Chapter 14: Isle of Ambition
"META-SENSEEEIIIIIIIIIII!" Kirby yelled as he ran through the Halberd.
"YO, META KNIGHT! WHERE ARE YA!" Dedede followed up.
"WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS TO ASK YOU!"
Just as they were about to pass the door to the dining room, the door was slid open by Sailor Dee.
"AHHHH! You're hurting my ears, please keep it down!"
"AH!" Kirby skidded to a stop, with Dedede and Bandana nearly tripping over him. "Yo, why d'ya stop, ya pink lump?! I'm runnin' here…!" He looked in the same direction that Kirby was looking in to see Meta Knight sitting there, back turned to the door.
"Ah!" Upon noticing where they were looking, Sailor Dee quickly tried to close the door, but Bandana Dee and Dedede used their collective strength to push it back open, wrecking it in the process. Sailor could only faintly whimper at the wrecked door as the group walked over to Meta Knight.
"Yo, MK, the heck's goin' on here? We were callin' for ya! Why you not respondin'?"
There was no response. Upon reaching where he was sitting, he was clearly eating some kind of sundae. Vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, cherry. Kirby recognized it immediately: a dame blanche.
"I thought you preferred to keep your sweet tooth secret…" Bandana Dee spoke up. He didn't even look at them.
"Oi! Meta Knight! We're talkin' to ya! At least say somethin'!"
"Don't worry about it." He suddenly spoke up.
"Meta-sensei…you're upset about something, aren't you?"
Upon hearing Kirby finish that sentence, the knight froze. "What makes you say that?" he uttered.
"You wouldn't be eating that sundae otherwise."
His mentor was silent.
"I-I'm sorry, Lord Meta Knight! I tried to keep them out like you asked, but they're too strong!" Sailor Dee bowed beside him, more noticeably on edge than he normally seemed to be. That was another dead giveaway to the pink puff.
"…I need another one…"
"R-right away, sir!" the Waddle Dee ran into the kitchen, leaving the rest of the group with him.
"Why are you here anyway?" he questioned, not even turning to look at them.
"I don't know why Dedede and Bandana are here, but I'm here to check on Ledo! I know he said he'd be fine but after how he was acting two days ago, I still can't help but worry!"
"Oi, whaddya mean ya don't know! I-…" Dedede paused for a moment before clearing his throat "Bandana wanted to check on him as well, so I thought that I should accompany him, as a good king should be worried about his subjects!"
"Bandana told me you had a hard time sleeping last night because you were so worried about him…"
"CAN IT, YOU PINK LUMP!"
"Either way, we looked around the ship and base and we couldn't find a sign of him or Chamber. Did something happen with them, Meta Knight?" Bandana questioned.
"Nothing happened."
Tension rose in the room as the other three slowly grew angrier. The knight had a bad habit of hiding his problems and bottling up his emotions. While he isn't nearly as bad with it as he used to be, it's still a habit he tended to fall into. If they were going to get anything out of him, they would just have to put pressure on him.
"Meta-sensei, if you're eating that, you're clearly not fine!"
"I just felt like eating a dame blanche."
"You liar! You never ever eat it unless you're upset!"
"I like a change of pace..."
"YA NEED ME TO BEAT IT OUTTA YA!?"
"It's nothing, now please leave."
"Why can't you just tell us where Ledo and Chamber are?"
"FOR NOVA'S SAKE, THEY AREN'T HERE ANYMORE!" the three of them flinched back at the knight's sudden outburst.
"…Meta-sensei?"
His mentor gave a slight gasp, as if realizing he had lost his temper, and pulled out a small jar from his cape.
"They…left this morning…" he popped a lemon drop into his mouth.
"Eh? Why'd they do that?"
The blue puff heaved a heavy sigh as he returned the small jar to his cape subspace.
"Ledo received a message from his superior in the Galactic Alliance last night. He was having a hard time trying to block it from his mind and left with Chamber to meet his superior and hopefully say goodbye to his past. He said he'd come back, but…"
"You're still worried about him because it could be days, weeks, months, or even years?"
