Immortal Kingdoms

As opulent to the eye and refreshing to the mind as it had always been, the style of Tesla's in the conduction of the self and the display of their wealth. The group made their way through long corridors basking in warm artificial light that seemed to caress their bodies and souls, a soothing feeling encasing their senses.

Then, the floral scent and the wafts of appetizing delicacies that lingered in the air seemed to magnify the hunger indirectly by reminding the masses of how delectable food can be.

"Where is Godfather?"

Kieran suddenly asked as they have been separated from Leonardo for too long now. They were about to reach their dining area, but Leonardo was nowhere to be seen ever since they entered the building, and a maid requested for him to follow her.

Rosamond was quick to reply, "He is going to meet with a great figure of our establishment, that may take a bit of the Esteemed Guest's time…"

…

Leonardo was walking down an old, undecorated stone corridor that was both cold and warm for some reason. A hint of a familiar yet unfamiliar aura encroached upon him the further he progressed down this seemingly endless path.

"You can feel it, can't you?"

An ethereal voice echoed in the corridors in beat with Leonardo's barely audible, light steps. Leonardo's brows joined and locked for a long moment as he walked down this mix of illusion and reality, following either his instincts or the voice it was unknown, but a sense of familiarity and a distant calling was indeed present in the ambiance.

"Perhaps fate and karma are real? However, are they elusive and beyond reach, or are they mere tools for the power to dictate the lives of the weak?"

"In that case, who is powerful and who is weak?"

"What is power? Is it the light in the sky or the shadow on the wall? Is it in life or in death?"

"Anyone with a semblance of strength can take a life, but how powerful must one be to save a life? Give a life? And inconceivable even… Create life?"

"I've been watching you since you first arrived in Valdmor. Well, not that I thought highly of you, but something down the corridor in which you walk right now did."

"I sometimes take it for a dead object, but it sometimes speaks to me about things. Things which I do not understand, things which I do not believe, things which I hoped to prove wrong…"

"For example, fate and the preordained. However, once again have I been proven wrong, and my predecessors who lurked in the depths of this corridor in a world of darkness and gloom before me for successive generations have been proven wrong too."

"So tell me, preordained child of bleak fate, do you believe in fate and karma? If I told you that this was all prearranged even before the first light of the first sun and the first star of Arcadia, would you still dare enter this darkness?"

…

It was unknown when Leonardo's creased brows had actually relaxed, and quite visibility at that. In fact, his once light steps were now absolutely soundless as wisps of faint black smoke twirled on the tips of his silver hair and the corners of his eyes. Before he knew it, he wasn't even listening to the ethereal voice anymore, only focused on the depthless darkness down this cold path.

"I see…" The ethereal voice uttered in disappointment, yet a tinge of relief washed the undercurrents of remorse within.

In no time at all, the darkness ahead expanded like a flood and swallowed Leonardo whole.

He raised an eyebrow as he could sense the subtle change in the fundamental laws of space-time, indicating that he was brought into an isolated pocket dimension from the outside world, and this is quite an astonishing feat in a place like the middle realms without the aid of a respected divinity.

"So you've chosen to enter after all," A very young woman with long black hair and a pair of hazel green eyes stood in the empty patch of darkness, a soft halo of white light shrouding her body and plain white robes like a beacon in this darkness while she curiously observed Leonardo's body.

"I'm wondering, what connections do you have with this divine obelisk?" She tilted her head, innocent curiosity coloring her otherwise stunning face.

"Obelisk?" Leonardo muttered to himself, confusion riddling his eyes as he looked past the woman, only to see a tall pillar so pitch-black it actually stood quite conspicuously even in this region of darkness where Leonardo struggled to see his own hands.

Intermittent flashes of light pulsed through its surface, revealing scrolls of a language unknown to Leonardo sketched across the unknown black material.

"What is written exactly?" Leonardo approached the massive black pillar seemingly without putting any guard against this woman who didn't leak a hint of worldly energy from her body.

"I don't know exactly, we are merely fulfilling our end of the agreement with it. As for what it is exactly, even we don't know."

The woman shook her head with a bitter smile, turning to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Leonardo.

"You mean?"

Leonardo turned his head and looked at this woman who didn't look much older than himself with an expression he thought to be calm yet inquisitive.

The woman acted as though she didn't notice the irregular tremors of Leonardo's eyes and responded truthfully, " Years ago during the War of Dominion when the atmospheric membrane was at its weakest, this pillar of darkness descended on this land. At first, everyone thought that this was a result of the clash between what we now refer to as the 'Gods' of the middle realms. It was one curious young man in the throes of battle who valiantly and gallantly charged into the enemy ranks to rescue a woman he so dearly cherished and loved."

Sigh…

"When he found her, on her last breaths she was, gasping words of love that melted his ironed-out heart as tears of agony washed the woman's face; the tears of a man with a will of steel. Those tears are exceptionally hot and burning."

"It was then when the obelisk first spoke to the man and offered him a path to survival, a path to power, a path to save a life and live long thereafter. However, that came at a price, which was to guard the obelisk and wait for the destined child of fate. It could take hundreds, thousands, and even millions of years, but that was the price to pay to clear themselves from that karma."

"That woman became the first Tesla, and after she came the second, third, and countless more until we arrived at this day. The obelisk sometimes spoke and taught Tesla about the world beyond the world barrier, and how pitifully small of an existence we in fact are. As repayment for our karma, every Tesla is bestowed with an immortal constitution and a choice, the choice to follow the destined one once he finally shows himself or simply be content with life on Arcadia after having her memories of these secrets sealed."

"Let me guess, you didn't believe it at first?" Leonardo suddenly interjected her story, as even he found it truly unbelievable. However, when he thought about it, it seemed that everyone he was in contact with so far after embarking from Earth was a personage of extremely high origins.

"At first, I didn't. But now, this will be the ultimate answer," The woman looked at Leonardo and spoke in a calm voice, "It said you are the son of the bleak fate, so you can go ahead and try."

Leonardo gave this woman a look, then gave the obelisk a deeper look. It can't be said that he fully believed her, but it can't be said that he rejected this idea either.

After all, even if he wanted to take a step back and blame it on superstition and coincidence, there was one word that flashed occasionally on the black surface that he could hardly ignore.

Its meaning seemed to bubble from the depths of his consciousness as the black sea within grew restless.

Leonardo looked at this ancient word on the so-called divine pillar, silently muttering to himself for a bit before reaching out a hand, and touching it.

'Infernal?'