Usurpation of the Dark
Chapter 3: A Fountain of Chaos
Seam, disheartened, finds himself on the edge of the fields. His outpost has become more like home for the past few days, and he's taken it upon himself to remove the last of his existence from the castle and bring a few knickknacks here. Jevil's words are still swimming around his head. What does it all mean? A world where Darkners and Lightners have no meaning? A world of profound and ultimately unimportant absurdity?
The fields never had a name. They were simply the outskirts of the card kingdom. The soldiers and kings did their duty to simply stay put, never really seeking to venture out and explore their realm, always understanding the Lightners would come and give them direction. But it's been such a long time. The only reason Seam is even out here is because of Jevil's natural curiosity, he wanted to explore this place with Seam, and doing so filled his head with dreams. How long have they been waiting for the Lightners to return? How long have they denied themselves personal value? Seam frowns.
However, on this day, a few nights after he left the castle, he feels a rumbling at his feet. It's slow at first, but soon it feels like the entire world was instantly shot up in the air for a second! Seam cant keep his footing and even a few shelves he put up fall and break upon the floor. An earthquake? Impossible, the card kingdom has never had an earthquake before. Seam runs out and his ear keeps twitching. There's a noise he's unfamiliar with, and it's… consistent. He darts his ears around before locating its source-
-and even with poor vision he can vibrantly make out what the cause is. With mouth agape, upon the horizon, a tower of dark light shoots from the card castle!
"What is that? …Wait… it… can't be. The… prophesy, the upset balance. Was the Knight here?!" Seam, though only a short time ago promising himself to be done with the kingdom, is driven by instinct towards the fountain of darkness.
He approaches the door he used to teleport before, only to notice that it's closed. He bangs on it but it won't open. It's so strange, and a pair of other monsters are nearby also seemingly interested in the door.
"Court Wizard Seam?" One with a very angular head asks.
"I am no longer the court wizard… what are you two doing here?"
"We're investigating this strange phenomenon in the name of the king."
"Kings I assume you meant." Seam corrects. The other monsters simply look at each other.
"Seam… it makes sense you hadn't heard, it was earlier, and you've been gone. Let me tell you something."
"…?" Seam listens intently.
A few hours earlier...
The Four Kings in their throne room sit around the table. The knight has come and the ground beneath them springs with energy. The king of hearts speaks up first.
"We knew this day would come. Let us stay calm and obey the prophesy to the letter. The second fountain will arise, and to correct the balance the Lightners will finally return to us." He explains. The other kings all have varying emotions on how to handle this. The king of spades is the first to talk.
"The Lightners have abandoned us to rot for so long… can you not feel the energy even before the fountain awakens? If we took the power for the kingdom-" He suggests before he's cut off by the king of clubs slamming the table.
"HERESY! You forget yourself! We are servants of the Lightners! Ours is but to serve a higher purpose and uphold the balance!" He snaps, but the diamond king puts a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm yourself. This is something that must be discussed deeply. Our kingdom has gone catatonic, alone in the dark. If even for a moment, the dark energies could revitalize our people. We shouldn't just sit by and let the fountain be sealed, at least, not right away. We are not just upholders of the balance, we are living breathing people, and some freedom from the bondage of atrophy is justified." The king of diamonds explains. The kings of hearts and clubs sigh, but the king of spades nods his head.
"A long time ago I would have been content to simply fulfill my purpose, but the Lightners have failed to uphold theirs. We've lost meaning and must gain our own. This second fountain could give us what we need to become a TRUE kingdom… and if the Lightners wish to seal a fountain-" He yells, pointing out the window to the west, beyond the great door.
"Then they can seal THAT one!" The burly spade king suggests. The diamond king strokes his chin.
"You mean seal the Deltarune Fountain? But their family has upheld the balance since the legends began. Surely this new fountain would be the target of the Lightners… the Deltarune Darkners may even support the Lightners in coming here. We may not have a choice but let them seal this fountain even if we wanted to draw upon it for energy." The diamond king admits. The king of spades growls and sits back down.
All four of the kings trade half-ideas to each other, before the solemn answer is reached.
They'll take what power they can from the fountain before it is stripped from their hands.
Some time later…
The hand of the knight passes the land. Be it literal or metaphorical, the dark fountain beneath the ground bubbles and churns… and before long, the first crack appears, and that's all it needs to give way to the infinite energy of the darkness below! From behind the kingdom, atop the tower that views the dark fountain in its ultimate glory, the four kings view the dark fountain with their own eyes, the light flashing by their eyes and filling each of them with a different emotion.
Even being next to the fountain without harnessing any energy, they can feel their dilapidated forms returning to full strength! Holes in their clothing, aches in their bodies, they crackle and fizzle warmly before returning to their original compositions. It's as if the dark fountain is a miracle that can accomplish anything.
The kings leave to marshal their troops to bask in the fountain's radiant energy. All… except one.
"Lancer, my son. Step out from the shadows." The king of spades speaks to a dark corner.
"Y-Yes father?"
"Do you not feel it?" He asks, stepping closer to the edge of the castle. Lancer, his bulbous and pointy son, waddles over to where his dad is standing. Normally a bit hyper, this energy calms him down and makes him feel… complete.
"Wow, dad… what is this?"
"This is the fountain, son. This is what the prophesy foretold us of."
"Oh! I remember, this means a bunch of Lightners are gonna come and shut it down? But why? It's so pretty." Lancer says, both still looking upon it fondly. The king frowns.
"Lancer… I need your help with something."
"Yes, father?"
"Kings, kings!" Lancer, son of the king of spades lets out to the three other kings in council!
"Prince of spades? What's wrong?" The king of hearts asks.
