crown of self-interest

The Arcane Citadel was silent in the aftermath of Zaros Valen's ritual, yet the stillness felt deceptive. Power still hummed within its walls, a deep resonance that echoed the irrevocable change he had wrought. Outside the grand chamber, the shifting skies of Xynarith darkened, as if reflecting the tension rippling through the very fabric of reality.

Zaros stood at the highest point of the Citadel’s spire, overlooking the ever-twilight world below. From this vantage, Xynarith stretched before him like a tapestry of dark beauty—fractured cities, endless plains of silver grass, and towering monoliths older than memory. The spire’s wind, sharp and biting, barely grazed his robes as if nature itself was cautious of disturbing him.

His fingers drummed lightly on the cold stone balustrade, his thoughts racing through the consequences of the ritual. He had taken the first step towards godhood, reshaping the delicate balance of reality to bend towards his will. But even now, Zaros knew the forces he had disturbed would not remain quiet for long. His intrusion into the cosmic order would not go unnoticed.

“Ascension,” he muttered to himself, the word a dangerous promise. He could already feel the subtle shift within him—the essence of something greater pulsing through his veins. It was intoxicating, yet laced with a faint unease, as if the power he had harnessed was too vast to be fully controlled.

A familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, cutting through the silence like a blade. “Is it done then?”

Zaros didn’t turn. He recognized the voice instantly—Calista, one of the few he allowed to speak so freely in his presence. She approached with her usual measured grace, her dark robes fluttering in the wind. Calista’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, though her expression remained neutral, ever the composed observer.

“Yes,” Zaros replied, his tone flat. “The ritual was completed.”

Calista stepped beside him, her gaze shifting to the endless horizon. “I felt it. The world felt it.”

Zaros finally turned, his sharp eyes narrowing on her. “And what do you make of it?”

She hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly, almost thoughtfully. “You’ve changed something fundamental. The air tastes different, the energy is...sharper. More volatile.”

Zaros’s lips curled into a small smile. “As it should be.”

Calista’s gaze sharpened. “But it’s dangerous. You’ve upset the balance. The forces you’ve invoked—do you truly understand them?”

A quiet chuckle escaped Zaros as he waved his hand dismissively. “You sound like the intruder from earlier. What is it with you and this obsession with balance? You fear that which you cannot comprehend.”

Calista’s eyes darkened, but her tone remained even. “There is wisdom in caution, Zaros. Not every force can be bent to one’s will without consequence.”

“Caution is for those who lack power,” Zaros replied coolly. “I have no need of it.”

Calista sighed but did not press further. Her role as Zaros’s advisor—and at times, his conscience—had long taught her the futility of arguing once his mind was set. Yet she couldn’t shake the gnawing sense of dread that had crept into her heart since the ritual’s completion.

“There was an intruder, you said?” she asked, changing the subject slightly.

“A fool, nothing more,” Zaros said, dismissive. “He tried to warn me of some unseen consequence, as if I were a child playing with forces I could not control.”

Calista frowned. “And you didn’t think to interrogate him further? Even fools can sometimes carry pieces of truth.”

Zaros’s gaze grew cold. “He was a nuisance. One I dealt with accordingly.”

Calista’s frown deepened, but she said nothing. Instead, her attention shifted towards the sky, where faint, swirling currents of energy had begun to form—subtle distortions visible only to those attuned to the arcane. They twisted and coiled like snakes, as though the sky itself was unsettled.

“Look,” she said quietly, gesturing upwards.

Zaros followed her gaze. His expression remained unreadable as he watched the disturbance. “Residual energy,” he said after a moment. “The aftermath of the ritual.”

Calista wasn’t so sure. “Perhaps,” she murmured. “But it feels...different. As though something is watching.”

Zaros’s eyes narrowed at her words. “If something is watching, let it.”

For a long moment, the two stood in silence, the weight of their thoughts hanging heavy between them. Then, without another word, Zaros turned and began walking towards the grand stairwell that spiraled downwards into the heart of the Citadel.

