I have so many cool ideas for the future of this story, but then I realize I actually have to write up to that stuff lol. I'll get there one day. Enjoy chapter 5!
"I looked at this 'Collector', and stared at its shadowish and childish form. "How could such a powerful being be so miniscule and meek? Trapped in a shadowy form?" I thought to myself. We had been in this 'Demon Realm' for days after our first encounter on the Leviathan. I was eager to know when I would be able to bring the full might of the Loyalists to this realm. "How much longer, Collector? How much longer until the Cabal find a new home in this place?" I asked. The 'child' thought to itself. 'I just need your help for a few more days!'
I, the great Emperor Calus does not wait! I take what I wish, whenever I want. For this thing to demand my succor, was an affront to my divinity! "I've no time for your games, Collector! Show me how to release my ship from the clutches of the void! Bring it through that portal!" It looked straight into my eyes, my soul. It had its sight on me the entire time we spent here, yet this time was different. I was foolish. 'You mean…you don't want to play with me anymore? You don't want to be my friend?' I feigned sympathy. "Apologies, Collector. I did not wish to upset you." It looked back at me, 'I forgive you! Just don't let that happen again, okay friend?' I stared back, "Of course. No more altercations such as this shall happen ever again." Was this the path to power I was seeking? Or have I damned and indebted myself to this being?"
On the Leviathan within the pleasure gardens, a squad of Cabal Honor Guard patrolled the halls, led by Primus Za'aurk. Following them were the four soldiers that accompanied the witches into the emperor's mind.
"Where do you think they are taking us?" Eratl whispered to Gor'tuk.
"I've no idea, Eratl. But I assume this has to do with our previous assignment." Gor'tuk responded.
"Silence, you two! You will soon be in the presence of the emperor. He feels a thank you is long overdue." The primus barked.
"The emperor? Himself?" Bracus Khuun blurted out, surprised.
"Yes, you did save him from his own prison after all." Za'aruk reminded Khuun.
Soon, they found themselves at the doors of Calus's throne room. The doors opened revealing the purple, grinded nectar of planets straight from the belly of the Leviathan. Like many others before them, they walked up to the emperor's throne.
"I have never been in the emperor's throne room before, I have only heard stories of it. Some say that Guardians battled him in this very room." Khuun commented. "I regret not asking more about what happened, though."
"It is more divine than I expected." Eratl added.
Within no time, they all arrived at the foot of Calus's throne. The honor guards all dispersed to different positions in the room. Za'aurk kneeled, and so did the others.
"My lord, the ones you requested." The primus spoke. "I leave them to you." He rose and walked to the side of Calus.
"Rise." Calus spoke, his voice imposing as ever.
They all rose the second he spoke.
"You all freed me from the prison those wretched Demon Realm inhabitants trapped me in. Your perseverance within the confines of my mind impressed me to say the least. And I am forever grateful for your service." Calus spoke. "And those witches that you fought alongside, ah, it was so invigorating to see the heat of battle once more. It is a shame that they will be conquered soon."
They all raised their heads, save for Urlgor.
"Conquered?" Gor'tuk asked, a little concern in his voice.
"Are you concerned, gladiator?" Za'aurk asked.
"I had assumed it was no secret that this would be happening." Calus said.
"No, your majesty. We were just never made aware of this. It only surprised me. We had only just made contact." Gor'tuk responded.
"We are aware. And there are plans in place to preserve their realm should they show no resistance. But seeing the resolve they posed within my mind, I fear it will not come to that."
"Rest assured soldiers, we will mobilize in the near future. I know your thirst for battle has not yet been quenched." Za'aurk added.
"Yes, sir." Eratl responded, reluctantly.
"I thank you all for freeing me. You are all heroes to me, and the Cabal Empire. Now, you are dismissed. Grow fat from strength, Loyalists!"
"It was our pleasure, my lord." Urlgor spoke for the first time since arriving.
They were then all escorted out of the throne room by the honor guard.
"My lord, I urge for battle. When will we show these witches the might of the Cabal?" Za'aurk asked.
