The Throne of the Tree of Death, known in shorthand as the Throne of Death, is one of the two ultimate thrones in the Supreme Labyrinth that can prevent the Omega Event.
History[]
Early History[]
At an unknown point in Earth's history, as the race of Super-Ancient Beings devised a series of tasks and trials for an intelligent race to undertake to confirm that they were worthy enough to survive the Omega Event, they built a tremendously large and difficult maze known as the Supreme Labyrinth within the mountains of what would later become a part of the Sinai Desert region of Egypt. As part of the Trial, the Ancients constructed two thrones within the Supreme Labyrinth, the Throne of Death and the Throne of Life, and if either one was sat upon by someone who had successfully navigated the Labyrinth, it would trigger a quantum pulse if sat upon at the moment the Omega Event occurred, with the pulse racing out into the universe and preventing its end. For whomever was on either of Thrones at the moment of the quantum pulse, they would be rewarded with the ability to command others with absolute authority.
The Throne of Death was built atop a castle in the "stadium" section of the Labyrinth, located at the very end of the ancient maze. It was expected that if a claimant to the Labyrinth was unchallenged, they would be able to traverse the easy Emperor's Route to reach the Throne of Death. If they were challenged, however, the Emperor's Route would be closed off, thus making the Throne of Life the first option to be raced to in order to prevent the Omega Event, though the claimants could also continue to the end of the Labyrinth to reach the Throne of Death.
After the Super-Ancients were gone, the Four Legendary Kingdoms learned about the tasks left behind by the Super-Ancient Beings, including the Supreme Labyrinth and the role the Thrones played in preventing the Omega Event. Over time, the Throne of Death became known in the Norse mythology as Yggdrasil, the Tree of Death, and also - along with the Throne of Life - the Ultimate Throne.
When Imhotep made a pilgrimage into the Supreme Labyrinth, he navigated the long route through the maze to the Throne of Death, and made note of the path through the Castle of the Tree of Death.
After the third Great Games of the Hydra around 1,250 BC, Zeus undertook the Trial of the Cities and the Trial of the Mountains, going on to navigate the Supreme Labyrinth unchallenged and preventing the Omega Event of his time using the Death Throne.
The One Impossible Labyrinth[]
Not long after Sphinx and his team entered the Labyrinth, the Order of the Omega pursued them inside, closing the Emperor's Route to the Throne of Death. This forced all subsequent entrants into the Labyrinth to take the path through the Labyrinth to the City-Maze containing the Throne of Life, however Jack West Jr blew apart the Life Throne upon deducing the existence of the Death Throne, forcing all the parties rushed to get to the entrance to the second part of the Labyrinth.
Garthon Rastor arrived in the Stadium of the Throne of Death first, but, seeking to prevent anyone from sitting on the Death Throne, the mad General set himself up in a sniper's position, keeping Sphinx and Jack from approaching the Castle. Using his Warbler to deflect Rastor's rounds, Jack engaged the nihilist in combat, and Sphinx took advantage to race into the Castle of the Throne of Death, soon followed by Jack.
Upon reaching the pinnacle, Jack and Sphinx used different paths to begin climbing up to the Throne of Death, and despite some further difficulty from Rastor and his own damaged prosthetic hand, Jack managed to reach the top first. From the other side of the ledge, Sphinx attempted to persuade Jack to give up, implying that sitting on the Death Throne would do something unexpected to him. Jack decided to ignore the Trismagi however, and both men made their run for the Throne, with Jack managing to sit upon it first.
This activated the quantum pulse mechanism within the Throne of Death, sending out the superluminal pulse that spread out into the universe and kept the Omega Event from occurring. As the Throne sent out its quantum pulse, it also began changing Jack on a molecular level, making him feel as though his entire being was being taken apart and reassembled, the voice of the Gold Colossus spoke to him, informing Jack that he was being reborn, as himself but also something different, and that all would obey him as the pulse ended.
In the following years after the world learned of the ancient trials, archaeologists and historians headed to the ancient sites such as the Supreme Labyrinth to study them, and the visible section of the Stadium of the Death Throne became a popular tourist viewing site as a result of the historic events that had taken place there. The Labyrinth's Throne of Death was also recognised by the world as being crucial and in need of preservation so that it could be used for future runs of the trials and Omega Events.
Description[]
The Throne of Death can be sat upon by any who wish to prevent the Omega Event and become the world's emperor, nominally after using the Emperor's Route if they are unchallenged through the Labyrinth, or by any who traverse the entire maze and do not / can not use the Throne of Life. The Throne is desribed as being very high and broad, made from black-and-gold stones, having a a backrest carved into the shape of a goldman with the armrests servings as its "arms".
While the mechanism behind it is unknown, the means to prevent the Omega Event is based within a quantum pulse signal that is sent out from the throne if it is sat upon by someone branded with the burning key at the moment of the Omega Event, a signal that races out into the universe at unfathomable speeds and keeps it from contracting. The Death Throne also has the ability to bestow upon whoever sits on it the ability to give commands that will be obeyed.
Trivia[]
- In The Two Lost Mountains, it is implied by several characters that there is a single "ultimate throne" in the Supreme Labyrinth, though some may not have known about there being two thrones.