"It's my dad! He went to the prison and one of the inmates, the really strong one, he… he hurt my dad real bad!"
"The king of spades is in danger?!" The king of diamonds exclaims! They all stand and run with lancer to the elevators down into the dungeon.
"Huh? Why is the elevator only giving us two options?" The king of spades asks.
"The battle in the deepest cell must have broken the elevator, we can still reach it from the prison, can't we?" Lancer responds. The king of hearts nods.
"Even if we can't, we'll MAKE a way!"
They stop at the prison block and they run out. Before the kings can ask which way to start, lancer runs east to the animal cages. The kings follow him. Before long however, he's run so fast and so far that he's out of sight.
"Young prince, slow down!" One of them lets out before they realize they lost him. In fact, this entire block seems… bigger than it used to be. Bigger and darker.
"Welcome my brothers…" A familiar voice from behind them lets out. They turn around to see the king of spades, not only uninjured, but seemingly emboldened by dark energy.
"Spade king…?! What is the meaning of this? Where is Jevil?!"
"The clown? He's in his cell where he always will be. Speaking of, I humbly welcome you three to YOURS." He laughs in a twisted deep cackle with both his mouth and stomach, the animal cages flying open, the animals inside running amuck! Lancer however, on his motorbike, rounds them all up into a single cramped cell, leaving three open. The other kings, sensing the dynamic shift arm themselves with magic as they stare the king of spades down.
"What are you planning?!" The king of hearts demands an answer.
"I seek to right the wrongs of our inaction!" The king of spades answers! The king of clubs steps forward.
"It is not our right to upset the balance any further, spade king!"
"Such simple-minded tripe. The balance was set by the Lightners to use us and cast us away! The balance is nothing but a farce that leaves us floundering without direction! I will change that, I will give us purpose!" He preaches, wielding the chain of justice within his hand, spinning it around. The king of diamonds, moderate friend of the king of spades, sadly steps forward.
"I know how you feel… but this is not the way! We cannot stand up to the Lightners! They created us and gave us meaning. Our people deserve happiness, our people deserve hope!"
"And I will give it to them. Rest assured my brethren, as the only king- not the king of spades, but the king of all this fountain stands for… the king of darkness, the king of power, the king of CHAOS… I will usher in a golden age for our people!"
"We won't let you take that risk!" The king of clubs roars, drawing a scepter of magic and leaping forward towards the newly self-appointed Chaos King! His belly however opens its massive maw to shoot the chain of justice out and pierce the guard of the king of clubs, shattering his weapon and pinning him and his three heads to the ground with a hearty cackle! With a scowl, the kings of hearts and diamonds launch a tag-attack of magical barrages against the Chaos King! He growls and blocks the attacks as best he can, using his cape for defense.
To everyone's surprise however, even the king of spades, Lancer returns to the fight and uses it to pop a wheelie and run over the king of hearts! It doesn't hurt him as much as it cancels his attack and allows the Chaos King to repeal the king of diamond's singular barrage with his own rain of spades! They rip through the diamonds, shattering them into worthless glass cascading to the floor as the spades skewer his armor and pin him to the ground as well!
The king of hearts wipes his mouth and looks at the wrapped up king of clubs and the incapacitated king of diamonds.
"What do you hope to accomplish with this coup, Chaos King? Surely you do not think that you can stop the Lightners… let alone the hand of the Knight! What if the balance were to be upset further? Would you see our kingdom crumble at world's end?!"
"I would see us drink from the fountain and grow strong enough to defy the Lightners and control our own fate! The Knight is ineffable and incorruptible, and should a third or even a fourth fountain rise, then I welcome it! Let the balance tip and flood the world with darkness! Let this foul light forever be blocked, and the Lightners die with it!" The Chaos King retracts the chain and uses it to throw the pacified king of clubs into the nearby cage before charging the king of hearts down!
They lock in physical combat, but it's obvious the king of spades is much stronger! His entire body burns with dark energy!
"You… f-fiend… ngh- you will only incur the wrath of the gods…!"
"The Lightners are not gods…" He says, punching the king in the stomach, causing him to spit up!
"THEY-" He roars, socking his head upwards, dizzying the king of hearts-
"ARE-" He growls, grabbing the back of his head-
"SCUM!" With finality, throwing the king of hearts into the cell! The then snaps his fingers, and the king of diamonds pinned to the ground is flung into the cell as well by the spades skewering him there. He slams the cage shut and Lancer brings him a golden key. He locks the cage and immediately after doing so, crushes it in his hand, causing fine golden powder to fall to the ground.
"You… v-villain… the Lightners… will save us…" The king of clubs grumbles, having regained consciousness. Lancer steps forward with a dorky smile.
"Villains? I like the sound of that. Hear that dad?"
"I sure did Lancer… sounds like we're-"
"The bad guys!" Lancer gets on his bike and spins around before leaving the room. The Chaos King motions to leave as well but the king of diamonds speaks up.
"Don't let our kingdom die… Chaos King…"
"…Hmph." The Chaos King simply moves along.
With a final grumble, the king of diamonds says something under his breath.
"… Don't touch my riches either..."
Seam blinks twice. Not sure how to respond to all of this. The monster explaining turns back to look at the fountain burning in the horizon.
"Since he took over, a lot of Darkners, especially those from the three other kingdoms, have been iffy… but those that bask in the fountain's power pledge fealty to him. They get healed, they feel strong, they become invigorated with a new purpose."
"And you?" Seam asks.
"I'm just following orders, Seam." He says with finality, nodding in farewell before turning back to work on the strange door. Seam however mulls over the information he just learned.
"Chaos King…"