"Correct. I…I thought I had mentally prepared myself enough in case this happened." He gave a half-hearted laugh "Clearly, I was wrong…"
"UNACCEPTABLE!" Everyone flinched upon hearing Dedede yell that. "That damn princess and his tin can! How dare they leave this here country without my permission! MY permission! Don't they know that's a capital offense! That means tons o' community service for 'em!" He turned towards the door. "Just wait 'til I get there, princess! Imma drag you back 'ere and yer gonna finish your sentence, ya hear?!" as he stomped out of the kitchen, he was followed by a panicking Bandana Dee.
"GREAT KING! I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL, BUT NOW ISN'T THE TIME!"
That left the pink puff and his mentor.
"…Meta-sensei…"
Noticing Kirby's tone, the knight opened his cape slightly, not even flinching when the child abruptly launched himself onto him. He placed a hand on top of him as if to give reassurance upon noticing his trembling. When Sailor Dee brought another sundae over, he could hear the pink puff quietly sobbing as his mentor solemnly continued to eat.
The location that Ledo and Chamber were guided to was foggy and bleak. The fog that was over the area didn't hinder their vision, but it helped to emphasize the eeriness of the area. Their blonde-haired priestess guide had told them that this area was Volcano Valley, a place where a great battle had been fought. There were also several graveyards and a dark mansion, but those were on a different part of the island. Right now, there was nothing but a jungle or city of metal, full of people in hooded robes. Upon their arrival, the people had been standing in a strange formation. Chamber commented that it was probably a collective action that showed the unity of their group. That clearly meant Kugel had taken command of the locals. They had also addressed him as a messenger from the sky. That was particularly unusual to him, but that was more than likely also was one of the organization tactics used to show unity.
"Ledo?" He heard a voice and activated his communicator.
"Commander Kugel? Is that you?" A video call initiated. Indeed, the person looking back at him was Kugel.
"Long time no see, Ledo. Glad to see you're doing well."
"Likewise, Commander."
"I picked up your distress signal, but I was on the other side of the planet. I would've contacted you earlier, but I had to keep radio silence. I hope you don't mind, but could you ask that priestess to guide you to me?"
"Yes, sir. Ensign Ledo will now return to Kugel squadron."
The call cut off, and Ledo wanted to hit his head against a wall but opted to facepalm instead. Why did he say that?! He had no intention of returning to the Alliance, let alone serving Kugel, so why?!
"Are you ok?" the priestess beside him asked.
"I... I'm fine..."
He then noticed that she appeared to be looking at his hand. It took him a moment to realize that the hand covering his face was his right one. The hand he wore the gauntleted glove on.
"You wouldn't happen to know someone named Meta Knight, would you?" she questioned after a brief pause.
"Yes... I... served him on the Halberd before coming here... do you know him?"
"Yes, it's a long story that I can tell you at a later point. Why did you come here? Did you have a debt you need to repay as well?"
"...you could say that. I came here in an attempt to move on from my past."
"Then you intend to return to the Halberd?"
"That's correct."
"You mentioned something about moving on from your past. I assume you and Kugel are connected?" There was a slight indifference about the way she said his name, a sharp contrast to the high reverence the other robed creatures said it.
"That's correct. He was my superior."
"I see. Now, believe that he mentioned that he wished for me to guide you to him. Please follow me."
"Thank you, Miss...?" he then realized he never got her name.
"Zan Partizanne." She replied.
"Miss Zan Partizanne, thank you." She nodded and began to guide him towards a large building. On top of said building, lit by a spotlight underneath, he could see Striker staring down over the city.
Upon entering the building, he was guided through a few doors until he entered a dining room. It was ornately decorated, and it appeared that there was a meal already prepared for him. But there was something else that drew his attention: a large mirror mounted on the wall. Curiously, Ledo stepped towards it, stopping just in front of it.
"I didn't think he'd have something like this..." he thought.
