I looked towards Mimir. The head was placed on one of the thrones to the left of the large one, Richard's. The word Knowledge was engraved on the throne's backrest, representing Mimir's title as the Lord of Knowledge aspect.
Richard headed for his, which had his title as Lord of Chaos inscribed on it, with the word Dark below it, as he is also the Lord of Dark element.
To Richard's right sat Merlin. The wise old man was in a white robe that had intricate gold patterns. Above his head on his throne's backrest was the word Magic, as he was the Lord of Magic aspect. Farbauti sat beside Mimir, but his throne had no engravings despite him being the Lord of Chaos element.
My head turned to the gigantic figure beside him. The tall, burly, red-headed, and red-bearded man was topless, with an abdomen full of tattoos. A small stone hammer with a really small handle was dangling from his hip. The size, the hair color, and the hammer, along with the word inscribed on his throne, made it easy for me to guess his identity. He was Thor Odinsson, Lord of Thunder element.
My throne was to Merlin's left. Three words were inscribed on it: Ice, Water, Wind. To my side sat a middle-aged man who was not exactly pleasing to the eye. It was apparent that he wasn't human, but a beast in a human form; in fact, his face vaguely resembled that of a dragon. He wore a scale armor which was colored in pale yellow and had a full head of dark, brown hair. The Lord of Earth element.
The old man to his left was bald and had no ears. His face and body were probably part volcanic stone that had some lava in them, and embers floated around him. I looked at the rune above him and saw the word Fire.
The last throne was between the old man's and Thor's. It was for the Lord of Death. However, no one sat there.
I sat on my throne and looked at the eight of them; well, the seven of them, as the Lord of Death isn't present. Those were the Lords of Yggdrasil, just like me. Merlin glanced at me and looked at Richard before starting in concern, "Richard…"
"Welcome, my Lords," Richard greeted everyone, ignoring Merlin. "We gather here for an important matter. But first, let there be some introductions."
He pointed his palm at me and said, "We welcome to our fold a new Lord. This is Orion Fistore, the Lord of Ice, Water, and Wind. Part Dragon, part Phoenix, and part Human. And he is my last disciple."
The middle-aged man beside me raised his eyebrows the moment that Richard mentioned that I was part Dragon. Richard looked at the red-haired man and introduced, "Orion, this is Thor Odinsson, Lord of Thunder, Aesir."
He looked at the volcanic man and said, "This is Surtr, Lord of Fire, leader of the Fire Giants, and king of Muspelheim."
I glanced at the empty throne quizzingly. Richard must have guessed my thoughts as he said, "This throne belongs to the Lord of Death. He is the leader of the Grey Lotus. Since he is an enemy, he is not invited to the Mansion of Night, but we reserve a seat for him as he is a Lord still."
He offered no additional information about this Lord as he continued on with the introductions, this time looking at the middle-aged man beside me, "The Lord of Earth is Azym. He is an elder of the Stone branch of the Dragon Clan and is kin to you, Orion."
This confirmed my suspicions that he was a dragon. I nodded my head in greeting. Azym looked at me and said, "I assume you are the one who fought with Qarosd a while back?"
"I am, I did not expect him to mention me to others of the clan," I replied, slightly surprised that he had heard of me.
Azym snorted and said, "The branches of the clan do not get along well. But I know that old, stubborn Fire Dragon from a long time ago, before the overly dramatic split of the clan. Sensing the aura around you and your title, I assume you are from the Ice branch."
"I am indeed an Ice Dragon," I replied, but then shook my head and continued, "But I have no connection whatsoever to the clan."
"How so?"
"I became a Dragon through a transformation, as I was born part Human and part Phoenix."
His eyes narrowed, but he refrained from saying anything else. Silence ruled the room, and when it started to get awkward, Thor's booming voice was heard, "I still do not understand why I should be forced to join these meetings."
"You happen to be a Lord, you brainless oaf," Mimir retorted.
"The traitor dares to speak to me in such a way. Do you miss your body, Mimir?" he asked with a smirk.
"Very much so," my Senior Brother replied.
"Not only do I have to sit with this traitor, but I also have to endure the breath of the brute that killed my sons!" his voice was gradually raised with anger as he grabbed his hammer, Mjolnir, and pointed it at Farbauti.
My eyebrows rose in surprise as I had no idea there was such bad blood between the two of them. Surtr sighed in annoyance as he rested his head on his fist and said, "Not this again. We already went through this a million times by now, Thor. Loki killed your sons, not Farbauti."
