As I've Written/Amphoreus' Saga of Heroes.exe/Chapter 2

1-1

▶ ▶ Who would win?
A young girl emerging from her sheath and showing her edge,
Or a tyrant who has emerged victorious from a hundred battles?

▶ ▶ The black and white legions squared off on the battlefield,
Golden and crimson blood converging into a coursing river.

▶ ▶ "The leader herself actually dares to step forth and face peril?"
The tyrant charged toward the exposed gap in the king's flank,
And instantly fell into a trap of raging flames and iron rain.

▶ "On the board, the King too is but a chess piece."
"If the king does not lead, how would any dare to follow?"

▶ ▶ She lifted the king of the crystal pieces high,
As though proclaiming the ascension of a new king.

1-2

▶ ▶ Who would win?
The holy city that has stood for a thousand years,
Or the foreign city-states invading from a thousand miles away?

▶ ▶ Hollow hatred ignited the flames of war,
The besieged walls of dawn tottered.

▶ ▶ "Only a miracle can save us now..."
The cowardly elders barred themselves behind closed doors,
While the trembling citizenry knelt and prayed.

▶ "There is no need to panic, the miracle is already here."

▶ ▶ Under the banners dancing like waves,
The burning crown shone bright as the wheeling constellations.

1-3

▶ ▶ Who would win?
The general who saved the city,
Or the high and mighty with their privileged authority?

▶ ▶ The guillotine fell, severing the elder's life.
The whispers dissipated, and the scales of victory tipped.

▶ "From this day forth,"
"I shall bring justice to the holy city."

▶ ▶ The people cried out her name and knelt in reverence,
But were stopped by the sound of the scepter of authority striking the ground —
"Do not lower your heads beneath my crown."

▶ ▶ This was the first,
And also the only Imperator.

1-4

▶ ▶ Who would win?
The heroes bursting with ambition,
Or the omnipotent gods?

▶ "The Imperator issued the decree:"
"The start of the Flame-Chase Journey is at hand!"

▶ ▶ Perhaps drawn by the grand design to welcome the Era Nova,
Or perhaps convinced by that king's great renown,
Righteous warriors from across the land gathered before the Imperator's throne.

▶ ▶ On the day the journey began, the sky was an expanse of fluttering banners.
The people gazed upon the overwhelming military alliance,
A golden city reflected in their eyes.

1-5

▶ ▶ As for the end of that chess game,
The scholars debate endlessly,
But such discussions always end with a sigh.

▶ ▶ The invincible Imperator faded at the pinnacle of power.
The crown's flames extinguished in the lake.

▶ ▶ The banner once revered by the people,
Along with the broken spears of the heroes, now a tomb.

▶ ▶ The people said,
"Even the sovereign that conquers all before her, is no match for fate."

Yet she said,
"In a war with fate, has there ever been any justice?"

2-1

▶ ▶ Back then, the tides of the Chrysos War,
Had not yet engulfed this city-state of Talanton...

▶ ▶ And the young princess inside the gates,
Once loved to roam without worries.

▶ ▶ She snuck into forbidden grounds while the servants were away,
But was shocked by what she saw on that day.

▶ ▶ A chessboard,
A stack of pieces,
And a strange woman.

The board dissected by daylight and shadow,
The pieces polished from rough stones uneven.

▶ ▶ "Fancy a game? If you are my match,
Then I'll call you my friend."
The stranger's voice was husky and coarse.

"If you can beat me, then I'll call you my teacher."
The princess proudly retorted.

2-2

▶ ▶ Despite the bravado,
The princess had never touched chess.
The defeat made her study in earnest, acknowledging the other as a teacher...

▶ ▶ First she learned the knights, bishops, rooks, and queen.
Then how to defend, attack, capture, and checkmate.

▶ ▶ "I have learned all there is to learn."
Barely out of childhood,
The princess raced into games of chess.
Those who looked down on her faced many losses.
Those who glorified themselves forfeited in a mess.
At her prime, none could rival her at all.