He was about to reach out and touch it, but he could then feel an overwhelmingly dangerous presence emanate from the mirror. It was so hostile that he could feel every instinct, every fiber of his being screaming at him to get away from it now.
"Hello, Ensign Ledo."
He managed to suppress the fact that he was startled by the holographic appearance of Kugel.
"Commander Kugel!"
"Please, take a seat."
The ensign sat at the head of the table, with Zan sitting to his right side.
"Pardon my use of a hologram."
"It's great to see that you're alive and well on this planet!" While he didn't exactly plan on returning to Kugel's command, he still felt a bit of relief that his former commander was supposedly safe.
"I wish. I was infected by an endemic disease and am now unable to leave my sterilized cockpit. How are you doing?"
Hearing that made the young man thankful that Bio Gale forced him to undergo all those vaccinations before properly working on the ship.
"I am having no such problems, sir."
"What a relief. It's quite a pain needing to issue orders from here. Having you around here will make things a lot easier."
"Chamber K6821 to Striker X3752. I request information about the aforementioned endemic disease."
"Striker X3752 to Chamber K6821. Request acknowledged. Transferring data."
"Sir, about that mirror on the wall..."
"That was a gift from the people. Not sure where it came from, but I believe it helps pull together this room well."
That mirror was a gift? Why would he accept something that had such a malicious aura to it? However, that question was for another time. There was something else on his mind. He didn't like thinking about that incident two days ago, but...
"Sir...? Did you know that the Hideauze are humans?"
"Former humans." Kugel had an unamused expression on his face.
"Sir, did you know about that?"
"It wasn't discussed, even in the upper ranks and considered unneeded information for those fighting on the frontlines. They cannot be called humans because they are driven by hunger and base instincts. The strong and the weak support each other with reason. They contribute in their own way to the formation of society. Such is what it means to be human."
"While that may be true but..."
"I have brought order to this island. The average well-being of the people here has risen."
"I request the definition of "well-being" in this context."
The feminine-sounding AI Striker was the one to answer that question. "The definition of "well-being" is that of the Galactic Alliance's. In this case, "well-being" is defined as the state in which cost-benefit performance of the individual's contribution to the community is maximized. Therefore, well-being correlates directly with the stability of command."
There was a pause before Chamber responded, "I agree with this definition and conclusion."
"Chamber...?"
"So, what do you say? Would you like to change this world with me, Ledo?"
Upon looking up from the communication device on his collar, he nearly jumped back. He could've sworn he saw something...off...about the holographic Kugel, especially in his mouth. Like...something that shouldn't be there was there.
"I request that you allow him to think about it. This is quite a lot to process for one day. I feel it would be better to give him time to think and let him start to get used to his surroundings." Zan spoke up.
"Very well. I apologize, but would you mind if he stayed with you?"
"Not at all."
"You have my greatest thanks."
As the hologram deactivated, Ledo slowly began to piece together what the "off" thing was.
It was an eye.
An eye had appeared in his mouth for a brief moment.
With Zan Partizanne's guidance, Ledo parked Chamber just outside a small two-story structure.
"Virus data analysis complete. Commencing medical examination... examination complete. No abnormalities detected."
While he wasn't sure what disease had infected Kugel, Ledo had a feeling that he should thank Bio Gale when he returned to the Halberd.
"Honestly, I'm surprised the Lieutenant Colonel was able to rule this island from such a tight spot." Ledo sighed. He was sure that he wouldn't be able to do that if he was in the same situation. He had slept in his cockpit upon arriving here due to how late at night it was, and it was uncomfortable after sleeping in a bed for a few weeks.
"Perhaps Commander Kugel's withdrawal into his cockpit provoked feelings of awe from the people and had the added effect of turning him into a symbol. This likely led to his strong influence over them."
"So he's relying on the idea that people fear what they can't see? Is keeping people constantly afraid like that really a good idea?"
"Fear is the most primal animal reaction. Those who oppose him are aware that fear is the root of his authority, and know that nevertheless, it provides peace and safety to those who obey him."
"That's true, but still..."
