Chapter 1:
Chaos in the Capital
-1-
NAIAROTOP
“TO THINK SUCH a minor incident would bring Locklore…to this,” grumbled Naiarotop, manager of the world of Locklore, as he stood in the blank whiteness of the Upper Realm.
To gods like Naiarotop, Locklore was a form of entertainment, even if he ultimately controlled it. He knew he had to eliminate Kanata and Lunaère, the two people who’d destroyed the balance of his life’s work.
But Naiarotop had consistently made bad moves against the two of them. Lunaère defeated his former direct servants, the Unseen Hand of the Gods. They even joined forces with her!
Naiarotop had lost all control. No matter how hard he tried, Locklore was moving further away from its defining concept: recorded entertainment that the gods refrained from interfering in.
Naiarotop’s boss was originally planning to just destroy Locklore and cancel the show, but you know who—the highest of the High Gods, their progenitor and king—expressed how much he would dislike it if Locklore’s management wiped out the world in a slapdash series finale. You know who even went out of his way to contact Naiarotop’s boss and demand a suitably tragic last episode for Locklore and the Kanata fiasco. Any other ending was not an option.
Which meant they couldn’t just eliminate Locklore and be done with it. In order to get rid of the world, they’d first have to bring this fight with Kanata to some sort of resolution. With that in mind, Locklore’s management decided to finish Kanata with extreme interference and with no consideration for what would happen afterward. Once it was done, they would make up some reason to end the world and flip the switch.
And for that purpose, Naiarotop brought back someone who had been in eternal imprisonment for the crime of pushing Locklore to the brink of destruction.
“Eternity has passed, and you may appear once more, Zoras the Cataclysm,” said Naiarotop. As he spoke, a huge magic circle appeared in front of him.
The summoned man stood in the center. His entire body was white, like a weathered statue, and only the top half remained. Chains of light bound him tightly and held him motionless in midair. His eyes were sunken, leaving gaping eye sockets.
This was Zoras.
In ancient Locklore, there existed a kingdom of advanced magic named Rodacoff. Their king had gained immortality through undeath by using forbidden magics. For generations, he used his quick intellect to oversee governmental affairs, while he devoted most of his time to delving into magical secrets. His name spread throughout Locklore as the great and absolute king, and the people’s trust in him was deep.
But although this king brought prosperity to Rodacoff for hundreds of years, it all changed the night he plunged the entire country into magical fire.
No records remained to explain why he did it. Perhaps it was simply a whim, or perhaps it was the price Rodacoff paid for worshipping a single man as if he were a god.
The wicked king’s power stretched across the planet until the higher beings stepped in.
The mere shadow of that king was now in front of Naiarotop.
“What business do you have with me, higher being? I doubt you want to look at my face,” said Zoras as he raised his head slightly.
“Oh, come on…this isn’t a bad thing for you,” said Naiarotop. He snapped his fingers, and light surrounded Zoras. His body regenerated rapidly, and his vitality returned.
The chains loosened and dropped off as he landed on the ground. There were still faint chains of light around his arms and legs, but the weight of the restraints had almost completely vanished.
“Hmm, what is this about?” Zoras asked as he looked at himself in curiosity.
“I’ve completely restored your body. And I’ll send you to Locklore like this…but your actions will be bound by these magic chains to make sure you don’t betray us,” said Naiarotop flatly. “I believe our goals align. There is a nuisance of a traveler…Kanata Kanbara. I want you to kill him. While you’re at it, I want you to take out the lich, Lunaère. She’s not the lead of this story, just a side character—so you can do it however you want. Dispose of her where the gods here can’t see, but just keep in mind that she will get in the way when you try to kill Kanata. I don’t care how you kill him. It doesn’t even matter if Locklore itself ends up as collateral damage.”