Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of MoO! I haven't had much motivation to write, apart from procrastinating. But I'm back with chapter 4, so enjoy!
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of MoO! I got pulled into a marathon of all the Yakuza games lately (and writer's block), but I'm back! So enjoy!
Also, clarification for the reader, the design of the 'reborn' Calus is the same design as Disciple Calus, not the most liked design for some ik, but personally, I like it and have plans to improve upon it later in the story. Alsoalso, the Primus I have mentioned a few times is equipped with Major Shadow Guard Centurion armor.
"For centuries, I led the revels of my empire, and the stars themselves burnt sweet and clear. But in time the jealous and the tight-fisted rose up and sent me into exile." - Emperor Calus
Luz woke up in her room after the long day she had. She saw King sleeping next to her. She yawned and stretched, which also woke up King. The little Demon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Morning, Luz." King said.
"Good morning, King." She responded.
"Hey, Luz? Was that all a dream?" King asked.
"Was what a dream?", then it clicked in her head. "Oh, yeah. That."
"So you remember it too? It was so weird and scary. And we didn't even get anything for it in return!" King exclaimed.
"Well all that matters is we got that guy back to his people. He seemed happy about it, in his own weird way." Luz responded to King.
"Yeah that's great and all. But something makes me think that's not the last we'll see of him."
"Well, King, if we see him again, I'm sure he'll be grateful for what we did for him."
King stretched his arms into the air and rubbed his back, "It's whatever I guess. I'm hungry! Let's go eat, Luz!" King said energetically as he ran for the dining room.
"Hey, wait up, King!" Luz shouted as she ran after King.
In a large golden room, lit up by a purple light source of some sort. The size of the room was remarkable, yet fit only for a decadent emperor. At the top of the room sat a large golden throne, and sitting on the throne was none other than Calus.
"Come forth my subjects. Hear these marching orders from your emperor!" Calus barked.
Two helmetless Psions walked across the royal nectar that coated the floor of the throne room and up to Calus's throne. They both kneeled as they stopped.
One Psion's voice echoed before they even spoke. "What does the True Emperor request of his councilors?"
The other Psion spoke after his compeer. "We are at your service, great one."
Calus chuckled at the decorum of the Psions. "You flatter me, councilors, you truly do. I expect you to keep this amount of formality on your next assignment. I know it is unusual for me to send individuals of your station to be a participant in field operations, but, apart from our dear Primus here aboard the Leviathan, the councilors, you two specifically are my most trusted confidants." Calus, outfitted in his new armor, still in awe at the perfection that was his new body, extended his arm to examine his hands as he talked to the councilors.
The Psions looked at each other, still kneeling.
"What would you have us do, that demands such secrecy, my lord?" One Psion asked.
"As you know, along with the rest of your fellow councilors, I once was in a state of desperation and despair. I lost my empire, my people, a friend, and worst of all, my daughter. But that age has ended. I followed a false god seeking purpose, but found nothing but more despair, and even found myself trapped in an effigy of myself. But, being freed by those witches, seeing their power at hand, it reignited the spark that kept me going so long ago. Even knowing that is only a fraction of what they can do." Calus grabbed a chalice that was bigger than both the Psions and drank from it. "I need you to infiltrate the populace of their people, find what makes a witch, a witch. Where they draw their power from, who they draw their power from. I want it for myself. And when we are finished, we will crush them like we did so many other species, only taking the strong with us." Calus said as he clenched his fist, crushing the cup of the chalice in his hand.
One Psion raised their head to face Calus. "Is that all, my lord?"
"Yes. I expect great results from my most trusted councilors." Calus responded as he threw his chalice away.
"We will serve to the best of our ability, Emperor Calus."
Calus got up onto his feet, and motioned the Psions to stand. "Then rise, Councilor Qexal. Rise, Councilor Ilzat. Serve your emperor."
The two councilors bowed before turning around and walking away.
"Oh, and before you leave!" Calus shouted to the councilors. "I do believe that you will fit in perfectly with the demons and witches of these, "Boiling Isles", but your current attire will attract too much unwanted attention to yourselves. I've arranged for the quartermaster to supply you with more…fitting garments." Calus said as he sat down. "He will be waiting for you in the Castellum. And I have already arranged transportation for you."
