Chapter 38

  Death To Tyrants

  Stepping between worlds was new, but somehow, it felt as natural as the large step one might take to avoid a puddle. The king's link to Kyraneth was through the tower, but a sliver of the tower belonged to Nik now. With his feet crossing over the black brickwork of this ruined tower, a hint of green remained as a visible footprint with each passing step.

  The energy was in his lungs; it was in his veins, and it felt as though it suffused his entire being. He couldn't even see the extent of his deepened mana pool, it was like the system was struggling to recalculate his stats. However long it lasted, he'd use every bit of power it granted.

  A heartbeat-like pulse of the king’s power washed over him, dulling the already pale light of an overcast sky. Nik withstood it, and beyond that… he understood it.

  This wasn’t an ability, but a manifestation of the ebon king’s will. It was the desire to dominate, to control, and it was the desire of a petulant child. The king only saw other creatures as the playthings in his toybox, and he guarded his possessions with an unhinged jealousy. That was all the shadows were to him, strings attached to his toy soldiers.

  “No more games, Tyrant,” said Nik as he dug the claws of his feet between the floor’s bricks.

  Thud-thud. A pair of energetic waves from the king pressed against him, but he held his ground. Then he took a step forward and said, “I warned you not to go after my friends.”

  “Who are you to give warning to a king, you insignificant lizard? Kyraneth belongs to me. You should have knelt the first moment we met, and the death of your world might have been avoided,” the king spat with disdain.

  The system had apparently deemed this the appropriate time to chime in; a bell clanged to announce a new quest.

  Quest Received!

  Defeat the Lowest Ranked of the Kings Crowned in Onyx

  Just try not to die, kobold; your entire artificial world only depends on you.

  Reward:

  New Title

  Access to Tower Functionality

  Nik acknowledged the notification and dismissed it. The king stood before him now, face contorted in unhidden fury.

  Nik kicked off of the ground, racing toward the king with a Flame Blast empowered step. Another flare of the ebon king's power slowed his movements as the bubble of invisible energy tore through the room. Nik dropped more mana through his foot, and a second explosion propelled him closer to the king.

  Mid-step, he summoned a goblin spear, covered it with lightning, and sent it flying toward his adversary. The king shifted his posture, narrowly dodging the weapon as his speed betrayed the visage of frailty he portrayed.

  The crowned figure raised his arms and formed weapons of darkness in the space around himself.

  Without his shield, Nik had no way to block the attacks as shadow-make spears shot in his direction. A Flame Breath spread out in a cone between them dissipating the weapons mid-flight, but the king was faster still. The flames created a sharp contrasting light across the king's face as he slipped past the path of the flame.

  Nik blinked and the king who had just been a dozen paces away stood before him. A hard-toed boot to the gut lifted him off of his feet, and the fist that cracked his side drove him back to the ground.

  “I told you that you were too weak to take my crown, and yet, you oppose me. It's laughable that you dreamed you could face me and live,” said the monarch as he stomped his heel down on Nik's ribs.

  Electricity shrouded Nik and jolted through the king's leg. Shock Armor was followed by a Wind Slice against the stunned ruler, before he could regain motor control.

  The lean figure tilted as razor-sharp air cut across the side of his neck. A line like ink cut against the cloud-white skin of the ebon king, and black blood began to drip. Fury held no candle to the tempest of rage that churned within the tyrant's eyes as they latched onto Nik's.

  The colorless world dimmed around them as a dark blade coalesced within the monarch’s hand.

  “I know what you are, child of the system, an imitation of life. I will amend the mistakes of the architect, starting with you,” he roared.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Nik threw a hand up as the blade came down, flame roaring to life as a miniature explosion peeled the shadows back to reveal the metal blade hidden beneath. Steel bit into his abdomen, undeterred by the force of the flame ability. The king grinned in wicked delight as Nik cried out in pain.

  The blade was pulled free, only for a boot to kick him toward the half-crumbled wall.

  He dug his clawed fingers into the bricks of the floor, trying to gain purchase and right himself, but the king stood over him again before he’d even ceased his momentum.

  How is he so fast? Is it the crown? His level? Nik asked himself.

  Another stab sent the tip of the blade at him, but he rolled aside and to his feet, hand out to stop the slash that followed. The edge of sharpened steel cut into the soft scales of his hand, and Nik curled his claws around it. With his opponent’s blade gripped in his hand, Nik smirked. A burst of electricity ran along his scales and through the sword to its wielder.

  Using the moment of surprise to his advantage, Nik summoned his black spear to thrust toward the king. Black dripped from the tip of the spear, which had only managed a shallow cut to the king’s hand. The hand, like Nik’s own, had latched onto his opponent’s weapon.

  The king had recovered from the lightning ability even more quickly than he had the first time. Nik watched as the king lifted a knee and shot the bottom of their foot straight into his chest.

  His grip on either weapon was lost as the kick rocketed him back. His feet lifted from the ground as he shot through the air. Bricks from the collapsed wall struck the back of his thighs and he flipped backward over the remains of the structure.

  The ribs that hadn’t been broken before were fractured now, and any healing since the first blow to his side had now been undone. He struggled for breath. Each burning inhale racked his body with pain.

