thief of fate-Chapter 107: an experience

Valerian returned to the palace with the first threads of dawn.

The road had been long, and his body was far from its best state, but he insisted on returning alone—no escort, no procession. Just like he always did when the world around him began to feel too tight.

The guards at the main gate bowed in silence, opening the doors without question. He didn’t need to speak; his footsteps said everything. The sentries had learned that silence was the highest form of respect for a man who carried an unending war in his eyes.

In the corridors, silence draped the walls. A few servants appeared briefly, then vanished quickly—like ghosts accustomed to hiding.

Valerian didn’t head to his room. He didn’t remove his cloak, nor wash the dust and blood from his clothes. Instead, he turned right... and descended the spiral staircase leading into the depths of the palace.

Down there. Where Alexis was.

The lab hadn’t changed. The same organized chaos, the same mix of smells—oil, steam, ash. Shelves stacked with glass bottles: some the color of honey, others black as night. Some tools shimmered; others hummed softly.

And there he was. Alexis.

Bent over a glass table, delicately transferring liquid from one tube to another with the precision of a surgeon. His wild white hair covered part of his face, and his clothes were stained with inexplicable blotches.

He lifted his head at the sound of Valerian’s steps, then smiled without stopping his work.

— "Oh, you’re back alive. I had a thirty percent bet on that, by the way."

Valerian didn’t reply. He walked over and sat in one of the worn leather chairs.

"You said before it was fifty percent."

"Oh? I must’ve been in a good mood that day."

"Are you busy?"

"I’m always busy."

Then added with a cryptic smile:

"But right now, I’m on the verge of completing a little masterpiece."

Valerian glanced at the table. There was a small vial with a mysterious purple liquid, a glass capsule beside it, and a metal injector.

"Let me guess..." he said calmly, "This isn’t meant to be drunk."

Alexis chuckled—a short, echoing laugh that refused to settle.

"Actually, it’s not for drinking or injecting... It’s for testing."

Then, without hesitation, he took the vial, opened it, and dropped two tiny drops onto his skin. He observed closely as the skin slowly absorbed the substance.

Valerian didn’t move. He was used to such madness.

"Do you do this often?"

"Testing on myself? Yes, for years. I don’t trust rats. They don’t complain, don’t explain, don’t scream ’Ah, that burns!’"

A few minutes passed.

Then suddenly, Alexis’ veins darkened. His smile faded, his fingers twitched.

"Oh... looks like the poison works faster than I expected."

"Is that... dangerous?"

"All that matters is that it’s effective."

His body shuddered slightly. His skin paled, eyes widened briefly, then his eyelids dropped like someone sinking into a dream.

But then... he pulled a small emerald-green bottle from his pocket and drank it quickly.

A moment passed... then another.

Then he exhaled deeply.

"Ahh... the antidote works too. Excellent."

Valerian shook his head slowly.

"You’re insane."

"And that’s what makes me useful, isn’t it?"

Silence.

Valerian leaned back on the worn leather seat, closed his eyes.

Alexis didn’t speak. He understood. Quietly, he returned to his table, jotting quick notes in an open notebook.

After a few minutes, Valerian spoke in a low voice:

"Out there... things are changing."

Alexis didn’t look up.

"I expected that."

— "Creatures we used to call myths are walking our lands. The Arkanis... the pit... the voices."

"And the people?"

"They’re afraid. Even the kings."

Alexis sighed.

"Fear doesn’t scare me. Ignorance does."

He pulled a thick book from one of the shelves, opened it to a specific page.

"Valerian... you know what we’re facing, don’t you?"

"More than I’d like."

"We’re standing at a crossroads no one chose to walk. Forces beyond comprehension... and choices that must be made without certainty."

Valerian looked at him, eyes weary.

"And you? What will you do?"

Alexis smiled gently, then pointed to the purple vial.

"I’ll keep inventing ways to die... and then find cures for them. That’s what I do."

Valerian let out a faint laugh—one that held no joy, only a kind of agreement.

Then he stood.

"I’m going to rest."

"Finally."

"I might need you soon."

