‘Believe what you want. I was born for greatness and- Great Mother almighty!’ It is said that seeing is believing, yet Orpal had a hard time believing his own eyes.
Their flight path had led them above the Zalka mountain range and everything looked normal until Orpal noticed that the top of one of the peaks had arms and legs. In the pallid moonlight, it was hard to tell the snowy crests from the white stone.
The Dead King had noticed the lost city solely because he was following the stream of world energy coming from the mana geyser below the real mountain and found an energy signature that didn’t belong to Mogar yet strong enough to eclipse it.
‘Okay, I’ve found him. The problem is: how do I get him to do what I want?’ Night remained silent but at this point, Orpal had gotten used to their old routine.
He pondered the issue for a while, keeping a distance from the cursed object to escape its attention until he had a clear strategy to achieve his goal. Manipulation had the highest chances of success only on their first encounter, when the lost city was still unaware of Orpal’s origins and goals.
Two living legacies meeting twice in less than a few centuries was something unheard of. It happened solely when they worked together or one of them needed something from the other.
Upon their second meeting, the lost city would get suspicious and not listen to a word Orpal said until it had a clear idea of his motives.
‘Let’s put it this way. Assuming that this bastard is at least as smart as me, how would I convince myself to kill Leech if he weren’t my brother?’ The Dead King thought while trying to find a solution to his problem.
Flattery was pointless with someone so powerful. Stroking his ego could help make a good first impression, but he wouldn’t move just because an ant asked him to. The same applied to asking for a favor or offering a reward.
Orpal had no good feelings one could appeal as well and he would demand an ungodly price for his services because he was worth it. A beautiful woman could pique his interest but why barter for something that he could just take?
‘Damn, I’m just too perfect.’ Orpal had a hard time being angry with himself as he swelled with pride. ‘There’s no way someone like me can fall for petty tricks-‘
His train of thought derailed when his own words triggered painful memories of the many times he had been duped and thrown away during his unsuccessful criminal career.
‘No! It wasn’t my fault!’ Years had passed yet the humiliation of making a fool out of himself still burned like it was yesterday. ‘I did nothing wrong. I trusted them and they betrayed me, just like my family.
‘Besides, back then I was only human. Now I’m so much more but maybe that old fart is still plagued by the weakness that I shed away.’ Orpal complimented himself for his past stupidity, using it as inspiration for his current endeavor.
Night was as silent as flabbergasted. Those flashbacks weren’t her doing, just another symptom of her host’s narcissistic behavior. Yet what shocked her wasn’t his newfound strategy but his ability to twist reality until even a defeat looked like a victory.
Or at least it became someone else’s fault.
Orpal rode Moonlight through the sky with purpose while still looking left and right as if he had yet to find the ancient titan.
The moment he entered the lost city’s detection array field the creature stood up to better study the newcomer, giving the Dead King a plausible excuse to notice its presence.
‘If the Council sent that worm thinking that just because my energy reserves are low, they have a shot at me, they are sorely mistaken.’ Unlike the smaller living legacies, lost cities rarely needed to change their host and Thaymos was no exception.
No one had ever managed to harm him so the human he was bonded with dated to the era before his imprisonment, making the lost city unaware of how much Mogar had changed over the millennia.
On top of that, even with a host, lost cities needed an external energy source to fuel their abilities.
No matter how big and powerful their power core was or what kind of spell had given them birth, they needed access to a mana geyser to recover their strength quickly after a fight.
Without one, once they expended their mana, they would be forced to slumber until their power core absorbed enough world energy. It took quite a while and was the reason most of the lost cities had been successfully imprisoned.
Pride was always their downfall since until they were captured, the cursed objects considered themselves invincible, having no care to manage their strength and paying no attention to the puny spells cast by lesser beings.
<"Hi, brother. Do you understand me?"> Orpal used an ancient language of Jiera while tracing with his fingers the secret runes that living legacies used to identify themselves as members of the family.
[“What the heck are you saying and who are you?”] The lost city replied in one of the earliest versions of Tyris’ universal language, making Orpal inwardly grunt in disappointment.
‘Even his introduction runes are outdated. On the one hand, if he has been imprisoned for this long my job will be easier. On the other hand, his old ass enchantments might lack in power.’ The Dead King kept his distance, afraid it might be a ruse to get him close enough to activate Baba Yaga’s destruction spell.
Albeit old, the lost city had broken free from its prison and even the Guardians of Jiera had failed to stop it. The strength of such a living legacy couldn’t be underestimated.
[“I said: hi, brother. Do you know who I am?”] Orpal felt the outdated yet powerful arrays of the lost city scanning his armor, steed, and him with a rudimentary mana sense.
[“No, but I recognize the workings of the old hag on you. What does a child of Baba Yaga want from Thaymos, the Eternal Fortress?”]
[“Nothing. I’m the Bright Day and our meeting is due to chance. I’m running away from the Destroyer and I suggest you do the same if you value your life. Farewell, brother.”] Orpal kept looking around and pressed Moonlight forward, pretending to have no intention of continuing that conversation.
[“Stop right there! You dare talk to me like we are equals yet you seem afraid of this so-called Destroyer. Do you really think that the old hag can protect you from me but not from him?”] Thaymos’ anger made Orpal’s lips curl up in triumph.
‘He doesn’t know me nor what Baba Yaga’s Horsemen look like. I can use this to my advantage.’
[“Indeed.”] The Dead King turned Moonlight around while keeping himself far away enough from the lost city to dodge everything it might throw at him with ease. [“Why do you think he’s called the Destroyer?
[“He’s a traitor to the family who has killed three lost cities and as many cursed objects like me.]