"In the battle against enemies, rule through force has been concluded to be effective. It enables the mobilization of a large number of personnel and the maintenance of a strong and responsive community. Furthermore..."
"Enough, Chamber." He put his head in his hands. "Maybe I should've never left the cockpit either..."
There was a slamming sound from outside Chamber.
"Chamber, what was that?!"
"It appears someone is attempting to damage the craft."
On the screen was a red-haired girl with a hat punching Chamber's foot. "Damn you piece of junk! It's because of you we..."
"Flamberge, inside." The person that Zan Partizanne addressed at Flamberge grumbled to herself as she stomped into the house. Upon seeing that scene, the young man opened the cockpit and looked down at the priestess.
"Japologa, Ledo. She's a bit short tempered..."
"Ja…pologa?" That was a word he never heard before.
"Oh, it means "I'm sorry" in the Jambastion language." Jambastion? That's something he never heard of before.
"Chamber, do we have any data on that?"
"Negative. The word "Jambastion" is not in my database."
"Even though you worked for Meta Knight? That's quite surprising." She seemed to think for a moment. "Oh, would you like to come inside? I'm sure you're hungry since you didn't eat the food that was offered to you."
The ensign nodded and allowed himself to be lowered down by Chamber. Upon reaching the ground, Zan stepped closer to him.
"There are also some other things I'd like to talk about, but we must do it inside."
He nodded in response. He wasn't sure what she wanted to discuss, perhaps she was giving him a chance to ask her all those questions he had possibly been thinking about earlier.
The home was simple with a dining table, a kitchen, and two sofas. There was a set of stairs that led upstairs, but those would likely lead to the bedrooms and bathroom. It had an almost makeshift feel, as if this was temporary housing. Off in the corner was the red-haired girl from earlier punching a wall. The indents she was making were starting to become more and more visible, as if this was something she was doing often.
"Flamberge, stop. I know we don't plan on living here permanently, but that doesn't give you the right to destroy it out of anger."
The girl grumbled under her breath until she saw Ledo. "Why the hell did you let him inside?!"
"I'd like to discuss a few things over lunch with him."
"WHAT THINGS?! If he's working with the dirtbag running this island, I want him out! Don't you remember!? That guy's the reason we're stuck here in the first place!"
That was a revelation he didn't expect.
"He worked for Kugel in the past, but he said he currently works for Meta Knight and intends to return to the Halberd."
"This kid!? Working for that Meta Knight guy?! I'll believe it when I see it!"
Zan grabbed Ledo's right hand and pulled him towards her to show Flamberge the gauntlet glove.
"…what's this?"
"Oh…isn't that a glove from one of Kirby's friends?" a voice from the kitchen asked. The young man looked over to see a blue-haired girl walking towards him.
"Francisca, you ought to be careful! There's no telling what he'll do to you…" the girl who was addressed as Francisca only took the gloved hand and examined it.
"…this is one of Meta Knight's gloves. I remember him being not very sociable, so if this kid has one of his gloves, I think we can trust him."
"I can provide further proof if you require it."
Flamberge only gave a huff "Well, if Francisca is fine with you being here, I guess I'll tolerate you…but allow me to make this clear: you harm a single hair on her head and I'LL TORCH YOU!"
"U-understood…I do not intend to harm her…"
The mage huffed again, this time in a more satisfactory tone, as if she approved of that response.
"Well, now that we've settled that matter, I'll go make lunch. You four can sit at the table and chat for a bit." Zan stepped into the kitchen while saying that.
"Four?"
"I believe she is referring to me as the fourth person."
That seemed to trigger realization in the blue priestess. "Ah, I don't believe we've introduced each other. Bonjam, my name is Francisca, and this is Flamberge. Lord Hyness also lives here, but he is asleep upstairs right now. Now, what is your name?" Ledo didn't speak for a moment, curious about the meaning of that unknown word she said at the beginning.
"My name is Ensign Ledo, formerly of the Galactic Alliance, currently of the Meta-Knights."
"What about metalhead outside?" Flamberge questioned.
