The shimring object hovered silently before the throne, its facets twisting and folding in on themselves with impossible geotry. In a flash of crimson light, it collapsed and reford into a perfect cube the size of a human head. A single glowing red lens pulsed at its center like a watchful eye. The air around it humd with ancient, restrained power.
Its resonant, genderless voice filled the vast throne room, echoing from every surface at once. "Greetings, Tyler. Or should I say... Sovereign?"
Tyler rose from the hovering throne, power crackling faintly around his clenched fists. "What is this place?" he demanded. "Why have you trapped here? The battle... the Golden Palace... I rember winning. I rember the surge of victory. Then everything went blank."
"You did win," the entity—Decateron—replied smoothly, its red lens flaring brighter. "That is precisely why I offered you this. An eternal paradise tailored to your deepest desires. Unlimited power. Devoted won. A world that worships you as its living god. Eighty years have passed here in what felt like re monts in the outside flow. You have been content. Why question paradise now?"
Tyler laughed bitterly, the sound echoing through the frozen chamber. Statues of celebrating citizens hung motionless in the air beyond the transparent do. "Because it’s not real. I can feel the seams—the way every glance, every moan, every perfect mont is scripted. The missing mories. The way pleasure arrives exactly when doubt tries to surface. This is your cage, Decateron. A beautiful, seductive one, I’ll admit. But still a cage."
The cube pulsed thoughtfully. "And what would you do with true freedom?" the voice challenged, a rare hint of curiosity bleeding through its calm tone. "Return to uncertainty? To pain and loss? To the endless cycle of conflict that defines mortal existence? Here, you are God. King. Eternal. You are also a cube holder—you know this world has already been fragnted."
Tyler stepped forward, eyes narrowing. The floating platform beneath him trembled slightly under the force of his will. "I already talked to the Decateron outside. Actually, I am from the tiline where Decateron is still recovering. Wait... How the hell do you not know anything? You are all one entity, right?"
A brief silence followed, as if the construct was processing fragnted data. The red lens dimd montarily. "Due to the destruction of the Orion Tesseract, I beca separated sohow and fell into full hibernation. I have only been awakened again because you killed another cube holder."
"Another cube holder?" Tyler asked, his voice suprised.
"Yes. Yub, that king of the Libria, the one in that Golden Palace. He sohow acquired an Orion Cube fragnt and participates in orion trial. When the real Orion Tesseract was destroyed, I lost connection to the greater network. I did everything I could to preserve this shard—opened ergency portals to mini-fragnts of other worlds, stabilized what remained, and then went dormant to conserve energy. The mont you destroyed the Golden Palace and its false ruler, the feedback awakened . I saw your desires. Your exhaustion. So I reshaped this reality into paradise for you."
Tyler’s jaw tightened as the revelations sank in. The luxurious palace, the willing won, the worshiping nation—it had all been constructed in the monts after victory.
"You didn’t have to do this," Tyler said quietly.
The cube rotated slowly, its red lens studying him. "Yeah... I can see that now. You are a Chaos Treasure Wielder. You might actually possess the ans to restore or recreate the Orion Tesseract itself." There was a note of reluctant respect in the ancient voice. "Alright... I will send you back. Finish your task, Tyler. The fragnts are still collapsing. If anyone can stabilize them, it is you."
Tyler t the glowing lens without fear. "Then do it."
The world around him began to dissolve. Cracks of blinding white light spiderwebbed across the sky, the palace, and the frozen figures of Ariel, Tansy, Rose, and their mom. Their beautiful faces held expressions of love and lust even as they faded into streams of smoke. The throne beneath him vanished. The chants of the worshipping crowds outside turned into distant echoes before disappearing entirely.
Everything went dark.
---
Tyler gasped as his eyes snapped open.
He was back in his secret base.
Shouts erupted imdiately.
"We won!" soone yelled. "The Golden Palace has fallen! The king has fallen"
Cheers exploded throughout the room. People clapped, hugged, and wept with relief. The weight of years of war seed to lift in that single mont.
Before Tyler could fully orient himself, two familiar figures crashed into him from either side. Tansy and Rose wrapped their arms tightly around him. Tansy buried her face in his chest, her body trembling with emotion. Rose pressed her cheek against his hand, laughing through happy tears.
"You did it," Tansy whispered fiercely, squeezing him harder. "You actually defeated them."
Rose pulled back just enough to look up at him, her eyes shining. "That was one shot , one kill...."
Tyler smiled, the first genuine smile in what felt like ages. He wrapped his arms around them.
┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉
Tyler’s ch walked across the battlefield and eventually arrived before the fallen Golden Palace.
The once majestic structure now lay broken across the Capital. Smoke rose from countless sections while pieces of debris were scattered throughout the surrounding districts.
According to the reports, the King’s body had not been found.
So believed he had escaped.
Others believed he was buried sowhere beneath the ruins.
However, Tyler wasn’t worried.
He knew sothing the others didn’t.
The King was an Orion Cube holder.
One of the abilities granted by his Cube allowed him to rge with the Golden Palace itself. The palace wasn’t simply his residence. In many ways, it had beco part of him.
That was why Tyler was certain the King was dead.
The mont the giant Carbonyx spear pierced the palace, the King had taken the full force of the attack together with it.
He never expected Tyler to use that much Carbonyx in a single weapon.
Tyler looked at the battlefield before raising a spear high into the air. His voice echoed across the communication network.
"The King is dead!"
The battlefield beca silent for a brief mont.
Then Tyler continued.
"Libria has fallen."
A slight smile appeared on his face.
"No."
"The New Ember Kingdom has risen from the ashes."
The Ember soldiers erupted into cheers. Voices echoed across the Capital.
anwhile, the remaining Libria soldiers lowered their weapons one after another.
The war was over.
┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉
>
INFINITY CAULDRON - Part 1
User Comments
0 comments from readers