Chapter 2. The Challenge of Airón.

 

 Chapter 2.

The Challenge of Airón.

In the center of a vast black lake, hundreds of candles flickered in a hypnotic dance, illuminating the surrounding space with a dim but constant glow. The surface of the water was as dark as midnight, as if a veil of darkness covered its depth, and the shapes reflected in it were barely distinguishable. Over the ages, the realm of Airón had diminished in size due to the fact that most mortals in current times had lost their beliefs and fear of death.

The paths between the candles seemed to meander among them, like streams of light in the darkness of the lake. The candles, of different heights and colors, formed an island in the center of the water, creating a magical and unreal atmosphere. The crackling of the candles was barely audible, lost in the vastness of the cavern. The paths were wide enough for a person to walk among the candles without disturbing their tranquility and eternal dance.

Airón was the guardian of the candles that represented time in the land of mortals, and the flames of the candles were a reflection of each person's soul. When the candles burned out or their flames were extinguished, Airón had to search for the newly arrived souls and guide them through the final threshold, cutting the last ties between body and soul and leading them to their place of eternal rest.

— "This is impossible. My kingdom is infinite, there is no up or down, no right or left. How could this have happened?" Airón wondered, perplexed.

But it didn't matter, it was just one more of the souls he had to guide. Airón took one of the paths and entered a long corridor of candles. As he walked among the candles, Airón could perceive in each flame the soul it represented. Each one reflected a unique and different essence, a glow that connected him with the being it belonged to. In the center of the candle island, the youngest flames shone with a pure and vibrant glow that belonged to newborn babies and those who had not yet been corrupted by the world. As he moved away from the center, the candles decreased in size, and their flames reflected the experiences of life. In this place were the flames of young people and adolescents, burning with intensity and passion. Beyond that, the smallest candles, with their last breaths, were those of adults and the elderly who were about to die, their flames slowly consuming them. In the farthest zones were the candles of criminals, whose flames were dark and gloomy, reflecting the evil and cruelty of their owners.

Those last candles had a larger flame than the others. The flame of a teenager could change its size at any time, and when this happened, it had to move from its position in the center to the edges, since they consumed at a faster rate.

Once Airón had placed the candle in its new resting place, he observed the candles around him, especially those corrupt candles that eagerly awaited the moment when he could place his fingers on those unrestrained flames. A dark green candle with a considerable flame caught his attention. He knew that its time was near. "Wait for my return," he said and continued on his way.

At the end of his journey, Airón arrived at a gate and turned his head for a final glance at the candles. "It will only take a snap," he thought as he raised his left hand and slid it into the sleeve of his right hand, where he held a large sickle. From it, he withdrew a rusty key shaped like two extended wings and inserted it into the lock of the gate.

As he opened it, he continued his way towards the outside, with the sound of his steps on the water making a faint splash. After a while, the noise ceased and he now walked on a cavern with a black marble floor.

"TAC... TAC... TAC..."

After wandering in the darkness for a few minutes, Airón found himself facing a strange mortal and felt a strong sense of determination. At first glance, the mortal appeared normal, like any other of his age, around 25 or 30 years old, but Airón noticed something intriguing within him and sank into his thoughts: "How did you get to my kingdom if your time has not ended? Also, where did that damn drop of water come from?".

Without a word, the mortal asked for his name. Airón remained silent for a moment, but decided to answer and, following the usual procedure, explained what would happen next.

Airón held the flame between his fingers just enough for Clair to know his place and show more submission to the fate that awaited him. Clair fell to his knees at his feet, making a slight groan in his throat.

After Airón showed his great power over the flames, he proceeded to take possession of Clair's flame. But before that, he had to sever the ties that bound Clair to his earthly body.

Airón, curious about the events unfolding before him, decides to wait a moment. Clair, though noticeably dazed, proposes a wager.

— A bet? — Airón thinks. "He wants to survive at all costs... your flame already belongs to me since you fell into the realms of death, something that amuses me," he reflects to himself. "Damn mortal, you still defy my authority in my own kingdom. When I obtain your flame, you will understand how immense my power is and you will know your place."