▶ ▶ But she still recalled what the stranger said:
...My origins bring dark omens,
So never tell others where your teacher is from.

2-3

▶ ▶ Then the waves of the Chrysos War,
Washed over the world...

▶ ▶ The Okhemans welcomed a ruler.
She was deemed Imperator, and loved to play chess with herself.
She regarded all things as "pieces,"
Whether Chrysos Heirs or Titans magnificent.

▶ ▶ Before every god-slaying campaign,
She thought of the stranger from her childhood,
As if that woman had always lived in her mind.

▶ ▶ "Isn't it lonely to play chess against yourself?"
The princess did not understand at the time.

▶ ▶ But now,
She who bore the crown finally realized,
The Flame-Chase's beginning was like fuel being tossed onto the fire,
And in the unending road of marching banners and war cries,
She finally had the time to meditate.

2-4

▶ ▶ There were often jesters behind the king,
Curious about her past in her old city lost to time.

▶ ▶ One claimed the Imperator was cruel,
Executing her own teacher.
Another stated the Imperator was biased,
Learning from an enemy hostage.

▶ ▶ Many such rumors abounded, with no origin found.

▶ ▶ "No matter. That was indeed the criminal sentence I read out."

The Imperator stated evenly,

"My teacher was an enemy hostage whom my elders had imprisoned."

▶ Her state betrayed our alliance
And must be executed according to Law.

But she taught me chess,
So why can't I chisel the word "teacher"
On her tombstone now?

2-5

▶ ▶ When the princess personally cleaned up the possessions of the dead,
She caught sight of an incomplete game on the ground.

▶ ▶ The stranger's hoarse chuckle
Still echoed in her ear...
Laughing at the eternal fate of imprisonment,
And at how the one facing her was the princess of the enemy.

▶ ▶ "Is this your final game for me, my teacher?"

The princess imagined the endgame
Over and over.
Even when she took the imperial crown,
She still dreamt of the black-and-white board.

▶ ▶ The concealed truths
Suddenly dawned on her
During a more difficult contest in the future...
An unfinished game
Might be the opponent's lifelong barrier.

3-1

▶ ▶ The Imperator's armies stormed into the northern states for the first time,
Passing through city gates scorched by war.
"Another tyrant still!"
So exclaimed the angry child.

▶ ▶ The rock tossed from up high
Hit the girl's crown.
The crowd shrieked and retreated...
Fearful of (a/the) ruler's flames of fury.

▶ ▶ The girl reached out, not to straighten the crown on her head,
But to help up the child shivering in dread.

"I heard, in the old laws of this land,
whoever assaults the crown shall be punished."
"But I wear another land's crown,
And your old laws should also be abolished."

▶ ▶ After many days, the Goldweaver discovered in shock,
That wearing a crown or a hat to the side was now this land's fashion,
Likely to remain with the Imperator's name in tradition.

3-2

▶ ▶ The so-called heroes with golden blood in their veins,
All have the qualities to fight for the Coreflames.

▶ ▶ Who's to say this was not the gods' plan?
To have the heroes at each other's throats,
So the divine could hide in old laws' lair,
And laugh, play, and gloat.

▶ ▶ Who made this world a chessboard,
And with one stroke, one river,
Created the boundary between god and man?

▶ ▶ "Dux Gladiorum, Dux Carminum, Dux Helkolithist, Dux Fragoris, Dux Brumalis..."
"Heed my call..."

The girl stood before a mighty army with her scepter.

▶ Today, I will insist on crossing the Rubicon.
Gather the might of all heroes
And begin the journey to slay gods.

3-3

▶ ▶ Half of the Coreflames were now in her hands,
And the hidden Trickery Titan stirred,
Leaving taunts.

▶ "Hehehehe! Grow taller, puny empress!"
"Otherwise you won't be able to catch me."

▶ ▶ The Imperator summoned the heroes to discuss,
Finally stopping after much hesitation.
As they had already pinned down the bones of Earth's beast,
They let that thief live for a bit longer in bliss.