They turned around to bow, acknowledging their orders, and proceeded to walk out into the Castellum.
As they exited the throne room, the large door that separated it from the Castellum opened, and behind it was a legionary waiting for the Psions.
"Ah, so you are the ones the emperor commissioned me for." The legionary exclaimed.
"We've come for the garments the emperor requested we wear." Qexal stated.
The legionary presented two freshly made robes, with the royal purple, white and gold colors of the Loyalists, tailored with the symbol of the Loyalist Cabal.
Qexal retreated into his mind, wondering why the emperor didn't want him and Ilzat to stand out, yet gave them robes with Loyalist colors, but thought nothing more of it.
"I do not know why the emperor would give you such boastful robes at random, but it is not my position to question his majesty." The legionary told the Psions.
"He is one of many mysteries, but he is still our emperor." Ilzat responded to the legionary.
"Well, I won't keep you two. Here, I have other matters to attend to." He handed them their robes and they took them.
"Our gratitude, quartermaster." Qexal said as he bowed.
"It was my pleasure, councilors." The quartermaster walked away.
"I suppose we shall prepare for our departure to this "Boiling Isles" and get ready to infiltrate their society." Ilzat recommended to his colleague.
Qexal nodded to Ilzat and they both continued on to their next destination.
The pair ended up at a lab near the Royal Pools, inside were the bodies of Ceremonial Bathers and other Cabal specimens, but that wasn't their business in the lab. They came across a conclave of rank-and-file Psions who awaited their arrival.
"We wondered when you would arrive, brothers. The emperor has opted for you to simply transmat to your destination, rather than risking your cover in a harvester." One of the Psions stated.
"You may step on whenever you are ready." Another Psion said.
"Transmat? Since when do we have a transmat system set up in this world?" Qexal asked, confused.
"The emperor works in mysterious ways, brother." The first Psion affirmed.
"Then where will we end up?" Ilzat asked.
"Somewhere near their main city, Bonesborough we believe. But do not fret, you will be out of sight so as to not draw any attention." Another Psion responded.
"Then let us make haste, the emperor awaits results, Qexal." Ilzat told his peer.
The two stepped onto a transmat pad, and waited to be teleported to the Demon Realm. Suddenly, an orange aura engulfed the Psions, and they disappeared.
The pair ended up in the Demon Realm, but something wasn't right. They were split up from each other. With neither in sight of the other. This would greatly hinder their plans, so they got to looking for each other.
In the living room of the Owl House, Eda took a sip of some of her elixir, and right after drank some apple blood.
Lilith was reading a book, and took notice of what Eda was doing and put her book down. "Hey, Edalyn? Are you sure you should be drinking apple blood right after taking your elixir?" Lilith asked her sister.
Eda threw the carton of apple blood at Lilith, but it floated down before it could reach her. "Lily, listen here. I'm a grown witch and I can do whatever I want, whenever I want. I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles after all!" Eda exclaimed as she tried to cast a fire spell, but failed.
"You mean you were the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles, Edalyn?" Lilith retorted.
"Well, the legend will live on through my name anyway." Eda said as she raised a clenched fist into the air.
Luz and King came running through the living room.
"Hey, where are you two going off bolting to?" Eda asked.
"Uh, did you not hear that giant woosh-woosh sound!? Like someone was teleporting or something!?" Luz asked Eda.
"Nope, couldn't hear a thing over me being the best!" Eda said back.
"Huh, I wonder if it's those old lady ears of yours giving out on you then?" Luz said, putting a finger on her lips.
"Hey! I'm not that old yet, kid." Eda walked over to Luz and playfully punched her in the arm. "But seriously, I didn't hear a darn thing out there."
"Neither did I." Lilith added. "Are you sure you weren't just hearing things?"
"King heard it too! Didn't you, King?"
"Well, I kinda heard it and I kinda did it. Maybe I would have heard it better if I still wasn't so darn hungry!" King complained as he crossed his arms.
"Well if you wanna go check whatever that was, Luz, I won't stop ya." Eda said as she sat down.
