Chapter Fifty Eight

A Ruler Shall Rise Again

ELSA

"Fascinating." Ingrid said. She took a small sip from her cup of tea.

"It is." Elsa levelled her gaze, having not touched her own cup. She had spun a version of the truth for Ingrid. Of course, she couldn't bring up the part where she was stuck in the middle of a war with an Empire that didn't exist on this world, and she certainly couldn't bring up the fact that sorcerers were being hunted and targeted.

And so, she put a spin on it. She'd stumbled upon men in brown cloaks while on mission with Janus to assassinate the Duke of Weselton. The Duke had allegedly been working with the Crimson Order. As he'd begged the deadly couple to spare his life, he'd made mention of the Crimson Order being able to provide a ransom and anything they wanted, only if they let him live.

Elsa was impressed with her ability to come up with such a cover story, one that Ingrid had apparently believed. She studied Ingrid's face for any signs of disbelief or doubt, and found none. Then again, it'd always been hard to read the Pilgrim, no matter which version of her it was.

"Hmmn." Ingrid said noncommittally. She lowered her tea cup to the table, and it gave a soft clang as the porcelain touched glass. "So you stumbled upon these men in brown cloaks and you think they have something to do with the Crimson Order."

"Well, do they?" Elsa said. "I don't know for certain, but I can only assume that the Crimson Order might be a threat to us."

"Oh, you're quite right. The Crimson Order is a threat. Always has been." Ingrid's expression had gone rather serious.

"So you've encountered them before?" Elsa probed. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"Rumours. Stories. Legends." Ingrid remarked cryptically. "I have never seen them for my own eyes, but I've made a hobby of looking into their existence."

"Who are they?"

"My own predecessors passed down this legend through the ages. They always feared that some day, the Crimson Order would rise again and we would be powerless against them if we didn't know they existed." Ingrid drawled. "My own mentor, the Fifth Pilgrim, he always warned me to be ready for them."

Elsa stayed quiet, waiting for Ingrid to go on. She didn't want to appear too desperate.

"About a thousand years ago, the world was overrun by all sorts of perverse sorcery. People were corrupt. Society all across the globe was in ruins." Ingrid said slowly as if they were in for a long story. "There was a saint called Ka' Linx. He was a prophet who had a direct connection to the divine. God told him that He'd gifted the world with demons as weapons, to combat the corruption and perversion. Karlinxon's mission was to assemble a group of saints worthy enough to wield the demons to fight the unjust.

"And so, the Crimson Order was born. They used demons to exact vengeance upon sorcerers, hoping to restore balance to the world by getting rid of magic once and for all. However, over the centuries as the sect grew, a good number of the saints began to feel that the Crimson Order's methods were too extreme. They felt controlling demons and harnessing their powers were wrong. They believed that there was a better way. They would fight magic with magic without the need to turn to demons.

"And so a splinter group was formed and rebelled against the loyalists. The loyalists were furious, because they believed sorcery and any other form of witchcraft was heresy, and that the rebels needed to be crushed. But the number of rebels grew exponentially, and a civil war broke out within the Crimson Orde. Eventually, the splinter group grew in numbers and detached itself from the Order. They escaped into the shadows, hoping to never have contact with the Order ever again.

"This splinter group vowed to finish what the Order started, to bring justice into the world and exact vengeance upon the wicked. But they needed to do things differently and distance themselves from the loyalists. And thus, the Legion of Sorcerers was born. We've been waiting for the Crimson Order to strike ever since, but they've faded away into obscurity over the centuries."

Elsa sat silently, absorbing all that she'd heard. It felt a little too surreal. A thousand year history of the Crimson Order, and it'd been hidden down through the ages. All this time, they'd been watching from the shadows. She swallowed, and pulled the coat around her shoulders a little tighter.

"But they haven't." Ingrid went on. "While the Legion of Sorcerers grew more prominent over the years, the Crimson Order faded away. The Pilgrims of times past have waited their entire lives for the Order to find them. But they haven't."

"But they do exist." Elsa finally said. "And I think they've been manipulating events from the shadows."

"Mmn." Ingrid sipped from her cup. "Over time, their methods would have evolved, just like ours. Instead of attacking, the Order prefers to control their puppet dictators and world leaders. Subtle, and commendable."

