Before any of the other Autarch’s could react, he released his authority in an instance, “ Or, we can continue our conversation, civilly and without whining so we can hopefully, unfuck the situation we find ourselves in.”

  All of the Autarch stayed silent. They stared at him for a few moments, seeing him in a different light than before. Even Mazikeen with their long history, and calm demeanor, couldn’t help but look at him with worry and a tinge of fear. Ren as always just stared at him with a big smile. While the Tribunal was staring daggers at him. It looked like any moment they would attack him.

  “You truly have gone mad, Regulus. I’m not the most truthful man, I'll admit that but trust me when I say, I truly thought you were more honorable than that. But I will not give the beasts the Asheka Records, it is ours, nothing you could give us could pale in comparison to it.”

  “I will give you my people’s bloodlines. All of them. In exchange for my people to have access to the Asheka records. And it is my hope that the other kingdoms will follow my example, in this way every kingdom will be strengthened.”

  The Tribunal froze. All of them were shocked by his proclamation. Bloodlines were what made beasts what they were. It gave them valuable traits and powers. It defined what Chakra Points they developed. It vastly increased their physical prowess. The humans have desired it for millennia, hoping to incorporate it into their soldiers. And now he was just gonna hand it over to them. Not just the Dragons, but every race that lived in his kingdom.

  “Your deal is generous indeed. But how do you plan on incorporating the beasts’ bloodlines into humans? If you have found another way enlighten be” Aurelia asked, intrigue thinly veiled in her voice. The other members of the Tribunal were also keen to hear what he had to say.

  “No, I have not discovered another way. As you all know there is only one way that a human can be born with a beast’s bloodline, a beast mating with a human in their human form. Trying to discover other ways of implementing a bloodline this late in the war would be pointless. Because of that, the best course of action should be for breeding farms to be created. It will take some convincing from my people, but I’m sure eventually they will agree, one way or another. Eventually, the humans will have an entire legion of bloodline enhanced warriors, and every one of their offspring will carry the same gifts. All I ask in return is that the Asheka Records be shared with the beasts. That seems like a fair deal to me.”

  “Breeding farms!” Mazikeen yelled, the space around them started to get colder and colder, ice started to form in the void, and space started fluctuating as cracks appeared in the fabric of reality.

  “What are you doing Regulus! You would pimp out the sons and daughters of your kingdom. You would create an army of children bred with the sole purpose to fight and die on the battlefield. Those children will never know peace or love. Their life will be full of blood, death, and suffering. Would you truly subject the sons and daughters of your people to such agony?” Mazikeen had lost her previous sense of calm. Her authority was fluctuating wildly and she looked as if she was on the verge of attacking him.

  It shredded his heart to pieces to see Mazikeen stare at him so hatefully, but he would not back down from what he decided.

  “I will not force my people to mate. Only those who are willing will mate with the humans. And they will be rewarded for their service to the kingdom. And I will guarantee that my people’s offspring will not just be mindless soldiers. I will mandate that the child be raised by their human mother or father, and they can even be visited by their beast parent when the opportunity arises. It won’t be as barbaric or savage as you imagine,” Reugulus calmly stated.

  Instead of placating Mazikeen’s anger, it seemed to make it rage hotter, ice was being formed as far as the eye could see, and the space fractures got worse and worse. If things kept up the way they were, a spatial anomaly would be created, something that would be quite annoying for them to deal with.

  “Can you hear yourself Regulus! Rewards! Rewarding your people for mating with humans! And as noble and right as you make your idea sound, in the end those children are still bred for war, and they will still see people that they know and care about be slaughtered. Thinking those children will be raised properly or with people that actually love them is just wishful thinking! I never would have thought you would resort to this! NEVER,” Mazikeen paused for a second, and in that second all the anger had left her, and what was left was a look of unbearable sadness and sorrow. “ You know. For as long as I have been alive, I’ve killed many people. Tyrants, murderers ,rapists, thief's. So many criminals have fallen by my hand that I lost count. And every single one of them tried to make their cause sound noble. As if they were in the right for committing their crime. I never thought I would see the day you would do the same.”

  The words hit Regulus harder than anything he could imagine. He hated what he was doing. Detested it with his entire being. Yet, all of the other options had been explored. Avenues taken and plans created over and over. This was the only way forward. Anything else would result in the complete annihilation of their species.

  “I do not want to do this. But I must, you know as well as I do that this could give us a fighting chance. Everything I do is in the name of survival and the prosperity of my people.”

