Inferno Ascended

The Valosian could not remember the last time he had been so scared. He took a deep breath without taking his eyes off the glass lid.

"By the gods, she's really alive." 

"She's not alive. She is a revenant now," said the Emperor, scornfully.

Chriseis, or rather the creature inside, hit the glass once more. Glax thought he was directly observed by her, but he didn't see her eyes.

One of the men who took care of the machines went to a lever and waited for an order from the emperor. When Glax saw what was going to happen, he asked with a wave of his hand.

"No…don't do this. Please."

"It's the only thing that calms the…thing inside." The man spoke, not knowing how to finish the sentence in front of the emperor and Kroton.

"I really don't know what to make of her. From Nikandros' account she is even harder to kill than a vselys." Caius let out his breath to show his apprehension.

"I'm not sure a vselys is an undead just because it can get up a few times after its first kill, Emperor. Even necromancers disagree with this. They just aren't like humans."

Glax had to make up his mind now. He couldn't handle both at the same time, freeing Malko and Chriseis. But if he could get Malko out, it would be easier to deal with Chriseis later.

After the fight in the arena, he told Malko about his encounter with Damiamon and that Kalista had come out of a Valya's cauldron. And the escaped slave told him about Rumen. His master Rumen was in that Valya's Cauldron that had been in Medea and had been confiscated by imperial order.

Rumen had been the master of the Iatromancers' academy in Pharys, before they went to the depths of Tartarus, a 'doctor' of the vselys. 

Malko also explained to Glax a few things about the nature of his people that, in their own way, made sense to Glax. 

They weren't undead. They had the option of going into 'stasis', a coma-like state that could reverse body damage very quickly. However, each time they did this, they diminished their regenerative capacity, in one sense: although their bodies grew stronger, they stiffened spiritually. Their 'soul' became more and more attached to the receptacle of flesh. There was no more transmigration, reincarnation, dreams, and perhaps not even the relief of death for them.

For Glax, the vselys had a limited 'continue', keeping stats and XP each time.

Of course, the vselys never really wanted to explain this peculiar fact to the Stygians. They were raised in the Realm of Night, as distant relatives of humans and other anthropomorphic races that could still be found in Stygia, who had only one incarnation at a time.

Though his thoughts had gone very far in just a few seconds, he figured Caius wouldn't be easily convinced.

"They are dangerous and cunning. As you said yourself, you didn't experience the war or what happened here. I don't trust them, they brought a lot of disgrace to us."

Glax nodded. Rather than trying to convince the emperor about the case of an entire ethnic group, he could at least focus on the particularity of Malko's case.

"I came here because of Malko, a slave who served on the Imperial ship Medea. I met him when we fought together against Sillabot."

"You might have guessed that I wasn't aware of the use my brother put on these… vselys' coffins. I knew there are others."

"Malko was serving the Empire as ordered. He fled when there was a warrant for his arrest out of fear. But he just fulfilled his role without causing any problems."

"I don't understand why you defend him so much that you even came here for him."

"Because I don't want him to die. He was a hero like everyone else who fought Sillabot. He's not a threat to the empire. And… In fact, right now the big threat is on those who denounced his whereabouts. Enough necromancers to make a 'League'. I heard that a group of them went after another vselys slave who was in Pharys, working on Hercules. They 'sucked' all the energy out of the vselys, which shouldn't be a small thing. Sorcerers who joined necromancy are a huge danger now... I want to talk about the things I saw while traveling around, Emperor, but Malko needs to be released. He's the only person I know who understands this type of 'containers'. Maybe he knows what to do with Chriseis, and can help us."

After that little speech, Glax hoped it would be enough to get them to consider the idea. And completed.

"The Emperor could hear him, at least."

"Damn, maybe you're right. I don't know what to make of Lady Chriseis and I fear this will turn into a bigger problem than I can solve later. At the same time, I didn't want to turn things around for the Arch-General of the Echelians or leave it to him. I suspect he hasn't made a good decision, since she is his daughter…" Caius scratched his beard, explaining himself.

"I would think the same in your situation, Emperor," Glax agreed.

"The necromancers are killing the vselys?"

"Malko is trying to retrieve one of Valya's Cauldrons that has ended up in the hand of a necromancer. Apparently the necromancers fear and still think they can learn more nefarious secrets by subverting the vselys' restorative magic."

Caius was once again stroking his beard for a long time as he considered the best course to take. Then he looked at Glax.

"This is completely different from my first thoughts. It seems that the creatures are devouring the creators now…?"