Before Thor could say anything else, Richard tapped the round table and calmly said, "That's enough. Now then, let the meeting begin."
He sat straight and started explaining, "Orion was, and still is, on a quest to collect all the broken shards of Pangu's axe."
"His name is Ymir," Thor murmured.
"I go by many names; Ymir is indeed one of them. Although I prefer Pangu," my sword spirit chimed in. Thor was surprised to hear his voice and greeted, "I offer my greetings to the ancestor!"
Right. Thor was a descendant of Ymir, who is Pangu. I was starting to wonder who wasn't a descendant of his. At this revelation, I wondered if Thor had the Divine Eye, and Richard answered me by saying in my mind, "No, thankfully, he doesn't have it."
Richard continued with his explanation before anyone else could interrupt him, "He just came from Isle of Prisons, where the most powerful piece was. However, he was rendered unconscious due to an accident of unknown circumstances. After recuperating, and during a fight with the shard guardian, Farbauti's clone, Orion unexpectedly unleashed a tongue of fire at him and crippled his arm."
"The fire was very strong for someone at Orion's level," Farbauti said, "And I have never seen a purer flame than the one that hit my clone."
Surtr straightened in his seat and asked, his attention fully on the conversation now, "What are you suggesting?"
Farbauti looked him straight in the eyes and replied, "It was Primordial Fire."
An element is in its primordial form when it is extremely pure. My ice, water, and wind have transformed into that the moment I became a Lord.
Surtr shook his head and said in a firm tone, "Impossible."
"I am afraid Farbauti is right," Richard calmly confirmed my Senior Brother's hypothesis.
"My Lord, with all due respect, but you know very well that the primordial forms can only be wielded by their respective Lords. Just as only the boy can wield Primordial Ice, Water, and Wind, only I can have Primordial Fire. Only in the case that there was no Lord of an element can multiple people have primordial forms."
"Fistore is clearly the reincarnation of Lord Richard's ice clone; he must have had it since birth and hidden it, or at the very least only discovered it now," said Thor.
I shook my head and replied to the silent accusation of lying, "You make it sound like what happened was intentional. It is not. That attack was purely something beyond my control."
"Anyone can lie," he replied, now openly accusing me.
"I believe Junior Brother would have felt early on that he had a Primordial Fire coursing through his veins," Merlin interjected. "I also believe that he only got it on Isle of Prisons. The chaotic nature of the laws on that island could easily make it hard to sense such a pure thing."
"I agree with Merlin," said Mimir. "I would even go and say that he got it from this accident before the fight."
"Haven't you been listening?" Surtr interrupted, his annoyance apparent, "It is impossible for him to obtain such a thing. I have been the Lord of Fire for millions of years, so I think I would know if there were Primordial Fires lying around."
"And you can be absolutely certain?" Azym asked.
"Yes, I can. Because even if there was one from a predecessor, it would have immediately been under my control. And I sense nothing from Lord Fistore now."
"That's because it is no longer in him," Richard revealed.
I turned to look at Richard, but not before I saw the relief in Surtr's eyes. I expressed my surprise, "It isn't?"
Richard shook his head, "It was indeed a Primordial Fire. However, it was nothing but a remnant. So only I can still sense its traces in Orion, mainly because I am the Lord of Chaos and my special connection with Orion."
"Then what was the point of this meeting?" Azym asked, and I could see the same question written on everyone's faces. Everyone except Mimir, who seemed to know something.
"In the traces that were left, I sensed that there was a soul that accompanied the flame. However, it died the moment that it entered Orion's body. What we are here to discuss is the identity of this person. So, esteemed Lords, in your vast experience, who do you think this Primordial Fire belonged to? It is worth noting that I sensed hints of rage and anger in it."
The Lords started naming the few people in history who used this form of fire across the universe. There were seven people, but when Merlin uttered the name "Set", the Egyptian god of Chaos, a chill went through my body, and my instincts were going haywire.
But no matter what I tried, I could not say the name, nor the word. It was as if I was not allowed to say it. I could feel Richard eying me. It felt like he was confirming something he already knew. The whole meeting was for them to say the name, and for Richard to watch my instinctual reaction.
His eyes left me, and then he declared, "This meeting is over."
He waved his hand, and I was teleported back into his office.
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Updated on 23/3/2026