"Really, thank Ed- wait, really? Even after what happened yesterday?" Luz asked in confusion.
"Yep, go on ahead. Go deal with that adventurous itch you always have." Eda responded.
"Uh, okay. Thanks, Eda. King, are you coming?"
"Yeah, yeah. But don't expect me to do anything on a half empty stomach." King responded reluctantly.
"Aw, little baby." Luz said mockingly. "I guess I'll just have to carry you the whole way then?"
King gestured his arms out, insisting he actually wanted to be carried.
Luz sighed. "I was only joking, but I guess." Luz picked King up and he sat on her shoulders. "We'll be back you guys! Promise!" Luz said as she opened the door and closed it behind her.
Lilith turned to her sister with a concerned expression. "Was that a good idea, Eda?"
"Maybe, maybe not. But she'll be safe, I'm sure of it. I'm teachin' her a lesson after all."
"A lesson on what exactly?"
"A lesson on doing things like this on her own, of course."
"So you go and let her do something, alone?"
"What? She has King with her. Don't worry, Lily, they won't get into any trouble." Eda kicked her legs up and closed her eyes.
"Well, if you say so, Edalyn." Lilith went back to reading her book from earlier.
Luz and King were walking through the forest, looking for the source of the sound they heard.
"Hey Luz, are you surely sure you weren't just hearing things? We haven't seen anything ever since we left." King asked, looking up at Luz.
Luz stopped in her tracks and looked at King. "I know what I heard, King, and I'm gonna find out what it was." She said determinant.
King put his hands over his mouth. "But what if the noise was a big scary monster!? Or worse, a big scary human eating monster!? Luz, we can't go!" King yelled out worriedly.
"King, I've faced horrors beyond my comprehension during my time here. I think I can handle a human eating monster." Luz said confidently, smiling. "With a little help of course." She whispered to herself.
"What was that last part?"
"It was nothing! Let's just keep going." Luz said awkwardly as she continued walking.
"Fine, but I'm staying behind you the entire time just in case there really is a big scary monster."
"Yeah, yeah. Ya baby."
"I'm not a baby. Hmph!" King crossed his arms and kept walking with Luz.
Suddenly, they both heard rustling in the bushes.
Luz looked over to where the sound was coming from. "Hey, what's that?" She ran over to the bushes and opened them to see a cloaked figure about the size of Luz, if not slightly taller sneaking around. She examined them and took notice of the colors, she recognized them but couldn't put much of a connection to them. She decided to break her silence. "Hey! You there! Do you have any idea what that loud noise was?" She yelled out, hoping to get an answer.
The figure didn't respond, not even batting an eye towards Luz. They kept moving forward, not stopping.
"Hey, can't you hear me!?" She yelled out as she started to follow them.
"Luz, wait up!" King said as he followed Luz.
The figure ignored Luz and kept going, not running but not trying to get caught either.
"Hey! Probably a monster thing! Stop when my friend tells you too!" King commanded.
Then the cloaked figure stopped in their tracks, not turning around or moving at all.
King was surprised. "Wow, they actually listened."
"Yeah…" Luz said skeptically.
"Alright, now can you turn around, please?" King asked politely.
The figure turned around, with their white, purple and golden cloak covering their body. The top part of their face was covered.
"Hey, ya mind telling us who you are?" Luz asked keeping her distance.
They didn't respond and stared down Luz and King.
"Uh, hello?" Luz waved her hand trying to get them to get their attention. "Can you understand me?"
The mysterious figure put their hand to their head as if they were thinking, or in pain.
"Are you okay?" Luz asked as she started to slowly walk towards them.
They took their hand off their head and opened their mouth. Their voice echoed before they even spoke, as if they were speaking from multiple mouths, "Come no closer, abandon your chase." Then they walked away.
Luz and King looked at each other.
"Okay. That was creepy." Luz said.
"Well, we tried, Luz. Let's go home, huh?" King suggested.
"Yeah, I guess. But I'm not going to give up that easily. They have to be going somewhere." Luz responded.
"And where do you think they'd go?" King asked.
