A creature was in a jail on Earth. He waited behind the bars for his judgement for many years already. The creature was a M'arrillian and once, leader of his tribe, until he lost the war and surrendered to the humans. He was Milla'iin.
Milla'iin was a semi-transparent being with a golden glow coming from his body floated in the air. It's large pale-yellow eye with pale blue iris gazed at him. His eight tentacles were waving while his green body stood near the bars. He wore green shoulder plates with a transparent cape on his back.
His fighting spirit was still broken, but he accepted that he committed horrible crimes and many mistakes. The will of the Cothica proved that Aa'une was wrong. Everything he believed in was a lie. Despite that, they still had a guide. His tribe still had a chance at redemption.
With him out of their ways, it would be possible. His entire existence might condemn his tribe if he showed his face again.
Still, he had to do better. Tom visited him many times. He could find a chance at redemption. It would never be enough, but he had to correct his mistakes. He was alive. He still had time.
He heard the sound of a door opening. He knew there was a visitor again. His instinct told him it wasn't Tom. Which meant it wasn't for him.
Milla'iin was surprised when the visitor stopped in front of his room. He could see a man who wore a golden cloth with a hood that hid his features. He had no idea who that man was and his instinct told him to beware.
Chapter 29: Milla'iin
"Who are you? I wasn't expecting a visitor for a creature like me," the M'arrillian began.
"My name is of no important. It has long since forgotten among my group. However, you can consider me the sword among the Guardian of the Cothica."
Milla'iin couldn't take those words seriously, "Guardian of the Cothica? I've learned to accept that no humans would consider this world the Cothica."
"Suspicious of me, aren't you? Of course, you cannot control my mind since I am wearing the circlet to protect myself from you, just in case you try to pry into my brain," the man replied.
"Show your face if you want to talk."
"No thank you. I have no reason to show my face. I rather keep it that way Milla'iin."
The creature observed the humans for a while. He decided to humor the man. He had nothing else to do. He would have an interesting to tell Tom, "Fine. Humor me."
"Michel and Annette will come in a while to discuss something extremely important with you. I will say that your invasion of our world has consequences and they are starting to affect us in many ways," he lifted his head. His blue eyes shined through for a second, transparent and devoid of deception, "And the consequences caused the disappearance of Peyton, one of Tom's friends and put Tom at risk himself."
Since the M'arrillian couldn't see any deception in those blue eyes, he couldn't ignore the possibility of those words being true, "What are you talking about?"
"Peyton was kidnapped by another tribe… It's more complicated than that with that tribe. One you might not know about. The Metalist," the man began.
"Metalist…" his tendril scratched the side of his head as he tried to remember something. There was something familiar about this name. It was at the tip of his eye. He just had no idea what it might be, "I… had a feeling I know something about it."
"Metalist are creatures made of metal and oil. They looked like they are always in armor, but this is their skin. Skin made of metal."
"That tribe kidnapped Peyton. They got him in Perim?"
"No. They got him on this world. The king of the Metalist came and took him. He escaped with the boy and we have no idea where he might be in Perim," the man explained. He added a bit more detail about the origin of the Metalist, "The Metalist are also not originally from Perim. They came from our world and was sent to Perim in exile long ago. I won't explain you more than that for now."
"W-what? We have creatures of the Cothica who lived in Perim?"
"Exiled for their crimes long ago. Again, this will wait for later."
Milla'iin squinted his eye. He didn't like that his world was use to get rid of a tribe, "You sent them on Perim because of crimes and we ended up with them."
"They were unprepared for this and couldn't survive against the tribes of Perim. Especially in their state at that time, from what the records stated. Even if they did, they couldn't raise at the top. They did survive, but didn't control Perim. They surely lived in secrecy of the creatures knew little of them."
"Metalist!" it clicked in the mind of the M'arrillian, "They are some records I found before we tried to make the plan to invade the Earth. A few of our ancestors encountered the creatures and survived the strange battlegears they had. Also, it said a few things about using power of black color."
"The power of darkness. This is the power the Metalist possessed," the man decided not to reveal right now what the human could do. He wasn't there for that.
"I can believe your words for now. I don't see anything deceptive about your words and explanation. Still, this is a lot to explain and it doesn't make that much sense," the Chieftain warned him, "Especially the Metalist managing to come here and kidnap Peyton," he growled quietly, "And you said that Tom is in danger from them."
"Not from them. It's another matter. Michel and Annette surely will convince you that what I am telling you is not all lies," the man told him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before he went on, "Anyway, I came here for an important reason. With the Metalist showing up, there is little time before they might try to return here. Not only that, but we have another problem with another tribe who wants to get Tom and you for the invasion of the Earth."