"As always. But don’t expect me to be in my right mind... I never had it to begin with."

Valerian left the lab without looking back.

As for Alexis, he returned to his notes, scribbling:

"The new poison activates within fifteen seconds. Spreads through capillaries. Psychological effect is immediate. Antidote proves effective. Needs repetition with lower concentration..."

Then he paused. Looked at the door Valerian had left through. Stared for a long moment.

"Sometimes... I wonder if the greatest antidote isn’t what I create..."

He was deep into his notes, enjoying the cellular interaction of the toxin on the skin... when the eastern wall of the lab shook—just slightly...

Then exploded.

Dust, debris, metal shards, stone slabs—all burst in every direction. Bottles shattered across the floor, a table toppled sideways.

Alexis screamed at the top of his lungs as he rolled back in his wheeled chair, clinging to it tightly:

"B—By all the venomous tongues I’ve slipped into the court’s coffee! Who the lunatic—"

His words froze.

As a figure stepped from the smoke...

"...Ah. Raine."

Alexis pursed his lips, glanced at the destruction around him, then yelled again:

— "Is the traditional door too difficult for His Charred Majesty?! Or do you believe every wall in the kingdom was designed to kneel before your greatness?!"

Raine didn’t answer.

He walked forward, slow and steady, eyes blazing with white fire still smoldering in his palms.

"I need your help, brother."

Alexis scoffed, "Ah, now you want help? After turning my lab into a war zone?"

Raien raised his hand. A white flame began to rise from it—pure, majestic, without smoke or ash. The light didn’t burn its surroundings, it simply illuminated the room like a second sun.

"This... is the flame I’ve reached. The form I called the White Star. And for a moment... I surpassed it. I was the star."

Alexis fell silent.

Raien stepped closer, stopping just a meter away, and said in a heavy voice:

"I couldn’t hold it. My body started to break down. The heat pierced my bones, and the light nearly blinded me. I want you to teach me... how to become a real star. I want to simulate the sun."

Alexis stared at him, then muttered:

"You’re not insane... you’re a disaster waiting to happen."

He turned away and pointed to one of the shelves.

"Come."

They walked together to a table cluttered with space diagrams, miniature celestial models, and detailed thermal maps.

Alexis began explaining as he placed one of the models down:

"The sun, you arrogant brat, isn’t just a big flame. It’s a delicate balance between internal gravitational pressure and nuclear fusion. Imagine millions of tons of hydrogen, crushed inward by immense gravity, fusing to produce heat that reaches fifteen million degrees at the core."

He rotated a glass sphere inside a metal framework.

"If you want to simulate it... you’ll need to create internal gravity within your body—some kind of force that keeps the flame burning without tearing you apart."

Raien smirked, lifting his arm as if admiring it in a mirror:

"My power isn’t just fire. It’s will. If I can control the flow of energy inside me... I can replicate that balance."

Alexis burst into laughter.

"Willpower?! My dear fool, willpower doesn’t create gravity! You can’t replace the laws of physics with self-confidence!"

But Raien replied mockingly:

"Oh, but I can. Because I’m Raien. I walked through the Arkanis and didn’t flinch. I burned until I became light itself."

Then his voice dropped suddenly, like a rare confession:

"But I was burning. Every cell in my body screamed. Even my nerves stopped transmitting pain... they became part of the flame. I don’t just want to try—I need to succeed."

Alexis was quiet for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and said:

"There’s a possibility. Very small, but it exists." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

He held up a small metallic object that resembled a shimmering disk.

"If we can embed a magnetic field into your cells using directed pulses, we might be able to generate an internal field akin to gravity. It would absorb the energy you produce and redistribute it to your vital organs. But it’s risky."

He tossed the disk to Raien, who caught it with one hand.

"And the risks?"

"Internal explosion. Cellular collapse. You turning into a tiny black hole that swallows everything around you... nothing too dramatic."

Raien smiled with calm arrogance, glowing with pride and defiance:

"I hear you talk about failure a lot, but you’ve yet to see what someone like me can do... when he succeeds."

"We’ll see about that soon."