Chapter 591
"Lucky," Malzor finally conceded, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "Because you delivered what you promised, even if the path was... circuitous. I achieved what I sought. But unlucky," he added, his gaze becoming distant, as if looking through Phantom and into the vast expanse of the Abyss itself, "because you revealed how much more there is beyond that ambition. The ceiling I fought so hard to reach is just another floor to beings like your creator, and to the Abyss itself."
He brought one massive clawed hand to his chest. "The fire I felt, the desperate need to rise... it’s still here, but it’s different now. Quieter. The chase was the essence, perhaps. Now that I’ve caught it, I see the endlessness of it all." He paused, a long, thoughtful silence stretching between them. "So, you are preparing a stage for your new host. What role do I play in this new act, Phantom?"
Phantom shook his head, Rattan’s face betraying no emotion. "I can’t tell you what role to play. Be you, Malzor. Follow the words of your new lord, Zarvok."
"All things will fall into place after that." With those cryptic words, Phantom took control of Rattan’s new body, launching it into the air. The frozen landscape trailed right behind as he plunged into the abyss portal they came through.
Malzor, left alone in the vast, frozen expanse of the Abyss, let out a deep, rumbling laugh that echoed across the ice. Meeting Phantom had brought a strange sense of peace to his mind, settling the simmering questions of his past ambition and igniting a new, clear purpose. The world looked different from the perspective of a sixth-tier being. He hadn’t yet fully consolidated his newfound strength or sifted through the vast inherited knowledge that came with his current stage, but he understood one fundamental truth: this stage meant power.
For now, he accepted his place under a new lord, because he simply couldn’t yet picture himself as more. But Malzor knew he possessed the ultimate luxury: time, eternity itself. There would come a time for change, for a new ascension. For now, he was keenly interested in this "stage" Phantom had spoken of, curious about the roles destined to be played.
As Malzor slowly floated down towards the silent, frozen ground, a thought drifted through his ancient mind. "It seems my stage with Phantom is complete," he mused, a faint, almost wistful note in his thought. "I wonder what the ending would have looked like."
He thought as he looked back into the distance where his army was now approaching, his current mission was to secure this area and set up a new frontier to suprise the empire and prevent them form moving recklessly.
As they plunged into the portal, Phantom swapped consciousness, and Rattan instantly took over. His body, which moments ago had soared with newfound power, now felt strangely battered and weakened. A wave of confusion washed over him, but before he could voice it, a message from Phantom resonated within his mind: his current appearance was needed for his next role.
Rattan didn’t need it spelled out. He understood. His recent gains, his transformation into a fifth-stage being, the artifact cube—all of it needed to be hidden, camouflaged beneath the guise of a survivor. He stumbled as he pushed himself forward, making his way back towards the Empire. He just needed to pretend long enough, to project the image of a broken but victorious hero, to capture the Empire’s attention. He knew they wouldn’t be far behind; they would be eagerly awaiting news, desperate for any indication of the battle’s outcome. And Rattan, the humble craftsmith, now bearing the skin of a war hero, was ready to deliver.
Deep within the stolen memories of Kaelen, now laid bare by Phantom’s extraction, Ikenga and Keles found themselves immersed in a past that held the answers to their pressing questions. Ikenga had demanded these memories, desperate to understand: "How did the goblins become free folk? Where did the mages go? Why was everyone watchful and scared of Vellok?" These weren’t questions an enemy would willingly answer; the truth had to be taken by force, as it was with Kaelen.