Luz put a finger on her lip and started thinking. "I'm thinking Bonesborough? I don't see where else they'd go."
"I'm sure no harm will come of us letting them go. In the meantime, let's go home. Because this little demon is still hungry!" King yelled as he turned around and ran back towards the Owl House.
Luz turned around to go after King, but took a moment to look back.
"Hey Luz! Are you coming?" King yelled.
"Yeah, I'm right behind you!" She yelled back, as she ran off behind King.
The figure stopped in their tracks, looking behind them to make sure they weren't followed. They took off their hood. It was Qexal. He grabbed a device out of his pocket. He grasped it in his palm and pressed a few buttons on it, then stared at it, as if he was waiting for something to happen. Qaxel's mind wandered off for a short moment, then he snapped back at the sound of a voice. It was Calus. The device Qaxel grabbed was a holoprojector.
An orange hologram of Calus appeared atop the device. "Qaxel! My dear Loyalist. You must be fully awake and aware if this operation is to succeed!" Calus barked at him.
"Apologies, Emperor Calus. I am ready to serve. What are your words?" Qaxel asked Calus.
"I assume you have made it to your destination safely?" Calus inquired.
"Yes, but there have been complications, my lord." The Psion responded.
"Complications? Tell me."
Qaxel looked around before speaking again. "I believe there has been a malfunction with the transmat device. It seems me and Ilzat have been split from each other as he was nowhere to be found when I got here. And I haven't been able to reach him through his holoprojector." He had a hint of concern in his voice.
"Ah, I was wondering why I couldn't reach him. I do hope this does not take a turn for the worse and become a rescue operation, as that would require the might of a Cabal squad."
"We shouldn't become desperate so early on, my lord. Me and Ilzat formed a metaconcert before we departed from the Leviathan." Qaxel told Calus.
"This is news to me. Have you been able to communicate with Ilzat?"
"Yes, though his messages to me have been…cryptic. I can only assume what he is trying to tell me from them. I believe he is either in distress, or a tight situation. There is one message that stuck out to me. 'Witches in bones.' This may refer to the town the Witches reside in, and ultimately, his location."
Qaxel could see Calus put his head down as he fell silent.
"What shall I do, my lord?"
Calus threw his head back up to face Qaxel. "I wished for you to stay out of sight, for the time being. But if the time comes, then reveal yourself, for the sake of Ilzat, and most importantly, the sake of your emperor. That may be the only way for you to even gain the trust of those Witches anyhow." Calus said as he laid his head on his hand.
"As you wish, Emperor Calus."
"Good. I expect results, Qaxel. Make me proud!" Calus waved his free hand in the air. Suddenly his tone changed from cheerful to serious. "And do not disappoint me."
"I will bring only the best of results, my lord. And when I retrieve him, the same will be true for Ilzat." Qaxel bowed as the hologram of Calus disappeared. He put the holoprojector back into his pocket.
"But how will I get to Bonesborough? How do I get to Bonesborough?" Qaxel thought to himself. "The little Witch and her pet." He thought to himself once more. Qaxel walked back in the direction the girl he saw came from.
Eda was asleep on the couch when Luz and King walked back into the house.
Eda immediately woke up and got up in a defensive position when she heard the door open, "Who goes there!?" She tried to use her fire magic, but it didn't work. "Oh yeah, that doesn't work anymore." She said in a disappointed tone as she put her hands down.
"Eda! Relax, it's just me and King." Luz said as she put her hands up. "You really need to work on that, y'know?"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Eda sat back down. "Did you ever find your noise? Or were you just hearing things like a crazy old person?"
Luz walked over to Eda and sat down next to her. "Well, that's the thing. I'm not too sure if I found the source of it or if I didn't."
Eda tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean? You either found it or you didn't find it, kid."
"I guess I did?" Luz looked up at Eda. "Somewhere near the origin of the noise, there was this strange person in a robe behind some bushes and stuff. The colors looked really familiar to me, and I tried to remember where they were from, but I couldn't put a finger on it."
King ran over on all fours and jumped in between Luz and Eda, "Yeah! He was really weird and creepy! He was all like 'Turn back or I will eat your brains!' and stuff like that!"
