The blow was of such force that the walls continued to vibrate for some time, the echo reflecting the Lord's might. The echo rolled through the hall, multiplying as it reflected off the stone pillars and vault, as if the air itself couldn't cope with what it had had to endure.
The floor beneath their feet cracked. Thin lines spread across the marble, receding into the darkness, as if the earth itself was trying to draw the Darkness away from that place.
Mirin stood with his back to the base of the pillar just erased from history. He hadn't moved, but his body had involuntarily felt the Lord's power. A wave of pressure passed through the hall, compressing the air.
He turned slowly—his movements were precise, measured, but his eyes, flaring with purple light, betrayed not fear, but caution.
Before him, amidst the settling clouds of dust, stood Dan. His silhouette flickered, outlined by a cold gloom that seeped from beneath his skin like living mercury.
"Well, impressive. Truly incredible power and perception. Impressive," Mirin said, bold but now with more respect, standing in the slowly settling dust clouds, and added: "Not like that beastie. Jumping around from side to side like a flea."
"I need to be careful here; after all, he's the one who overthrew the Creator… and I'm not in my final form…", Mirin thought to himself.
Dan looked at his opponent and understood that before him was not just an intelligent being, but an incredibly strong and dangerous adversary. His aura sparkled with something terrifying, yet simultaneously majestic. The Lord of Darkness realized why Bark had been forced to flee.
"An incredible aura. No wonder I didn't sense him earlier… he's skilled at hiding himself, and only when he spoke could I find him…", Dan analyzed, not taking his eyes off Mirin.
"I am Mirin. One of many. I have come to enact the Will of the Creator," the white-skinned being proclaimed solemnly.
"One of many?" Dan asked calmly.
"Verily so. We — the Mirins — were created for one purpose only: to correct the mistakes of the Lords," Mirin began his tale, spreading his hands before him.
"We are perfect beings, spawned from the Majesty of the Creator, embodying His 'Will' and 'Desires'. Born from the chaos of this disordered universe, we inherited what you Lords so carelessly and absurdly betrayed. Especially you—the Lord of Darkness, the foolish child who decided to show 'character' and go against his father!"
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"Mirin. So it's not a name. How many are there, if he is 'one of many'?", Dan thought, letting the creature's characterization of him go in one ear and out the other.
"What is it called here… ah, I remember… a teenage rebellion!" Mirin continued. "And where has it led you? You merely exist."
"Merely exist" — these words struck deep.
"In your so-called life, which you're trying to invent for yourself, there is no purpose!"
"So-called life", "no purpose" — rang louder and louder in the Lord's head.
"Humans are merely vessels for the Creator's feast, merely cups for Mana. Useless beings to whom you granted what? Freedom? Life? Don't make me laugh!", the smile on Mirin's face grew more vicious. "You — the Lords — are a mistake the Creator made. A mistake that needs to be corrected."
"Mistake",
"Useless beings",
"Merely vessels"
Dan felt each of Mirin's words hitting him harder and stronger.
"And we have already begun," Mirin continued after a short pause. "You likely didn't feel it, but the moment you appeared here, something happened. Your Darkness, combined with our magical energy, activated the process. Irreversible. Inevitable." Mirin gloated maliciously, taking a step forward.
"What is he talking about? Could my Darkness have become the catalyst for this 'process'? So it was a trap…", Dan thought to himself.
"You are unlikely to leave here alive, so I will tell you," Mirin said with a smirk. "You see, your power is an order of magnitude greater than that of the other Lords. It is not elemental. Your power is a progeny of chaos. The darkness of the cosmos, gathered into a pouch. And it was this that served as the catalyst for the process I dared to call 'The Rebirth'."
Mirin's eyes flared with an icy lilac light. His mouth stretched into a sinister grin.
"Mana is returning. What you expelled from this planet thousands of years ago—is returning. Rifts will open everywhere. More frequently. More of them.", Mirin's voice sounded low, laced with triumph. "You, worthless beings, simply won't be able to keep track of them all. Mana will envelop this worthless World like a blanket, and then we shall present 'your' planet to the Creator on a platter!"
"If his words are true, then even if this world fills with Mana and becomes suitable for absorption, the Creator still won't have enough strength to perform the 'Transition'; he couldn't have recovered his power so quickly. But they've been hatching this plan for millennia and must have thought of this too… I need to return to Earth soon…", thought Lord.
"Will you just shut your mouth already," Dan said calmly, taking control of his thoughts and taking a step towards Mirin. "You are merely pawns, incapable of making any decisions, driven only by some goal implanted in you by your 'creator'. And if our choice is a 'mistake' and our so-called 'rebellion' is, in your opinion, also a mistake—then give me a chance, and I would repeat every single mistake all over again."