"Soon, my friend. But do not forget. We have all the time in the universe. We will not spoil this opportunity. Do not be so headstrong, Za'aurk. Never forget what happened to Ghaul, brought down by his own ambition. We will not make the same mistakes as his pitiful Red Legion."
"Of course, my lord. Though I fear if we wait too long, a perfect chance will be missed, and a threat may loom. What if the Princess-Imperial finds us? Surely she is searching for you now."
"We need not worry about her, lest she scours the endless void. She is no threat to our plans."
Za'aurk nodded, "As you say, my lord. I will leave your presence, and refine our forces." He started to walk out of the throne room, before turning around, "Your majesty. I have full faith in your plan." He bowed, and continued on his way out.
Calus stayed silent. Contemplating what the primus had said to him earlier. "My Star. You would never. You could never. Your light burns bright, but your energy will never surpass mine." He took a sip out of a nearby chalice, and slouched in his throne.
In the town of Bonesbourough, Luz, Eda and Lilith were busy searching for the weird demon that Luz came across in the forest.
"So Luz, what'd you say what this forest demon looked like?" Eda asked.
"Well, his most defining feature at the time was his cloak, which was white, purple and gold if I remember correctly." Luz paused, trying to think of any other features on him. "Oh! He also had a weird mouth too, it was in the shape of a flat triangle or something like that."
"Weird mouth demon with a possibly flashy cloak. Got it." Eda responded as she kept walking.
"What do you plan to do when we catch him, Luz?" Lilith asked.
"Well firstly, I'm going to ask him why he was being so weird back in the forest, secondly, I'm gonna ask him where he came from, because the colors on his cloak seemed really familiar when I saw them."
"I'm gonna ask him why he looks so weird when I see him." Eda added, putting her hands behind her head.
"Eda!" Luz yelled out. "That's not nice! What if it's not by choice!?"
"Fine, fine. I won't ask him that." Eda responded. "Maybe." She whispered under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, nothing. Let's just find this guy already."
"So are we just going to walk around town until he magically appears somewhere? It could take a while before we find a single trace." Lilith said.
"Um, we can ask people around town." Luz responded. She looked around trying to find someone to ask, and overheard an old man asking people to participate in a dangerous stunt. "Hey guys, how about that old man over there?" She walked over to him.
"Hey there little girl with weird ears! How'd you like to do a dangerous stunt for the low, low price of just 10 snails!?"
Eda shortly appeared behind Luz. "Wait. We're paying you to do a dangerous stunt? Shouldn't it be the other way around? Or am I just crazier than I already am?" Eda asked, confused.
"Hey, I don't make the rules. I just say what I'm told." The old man responded.
"Well, how about you say something about what we're about to tell you then." Luz said to the old man.
"Oh? You have something to tell me, hm?"
"Yeah, we wanna know if you've seen any suspicious demons around here lately." Luz told the old man.
"Well I see lots of weird demons in my line of work. But there was one that stood out to me. Read my mind like it was nothing."
"Woah, he read your mind? Was he with the Oracle Coven?" Lilith asked, now more engaged.
"I couldn't tell you. I asked him the exact same thing and he gave me a confused look, said nothing and just walked off. Gave me a good scare though."
Luz took a second to take out a pad of paper and some color pencils and started to draw on it. After she finished, she showed the paper to the old man. "Is this the demon you saw?" Showing a drawing of the Psion.
The old man pointed to the drawing and widened his eyes in surprise. "Yeah! Yeah! That's just the guy. I've never seen him around in all my years here so I figured he was a tourist or something of the sort."
"Great! A lead." Luz yelled out in excitement. "So, did you see where he went?"
"Well, to be honest with you, I was a little startled to keep looking at him. But I looked up for a second and saw him head deeper into town. It looked like he was going to the market."
"Got it! Thanks old guy." Luz said with zeal.
Luz, Eda and Lily walked in the direction of the market, eager to find their mystery demon.
Meanwhile, King was leading Qexal to Bonesborough to find Luz and the others.
As they were walking, King decided to strike up a conversation. "So, Qexal."
Qexal looked down at King, "Hm?"