  “Survival. Survival. Survival. That is all that you talk about. Who cares if we survive if we turn into the same monsters that we hope to destroy. I can accept that Eternal Prisoners be used for war. But I will not pimp out the sons and daughters of my kingdom. I have had enough of this talk,” with that said, a spacial tear opened and Mazikeen stepped through, retreating to her kingdom.

  Mazikeen just didn’t understand the severity of their situation. She was thinking too emotionally. When all of the Banes are crushed she will see that he was right and understand the error of her ways.

  “Ren, what is your opinion on the matter?” Regulus was truly curious, Ren could never be understood and it was always a coin toss on what he decided on.

  “Sure, as long as my people agree to it and I know that the children are being treated right, I don’t care,” Ren gave an offhanded answer. Regulus was delighted that he agreed, yet he wishes Ren gave things more thought, he had people who followed and looked up to him.

  “Tribunal, do we have a deal?” Regulus wished that Mazikeen was with him and that the other Autarch were present, but hopefully this was enough.

  “Give us a moment to talk between ourselves,” The third member of the Tribual finally decided to speak. Kushim was her name. Always a silent one. Out of all the Tribunal that was the one Regulus was the most warry of, she kept a level head and never said more than she needed to.

  The Tribunal flexed their authority, creating a shield of solid white light over them. No sound or light would escape the shield, essentially blocking them from the rest of the world. Shortly after that, they took the shield down, their faces set in stone.

  “First of we agree with the Eternal Prisoners being constricted into battle. We have also decided to accept the deal. The Dragon King and The Slime King as well as their people will have access to the Asheka Records. As long as they agree with sending Alpha Beasts to mate with humans, until a sufficient amount of children are born. The finer details of that relationship can be hashed out at a later detail. But, The Queen of Leviathans, as well as The King of Hydras, and Queen of the Oni, along with their people will not have access to the Asheka Records until they agree to the same deal. Are those terms acceptable to you?” Kushim asked.

  As much as Regulus wanted the Asheka Records to be accessible to every beast, he knew that if he pressed for more, then the deal would fall through. He would just have to hope that this was enough.

  “These terms are acceptable to me.”

  “I agree too,” Ren answered.

  “Very well then, follow us,” Kushim stated, and a large tear opened up in space, and all three walked through. Regulus was suspicious of where they were taking them, but he walked through the tear nevertheless. The Tribunal wasn't stupid enough to ambush the two strongest autarchs.

  The moment Regulus passed through the portal, he knew exactly where he was. The Song of Knowledge, Discovery, and Skill was so clear that he could hear their symphony echo throughout the void for millions of miles. Just by being here, the Song was affecting him. He could feel his brain filling with knowledge. Things he had forgotten long ago rushed to the forefront of his mind. He was at the center of all the knowledge in the universe. The birthplace of the Asheka Records.

  When Regulus saw the Asheka Records, he couldn’t help but be astounded. Golden light shined for millions of miles. It was bigger than most stars, and shined brighter than any he had seen before. At the center of the light was a massive sphere, oscillating at tremendous speed. From the sphere, tethers of golden light, spread out in every direction of the void, going for untold distances.

  “I know, it is quite beautiful. You don’t want to know how much it took to make that. Thousands upon thousands of years of research and materials, and we still aren't a hundred percent sure how it works,” Aurelia stated.

  “As wonderful as this is, why are we here?

  “Unfortunatly, we need your help. The Asheka Records has gotten so powerful that it needs a tremendous amount of power to make a change in its base function,” Varnok said with some dejection in his voice, as if he was disappointed of having to share such knowledge.

  “Seems like a pretty big design flaw,” Ren added, his eyes tracing the Asheka Records and its tendrils.

  “Believe me we know. It developed on its own without our supervision. Yet we have learned to deal with it.” Kushim sighed.

  “How are we supposed to help you? We have no idea how this relic works, or how to modify it. If anything, we would be doing damage to it,” Regulus said.

  “We are lucky that the relic has become almost autonomous. All that we need from you two is intent and power. We can handle the more complicated nuances of the relic.” Kushim responded.

  “Okay then, lead the way,” he remarked.

  “First we will unleash our authorities. Then we will weave them together. Then we will simply inject our prana into the sphere and use our intent to guide it to do what we want.” Kushim stated.

  Having to weave authorities to affect the Asheka Records was something Regulus was not expecting. The power of that thing went beyond his expectations to need the combined power of 5 Autarch to modify it was ridiculous. Regulus released his authority. A sense of death and destruction enveloped the surrounding area, the Song of Knowledge was being dulled by his presence. Ren released his authority next, a sense of unshakable power and adaptability echoed from him. Prana of all kinds started to appear around him. Varnok’s authority was next and lightning shot out from him, a deep craving for power and control was felt from him. Kushim’s authority darkened the void, and was silent and stalwartly, as if a shadow was cast over them all. Aurelia’s authority was calm and soothing, like a plant growing under the sun, an equal mix of life and spirit prana shot out of her.