“Where are you going?” Calista asked, her voice echoing slightly.

Zaros didn’t stop. “To prepare. There is still much to be done.”

As he descended, the spire’s walls seemed to close in around him, the air growing colder and more oppressive. The further down he went, the more the Citadel’s ancient magic pressed against his skin, a reminder of the countless wards and spells that protected this place of power.

He reached the lower levels, where the grand libraries and war rooms of the Citadel lay. Here, the walls were lined with tomes and artifacts, relics of forgotten eras and lost civilizations. The air buzzed with knowledge, each object a whisper of secrets long buried. Zaros moved through the corridors with purpose, his mind already calculating the next steps.

In one of the smaller chambers, he found Velora—a master weaver of the Citadel’s arcane defenses—poring over a series of glyphs etched into the stone floor. She looked up as Zaros entered, her brow furrowed in concentration.

“Lord Valen,” she greeted him, her voice clipped but respectful.

“Velora,” Zaros acknowledged. “I trust the wards are holding?”

“For now,” Velora replied, though there was a note of uncertainty in her voice. “But something is...off. The wards are stable, but there’s a fluctuation in the flow of magic. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Zaros frowned slightly, moving closer to examine the glyphs. He could feel it too—the subtle shift in the energy. The wards, while intact, seemed to be...quivering, as though they were under some invisible strain.

“Strengthen them,” Zaros ordered. “I don’t want any weaknesses, not now.”

Velora nodded, already reaching for the tools she needed to reinforce the glyphs. “Is this related to the ritual?”

Zaros didn’t answer directly. “The forces I’ve called upon are vast and ancient. The wards need to be able to withstand whatever...unintended consequences may arise.”

Velora paused, glancing up at him with a flicker of unease. “Do you anticipate a direct threat?”

Zaros’s gaze hardened. “I anticipate everything.”

Velora didn’t ask further questions. She had worked with Zaros long enough to know that his mind was always three steps ahead of everyone else’s, his plans layered with contingencies no one else could foresee. Still, as she worked to strengthen the wards, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something far larger than any of them was in motion.

As Zaros left the chamber, his mind was already turning towards the greater picture. The Citadel was secure for now, but the ritual’s completion had sent ripples through the very fabric of reality. It was only a matter of time before those ripples attracted attention—attention from forces that even he might find difficult to predict.

His thoughts drifted back to the intruder’s words: **“Beware, Zaros. The cosmos is a vast and unpredictable entity...”**

A faint smirk crossed his lips. Unpredictable, yes. But even the vastness of the cosmos could be tamed, molded to his will. He had come too far, sacrificed too much, to allow anything—chance or otherwise—to derail his path to ascension.

Still, a shadow of doubt lingered in the back of his mind, a small but persistent whisper that gnawed at the edges of his certainty. The ritual had worked. He could feel the shift within him, the connection to something greater. But with that power came a sense of unease, as though he had opened a door that could never be fully closed.

Zaros pushed the thought aside. **Power was meant to be seized, not feared**. Whatever consequences lay ahead, he would face them as he always had—**with absolute control**.

He reached his private quarters, a vast room filled with relics and artifacts from across the ages. At the center stood a grand mirror—an ancient piece of glass framed in obsidian and engraved with runes that shimmered faintly in the dim light. It was no ordinary mirror, but a relic from the Lost Civilization of Aeloria, said to reveal not just reflections, but glimpses of possible futures.

Zaros approached the mirror, his eyes narrowing as he gazed into its depths. For a moment, the surface remained still, reflecting only his own cold, calculating expression. Then, slowly, the image began to shift, the glass rippling like water disturbed by an unseen force.

A figure appeared—shadowy, indistinct, but undeniably powerful. Its form was wreathed in darkness, its eyes glowing with a cold, otherworldly light. The figure raised its hand, and the entire scene distorted, the mirror’s surface fracturing into a thousand splinters