Before he even stepped foot on the snowy terrain of Mount Everhoof, Albedo knew that the task at hand was not going to be simple. Yet, when Grogar revealed to him his origins and how he knew his master, and that he was the one for the tragedy that fell upon Khaenri’ah that the gravity of the situation began to sink in. The goat that stood before him was more than just the Father of Monsters, but a bringer of despair and destruction. The destruction of an entire kingdom was his doing and if he weren’t stopped here and now, the rest of Equestria and its neighboring kingdoms could be next. All the creatures that he had met and have contributed to help him and his sister find their way home will be caught up in the chaos.
Yet, the Chalk Prince had come too far to back down now. By the Archons themselves, he was not going to let the Father of Monsters turn this kingdom into another Khaenri’ah.
However, the alchemist was not one to just carelessly charge into the fray without a plan. Especially against an unfamiliar opponent with no knowledge of their full power or their capabilities. Much like conducting an alchemical experiment, Albedo needed to observe how Grogar used his power. Only then could he come up with a theory on how to counter it and test it to exploit any openings that his opponent might’ve left. Haste will get him nowhere and only through patience will an opportunity present itself.
Of course, the power that Grogar possessed was not like anything the alchemist had seen before. While there were traces of elemental energy, there was also something else to it. It was a malicious and twisted source of power that was fueled by the hatred, anger and pride of the Father of Monsters. One that allowed the goat to bend the laws of creation to his will and bring forth various embodiments of despair and agony to fight the chalk prince.
“Come into being!”
With a flick of his left wrist, Albedo drew forth his power and the elemental energy from his vision as he placed his hand on the ground. From the icy field, a Solar Isotoma bloomed forth from the ground as a field of light shined throughout the enclosed battleground. As the embodiments stepped into the field and the Chalk Prince swung his blade, golden colored crystals were scattered across the ground. When Albedo got close, the crystals hummed as a barrier of the same color took form around him to protect him from any unexpected and incoming strikes.
However, despite the number of opponents he was facing right now, the alchemist couldn’t help but think that Grogar was merely testing him. Only using a small amount of his strength to wear him down first before the goat would unleash the full extent of his power. If this possibility was true, then the chalk prince needed to be careful of what the goat could do once he started to take this seriously.
It didn’t take too long for Albedo to make quick work of the malformed creations that stood before him. Yet, as they fell, Grogar was not angry with the outcome. In fact, he looked slightly impressed, “Well, it seems I have misjudged you. I should’ve known that someone who claims to have the great sinner as their mentor would have the power and strength to match their words.”
Then, the goat grit his teeth as its eyes began to narrow and glow a harsh red, “Unfortunately for you, I don’t allow for mistakes.”
In an instant, the shadows behind the goat began to shift like smoke and take on a much different form as he jumped down from his perch onto the battlefield. The shadow’s front legs began to twist and morph into a pair of forearms that resembled that of a Mitachurl, but it had claws instead of hands and its head resembling Grogars. Its eyes were the color of bloodlust and rage as the energy from the vision began to surge wildly and have its power grow. And it did not take long for the Father of Monsters to start his advance.
“Now then, let’s see how strong your protections can last!!”
Immediately, Albedo was forced to act defensively as the smoky claws began to lash out towards him. Despite having a crystalline shield around him, Grogar’s strikes came at him swiftly and furiously. When the claws struck his barrier, small cracks began to form and with each attack and counterattack by the chalk prince to keep them at bay, the cracks began to grow. Yet, the goat wasn’t just attacking straight at him but also attacking from all manner of directions in an attempt to knock the alchemist off his feet.
Even the ground that Albedo stood upon wasn’t safe from his wrath.
Before Albedo had the chance to react properly, Grogar slammed his front hooves down into the frozen ground. At first, there was no telling what exactly he was doing. However, a darkened shadow soon formed underneath him and within an instant, spikes ruptured forth from the ground and shattered his shield to pieces. Some of the spikes even tore through his coat and left scratches on his arms and face as he was pushed backwards.
“Haha! Is that really the best that you have to offer? The moment I start to take this seriously, you falter and can’t even properly stand straight. What do you have to say to that?!”
“A slight miscalculation,” Albedo could only say, before brushing off the pieces of ice that clung to his clothes. “One that I will not make a second time.”
“Rather bold for you to claim such a proclamation. Yet, do you really have the strength in you to fulfill it?”
The alchemist could only give off a small grin of confidence as he looked over at the goat. “Want to test that theory?”