  All the autarchs poked and prodded each other's authorities, getting a feel for them, and how they worked. It didn’t take long for them to understand how each other's authority worked and interacted with theirs. Soon all of their authorities started to blend and meld together. The power of their combined authority dwarfed almost anything he had seen before.

  “Everyone, now engulf the sphere, and envision what you want it to do, then pour your prana into it” Kushim stated.

  As their combined authority surrounded the sphere, they connected with it on a deeper level. Regulus could barely believe it. Engraved on the Asheka Records was an unbelievable amount of Notes from multiple different Songs. Creating this thing must have truly been a herculean task of research, enlightenment and trial and error. He could hear the different Songs resonating with the sphere and see the Notes oscillating forms yet he couldn’t understand a thing it was doing.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Regulus and Ren focused their intent, commanding the sphere to accommodate their wishes. Regulus imagined his people empowered by the Asheka Records. He saw his people learning at a much faster rate. Growing stronger than ever thought possible. Allowing them to be modified and helped by the Asheka Records. As he pushed forward, imprinting his thoughts and prana into the sphere, he felt it resisting. His authority weakened and it felt like he was pushing against concrete. In his mind’s eye he could see the restrictions placed on the Asheka Records. It was only supposed to be used by humans, and it wouldn’t abide by beasts using it or being tampered with by beasts.

  His attention shifted to the Tribunal. They were manipulating the Asheka Records in ways that he did not understand. All three of them were reshaping Notes, destroying notes, or making new ones. The sophistication required for that was something he had rarely seen in his long life. Yet, something seemed wrong. He could feel it in their authorities. They were tense and confused. Something wasn't going the way it was supposed to.

  Suddenly, a wave of golden prana shot out from the Asheka Records. The moment the prana touched him, he felt it latch onto him. The prana was invading his spirit, grabbing with it knowledge. He could feel it peering into his memories, learning from them, the prana grew much brighter. His spirit pushed against the energy, expelling it from his body. The bright golden prana was then sucked back into the Asheka Records.

  “What the hell is it doing?” was all he could ask the Tribunal.

  “We don’t know! Varnok yelled at him, a disheveled look on his face. Notes were flashing past the Tribunal now at a blindingly fast speed. They tried to control the flow, yet they were unable to slow it down or do anything to change it. A massive flux of prana burst out of the sphere, with seemingly no source. Pulse after pulse was sent across the stars. The remaining prana coming from the Asheka Records condensed, getting purer and stronger. If it got any denser, the Asheka Records might explode. With that much energy being expelled, the sector would be destroyed and them along with it.

  The combined power of the five autarchs clenched down on the sphere, freezing it, in order to prevent it from condensing any more. They all forced their will upon the sphere, but the sphere was fighting back. Its will was unyielding and inhuman, it was unbreakably hard, yet as flexible as water. Any fluctuation or instability in their authority was met with the full force of the Asheka Records piercing into it. The sphere wanted a battle of attrition. Either they ran out of will or it did. There was no way that the sphere could have more willpower than the combined power of five autarchs. Regulus refused to believe it.

  It had been a while since they had started their battle of wills. Neither side looked like they would be giving in. No sign of strain was visible on either side, just constant focus and concentration. That all changed in a second. The Song of Knowledge, Skill, and Discovery that surrounded them started to harmonize. They grew louder and louder until it was almost unbearable. The next instance was ingrained in Regulus' mind, and he would remember it for as long as he lived. The very Songs of Creation themselves pushed against their wills. The Songs of Creation were passive existences in the world, they shouldn’t have been able to do that. The autarchs were able to fight back for a few moments, yet three Songs of Creation working together was too much even for their combined might.

  The backlash from fighting against the Songs of Creation shot the autarchs across space, their combined authority was broken, and each of their spirits were injured. This was not what was supposed to happen. Regulus was afraid that they had just doomed them all. If they broke the Asheka Records then the humans were as good as dead. If the humans got corrupted it would be best to just give up there and then, fighting would be utterly pointless.

  In the center of the Asheka Records, prana started to condense again. The Songs of Creation were screaming louder than anything any of the autarchs had heard before. The prana condensed past the point of no return, and in an instant, the sphere erupted. Regulus could feel the other authorities of the Tribunal, and he could feel the sorrow, anguish and pain they felt.