"I hope this doesn't sound rude or something, but, what are you exactly?" He asked with a curious tone in his voice.
"I am many things. But I belong to a race called Psions. We are an ancient species that exceeds the time of what your mind can perceive. I am certain you've encountered some of my kind before, when you and your friends entered the mind of my emperor."
"Yeah, I remember. The guys that did the magic floaty stuff to take us into his mind. They were a lot bigger than you. What was that all about?"
"Some Psions are capable of fusing themselves together, physically and mentally. This depends on their rank and significance."
"That sounds awesome! But I think I want to keep my thoughts and body to myself." King scratched his head. "So, how come you haven't fused with your friend, Iltrat or something?"
"His name is Ilzat. We haven't fused together since we are councilors for the emperor. We require separate minds to continue our service as advisors. But should the time come, we may have to fuse for the preservation of the empire."
"Advisors? That sounds…boring. But since you seem like a cool person, I'll respect what you do."
Qexal fell silent for a moment, feeling insulted but responded anyway, "Thank you, King."
"No problem!" King looked around to see he and Qexal were in Bonesborough. "Wow, time really flies when you're talking, huh?"
"It is no surprise." Qexal responded.
"Well, here we are. Good ol' Bonesborough. Not the best place around, but it's still home."
Qexal looked around, he wasn't used to seeing such a shoddy place, "I suppose anything can be called home if it holds value. But even some places cross a line."
"Yeah, whatever that means. Come on, let's go find Luz and the others." King said as he walked in front of Qexal.
Qexal followed behind the little demon, hoping he'd lead him right to Ilzat.
Luz, Lily and Eda arrived at the marketplace. There were plenty of hooded, shady figures there, but none matching the description of who they were looking for.
"There are a lot of people here with cloaks and stuff." Luz said.
"Well, we just got here so let's not give up yet." Eda responded.
"Oh, Eda. You know as well as anyone else that I wasn't planning on doing that anytime soon." Luz said cheerfully.
"Yeah, I know, kid. That's one of the many things that I like about ya."
"Aw, thanks Eda."
While Eda and Luz were talking. Lilith was observing the area around them. She noticed an individual who looked like the person they were looking for. She interrupted them to make sure, "Excuse me, but isn't that the person we've been looking for right over there?" She pointed to them.
Luz looked at her hastily drawn picture and compared the two, "Yeah, that's him! Let's go!" Luz ran off towards her target.
"Hey, Luz, wait up!" Lilith and Eda yelled out in unison as they ran after Luz.
Luz ran up to the cloaked figure and tapped on his shoulder. He turned around to face her. "Oh yeah, it's definitely you. I finally found you, sucka!" She said joyfully. "Now I just need to ask you a few questions."
The figure, who appeared near identical to the person Luz encountered in the forest answered, though confused. "Do I know you?"
"Yes! You do! You gave me and my friend a nice scare a little while ago." Luz replied.
"Qexal." He mumbled under his voice.
"What was that?" Luz asked.
"The name of my partner, Qexal. He must have been the one who scared you. I was separated from him when we arrived here."
"Oh, so that explains it." Luz nodded her head. "Wait, there's two of you? Who even are you? How did you get here?" She bombarded him with questions, "Are you here to take over the Demon Realm or something? Ya weirdos." She said suspiciously.
"Do not make such a baseless accusation against me, child."
Shortly, Lilith and Eda arrived behind Luz. "Is this the right guy, Luz?" Lilith asked.
"Yeah, I'm questioning him right now. Now again, I just want to know who you are and where you're from. Because you remind me of someone I've seen before."
"If you so insist. I am Ilzat, one of many councilors to the great Emperor Calus." He bowed to the three. "Me and my partner, Qexal, were sent here by him to examine this place for research and documentation purposes."
"That's where I know you from! Or, well, that's why I recognize you. The colors from his mind all looked similar to the ones on your cloak. Lot's of gold, a little too much gold." Luz commented.
"You were the ones to enter his majesty's mind? You must be honored."