Grogar wasn’t sure if the alchemist was hiding something or trying to distract him. Yet, without any protections to keep him safe, the Father of Monsters saw an opportunity to deal some severe pain and make them submit. Without a second thought, he lashed his claws out again swiftly to prevent his foe from trying anything to form some matter of defense. As he furiously attacked from all directions, Grogar thought that he was getting somewhere.
However, when the dust had settled, what the goat saw threw him off guard, “Are you quite finished?”
Instead of a battered and beaten annoyance forced onto the ground, Albedo still maintained his strength as he kneeled close to the ground. With one hand on his blade and the other on the cracked surface underneath him, a wave of golden energy that matched that of his vision surged outward as the ice began to twist and crack underneath Grogar’s hooves. “How the-?! How are you even able to stand after that?”
“You seem rather confident in your own abilities. Yet, you don’t seem to take into consideration the full extent of my own,” Albedo told him, firmly gripping his blade as he pulled his hand off the ground and stood up straight, “Tell me, you seem familiar with alchemy. Are you familiar with the concept of transmutation?”
Before the goat had the chance to comprehend what the alchemist was saying, the ice shattered as pillars of earth erupted from underneath him. Grogar couldn’t react in time as two stone pillars struck him around the chest and barely missed his vision, while another hit him from the right side as he was sent tumbling into the ground. As he tried to push himself back up on his hooves, Grogar’s attention was still fixated on Albedo as he grit his teeth. “What in Tartarus did you do?!”
“Really, you did not notice?” Albedo asked, “While your attack earlier caught me off guard and broke my shields, you also provided me with an opportunity. Tell me, what do you think is underneath the ice?”
Then the realization hit him. His earlier attacks caused cracks in the ice underneath him, and in turn, exposed the frozen bed of rock underneath. Because of that, he was able to transmute some of the power from his vision into the ground and turn it into something that he could control. An extension of his power that would react at his beck and call.
Grogar despised this outcome and would not tolerate this outcome. Not after everything he had accomplished and everything he had done to get to this point. He did not bring forth the fall of a nation just to be laid low and outsmarted like this. Yet, Grogar had to give credit where credit was due. While the goat still doubted his claims that Rhinedottir was his teacher, he had to admit that Albedo’s way of thinking was similar to hers.
“Hmph, rather clever of you, I will admit,” the goat said as the vision in his bell began to glow brighter, “However, it will take more than mere tricks and luck if you intend to stop me where I stand. But perhaps in order for you to truly understand, a change of scenery is needed.”
Within the blink of an eye, the claws sliced at the space in between them, before they grabbed onto the edges of what looked to be a tear in the space. Before Albedo realized what Grogar was up to, they tore it open as the area around them began to flood in with a bright violet light that clouded his vision. Yet, even though he couldn’t see what was happening, the alchemist could feel that something had changed. The air around him wasn’t as cold as it was before, but now there was the smell of thick smoke. Almost as if something was burning.
When he opened his eyes, Albedo felt as if his heart had skipped several beats. He was no longer on Mount Everhoof, but in the ruins of a burning city. However, it looked nothing like Mondstadt. The smoke from the blaze was thick enough to block out the night sky as buildings crumbled and sections of the ground began to give way. Magma seeped from the cracks under the earth as masses of dark crimson cubes swarmed overhead like hornets.
Yet, that wasn’t even the worst part. Throughout the chaos, he saw people that tried to escape the chaos whether they be residents or members of the guard that were doing everything that they could to help them. Yet, all of their efforts were in vain. For as the calamity around them got worse, those who tried to survive were subjected to excruciating pain and suffering.
Then, the changes began.
Without warning, all the survivors were clouded in a liquid mass that had the same colors as the cubes that swarmed overhead. Anyone that was afflicted underwent horrifying transformations, coming off as something that didn’t even look remotely human anymore. Then, the monster that remained turned on their fellow countrymen and had them share the same fate. All the while, the chaos continued to rage forth and tear through the city until nothing remained.
Then, it hit him. This wasn’t just any place… this must’ve been a memory. A memory of Khaenri’ah on the fateful night of the calamity from 500 years ago.
“Magnificent, isn’t it? A city that prided itself on being protected by no gods brought low in a single night. Not even their resilient souls could withstand pure despair, and when they tried, this was the result of their endeavors.”
As Albedo turned towards where he heard the voice, the alchemist looked towards Grogar and realized that his form had also changed. No longer did he look like a goat, but instead looked more human-like. Older than he was, but many of the features from his remained. He still had goat horns on his head and his vision around his neck, now as part of a cloak that covered most of his body. Parts of his body appeared to look like it was being maintained by the abyss as the clothes he wore were tattered and torn apart at the seams.
