Ryker

I was staring from the space Lord Nyx created as Nil unleashed some <Magic> with the help of that blasted <Eternal> upon Umbra; he acted so high and might when he was being helped by that forling <Eternal>. Whatever <Magic> it was could be felt in the space despite being severed from Tenebrae as there was a massive fluctuation of <Mana> while some ethereal blade began shredding the copies Lord Nyx made at an incredible rate. <Ichor> burst out of all of them in fountains as the blade got faster, rapidly chaining through them like lightning. It was bad enough Nil decided to use my corpses to fly a Speranza flag, but now he got to somehow cheat the battle like the coward he was. How? How did he cast that? That was a new <Spell>, and he was currently a child. How could one <Eternal> create such a drastic difference?

"That <Eternal> is King Krahinn. While I may not like him, I will at least recognize he is one of the strongest beings alive. Not the strongest of course." Lord Nyx chuckled, seeming unbothered by the fact that the plan was falling apart.

"What can we do? That <Magic> is ruining everything!" I requested as I couldn't understand how calm she was. She is a Lord, maybe she knows something I don't.

"We? What we is there?" Lord Nyx inquired with a laugh.

"You said I was your chosen to free Tenebrae of the demon scourge!" I retorted. What was she saying?

"Oh, about that; it is simple. I lied." Lord Nyx informed me as she began cackling. What. She had to be testing me, right?

"Keep thinking that." Lord Nyx laughed at me. I could feel my blood begin to boil. This could not be real; this had to be a test.

"Why? What do you mean, you lied?! Why wo-" I began before my voice simply ceased to make sound.

"Ugh, I hate listening to mortals prattle on. It should be fairly obvious." Lord Nyx sighed as she gave me a dismissive hand wave.

I tried speaking again, but no sound came out. My mind was reeling as I tried processing what she was saying. What did she lie about? Why would she lie about that? Lord Nyx looked at the unfolding chaos and just cackled uncontrollably as she saw the <Magic> tear through them; her cackling angered me even more. Was this some sick joke to her? Her formless figure looked at me and just laughed even harder to the point she fell over, rolling on the ground from how hard she was laughing. I tried screaming in anger at her, to yell at her, but Lord Nyx completely removed my voice. I tried moving towards her form only to learn that I also was frozen in place by her <Magic>. Why was she doing this? Why would she lie? What could she have wanted? Lord Nyx laughed for a solid five minutes as she laughed at my misery. After she finished her laughing fit, Lord Nyx dramatically stood back up and wiped away nonexistent tears from her face with several composing breaths.

"Oh Ryker, you are truly a fool." Lord Nyx mocked me as she took a composing breath.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! WHY ELSE WOULD YOU HELP ME?!" I roared at her; sort of surprised sound actually came out.

"Why I do most things, to entertain myself." Lord Nyx confessed like it was obvious.

"WAS I JUST A PAWN TO YOU?!" I cried at her, not understanding why she would do this.

"Clearly." Lord Nyx confirmed in the most condescending tone as a malicious smile stretched across her featureless form.

I stood there, slack jawed as I struggled to grasp what Lord Nyx was saying; she was so casual, so flippant as she talked. Was this all a ploy by her? I looked at Umbra, trying to see if maybe it wasn't as grim as I thought, only to see the <Magic> nearly annihilated every copy by this point. I lost. All of her help, all of those copies, and I lost. All of Nil's family members were alive, battered but alive, and now Lord Nyx was acting like this was all some sort of game to her. Just some dead guards and burnt buildings were all I had to show for my efforts. Was what I wanted wrong? Modinar deserved to be victorious. No, this couldn't be the end. There had to be more. I couldn't lose after all of these attempts! This had to be some nightmare, some trial by Lord Nyx; Lord Nyx simply began laughing hard once again for some reason.

"You truly never considered that I might have an ulterior motive? That's gold!" Lord Nyx mocked, laughing at me some more.

"What else could you want? What else could there be?" I inquired, my voice sounding crushed. My heart felt like it was in a vice as I was trying to figure out what to do.

"Please cry for me, that would make this so much funnier. Do you really think I am going to just tell you because you asked?" Lord Nyx taunted as her form appeared in front of me. Her smile was so wide.

"Why else are you talking to me if not to gloat?" I probed, feeling ready to collapse.

"Oh, I was going to monologue because I get to reveal my grand plan to the unwitting pawn. The twist, the reveal, and the crushing despair upon realizing the true plan! It's so dramatic, so flavorful, so well executed! I did such a good job making this special episode for myself." Lord Nyx explained while she was chuckling between the sentences, striking dramatic poses to accent her words.

"Why? Why do this?" I muttered as I struggled to remain standing. Lord Nyx's <Magic> dissipated so I collapsed to the ground. Her form was standing over me, laughing at my despair. Was it spinning here?

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"I felt like it. I was so bored watching the same thing over and over again." Lord Nyx answered with a shrug.

"Modinar. Modinar deserved to be a peaceful utopia at the end of it all." I mumbled as my vision was crumbling. Lord Nyx found it hilarious by the reaction that followed.

"Modinar was never going to survive; it was a needed sacrifice for my precious Scius." Lord Nyx informed me with that ruthless smile of hers.

"$^!*$? Why can't I say $^!*$?" I tried, but I couldn't even say their name for some reason.

"Scius erased his name with a <Spell> so only beings with actual ability can overcome it to say it. You fall woefully short of the bar needed to be able to say it." Lord Nyx told me with a genuine smile.

