New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Leon saw a portal appear in front of him the moment he pulsed out with Aether, and the next moment, it was swallowing him whole.

He didn't get a second to react, and he was already in another room, with an old man before him, who held a staff in his hands.

The staff shone blue, and a rope made of water snapped toward Leon.

It was too quick for him to react but harmless enough that he didn't feel the need to.

But the moment it touched him, he ended up wrapped up tightly in a strong layer of ice. He couldn't move a muscle, and breathing was difficult.

Leon glared at the old man, wondering what this was about.

"Before you start cursing me out, young lion, know that I am doing this for your good. You did something stupid, and I'm concealing you from prying eyes."

Leon kept his eyes locked on him, ready to engulf himself in flames to break free if he sensed even an ounce of threat from him.

"For me? You bring me here without warning and then tie me up and seal my Aether in my body. How is this for me?"

Aravelle looked at him with a discouraged gaze.

"Ah, you are just like him. It checks out why you accepted him as king, I reckon. But what you did wasn't smart. Using your Aether over a large area like that. Are you trying to bring the eyes of the gods to this place?"

Leon's gaze changed to confusion.

"What does that change? What would the gods want from this small, inconsequential kingdom in the realm of mortals? And what does my Aether have anything to do with them?"

Aravelle sighed loudly.

"Let's put this conversation on hold for a moment. Given the kingdom's demographical change, I believe two other people should be present. I'll get them here and release you if you stop radiating your power like this."

Leon stayed wary of the old man, but nodded anyway. Bottling up his power, the ice melted from his body, freeing up his limbs.

Aravelle focused for a moment before frowning.

***

Outside Aravelle's hidey-hole, Astaroth heard him call inside his head, and by Selena's face changing, he knew he had also called out to her.

'I need you here for a while. Drop what you're doing and get ready to teleport,' Aravelle's voice commanded him.

'Nah. I'm busy. I'll come later,' Astaroth replied, shoving more food into his mouth.

But he quickly understood it wasn't a request when he felt his body shift from the matter, getting sucked into the branch he was seated on and reappearing inside Aravelle's room. Only, he wasn't on the ground.

"What the—oof!" he exclaimed as he dropped the twenty feet that separated him from the ceiling, falling on his back.

"I told you before, young man. You don't turn down my requests. You are in no position to deny me anything."

Selena's face turned to rage as she saw this old man mistreat her charge, and her body started growing in size.

"Back down, Selena. He doesn't mean us harm. At least for now," Leon's voice came from behind her.

"He teleports us against our will, then drops the king from the ceiling. That's enough reason for me to want to harm him," Selena said, chuffing between the sentences.

"Pipe down, kitten. If I wanted you harmed, you'd be dead," Aravelle threatened.

Selena growled at Aravelle, the kitten comment rubbing her fur the wrong way. But Astaroth rose to his feet and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Selena. He's not an enemy. Although I wouldn't call him a friend or ally, he's not against us. But I do wonder why you called us here urgently like this. This doesn't seem like you."

Aravelle brushed aside the matter of threats and growing tension, making his staff disappear.

"I had a good reason, that which I will share with you now. But, first, let me congratulate you on something, young king. Congratulations on your transcendence. Although it came much too early, and you are at incredible risk, it is no small feat."

Astaroth's face scrunched up.

"How did you know that? I haven't told anyone yet…" he said, his eyes narrowing.

"Did you think you could hide that from someone like me? Someone who has also transcended? How very foolish of you…" Aravelle admonished him.

But the two others present were in shock, looking at Astaroth with wide eyes and slack jaws.

When Astaroth saw how they were looking at him, he frowned. Novel Fire - novelfire.net

"What? Something wrong with my face?" he asked, faking to touch his face for a problem.

Selena had only recently learned about transcendence when she asked Leon how he had become this strong. But the latter knew a little more.

Alantha Anulo had told him more about it, as he had skipped that process altogether.

So, he was the only one to open his mouth to respond.

"Astaroth… Do you realize what that means?"

Astaroth shrugged his shoulders, not sure what it changed at all.

Leon's face turned to disbelief. He looked at Aravelle, understanding why he had pulled him here so fast, and sealed his Aether.

Looking back at Astaroth, who was still waiting for an answer, he sighed.

"It means you painted the biggest target in existence on yourself and, by that intermediary, the entire kingdom…"

Then he looked at Selena, and he sighed even louder.

"And you inadvertently made the target bigger by swearing him eternal fealty…"

"I had no idea…" Selena mumbled, her eyes still wide.

"I know. I doubt he himself knew what he was doing," Aravelle interrupted them.

"But I have a way of fixing this. As long as we can follow a simple set of rules and limit the usage of Aether around the king, he shouldn't attract too much attention."

Astaroth was still confused.

"What the hell are you talking about? Our kingdom was already painted as a target for many enemies. What does that transcendence change to it all?"

Aravelle looked at him and frowned.

"You really don't know, do you? The world hasn't shown you the way yet… That means they don't know either. That's good. We can work with this," Aravelle said, brushing his beard.

"Know what?!" Astaroth lost patience.

Aravelle clicked his tongue at the shouting.

"You've stepped on the path to godhood. But you did so without the power and prestige to defend your place. Now, every other player in that path will be after you, and they are more numerous than you would think. That also includes minor gods.

"You just made yourself the number one target in the world. Taking you down means a chance at stealing your followers and prestige and being that much closer to ascending. But since the gods don't know yet, you still have a chance at passing under their radar."

Astaroth looked at Aravelle with a blank stare.

"The path to godhood? What the hell are you on about?"

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