"My name is Chamber. I am an autonomous pilot support system. Like Ensign Ledo, I am also currently allied with the Meta-Knights."
The blue sister crossed her arms as if to think. "Well, I've never heard of the Galactic Alliance, but we at least know your current affiliation. Guess that's why Ms. Par brought you back here."
"There's more to that, but he can explain that to you." She called from the kitchen.
The blue sister gave a nod "Why don't we take a seat? Then you and Chamber can tell us about why you came to this island."
The ensign nodded and joined them.
"Is that so? You wanted to say goodbye to your past, but you're having trouble doing that ever since you came here?"
Ledo took a drink of water. "That's correct."
Flamberge sighed "You sure that isn't just because you're being a coward? Just tell that Kugel guy to his face that you don't want to work for him anymore!"
"I believe the ensign has established that such a thing is easier said than done to him."
The young man wished that the root of his problem was just mere cowardice, since he could more easily fix that. It ran deeper than that. Perhaps the phrase would be "deep rooted conditioning to obey his superiors"? The Alliance was the first group he served regardless of who he worked for now, and they had conditioned him to follow through with their orders at any cost. Authority through fear. It's just like what Kugel is doing on this island. Not only that, but it also brought to mind what Meta Knight mentioned about his plan to force the citizens of Dreamland to give up their lifestyle and fight. Speaking of which, what would he do if he was in this situation?
"Quit looking so solemn. Here, have some curry rice."
A plate of rice paired with vegetables and meat in sauce was placed in front of him. He recognized the dish instantly as something that Sailor Dee made for him before.
"Ah, thank you..."
"Jamanke, Ms. Zan!"
"Wait! Wait! Hold up! You intend to give my Francisca something this spicy?!"
"I only used enough to give it a mild flavor since I'm not sure about Ledo's taste in spicy food. If you want something hotter, you'll have to add it yourself."
"Oh, then that's fine." She stood up to the table and ran into the kitchen.
"Considering what happened in the past, it's a bit hypocritical for Ms. Flamberge to say that." Francisca uttered with a low voice.
The young man took a spoonful of the rice and food and ate it. While it tasted good, it wasn't nearly as delicious as the curry rice that Sailor Dee made. It only made him want to return even more. That reminds him of a question he had been meaning to ask these three.
"You three seem to know Meta Knight. Do you know Kirby as well?"
The trio immediately turned to him.
"We do. Didn't we tell you?" Francisca asked.
"You did not."
Zan sighed "Long story short, we fought Kirby about two years ago. Back then, Lord Hyness, the head of the Jambastion religion, wanted to resurrect Void, a god that he believed invited him to a new, peaceful land. The Jambastion religion was formed around this idea. To do this, he planned to resurrect Void as Void Termina and destroy the universe."
"Why would he want to destroy the universe?!"
"To avenge his clan for being forgotten by history, I believe he said. To resurrect Void, we obtained the Jamba Heart that served as its vessel and Hyness accidently shattered it when he wanted to break the seal. He also broke the Heart Spears that had been used by the four heroes ages ago to seal it. We then had to go all around the universe to gather the fragments of the Jamba Heart, some of which landed on Planet Popstar. Kirby was hit by the fragments of the Heart Spears, allowing him to use the Friend Heart ability to purify those corrupted by the Jamba Heart. King Dedede and Meta Knight were two that had been hit by the Jamba Heart fragments. From what Kirby said, that was quite interesting."
"Query: what does the Jamba Heart do to people who are possessed by them?"
"It exaggerates a person's worst qualities. For Dedede, it was apparently greed. For Meta Knight, it was apparently vanity."
While Ledo wanted to be surprised about the knight's worst quality being vanity, he tended to unintentionally drop hints that pointed to that. It began to make him think what traits would be dredged up if he had been possessed by one of those fragments. Hopefully he would never have to find out.
"Well, to continue on, we fought Kirby several times individually and Kirby defeated the resurrected Void Termina. After that, we fought him and his friends again and he used the power of the Friend Heart to free us from our corruption. That's how we became friends with Kirby!" after Zan's lecture, the young man had more questions about everything than answers.