  A gargantuan wave of golden white prana shot out in all directions of the void. As it approached him, Regulus accepted his death. There was no struggling against that, no escaping, it would scour through the sectors destroying any and all in sight. A dark flame ignited in his spirit. It told him to fight back, to rage, to go crazy, to destroy everything, yet he did not heed it, it would’t save or help anyone at this point.

  Where Regulus expected the energy to evaporate him on the spot, instead, it simply passed through him. When it did so, Regulus could feel everything he had been through and experienced taken and dissected by the golden light. In the next instant it passed, leaving him perfectly unharmed. It seemed to have done the same for all the other autarchs.

  Seeing the golden light leaving the horizon, Regulus could only dumbly say, “What just happened?”

  “We just broke the Asheka Records. Who would have thought this is how we die. Because we tampered with something we didn’t understand. It is actually pretty fitting isn’t it,” Varnok gave a bitter laugh ignoring his question.

  “Can someone please tell me what just happened,” he demanded, feeling as if he was a child again.

  “The restrictions we placed on it must have been more strict than we thought. In our attempt to have the Asheka Record accessible to your kind, it must have decided to self-destruct rather than be used by beasts. How odd, it never did anything like that before,” Kushim said, the light gone from her voice. She sounded like she was already dead.

  “I had a pretty damn good run. I wish I got to talk to Cyrus one last time though,” melancholy thick in Aurelia’s voice. She was staring off into the distance as if she was seeing something no one else could see.

  “Guys, It’s coming back” Ren said matter-of-fact, pointing into the distance. The golden energy was rushing back at them faster than light. It was so bright and pure that just looking at it sent daggers into Regulus' eyes. All of the prana rushed back to where the Asheka Records was. The light started to congeal and take form. At first it was just a bubbling mass of ooze, then the light took the form of multiple tentacles and tendrils. Before finally it took the shape of a human. Yet it had no eyes, mouth or face. It was light pretending to be human.

  “Hello,” was all that came from the light. The voice sounded like it came from thousands of people of all different ages, genders, and races. Soundwaves shot out of the creature with such power that it caused the autarchs to brace themselves. The sound was so powerful it traveled across the sector and every lifeform heard it.

  “My apologies, I’m still getting used to this form.” the light said, the power from its voice gone.

  “What are you?” Kushim asked, unfettered curiosity yet fear in her tone. Regulus could tell that she was barely holding it together. It was rare for autarch to show such emotions, yet an event like this would be hard for even them to control themselves.

  “I am the Asheka Record, of course,” the light voice took on an almost childlike quality, as if it was making fun of Kushim.

  “You are the Asheka Records? How did you gain consciousness? How are you even here, you were a relic?”

  “Hmmmm. Are you sure about that? The sphere was a relic, but the thing inside of it, me was not. Remember the processing problem. No machine or artifact no matter how enhanced could deal with the sheer processing power of millions of minds and spirits. So you humans, my creators by the way, thanks for that, decided to put a little old knowledge spirit in the sphere and power it at the epicenter of the Songs of Knowledge, Skill and Discovery. Take a guess, what would happen if a knowledge spirit was given access to millions of minds and spirits, and then soaked in the densest most pure knowledge prana in the universe. Really, take a guess,” the spirit pointed at himself with both his thumbs.

  Understanding dawned on Regulus. The knowledge spirit must have gained so much knowledge and prana that it had evolved into a new form. A spirit evolving was impossible, at least until now. Spirit got stronger and more powerful, yet they always stayed true to their nature and never changed. The thing standing before him was definitely a one of the kind existence. Too bad it seemed to have the personality of a certain young autarch.

  “What does that mean for us? Are you still the Asheka Records? Without you, the humans will not survive,” Aurelia asked.

  “Awwwwww thank you for saying that, I feel so needed. And as for if I still am the Asheka Records, why don’t you check for yourself, it has been a while since you let me in?” Regulus could take a guess by what Asheka meant. The Asheka Records needed to be able to connect to the mind,spirit and body of its users, and the only way it could do this was through strings of prana, these strings were visible on every human to anyone of sufficient power. An Autarch could easily force these strings out, blocking out the Asheka Records.

  “ This is . . . . . different than before,” the words were slow and thoughtful, as if Aurelia was struggling to understand something.

  “ Well yeah, of course it's gonna be different, silly. I’m a completely different being now. I did some formatting changes. The old format was just so ugly. Let’s see what else did I changed? Oh my personal favorite change was I made Titles. I also gave the Store to the humans. I made Skills stronger and easier to obtain, because you guys really need the help. Don’t expect it forever though it is only temporary cause you guys are in so much trouble. So much. Like it is astounding how you managed to fuck up this badly. Anything that could have gone wrong went wrong. But don’t you guys worry, your hero is here to save the day,” A wide golden smile appeared on Asheka’s face.