"Eh, not really. It was kind of weird. There was a big scary guy with some cleaver type things when we were leaving though. So that was traumatizing for us." Luz nervously laughed. "But hey, I'd do it again, as long as it's not his mind, of course."
"Hm, I'm sure you'll learn more soon enough."
"Now what does that mean?" Luz asked.
"Excuse me, but I think you missed an important part of what he said Luz. Ilzat, was it? If you don't mind me asking, research and documentation of this place for…what, exactly?" Lilith stepped up and asked.
"Ah, yes, excuse my ignorance. I do not expect you to know, but the Cabal study and document every civilization that they visit. Under the leadership of Emperor Calus, the Loyalists have visited hundreds, possibly thousands of civilizations. The curiosity of his majesty is infinite, and he wishes to know all of those he blesses with his presence." Ilzat explained. "We do not wish to cause any harm to your people with our appearance here."
"That's..very interesting. But what do you do with this information? Do you simply store it somewhere? Or do you use it for other reasons?" Lilith asked, now curious.
"I suppose I could answer your questions, Witch. But not here, I'm afraid." Ilzat responded. "Is there no place no more discreet?"
"Oh, I think I know a place." Luz looked up at Eda.
"Nope." Eda said sternly.
"But Edaaa." Luz said beggingly.
"Hey, y'know he's doing some research project thingy for the Demon Realm. So why not take him around town, maybe even take him to Hexside, huh?" Eda suggested. "Speaking of Hexside. Shouldn't you be in school right now?"
Luz's face lit up in surprise, "You are totally right, Eda! I completely forgot, getting mixed up in all this weird alien stuff. Which is pretty cool if I do say so myself." She turned around to face Ilzat again. "Hey, would you like to come visit my school for your documentation thingy?"
"Do tell. What is taught at your school?" Ilzat asked, curious.
"Well, magic, of course. What else would they teach?"
Ilzat was intrigued, a lead on his mission. "Yes, how foolish of me. It would be my pleasure to accompany you. But first, I must find Qexal."
"Right. That's your study buddy." Luz looked at Eda, "I'll be in school right after we find this Qexal guy." She turned back to Ilzat. "So what does he look like anyway?"
"He dons the same cloak as me. In our attire we are nearly identical when we do not show our faces."
"At least we know it'll be easy to find him. Let's go!"
"We'll be back at the Owl House, kid. Don't get into any trouble, ya hear?" Eda told Luz.
"Don't worry about me, Eda. There's at least a thirty-five percent chance that I actually get into trouble." Luz responded smugly.
Eda crossed her arms. "And that's the part that I worry about. Anyways, see ya when you get home." She waved to Luz, and Lilith followed behind her.
"Bye, Eda! Bye, Lily!" Luz waved joyfully. She turned to Ilzat, "Alright, let's get going. We'll find your buddy, and then I have to go get changed for school."
"I will follow your lead, Human."
"How'd you- Nevermind, let's just go." Luz walked back toward town, and Ilzat followed.
Back in town, King and Qexal were busy searching for Ilzat and the others.
"So, Qexal. How did you get to where you are now?" King asked.
"What do you mean, King?"
"Like, how'd you get to be the advisor or councilor guy for your emperor? Did you have to do some awesome stuff like fighting? Or boring stuff like writing?"
"I have seen no fighting in my lifetime, I am from a time of peace within our empire. But what you describe as boring is the pride of my position."
"If writing is your pride, you're missing out on the fun stuff. Like rummaging through human garbage!"
"I'd rather face the Dominus than participate in such acts."
"Huh? Whatever you say." King then saw a familiar face. It was Luz. He ran towards her waving. "Hey! Hey Luz!"
Luz put her hand over her eyes to see farther, "Is that…King?"
King ran up to her and hugged her leg and looked up. "Luz, I've been looking all over for you. And look! I even made a new friend!" He pointed to Qexal.
"Yeah, I was looking for him. I made a new friend too." She pointed to Ilzat, who had just caught up.
"Greetings. I see you've found my compatriot." Illzat said.
"Ilzat, thank the emperor. We can continue our task."
"We must contact the emperor before we move forward." Ilzat responded.