"Necromancers are becoming very confident, that's what I know." He didn't want to let Caius think too hard about what he'd just decided, and change his mind, or be swayed against releasing Malko. "Can we see him now, please?"

Aurora huffed, "I don't know what to make of this. Are you really going to trust a vselys?"

"I don't trust them. But Glax does. If the slave says something valuable, he can earn his freedom."

"Then forgive me, but I'm not going with you. That place…affects it," she gestured toward her prosthetic leg. "I almost feel the bones that are no longer there."

Caius nodded. "Come on, Glax. Let's go to your friend. He's in a safe place, separate from the others. A vselys is always a dangerous prisoner and caused no little amount of chaos in the past."

Glax followed with the Emperor and the guards as Aurora returned to her quarters. 

Before leaving the palace underground, Caius pulled back his scarlet hood and donned a golden mask with Apollonian features.

They made their way with an escort of at least a dozen foot guards, in the middle of the night, through the palace complex. 

Glax saw the tower, which no doubt looked like a large square building that had been belatedly surrounded by a tower of columns and arches adorned with the statues of two giants. They had their backs to each other.

"Is this the inescapable tower?" Glax asked.

"It is the place where only the most dangerous beings have been kept," the emperor answered his question, walking ahead of him. As far as I know, no one ever escaped from there.

The place was not even guarded by more than five sentries, the Valosian noted. In addition, he could feel the divine magic in that huge bronze structure with warlike images in bas-relief. It was as big as a hangar.

The jailer came running to meet the emperor's arrival. After a brief exchange, the man nodded about opening the door. Together, they each placed their key in the corresponding lock.

He noticed when the emperor hesitated, the key stopped in mid-turn.

Glax felt his heart pound in anticipation. But Caius finally turned the key and the door began to rise. 

The inside of the large box was, unlike Glax had imagined, illuminated and gilded, as if the metal reflected argipyron light. His eyes lingered for a moment, not knowing what else to expect from that large container. 

"Where is he?" Glax frowned, not understanding. In front of him was several meters of a huge empty, golden hangar, with a high ramp that prevented him from seeing any further up.

"It's a very big prison and unlike anything you've ever seen, Glax. Let's go."

Caius strode up the ramp into the container with some guards. The imperial soldiers were restless. 

The Valosian followed, warily glancing around. He saw several strange and heavily worked sculptures lined up on either side as they reached the top of the container.

Sculptures made of bones and metal.

He quickly concluded that they were the same metal as the armor of imperial soldiers. 

At the same time, Glax heard the crash of the mechanisms in the great vault, and turned in astonishment. The door was closing again.

"Get him!" Caius ordered. The soldiers turned to Glax immediately.

"You son of a bitch."

Glax couldn't tell that this was a big surprise. He always knew there was that possibility. He just hoped that 'uncle' Caius wasn't a stupid, narrow-minded guy. But it was just his hope, not reality.

Before the guards got within two meters of him, Glax used his power to bend time and, as usual, everything stopped. 

That idiot had screwed up the possibility of Glax fixing too many things, and now, killing him would cause unprecedented chaos. What would happen without an emperor and no heir on the throne of Stygia?

'I must not kill him. I must prevent this confrontation from happening here and now.'

Glax realized that his manipulation of time was directly affecting the door. When he turned back time to rewind the action, the door mechanism doubled its speed. The most he could get back while the door was still open was a few meters away. 

"Oh crap." He realized his mistake just in time. They had all gone back to near the door, but the big, heavy bronze door a few dozen tons had already made nearly 80% of its way to closing!

Their reaction would have been priceless if Glax hadn't been in trouble too!

"WHAT?! HEY! THE DOOR!" Caius yelled, turning on his ankles like most.

"Fast!" Glax pushed him toward the door. The valosian couldn't rewind or change his action with a cooldown of a few minutes. The soldiers also turned to go under the door while they still could, while a few more loyal ones came towards the Emperor.

But of course, the idiot had to screw it up.

"Get him! It's an order! He mustn't leave here!"

The soldiers hesitated, of course. Who would want to stay inside the inescapable box to become an ornament? Caius was already bending under the door when Glax grabbed him by the neck.

"Nothing like that, champ! Either we get off together, or we don't at all!"

Caius didn't flinch, and turned with a kick. The two began to fight, and although Glax quickly had the advantage, when he finally managed to take the key, it was too late.

The door lurched harder and crushed the last straggler under it.

Glax sat on the floor

"CAIUS, YOU  BASTARDDDD!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.