As he lay awake in his bed, Hiro contemplated the meeting that had just taken place. If he had to break the kings into groups based on their stances in the meeting, it would go as follows: Faust, Zero, and himself in agreement on preparing for Xander's potential return, while Therius is starkly opposed to the idea, and Arthur and Relve are the two who could lean either way.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0hVkhFu0J
Despite how it seems, it still wasn't a favorable situation for them since if their hypothesis was correct, they'd lose the fight against him if they didn't have everyone on board. If he could at least convince Arthur and Relve, they might be able to pull something close to a win out against Xander.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PKz4CQNBC
"But this is all assuming our hypothesis is correct in the first place. Maybe Therius is right." He says out loud in his empty bedroom.
.
.
.
"Maybe the big guy was right. Based on what was being thrown around, the ones supporting it don't even think it will happen that way." Rose thinks to herself after hearing Hiro through their shared wall.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2bwk4kQLN
Through the quiet night she hears light footsteps moving towards her door. As they approach, Rose sits up in her bed expecting a knock at her door, but it doesn't happen. Instead the footsteps pass her door and go towards Hiro's door, before stopping.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHzPV8jFbb
"Hiro, are you awake? It's Sera."
She says while giving a light knock on his door.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqURwhoJEMj
"Unfortunately, I am. Did you need something?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZGvijUUsfY
"I just… wanted to talk. May I come in?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS7YvRdSzf8
"You may enter."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuLzFvtDvDu
Rose hears the door open and shut, and she starts to think the worst. What if Sera really was a spy and she had come to kill him? What if she was right to be wary of her?
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIghh3hkKy
"If this was what you wanted to do, then you should have just said that." Hiro says.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLza1lVvuN5
"Well, I could tell there was something a little off with you after the meeting, so I just thought I'd check on you."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9JMlpy3y3p
"Check on me in the middle of the night dressed the way you are? You and I both know why you’re here.”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw7sxdpQNCA
“Oh really? Well then, you take the lead, Your Majesty.” She says while giving a slight chuckle.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJSf8XSI98
Rose had quickly found out what they were doing, and it had nothing to do with backstabbing him in any way. Bed creaking, moans, rythmic thumping against their shared wall, and some colorful language from both parties was more than enough to let her know it was just a session of passionate lovemaking. Rather than sit in her bed and listen, she goes for a walk around the palace.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVByIHGh7i6
While she’s out she sees Vanessa is also awake and out training in the courtyard. Her ether scythe glistened white in the moonlight as she swung with an elegance that was absent from their sparring match, similar to a shared dance without a partner. Rose quietly approaches before speaking.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1m0Lt4Uzf
“Is something on your mind? You don’t seem like the kind of person who lets their thoughts get to them.” Rose says.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK4BzGmtOqF
“You’re not wrong, but tonight is a little different. It isn’t a simple thought, but rather a memory. Aside from me, you’re awake, but you don’t seem as troubled as some others in the palace.” Vanessa says as she stops swinging, plants her scythe in the ground blade first, and turns to face Rose.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxmTMPURVhw
“Yeah, Hiro and Sera are getting steamy in his room and I don’t really want to listen in on that. Since I have you here, can I ask you a couple of questions? Who is Xander Reeba?”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡixz8BEYisU
“That’s exactly the reason why I’m up this late. I talked to Faust about the meeting and he told me Xander might be returning. He was a good friend of mine and the previous king of Rahu. At least, he was like that at first.” She says with a slightly saddened expression. As she continues to speak, her scythe starts to fade away from the handle down.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN0o7kGoWCG
"What happened to change him?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9PbZpYx0f
"Well, as you probably already know, there was a war about 45 years ago between Rahu and Madu at the time. This was yet another war that could've been prevented, had he not gotten greedy."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoviXQS2kXN
"He was greedy? One of the other kings said he had a good heart, but you make it sound like it was the opposite."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp1t4WsX7FG
"He wanted more for Rahu, not himself. The war was over a mine on the eastern coast of Rahu that had been under control of Madu for several years. Xander wanted to take it back to give Rahu more natural resources. I tried to steer him away from war over an otherwise peaceful state of the world, but he wouldn't listen and went to war with them."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHowNTRtRN1
"If Rahu didn't need it, why go to such lengths to get it? We're the lives of Rahuian soldiers worth one mine?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaV1uoRLe4N
"The problem wasn't really about our soldiers, but theirs. See, whenever Xander waged war, he went to the battlefield alone. There were a few times that he had to bring me along to fight against some particularly strong foes or large armies. This time, it was just him, which was one of my worst mistakes."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJj4FfoSCbj
"This was when he killed the King, wasn't it?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡte1cmHdaJa
"Yes. After he decimated Madu’s army, he went to Madu’s royal palace for peace talks alone. While he was there, he apparently became enraged with Lord Kraha Varasta, and killed him. Once he returned and I had heard the news, I couldn't contain myself. He wasn't even sorrowful at what he'd done. On top of killing dozens of thousands of men, he killed an already defeated king for no apparent reason. He normally had some kind of remorse, but this time, it was different. He said what he did was justified, and that Lord Varasta deserved it for his actions."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdIDdRDd24Y
"Do you ever think he knew something that you didn't? Like, there was a reason for it that nobody else knew?