▶ ▶ The warrior of the fractured blade laughed boldly...
"Our sovereign is good at open strategies
And struggles with Trickery."
"But where is that lithe fish?"

▶ ▶ The Imperator replied with a chuckle,

"Her? She probably disliked the scent of cats
And submerged herself in the baths."

3-4

▶ ▶ The years spent with her dukes
Didn't seem too far distant.
Yet only after the end of many wars did the heroes discover
How the Imperator's form walked more and more alone.

▶ ▶ "The road of a ruler is a lonely one.
One day,
We'll only be able to see her retreating form."
The swordmaster of singing waves was worried too.

▶ ▶ When all others had departed in intoxication,
The two of them gazed into each other's eyes,
Towards torrents deeper than their fates,
And sank into profound silence.

▶ ▶ "Drink one more cup with me, my dear follower."
In the end, the Imperator first broke the silence.

"When compared to the taste of salt and blood,
I sometimes miss your ambrosia..."

3-5

▶ ▶ About the Destruction (soon/about) to be born
And the eternally occurring extrapolation,
The Antikytheran spoke of all this in words unceasing.

▶ ▶ "So this is the old world I must fight against."
The girl's expression bore no sorrow or tragedy.
Instead, she looked more solemn and ready than ever.

▶ ▶ Who ever stated that two kings could not meet face-to-face in chess?

▶ I am the sovereign of Okhema.
I once faced the gods,
So what do I have to fear about the "laws" hanging behind such gods?

▶ ▶ "I will chop up the old laws and let them be firewood for the new."
No matter the cost.

▶ ▶ That was the Imperator's lifelong conviction,
Never changed, always persistent.

4-1

▶ I dreamed that the Imperator's statue stood before the Worldbearing altar,
Her gaze level with that of the god's.

▶ Then, blood gushed out from the statue's orifices,
And the people, in cheers and elation, washed their hands in that golden blood.

▶ The tyrant's life will end with violent death.
None will weep,
And all will cheer as her statue topples.

▶ She will die before the dawn comes.

▶ ▶ ...A vengeful aristocrat,
One whose title was stripped by the Imperator,
thus spoke.

4-2

▶ We cannot agree with your excessive deeds.
You have imprisoned Tribios's split selves,
Demanding that divine authority regress into the ruler's mouthpiece.

▶ We will reveal your future with the prophecy
And tell in truth...

▶ Your crusade will indeed be a smooth path.
Yet in the same breath we see omens of your death,
A demise in an absolute, pure darkness.

▶ Even so, please excuse us, as our eyes...
Continue to be drawn to your crown's flames...

▶ ..."Dux Fatorum"?
We don't exactly hate that name.

▶ ▶ ...In the name of Janusopolis's priestess,
Holy Maiden, and oracle,
Thus spoke
The Imperator's "Dux Fatorum."

4-3

▶ Allow me to remind you:
Your life is now on a countdown with the fall of "Law,"
And you will become "Law."

▶ I must confirm: Is our deal still going strong?
Is the future I promised you
More satisfying than the future in the prophecy?

▶ Ah. You are as resolute as always.
Good! As ever!
This prison of gods, Amphoreus,
And all mundane and average worlds
Need someone like you, a daring ruler.

▶ Let us end this despicable extrapolation together.

▶ ▶ ...Amphoreus's "Theoros,"
The Imperator's co-conspirator,
Lycurgus,
thus spoke.

4-4

▶ The Imperator "betrayed" the Flame-Chase Alliance,
And I was the sinner who paved the way for her achievements,
Like how a deep-sea fish cannot escape the tides' push and pull.

▶ I granted her an end fitting for a tyrant.
Her dying smile
Gazed towards my tear-swelled eyes.

▶ She commanded me to wash away all sins and filth
And return a blinding dawn to the holy city.

▶ She commanded me to set up stones and monuments
In lightless sea beds to commemorate our friends.

