The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 1987: A fate worse than death

Cain’s golden eyes narrowed slightly as he heard the word fall from Leonidas’ lips. He gave a slow nod, speaking softly; his tone carried the gravitas that such sickness deserved.

"Dementia... it is a decline in the mind, severe enough to strip away daily life. It is not a single disease, but a collection of symptoms. Memory, thinking, problem-solving, language, behavior—all begin to fracture. In simple terms: you forget. You forget what you are doing. You lose your way in the middle of your own thoughts. You lose the faces of those around you. It is a horrific illness... but it is a thing that touches only mortals. It is usually tied to age. And entities like us—we should not fear it. Even if our lifespans near their end, and our bodies begin to decay, our minds should remain strong. That is the nature of cultivation."

Leonidas smiled faintly at that, though his smile was filled with an old weariness. He sighed.

"I am nearly one hundred and ten million years old. I have long since surpassed my natural lifespan. But no—I do not have to fear ordinary decline. A long time ago, I stumbled upon a treasure. It lay within the grave of an ancient power house from the First Era, inside his corpse, to be more accurate."

Cain did not interrupt. He understood instinctively that Leonidas was explaining the reason why he would not involve himself in Cain’s war.

"It was a fruit," Leonidas continued. "A strange, pulsing thing, growing from within the corpse of that ancient being. Greed took me. I ate it. At once, I felt my existence shift. My talent grew sharper, brighter, more refined. My lifespan stretched exponentially. By my own calculation, I should live at least three hundred million years."

Cain’s brow rose slightly. He did not doubt the words. Inheritances of the First Era were always strange, always powerful. That one might extend life by hundreds of millions of years was extraordinary, but not beyond belief. He merely listened, waiting.

Leonidas’ face darkened, his tone dropping to a solemn weight.

"But that fruit carried a curse. The man who bore it had died long ago. His vitality and soul were gone... yet a shard of his will remained. When I devoured the fruit, that fragment of his ego latched onto me. At first, it was faint. Barely noticeable. But with the passing of the centuries, it grew stronger. Stronger, and hungrier. And it reacts most keenly to my age."

He paused. For a moment, silence filled the volcanic chamber. Cain saw something in the elder’s eyes then—sadness, exhaustion, the kind of weight that could crush even gods.

At last, Leonidas raised his gaze and met Cain’s eyes.

"Tell me, Scarlet King... have you ever lost someone you loved?"

The question came without warning. Cain might have bristled at the intrusion, but instead, his expression softened. He nodded.

"My father. He died when I was very young."

Leonidas smiled gently, his tone now warm with something almost like friendship.

"Do you remember him?"

Cain showed a small smile as he nodded.

"Yes. I carried his portrait with me in my early years. Now I need only close my eyes. Every line of his face remains."

Leonidas’ smile faded into something more fragile.

"I never knew my parents. I lived a solitary life. No lover. No children. No family to speak of. But I did have... a friend."

His eyes softened at the memory. For a moment he looked not like an eternal Archdeity, but like an old man clutching something precious.

"His name was Doggy."

Cain’s brow twitched. Of all things, he had not expected this. In millions of years, the only true friend Leonidas had cherished was... a dog. Still, he gave no sign of mockery. He kept his composure, listening.

Leonidas’ smile brightened, just a little.

"I loved him dearly. He stayed with me in the beginning of my journey, kept me company, made me happy. When he died, I refused to let grief consume me. I told myself that I would always have the memory of his happy little face."

His words faltered then. His eyes grew distant.

"But now... I can no longer remember what he looked like. The details are gone. I cling only to his name... and the feeling he gave me. But even that is slipping. Soon, this disease will strip those last fragments away. Along with my ability to know what is real, to understand what is happening around me."

He sighed, long and heavy, staring at the seals carved into the walls of his prison.

"As I told you—the cage is built for me. I have episodes now. Times when I do not know where I am. Confusion takes me. Fear and dread crush me. In those moments I crawl across the ground, desperate to hide from phantoms. Other times, I lose myself in rage. I lash out like a mad beast, attacking everything around me without reason."

His face twisted in bitter resignation.

"I am the oldest lifeform in this world. One of the strongest. Yet this disease reduces me to something pitiful—something less than a normal person. It strips my pride, my dignity. And so I remain here, locked away from those who follow me. Better they see me as distant... than witness me crawling like a frightened child, or tearing at them in madness."

Cain remained silent for a long time. His lips pressed together. His eyes dimmed with empathy.

For he knew.

He had glimpsed the terror of memory loss in the Trial of Will within the Samsara Arsenal Module. The nightmare of losing yourself, piece by piece, until nothing remained. What Leonidas endured was worse. It was not only memory that was being stolen, but identity. Self. Pride. Dignity. The disease forced him to exile himself from all he commanded, to hide so that he would not harm those who trusted him, or humiliate himself before them.

It was a fate worse than death.