Narkonus

Amalek found himself in flight above a barren desert. The setting sun was dim, red, and massive, taking up a fifth of the horizon. Up and to the right from the red giant sat another sun, stark white and smaller than the moon. A handful of lonely, blood-red clouds hovered in the purple sky.

Amalek circled. There was nothing but rock and sand as far as his eyes could see. Having no better plan, he flew towards the setting sun.

After a time, he saw a city in the distance. Gigantic pyramids stretched to the sky, but were dwarfed by a statue of a man hundreds of feet tall. The marble figure wore black armor on its body and a stern visage on its face.

Amalek flew closer. He saw thousands of slaves, bound in chains, worshiping at the feet of the statue. A host of men, cyclopes, and dragons bowed and prayed in fear and awe. The statue seemed to look down upon them with contempt.

Amalek flew close to the statue’s face. He wondered which ancient god-king this was supposed to be. The statue’s eyes swiveled to look up into his.

"You don’t know me?" asked the statue. "I am offended. Your kind have told your livestock all about me. I am the devil they fear."

"Ah," said Amalek. "You must be Narkonus, son of Ram and Luva. He who rejected truth and love in the pursuit of power and domination."

"Correct," said Narkonus. "Now bow and worship me."

Amalek regarded the god with amusement. "I’m fairly certain we invented you."

"Perhaps so," said Narkonus. With blinding speed, he snatched the dragon from the air with his right hand, pinning its wings against its sides and leaving its tail dangling below. The great granite hand raised the serpent’s face right up to its eyes. "And yet," it said, "here I am."

"So you are," said Amalek. "Dreams often contain things that do not exist."

Narkonus tightened his grip. Amalek felt pain.

"Are you saying dreams do not exist?" asked Narkonus. "Does your pain exist?"

Amalek struggled to breathe. "Point taken."

"No," said Narkonus. "I don’t believe you do get the point. I intend to punish you for your insolence. I hate you most of all."

"Why me?" asked Amalek.

"Because you have forsaken me. You were my greatest pupil: strong, intelligent, competent, and ruthless. You forged an empire that spanned the known world. You may as well have worshiped at my altar."

"And then," said Narkonus, "you abandoned it."

"I fell ill," said Amalek.

Narkonus squeezed. Amalek hissed in agony. "Don’t lie to me. I am the father of lies as well as violence. You could have given orders from your mountain home. You could have forced your livestock to build you a great palace there, complete with servants and all the pleasures of life."

Narkonus stared into Amalek’s unblinking eyes. "But you didn’t."

Amalek took as deep a breath as he could manage and said, "I suppose I grew bored with you."

Narkonus looked at Amalek with disgust. "You’re a worm. Nothing. Not worth my concern."

"And yet," said Amalek, "here you are giving me your undivided attention."

Narkonus gave Amalek a cruel, granite smile. "I’m going to show you something," he said, "that you need to see." He paused for dramatic effect. "You won’t enjoy it."

Narkonus opened his fist. Rays of heat shot from the statue’s eyes. Fire immolated Amalek as he lay, helpless, in the giant’s palm.

"I’m burning away your astral body," said Narkonus. "There are easier methods, but I hope this is the most painful. When I’m done, I shall cast you into the mental plane. Follow the tower of abstraction to the top. Try to return here, and I’ll make certain you regret it."

Amalek said, in a weak voice, "I regret it already."

The flames consumed him. Amalek found himself without form, in a place with no sensation or language — a place of pure concept. Ideas without context. This thing is like this thing; this thing is not like this other thing; this set of things are alike in this way.

He did as bidden, following the trail of ideas upward, from the most concrete to the most abstract, until he reached the ultimate idea.

He found himself in a place of pure calm. A place beyond life or thought. The edge of existence.

After a time, Amalek grew bored with mere existence and ended his.