The Empress sputtered in indignation, after reigning as an absolute entity over the entirety of Trion and the surrounding galaxies, who had ever dared to speak to her this way, she nearly collapsed in anger before the shadowy figure at her side stepped forward,

“Prince Fury Kuranes, do not forget that everything you have now was given to you by your mother, the Empress of Trion, your talent, your bloodline, your present position, and power, all handed to you by her grace. You do not bite the hands that feed you, nor do you…”

“Silence!” Fury roared, “All handed to me?”

Fury sat forward and the Phoenix rose and flew to his shoulders, his face which closely resembled Rowan’s was filled with an equal amount of anger that could rival the Empress,

“Shadow of Trion’s past, you of all should know how egregious those words are. Nothing was handed to me! I took them.”

He slammed his hands against his chest three times, “The Empress had one hundred and ninety-three sons and sixty-four daughters, and of them all, I am the only one alive. I, the youngest, crushed all my opposition to reach this place, and she never looked at my face until I alone stood upon the mounds of corpses that were my siblings. Who else works harder than me at my craft? Let them come forward. I paid for everything that I have now, with my blood and my bones. The heavens know that the blood that I have bled to reach this point would fill up a river.”

“Despite all this,” the shadow said, “You are still the lucky one, and you could have easily been placed aside or given a test ten times harsher, or your rewards could have been lesser, or you could have never become a god, all of this was given to you by your mother. There have been other people who have suffered a thousand times what you have suffered and have gained little from it. This is the time you show your allegiance to the Ruler who placed you in this position, even if you have to give your life for it. Everything that you own was given.”

Fury smiled and with a wave of his hand the Empress was pressed to the ground, her knees slammed against the handcrafted tiles, leaving long cracks in the ground, a similar force had been placed on the body of the shadow but he had fought through it with a groan, and therefore he did not kneel.

The shadow placed a hand on the shoulders of the Empress and she was supported by a thin film of darkness that gave enough support that she pushed her way to her feet. Her eyes which had been previously covered a bit in shock after her defeat with Telmus were now clear, and the fury that filled them was unfathomable,

“For what you just did child, I shall slowly pull out your bones and flay your flesh for the rest of eternity, you shall weep…”

Fury ignored her, but a snap of his fingers covered the mouth of the Empress with a cold flame, “I do not bow to the weak,” and he looked at the shadow in interest,

“You know, my mother would think all records of you have been wiped out, but I have my ways, and the Phoenix has a long memory. Malakith, God of Darkness and The Deep. It was said in the previous Era, far before the gods of Trion came into existence, that you have walked the earth for an eternity, and despite how much has been taken from you, despite all of that, here you stand by the side of your captors, and you serve them. Pitiful creature, has your back been bent for so long that the only thing you see is your ass?”

The shadow figure sighed, “So, there is still a memory of my name left. I had thought Golgoth had sealed it all away. Unexpectedly, there could ever be a leak, if that is the case, then you play in a game that you could never understand boy.”

“Oh, is that the case,” Fury smirked, “I am all ears, tell me the real game that is being played here.”

The shadow figure looked at Fury for a brief moment before he shook his head, “You are not worthy.”

Fury burst into laughter, holding his face, as his long rainbow-colored hair surrounded his face hiding it from view and only the sound of his laughter could be heard,

“Do you know the first time it was said I was not worthy was when I was two weeks old, it was my thirty-fifth brother. I burned his spirit to ash as he begged for mercy for hours.”

Malakith spread his hands wide, his body at this moment almost resembling those of an Ascendant—like a human-shaped smudge of smoke and darkness, “sadly for you Prince Fury, I have no Spirit to burn, even that has been stolen from me.”

“Oh, so these thieving gods of Trion have stolen your spirit, then why don’t you serve me Malakith, in a short while I will become a God King and with the strength of the Sky Treading Phoenix, even the God King, Golgoth would not be my match.”

Malakith was silent, seemingly struck dumb by the daring of Fury, “Surely you can’t be this dense. Did you watch the battle of Telmus against the gods, could you resist a single one of his slashes, and yet such a being was cut down with a dismissive strike from Golgoth? Do you think even as a God King you have begun to approach what true power is like?”

Fury’s eyes narrowed, “You do not have any idea what I am capable of.”

“Then there is no reason you shall not show me your famous power,” a soft feminine voice approached from the side of the throne room, everyone here, including the gagged Empress turned towards a figure that had been inside the throne room for a while yet had remained unnoticed all this while.

It was a young girl with dark skin and long white hair that reached her waist. She held a long brown staff that had nine simple circles drawn on it.

“Who are you?” Fury drawled, his eyes wrinkling with suspicion,

The girl frowned, “I am nameless because my damned father refused to name me, he told me to discover my name for myself, and my first test is to beat you.”

Fury sat back, idly stroking the side of the throne, “You are but a mortal.”

“Don’t let that fool you, little prince, my stupid father has shown all of Trion the power of a mortal, and he called me the culmination of all his dreams. I do not take his words lightly.” Malakith shook, his fingers shaking, “You… you are his spawn! How is it possible that your Bloodline cannot be propagated outside of him, he is already an abomination, you should not exist.”

The girl grimaced, “Watch your mouth old shadows, or I shall tear them from your face.” turning towards Fury she grinned, “So pretty boy, do you want me to squash you on your throne, or your feet?”