"Do you know who's in charge now?" Elsa asked. "The current leader of the Crimson Order."

Ingrid cackled. "It sounds like you want to take the fight to the Order."

"Maybe I do." Elsa said truthfully. "They're a threat that needs to be dealt with."

"No, child." Ingrid shook her head. "The Order is too dangerous. They'll kill you."

Elsa detected fear in Ingrid's voice, which was so unlike the Pilgrim she had known back on her world. She felt her own heart skip a beat and her skin tingled. If Ingrid was afraid of them, then they really had to be danger on a whole new level, one which the Legion of Sorcerers was afraid of trifling with.

"At least tell me who's leading them now." Elsa tried to sound determined and leaned forward ambitiously. "I need to find out more for myself. If these people really are out there, I need to know who they are."

Ingrid seemed to consider this for a long minute. Elsa watched her with bated breath, feeling time slow all around her and her heart rate rise.

"Alright." Ingrid relented. "But you must promise me not to pursue this vendetta. I do not want to lose my best assassin."

Elsa nodded. "Promise."

The Pilgrim leaned in close. "His name is Magnus Von Faust." Ingrid said in a low scrapping voice. "Lord and High Priest of the Crimson Order."

Magnus Von Faust. Elsa narrowed her eyes. "Who is he?"

"I only know the name. Not the face, not who he is in public. He wears a mask, so no one knows what he looks like. Gives him free reign to live as a member of society whenever he isn't trying to kill sorcerers." Ingrid looked unsettled. "I make it my business to find out about my enemies, but the High Priest is very good at hiding his tracks."

"Lord Magnus." Elsa repeated. Lord Magnus, High Priest of the Crimson Order.

"And where is the Crimson Order based?"

Ingrid narrowed her eyes. "You promised not to take this any further."

"I won't." Elsa insisted. "Please. Tell me where they're hiding."

"There are catacombs beneath the Eastern region on this continent." Ingrid said slowly. "The demons were gathered over the centuries and kept there, far away from the rest of humanity. Today, there is a city built over the land. A small, insignificant kingdom called Exon.

Exon. Elsa bristled. I should've known. Here on this earth, there was no Exonian Empire. But the fact still stood, the lair of the Crimson Order was based beneath the city of Exon. And it stands to reason that it'll be the same on our own earth.

"And what do you intend to do with this knowledge?" Ingrid asked.

"Nothing." Elsa lied.

"No," Ingrid's green eyes bore into Elsa's. "I know you well enough to know when you're lying. You will pursue this till you've taken them down. I can see the fire in your eyes. But why?"

"It's personal," Elsa admitted. "You will never understand."

"Actually, I think I might." A small smile played at the corners of Ingrid's lips. "For starters, you're not my Elsa."

Elsa blinked. The game was up. "What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. You aren't my Elsa. Not the one that I know."

"I don't follow. What are you talking about?" Elsa tried to sound incredulous. "I am Elsa. You've known me since the beginning."

"No. No, you're not." Ingrid's smile had spread to the rest of her face. "I know you're not. I wasn't sure what to think at first, but now I'm sure. Somehow, there is more than one Elsa in existence. The one I know isn't here yet." She fixed Elsa with a piercing gaze. "You aren't from this world, are you?"

No use denying it anymore. Ingrid knows. Elsa sighed, relenting. "You're right. I'm not. I come from a different reality, and I needed to seek you out."

"Why?" Ingrid tilted her head. "Why me? Why not the Pilgrim on your earth?"

"Because…she's gone," Elsa said reluctantly. "She's dead."

"And you replaced her." Ingrid concluded. "You're the Pilgrim on your earth."

"Yes." Elsa was dumbfounded. "How…how did you deduce that I was-"

"Not my Elsa?" Ingrid smirked. "Don't forget, I'm a Ha'naeth."

"When did you realise I wasn't the Elsa you know?"

"Perhaps from the very start." Ingrid leaned back in her throne. "I knew something was amiss. You coming back this early, Prometheus being missing, and then there was the clothes. A big giveaway."

"Ah." Elsa glared down at her clothes.

