. It looked down at its blood-soaked hands. The blood wasn't his. "I did this?" he thought, a cold emptiness spreading through him. "My people? These memories? They are not mine."

The realization was a shock. He ran, faster and stronger than he'd ever felt before, but an inexplicable urge to stop pulled at him. He found a cave and decided to rest.

Inside the cave, a profound change began. The chaotic energy that made up his tentacle-like appendages slowly receded into his back, revealing a humanoid shape with dark skin and sharp, claw-like nails. It was a painful, slow warmth, like his form was being remade. He was no longer a being of pure malice, but something… different. He rested, not from exhaustion, but to revel in the stolen memories, watching them like a show in his own mind. The echoes of "Build what was broken, for my people" lingered, a bizarre counterpoint to his destructive nature.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Years of Change

Days and weeks bled into months. A man with long dark hair, a trimmed beard, and a calm, intelligent face entered the cave. He radiated a gentle kindness, a stark contrast to the shadowy being within. He had been seeking the boy for weeks and finally found him, murmuring to himself in his sleep.

The boy stirred, noticing the man. He felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if his mind knew this stranger, even though his eyes did not. The man extended a hand. "I am Erynos," he said. "Come, brother."

The boy, startled, spoke the word back, a timid echo: "Brother."

Years passed. Erynos and the boy walked together, the older man acting as a mentor. One day, Erynos knelt beside a broken water pump in a small human village. "See this, Vyran?" Erynos said, inspecting a broken gear. "It's not the biggest problem, but to the people here, it's everything. A bit of ingenuity and patience can turn a broken machine into a wellspring of life."

"A wellspring of life from a piece of metal," Vyran said, holding up the newly fashioned gear, his claws still visible. "It's a different kind of power than what we're used to."

Erynos smiled warmly. "Perhaps it is the most powerful kind of all."

Erynos taught Vyran everything—literature, martial arts, music, and the history of their own Abyssal kind. Vyran absorbed the lessons with frightening speed, but his true passion was engineering and science. He learned how to survive, how to feed, yet through Erynos's kindness, he began to care for the humans. He observed his mentor's gentle nature, never questioning his way of life.

One day, Erynos introduced him to others of their kind. "Vyran, meet our siblings," he said.

First was Caeryn, an 18-year-old girl who stood next to a man wearing a fox mask. "It's nice to finally meet you, brother," she said. "I'm Caeryn."

Vyran's eyes then fell on a quiet, sinister-looking young man with a perverse smile, as if he was ready to kill at a moment's notice. Seeing Vyran's stare, Caeryn introduced him. "Oh, that creepy guy is Malgrin." Malgrin simply nodded in greeting. "He's the strongest among us," she added.

"And you, Kaelith?" Erynos asked, turning to the man with the mask.

"Forgive my rudeness," the fox-masked man replied. "I was thinking about how young our brother Vyran looks. Yes, I am Kaelith."

"Oh, forgive him," Caeryn interrupted. "He doesn't like to show his face."

"I am Vyran," he said, introducing himself to the new faces. "It's nice to meet you all."

The Bound by Blood

As the years went on, new Abyssals joined their family, and some died or never returned. The group, concerned about their dwindling numbers, decided to formalize their bond. They created rules and appointed Kaelith as their leader, with the purpose of ensuring the survival of their kind. Despite their efforts to find new members, it was usually just the original four of them who remained. They decided to create a stricter set of rules to govern themselves.

Bound by Blood Rules

The Abyssals followed unbreakable blood-sealed rules to preserve their unity and purpose:

No fighting among each other. Their bond was sacred, and internal conflict was forbidden.

Only ten members, and it must always be ten. The absolute limit of ten members was a mysterious, unexplained law imposed by the world.

Mandatory meetings. Two yearly gatherings were required—a month before the Malice Bloom and another summoned by the leader. Attendance was sacred.

Leader and guardian pairing. The leader appointed a guardian to remain by their side at all times, ensuring their safety and stability. The guardian is bound solely to the leader, not the rest of the Abyssals.

Vyran's Kingdom

With their rules established, the Abyssals pursued their own paths. Vyran's heart, a paradox of his chaotic nature, yearned to build. He focused on creating his own land, a kingdom of his own design. Erynos helped him when he could, until he, too, embarked on his own journey.

Vyran began recruiting humans to help him build. His ultimate goal was to create a force to protect himself and his family, recognizing that the Abyssals, while powerful, were not enough to stand against the forces of the Luminaries. Kaelith, aware of Vyran's ambition, supported him wholeheartedly.

Vyran's kingdom grew, a hidden bastion of technology and science. He cared for his people, who were aware of what he was, and in turn, they were fiercely loyal. One day, while examining a complex blueprint, he spoke to a human engineer. "The hydraulic pressure on the central piston is unstable. We need to recalculate the flow rate to prevent a catastrophic failure. I see no malice here, only inefficiency."

The engineer looked at him with respect, not fear. "Your mind for these things is... unnatural, my King. No human could make that calculation so quickly."

"My mind is not human," Vyran replied. "But the desire to build and protect this place is. Find me the right alloy, and we will make it perfect." He was selective, choosing only scientists, scholars, and engineers to join his ranks. He established a council of brilliant minds, all working to advance his kingdom.

Allies and Plans

One day, Malgrin introduced a new Abyssal named Lysara, a sleek and enigmatic woman in her 30s. With a subtle smirk and sharp eyes, she seemed to be always in control. Lysara's passion was information. She lived for gossip and news, taking notes and compiling vast amounts of data as if her life depended on it.

"Vyran, this is Lysara. She is... useful. She knows things," Malgrin said, gesturing to her with his usual sinister smile.

Lysara gave Vyran a sly smirk. "Knowing things is my favorite hobby, brother. I've heard so much about your kingdom. A hidden gem of a story. I'd love to learn more."

Malgrin left Lysara under Vyran's care, and the two quickly formed a strong partnership. Vyran, recognizing her unique talent, encouraged her to go all out. "Your interest and abilities can greatly help our kind," he said. "Information is your power. I'll help you create a group, and the Eclipseborne in my domain can help you gather intelligence."

"Yes, brother, I like that so much!" Lysara agreed, her eyes gleaming. "This is the best way I can help our siblings."

"And help me more, too," Vyran added with a smile.

Lysara went on to establish a vast network of information brokers. Meanwhile, Vyran's kingdom continued to expand. He had a singular obsession with improving his kingdom's technology, especially its weaponry. He felt the short lifespan of humans was a hindrance, and none of the chaos beings under his rule were smart enough to help him.

Then, a new Abyssal psychic link formed in his mind, as if a newborn of his kind was asking for help. He followed the mental signal and found a man waiting for him. This one was different—self-aware from the moment of his birth. Unlike Vyran, who had to be taught everything by Erynos, this man seemed to have been waiting for him.

"Forgive my rudeness, brother, but let me introduce myself," the man said. "The name is Nephra. It's quite a thing, to see a mind so focused on building with such limited materials. I've been aware for a long time, watching your... experiments. Let me help you with them. My mind can see things you can't."

"You've been watching me?" Vyran asked.

"I have a special interest in great minds. We are a rare sort, you and I. I can help you with your obsession with technology. I'll get you anything you need. In return... I simply ask to observe." Vyran nodded, the gears of his own mind already turning. He was willing to pay that price. He had bigger things to build, and he knew a partner in obsession was the best kind of ally to have.