593 Unavoidable War

Together, the Warlord’s personal guard and the elemental scouts traveled the last stretch to To’Han, the Elemental’s home planet. A short time that inevitably saw them interact with one another, satisfy their curiosities, and study each other’s intentions.

The closer to the destinations the convoy were, the more they would interact, seeing the short time they had left as the last opportunity left before their two leaders would decide whether the groups they led would end up sharing this universe, or face each other as enemies.

One of these interactions saw Nihala and Kyle approach the group composed of several wind and fire elementals, who, as opposed to the elementals of water, capable of maintaining their solid shape in space by turning themselves into statues of ice, or earth elementals, capable of turning themselves into stone, were struggling to face the vacuum of space.

Seeing the elementals of wind and fire struggle, Kyle turned towards the spatial elemental, and immediately realized that, aside from providing a flat surface on which his peers could stand on, the spatial elemental did not appear to be interested in providing any form of help. This detail lodged itself in the back of his mind, as he casually created a spatial dome around the platform the elementals were riding.

Now separated from the void, the wind elemental instinctively produced a mixture of gasses, which in turn fed into the fire elemental’s flames. Once they found a balance, the two quietly turned towards Kyle and Nihala, who had quietly approached their platform, and bowed slightly, “Unnecessary, but appeaciated, cultivators.” The wind elemental said.

“Not a problem.” Nihala responded with a bright smile, revealing a set of light blue pointy teeth. “I am Nihala, of the Warlord’s Personal Guard. This is Kyle.. and you are..?”

The fire and wind elementals looked at one another for a brief moment. They already expected that, at some point, they would be approached. After all, this was the only opportunity the cultivators had to obtain information about their opposition before actually seeing it in person. What caused them to be taken aback, however, was the question.

To respond was the fire elemental. A flaming humanoid creature which, before being given gasses to consume, appeared as a human-shaped glass container filled to the brim with pure lava. The fire that covered the elemental’s body began to flicker, and change in color, as he said, “Our kind doesn’t use names. We identify one another through our abilities to exercise our control, and in the way we represent our nature.”pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ.ᴄᴏᴍ

“Oh” Nihala responded in short-lived surprise.

Both her and Kyle had never encountered perfect elementals. Only newly born ones, incapable of thought and only able to display the most basic forms of element. Creatures that in their eyes appeared identical, similar to how two candle flames were alike, two ice cubes, or two rocks.

As an elemental grew, however, concepts of the elements would be added to their existence.. Allowing them to display an increasingly higher array of combinations of concepts, making them as unique as the combination of a human’s voice, personality, physical appearance and name was.

Unfortunately, most of these unique high level elementals would usually be wiped out early on by the sentient races that inhabited their planets of origin, allowing for only the most primitive and least valuable elementals to survive. As Nihala looked at Kyle, she too understood how difficult it would have been for her to distinguish between one human and another, had a more powerful race wiped every primate down to their most primitive members.

Confused by Nihala’s oddly compassionate stare, Kyle shook his head for a moment, then turned back towards the two elementals. “The.. Warning you sent us, it came as a surprise. As you can see from my companion, we are not used to seeing such developed members of your kind. How did you find this universe?” Any human could have noticed the hint of anger in the way Kyle pronounced the word ‘warning’, yet, that small detail was wasted on the elementals, who failed to pick up on it.

“How do you know we found it, and have not ‘developed’ here instead?” The wind elemental inquired as sharp gusts of wind began to fill the dome. A reaction that, better than Kyle’s tone, displayed the way the elemental had perceived the question.

“The lack of native cultivators occupying the interdimensional portal is the main reason.” Kyle responded. “When a new universe opens, the native powers always try to control the portal’s traffic.. You didn’t, so it is safe to assume you came here yourself, and are not bothering to defend the portal because you are aware of Horror’s campaign heading this way.” pᴀɴᴅᴀ ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ

“We came to ask you to leave.” The fire elemental retorted.

Kyle’s and Nihala’s brows narrowed. “Ask? That is quite the peculiar way of putting it.” the former said with a palpable hostility which soured the peaceful mood between the two groups, causing them to stop interacting with one another, and continue their journey in silence.

—–

Just hours after this last interaction was concluded, the convoy came upon a planetary system composed of an immensely large orange star around which orbited only a handful of small planets. Before entering the star’s gravitational pull, however, the convoy came to a halt.

The spatial elemental turned around, facing the following Warlord and group of cultivators, and with an aloof tone said, “We have reached our destination.”

The Warlord’s attention, otherwise focused on his meditation, had been picked. With an attentive expression he opened his eyes, and began to observe his surroundings. His sense did not reveal any hidden creature other than the elementals that had accompanied him and the cultivators that followed him.

As his mind began to wander, however, the spatial elemental approached his position while surrounded by the other elementals. “Leader of invaders, bringer of death and destruction. I know why you came here.” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀ ꪶ

The Warlord nodded his head faintly, then muttered, “Let us join you then, enlighten us.” These were the first few words the Warlord had ever muttered, yet they came with the full weight of his power and position. The invitation, in the elemental’s ears, sounded more like an order.. One which he had no right to refuse.

