Now that Arthur had seized power, he would surely burn or reshape the world in his image. Why else would a man of his calibre be here, in the bleak waiting ground between judgement and release? Everyone had this kind of thought.
But Arthur's voice betrayed their expectations.
The dragon-robed man's lips curled into a wicked smile. "Nine years? Then surely you crushed your enemies, seized their wealth, tore their clans apart— "
Arthur shook his head. "I was kind to those who opposed me. I was even lenient towards my political rivals. They remained free."
The five stopped mid-step. The starlit figure's expression flattened into something dangerously close to boredom.
The scholar let out a rasping chuckle. "Spared them? After all that? Then you — what? Raised an army silently? Burned cities to ash?"
"I did no such thing," Arthur replied evenly. "We built schools. Strengthened trade. Had many scientific programs. There was peace."
Nine years passed, as they walked and heard the tale.
The long-robed soul groaned loudly in exasperation. "Nine years… and nothing? No blood? No massacre?
The jade-armored man was angered at Arthur. "Why are you here then? Why would Purgatory waste space on you if you were peaceful?"
Arthur's eyes remained fixed forward.
They were nearing the cliff edge now. The Gates of Purgatory loomed as a glowing, jagged frame of black and molten gold that cut through the sky itself. The sound of chains scraping the stone echoed.
The obsidian guardians along the Path shifted again. Their spears lowered slightly, tips gleaming faintly in the dim light. The group was no longer ignored.
The five immortals were growing restless, not from fear of the guardians, but from frustration at Arthur's tale's lack of satisfying violence. The jade-armored man muttered, "Nine years and all I hear is… charity. Schools. Trade. Search for distant life. Research and development. If I hear the word 'peace' one more time, I'll leap into the Abyss myself."
The dragon-robed immortal spat to the side. "If this ends with you handing out bread to orphans, I'll destroy you by any means necessary."
Arthur glanced sideways at their scowls and said with a faint smirk, "Relax. I've waited a hundred thousand years — can't you wait for nine years of storytelling to finish?"
They froze.
The starlit figure narrowed his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Arthur didn't answer the starlit figure's question.
Instead, he took a sharp turn.
The immortals froze for a heartbeat, thinking the mortal had simply stumbled, but his feet blurred. One instant, he was beside them; the next, he was a streak of motion hurtling toward the Gates of Purgatory.
The dragon-robed man barked a laugh. "The mortal idiot! He thinks he can run past us?"
They lunged to stop him.
But suddenly they realized something was wrong.
His pace did not falter. His steps slid between the cracks of the ground with a precision they had only seen from fellow immortals. He moved without wasted effort, never slowing, never breaking stride — and they could not close the distance. Worse, the obsidian guardians stirred, their spears humming with ancient strength.
The air split as the first guardian charged, its weapon sweeping low. The five immortals scattered instinctively, their battle instincts kicking in. The guardians had ignored them before, but now they moved to block the entire group.
The dragon-robed man snarled, parrying a spear strike of the guardian by manifesting a Qi sword. The impact shattered the stone beneath him. His voice cracked like thunder over the din.
"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE, MORTAL?! WHY DID YOU WASTE OUR TIME WITH YOUR LIES?!"
Arthur's reply came as he ducked a sweeping blow by a halberd-wielding guardian statue; his breath was steady despite the sudden assault.
"I never lied to you."
He was digging many attacks, but never struck back at the guardians — only weaving between their attacks. His every step was a calculated slip past death.
The starlit figure twisted aside from a thrust, shouting over the metallic roar of clashing steel. He raised souls from the depths of his soul to counter.
"NINE YEARS OF PEACE? TRADE? SCHOOLS? WAS THAT JUST TO MOCK US?!"
"No," Arthur's voice cut through the din, sharp and precise despite the noise. "Do you remember the research I mentioned? The space programs?"
They fought on, blades and Qi flashing against obsidian. None could spare even a glance at him, yet his voice carried — as if the battle was amplifying his words.
"They were dangerous," Arthur went on. "They gave us unlimited energy, interstellar travel… but they could also destroy the very existence of our species."
The scholar cursed, she used flame arts to hack through a guardian's arm, only for it to reforge itself in black fire.
"AND YOU USED THEM?!"
"I used nine years of trust!" Arthur's voice rose now, matching the roar of combat. "I acted as the leader, but behind the scenes? I saw the truth — EXPLOITATION! CORRUPTION! The common man was an insect. If a storm destroyed their crops — MY FAULT! If a child died of epidemic disease — MY FAULT! But if anything good happened? Oh, God forbid it can't be me. They forgot my name. Ungrateful bastards, all of them! Do you know how much I hated those beings?!"
The jade-armored man's roar shook the dust from the stone statues.
"SO YOU BURNED IT ALL?!"
"What could a mortal do by waging wars?" Arthur replied, still slipping past a spear's deadly arc. "He would die, and the cycle would repeat. No. I wanted to end them all in one sweep."
Another spear smashed into the ground between them, forcing the immortals to leap away.
"The science of unlimited energy burned the entire civilization," Arthur continued. "Not even a remote planet survived. They didn't see it coming."
The starlit figure's strikes slowed.
"You…"
Arthur smiled faintly. "Tell me — how am I here? Have you ever heard of Earth in all your eternity in Purgatory?"
They didn't answer.
"Of course not," Arthur said. "Because I used the science of space travel to create what you immortals call the Dark Star."
The words hit harder than the guardians' spears.
The dragon-robed man faltered mid-swing.
"THAT… THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"
Arthur's eyes glinted. "To hasten their death and ease their suffering, I brought forth the force of nature so brutal that it would end the life forms."
I now know why I am here in Purgatory, he thought. Because the hell of my people now ceased to exist.
The guardians closed in, their spears forming a wall of death between Arthur and the five immortals.
Arthur's voice came one last time, cold and final.
"I made sure there was no way the cycle would repeat. I ruled with a mask of order. The subtle cruelty worked better than open slaughter."
The long-robed man shouted through the ringing carnage, his voice straining to pierce the clash.
"SO WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE HERE?!"
Arthur's gaze didn't leave the incoming blade.
"Didn't you get the moral of the story?" he said between his dodging steps with calm, but laced it with something unnerving.
They looked bewildered, unable to process his words amid the chaos.
Arthur's mouth curved into a half-smile.
"I like the chaos itself."