"Of course."
"Thank you, Luz. For helping me find Qexal." Ilzat bowed.
"And you thank, King, for helping me find Ilzat. For now we must find some place silent and secluded." Qexal also bowed.
"Hey! Ilzat, you were supposed to come with me to my school to document it!" Luz cried out.
"I did not forget. This will not take long, I assure you." Ilzat responded. "If there is time, you can wait for us. If not, your little pet can show us the way."
"I am not just a pet! I'm a friend! Get it right!" King said angrily.
"Apologies. Your friend can show us the way. I will not go back on my word. Qexal will come with me."
"Alright…" Luz said skeptically. "I'll be back at the house. King, can you show them the way to Hexside, please?"
"What's in it for me?"
"Lots of hugs and kisses, duh."
"I'm in!"
"Thank you so much, King!" Luz picked up King and hugged him. She put him down before running off back home.
"Bye, Luz! See ya at school!" King waved. He turned around to face Qexal and Ilzat. "Alright guys. You go do your thing, and I'll wait here for you."
"Are you sure?" Qexal asked.
"Yep, I'll be right here. Usually I'd go sneak off to find some new loyal subjects, or a tasty treat. But I'll stick to my word for Luz."
"As you wish. Qexal, let us go. I have found somewhere concealed."
"We will return, King." Qexal said as he and Ilzat walked away.
They came to a stop at a booth. They both walked in as Qexal pulled out his holoprojector, holding it in his hand and contacted emperor Calus. An orange hologram projection of Calus on his throne appeared above the projector. They both bowed
"Qexal. Have you made progress in your mission?" Calus asked.
"Yes, my lord. Ilzat has been found. And we can continue into the next phase of our assignment." Qexal responded.
"My deepest apologies, my lord. I did not intend to delay whatsoever." Ilzat bowed once again.
"Worry not, Ilzat. This plan will continue as intended, I assure you." Calus faced Qexal again. "I assume you've been able to find any type of source of this magic?"
"Yes, my lord. Well, it was Ilzat who discovered this."
Calus leaned forward, now more intrigued. "Ilzat, do tell. Where have you found this source?"
"I regret not finding a more potent source, but I believe this will prove to be great insight on how it is done. The human who helped free you informed me of a school that teaches magic. I thought that if the human could learn to control it, then you certainly could, my lord." Ilzat explained.
"The human!?" Calus yelled in surprise. He yelled so loud that the centurions guarding him turned to him, making sure he was safe.
"Yes, my lord. Luz, the human. I've volunteered to 'document' this school in order to figure out its secrets. Of course Qexal will help."
"While a small step. This is certainly a breakthrough. This is what Ghaul wished to achieve with the Light, that fool. He was too ambitious, trying to take it by force. But with magic, I'll take this power with decisive and swift planning." Calus stood up. "Qexal! Ilzat! Go forth and make your emperor proud. Reach me when you make more significant progress. I expect nothing less."
Qexal and Ilzat bowed before Calus ended the transmission.
On the Leviathan, once the transmission ended, Calus stood up from his throne. "I know I've told them that this delicate operation requires time and finesse. But I am so eager. Perhaps I shall pay this Demon Realm another visit." He talked to himself. "I have no doubts these witches are no less gullible than the Guardians, and no more powerful than them. But they have proven to be cunning." He walked to a door that led to a hall full of riches and trophies collected from conquered civilizations. "No matter how cunning they are, no being can deny unfathomable riches." Calus opened a chest within the hall, taking out a golden chalice and holding it in the air, examining and admiring it. "Especially the riches of the Golden King. None can stop me now. Not Cabal, not humans, not witches. Once I have this power, I will rival that of Guardians." Calus threw the chalice back into the chest with no care, and walked back to his throne room laughing.
"Hey! Qexal? Ilzat? Are you done in there yet? I found someone selling apple blood and it's getting really tempting not to take it right now!" King yelled while looking at an old man selling apple blood. "I'm gonna get that one day, probably today." He whispered to himself.
"Behind you, King." Qexal said as he and Ilzat snuck up on King.