Luz looked at King. "No, King. He just told us to turn around and not to follow him when we tried to talk to him. Which is still really creepy when you think about it."
"Hey, I was the one that got us out of there before anything bad happened, so I think I should get to tell how I heard and saw things." King crossed his arms and looked up. "But I guess what you said is more accurate."
Luz giggled. "Yeah, alright, King." She rubbed her hand on his head.
"Strange guy in a robe, huh?" Eda put a finger on her lip. "Doesn't ring a bell for me. It rings at least a thousand. There are a lot of strange people with robes in the Demon Realm."
"But there can't be that many on the Boiling Isles, right?" Luz asked.
"Still ringing a few hundred bells." Eda responded.
Luz snapped her fingers. "Darn. I was hoping for about 10 bells."
"Well, you said you recognized the colors at least. If you remember them, they'll stick out if you ever see them again." Eda suggested.
"Yeah, I think they were purple, gold and white. Something like that. But I have no idea where they went."
"Yeah, we kinda ran off when he started doing some weird thing with his hand." King added.
"Wait, was this person a demon or a Witch?" Eda asked, now more curious.
"We don't know, we didn't get a good look at his face. But he did have a weird mouth, so he was most likely a demon." Luz said.
"I imagine he'd be in town somewhere by now, then. Are ya thinking about looking for him again?" Eda asked.
"Maybe? I have no reason to. But now that you say that, I'm curious who that was and why they were acting so weird." Luz responded.
Eda stood up and stretched. "I'm intrigued. I'll come with you guys then."
"Really!?" Luz started jumping up and down with joy. "Goin' on an adventure with Eda!" She went to hug Eda.
"Settle down kid, not like it'll be as exciting without my powers." Eda laughed and slightly pushed Luz off of her.
Lily peaked her head into the room. "Did someone say adventure?"
"Eh, more like a manhunt." Eda responded.
"It might as well be an adventure with Eda going." King added.
"So, who are you hunting for?" Lily asked.
"Some weird robed guy we found in the forest after I went looking for that noise." Luz told Lily.
"That's interesting. I'd like to come with you all on this 'manhunt' then." Lily said to everyone.
"Of course! The more the merrier, Lily." Luz said cheerfully.
"Will we be needing anything for this manhunt of yours?" Lily asked.
"Nope, nothing but a keen eye." Luz responded.
"I know what I need! Some gosh darn food!" King expressed loudly. "I'm gonna stay here and probably stuff my face. So you guys go have your fun." King ran out of the room to go find something to eat.
"Well, I guess it's just the three of us then." Luz said. "Let's get this show on the road." She raised her arms into the air.
Eda watched as Luz ran out the door, but stopped her before she could get too far. "Hey, Luz!" She called out.
Luz turned around. "Yes, Eda?"
"Don't think you're gonna be out of magic school because of this. I still have a reputation to uphold, y'know? And I won't have it tarnished because I didn't send ya."
Luz put her hands on her head in surprise. "Gosh! Sorry, Eda. I totally forgot, I'll be up and ready first thing tomorrow. All this weird alien stuff has had me so distracted lately."
"It's alright kid, just don't forget, ya hear?"
"You got it, Eda." She saluted. "For real now, let's get this show on the road!" Luz ran out the door. Eda and Lily followed.
Meanwhile in Bonesborough, Ilzat was having trouble finding his way around. He believed himself to be inadequate, as being a Psion meant knowing everything about the enemy and their territory. Yet in a world so unpredictable and unknown, he could not even compare. Nonetheless, he continued on with trying to regroup with Qexal. He found his way into the town square.
"Hey you! Do you want to participate in a super dangerous stunt for the low, low price of ten snails!?" A random voice called out.
Ilzat looked to see where the voice came from. He saw an old man in tattered robes with a flashy visor on his head. Despite being old, he seemingly had the energy of a juvenile.
"C'mon, buddy! It's only ten snails for this super dangerous stunt!" The old man walked closer to Ilzat, who was a foot smaller than the old man.