  Nik looked at his surroundings. The blossoming buds of colorful flowers clung to vines and branches of the densely packed trees at his back. Roots dug into the gaps and cracks of the bones of a structure that had once stood near the tower, the only evidence of a people who no longer were. Echoes of an unknown past. This is what the king wanted to make of his world.

  The king rose from the ground, carried by wings of shadow that lifted him above the tower.

  Anger flared from both sides as Nik raised his voice and asked, “What is the point of all of this? Is there anyone left here for you to rule? Is this what you want Kyraneth to be?”

  As he continued to rise above the tower, the king's voice boomed out, “You think I care for the subjects of one small world? When all is devoured by entropy and all that remains is darkness, then I alone will rule by Her side. I will not suffer any threat to the growth of her empire, not even one so infinitesimal as a lone kobold.”

  Gray clouds blackened as the king ascended, and a great darkness flowed out from the tower. The grass, the earth, even the sky, were being consumed by the would-be emperor's power. Everything but the immediate area within a single step from Nik was consumed as it swept past him. Like a rock resisting the force of a river, it crashed against Nik's own power. Then Nik pushed back.

  The green at Nik’s feet spread outward from him, and as he took a step forward, he said, “Do you recall your first words to me, oh emperor of entropy? What you called yourself? The heart that beats. I suppose I'll take that from you, too… I will be the heart that beats, and I will be the flame against every darkness.”

  Another step, followed by a third and his pace quickened. As the world outside of Nik's small bubble of power became nothing but a void, he leapt.

  Placing one foot upon the partial wall of the tower, he pressed off with a flame-empowered jump. He didn't have time to hope this would work, he could only act on his instincts.

  As he rose, Nik sent out another blast and another. Blast after blast, he pressed his will and his mana through his hands and feet, and continued his rise.

  If the king wished for a battle in the sky, then the answer was simple; Nik would just have to learn to fly.

  After all of the power he’d felt flowing through himself, Nik could finally see his MP lowering toward its normal maximum.

  This is it, then… The last push… he thought.

  The king roared as he formed weapons from the darkness.

  Hand at an angle, the next explosion slanted Nik’s trajectory enough for the first pair of blades to miss him entirely, but the next three were much closer. The king continued to rise as Nik pursued him skyward.

  Only the light of Nik's flames pierced through to illuminate the ebon king within his sphere of shadow-wrought obscuration.

  The force of an impact vibrated through his bones, but he didn’t stop moving. A second weapon struck him in his hip, but he was getting closer. So long as he had anything left to give, he was determined to only cease his upward momentum when he reached his goal.

  As his mana burned low, Nik willed himself to keep moving. Focused on the face of the monarch, he continued upward, but there were no flames, no bursts of energy to thrust him along his course.

  Only the small sphere of influence that he was forcing upon the world around himself.

  His MP was down to less than half, and he was heavily injured. The cold of blood loss was spreading through his body. He couldn’t allow himself to even glance at his HP; it wouldn’t make a difference to know. His goal remained.

  He was nearly within reach when pitch-black axes and spears went by his face; a line of pain cut across his spine as they passed. Almost there. He was just out of his arm’s reach.

  The king thrust a spear through Nik.

  Nik gritted his teeth and pushed himself past the head of the spear, rising ever higher as the shaft ran through his now destroyed left shoulder. The king let go and tried to gain distance, but Nik sent an open-handed strike for his gut.

  Claws bit through cloth, leather, and flesh.

  The world froze around them, time itself stilled. Nik could see himself, he could see the king, and he could see the fractured tower. He also saw the other crowns, their attention on him, and they were moving closer at an alarming pace.

  He returned his mind to the enemy before him, his hand still buried within the king’s gut, and said, “Death to tyrants.”

  “You don't have the strength to stand against us.” The king's eyes glowed black and panic joined the rage as he screamed. “You will suffer, and in the end She will claim your souls. Every one of you will be erased from the universe!”

  Every ounce of mana went into amplifying one last Flame Blast from within the king’s own torso. The king's screams were silenced by the sound of a boom. Blue fire shattered the darkness and tore through the arrogant king of shadows.

  Nik's enemy fell to the tower in tattered pieces.

  He descended with his regeneration fighting to counteract his injuries.

  He landed, dropping to one knee beside the king, and with a shaking hand pulled the crown from their head. Power flowed between Nik and the crown. A connection formed. The metal of the crown shifted in hue, a dark emerald overtaking the black.

  He could feel the possibilities of the tower, but they were beyond his level of control and understanding. The other kings were on their way, and if they were stronger than the king of shadows, then he needed to stop them from reaching Kyraneth.

  He had a choice to make, here and now. One final decision that would shake the foundations of his world. Two paths forward.

  The tower was fractured, but he could fight to make it whole again. That would mean having to face the other kings and fight to take their crowns. The second option was less predictable, and it was also the one he'd already chosen.

  Nik closed his eyes as he placed the crown on his head, and bent his will on the tower.

  He hesitated as he thought, This will keep the kings at bay, but once I do this, there's no going back.

  He took as deep a breath as his broken ribs would allow, opened his eyes, and said one word in command.

  “Break.”