Airón becomes furious upon realizing that Clair is right about something. It has been a long time since he enjoyed competing to win a flame. In the underworld, his thinking is the law and what he says is fulfilled without room for discussion. "I will engrave it in his being," he thinks.

Airón decides to imprison Clair so that he doesn't notice his interest in this challenge. He couldn't remember the last time a mortal had the audacity to speak so carelessly. Instead, most of the condemned only whimper or writhe while he consumes their flames. Airón remains silent as Clair finishes laying out his bet.

After Clair proposes a challenge, and a little surprised, Airón decides to accept. It could be a good way to pass the time and find ways to torture the souls of this new era.

Airón, once again demonstrating his power, delves deep into Clair's mind and takes all the memories from his memory, absorbing all his experiences, hobbies, and pastimes for himself. He also takes relevant information that could be used against him.

Having gained a general idea of what a video game is and what "Battle for the Kingdom" means to Clair, Airón decides to crush his ego and expectations. Based on the newly acquired information, Airón decides that the battlefield will be a dungeon instead of an open field to have absolute control over Clair's movements.

Stupid mortal, you did not measure your limits, now my kingdom will be your downfall. You will see how your most precious achievement will be your end, at least what remains of it after the changes I make. And you will pay for your insolence.

Airón was undecided on how he could prolong Clair's suffering further. He decided to teach him a lesson by taking the form of a being that did not yet exist in his insignificant fantasy and giving him the opportunity to choose his character, at least a part of it.

Airón, whose name was given by the indigenous people settled in Hispania before being subjugated by the Roman Empire, was worshipped as the god of the underworld not only for being the lord of death but also as the giver of life. For those peoples, water - a symbol of life - came from the depths of the earth, which was considered the same as the underworld. Since Airón would have the power to give life to many creatures for the challenge, his name seemed to be the most appropriate for the occasion.

After explaining the basic fundamentals of game creation to Clair, Airón left him alone in the lobby while he took possession of the throne of the dungeon. First, he took some wayward souls and assigned them different roles.

Now, sitting on his throne, Airón kept his enormous broadsword leaning on one side. The throne room was a gigantic chamber with a hallway that led to the main door. In the hallway, one could observe a huge red carpet that went from the door to the base of the throne, flanked by six stained glass windows: three on each side of the grand hall. Each stained glass contained an image representing a deity related to death in different beliefs and mythologies, and beneath the image was its corresponding name. Underneath them, torches illuminated the stained glass windows, creating a gloomy atmosphere throughout the room.

Airón had his right leg resting on the base of the throne, while his left leg rested on the carpet. His right hand was resting on his knee, and in front of his skull was his hand enclosed in a gauntlet that looked like huge black claws with golden tips.

In his kingdom, he could feel and perceive everything in his spiritual form, but he did not have the ability to see his physical form, as he was blind. He wanted to see his work, and at that moment, a small red dot formed in his left eye socket, which rapidly expanded, giving way to many veins and blood vessels that protruded from its center. Blood dripped and some tears of blood ran down his cheek. When the entire process was complete, an eye as white as the moon, resembling the white of his skeleton, had taken shape, with its iris as blue as looking into the heart of the ocean and its pupil a fiery orange like a sunset.

When his vision cleared, Airón remained in his meditative position, with his newly formed left eye floating in his eye socket with drops of blood dripping, observing his outstretched fingers. A loud and macabre laughter echoed throughout the chamber.

Airón moved his fingers with determination. His plan was clear: he wanted to make Clair suffer, but at the same time, he was enjoying the new competitive atmosphere greatly. Although he wanted to teach the mortal a lesson, he also wanted a fair battle and to continue having fun. It seemed that the mortal was right about that, although he was an eccentric and capricious being, he thought. His eye trembled a little, spilling a little more blood, thanks to the knowledge and experiences recently acquired from Clair. He wanted to destroy him, but at the same time, he was very curious to know how far his opponent could go.

His first action was to calculate the statistics of at least five types of creatures that would be in the dungeon rooms. Later on, he would create more dangerous and threatening creatures.

