(MalexMale) The Crimson Immortal [Crimson Immortal Series: Book 4]

2: Fate's Betrayal

Seran sat in the middle of the crowd in the meeting hall, listening attentively to a variety of Immortals. Several were whispering amongst themselves and some wore expressions of boredom and a few had simply fallen asleep. The sun had barely risen and many Immortals were just waking.

The Judgment Immortal, Kathal, had many grievances about other Immortals stealing her attention away from more important matters and decided it was as good as any time to scold all the Immortals.

Seran watched as several purple threads floated from Kathal. She was in her right to complain, there were far too many mishaps happening to her recently.

The Earth and Storm Immortals, the twins Lios and Lecia, bickered quietly a few rows behind Seran. The two were obviously not paying attention to the meeting. Several other Immortals had already tried to quiet them, but they always sneered and went back to bickering. The two could never stop fighting with one another and always wanting to one-up the other no matter where they were at. Seran glanced at them and noticed a strong yellow thread connected between them.

The Healing Immortal, Maiz, sat next to the Death Immortal Riven, both listening well, except Maiz kept occasionally glancing in the Earth Immortal's direction. Seran could see the faintest of red slowly beginning to form between her and the Earth Immortal and smiled. Immortals lived well forever and they got lonely very quickly. It was not rare for Immortals to discover solace in another for a time. Things only got messy if they parted ways because they still had to run into one another for the rest of their Immortal life.

All the while, Riven mainly had white threads connected to him. Seran could watch his threads all day. Millions of threads wafted back and forth, fading in and out of existence like smoke. Lives lost and lives reborn. Over and over again for eternity. It was mesmerizing.

Heading the meeting was the Creation Immortal, Mysia. Mysia was one of the first Immortals and the longest still living. She sat at the front on a ceremonial throne. It wasn't really a throne. It was merely a seat where the most respected Immortals sat. Everyone cherished her because she embodied all of creation–many believed she created them but that was not true. The phenomena of the birth of an Immortal eluded all scholars, both human and Immortal.

Seran watched the kaleidoscope of color constantly change around her. She was the only person who had probably the same amount of threads as his own. She was connected to all creatures and could inspire them to create. Seran found it hard to take his eyes off the flurry of living rainbows surrounding her.

The thick white thread symbolizing the life of Mysia severed and wafted gently in the air next to her. Seran's eyes were immediately drawn to it. It was rare to see a life thread sever on someone other than Riven. It could only mean one thing, Mysia was going to ask to be freed.

Seran frowned in sadness. A part of his heart stung. The act of freeing an Immortal meant they were giving consent to be drained of their Immortal power and status to live the remainder of their life as a human or to be humanely killed.

Mysia was so cherished by the rest of the Immortals that an announcement of her freeing would throw the Immortal world into chaos. She was considered a pillar of support for new and old Immortals alike. She provided guidance to all the new Immortals to help them find their place in their strange new world. She often gave them ideas on how to perform their new Immortal duties. And if an Immortal ever had a problem they only needed to confide in her. To everyone, Mysia seemed like a mother. While some even considered her the Empress of the Immortals.

Everything faded from Seran's perception and he focused solely on Mysia for the rest of the meeting. Carefully, he watched her white thread ebb and flow. He desperately wanted to catch it, tie it down, and never watch it break away ever again. As the Fate Immortal, he technically could change her fate. Except he wasn't allowed to meddle in Immortal affairs. No Immortal was allowed to utilize their abilities against another Immortal.