"Who is he?" I wondered in a dejected tone. Was it really over? Was this how it all ended? Some pawn to her game?

"I'd love to talk about him! Scius is my actual representative across every single Realm. Scius is the pinnacle of <Magic>! Scius is the Nyx Mage! My true champion! Unlike a certain someone, Scius possesses ability and actually succeeds when he puts his mind to something. Scius rules over Arcadia and numerous other Realms as their benevolent king! He is the voice of the Lords, granted not all of them appreciate his vision." Lord Nyx informed me, sounding annoyed in the last sentence. I could tell from how she was speaking about $^!*$, I never mattered at all to her; I was just a pawn in her game. I looked at Umbra, seeing what was likely my final failure.

"Why me? Why use me like this?" I checked, trying to control my emotions.

"Why? I could. Why you? You were so obsessed with defeating Nil that just a little assistance, a minor amount of time making a construct, and say a few lines here and there to keep you believing I was helping you as some chosen one that it was so much entertainment for so little investment." Lord Nyx explained to me like I was a slow child. This was all a game to her; millions of lives to be toyed with and destroyed just because she was bored. Was Lord Nyx truly that callous, that malicious?

"Do all those lives mean that little to you?! You're a Lord!" I pointed out. Lord Nyx laughed at that like I told some hilarious joke.

"Why should they? No matter how much they try, nearly all of them will be forgotten in a century or two. The vast majority of them will be nothing but specks of dust as far as time is concerned. Mortals die every day in our Realms, so what something accelerates the process of a few of them?" Lord Nyx challenged. Was she always that out of touch with reality?

"What do you mean out of touch with reality? It is reality. Not my fault you were stupid enough to think you mattered to a Lord like myself." Lord Nyx chided with a finger wag. Wait, she could read my thoughts.

"Yes, I can. It is not that hard to do, especially for Lords. Even old <Eternals> like Krahinn can learn to do it. Kind of slow to just realize that. I mean, what am I expecting out of you? You couldn't entertain me for much longer than an hour with thousands of you against Nil and his supporters. I knew the copies would be weaker than the original, so I had low expectations, but you still somehow clawed under them." Lord Nyx mocked me with condescension dripping off every word.

"You knew this would happen, didn't you?" I checked, staring at her form as she cut off the view of Umbra.

"Knew? Not completely certain but highly confident. Nil's <Lord's Eye> was something that could rise to the occasion of dealing with all of the copies I made, especially with Krahinn helping him. I hate him and cannot wait to see Scius kill him and all he cares about, but I'd be dumb not to think an army of you would be remotely a match for Krahinn, let alone Krahinn with a powerful <Lord's Eye> and Nil's family on his side as well. At most you could exhaust them a bit, but under no circumstances were you somehow winning." Lord Nyx answered matter-of-factually.

"Then why do this? If it would be so little why do it at all?!" I cried at her, wondering why she toyed with me like this.

"How was I to know Krahinn would grow a heart? Regardless, you never were the main act for my idea, you were the warmup band to soften them up, burn some resources. Lighting the buildings on fire to obscure his vision honestly was more than I thought you'd accomplish, so kudos to you. The main event is only just beginning." Lord Nyx replied with a sadistic laugh.

"What about me then? Are you just going to keep me here? How is an army of copies not the main act?" I checked, trying not to break down from everything. I couldn't give her the satisfaction; I had to keep it together.

"It's so funny you are trying to suppress your breakdown and sadness like they aren't all over your face. I know this hurts, I know you are feeling completely hopeless, soul crushing despair right now. You can't hide that from me. The army used a lot of <Veil> to create and create the replicating construct because who knows, maybe you could overcome the massive difference in ability, talent, and resources between Nil and you with sufficient experience. The important part was I needed constructs and <Ichor> in Umbra for part two of the idea that can actually get the job done. Using their corpses to create the second part is vastly, and I mean vastly, less consuming of the <Veil>. " Lord Nyx lectured with a massive smile.

"I was just a tool for you to use." I muttered, keeping my face as neutral as possible. Even if I was full of despair, the less I reacted the less joy she'd feel.

"Correct, a tool that ended up being more disappointing than I thought you'd be. Granted, I doubt Nil nor Krahinn realized the true meaning of my words." Lord Nyx told me with a massive chuckle. A malicious, shiza eating grin was stretching across her formless face.

"What words were those?" I inquired as I tried envisioning a next step. Just because I lost here didn't mean it was completely over. I was still alive.

"Funny you think you are escaping Speranza, but I would love to see you try. How did I phrase it again? Oh yea! 'It is a gift solely of your own creation' and 'You are giving yourself a present' and just led him to believe I was referring to just you by bringing up his compendium and Luna being a Regressor. He had no idea that it was a two parter! The copies of you were just a needed sacrifice for what I actually wanted to make! Krahinn might suspect I have something else in store, but I doubt even he realized the barb was first and the main event was second." Lord Nyx explained with such malice in her voice it chilled my blood. What did she do? What else could she have done? How much did she lie to me? Wait, Luna was a Regressor? Was Nil different too?

"To Nil? Not at all, I had to tell the truth for that conversation. To you, a lot." Lord Nyx taunted with her obnoxious smile.

"Why bother telling me this?" I checked, not grasping why she was ranting and explaining what she did.

"I wanted to tell someone so I could gloat, and it is your reward for being a good little tool to at least hear most of the plan you played a part in. Aren't I generous?" Lord Nyx answered as I felt her <Magic> take away my voice and movement again. All of my effort and ambition, reduced to this.

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