Death, Devotion, Dissonance

The stories depicted the Empress as someone omnipotent and omniscient. An Overlord above the Four Nations, unmatched by anyone under the heavens. Her single word outweighed the combined wishes and needs of every individual of the world; and her desires always took precedence over anything else that was happening in the World.

On the rare occasions when the Empress told a story or an idea, the citizens of Alvox sang it. The countries and the people were always happy to hear the goddess\' thoughts and then spreading it. After all, pleasing the Empress was considered the most sacred of achievements that a denizen of Alvox could accomplish. Conversely, anyone who opposed her wishes found themselves the subject of scorn and ridicule, or perhaps even, murder.

How could these people even think of thinking against the Empress, Evin didn\'t know. The only thing he was sure of was that if the Empress decided to cull a race to extinction, then it was the race\'s fault for existing. A goddess had no faults. The Tragedy of Dragonshifters was the perfect example of this. The powerful race of half-dragons thought they were above the Empress\' rule, but they very quickly learned how wrong they were. A lesson they paid for with their lives and sanities.

But it wasn\'t like the Empress was a bloodthirsty tyrant, or a despot who enforced her rule over everyone. No. It was the complete opposite. Aside from some incidents where she needed to act personally, the Empress rarely ever bothered to show her face to the Empire\'s people. She simply lived inside the Black Tower, unbothered by whatever the mortals beneath her were doing.

The people under her, of course, soon got used to these arrangements. They realized that as long as they didn\'t challenge the Empress\' rule directly, they could literally do whatever the hell they wanted. Apparently, they could even declare themselves a separate Empire, so long as they didn\'t bother the Empress herself.

War and massacre occurred between the races and nations, the balance of power inside the Empire shifting with each new day. Even today, these struggles continued. As far as Evin was aware, the Western Kingdom was still at war with the Southern Isles, fighting against the Griffins, the Colossi and the Myrmis that were pushed towards those barely habitable lands.

Occasionally, the people begged the Empress to take helm over the countries, to set things straight. To bring peace and prosperity to the world of Alvox. According to Evin\'s father, these incidents usually happened after a great war or some other tragedy caused by the mages.

But faced with such a choice, the Empress did not agree.

Of course, the people tried to convince the Empress to rule over them. But… How was one supposed to convince a goddess? What did mortals possess to pique the interest of a literal deity? An immortal, omnipotent, and omniscient woman?

The answer was obvious. They couldn\'t.

Even if they offered her everything the world had to offer, who was to say that the Empress couldn\'t just create these things for herself. Who was to say that she couldn\'t create another world just like this one? She was almighty and omnipotent, after all.

The Empress did not care for the difficulties and fascinations of mortals. Not to mention the troubles of a random blacksmith\'s boy.

So, would the Empress be willing to help out Evin?

No. Of course not.

It wouldn\'t even be weird for Evin to die for this act of his, as some zealous admirers of the Empress could take it as a transgression to the Empress of some sorts.

\'So, if I meet a mage who could help me, would they be even willing to help me?\' the thought latched onto Evin\'s head.

<I keep telling you, Evin. We\'re stuck together,> the voice chuckled right after Evin finished thinking about the matter.

It always seemed to know the best timings to speak. Evin sometimes even wondered if it could read his mind, but that did not seem to be the case. He didn\'t have a proof of it; he was just very sure of it.

<And I\'m not trying to brag, but I\'m a veeery special being. I\'m sure the average mage can\'t even grasp my existence, let alone get rid of me. Just look at Leanne, she scoured your head five times while you were asleep, but was she successful in finding me? No.>

<Moreover, even if you manage to meet such a mage, I\'m sure they won\'t move for you so readily, either. They\'ll demand a price, one that you probably can\'t afford.>

\'I swear to the Empress, I\'ll get rid of you one day…\' Evin cursed in his head.

<It\'s best for the both of us if we get along. And I know I\'ve been acting like an asshole, but there\'s a proper reason why I can\'t teach you how to cast magic,> the voice chuckled.

"What?"

<I could teach you how I cast using your imagination, but I\'m sure you won\'t be able to do it even if I teach you exactly what to imagine, down to the tiniest details.>

"You won\'t know until you try?" Evin urged.

<Sigh, alright. Gather some Fire energy in your core,> the voice ordered.

A moment later, Evin\'s body was feeling comfortably hot, the energies flowing alongside the blood inside his body.

<Now, look around yourself. What are you surrounded with?>

"The room?"

<No-no. Hmm, what\'s your fingertip touching?>

"Nothing?" Evin asked, confused by what the voice wanted from him.

<No, you\'re touching the air.>

"But the air itself is nothing, isn\'t it? What are you talking about?"

<Stop talking so loudly,> the voice reminded and continued, <And no. Sorry to ruin your worldview, but the air is made of tiny particles that are invisible to the human eye. It\'s not just made of nothing.>

Evin was too confused, so he could only let the voice continue explaining.

<And one of these tiny particles is what helps things burn. I don\'t know how it\'s called by others, but as far as I\'m concerned, it will be called oxygen. To put it simply, if there\'s no oxygen in the air, things can\'t burn. There\'s also the problem of fuel, but after I tried it out the last time, I understood that the magic in this world allows for some leeway in that regard.>

"Uh-huh…" Evin hummed, trying to remember what the voice was saying.

<In any case, try to create fire out of nothing. First, you must imagine these oxygen particles combusting spontaneously. So, you would need to order the Fire energy to set these tiny particles on fire, or maybe an imaginary fuel on fire.>

Evin nodded and dubiously ordered the Fire Energy to do his biddings. Although he didn\'t really hold much faith in what he was doing, he imagined the tiny particles in the air combusting spontaneously and creating fire. But, just like he half expected, nothing happened. Before he was about to complain to the voice, it murmured in an understanding tone.

<As I suspected… It doesn\'t work for you, since you\'re not believing in what you\'re imagining.>

"What are you talking about?"

<If a mage does not believe in the things he\'s imagining himself, then the World energies wouldn\'t bother to help you... is what it means. So, as long as you\'re not convinced that the air is made of tiny particles like these, then you\'ll never be able to cast magic like me.>

"Are you just bullshitting me?" Evin finally voiced his suspicions.