"So…Kirby defeated a being that you considered a god?" he gave a nervous laugh.
"Yes."
He could only shovel another spoonful of curry into his mouth. The more he thought about it, the more that Kirby's brief emotional breakdown upon mentioning Void made sense. But he also mentioned something about Void having his face.
"Do you know what this god of yours looked like?"
"You'll have to ask Lord Hyness about it, I don't remember too much."
Well, that went nowhere.
"Why are you three here? Does it have to do with a debt?"
Flamberge slammed a bottom of hot sauce on the table. "Why are we here?! Why ARE WE HERE?! You see, we came here while looking for the paradise that Hyness envisioned, and you KNOW. WHAT. HAPPENED?! BLOB CYCLOPSES HAPPENED, THAT'S WHAT!"
"You mean Dark Matter, Ms. Flamberge?"
"EXACTLY! We were attacked by Dark Matter blobs and had to hide here with no contact to the outside world!" she slammed herself into the chair upon finishing her rant.
Zan cleared her throat. "What Flamberge was trying to say is that we had been traveling to hopefully find the paradise that Lord Hyness envisioned but were attacked by blobs of Dark Matter. We managed to fight some of them off, but we were clearly outnumbered. That was when Kugel and Striker assisted us. In exchange for helping to run this city, he would guarantee our protection from them. That was the debt I needed to pay. All of that happened almost a month ago."
"Query: is this the reason you have not left the city?"
"That's correct. I always repay my debts. However, after some of the things I've been seeing while walking around the city, I don't think I can do that any longer." She took a drink of water.
"What sorts of things have you been seeing? And…wait, didn't Kirby say he defeated Dark Matter?"
Zan turned to the window. The fog that constantly loomed over the city had not vanished. "It would be better if you see it for yourself. It should be raining soon."
"I do not understand the correlation between those two things."
"You'll understand when I show it to you. And about Dark Matter? Traces of it could still exist in the universe, so that's likely how it came here."
Flamberge slammed her spoon on the table, indicating that she had finished her meal. "Yeah, but the MAIN reason is the fact that we can't contact the outside! I mean, Kirby gave us cell phones for times like this, but mine broke, Francisca's was lost somewhere, and Zan can't get any service here!"
"Isn't the other reason because Striker and Kugel could intercept it?" Francisca questioned.
"That, too."
Zan continued to look out the window. "Ledo, please finish your meal soon. It would be best if we're outside when it starts."
"Query: why is rainfall so significant?"
She sighed when she turned to look at him. "Seeing the ritual that is performed at rainfall will break all the hesitation you have in your heart. At least, that is what I believe."
A ritual? That motivated the young man to finish his meal quickly. If this ritual she talked about will truly break this feeling of hesitation he keeps having, he needs to see it as soon as possible.
Even in the afternoon, the same gloomy fog covered the city. Though there was no indication to think otherwise, he thought it would raise a bit. Strangely, he could still very easily follow Zan through the city.
"Zan Partizanne, I believe you had already mentioned that this specific island is known as Volcano Valley. Before landing here, I have noted that there appear to be a few other islands in this area. Is Kugel aware of them?" Chamber spoke up.
"He's aware of them, all right. They're also part of this territory."
"So this island and those other three are all one area?"
"Correct. I believe the locals call this archipelago the "Popopo Islands". They say it's named after a legendary hero who lived in Dreamland long ago. Records describe him as looking quite similar to Kirby, hence why those who live on the islands have dubbed Kirby "the Second Coming of Popopo". Of course, the existence of Popopo might all be fiction, since this was likely centuries ago, but no one can prove otherwise."
Well, there was nothing else to do but wait for the rain to start, so the young man thought he might as well talk to her about the archipelago.
"Have you been to the other islands?"
"Yes. The one island is a giant grassy field, the other is a desert, and the third is a tropical paradise with a snowy mountain as well. They're all nice in their own way, I think. Admittedly, the tropical paradise is a bit tacky since Dedede turned it into a summer resort. Especially the castle he built there, that was beyond tacky. But outside of that, it's a good place to play games, relax on a beach, and ski if you really wanted."
