Steel and Mana

There's a strange moment between death and being alive. Right before the darkness fully claims you, when your soul drifts between both stages and you find yourself on a rainbow road, standing in line amongst... millions. This... This felt very similar. But, instead of being surrounded by others, there was nobody there, and the colors were much more... muted. As if time became still, too...

"Not again..." I moaned, looking down at my body, but it was uninjured, albeit fully naked and somewhat transparent. "Come oooon, I had it so good, don't take it away from me, not like this... At least give me a reason!" I grunted, trying to talk to... whatever thing may listen to me, "I can accept dying but with a purpose, okay? This is bullshit! I want a refund! Get me the manager!"

"Khm." That was the moment I realized I wasn't alone... Oh. Did it work? Huh... Who knew...

But when I turned, looking towards where the noise came from, I was literally flashbanged by a bright light, and my eyes struggled to open, and my limbs felt like they were moving through syrup as I raised my arm to cover my face. Still, I got used to it soon enough, and when I took another breath, I could smell fire, sulfur, and a hot, strong wind.

"Damn... Am I going to hell now?" I moaned again, squinting through my fingers.

A smeltering, roaring pit of lava stretched before me; clearly, I was on top of a volcano that was surrounded by jagged, black cliffs... Was this what Arthur was seeing? Subconsciously leaning forward, I watched as the bright, roiling lava bubbled and pulsed in the hole below, making me feel like I was a little fella, with hairy feet, here to throw a certain ring into it. The problem was, unlike in that book, the owner of that cockring was looking back at me because I saw two demonic eyes glancing back at me from below the molten magma... then those two doubled... twice. Tell me it isn't a lava spider... please. I hate spiders...

"You are not the one I reached for," came a voice, the owner of that throat clearing. "Who... are you?"

"Your God," I answered, still looking into the volcano, before slowly turning to face him.

"..."

I wasn't as surprised as he was by my answer. I think... he took me seriously for a moment. Weird guy. Well, not that weird, because he had long, red hair, fiery eyes... A true Vasa, eh? Nice to meet you, you pervert stalker, going after my kids. I should arrest your ass. Grooming my son... when you are not even a busty elf maid or something. Total scam.

"A God..." He muttered, still looking at me... damn. He WAS taking it seriously! I just said it because I learned from a ghost-busting movie that if someone asks who you are, or if you are a god, damn sure you should say you are. "I reached for the one I've been calling," he repeated himself slowly, "The young one..."

"Yeah, sorry, my son is currently unavailable, but if you have a message for him, I am gladly here to throw it into the bin." I shrugged, opening my arms, shaking my head.

"Your son..." He muttered, crossing his arms, ignoring my challenging tone, "I see... His mind was the tether, and by it, his soul was the thread I could connect through our shared bloodline. But you…" He stepped forward, suddenly appearing very close to me. Woah, woha, buddy, I am not into sharing breaths with my supposed ancestors! "You have the blood too... but... No... How?"

"Wanna kiss? Sorry, I'm married, four times over at that!" I smiled, taking a step back, and he didn't stop me from doing it.

"You intercepted the signal..." The man muttered, still just looking at me, "You have the blood but your soul..." He stopped in front of me again, close enough for me to want to deck him in the jaw. It was so... tempting. "…you do not belong to this world." He gasped, finally taking a step back, eyes as wide as saucers, looking over me again and again, "You have been touched by the Cosmos!"

I didn't answer as I had no idea what he was talking about... Wait. I think I get it... Or... Ugh... Is he talking about the fact that he can see me coming from a different world? Or is it the fact that I almost died here once too, and then my spirit had a surprising tour outside of this... world. I didn't think much about it until now, but if he says Cosmos, it must be that. Damn... I don't think I can live long enough to initiate a space program, although the idea does sound fun...

"…What did you just say?" I asked, ordering my thoughts to keep focus, speaking carefully, "Cosmos... you mean? Anyway, first of all, I don't even believe we are living on a planet anymore. Although I wouldn't mind sending a ship out to see if it can go around or not, but-"

"You are a God..." he said, making me stop, leaving my mouth hanging open. Okay... That's... a tall order. If I go along with it, and he learns I'm not, then what? Fucking hell... "You are not part of our cycle... You are not from here, you are from the outside! Only true Gods can walk the Cosmos..."

"Okay, stop for a moment. If you are talking about that rainbow road, I did fall off it–"

"Yes... The road to reincarnation..." He nodded his head, "Every soul from this Realm is part of it, my people studied it, trying to break free from it and step into the Cosmos, to meet our Gods. That's why we tried to harness the monsters' power... But you escaped it on your own. That's... a feat of a God..."

"Okaaaaay, that's a bit too much!" I raised a hand, stopping him. "Let's dial it back a little... what the fuck are you on about?"

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"I beseech you." He bowed, surprising me even further, "Please... listen to me, being from the Cosmos."

"Look, man, I'm from here, okay? I was born into this body, I grew up in this body, my name is Leon, and I have been living here for four decades now. Okay? I was joking when I said I was a God, I'm not."

"The soul doesn't lie," The man's head inclined ever so slightly. "But I will honor your wishes... Leon."

"Thanks. Can I also get a name?" I added, raising an eyebrow, and for the first time, the man smiled.

"Zah'Ratil, the current Sect Master of the Everflame Sect. Or as you probably know us, the Vasa Bloodline," he said.

"Sect?" I muttered, twitching the edge of my lips. Damn... I am in some weird book, am I not? Well, I can't complain, I do have a good life, so... Thanks? I guess? "I see... Um... So?" I prompted, seeing that he stopped speaking, waiting for me to digest what he was saying.

