From the mont Kahn was summoned into the World Boundary after dying in his original life as Elric to the point he was sent into Vantrea as the new Hero of Darkness... there was an underlying impact by one man whose actions in the past had always affected the direction of his life in both tilines.
In the original tiline, the first Kahn Salvatore, aka the Martial Emperor, had to walk the path all alone and barely reached the rank of a Peak 8th-stage Saint, but had to return to the past. In the current tiline, he orchestrated an entirely different route for Kahn to follow just so they could have a better chance at killing the Demon God.
But in both tilines... neither the original nor the current Kahn could escape the consequences of this one man’s actions over 300 years ago...
"Morpheus Constatine... the 8th Hero of Darkness."
The words echoed in this solemn and frosty hall as Kahn finally t the man who had directly shaped his new life even before he was chosen by the God of Darkness.
"You... that’s impossible!" exclaid Kahn in bewildernt.
"Is this another test?" he asked and looked around the hall while trying to rack his brains if he was under another illusion.
"No, this place is real. I... am real." spoke the man clad in intrinsically carved and masterfully crafted pitch-black armor that had skulls on both pouldrons, the waist belt, and even the knee guards.
The obsidian black greatsword in his hand was also an Ancient Rank weapon made from an unknown species whose aura was on par with Kahn’s Muramasa, which was made from a fang of a Royal Dragon.
The pale skin and the blue lips on this man’s face indicated that he had been in this frosted realm for far too long, to the point that his skin made him look like a vampire instead of a human.
The only thing that still resembled him to a human being was his orange iris in the eyes that almost glead on their own.
Kahn’s countenance then instantly grimaced.
"Is this what Lord Argos and Sir Lucian wanted to see? To find out that you are still alive?" asked Kahn, his hands shaking as he clenched his fists.
At this mont... Kahn was thoroughly angry. Not because he hated the man in front of him with a feeling of animosity as one would do against their mortal enemy, but because he had many grudges towards his predecessor and could never actually bla the man right on his face.
"Alive?... That I am not. I have died centuries ago." spoke the 8th Hero who finally made his appearance in Kahn’s life.
"The original Kahn Salvatore... what did he tell you about ?" asked Morpheus as his long and lustrous white hair, parting from the middle of his head, gently waved due to the chilling breeze.
"Nothing. He only ntioned eting the Revenant Sovereign much quicker in this tiline and also intentionally revealing my real face to all the empires during the Conclave of Heroes," spoke Kahn with a disdainful look.
"He did give a list of people that I had to et many years earlier in this tiline, but neither he nor lord Argos ntioned anything about you." iterated Kahn.
"That... is sothing we both agreed upon in the original tiline," said the forr Hero of Darkness.
"You already t him? If so, then why didn’t he inform about you?" asked Kahn in return as he gazed at the man skeptically.
"Because in this tiline... we needed you to et the God of Darkness first before you t .
That is why I sent my son to the Conclave of Heroes as the new representative of God of Darkness, and even displayed hostility towards the other empires. So their spokepersons and religious leaders would divert their attention on him.
Because we couldn’t afford him or the other gods knowing about my existence yet." revealed the pale white man who was just as tall as Kahn.
"So that’s why he took to the original Abyss Empire so early to awaken my divine key despite the risks of getting himself killed?" asked Kahn in return.
"Yes. In the original tiline, you or I should say, the original Kahn went there with the help of the Elder Dragon of Cosmos, Saalazaar.
But he had already t in that tiline, and we were exposed after the God of Darkness read all the mories of his soul. Including the secret of why I did what I did all those centuries ago.
And trust ... what I am going to tell you about the way to kill the Demon God... It’s sothing you don’t want the Gods to know in this one." said Morpheus.
It was right then... Kahn spoke firmly.
"Summon a throne. I have many questions.
And I’m not leaving until you answer them all."
******************
The atmosphere suddenly changed. Despite the freezing temperature and snowflakes running around in the air, the intense look Kahn gave the 8th Hero of Darkness made this confrontation heated.
"Tell ... how are you alive? Why are you still alive?" asked Kahn with a serious tone.
"As I ntioned before... I am not alive." responded Morpheus.
"Then what are you? A remnant half-soul?
Or are you perhaps a fragnt of the original person’s powers?" asked Kahn curiously.
"None of them. I am... but his mories made flesh." spoke the 8th Hero of Darkness.
"What?! His mories? Are you so kind of recorded catalog or similar to an interface?" asked Kahn again.
"No, I am what I just said. However, I was made this way because things had gotten out of control after I killed the Demon God.
And when I found out the truth about him and everything that was hidden by the Gods... I had no choice but to erase my existence from the world, whether it was my body, my soul, or my core.
The only thing that could be left behind were my mories. mories I had to keep around for my successor... That is you.
This is sothing even the original Kahn Salvatore knew that must be kept hidden in the new tiline from the God of Darkness.
That is why he kept it all hidden even from his new self." replied Morpheus with a stern tone.
"But how? Lucian told that this secret realm was tied to Kravel’s bloodline over 3 thousand years ago. But you died 250 years ago.
So how co you are hiding inside it? And why is Lucian helping you despite what you did 300 years ago?" asked Kahn insistently because there were simply too many things that were hidden in all the subtle information.
"Lucian... he knew everything back then. My plans, the outcos, and the consequences of what I was going to do.
Things so secretive that I couldn’t even tell my friend, Romulus." iterated Morpheus with a regretful tone.
"But God of Darkness said even he couldn’t sense you. But unlike the Martial Emperor... you haven’t ceased to exist completely.
And on top of it... You are inside a hidden realm that’s as big as the real Abyss Empire.
How is that even possible if you are just a ’mory’ as per your own words?" spoke Kahn.
This was not an effect of Space Law, so artifact like Tablet of Arcana, nor was this so kind of Ancient Rank magical formation.
Kahn knew because he had mastered them all.
"There is a reason why I am able to exist. You think that the hidden Abyss Empire is just one of those sealed realms. Even the God of Darkness seems to think so.
However, in this tiline, he doesn’t know that I exist, unlike the original one. And let guess..." spoke Morpheus, but it was Kahn who interrupted and finished the sentence instead.
"He doesn’t even rember who Argos Belmont is!"
******************
The tension in the air beca palpable as both sides, sitting on their respective thrones, now turned serious.
"What did you do? How co even a God, who rembers everything from the original tiline, doesn’t rember you or your adopted son?
What did you and the original Kahn plan that even I had to be kept out of the loop before I t God of Darkness?
What is this great secret that you had to shape my destiny even before I was summoned in this world?" questioned Kahn again and again.
"Be patient. I have the answers for all of them. And in ti, you will hear the entire truth.
As for your question about hiding in this realm... You are asking the wrong question itself," said Morpheus stoically.
Kahn expected the 8th Hero of Darkness to be so overpowered and overwhelmingly tyrannical person. But the man before him was neither of those.
If anything... he looked like a grieving man who lost everything, even his own self.
"What you and the God of Darkness think of the new Abyss Empire as a hidden realm...
Is the result of my divine ability... " revealed the 8th Hero of Darkness.
"The Abyss Sanctuary."
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