Death Frost | Deathsworn #2

Epilogue

The contents were pretty straightforward. It cut straight to the information I wanted and asked for, which was information on where Viron's younger sibling was being held and for what reason.

They had long since began using refugees, whether from other countries or the other continent, in order to further their experiments. Maun didn't want to go deep into detail about what happened when he was held captive, but the report was generous.

I have already heard of this group before—they called it an underground poison syndicate. They began as a small unit of criminals dealing and making opiates. They grew and had expanded into more radical ambitions...like eternal youth and now eternal life.

Now, they had formally labeled themselves as Maghra.

The old legends mentioned Maghra as the elixir of youth, or Heaven's Dew. It was borne of Azurine's tears when Kaliya had his first death in the battle with the serpent. Although there was only one drop of such tear, considering how colossal the dragons were compared with the world, this drop actually formed a large lake in Csidellon. This lake became the beginning of life and was the beginning of humankind.

It was kind of the Garden of Eden. The people then did not know of death.

Unfortunately, they grew out of their naivety and contentment with the continuous passage of time. Immortality, as it would seem, brought endless suffering and torture. They eventually grew mad and brought endless destruction among themselves and upon the world.

Lake Maghra disappeared in all that chaos and humankind forever left the embrace of 'immortality.' But fact was only the corporeal body's immortality ceased to exist. The soul remained constant throughout its succeeding lives.

When Kaliya reawakened into his death and chaos power, he opened the doors to eternal sleep and allowed the reprieve of these worn souls. He took them to the river of forgetfulness and led them across it into a new life.

Eventually, this river became the river of reincarnation.

Therefore, in some philosophical views, Lake Maghra was also synonymous with knowledge of the world. It was enlightenment and transcendence, because immortality of the corporeal body allowed people to accumulate wisdom endlessly. It was just that the mind of freewill and consciousness was too fragile. It couldn't endure the ravages of time and the weight of this knowledge.

And so, the price of immortality was madness.

The river of reincarnation was the opposite of Lake Maghra. It deprived people of knowledge. It cost them their wisdom, but in return, offered a clean start.

With how this syndicate named themselves Maghra...well, it was kind of obvious what they were going after. The brand was quite clear and straightforward. They didn't even need a tagline to tell people what they were all about.

I could not help but feel like this was the version of Illuminati in my previous world. Even then, this would have to be dumbed down a bit for people who weren't well-read.

"Is this of any particular concern to you, Amber?"

"Well, yes," he replied.

"How so?"

"Because I feel like these guys have something to do with why that realm to the afterlife has been torn open."

"The—wasn't that supposed to be my fault?"

He laughed. "Where exactly? Don't you give yourself too much credit? You kicked a fuss when you were reincarnating, but you're hardly the worst offender."

"You told me..." I sighed. "Tell me the truth. Were you just bluffing me?"

"I guess..." I could picture him shrugging dismissively. "I mean you were pretty annoying."