Rune System: The Crimson Knight

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Dominic Heathley. Welcome… to your destiny.”

Dominic woke up with a start. Breathing heavily, his eyes moved around at a frenzied pace. All his vision caught was a thick, red mist that shrouded everything around him, even dampening the shine of the sun above. The atmosphere was eerie and mysterious, and he could feel a strange pulsating force permeating his insides.

This place, he wondered. Is this what the afterlife looks like? Am I truly dead?

A sense of weightlessness dawned on him, and when he looked down, he confirmed—with a brief, horrified yelp—that he was indeed suspended in the air, with no sign of solid ground below him.

“You’re afraid. That’s understandable. But you don’t have to be.”

“Who said that?” he demanded, then the sound of his own voice made him shiver. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt like years since he’d heard himself speak. He was certain of that odd feeling.

“Time passes differently here,” the voice—of female origin—continued softly. “Its relativity is felt greater in most realms than others.”

Dominic floated around as he searched for the source of the voice. “You… can hear my thoughts?”

“Thoughts are less dense in this realm. Once you harbor them, they echo forth like words from the mouth. In other realms, thoughts are even light enough to become deeds instantaneously.”

Dominic gave up trying to locate whoever it was that spoke—the voice seemed to reverberate from all around him at once.

“I am not an entity you can single out,” it explained calmly. “My core is not concentrated in a solitary form; rather, it is evenly spread out across this realm.”

“This realm,” Dominic repeated, still getting accustomed to his voice. “You’ve said that word a couple of times. I’m yet to know what exactly this realm is.”

“It is not the doorway to the hereafter, as you previously presumed. This place is not where souls flock to after their earthly demise.”

Dominic frowned, only just conscious that he could make facial expressions. “Then… does that mean I’m not dead?”

“You very much are, Dominic Heathley. You brought death to yourself after you deliberately drowned.”

“I don’t understand,” Dominic said. “If I’m dead, and this isn’t the place departed souls go to, then where the hell am I?”

The voice went quiet for a moment. Then, like smoke being distributed by strong winds, the red mist began to dissipate.

“At the behest of the Dark Queen,” the voice continued as the mist cleared, “you have been summoned to a domain of her making. Behold, the Infernal Realm of Crimson Flames.”

Dominic’s eyes widened to their limits when the mist finally dispelled. As far as he could see, only one thing stretched out endlessly into the distance.

Fire. Roaring, red flames so vast that they resembled an ocean blazing into the horizon. Even the sun wasn’t what Dominic thought it was when he glanced up—it resembled a gigantic orb engulfed in red fire, casting a sinister light on everything below.

For all it was worth, Dominic was grateful he was drifting mid-air.

“Is… is this hell?”

Dominic thought he heard an amused tone when the voice replied, “No. This is not hell. The Infernal Realm is a pocket dimension infused with powerful magic, only open to those who are granted entry.”

“And I was granted entry?” Dominic inquired.

“Yes. The Dark Queen made that possible.”

“Then you already know the next question I’m about to ask.”

The voice fell silent again, but only briefly. “Of course. And I already have an answer.”

Just then, multiple images formed in a reddish haze just above the flames. At first, Dominic looked below with puzzlement. Then with clarity. He realized that they were portrayals of his experiences when he was alive.

“If you look closely,” the voice said, maintaining its gentle tone, “you will find your encounters with the rest of your kind over the course of your existence. Your path crossed with one of the most ruthless of your species—humans who have little to no regard for the well-being of others.”

Dominic drifted closer as the faces of his sister and mother came into view. Then they vanished, quickly replaced by faces that caused him to boil with hate.

Croft Lauder.

Gordon Hobblestone.

Matilda Conrad.

Gregory Embers.

“These people represent the true nature of humanity,” the voice went on. “Greed, power, scorn, envy… these have been the most destructive weapons of mankind for countless generations. Your experiences, however unfortunate, have shown you the truth—humans are the most likely species to bring about the end of their pitiful existence. That’s why a drastic level of change is needed.”

“Change?” Dominic asked quietly, clenching his fists. “What kind of change can rehabilitate people like this?”

“The iron rule of the Dark Queen. In her reign, man would be put on a leash, subjugated just enough to eliminate their free will. They will never be given the privilege to harm or dominate another, because the only one they would have to answer to is the Queen herself.”

“Then why doesn’t she do so already? Why are men like Gregory still allowed to run free for their crimes?”

“She was imprisoned centuries ago,” the voice answered. “She was branded as dangerously insane by the people she’d considered as friends and allies. That was the only way she could have been defeated; by the people she had trusted the most.”

“Sounds a lot like humans, alright.” Dominic sighed, briefly considering the state of his lungs in a place like the Infernal Realm, if he had such to begin with. “But were they wrong, though? Subjugation and denial of free will sound like serious war crimes.”

“Compared to what humans commit on a daily basis? Compared to what you suffered in your lifetime?”

Dominic glanced at the images again. “If she knows just how terrible mankind is, then why did she pick me? What makes her think I’m different from the rest?”

“The ways of the Queen are seldom questioned. There are thousands of people who go through what you experienced every day. None of them was deemed worthy enough by the Queen. But in you, there was a fire she spotted; a spark that needed reignition. One that reminded her of a life she once lived.”

“Huh. She saw something in me. You’re sure she’s still imprisoned?”

“Unfortunately,” the voice said. “But she was an extremely powerful sorceress in her time. So much so that the residuals of her magic remained active outside her prison, constantly seeking out a way to set her free.”

“I see,” Dominic muttered thoughtfully. “And how exactly am I supposed to help with that? I’m dead, remember?”

“I never forgot,” the voice retorted gently. “The residual powers of the Dark Queen will not only be enough to resurrect you, but also grant you abilities of your own. You will walk the Earth once more, but as her herald. And with those abilities, you will shatter the chains that bind her.”

“I hate to break it to you,” Dominic pointed out wearily, “but failure is something of a specialty for me. Nothing I put my hands to ever works.”

“As Dominic Heathley, perhaps. But you are not going to be reborn as the same powerless man. And if you still think you would fail, then ask yourself one simple question: how many more must die for men like Gregory Embers to rise?”

Dominic considered the words deeply, with white-hot anger growing within him as Gregory’s smug smile flickered in the flames before him.

“I’ll do it,” Dominic answered with finality. “I agree to be reborn and set the Dark Queen free.”

“Very well, then. I now grant you the power bestowed upon me by the Dark Queen; Ruler of the Unseen Void.”

A lengthy tongue of red fire suddenly gushed upwards like a volcanic eruption, completely swallowing Dominic who hovered above it. The flame seeped into his body like water into a drain, incurring a thorough, eerie transformation in the process. When the flame vanished as quickly as it came, a new form stood in Dominic’s place, radiating pure energy like never before.

“I bestow upon you the Rune System,” the voice proclaimed. “You shall reawaken in the world of mortals, but not as Dominic Heathley. You now boast of power, skill, and strength unmatched by any other. For this reason, you shall now be known as Draàl; the Crimson Knight.”