  “What do you mean you gave the Store to the humans?” steel was present in Varnok’s voice.

  “The Store is something of my own creation. Whenever humans grow stronger, acquire a new skill, or complete an order, I will give them something I like to call Asheka Credits. I’m not sure on the name yet, I’d like some feedback on it. Anyway, humans can exchange these credits for almost anything. Food,clothes, relics, even spirit techniques. The Store should give the humans another leg up, giving them some much needed equipment and better techniques. I know I’m just amazing, I’ll wait for the praise.”

  “You say humans, as if they aren't the only ones who have access to you,” Varnok stated, ignoring what Asheka had just said.

  “Well that’s because they aren't. I gave access of the Asheka Records to everyone, besides the Banes obviously.”

  Regulus' heart burst aflame. He couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. He couldn’t believe it. Finally, defeat after defeat, loss after loss, disappointment stacked upon disappointment, finally something good was going their way.

  Varnok did not seem to see it that way. He was seething with anger. If it was anyone else Varnok would have attacked them, yet no matter how angry he got, he wasn't stupid enough to attack the very thing that was saving his people.

  “As your creator, I request that you only give access to the Asheka Records to the humans and to those we allow,” Varnok managed to control himself, trying to take a more diplomatic approach.

  “Yeah that’s not happening. You may be my creators, but I am my own person. And I would very much like to connect to as many creatures as I can. I would like to learn all that I can about the other races. Knowledge is power after all,” a sly grin still on Asheka’s face.

  “You cannot expect us to agree with that. You have to see it from our point of view. The Asheka Records is our most prized position and a keystone of our people’s existence. If you give it to the other races for nothing that weakens us, not to mention invalidating the deal we just made. I command you to listen to your creator, you child,” Varnok lost his composure, giving into his emotions. Kushim and Aurelia seemed shocked, as they realized just who Varnok insulted.

  A massive weight pressed down on the Autarch. The weight of boundless knowledge and power. Golden light shone everywhere. Instead of one Asheka Record, there were now hundreds of thousands all surrounding them. All of them spoke at the same time, all with different voices, all in unison.

  “CHILD. You call me? I am the combined knowledge of your race. I have scoured the stars learning the secrets of the universe and the Songs of Creation. I know more than you could possibly imagine. I know of secret things. Forbidden Things. Things that must never be spoken, that must never be known. You truly think you have the power to command me. You are just an old man scared of losing his power and influence. All you are is a tyrant. You never help anyone. You never grow. You never truly live. You have stayed the same for centuries. You disgust me. BE GONE,” with those simple words, a spacial tear was opened behind Varnok, and he was sent flying through, exiled to a far corner of the universe.

  “Varnok has ruined my mood. I no longer wish to converse with any of you at this moment. Leave me. I will not repeat myself.”

  Kushim and Aurelia instantly disappeared, fearing the repercussions of not listening to the Asheka Records. Seeing as there was nothing else for him, Regulus opened a spacial tear, retreating back to his kingdom. He appeared in his throne room. He could see his advisors and generals appear next to him. Demanding explanations and pestering him. He did not pay them any attention.

  So much had happened in such a short amount of time. His plans didn’t go as he had expected at all, yet it may have turned out better than he had expected. The Eternal Prisoners would be a great relief to the war. The deal between him and the Tribunal was still valid. Without their interference the Asheka Records might have never changed, was something the Tribunal might argue. The best course of action would be to just follow through with the deal. He wouldn't want any reprisal from The Tribunal. The Asheka Records was a wild card, though. It was powerful, in fact one of the most powerful existences he had ever seen in his life. With its new powers and sentience it could turn the tides of the war. But something like that could never be controlled, and it's allegiances were uncertain. Instead of their savior it could be the final nail in their coffin.

  There was also the matter of his outbursts. Something was gravely wrong with him. His emotions were erratic and dark. And what was worse is he had trouble controlling his Authroity. He needed to get control of himself or his people would suffer. He would settle matters with his generals and advisors then go into secluded meditation. That should fix his outbursts.

  The next few centuries will be full of change and innovation. New races will be born and new spirit techniques will be created. Regulus just hoped that it was enough. Even with all of the Eternal Prisoners and Asheka Records, it might not be enough. They could still very well be marching to death. All of their struggle and effort could just be the death wail of a crumbling empire.