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQNCYVUHq9C
"At the time I was too hot headed to think otherwise, but after his defeat, I started to doubt myself. Lord Varasta had a record of being underhanded in negotiations, but the idea that he had done something so vile that it deserved death was ludicrous to anyone at the time. Because of this, we pointed our hatred towards Xander."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs2ZREsLDFC
"So how about now? Do you feel like you were wrong?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqLRjNFL1oP
"Just a little. I feel like I should have heard him out and investigated it further. The fact that the news traveled significantly faster than normal should have been enough to tip me off to something being wrong. This realization didn't hit me until after I had taken him to the Savage Country and returned home. I felt like I was wrong, but I had already acted on my rage. This is the reason that led to the implementation of observers in meetings to hopefully prevent something like this from happening again. Out of guilt, I also started purging our country of any bad apples I could get my hands on."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA18LonLWzO
"I’ve got a hypothetical situation for you: What if Xander were alive and wanted to kill all of the kings? Do you think we would win?”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVufCeG4PJi
“Faust asked me the same thing after the meeting, so here’s what I told him. To put it bluntly, no. Unless the kings got massively stronger than what they are now, they won’t win. Even if they were, it’s still a coin toss. I’d say in my prime, I’d be able to beat the current kings, and Xander was even stronger than I was. His sheer physicality would be too much for them to handle, let alone his magic.”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjchOH5lqmj
“How was he stronger than you if you beat him? And what’s so special about his magic?”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXTJKrnAkkR
“Somebody sure has a lot of questions for me. Last one before I head to bed. Let me give you a demonstration.” Vanessa says with a slight grin as she stands up.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P2h3Ocuha
She closes her eyes and softly claps her hands together. After a brief pause, she slowly opens her hands as a ball of dark, almost black clouds forms in her hands. As her hands open further, the clouds extend and start to quickly swirl upwards into the clear night sky. After they rise a few thousand feet, they begin panning out in the sky, covering the moon in dark, opaque clouds.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3D7kYgU4h0
“Shall we?”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhmN4poU52C
Vanessa says while gesturing for Rose to take her hand. Once she does, Vanessa pulls her close and they shoot off upwards, being blown by wind magic. They continue ascending at high speeds until they pierce the newly formed blanket of clouds. A few hundred more feet in the air, the moon shone even brighter and they would be able to look down and see the majority of Rahu if it weren’t for the storm clouds.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLmQ7UCX7CX
“Do you remember when I said that I was the second best magician of Rahu? Xander is the only one who was better than I was. He was the greatest rival a girl could ask for, even if I was the one always playing catch up.”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIXQCl3TO3j
“This… is crazy! If he was stronger than you in your prime, and you can still do stuff like this now, how did you win!?” Rose says while shouting over the wind keeping them afloat.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVwODxQBXs
“The key was in my ability. My scythe is made of pure ether, which means it can attack a person’s soul directly.” Vanessa says while calming the wind.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgORcH2vLFS
“Their… Soul?” Rose says.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNfNtjIttWu
“Before you get too confused, I’ll explain what that means. I found out more about it after my fight with Xander, but a person’s ether comes from their soul. Hence why everyone has it regardless of whether or not they have an ability. This matters because if you can damage a person’s soul, then you can affect their ability. If I were to strike you 'lethally' with my scythe, I could force your body to shut down from ether exhaustion. This is what I did to beat Xander. It took about half a day to land that kind of attack though." Vanessa says.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10yYlRiCqN
"So, how do we do that to him if we don't have your ability?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDVspcxDlua
"That's the hard part. You don't. Unless you can find a way to replicate my win over him, you would have to overpower him or weaken him."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡECDr85tROp
"Wonderful. I just hope he isn't alive so we don't have to deal with him. Last question though, why did you choose this spell to demonstrate? Aren't you better with fire magic?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEANwNbDT1z
"Yeah, but this is the first spell I showed Rex and Hiro back when I adopted them, so I figured I'd show you too. That, and I didn't want to blow up the palace. To throw in one more nugget of information, this spell, Summoned Storm, is where they got their inspiration for their ether techniques. Hiro liked the clouds, but always made them too dense to stay in the air, opting to create fog instead."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MK2MKxGIQ
"Then what about Rex? Where'd the whole 'giant water dragon' thing come from?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsx8tUOoeXM
Immediately after saying this, a giant sea serpent made of water rises above the clouds and dives back under, leaving its deep blue body arcing through the clouds.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJC4Y4ROJGZ
"Rex was much more impressive than Hiro was. Shortly after seeing this, he started to make dragons in its likeness, and even one with wings. After a while, they were even able to talk and form their own thoughts separate from Rex.”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMrrOVIDqV
“Really? They talk? And think like we do? There’s so much about them that I don’t know.” Rose says.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHWAsOmalRC
“Yep, but before I start reminiscing even more, lets get back on the ground and call it a night.” Vanessa says while holding Rose even closer before ending the spell. The water serpent dove underneath the cloud line and disappears, while all of the clouds funnel back to the palm of Vanessa's hand. Once they all return to her, she closes her hand, snuffing out the spell and returning the sky back to its original state. She slowly guides them back to the ground.
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKrx6xQ1XV
“Thanks for the chat, but I think I’m going to turn in for the night. You should too, Ms. Observer. From what I’ve heard of the meeting earlier today, you guys are expecting another tough day tomorrow.”
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoPqHntwFe6
“Yes ma’am. If it’s alright with you, could you tell me more stories about Hiro and Rex when they were younger?"
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhkp26PFNE
"Maybe next time. This was enough reminiscing for one night. We can chat again tomorrow after the meeting."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBD6gKUIkwx
"Sounds like a plan! Good night."
186Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWJ7xbPg0xE
On her way to her room, Rose tried to imagine just how strong Vanessa was in her prime. The way she effortlessly created a storm cloud the size of Rahu in an instant. It was awe-inspiring, but also frightening. She herself wanted to become strong, but that strong? The fact that there was someone this strong, and someone even stronger in Rahu's history was incredible.
ns 15.158.61.5da2
