Suman

**Suman** is the lord of a small city in the Land of Dusk within the Darkness. The city lord’s name was Suman, and he was reportedly an epic being from before he had fallen into the Darkness. He had been here for nearly a century, and was an invincible existence in the vicinity that had lit a second timefire and formed another veil of order to expand what had been a small town into its current size.

For his part, Richard understood that Suman wasn’t particularly cruel to the residents of the city themselves. Someone would want to be the lord of such a city regardless, and Suman was at least strong enough to stop a butcher if it charged through the veil of order. Leaving someone like that behind was much better than subjecting the city to turmoil.

## Plot

Having settled his debt to old Barduch, Richard left the house in relief and walked towards the inner city. The second veil of order was quite small and well-guarded, but after revealing the soul wood he had chopped down Richard was allowed to enter and meet the lord.

Richard met Suman in the city’s only four-storey building, the place crawling with guards. Seated on his high throne, Suman stroked his beard as he stared at Richard and the two piles of soul wood with interest. This wasn’t a lot, but it could sustain the city for a few years. Even with Suman’s strength, he would lose a number of subordinates whenever he went out to get some.

Richard's brows furrowed slightly, but the lord continued, “You might not know this yet, but this is the Land of Dusk. The Chosen assigned to this sector failed tens of thousands of years ago, and until a new one is selected we will never be able to build a Lighthouse of Time and return to order.

“But I don’t believe in resigning oneself to destiny. I fought for decades and personally lit a second fire. I will build a new Lighthouse in the future, and reestablish order in the Land of Dusk. There’s no need to wait for that old dragon who takes forever to send his Chosen!” Suman’s voice grew louder and his gaze sharper as he stared at Richard, “I can tell that you’re very strong, perhaps only slightly weaker than me. People like us shouldn’t place our destinies in the hands of others; we don’t need the old dragon’s charity!”

Suman’s eyes went wide as he stared at Moonlight, slowly picking up the giant axe beside his throne. However, Richard stopped and shook his head, “You’re wrong, Suman. I’m not slightly weaker than you; I’m so powerful you can’t even fathom it.”

He had barely finished speaking before he blinked forward, Moonlight aiming for the man’s throat like a flash of lightning. Suman roared and brandished his axe like a storm, but it was barely a minute later when he howled and the weapon flew out of his hands. He went rigid as Moonlight sat on his throat, capable of cutting his head off with a gentle stroke.

Perhaps the grey sky was a theme for everything in the Darkness. Suman definitely had benefited a large number of people, and he himself wasn’t a samaritan by any means. Falling silent for a long time, he eventually answered, “Soulwood can sustain the timeflames after they are lit. I’ll be taking the ones that haven’t dispersed.”

Suman felt an inexplicable chill around him. His perception was powerful, but he couldn’t see the hundreds of souls that gathered towards Richard and merged with his soul.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Book 9, Chapter 123
2. ↑ Book 9, Chapter 122