"I thought they were just a myth, a cautionary tale for those who would explore deeper uses of mana," Ardrin said, turning to look at the Undergod. "I suppose even you would think so, but they are very much real, and their cruelty is unparalleled, as you will soon learn," Volzuk said gravely before continuing.
Not even the Masked One knows about them? Athar thought, pondering the potential ramifications of this information.
"While the mage was sharing his findings with his colleagues, he mentioned the existence of other realms, other sources of power that they could use to their advantage. However, what Nexis failed to realize was that the knowledge he was sharing could be used for nefarious intent in the eyes of the Wardens," he explained through an ever-darkening tone.
"When the new Lord of Codrean, under the influence of the Wardens, claimed to want no part in his ideas, the mage was deeply angered by the lack of foresight, prompting him to steal the Gwynnleaf and write down his findings in a book he called Dissection, which he would later present the first edition of to King Boren's heir, Garen," he said, using a reminiscent tone neither Athar nor Ardrin had expected him to use.
"King Garen, being a man of great ambition and even deeper greed, allowed the mage to perform his research undisturbed by the Church of Mideia, even going so far as to undo much of the stigma surrounding the Synners, as he realized just how valuable these warriors were. What Nexis wilfully failed to mention, however, was that during his time in exile, he discovered what he called the Autarchica Primaria," he continued.
Autarchica Primaria? Athar wondered momentarily, but his thoughts were interrupted as the Undergod continued speaking.
"Garen's ambition and greed, however, got the best of him, and while he supported and praised the elven mage publicly, he scolded him in private for not using his knowledge of the Gwynnleaf to make him immortal," Volzuk said bitterly, the rotting flesh on his skin quivered slightly as the words left his mouth.
"Within a few years, Garen grew annoyed with Nexis to the point of eventually dismissing him from his service. The mage, unsurprised by this behavior, moved to the ancient citadel of Valdis. However, he would only be able to walk away with a single plant's worth of Gwynnleaf since Garen had kept the rest for his own mages to study," he said, halting for a moment.
"Nexis, realizing that his research would still be far out of the claws of the Church, sought to achieve what Garen had been hounding him for: Immortality," the Undergod said, spreading his decrepit arms widely.
How original, Athar thought, recalling the other countless stories he'd read during his time in Valdis.
"While Nexis knew there was no way to become impervious to attacks with a mortal body, he did discover how to preserve much of his essence in the core of another. Countless beasts were slain in the learning process, but when he was finally ready, he made his move," he continued explaining, walking back over to the pair.
"When he arrived at Coltend Castle, many decades had passed since his dismissal from King Garen's court, but his greed had grown almost insatiable in his old age. Nexis told him that he had discovered the true meaning of immortality and that he would be willing to share it with him and his family, to which Garen agreed," Volzuk said, amused by the thought of what he'd just said.
"Garen was outraged when he discovered that instead of granting them immortality, the mage had only gone to preserve his own essence in the unborn child's core. However, Nexis knew that Garen wouldn't kill his only heir if he thought he could discover the same method one day," Volzuk explained as he began pacing again.
"There was, however, an unforeseen issue. The Wardens had been watching the mage's every move, and after realizing what he had accomplished, they cursed him, banishing him to the Underworld to roam its lifeless plains. To prevent anyone else from seeking the Autarchica Primaria, they struck much of his knowledge from the records of the realm, portions of Dissection, and even so far as altering the memories of people who knew him," he said, the anger in his voice growing increasingly evident.
So that's why it was missing pages, Athar realized, feeling something click into place in his mind.
"This, however, is where the Wardens made a mistake," he said, turning to face his underlings. "Because while they were so focused on removing all traces of his discoveries from scholarly places, they'd completely missed the king's journal of how his son now held a piece of the mage's core within him," Volzuk said, walking back toward Ardrin.
"What? No, no. That's… that's impossible. I've read the history books in Valdis, and there was never any mention of this, Great One," Athar began in disbelief. "Of course not, nor would there have been," Volzuk said as if the reason behind it were obvious.
"It was only during the early years of Truls' reign when he was seeking the root of Coltend's issues that the accidental discovery of what Nexis had done was made. He scoured the records to find the source of Coltend's economic demise, having gone so far back as Garen's personal journal since it was one of the earliest records containing the country's real history," he explained.
