Chapter 44: Chapter 44 : Understanding The Board (Part 4)

The Radiant Church’s destruction didn’t lower the heat of the flames burning in the teenagers’ hearts by a single degree.

Me, a demon? Fine, I’ll show you a demon.

With such an attitude, they continued to wreak havoc. The ordinary masses who followed the Radiant Church’s orders were next to be targeted. Countless rivers of blood and mountains of corpses sprang up all over Inis.

The ruling powers were next to fall. Fringe groups vying for power teamed up with psionics and moved to overthrow the existing powers. It was said that ninety percent of the ruling powers were destroyed. What would follow was a battle for supremacy.

Chaos, death, and destruction reigned. Non-psionic vs non-psionic, non-psionic vs psionic and psionic vs psionic. In addition to the human-on-human action, monsters had made themselves relevant again. Just like humanity, monsters had gained the power of Zenki. These monsters, along with their non-Zenki brethren gained a second wind and began ravaging human territories, only adding to the disastrous times. The Great Scramble was fully in motion and would continue to increase in vigour.

The stories of this era’s tragedies were extensive. Rei’s mind moved through them, until stopping at a certain one.

‘The Burning of Brenton.’

This was a particular infamous event. Occurring near the end of the Great Scramble, it was perpetrated by none other than Ralf’s great ancestor, Kai Fawkes.

How one interpreted Kai Fawkes' story varied greatly. Some took the story as nothing but extreme terrorism, done by a venting mad man. Others believed Kai to be an arbiter of true justice, and his story to be one of liberation, both from a tyrannical monarchy and an oppressive mindset. Most held the view that it was a bit of both.

Rei held this view as well.

Honestly, he wasn't too sure how to regard Ralf's ancestor.

Rei was one who prioritized results, but the results in Kai's case weren't so clear-cut. If one only looked at the results in the immediate aftermath, one would have a very negative view. Millions were left homeless, starving, and without a nation-state to protect them.

However, these were only the tangible elements. Kai’s actions were about sending a message, and that message had definitely landed on the millions present. And not just them, but many others too. Rei somewhat agreed with the message, but the exact delivery method wasn't one he would use or endorse. If he had to, he would deliver the message in a different way.

Well, a story was for the readers to judge.

Kai’s desire to topple the monarchy was said to be a long-held one. He would have done so regardless. What was questionable was the method he ended up using. According to Danwal Erikson’s account, no such method was discussed between him and Kai.

As for who Danwal Erikson was?

He was a well-respected High Sage from the Society of Sages. Danwal was a truth-teller, never afraid to speak out when he saw falsities. The Radiant Church became a target of his fiery rebukes; he accused them of ‘using a solid foundation to build a wonky tower’. He had strong words for the Society of Sages as well, who he claimed was ‘entertaining the Radiant Church's fantasies’. These claims landed him in hot water and he was beset on all sides.

Fed up with this treatment, especially by those he called his fellow scholars, he left the Noime Mountains until eventually settling down in a forest outside Brenton’s southwest edge. It was in this forest where he came across Kai, who was in the midst of his ‘training arc’.

The two got along splendidly. As a scholar, Danwal was naturally interested in studying Kai’s magical power. At the same time, Danwal shared his wealth of knowledge with Kai, who benefited as well. Many of the techniques that Kai would develop would come from their collaboration.

Sound familiar?

The two sure thought so. In many ways, they were. Just like Caelus, Kai was noted to be quite prodigious. While he couldn’t mimic the True King’s perfect memory feat, he was said to have a sharp mind, able to absorb knowledge and concepts very quickly.

Monster hunting, Psi training, experiments, technique crafting, bonding, occasional trips to his lover; the years passed by eventfully for Kai. His skill and power continued to rise to higher heights.

At seventeen, he deemed himself powerful enough to challenge Brenton on his own. But Kai didn’t jump the gun - an action that he would later regret. Kai, like many people, was strongly affected by Caelus’ story. To do battle, one must prepare. Kai’s ‘training arc’ was just that. Still, he felt that there was a chink in his armour.

He fought and killed many monsters, but no humans. He had prepared a lot but desired a bit more assurance. So, after making one last trip to his lover, Uri and informing her of his decision, he enrolled in the Martial Temple. He spent a year learning martial arts and incorporated them into his battle style. In that year, his power managed to rise even further as he discovered and mastered Origin Energy. Happy about his accomplishments, he rushed back to his lover's side to tell her the good news.

But he wouldn’t find her in Trobal village, instead, he would find her in a brothel in the town of Tromten, on the verge of flickering away.

A month earlier, Uri was abducted by a local lord, who then raped and tortured her. Once done, he tossed her broken body in a brothel to spend her remaining days in agony and misery.

Not finding her in the village, Kai naturally asked her whereabouts. When he heard of her abduction from a villager on the streets, he raced toward the Duke's manor at his fastest speed. Learning of her fate and whereabouts from him, he headed to the brothel and met with his battered lover. The red hair he loved had been ripped out, her right eye swollen shut, her left eye plucked out, her fair skin burned and bruised and her limbs broken beyond repair.