Ilzat had no idea what these 'snails' were and stared at the old man, then decided to peer into his mind, instead of answering him. He saw nothing, apart from the thought that he wanted to scam Ilzat out of his 'snails' for no prize. Even knowing there wasn't a prize, he still asked what he would receive. "What can I expect in return?" He asked, his voice echoing, but silent.
The man took a step back, scratching his head in nervousness. He snapped back to a confident state after thinking of a lie to come up with. "I will give you something of great value, this I can promise you, my friend!"
"I know you are lying. Go on about your day." Ilzat responded as he walked away.
"H-H-How did you know? A-Are you with the Oracle Coven?" The old man asked in a scared tone as he took a big step back.
Ilzat tilted his head, he didn't know what an Oracle Coven was. He ignored the old man's questions and walked away.
Qexal found his way to a house in the middle of the forest. He figured that's where the girl and her pet could have gone. He walked over to the house, cautiously, looking for traps or anything that could give away his location.
"Heeeeyyyyy there!" A loud, high pitched voice called out to Qexal.
Suddenly, a long, stretched out head of some sort lunged at Qexal, startling him. "What are you!?"
The elongated head wrapped around Qexal, making sure he couldn't get away. "My name's Hoooooty, the Owl Demon! What's your name?"
Qexal tried to escape the Demon's grip, but couldn't. "Release me, now!"
Hooty gave Qexal a suspicious look. "Well that can't be your name. Come on, be a pal and tell me!"
"My name…is Qexal." He said reluctantly, taking breaths in between. "Now will you release me?" He asked, trying his best to breathe.
"Hmmm, Qexal. That's a weird name…but I like it!" Hooty released his grip around Qexal. "Do you want to be my friiieeennnd?" He asked joyfully.
Qexal took a moment to breathe. "Your friend? I don't think so. After trying to suffocate me?"
Hooty's expression changed in a split second from joyful to sad. His face started to fill with tears that he couldn't contain, he then started bawling his eyes out very loudly.
King was in the kitchen, knocked out from all the food he ate. He was woken up by Hooty's loud crying and took a peek outside, though he couldn't see much. He decided to investigate.
Qexal didn't know what to do, but he couldn't risk any unwanted attention. "I apologize, erm, Hooty. I'll be your friend."
Hooty stopped crying. "Really?" He asked as he sniffled.
"Yes, really." Qexal said reluctantly.
"Yaaaa-" The door to the house opened and Hooty was turned away from Qexal. He turned back around to see who opened the door. "Oh hey there, King!" I made a new friend! His name is Qexal! Weird name, I know, but he's pretty cool!"
King's eyes widened. "Hey! It's you! The weird guy from the forest! What are you doing here!?"
Qexal looked to see the same little Demon that was with the girl who found him. "I've been looking for you and your friend."
"You know my new friend, King!? Oh boy!" Hooty's face lit up in excitement. "Do you guys want to play!?"
"No, Hooty! This guy is dangerous!" King tried to block Hooty from Qexal and spread his arms in front of him.
"You don't understand, I am not here to hurt you." Qexal said in response to King's defensiveness.
"I don't believe you! Why are you really here? To take our brains and put them in some kinda, uh, weird brain machine thingy!?" King yelled aggressively.
"Hm? No! Like your friend, Hooty said, I want to be your friend." Qexal knew this wasn't true, but if he wanted to succeed, he had to lie. "I didn't, and don't want to hurt you."
King put his head down. "Well, that is true, you didn't hurt me and Luz earlier." He lifted his head back up to face Qexal once more. "But how do I know you don't have some weird master plan for us?"
"I do not. This, I can promise." Qexal responded, his hood still over his face.
"Hm, let me consult with my very experienced legal counsel here then." King turned around to Hooty. "Hey, Hooty? Do you really think we can trust this guy? He hasn't even shown us his face yet." King whispered.
"Of course we can trust him, King!" Hooty yelled very loudly, getting the attention of Qexal.
"Hooty!" King yelled, then lowered his voice back to whispering level. "Keep your voice down, we're supposed to be secretive."
Hooty lowered his voice. "Yeah, sorry."
"Alright, alright. I'll take your word for it, but I'm gonna need to see his face before we really start to trust him." King put his thumb up.