▶ But who will remember her achievements?
I will. I will rest with her in a lonely song.

▶ ▶ ...Helektra, the last heir of the "Ocean,"
Who played music on the waves alone,
Spoke thus.

4-5

▶ Please record the truth of my life, dear author.
No need for words of praise or solemnity.

▶ Just as I once instructed Dux Carminum...
The histories of rulers are not for recording our merits,
But for warning future generations.

▶ As for why the Imperator died
And what reproach she would face in life and death,
Those should be left for the new world to judge.

▶ Now, I have personally entered my end, a self-flagellation.
Let the boiling gold covering the holy city
Be stamped with my name.

▶ For I am certain I have won half a move against the gods,
And this unfinished game will be left to the future to reach completion.

▶ ▶ ...Cerydra,
The only Imperator the holy city had ever seen,
Spoke thus.

5-1

▶ ▶ Who will win?
The fanatical followers of the Aeon of Erudition,
Or the audacious plots of the monarch playing against heaven?

▶ ▶ The AtaviSearch Forest's monkey creatures,
The steel soldiers reviving the emperor,
That Theoros's visage of arrogance —
On her chessboard, all faded to null.

▶ "In the name of Amphoreus,
I will grant freedom to the blindly faithful."

▶ ▶ The monarch stood before the inorganic throne,
Driving the Scepter into the emperor's vacant gaze.
Even the gods beyond the sky shall crumble like the Titans,
As she swears to seize the glory of conquering the stars.

5-2

▶ ▶ Who will win?
The immortal faithfuls of the Aeon of Abundance,
Or the storms dancing between the chessmaster's fingertips?

▶ ▶ The pawns slay the birds,
The knights trample the wolves.
The rooks smash the trees,
And the queen severs the head of pestilence.

▶ "In the name of Amphoreus,
I will grant eternal rest to the immortal."

▶ ▶ The Xianzhou lays forth the ocean's tribute,
Which the monarch grants to her loyal Gladius.
And upon that knight's sorrow-marked visage,
Appears a smile — precious and rare.

5-3

▶ ▶ Who will win?
The raging waves of war from the Aeon of Destruction,
Or the sharp blades of the empress that has never tasted defeat?

▶ ▶ Even in the face of the power that swallows the stars,
Neither monarch nor subject faltered.
They would prove their golden blood,
Outshines the lifeblood of the gods themselves.

▶ "In the name of Amphoreus,
I will grant destruction to the Destruction."

▶ ▶ The monarch's Coreflame supplants the flames of annihilation,
Soldiers drink deep of the golden blood of The Blemished One.
She has slain the wellspring of tragedy,
Once again usurping destiny's crown.

5-4

▶ ▶ Who will win?
The light of the esteemed gods beyond the sky,
Or the Coreflame lighting up the world in the Imperator's heart?

▶ ▶ The fury of the stars surges forth,
Boiling at the edge of the galactic empire.
Mighty factions will surge into her realm,
Yearning to seize back the splendor of old.

▶ "In the name of Amphoreus..."

▶ ▶ Stellar winds scatter the enemy's remaining ashes,
As golden blood once again congeals into familiar epitaphs.
The master of the infinite cosmos lifts the edict high,
Declaring to her boundless, ceaseless realm —

▶ "I shall conquer the heavens, and all stars shall submit."

5-5

▶ ▶ Chuckling, the Imperator tosses her final pawn.
Her previous delusions withering away during the game
She wiped off the formations that were purely imaginary,
And caught a glimpse of rust blooming upon the throne.

▶ ▶ On the night before the monarch faced fate,
She left behind a grand dream of conquering the stars.
In time, she shall become but a humble pawn,
So that this grand illusion retains a sliver of truth —

▶ "This world's game is nearing its conclusion,
But in the distant future..."

▶ ▶ For the raging and burning ambition,
For the Flame-Chase through thirty million creations,
For the Imperator's realm and all her citizens.

▶ ▶ Who will win?

▶ "I will win. Amphoreus will win."