He knew what Masaki intended to do. He always knew—Masaki was closer to him than any other Zoalord, even Kenji or Hamilcal, whom he cared deeply for, could ever be. They were almost of one mind, one of Hamilcal's precautions to keep the persona of Murakami, rebel that he was, from ever resurfacing. It was a worthy precaution: Murakami would be all the more dangerous considering the kind of power that he had provided to Masaki when he had remade him into a loyal Zoalord.

Still, the fact that he would have Kenji by his side would be more than likely to deter Murakami from attacking in the unlikely event that his mind were to resurface. Now, however, was not the time to think about such things. He needed to find out what kind of circumstances had prompted Kenji's seemingly treasonous actions. He knew from his examinations of the boy's mind that Kenji was both gentle and loyal. Now all that remained was to find out just what had passed through the mind of his youngest son when he had made his attack on Luggnagg.

Seeing through Kenji's eyes as he arrived at the Pillars of Heaven, Alkanphel noticed that he seemed rather taken with Luggnagg. Certainly there were none of the feelings that would have led someone like Kenji to commit acts of treason and murder, so clearly there had to be another force at work that would have had the power to coerce a Zoalord to act against his own will.

Delving farther into the child's memories, Alkanphel continued to observe the rapport building between Kenji and Luggnagg. It seemed simple enough, but there was something in Luggnagg's eyes when he looked at the boy—something Alkanphel did not like. It was subtle, and not something that Kenji would have been equipped to notice. Child that he was, he had still not learned mistrust.

It was something that Alkanphel could appreciate: it reminded him of a time when he had still been under the care of the Advents. Back then, he himself had not known of the darker emotions that his children could be prey to. He had not known despair, longing, hatred, bitterness, loneliness, or fear. He had only known contentment, and an overarching purpose in his service to the Advents. He wanted, more than anything, to share this feeling – this divine purpose – with his children and all of their servants, but most of all he wanted Kenji to have the perfect happiness that he had been denied when the Advents had left.

Settling himself more deeply into Kenji's mind, he began to notice an odd sort of change in the boy's memories. The edges of the child's vision were beginning to become blurred, his recollections more disordered and incoherent. Every time Luggnagg returned to him, he was carrying a strange vial of some colorless fluid.

Kenji had drunk them obediently, but he could sense in the boy's mind that he only drank them out of a sense of obligation, and to relieve the increasing amounts of pain and dizziness that he was beginning to succumb to. It was a strange and unnerving situation, but the more he observed, the more Alkanphel became certain that Luggnagg had not been acting in the best interests of his youngest son.

It was infuriating, to know that yet another of his own had betrayed him, and all the worse for the fact that the traitor had tried to use his beloved youngest son as a sacrificial lamb just to escape his own punishment. He could not forgive such actions as Luggnagg had taken. Kenji would be well rewarded for his actions in ridding Chronos' Council of such a loathsome traitor.

In fact, he knew just the gift that he would give to his youngest child…

Searching through the rest of the young Zoalord's recollections produced something of a surprise—nothing having to do with how he'd been manipulated by Luggnagg, but something else… something far more intimate, and perhaps more dangerous for all that…

Looking deeper, he found settled deep within the child's subconscious mind a different, far more rudimentary consciousness present. It was obviously this… entity that had acted in Kenji's stead when he had been too deeply under the effects of whatever Luggnagg had been dosing him with. The entity – that alter-consciousness that had most likely been created by Hamilcal – had precious few thoughts and feelings that were not a product of Hamilcal's tampering.

This one was merely a shadow, a sketch of all the things that Kenji was and could become. He would have to speak to Hamilcal about his proclivities, but for now Kenji needed to be attended to. Masaki would be livid, but his Zoalord of Gravity would learn to accept that some things needed to be done for the cause. He would see to that.

Pulling himself free from Kenji's mind, he turned first to his Zoalord of Gravity.

"Masaki, there is nothing for you to concern yourself with. Kenji acted fully in the interests of Chronos and the Council. It was Luggnagg's own treachery that ended his life." -Hamilcal, I would speak with you about what you have been doing in my absence.-

-Of course, Lord Alkanphel.-

"You mean that Kenji- he's really not going to-"

"Your son will be fine, Masaki," he said, smiling and projecting reassurance to his Twelfth Zoalord. "He has done a great service for Chronos this day, and he will be well rewarded."

"I'm glad, Lord Alkanphel," Masaki said, bowing deeply.

"If you will excuse us, Hamilcal and I have things to discus."

"Of course, my Lord," Masaki said, nodding and quickly turning back to his bed to see to his son.

His diligence in looking after the boy was admirable, and one of the many reasons that the man once named Masaki Murakami had made such a fine Zoalord. Masaki was strong, loyal, loving, and devoted to both him and Kenji in equal measures. As he and Hamilcal left the room, Alkanphel wondered for a moment what his Second Zoalord's motivations in creating that alter-persona had been.

Surely he could not have seen Kenji as any kind of a threat to even the lowest ranking Zoalords, or anyone in Chronos, for that matter. Kenji possessed the limited powers of a Proto-Zoalord, and while he also possessed the telepathic abilities of a full Zoalord, his own nature would preclude him from using them in any destructive ways. Still, it was always best to refrain from making assumptions where Hamilcal was concerned.

His Second Zoalord would always act in the best interests of both Chronos and Alkanphel himself, but his methods would not always be comprehensible to others. Alkanphel was one of the few who fully understood Hamilcal's motivations; he was also the only one to fully understand the true purpose of humanity as a whole. Even Masaki and Kenji did not fully grasp their own significance. They would, in due time and provided with the appropriate guidance, but for now he needed to ascertain what Hamilcal's motivations had been and what his plans for the shade had been.

XxXxX

As pleased as he was to know that Kenji was not guilty of any kind of treason and hence would not be subject to any reprisals, he couldn't help but wonder just what was going to be done with his son. And what would be done about the now-vacant post of Ninth Zoalord of Chronos? Lord Alkanphel had seemed pensive about something—most likely about the matter of the Council—but he was curious to know just what his Lord had planned. He could not offer his full support to Lord Alkanphel if he did not know what his Lord had planned, after all.

Tucking Kenji into their bed so that he would be able to sleep more comfortably, Imakarum gently kissed him on the forehead and quietly turned to leave. Kenji would be fine, and they would be able to spend the rest of the day together.