The two’s reunion was brief.

It was miraculous that she could even remain alive as long as she had. So strong was her willpower and desire to see Kai again, that her body refused to die. But shortly after seeing him, she passed away. What was important to note in this meeting was her inability to speak during this interaction. During the initial raping, Uri ended up biting the Duke's throat. Had his psionic guards not intervened, his life would have been lost. Her neck injury and the rest of her injuries came as a result.

The cruel turn of events broke Kai. The young man noted to be overflowing with kindness and warmth was lost, and one consumed by madness took its place.

But Kai hadn’t completely gone mad. This was where those in the latter camp found their best argument. Despite the boiling emotions, he was sure to be feeling at that moment, Kai hadn’t just gone on a rampage or headed directly for the powers that be. Instead, he delivered his intentions to burn Brenton and told them they had a month to prepare then left.

Initially, the month delay made no sense. But they’d soon come to know why he specified this exact time. His exact whereabouts during this month were a mystery. The one thing that is known is that he stopped at Drako, the kingdom under the future Raven and Ice Queen, Elsa Iventain’s rule. Their meeting was brief. Kai had Elsa encase Uri's corpse in ice then left. Another thing that was known was that Kai’s step into the Ascendant realm came during this time.

While this was happening, his message spread across all of Brenton. And as he intended, they began preparing for his arrival.

Now, a bit about Brenton.

The small nation was ahead of the curve. It was part of the ten percent of powers who had managed to withstand the Great Scramble’s oscillations. The reason for this was undoubtedly their initial actions in response to the Demon Hunt event. Due to a dispute dating decades back, the Radiant Church’s presence and influence in Brenton were very weak. When their orders initially came around, the Brenton higher-ups made the bold move to reject them outright.

Issac Von Brenton, for all the things that could be said about him, was a clever man. He was one of the first people to understand the power psionics held. He was helped by the fact that his third-born son was part of the first batch of psionics to arrive.

Knowing which way the wind was blowing, he took the daring action of outright opposing the Radiant Church. He even went as far as kicking their official members out and declaring Brenton a safe haven for ‘demons’.

With his marketing, many psionics flocked to Brenton. There was chaos in his territory, but with a slew of grateful psionics at his command, it was easily crushed. As the years passed, Brenton’s military power increased drastically. While his nation reached never before heights, the rest of the world was crumbling. Seeing this, desire welled up within him. The diary entries he left behind spoke of his intention to initiate a Bellus-style world conquest.

And with Brenton, as they were, he would have gotten far. In retrospect, Brenton was only behind Saures at the time, and this was only because the future Raven, Alois Astor was present.

But King Issac’s grand aspirations would remain as aspirations.

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Kai was simply unstoppable. After creating the Circle of Judgement, a literal burning circle around the small nation, he began moving towards Brenton's centre in a spiral-like trajectory, setting fire after fire.

Armies composed of psionics and non-psionics came like an unending stream, but against his flames, all were vaporized. It wasn't just soldiers and warriors who met his flames, but common people too. Kai's flames were indiscriminate.

Kai declared that all who resided in the circle were targets for his Flames of Judgement.

According to Kai, the Flames of Judgement were sentient; it would burn one in proportion to the weight of the sin they carried. The ‘sin’ these flames judged was very specific. It was the sin of allowing an oppressive regime like Brenton to exist. Of course, his flames didn’t have any ability to judge anyone’s sins, nor was it sentient. The flames burned according to Kai's will and discretion.

As a Mimic, he could create many types of flames and pseudo flames. For the likes of nobles, soldiers, and those central to the maintenance of the nation’s setup, Kai didn't hold back. He used the hotter variants to reduce them to ashes. To him, their sin was just that great.

For ordinary citizens, who just watched from the sidelines and did nothing to change the situation, he left them with burn marks akin to boiling water falling on them; and for children and those with certain disabilities, who couldn’t really do anything as they were, he doused them with a heat-less flame.

The Burning of Brenton event played out a story, one that Kai had purposely scripted.

As he moved inward, the people were herded toward the centre as well. Helping him in these efforts was the Red Lions, a rebel group his parents had once been part of. This group was responsible for the failed Red Rebellion twenty years ago. With Kai’s appearance, the group found their moxie and rushed to aid him. Kai accepted their help on his terms and had them help with his play.

The days passed and Brenton continued to burn. With millions in tow, he reached the centre where the country’s power was concentrated. A battle seeing tens of thousands slaughtered played out. Elite psionics was obliterated in mass and eventually, only John Orelle Brenton stood before him. As a Rank 9 Telekinetic Origin Energy Master, the prince was undoubtedly a force to be reckoned with.

Still, the power gap between them was massive. He tried to smother the flame that was Kai with a giant Psi hand but it was useless. Burning in golden flames, Kai broke free and ended the prince’s life with a single thrust of his lance. After doing so, he made his landing and doused the remaining royals with his Flames of Judgement.