"I have no desire to harm your son," Zah'Ratil began, his tone actually respectable, not feeling faked at all, "I reached for him because he is needed. He is the one foretold for us by our ancestors. Our blood had become tainted, you see. We tried to unify humans and beasts to ascend beyond our Realm, but the deeper we went, the farther we fell from it all. We couldn't see that it was a horrible choice, which doomed us. But our ancestors had set up a failsafe and sired countless offspring, spread across the continent before we began. They were to preserve the purity of our bloodline in case we fail. Yours is the one that managed to survive until now and finally become unified again... Your child carries the blood that would allow us to shed our tainted side and be reborn as humans again."

"Do you need blood donation or his life? Does my son need to impregnate all of you or something?"

"..." Zah'Ratil didn't answer immediately, which was... unnerving. Especially when he turned, motioning toward the lava pit.

"He is needed for a ritual."

"Let me guess," I muttered, sneering, "You want him to come to you, to join your people, learn some spell or whatnot, and then step into your volcano and fulfill some grand prophecy you conveniently haven't told me about."

For the first time, Zah'Ratil's mouth twitched, a flicker of amusement or maybe irritation getting to him. Good. Get fucked.

"Part of it is true, yes," he continued, watching the lava. "There is a beast living down there. You saw it."

"I think." I followed his gaze, looking down, "Your wife? Congratulations."

"More like a mother."

"My condolences, then."

"Apt." He nodded, not even taking offense now. Damn, you are good, I am starting to respect you a little, "It is the monster we used to transform ourselves, we share the blood. We call it Ignis Primordia, and it is the genesis of our transformation. The problem is... that change was reciprocal."

"What do you mean?" I asked, furrowing my brows, having a few guesses, but it was best to let him explain it.

"He also gained our part, mostly meaning, he is the first of a new breed of beasts. One that was able to keep a sliver of his mind, even cultivate it, and by now he has awoken a consciousness..."

"Is it turning human?"

"In the loosest possible sense of the term," he answered after a moment of pause, "He is getting smarter and shrewder as the years go by, and he is going to break free. That is inevitable."

"Aaaand...?" My lips pressed into a line, "Is this an issue for me... because?"

"He will have the power and cunning to rally all the monsters and control them."

"Then kill it. Why haven't you done it yet?" I snorted, crossing my arms.

"We can't."

"Is it that strong?"

"Yes and no," He shook his head, "We share the blood. As I said, Ignis is our mother, we can't hurt it. Not even if we want to, he has that kind of control over us."

"Ugh... Fuck me..." I moaned while pinching the ridge of my nose, "You guys are true fuckups, no wonder I am related to you..."

"..." Zah'Ratil just glanced towards me, his head tilted a little, "If your son comes and completes the ritual, we can strike it down before it gets out."

"Yeah? And if he doesn't?"

"There are no alternates," Zah'Ratil's tone sharpened just a hair. "He will come. That much is already decided."

"That's not an answer," I replied, facing him sternly. "That's a threat dressed up as a prophecy. You can't kill it? Fine. I will... Along with all of you."

"You speak with the will of a true father," he said, and I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, "But I speak with the voice of knowledge, Leon. I have seen what comes if this whole thing is not reversed and solved... You can't kill it like the rest of the monsters."

He lifted a hand, and the scenery of the volcano changed as the lava parted, revealing the image of the many-eyed thing under it. I couldn't see the beast well enough, through the flickering heat, but I could sense its rage. What I could make out was its mountain-sized form, buried deep, coiled around itself, like some kind of dragon, sleeping on its hoard.

"The moment Ignis breaks free," he continued, "He will go after humans, and nothing will be able to stop it.

"Let me guess, he hates us all, thanks to you?" My fists clenched while speaking. "Is it the one that sends the monsters towards us every winter?"

"No." He answered, shaking his head, but he wasn't denying the part that they made the beast angry towards all humans, "That element is a natural phenomenon. But if Ignis gets out, he can easily bend their will, and then the hordes coming through will be nothing that anyone can stop."

"You think I'll just hand him over?" I snorted, "Just because you fucked up in the past? Get real..." I stepped closer, feeling like I was suddenly taller than him, looking down at him, "I will fix your mistake, but forget about laying a hand on my son... Because I will fix you too. Do you... understand?"

Zah'Ratil's expression turned grim, looking at me... He was not entirely hostile, but resolute in his own way. We just kept looking at each other while I said nothing more... then, in the end, he turned around to leave. By then, we were once again on the muted, colored road, not on the volcano, as he was walking into the infinite end, leaving me there, watching his back.

"He will come," he said again, before disappearing. "Not because I command it... But because the blood in him will give him no other choice."

And just like that, the world shattered around me, and I gasped as I sat up, surrounded by my wives and twins, looking down at me.

"Leon!"

"Dad!"

They helped me sit up, making me blink my eyes, feeling my head pounding like someone was using it as an anvil... Fuck... I wanted to crawl into a dark hole now; every flashing light was hurting me...

"What happened?!" Sasha asked, wiping the sweat from my head, "You blacked out for a moment and collapsed!"

"Well..." I moaned, "Somehow, I intercepted a call coming for Arthur..."

"Dad...?" He asked, almost on the verge of crying, showing that he did feel something, but he couldn't put it into place, not even now.

"I had a chit-chat with your stalker." I said bluntly, looking at him, then turning towards my wives, "Well... Give me a moment to deal with this infernal headache and I'll tell you all... but fuuuck... The beasts became just that much more of an issue now!"