Part 2
Mira said nothing while they walked down the halls of the ruin, but one thing was for certain. This place wasn't just familiar, she recognized it. Realizing what that meant, she motioned for them to stop.
"There's a problem, me. This place isn't familiar. I recognize it." Mira said to Vordea.
"We have to leave." Vordea said immediately, to which Mira nodded.
"Why? What's going on?" Syndra asked.
"If I recognize this place, it means the real me is leaking into the mortal plane." Mira said, immediately turning around and heading toward the exit, Vordea and Syndra close behind. As they turned a corner, Mira came to a dead stop. The layout had already changed, they were too late. "Shit!"
"We're cut off." Vordea said. "Mira, I'll see you later."
Mira nodded, and hopped into a portal that appeared in the ground, which immediately closed behind her.
"Why did she leave?" Syndra asked.
"Because she's a memory, Syndra. The real Mira might use her as a conduit to leak into this world." Vordea explained. "I saw her do it once before and I don't want it again."
"You keep mentioning her name, who is Mira?" Syndra asked, as they continued to walk through the shifting ruin. "You also seem absolutely terrified of her."
"That obvious?" Vordea asked, as they came upon yet another dead end, and backtracked. "DoThere are things mortals are not meant to know, but I will share some of it. Have you wantever toheard know her full title?" Seeing a nod from Syndra, Vordea continued. "Mira Frost,of the Lastterm Lord of Carcosa. The Corpse King.'demiurge'?"
"The Corpse King? That means it's her Amulet, doesn'Can't it?say that I have." Syndra asked.said, as they walked down winding halls, passing by grotesque paintings on the walls.
"ItWell is.I It's a portion of her power made manifest. However, it also doesn't, or rather, can't exist. The fact you learned about it from this ruin proves thatsuppose it doesn't exist.really matter. That little Amulet you stole from me? That's Mira's." Vordea said, running her hand along the wall. "More specifically, it's a part of her."
"WhatSyndra dostopped youas mean?"
Reachingreached a fork in the hallways, Vordea stopped.hallways. "ThisWhat ruindo we'reyou inmean rightby nowthat?"
"In the same way this armour you see me wearing is a place that last existed before I was born. Remember how I referred to the Mira you met a few minutes ago as a memory? This ruin itself is a memorypart of Mira's.me." Vordea answered, gesturing at her black sigil covered armour.
"SoI've whobeen ismeaning she?to Really?ask, Whatwhere's doesyour theright title Corpse King even mean?gauntlet?" Syndra asked as they chose a path to go down.down and continued.
"I left it at an intriguing tavern in the Empire of Eternal Sand. I'll be back for it eventually. Back to the topic at hand. To put it simply, Mira's thoughts manifest as reality."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It means a lot of things, elf.is." Vordea answered, running her hand along the wall. "Let's start with the first one, Mira has never been alive in this universe. Hence she's a corpse."
"Pretty lively for a dead body."
"The other part is king, Syndra. Mira is the Corpse King because she is the dead lord of this universe." Vordea finished,said, pausing to hit a hidden button on the wall, which caused a set of stairs to appear from the ceiling. "A reality warper. Moments lost though time remains, no pain remains no feeling, eternity awaits."
"That sounds ominous.What?" Syndra saidasked as shethey followed Vordeawalked up the set of stairs.
"We'reOh, justnothing. gettingJust started,remembering Valmaris.something Mira said to me once." Vordea said with a laugh,answered, punching open athe door at the top of the stairs.stairs open. "TheI'll Lastshare Lordone oflast Carcosathing isabout a far more ominous title than you might realize. Let's startMira with Carcosa.you. OfMy course,earliest nothing I tell you here will ever be repeated. Understood?memory."
"Of course."
"Good. Carcosa is the corpse of the previous universe. Many countless ages ago, in a time span so long any mortal would go mad from comprehending it, this universe began, and I emerged screaming from Carcosa into a blank void. My veryYour earliest memory was the death of Carcosa, and Mira Frost telling me from behind a closed door that it was all up to me now."
"What does that mean?memory?" Syndra asked,asked as they entered a library and began to checklook the books.around.
"IYes. don'tIt know.was inside a room in a place that looked similar to this ruin." Vordea said, as she pulled out books from the shelves and tossed them aside after glancing at the titles. "She called me a legacy of terror, one that would make sure that Carcosa would never be forgotten. But there's still more to Mira."
"Oh?What's Carcosa? Oh, I think this is the book, Vordea.book." Syndra said, handing a book over to her.
"Hmmm,Hmmm. sureSure looks like. Yes,Carcosa Mira is the source of all divine powers.is..." Vordea answered,paused takingfor thea bookmoment, and tuckingseemed itto betweencontemplate hergiving breasts.an answer, before continuing. "Where I came from. Where Mira came from. Let's get out of here.here first." Vordea finished, tucking the book between her breasts. "Hold on tight."
Vordea curled a few tentacles around Syndra and leapt up, punching the ceiling. For nearly an hour, Vordea blasted through hundreds of walls, changing direction seemingly at random, before they emerged back outside in the cool autumn air.
"Free at last. What are we going to do about this ruin?" Syndra asked, panting.
"Feel privileged, Syndra. You are about to see me act in an official capacity for the first time in thousands of kalpas." Vordea stated as her tentacles and armour melted away to reveal a long black gown.
"Oh?"
Vordea cleared her throat, and held out her hand, in which a mace appeared. "By my right as the Supreme Goddess of Creation, I disavow this place. By the Winds of Change it is dissolved. In the name of the Last Lord of Carcosa Mira Frost, I excise this place from all planes!" Vordea shouted, the mace glowing bright white. "By the symbol of my station, by the power granted to me by Carcosa, you are destroyed!"
As Vordea finished speaking, the ruins simply winked out of existence, and left behind a black hole.void in reality. Vordea flung the mace she was holding into it, and it was replaced by a patch of grass, leaving no evidence it ever existed.
"What just happened?" Syndra asked, amazed by what she saw.
"Divine providence, elf. Or rather, the lack of it. Everything you see around you exists because I allow it to." Vordea said, gesturing at the trees and meadow around them.
"HangI on,feel like there was some titles I just heard I wasn't supposed to, when you saidmade thethat sourcelittle ofspeech." allSyndra divinesaid, power comes from Mira."
"Indeed it does. In Mira's own words, we play pretend with powers beyond comprehension."
"Again I ask, what is Mira really?"
"She's a reality warper. The world changes aroundcrossing her as she thinks and speaks. The early universe was uncontrolled chaos due to this."arms.
"So what did you do?"
"Mira currently sleeps the dreamless sleep of death beyond reality, but she stirs from time to time. One more thing. You noticed how Mira referred to me as 'me'?"
"I did, yes."
"Because I am her. I'm the dream of Mira Frost, and she's the dreamer."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"It's not supposed to. Things about Mira rarely do. Let's go back to Ammangoan and take a look at this intriguing little book."