Despite this odd effect, the spatial elemental did not get flustered. Instead, he maintained his composure as he began to explain. “Not mentioning the attack revealed that you are already aware that we were only ordered to warn you, not harm you. Furthermore, your numbers are not enough to mount an attack.. Meaning that you are not here for revenge, but to speak with the Lord.”

“I cannot allow that to happen.”

“Why did you attack us? We mean you no harm, we sought to use this universe for the same reason as you did. There is more than enough space for all of us to coexist!” Kyle blurted out, unable to keep these questions to himself any longer.

The glass-like surface of the spatial elemental began to change. Once solid and crystalline, it now curved, as if starting to melt, then solidified revealing sharp edges. Whatever emotions were causing such a change in the creature’s appearance, they were in no way weaker than Kyle’s feelings.

“In MY experience, the sweeter a cultivator’s words, the sharper their knives.” The elemental responded before finally regaining his composure. “Our kind’s lost potential.. The potential to live as our ancestors if given enough time. Because that is the problem.. Time. It is all a matter of time.”

“With time, your leader will die. With time, your views will change. With time, we will stop being the possible allies you look at us as, and you’ll succumb to your greed.” While his voice maintained the aloofness characteristic of the spatial elementals, the longer he spoke, the less stable his appearance became. “We will only have time, if we cut yours short, and that is what we will do. No matter the sacrifices we will have to make.”

The moment he finished speaking, the spatial elemental turned towards the flaming figure Nihala and Kyle had interacted with a few hours earlier. As his transparent eyes landed on him, the flame was dozed off. The silhouette, once that of a human, had begun to collapse in itself, squeezed by invisible walls from which there was no escape.

The fire elemental was dying, but before he could the walls stopped.

Surprised by the sudden loss of control, the spatial elemental turned towards the Warlord, whom he had found standing a few feet away. “I also know what you want to do.” The Warlord muttered before grabbing the glass-like silhouette by the throat. “Kill your own, escape, then put their deaths on us.. The invaders who came to slaughter you all. I too, cannot allow that to happen.”

After listening to the Warlord’s words, the appearance of the spatial elemental began to vibrate, so violently that the former started to believe the creature would shatter under in between his fingers. That, however, was not what was happening. The spatial elemental, once aloof and indifferent, sounded almost amused as he responded, “Well, you only got it half right.”

“I was never meant to escape.. And I never needed to kill them myself.” He said with a matter-of-fact tone before turning towards the other elementals. “Show them your resolve!” He then exclaimed.

These few words seemed to ignite something within the remaining elementals, who immediately stepped out of the spatial dome Kyle had made for them. What came out of it, however, weren’t the struggling silhouettes they had seen before, but something else.

Clusters of gasses that immediately dissipated, droplets of water that boiled into nothing, flames that burned out of existence. The elementals walked to their death on their own accord, and with no hesitation.

As the Warlord witnessed this, he softened the grip around the spatial elemental’ neck. He had finally gotten the full picture.

“Oh yes. Throughout the countless years our species have lived together, we too learned something from you. Viciousness.” The spatial elemental added as the Warlord finally turned to look back at him.

“And if I were to kill you here, and deny any of this happening..?” the Warlord asked in a faint tone, implying that the spatial elemental already knew how to reply.

The silhouette vibrated once more, “It’s too late.. One of our people already alerted the Lord. They already know.” As he finished speaking, the spatial cultivator began struggling, but only faintly. His goal was not to break free, but for his head to turn enough to allow him to see the Elemental’s home planet.

pᴀɴᴅᴀ-ɴ0ᴠᴇʟ As he caught a glimpse of it, he immediately stopped. His body stopped vibrating, and once again stabilized, displaying an odd sense of calmness. The usual aloofness had returned to his voice as he spoke what the Warlord knew to be this ancient being’s last words, “I don’t care about my ancestor’s ambitions.. Nor who will lead my kind. I am proud my life was given in exchange for a chance for my people to.. Finally, find peace..”

The last few words resounded through the surroundings like an echo, a sound that bounced on the spatial elemental’s body as it finally shattered, drifting lifelessly away into pieces, yet leaving behind a transparent bead charged with the comprehension of spatial essence. Of this ancient being, only a small treasure remained.

For a few moments, this small bead floated around within the Warlord’s grip, as he began thinking. He could not blame the elementals for their actions. He himself could not have promised that, after his death, his people would not go back on any agreement, and decide to repeat what their kind had done countless times in the past.. Hence why he could not deny any of the elemental’s words.

Of all the enemies he had faced in the past, this was the type he liked the least. An enemy that fought for the good of their people. The idea of facing something like that, he hated.. for it would always make him question his actions. Chip at his desire for victory.

What woke him up, was thinking of those who, contrary to the ones who had just given up their lives here, were acting out of greed. The sheer idea of these entities tainting these beings’ noble goals brought up a feeling of anger in him. An anger that filled his ears with a piercing buzz, a murderous intent that deafened him to the words that his followers kept repeating.

“-have to go!” Nihala exclaimed, as millions of creatures left Xia’s planets and took to space before heading in their direction.

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