"You got it, King." Hooty winked at him.
"Alright, uhm. What's your name?" King asked.
"Qexal, my name is Qexal."
"Alrighty then, Qexal. We'll trust you, as long as you show us your face!" King pointed to him.
"My face? I don't understand why that is necessary."
"Because friends know what each other looks like, duh." Hooty added.
"Oh, yes. I understand now." Qexal took off his hood, to reveal his one blue eye and long face, he was hairless with a veiny head. He had a dark-grayish skin tone. "Does this gain your trust now?"
"Uh, yeah. Hey, are you new to the Boiling Isles? King asked, "Because I've never seen you around here before, apart from today."
"Yes, in fact. I've arrived just today." Qexal tried to think of an alibi, as he couldn't reveal the true nature of his 'visit' to the Boiling Isles. "I'm a traveler who's been searching for this place. But on the way here, I've been seperated from my friend. His name is Ilzat. Have you seen him? He looks like me."
"Nope, never heard of or seen him. The only person I've seen that looks like you, is you, Qexal." King responded.
"That is a shame. Well, can you tell me how to get to the local town, Bonesborough, is it? I figure he may be there."
King then remembered that Luz went to Boneborough to see if Qexal had wandered there. "Hey, I just remembered. Do you remember that girl from earlier?"
"The one that was with you, yes."
"Well she went there looking for you to ask you a few questions. But here you are. Maybe you can team up with her to find your lost friend! She'd probably want you to answer her million questions beforehand though."
"Interesting. Well, I'll take any opportunity to find Ilzat."
"I can take you to Bonesborough if you'd like?"
"That would be most appreciated, what's your name?"
"My name? King of Demons!" King grasped both of his fists in the air. "Or if you don't want to be all formal, then just King." He lowered his arms.
"Thank you then, King. You lead the way."
"No problem, Qexal! Hooty! Guard the house while we're gone, ya hear!?"
"I will defend it with my life, King!"
"Well, let's go!" King walked off in the direction of town and Qexal followed.
Emperor Calus was sitting on his throne, sipping from his royal chalice. "I wonder what Qexal and Ilzat have achieved by now. One can only hope they have successfully infiltrated the society of those Witches."
A Cabal in armor completely different, and by looks more advanced than the armor of rank and file Cabal approached Calus's throne. The Primus of the Loyalist Cabal. He knelt at the start of Calus's throne.
"My lord, you have summoned me?"
"Ah, Primus Za'aurk. I've been expecting you."
"What brings me here, great one?"
"I have called you here to make sure the men are in check. I feel that they may need to be ready for invasion soon."
"My Cabal are always ready for battle, my lord. But an invasion?"
"Yes, an invasion of the Demon Realm. I have sent spies to gather intel on their leaders for me, though, I'm afraid one of them has lost communication with us."
"Lost communication? Has his partner not been able to reach him?"
"Not by holoprojector, no. But they have connected via metaconcert. I regret not doing this with them to keep up with their operation."
"Do you wish for me to prepare a task force should they fail?"
"No, it pains me to say that on this operation, utilizing Cabal would jeopardize it. That is until we are ready to unleash our might upon them."
"I understand, Emperor Calus. I will make sure all hands on deck are prepared for invasion in the near future." Za'aurk bowed and walked away from Calus's throne.
"Good. Soon, I will be the most powerful being those tawdry Witches have ever witnessed!" Calus sighed joyfully. "Oh how it feels to be an emperor once more! And then, I'll take my empire back from whatever Red Legion suckler that 'leads' it. And the Cabal Empire will rise once more!" Calus laughed and echoed throughout the hall of his throne room, so loud that Za'aurk could hear it as he walked out.
The door to the throne room closed shut behind Za'aurk.
And that's the end! Sorry if this chapter seems lackluster or not very action-packed compared to the others, I just wanted to set up a precedent for events later in the story. Either way, I hoped you enjoyed reading this! Hopefully I can get back into the swing of things after my long hiatus. I want to try spending less time on scenes in the next chapters, so I'll see how that works out. I'll be looking to get chapter 5 out in the next few weeks or so. Thanks for reading.