His second action was to test Clair through a small training exercise. To do so, he assigned the lowest statistics to a small mouse. A small green flame emerged from his pinky finger. However, Airón began to question his choice. "What if the mouse is larger? It could also be a cannibal." At that moment, the eye in his socket trembled a little, and the sound of blood drops hitting his skull increased. A larger green flame emerged from his ring finger, which merged with the previous flame as it jumped to his pinky finger.

His third action consisted of assigning higher statistics to a creature that would represent a greater challenge and, at the same time, offer a useful reward for victory. Additionally, Airón wanted to take advantage of the darkness that would be present in some rooms of the dungeon. With a movement of his ring finger, a yellow flame emerged, illuminating the left side of his skull.

After assigning the statistics of the weaker creatures through his pinky and ring finger, Airón continued with his middle finger, index finger, and thumb, bringing to life three blood-red flames. These flames represented the next three statistics, and after a few seconds of contemplating his creation, he waved his hand towards the door of the room. The flames divided and headed in different directions, disappearing into the darkness of the dungeon.

Airón returned his hand to its previous position and extended his fingers and the palm of his hand in a horizontal position. A purple flame, larger than the previous ones, grew in his hand. Unlike the previous flames, this one was not constant, but rather flickered and gained strength at certain intervals of time.

He walked towards the main door, opened it, and crossed the threshold. Then he closed the door behind him and turned to look at the handle that connected both sides of the door. It had the shape of a large bull with an open mouth where the key was inserted. From its snout hung a blue topaz ring. Airón took the horns of the bull's head and ripped it off the door.

He freed the hoop from the head and began to walk. He descended two flights of stairs until he reached a larger room. To his left was an unmoving light, and a few meters in front of him, a part of the floor was destroyed, revealing a corridor that ran underneath the hall.

He turned to his right and found another door which he crossed and closed behind him. This time, he stepped into a long corridor and as he walked along it, he could make out the figures of some of the creatures he had brought to life. These beings remained motionless when he passed by them. A few meters ahead, he reached a fork. On his left side were some stairs leading down.

He took the hoop and let it roll down the stairs. The sound of a coin falling and bouncing down the stairs echoed through the rooms, carrying the sound echo down the corridor. He watched as it disappeared into the darkness and continued his way down the corridor in front of the stairs.

He arrived at a white door and turned to the right, finding an entrance to a slightly smaller room than the throne room. In this chamber, he threw the bull's head and with a loud crash that echoed throughout the room, he closed the door and continued on his way.

Once satisfied with his creation, Airón wandered aimlessly through several rooms until he stopped in a hallway, feeling proud. Suddenly, his sarcophagus emerged from a side wall and he entered it. The lid covered him, plunging everything back into darkness once again. As the lid closed, a crack opened where his terrifying eye could glimpse the purple flame at the end of the hallway.

As the lid of the sarcophagus closed, a faint laughter could be heard coming from inside. Once it was fully sealed, the wall swallowed it again, as if it had never been there.

A few minutes later, the sarcophagus emerged again from the depths of the earth, this time behind the throne. In the back corners, two more sarcophagi adorned with gargoyles on their tops emerged.

As Airón emerged from the sarcophagus, the lids of the chests fell to the ground with a loud crash, and the gargoyles seemed to rise up as if about to take flight, revealing two gigantic speakers.

As Airón walked towards the front of the throne, the song "How the Gods Kill" by the band "Danzig" started playing. He grabbed his cloak with one hand and draped it to the side as he sat down with his right foot casually resting on the armrest. He began tapping his lower teeth to the beat of the song, wishing for a worthy opponent. "Bring your best or die trying," he thought, enjoying the situation and his newfound knowledge.

Airón sang along to the rhythm of that song, fully surrendering to the moment.

— "Show me how to kill a God!" Airón murmured, his voice lost in the vast chamber. "Give me a challenge worthy of remembrance, or die once and for all, you incompetent mortal. If you manage to impress me, I may reward you."

Airón stood up from the throne and his voice echoed throughout the room and its surroundings. Clair, somewhat dazed after an intense battle, was inspecting his weapon. He looked up towards the door in front of him.

— "Damn, what's going on in this infernal place?" Clair wondered to himself. "First a cannibal rat, and now this. Who's listening to Danzig, and even more unsettling, who's singing it?"