"Huh?" King turned around and jumped in fear. "You guys really need to announce yourselves if you're gonna be here!"
"Apologies. Now, let us proceed to this 'Hexside'." Ilzat urged.
"Alright, I'll lead the way." King gestured his arm for them to follow him and walked towards the school.
Qexal and Ilzat followed King. They knew the emperor's plan was coming to fruition.
At Hexside, Luz had just arrived at class, late nonetheless. She walked into her potions class. "Sorry I'm late! I was dealing with…aliens." She announced as she went to sit down.
Her teacher looked at her, disappointed. "Late again, human." Late again he said as he closed a book he was reading out of.
"I'm really super duper sorry! But I'm here now, so it's okay, right?"
"Hardly, human. Class is already over. I'll see you tomorrow. If you can arrive on time that is." The teacher snarked back.
Luz looked upset but kept composed, "Fine, I'll be in class extra early tomorrow."
"I hope those aliens you were involved with can help with that." He said sarcastically. "See you tomorrow, Ms. Noceda."
Luz walked out of the class as the bell screamed. She started to walk to her next class and saw Gus and Willow together. She ran up to them waving. "Gus! Willow!"
"Luz!" They both yelled in unison. They all three hugged each other.
"Hey guys! Are you just coming from class?" Luz asked.
"Yep. I'm on my way to Illusion class now." Gus said.
"I actually just got here." Willow said. "I was up early, but on my way here there was this weird old guy blocking the way, just yelling about some demon that read his mind or whatever."
"A weird old guy, huh?" Luz pondered. "Must've just been a crazy old guy seeing things." Luz then remembered who Willow was referring to. "Wait, a crazy old guy? Do you remember what he was talking about?"
"Well, I didn't hear much. But he said something about a hooded demon he's never seen who read his mind."
"Hey, can I tell you guys something really quick before next class?"
"Of course, what's up, Luz?"
Luz pulled Gus and Willow to the side. "Okay, this is gonna sound crazy. But that old man wasn't crazy. He actually saw some weird alien."
"Are you serious? I thought aliens were just a Human thing!?" Gus exclaimed.
"Apparently not. Do you guys remember that big statue's mind we went into?"
"Yeah. Big golden statue, big alien guys who protected us, another big scary alien guy who was trying to slice and dice us. It's hard to not remember that." Gus said.
"Yeah, well, two of the big golden statue's minions or something are here to 'document' the Demon Realm. But to be honest, I don't trust them a whole lot. And another thing, they're both coming here to Hexside."
"Really? Why here of all places?" WIllow asked, slightly worried.
"Well they wanted to go around all around to document what the Demon Realm is like. And I may have had something to do with it. Because y'know, what better place to go than where most witches learn their magic."
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe Emperor Belos's castle?" Gus suggested sarcastically.
"It was a momentary lapse in judgment, okay? It seemed cool at the moment to have this alien race record this place for their people. But hey, maybe I'm worrying over nothing."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, Luz. Me and Gus will keep an eye out for them." Willow reassured Luz.
"Yeah, for sure. Do you know what they look like?" Gus asked.
"Okay, so they're wearing these white, purple and golden cloaks. And their faces are pretty distinct, they have one big eye in the middle and their mouths are near the bottom of their faces. You don't need me to explain the rest, you'll know when you see them." She took out the drawing of one of them she made. "Here, I should have shown this to you guys at first. It's not the best, but I think it's kind of accurate."
Willow grabbed the drawing. "Alright, we might be able to work with this. We'll stay on the lookout for you, Luz!"
"Yeah." Gus saluted with a determined expression.
"Thanks you guys! See you after class!" Luz exclaimed as she ran to her next class.
King, Qexal and Ilzat had just arrived to Hexside.
"Well, here we are. Impressed?" King asked playfully.
"This is nothing new to us. We have seen better. But it is a nonetheless noteworthy structure." Ilzat commented.
"A simple building. Nothing too impressive." Qexal added.
"Alright, then. You guys do your thing. I'm going back home to relax my little feetsies. Bye guys!" King said as he ran off.
