Rage.
Pure unbridled rage.
That was what the Overlord of Immortal Flame felt as the chains solidified and pulled him back to the mountain that had become his den. He strained against their pull, his massive body trying to break free. The air itself shook under the violent movements. The chains rattled but they didn't break.
Boom!
His body hit the ground. A cloud of dust rising in his wake soon replaced by a cascade of flames that lashed throughout the entire cave. They licked at the walls and the floors, leaving them scotched black. The runes wavered but for a moment however there was no damage done to them.
A malevolent roar rumbled from the depths of his chest but no matter what he did nothing seemed to work. The sky above darkened as though in response, clouds gathered creating what looked like an apocalyptic eye in the sky with the spatial rift as the center and yet…
The chains held their power seemingly limitless.
Immortal Flame looked up his gaze entirely red. He watched the spatial rift mend itself. His chance at freedom slipping away. All he could do was watch, bound to the ground.
What was this? Was fate simply trying to make a fool out of him.
Did it not get enough of his pain, suffering and solitude? For the first time in his long life the Overlord felt truly and utterly helpless.
The thought almost made him laugh.
He had once stood at the top of his world. His power unmatched. His authority unquestioned. And now…?
Here he was forced to the ground, his strength all but gone and there was nothing he could do about it.
As the last of the spatial rift closed, rage was replaced by sadness.
It seemed he was destined to perish here after all but then something inexplicable happened. Two tiny dots passed through the rift and fell towards the ground. One he could recognize as a hobgoblin, a creature in the second Tier of the Mortal Realms, calling it an ant wouldn't be enough.
However, accompanying the Tier 2 Mortal was another creature he had never seen before. It looked like an elf but Immortal Flame was sure it was not. After all it was too weak, it wouldn't even be considered a Tier 1 Mortal, he doubted it would survive from a fall that high.
These two Mortals wouldn't have garnered his attention as an Overlord but not today. Not when his current mood was like this. He needed an outlet, he just never expected two Mortals to be it.
…
Three days passed.
The hobgoblin had been unlucky. It fell upon a set of rocks and broke its spine in the process.
The other one though, the elf-like being, was lucky enough to land in the very center of the lake where it was the deepest before he was washed back to the shore. At first it had been heavily injured and even on the brink of death.
However something remarkable happened…the Aether in the surroundings was pulled into his Soul Seed and as that happened his wounds healed. This was the first time he was seeing something like this happening.
What was going on? The mortal clearly had no cultivation and yet he already unlocked an aspect of his elemental affinity?
It shouldn't have been possible. The more Immortal Flame observed this strange being under his presence the more interested he became.
And by the third day, the mortal's wounds were healed completely and he rose. Under Immortal Flame's watchful presence, he approached the hobgoblin. Fear was evident in his eyes but there was something within them as well something blooming.
'Interesting'
The sequence of events that happened seemed fast but the Overlord saw through them in clarity.
From the slaughter of the hobgoblin to his entry into the cave that led to his den. Everything was clear. Immortal Flame wanted to test him so he released part of his remaining aura. As expected the mortal fell to his knees and as weak as he was he actually tried to resist.
Immortal Flame almost laughed. This was the first time he was meeting a mortal like this.
He was daring enough to come here but he did so while afraid. He was weak and all but powerless but also defiant.
So many contradictions packed within one being. A toothy grin formed on his face. Immortal Flame released his aura and the pressure that had fallen upon the mortal disappeared.
"SO THE LITTLE MOUSE SURVIVES" Immortal Flame said. Before inviting him even deeper.
And when the mortal finally appeared before him. The Overlord was able to take a closer look at him. He rose above the mortal. His gaze landing on him and his presence inspecting him closer.
The mortal seemed frozen by his vert presence. That was to be expected, after all he was a supreme being was he not?
'His Soul Seed is already at the Shedding Stage?' the Overlord pondered in amazement. Having a Soul Seed at such stage when the mortal clearly had no cultivation to begin with was astonishing. Most talents from Astaroth would be considered talented if their Soul Seeds were at the Awakened Stage or even the Cracking Stage- without any cultivation, but having one at the Shedding Stage? This was a first. 'But his body talent can't keep up…No its just outright poor'
He looked at the mortal once more, his aura leaking out, subtle, as he said:
"Little mouse…why do you so desperately cling to life?"
He could see the mortal pale under his presence. But he didn't let his fear cloud his mind. The Overlord subtly nodded in approval.
The mortal took a moment to think but then the spark in the depths of his Soul Seed crackled once more and Immortal Flame could feel it…
"I don't want to die!" the mortal's voice came out strong and even subtly pushed his aura back.
A spark of defiance.
Immortal Flame could feel the potential such a Concept would have. If it grew properly it would be just as powerful as the concept he had used to build his Immortal Flame Domain.
However, this was merely potential and it would all depend on this mortal's will. And so the Overlord decided to test him what ever happened next would depend on the him.
Immortal Flame's aura fell once more but this time it wasn't to make him kneel. No it was to throw him in projection of his own making, a memory of a past that felt so distant but this should suffice as the perfect test.
"Then show me your resolve" Immortal Flame said.