The crowd expected this to be the end, but there was more. With countless gazes tracking his every motion, Kai exited the city and headed to a nearby lake. To the crowd’s surprise, Uri encased in her ice cube emerged from its depths. Using his Ascendant enabled telekinesis, Kai brought her close then thawed her out with his flames. Once in his arms, he directed his attention to the crowd. Using his telepathic powers in coordination with the Red Lions’, he connected his mind to the millions present.

What would follow was the now-legendary speech known as the Flame of Justice.

Many had their hearts ignited by his words. Not only just those present, but those decades, and even centuries later would hear his words and be moved to tears, and then to action. It was just that fiery.

Once done, Kai would go on to commit suicide, dying in a brilliant flame tower, said to momentarily connect heaven and earth.

Some foresaw this result. In retrospect, it was obvious. He stated that all in the circle would experience the Flames of Judgement. For prolonging Brenton’s existence by several years and allowing his lover to meet such a horrible end, he regarded himself as the most sinful. And so, in keeping with the Flames of Judgment's lore, he killed himself…well, looking at it from a purely logical stance.

In the diary he left behind, it was clear that he had completely lost the will to live on. He didn't intend to continue living after the task was complete. Throughout the process, he had been shown many glimpses of derangement and madness. He had been fighting his destructive impulses all the way to the end, kept only in check by his personal mission and the notion that it would all end soon.

The aftermath of Kai's death was very solemn. Whether one loved or hated him, those who experienced the incident, and even those who didn't would find their heartstrings tugged at.

Kai’s month delay was understood a day later as snow began falling from the skies. The heavy snowfall extinguished the flames eating away at the former kingdom, leaving nothing but a land of ashes.

‘Tragic.’

Arriving at the end of Kai’s story, Rei couldn’t help but think. It was a tragedy on many accounts. The one he was focusing on concerned Kai’s ignorance about his son, Rudi.

Rudi's existence could be pinned to the night before Kai left for the Martial Temple. Knowing that they’d be apart for a year, the two had gone at it passionately and Uri ended up becoming pregnant with Rudi. Nine months later, she gave birth to Ralf's great ancestor.

Issac Von Brenton, with the desire to increase the amount of psionics under his control, issued a nationwide mandatory screening process. People in the applicable age range would have to go to testing sites near them. Uri, being in the age range had to participate as well. The closest one was in Tromten. She left Rudi in her uncle’s hands and made the trip over.

Knowing the lecherous reputation of the lord presiding over the territory, she covered up in smelly filthy garbs and moved with the countenance of a drunk. She like others were made to step on the valen plates. As a non-psionic, she showed no reaction. Failing or passing, depending on one's perspective, she then moved to leave the town.

But she wouldn’t make it back to her village. In an unfortunate set of circumstances, the Duke had been moving through the town using a Clairvoyant's Second Sight. While her disguise was excellent, she failed for one simple reason, her hair colour. In a sea of blonde and brown hair, her red hair, even dirtied and covered up, stood out. His interest was stroked, and then after a glance at what lay under that disguise of hers, his lust was too.

He had her captured and after cleaning her up, raped her. But Uri was unlike any of the girls he had his way with. She was no possum nor chicken, she was a fierce tigress. After nearly killing the Duke with her bite, she endured gruelling torture. Throughout all this though, a fire was said to remain undying in her gaze. This irritated and unnerved the Duke to no end. Wanting to see that flame extinguished, he sent her to the brothel to wither away.

And then came the meeting. Unable to speak, she was unable to convey Rudi's existence to Kai. What took place in this meeting was unclear, but from Kai's diary, it was clear that he didn't know about the existence of his son.

When he first returned, he had found out about Uri's disappearance and abduction from a person on the street. After locating Uri and their subsequent meeting, he never returned to the village once. In his diary, he notes his inability to face Uri’s uncle due to the shame he felt for allowing her to die.

This was one of history’s biggest 'what ifs'. Would Kai change his stance had he learned of his son’s existence? Most thought he would. In such a scenario, the possibility of him being a Raven was very high.

Rei lingered on Kai’s legend for a good few minutes. His mind then transitioned to a related topic, the Fawkes' lineage. Doing so brought up a certain term.

‘Bloodline of Fire, huh.’

This term had come up several times.

It was thought that those belonging to this lineage had a strong inclination for both love and destruction. Kai was the most well-known example, but several later Fawkes were shown to display these characteristics, which resulted in this term's creation.

‘Bloodline of Fire, they’re either a campfire others can gather around or a blaze that consumes all indiscriminately.’

Rei didn’t take this mythologizing seriously.

Still…

His face couldn't help but flicker as several memories relating to his other self played across his mind.

‘Just in case, I’ll have to keep him cool-headed. I’m no hero, but playing a villain wouldn’t be fun. Someone as capable as him going rogue… would be pretty bad.’

Nodding, he materialized a new milkshake and took a sip. His mind then shifted to the next topic, the legendary band of psionics, Raven Tail.

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