Chapter 103: Shattering the Monolith
Ryan continued his slow, steady advance, each step a resounding declaration of his dominance. Malakor, the Prophet of Chaos, was in a full-blown panic.
He had thrown everything he had at this strange, calm man; rocks, fire, shadow creatures, even the very weight of the world and nothing had worked. It was like trying to punch the tide.
His opponent didn’t just resist his attacks; he seemed to calmly un-do them, as if correcting a child’s simple mistake.
The cultists, who had been chanting and swaying with feverish devotion, had fallen silent. Their wild, crazed energy was fading, replaced by a growing sense of confusion and fear.
Their all-powerful Prophet, the man who spoke with the voice of the glorious Schism, was losing. Badly.
"Impossible!" Malakor shrieked, stumbling backward as Ryan took another step. "The chaos is the ultimate power! It is the true nature of the universe! Order is a lie! A cage! Why won’t you break?!"
"Because you’re wrong," Ryan said, his voice simple and clear. He was now standing at the base of the rocky platform where Malakor stood. "Order isn’t a cage. It’s a foundation. It’s what allows things to grow. You don’t offer freedom. You offer a mess. And frankly, I don’t like messes."
This simple, almost fatherly, scolding was the final insult. Malakor completely lost control.
"IF YOU WILL NOT EMBRACE THE CHAOS," his mind-voice roared, so loudly that even Ryan winced, "THEN I WILL DROWN THIS ENTIRE VALLEY IN IT!"