"Let us commence forth." Ilzat urged as he walked forward, Qexal following. They both put their hoods back over their faces.
As they walked in, they were flanked by a tall, old man wearing an academic dress with a covered face, only his eyes and lower face being visible.
"And you might be?" The old man asked. His presence was imposing, surprising even the Psions with how he snuck up on them so easily.
Qexal bowed. "Greetings. We are beings not of this realm. My name is Qexal and this is Ilzat." He pointed to Ilzat. "We are humble servants of the great Emperor Calus, sent here to scribe and document this Demon Realm for the records of our empire. We were told that this school would be a good place to start."
"Ah, I see. And you thought of doing this without asking the principal of the school first?" The old man asked.
"Apologies for our ignorance. It was foolish of us." Ilzat added.
"Either way, I'm honored you chose Hexside over any other school." The man extended his hand out to them. "I am principal Bump of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics."
Qexal and Ilzat shook his hand, though awkwardly.
"Did you two say you're here to document the Demon Realm for your emperor? Calus, was it?"
"Yes, if this is fine with you." Ilzat responded.
"Of course, as long as you aren't disrupting the students and their classes. That is fine with me." He leant to their level, "And maybe tell your emperor that old principal Bump is always looking for a little recognition." He whispered.
"Of course." They responded in unison. They walked away down the halls of the school.
"It was a pleasure meeting you two." Bump waved at them. "Hm, now why does the name 'Calus' sound so familiar?" He asked himself as he walked to his office.
Above orbit over Nessus, a large Imperial Cabal carrier loomed, seemingly immobile. This carrier was the command ship of the Cabal leader, Empress Caiatl. She stood in an empty war council room, staring onto the red and green surface of the planetoid. She turned around at the sound of a door opening, to see a Psion entering.
"My Empress, several of our legions have reported transmissions from one unknown source." A scrawny, echoey voice spoke.
"Tell their officers to ignore it. There are more pressing matters to attend to. We cannot waste time on unknown transmissions." Caiatl's deep, feminine, commanding voice responded.
"Some say it is a Cabal transmission. Though it seems to be months old, predating our arrival to the Sol system."
"A Cabal transmission? Here? Were you able to trace its origin point?"
"Yes, somewhere near the edge of this solar system. It appears to be a Cabal ship. A derelict Red Legion carrier that was hijacked by Loyalist Cabal."
"Loyalists? That could be a lead to where that coward Calus is hiding! I want a search team to scour every inch of that ship immediately! Find anything that could lead us to that traitor!"
"But my Empress, it could be a trap to weaken our forces further. After our battles with the Van-" Suddenly, the Psion was cut off by the Empress, backing away from her.
"We are Cabal! We will take any risk to find traitors to our cause!" The Empress calmed down. "We will not back down from such a lead." She turned around and put her arms behind her back. "But I understand your concern. We can't waste valuable resources and troops on what could possibly be a trap."
"Empress Caiatl, what should we do then?"
"Send ships to scan the ship first, from the outside. Once it is confirmed safe, we will move in." Caiatl responded. "And ensure that the Vanguard and their Guardians are not able to find any trace of the ship. I want to deal with that toothless traitor without interference."
"Yes, my Empress. Right away."
Caiatl lowered her head and whispered to herself. "As much as I loathe the thought, my father is likely still alive, drifting at the edge of the Void. Searching for whatever recognition he can get from whoever he comes across." She looked out the window of her ship to look at the surface of Nessus once more. "I will find you, Calus. I will show no quarter. You will be slain by my blade, and our centuries long debt will be settled, once, and for all." Caiatl said vengefully.
Hey all, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter of MoO. I hope it was worth the wait. So sorry for the infrequent releases of this story. I had to write a whole other thing for English already. Crazy I know. And I'm a dad now (not really) I got a crested gecko recently so that's pretty cool. It shouldn't interfere with this too much as it isn't a very demanding pet. Finally, I know these chapters so far are slow, but might as well get all the boring plot building stuff out of the way before the big interesting stuff. Anyways, see you guys in the next chapter, whenever that is! Have a good day/night!