Tiless Assassin Volu 10: The Cult's Resurgence.
"Democracy? My Cult will never be a democracy, for there is no greater evil than a society ruled by all.
When authority is granted to everyone, responsibility belongs to no one, and judgnt collapses into noise.
No one would entrust a ship to the loudest voice on the deck, nor would they place a sword in the hands of one who does not know how to wield it.
Skill is required where consequence exists, and wisdom is demanded where lives are at stake.
Yet when it cos to governing a state, many insist that judgnt requires no education, no discipline, no understanding.
They claim that all opinions are equal, even when knowledge is not, which is not justice, but negligence disguised as fairness.
When the uninford are granted the sa authority as the learned, truth becos a matter of numbers rather than reason. The crowd does not seek what is right, only what is pleasing, and what is loudest soon replaces what is wisest.
Thus, when rule is surrendered to the masses, chaos wears the mask of freedom, and as reason is drowned by noise, society does not beco equal, it becos ungovernable."
- The Tiless Assassin,
upon abolishing the rule of the masses
and founding the First Elders Council,
a body chosen by his will alone.
(Present Day, A Dreamscape, Soron's POV)
The next ti Soron opened his eyes after shutting them close on "ThePit', he found himself in the most soothing place he had ever visited, as he saw nothing but lush green grass and tall apple trees for as far as the eye could see in his vicinity.
'My body... it doesn't ache anymore?"
The thought surfaced instinctively, as after having grown accustod to constant pain for over two thousand years, the absence of it felt strange, even as relief quietly settled in.
'Is this what death is supposed to feel like? Because if yes, I surely did miss out a lot by clinging to life for so long!
He thought, as he laughed a short mirthless chuckle, until his eyes landed on a long haired, broad shouldered man sitting calmly underneath one of the apple trees.
'Huh? When did father even co? I'm sure he wasn't there a split second ago!
Soron thought, as tears started to stream down his face against his will.
'Over two millennia have passed, but I still don't understand the secret behind your version of the Second's Walk!'
Soron thought, as he grinned ear to ear looking at his old man, the Tiless Assassin.
"You haven't changed a bit...."
He muttered softly, as the old man looked exactly as Soron rembered him, seated casually beneath the apple tree with a relaxed posture and peaceful expression, his face carrying the sa gentle smile and kind eyes that had once made the world feel simple. As sohow, that smile alone was enough to make Soron feel small
again, as looking into those familiar eyes stripped him of every title and all his power, reducing him to the child he had been before everything went wrong.
A child who had never wanted the life that followed his father's death.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, son?"
The Tiless Assassin spoke softly, his voice warm and familiar, as if no centuries had passed at all.
As Soron nodded weakly in response, the Cult master's throat
tightening as the tears refused to stop.
"It has... Father," he said, his voice uneven. "Life for was long and hard in your absence."
He shared, as the Tiless Assassin let out a quiet chuckle, nodding slowly as though this answer had never been in doubt.
"I can imagine," he said. "The Soron I knew would not have cried even
if his enemies were tearing him apart limb by limb."
There was no mockery in his words, only fondness, his smile widening slightly as he gestured beside him.
"Co," he said gently. "Sit with . Share an apple with your old man. Tell what beca of your life... and tell whether you carried any regrets with you to the end."
The Tiless Assassin invited, as Soron moved on unsteady legs, lowering himself beside his father before folding in on himself, his head dropping as he pressed his face between his knees, the weight of centuries finally finding a place to rest.
"To be honest, Father," he said quietly, "I had many regrets until the very last day I lived."
He paused, drawing in a slow breath.
"But now that I'm dead, I can see that most of them were chains I
wrapped around myself, not truths I was ever truly bound by.
As looking back, I feel like I beca a prisoner to my own emotions
more than to any circumstances."
His hands clenched against the grass.
"All I had to do to live differently was let go of my anger towards
Kaelith for betraying you, and I probably would not have carried that
bitterness for over two millennia."
His voice softened, almost breaking.
"But sohow, I couldn't."
Silence lingered between them as Soron lifted his head slightly.
"Even now," he said, barely above a whisper, "two millennia later... you
are still the most important man I ever had in my life, and I curse Kaelith everyday for taking you away from ."
He shared as the Tiless Assassin chuckled, his expression one of pure joy as he patted Soron's head as if he were a small child rather
than a mature adult.
"You know, boy.
At the start, I feel like I did honestly love you and Kaelith the sa.
However, as the years passed and your idolism of beca more and more evident.....
I could not help but dote on you just a little more, because you reminded of a young , and that just made like you just a little bit more than your brother....
Which, inevitably, is what made him turn on at the end.
Looking back, maybe my favouritism of you killed him internally a million tis before he finally lifted the dagger against .
So in a way, maybe I deserved what was coming my way." The Tiless Assassin shared, as Soron stayed silent listening to his
father's reflection on what perhaps could have been the catalyst for Kaelith's betrayal at the end.
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