"However, after stumbling upon this information, he had to first rid himself of the generational curse if he ever hoped to repair the country. The Church quickly acted on this, as they had long since hated the mage. They proposed he did so by impregnating a whore; bastardizing the child with the curse, and leaving them with no resources to fight against his will," Volzuk said conclusively.
"But how could The Church and Truls have hidden such information? I only found out who I was because of the Masked…" Athar cut himself off, realizing that there was something amiss. Ardrin, looking at him from just behind the Undergod's grotesque figure, shook his head.
"N-no. No, I refuse to believe that," Athar began, disregarding any sense of formality as his mind began to race. The Undergod turned to face him, holding a hand toward the ceiling. "Like I said, it's a shame your master has begun treating you the way he is. Such weakness," he said disappointedly, reaching out his hand and encasing Athar in thick, dark mana.
"Emerge," he commanded, dropping his hand forward.
Out from behind the nearby pillar, a figure peered out from behind it, an unnerving smile grotesquely stretched across its face. "What the fuck is that thing?" Athar asked, not bothering to hide his panic any longer as he watched the grinning figure approaching him cautiously. Even Ardrin was taken aback as he realized what it was.
It looks just like me, but how is that even possible? Athar thought, more confused now than ever before as it stood beside him, holding an unnerving grin on its face.
"It is time for you to serve your purpose," the Undergod said, nodding to the alternate beside Athar.
"No!" Ardrin finally exclaimed, drawing an intense amount of dark mana. However, just before he could cast his spell, Volzuk encased him in mana, leaving him and Athar in similar positions as the spell hummed in the freshly borne silence.
"Oh? Have you finally grown attached to your pet? The one you raised like a lamb to the slaughter? You, of all elves, should know that caring for the well-being of the weak makes you weak," Volzuk said, moving in front of Ardrin.
"I once told you that I could strip you of your power, and you all but forced my hand back then. It was bold of you to assume I wouldn't hold true to my word. Foolish, but bold nonetheless. Now, let's see just how much you've changed," he said, placing his rotting hand against the top half of Ardrin's mask.
Infusing his decrepit flesh with visible tendrils of sickly green mana, the Undergod began to pull and tear the mask off, forcing Ardrin to cry out in anguish as the mask tore at his flesh.
"Master!" Athar shouted, trying to escape his own horrible situation.
With no small amount of effort, the mask finally tore free, leaving a thin trail of mana and blood in its wake as the Undergod recoiled from the struggle. He stared at the mask momentarily, clearly satisfied with his successful retrieval of it, then turned to look at Ardrin's uncovered face.
His face was well-defined, with a sharp brow, piercing eyes, and a straight nose. His glowing, violet eyes, once mostly concealed, also held golden tendrils that raced outwardly like miniature bolts of lightning darting across them; many of his features still closely resembling that of his twin brother Taegin's.
However, the consumption of the royal ochelon core caused him to have a much more rugged expression as accented by the thick, white sideburns. The removal of the Mask had undoubtedly taken its toll on him, as his eyes could hardly seem to focus on any one point.
The Undergod looked at him curiously for a few moments before sighing heavily. "Damn them, they even went so far as to remove my likeness from my bloodline. Those bastards," he said angrily, feeling the rage welling inside him as it had all those years ago.
"Let this mark the return of Nexis the Unremembered," he spat, turning to look at the Nethersong Mask in his hands. "It's been a long time, old friend. Walk with me once more so that we may reach the greatest heights," he said, bringing the mask up to his eye level.
Infusing the mask with a vast amount of both dark and sickly mana, his eyes began to glow intensely as the essence of the mask began to flow into his body. "Wh-what the fuck…?" Athar said breathlessly, watching the power that once radiated from it begin to dull and dim as waves and tendrils of mana flowed effortlessly into and around the wretched flesh. With a final grunt of exertion, Nexis finalized his absorption of the power held within the mask.
"Ah, that's better," he said, dropping the mask to the floor, causing it to shatter like glass. "Now, where was I?" he said maliciously, materializing a once scarlet claw now infused with the green mana from his hand.