Gate of Dimensions

[Act 2] Chapter 10: Fate of Destiny

The muffled sounds of gunfire echoed through the quiet chamber, casting an eerie, ominous gloom over Mordred and Salomon as they crouched silently together behind a heavy desk to the side of the door, surrounded by stone. Once elegant and resplendent, the opulent room now felt cold and oppressive. The flickering candlelight barely illuminated the richly embroidered tapestries and fine leather-covered books, offering little comfort in their desperate situation.

Mordred, with his wrists tightly bound and his mouth sealed by Cain's enchanted gag, watched Salomon carefully, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Despite his helplessness, Mordred's fierce gaze revealed nothing but defiance to the foreign soldier. His muffled protests could be faintly heard, each one edged with a bitter hatred and wounded pride.

Alert and composed, Salomon knelt close beside Mordred, his gaze focused on the finely detailed wooden door separating them from the bedlam erupting in the halls beyond. The experimental laser weapon hummed silently in his firm grasp.

Feeling Mordred's intense glare, Salomon briefly turned toward him, meeting his defiant eyes with a composed but understanding expression. Though enemy and captor, the Finnish soldier found no malice in his heart for the once-powerful ruler beside him. Mordred was defeated, his empire collapsing, but Salomon still recognised something substantial within the deposed emperor.

"You know," Salomon spoke quietly, breaking the unbearable quietness between them, "I don't hate you, Mordred. Hate is too powerful a word - reserved for men who deserve neither pity nor respect." He paused, gauging Mordred's reaction, seeing only cold contempt glowering back at him.

Salomon allowed a small, wry smile to cross his face. "What you've done, leading men into hopeless battles, sacrificing so many lives, I find it tragic. Yet still, I respect something about you, Emperor Mordred. Something even admirable."

Mordred's expression changed ever so slightly at these words, a trace of curiosity briefly shadowing the firmly rooted rage. He emitted another muffled grunt, clearly sceptical yet compelled by Salomon's devoted tone.

Salomon gave a slow nod, shifting his gaze toward the heavy door again, his ears attuned to the distant, though unmistakable, sounds of violence and destruction still raging outside. "It's your stubborn defiance, Emperor. Your unwillingness to capitulate, to surrender, even when defeat is inevitable. It's a quality my people shared that even our brothers in the Saksan Valtakunta - the German Empire - respected. The Soviets, an imperialistic empire, much worse than you can ever imagine, believed an overwhelming force would break us, but my people refused to yield, just as you have."

Salomon laughed quietly, continuing, "It didn't save us from losing land or lives. Still, we endured. The Soviets learned our spirit could not easily be broken. We resisted them because giving in was never an option. The difference between them and us is simply a matter of perspective. You fight for power, Mordred. We fought to exist. Once we hand you over to your sister, then perhaps this land can be united against a threat even greater than anything you can ever imagine."

Mordred's eyes softened slightly, revealing uncertainty on his face, though he quickly masked it with stubborn defiance. Despite his feelings, the emperor could not ignore the truth beneath Solomon's calm demeanour. Pride swelled within him, only to be overshadowed briefly by the bitterness of his defeat. Still, underneath his gag, he remained adamant that the Paragons favoured him.

The moment was shattered instantly as an abrupt bang broke apart the heavy door inward, wood fragments flying wildly as two Waffen-SS soldiers stormed into the room, their black uniforms hurrying in.

"Wo versteckst du dich, Eis-Affe!" roared one soldier, searching the entire room. Where are you hiding, Ice Monkey!

Reacting instinctively, Salomon waited until the two soldiers were within the room before he aimed his weapon. He pulled the trigger, and a blue light emitted from the end, blasting one of the soldiers in the back, blowing a hole right through his back and through the other side. The other SS soldier barely had time to turn around before the next ray of energy struck him, just as he turned around, but his trigger finger pulled hard and sprayed a burst of gunfire at the wall before he tumbled.