“Here is where my story began all those years ago. Where I drowned a nation that put its pride above all else in endless despair… And this will be the place where your story ends,” Grogar smirked. However, instead of unleashing an attack, the Father of Monsters just folded his arms, “But first, I wish to hear something from you. An answer to a question that has been left unanswered in my mind for as long as I drew breath.”
Albedo was thrown off by this. He thought that his opponent was going to just throw himself at him and he would be forced to defend himself. However, that didn’t appear to be the case. “And what is that question then?”
“You’ve seen the lives of many creatures, both organic and synthetic, come and go. Teyvat is a world of gods, but gods come and go just as easily as the lives of any other creature. So, I ask you this,” Grogar said calmly, “What exactly gives their lives meaning if you know that one day, everything could be taken away in an instant? Death is meant to be a sweet release to relieve one of their burdens… So why force them to relive the cycle of life only to suffer and die again? Wouldn’t it just be simpler to have everything just cease?”
“Before I answer, let me ask you a different question,” the alchemist replied, “How is this relevant to your deeds? You said that your ‘work’ remains unfinished.”
“Because the destruction that’s around you was only the first step. What you see them turning into is the effects of a curse that was placed. A curse that made these people immortal, but made them lose everything that defined them as who they were. Whether they were soldiers that lost their honor or residents that lost their humanity, the burden that they carried was painful all the same.”
As Grogar spoke, he raised a hand and looked forward as the Father of Monsters continued, “Once they were stripped of everything, the curse was to spread to every corner of the world… and then, I would relieve them of their burdens. Shepherd them to their final resting place so they may die a final death and the cycle will be over. No more pain, no more suffering, just nothing. Yet, before that could be carried out, that was when Celestia and the Archons intervened. Razing this city to the ground until there was nothing left but rubble and ash.”
Then, Grogar’s eyes narrowed, “Yet, those who live such as you defy all reason. What point is there to press on and live if all you will go through is an endless cycle? Wouldn’t it be easier to relieve you of such burdens and not suffer anymore?”
For a moment, there was silence. The only sound that could be heard were the flames and the destruction all around as the alchemist thought to himself. There was no way that a logical answer would work here. Not when Grogar’s conviction to his beliefs was firm like iron. Yet, he still had to try.
“You seem to be forgetting something,” the chalk prince firmly told him, “While it is true that some would want to give up in the face of uncertainty and despair, there are many others who have the potential to find a way forward. To serve as beacons of hope and inspiration for others. And even if they die, their stories will continue to inspire others. To live their lives as they did and continue to press on, even if things seem hopeless.”
Then, the alchemist looked up as his vision began to glow, “Tell me. For someone who claims to be a creation of my master, you seem to forget the most important lesson from her teachings. While the end may be inevitable, you live on to entrust the future to those who come after. While your story might end, it would inspire another to follow in their footsteps. To hear, to follow, to feel, to wander, to think, to stumble, to teach, to listen.”
He let out one last breath and looked back towards Grogar, determination in his voice as the alchemist spoke one final time, “The only way to truly learn this lesson… is to live, die and know.”
For a moment, Grogar flinched. Anger and uncertainty plagued his face as he grit his teeth. Then, he extended his left arm out to the side as a sword hilt with two blades emerged from the swirling void. “Very well. Then let us determine if your words match your convictions. For only one of us will leave this place alive.”
Elsewhere…
For being the self proclaimed embodiment of chaos, Discord had absolutely no idea what he would be expecting as he reached the bottom of Mount Everhoof. After he unexpectedly reunited with an old friend, the draconequus learned of the recent events that had transpired, how the alchemist named Albedo was tied up in all of this and how he chose to go in alone and deal with the matter personally. While he did not know everything, the draconequus knew that Grogar was not someone to take on so easily. Albedo either must’ve had some kind of plan in place or was crazy to think that he could face the Father of Monsters alone and live to tell the tale.
As he got closer to the peak, Discord didn’t find a battlefield, but instead found what could only be described as a rift in reality. With Albedo and Grogar notably absent, and the chaos around the mountain not dissipating for even a moment, the draconequus could only assume that whatever was happening was occurring inside here. With the magic of the Abyss inside possibly spilling out in other places across Equestria, this was where it was coming from. If this were sealed, then the beasts from the rifts would no longer invade.
However, there was also a high possibility that who he was looking for was inside this rift and something was preventing them from leaving. So, before he did anything rash, Discord needed to be certain that who he was looking for was inside, “Well, here goes nothing.”