"The biggest giveaway was your personality. You're nothing like the Elsa I know." Ingrid chuckled. "Too kind. And so, over the course of my little story, I began to reach out with my sorcery." Ingrid went on. "There was something strange about you, I knew it. And now I know I'm right."

"You're very perceptive." Elsa admitted.

"As I'm sure your own Ingrid was." She said. "Tell me. Did you kill her and take her place?"

"No. She was stricken with a terminal illness. She died trying to find the demon called the Eternal King."

"Ah. The Eternal King." Ingrid's eyes narrowed. "You'd have to be careful of that one."

"On my world, we believe the Crimson Order has the Eternal King." Elsa said.

"Then you're doomed to fail." Ingrid answered curtly. "If they have the Eternal King on their side, they can unleash him anytime and he'll consume everything. He'll be unstoppable. Your world will be thrown into chaos at the hands of the immortal demon."

Elsa paused briefly. "Is there any way to-"

"Beat him? Kill him?" Ingrid snorted. "This is the Eternal King we're talking about. There is no killing him. He's been in existence even longer than the Crimson Order has."

"You've studied him?"

"Yes. Like everything else." Ingrid waved her hand dismissively. "But I must warn you against this."

"Against what?"

"Seeking out the Crimson Order." Ingrid's forehead creased as she leaned forward. "If you push them too hard and they release the Eternal King, your world is doomed. There is a prophecy here, which I'm sure exists in your reality too."

"What prophecy?" Elsa didn't like the feeling she was getting.

"An ancient archive, long forgotten by the Pilgrims of times past. God only knows if Magnus knows of the prophecy." Ingrid hissed. "The prophecy tells of a day that will come when a ruler will not just conquer the realm of Ancient Hyutreno, but the lands of the South, and his power will spread to the North."

"The Eternal King on my world ruled Ancient Hyutreno but not the other regions." Elsa pointed out.

"Exactly." Ingrid looked deadly serious now. "Which can only mean that the Eternal King will rise again someday. There is a second part to the prophecy."

"What is it?" Elsa dreaded knowing what came next. Things were bad enough already.

"'From the depths of the snow, the Eternal King shall rise again.'"

Elsa glanced towards the window. It was winter here too, as it was back on her own earth. If the prophecy was true, this could be referring to their day and age, here during the Winter Campaign. The Crimson Order was at war with the League and the Coalition right now. If they pushed all the way to the gates of the capital of Exon, there was no telling what would happen.

If the Order was located within Exon, they could have no other alternative choice but to unleash the Eternal King in hopes of crushing the Coalition as well as the League of Sorcerers. And if they did, the prophecy would be fulfilled. There would be nothing standing between the Eternal King and global domination.

Now the entire landscape of danger had changed. The Empire, the Imperial Horde, the Crimson Order. They all seemed to pale in comparison to a far more sinister evil. The return of the Eternal King.

The prophecy lingered in Elsa's mind like a church bell. From the depths of the snow, the Eternal King shall rise again. A shiver ran down her spine.

"For your own sake, Elsa." Ingrid almost sounded like she was pleading. "Don't push this any further. I know you're not the Elsa I know, but believe it or not, I do care."

"That's very unlike the Pilgrim I knew back on my earth." Elsa said slowly. Her mind was still trying to process whatever she had learnt. "She didn't care about anyone except for herself."

"I'm not the Pilgrim from your earth." Ingrid said stiffly. "My methods might be harsh, but I care about my greatest apprentice."

Elsa shook her head. "I'm not your Elsa."

"I know. But I'm proud of who you've become." The tiny smile appeared at the corners of Ingrid's discoloured lips. "I'd always known that one day, you'd succeed me as the Seventh Pilgrim. And here you are, from another world. The Pilgrim of the Legion of Sorcerers."

"League of Sorcerers." Elsa said. "We're called the League of Sorcerers."

"Of course." Ingrid chuckled softly. "Different worlds."

"Thank you." Elsa said. "For everything. In a way, your counterpart helped to shape me into the leader I needed to be."

Ingrid nodded. "Go. I believe your Prometheus might require some assistance in his quarters. My assassins -your counterparts - have returned."

How could Ingrid possibly know that? Then Elsa remembered. Ingrid was a Ha'naeth. "Thank you." With that, Elsa turned and ducked out of the Throne Room.