"Tom… For the invasion of the Earth?" Milla'iin asked. He frowned, "I don't find this joke funny. The boy is a human from your world."
"Yes. I didn't explain it well. They want him because he is a guide to the Cothica and it would hurt the tribes of Perim for coming here and fixing the portal," he explained a bit better.
"Who wants Tom?" the creature grunted.
"Another tribe called the Elementalist. The tribe who still kept some contact with my group. Still, it's only one of them who demanded that. The others didn't seem aware of his actions, just by how he gave little detail what the others thought. Not only that, but he always came alone. The council is made of four creatures, one of each element. Still, there is a risk that something grave could happen if we do not comply to his demand, eventually."
Milla'iin still couldn't see any mask of deception in the eyes of the human. Despite only seeing the eyes, it was enough to reveal what the human was feeling and what his intention was. Humans were quite transparent and he took details and hints from his interaction with Tom over two solans, "So you will give up Tom for the sake of the safety of the Cothica."
"No. We have something else in mind and you are an important part of it."
"W-" the M'arrillian was flabbergasted by the simple notion that he was an important part of whatever this human had in his mind.
A sound came. A metallic door opened, followed by two pairs of footsteps coming towards them.
"They are here," the man concluded.
Michel was an Afro-American man with shot gray hair and brown eyes. He wore a black suit with a red tie. He wore a pistol, attached on his belt.
Annette was a Caucasian woman with long brown hair and chocolate eyes. She wore a black vest with a black skirt. She wore a revolver attached on her belt.
The two chaired a small glance at the creature before they focused on the man who was with the M'arrillian. Michel spoke first, "We are here as you wanted. You told him about the situation?"
"Yes. He obviously not fully trusted me in the matter," the man replied.
The two humans knew of the end plan of the Guardians of the Cothica. They still found a bit difficult to fully believed that, but they weren't there to bring that up.
Annette went on. She focused on Milla'iin and resumed what the man told the creature and a bit more. She concluded by, "What he is telling us is the true. The situation at hand is a bit risky and we will need your help in the matter. Since the Elementalist also wants you."
"What is this proposition?" he crossed his tendrils and waited. He understood the situation clearly now.
"The proposition is that you will accept the demand of the elementalist on a few conditions. We have many we will impose on the creatures as we will play it out of your judgement in your trial," Michel explained.
"The trial is coming and it will take a while before it began. How are you going to convince anyone to let me go to back to Perim?" the M'arrillian asked curiously and a bit nervous. He felt like he got a get away card and it would piss off Perim and the Cothica, "Are you going to prevent the trial from happening?"
"No. The trial will happen, but what the population will see and reality will differ," the black man answered.
Annette went on, "This will allow you to go to the elementalist and get your punishment from them. Still, since you undergo the trial, they will have to respect our demanding's in the matter. It should prevent them from hurting and torturing you. If not, Tom would convince them of that."
"Tom… Are you telling me he is actually going there too? I'm sure he wouldn't accept it and neither is parents," he put his tendril on the glass of his jail, "And I have a feeling it's going to be the real him and not his code."
"Exactly. It's the real him who will go there once he is prepare for that," the man calmly said. He noticed the M'arrillian was shaking a bit at the thought of putting the boy in danger.
"We can't explain everything, but they had to pull a lot to convince us to even entertain the idea. It's up to Tom to say yes or no in the end," Annette sighed as she put her hands on her back, "Really wished that creature didn't cause us so much trouble."
"You will need to explain more than this. Why does it have to be Tom? Why not that Kaz or Sarah?"
"Because the creature demanded Tom," the man replied as he adjusted his hood a bit, "Which we still have no idea how he figured that out."
"Unless there was a spy from the elementalist in Perim. Tom is well known in the Overworld," Michel commented. He pushed that aside, "As that man said, we will need your help in this situation."
"Help?" he questioned for more details.
"If we are sending you to the elementalist with Tom, we are going to need your help in something quite important. If we tell you what it is, you cannot tell anyone else about this," the man began. He crossed his arms together as his blue eyes seemed to shine through the darkness provided by the hood, "Tom might depend on you to succeed with this."
"Fine. Tell me."
Michel and Annette glanced at the man as they crossed their arms. They obviously already knew what this was about.
"This has everything to do for the safety and future of our world. The Jewel of the Cothica," the man began.
AC: This is the end of this chapter. Nothing else to know about the jewel for now.
Next: The training.
Peyton began to receive his training to awaken the so-called power of light.