The young man wasn't surprised by that. Making a tacky island resort did sound like something that Dedede would do.
"Did Kugel order it to be torn down yet?"
"Actually, no. He's been too busy organizing this island to worry about it."
The ensign looked up at the sky. Looking at the dark clouds above him made him turn back to his question about rainfall ritual. What was the ritual that happened when it rained and why was Zan being so secretive about it?
"How long do you think it'll be before it rains?"
Zan looked up at the sky as well. "It should start soon. I can feel it."
Now that she said it, he can start to feel it as well.
The air had a scent of humidity to it, something that not only reminded him of Meta Knight's base in Orange Ocean, but also of the few times he had been outside before it started to rain. He and Chamber had first experienced precipitation while on the Halberd. At that time, he had been caught in a sudden downpour while working on the ship's second main cannon. He didn't know how to react to it and continued his maintenance duties. Not long after that decision, Meta Knight returned to the ship after a training session with Kirby and he was extremely annoyed about getting soaked while on his return flight to the ship. He then became angered by the fact that, in his words, Ledo didn't have the common sense to go inside the ship when it started to rain. Thankfully, the situation calmed down when Sailor Dee made them some soup while the duo waited for their armor and pilot suit to dry.
Ledo was shaken out of that pleasant memory when he heard a familiar squeaking sound. He turned his head towards the sound and noticed a familiar yellow mouse blob watching him from an alleyway. Before he could react, it hopped away before disappearing into the shadows.
"Was that…a Squeaker?" he vaguely remembered the name of Daroach's henchmen.
"A Squeaker?" Zan turned around to ask him, but then noticed that whatever he was looking at was gone.
That was when he felt a drop of water land on his head. Then another. And another.
"Come with me, quickly." Zan grabbed his wrist and dragged him behind her.
He detected a feeling of urgency in her voice upon hearing her say that.
The location Zan dragged him was a city square with a large abyss-like hole in the center. Rain continued to beat down.
"What's going on here?"
"The ritual should happen in a bit. Just keep watching."
Shortly after uttering that, a group of blindfolded people in robes were guided along the edges of where the abyss was. The people that stood before the edges looked weak or sickly, with a few being unable to stand. The young man already didn't like where this was going. To his shock, the blindfolded people were pushed suddenly into the abyss, sinking slowly into what appeared to be a mass of dark, blackness. That was when he saw it. A singular, unblinking eye appeared within the abyss. It felt like it was staring at him and filled him with dread. Shortly after, the eye closed, disappearing into the blackness. Overwhelmed by what he had witnessed, Ledo collapsed to his knees.
"What…was that…?"
"Stare too long into that abyss and eventually, that abyss will stare back."
"That doesn't answer my question!"
"Those considered too sick or weak to the rest of the community are thrown into that abyss."
It was just like what the Galactic Alliance did. Only the strong have the privilege of living.
"And…that thing at the bottom?"
"Dark Matter."
He was shocked. "Is that really Dark Matter?!"
"Do you remember what I told you? Trace amounts of Dark Matter may still exist in the universe. Perhaps Striker picked up some of it when landing here."
That explanation made sense.
"There was another reason I wanted to show you this. Now that you're here, Kugel is planning to annex a much bigger place to his territory. A place much bigger."
Ledo took a moment to process what she had said.
"You can't mean...!"
"In other words, his next target is Dreamland."
The plot thickens.
I'd like to say I'm sure no one expected the Mage Sisters to show up, but I feel like the "Post-Star Allies" note gave that away.
Omake (Bonus):
Hyness: Back in my day we didn't use phones, we used satanic rituals!
Zan Par: Lord Hyness, you're not supposed to appear in this chapter!
Ledo: Is such a communication method really that effective, Chamber?
Chamber: Negative, ensign.
Hyness: What!? Sorry, I can't hear you over my magic circle!