The Worst of Fates

(Vice Galaxy, Throneworld)

The servant had been on his way to his master. Long had he served faithfully. The "Emperor of Evil" was a force without equal or splendor in the mind of his servant. He also knew of how his Lord had suffered greatly at one point and was forever forced into wearing a suit that forever hid the scars and horrifying damage. It also made him more terrifying than ever before. Only fools underestimated Zedd.

So great was his haste and his concern to report that he forgot to knock and instead simply burst into the throne room. This was not without consequence. Crack! Went a blast of energy from the angry figure who spun at the disturbance.

"Agh! My lord! Please cease! It is merely your humble servant with news!" He dropped from the pillar that an invisible hand had pinned him against, and he fell down on all fours, but chose to remain prostrate rather than attempt to stand. "Forgive my rudeness and my haste!" he plead. "The urgency of what I have learned pressed upon me heavily!"

"Stand." The armored figure in ruby-red and white silver gestured favorably with his right hand for his left held a staff forged by his own hands. "You may speak…vermin; and then you will leave. I do not have patience for the presence of others."

"My lord… he-he-he is arisen again. The foul blackened one. He who ruled long before you my Lord. He has been released."

"And?" Zedd did not sound impressed nor concerned. Rather he sounded bored.

"And this does not concern you? My lord, a crystal was consumed by him before. My spies…those who serve as my eyes and ears whisper of a dead world they found, orbited by the decaying remnants of several moons, all rotted and dead."

"I am aware of this sensation. However, I am not concerned about the ruler of essence primordial. I am more interested in the one who doubtlessly has freed him."

"What little I have sensed, would suggest that the traitor has actually helped him my lord."

"Then she is a fool. Of course, she has been that for much of her life. Thinking that the crystal alone was the answer, she fell to the temptations of power." Zedd held his hand before his face and turned it back and forth, fingers flexing. "Power," he breathed. "I know full well the consequences of blindly succumbing to temptation. I would have sought revenge on Zordon and the others if time had permitted it."

"My lord…"

"Together they actually found a way to prevent me from even breaching the atmosphere of that world. Reckless and blind with desire, feeling that I could succeed, I ignored the pain. I actually began to push through the barrier, but then the pain hit. Too late, did I realize that I could actually perish for my actions and that I very much wished to not die."

The servant merely looked on in silence and shock. Lord Zedd never spoke of these rumors. It was forbidden and all who served knew the risk of seeking answers. And yet it was as if he did not exist. Zedd merely continued to speak, while staring at the heavens from the window. "It was by the merest of fortune and blind chance that I actually escaped the field before I could succumb to it. I managed by sheer force of will and rage to retreat to my throne to lick my wounds like a vanquished, galactic, monstrous abomination."

"They may have thought me dead. I nearly thought myself dead. It was by the aid and unceasing efforts of many loyal servants that I was gifted this armor which began to heal me, but it could not remove the scars. It was many centuries before my rage and all the boiling-hot emotions, the pain, actually began to subside and my sanity returned. I slew my servants after the last of the armor was set in place."

"My mind was submerged in magma, my veins flowed with acid, my eyes melted under the heat of the sun." He breathed a heavy, and harsh, angry breath. "Pain. It is a great teacher. It is also quite merciless and cruel. But if you survive and become wise from it…then its purpose has been fulfilled."

He turned back to the servant. "Consider yourself fortunate that you did not live when I first came limping back to this world." He began to walk closer, his staff tapping, his cape flowing slightly with each movement. "Once, I would have merely seized you by the throat and torn you to piece with my own hands. For extra measure I would have forced power into you to keep you alive and screaming until I crushed your head. Time has tempered me and taught me."

"If you intend to kill me, I shall not stop you, my lord, my life, oh ender of those who displease."

Zedd turned away. "I have been aware of his existence for a time: Ooze. As I locked myself away into a desperate slumber to heal, lest I destroy my empire in my pain-induced insanity, I began to delve into my senses. I unlocked a new gift for sensing the moving and twisting of powers to an extent."

"My lord," breathed the servant in wonder and awe.

"Yes," he said, a rare note of pride entering his voice. "It was unexpected gift from such a terrible incident. I became aware of a creature fouler and uglier than even I. Thus, I also came to the knowledge of how strong he was. He is greater than me, but he is also weakened from what he once was. I do not have to defeat him however; he shall do that to himself for me. It is Rita that I am truthfully interested in."

"My lord, if I may so be bold as to ask: why?" Zedd let go of the staff and it became a serpent that shown as if with stars and swirling galaxies upon its body. It slithered to the throne in the room and curled itself upon the left-most hand-rest. It eyed the servant with intelligent and somewhat hungry eyes, yet it did not move for Zedd simply gestured and it curled down into passivity.

He turned to his servant. "Why? I shall share with you why."

"But I am not worthy my lord. It almost would constitute a weakness to others if you were to openly display interest in her. But it is not for me to question you, rather, it is my duty to serve."

"Correct, but I trust you with such knowledge. For if you should prove untrustworthy," he looked back at the throne and the snaked hissed lightly and opened wide to reveal teeth before settling down.

"I understand my fate," said the servant firmly. He was amazed that his voice did not tremble.

"Good. Very good. I have wondered for a time if there was such loyalty as yours." Zedd returned to the window and placed his hand on the frame looking out. "I am ruler of a vast empire. But I, and I alone, sit isolated and absolute at the pinnacle of this mighty power I have created. It creates a void within me that remains there; and seems to keep on growing. All I know is that this pain seems to be incurable. But then I see Rita and see perhaps one who might satisfy my desire."

"Desires my lord." He hummed aloud in thought. "You express that you are not satisfied, and yet you are poised to expand this empire you hold. But you would actually share it with another? Is that what you seek? Dangerous."

"Rita is dangerous, but also so easily blinded. She is but a child playing with powers that she still does not understand. She lacks the maturity to truly wield power. There are many forms and kinds of power in this universe. I have learned of many, but I am plagued by foreign sensations and feeling of emptiness that becomes unbearable."

"There are fates worse than dying. Sometimes to die is a kindness. That is part of what makes Ooze so cruel. I have heard of the tales of how he trapped souls in the essence of his very robe and forced them to die screaming slowly…very slowly. I would grow tired of the endless howling after a time, the cries of the souls. It is his pleasure to not let beings die quickly but slowly and unbelievable agony."

"Yes my lord. He is whispered of as a being whose tale would be placed only a scroll or book stained black as the blackest of black holes. But Rita is treacherous and unstable. She does not have any desire to be in the presence of living things. The moment she senses an opportunity, she will turn on you. I feel it to be rather fraught with risk, but I merely voice my thoughts, I do not speak for you."

"Indeed, and I grow weary of this. Depart. I might still feed you to the serpent anyway."

"I shall take my leave," stated the servant hurriedly bowing and walking out.

Zedd remained focused upon the heavens, his mind wandering. A stray thought crept up. It was an unusual one for a being of his cruelty and ruthlessness. There is no fate crueler than to be alone for an eternity, to have the whole of creation, but have none to share in it. And I…am alone.

Oh yes, there were fates that were cruel when compared to dying. Fates far crueler.