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- Spoiler:
- The Grand Creation
Chapter Seven
“Treason, exists in some form, whether passive or active, recognizable or not, within all species."
When he was young, Ackar lived with the illusion that he could stay away from power, corruption, and treason, achieving his goals without seconds thoughts. He could only look down on his past self, knowing he spent most of his life being a failure, or working as a guard — only because the Great Beings were kind enough to allow him so, and most likely because Raanu shared a close relationship with Angonce.
Power.
Corruption.
For Ackar, it's these two that remain; they say worlds change, lands sift, and stars are created and destroyed in the passing of time, yet knowledge prevails time. However, with it, survive those who wish to claim it for themselves. Power remains, thus there is corruption. Rohkea, Ackar, Galintin, Raanu, and Pomerax had realized this with the worse way possible. The last few months, they have been forced to face a threat unlike one their species had to face since the ending of the great war, the 'Altum Bellum', quite literally translating from ancient language to 'Ancient War'.
Even the heroes of Altum Bellum were fighting against mortal enemies, common to Spherus Magna, and not fallen gods. Ackar was unable to understand the nature of their mission; essentially because it didn't exist, and because they weren't trying to stop a form of treason, but trying to contain a civil war between gods — the Great Beings, that is. Pomerax kept insisting on the fact that their names weren't randomly chosen; "Great" had been added to their title with a reason.
It's been five months already; the destruction of the main facility, Casiria's death and the revelations regarding the whereabouts of the Order of the Hidden felt to Ackar as if they happened yesterday. The way things had gone, it was unlikely the wound Protasious and Invidior had caused to Spherus Magna would ever fully heal.
His thoughts kept going at circles; always coming back one way or another, but also taking a moment to see all the destruction he had witnessed. Ackar was uncertain if he could ever be free again. In the corner of his eye, he always knew someone was watching them. Even if he was all alone.
He just knew it.
Besides, Protasious couldn't be brought down from power so easily, as all of their evidence, information and belongings had been incinerated along with the facility months ago. It wasn't surprising that Protasious decided to lock himself up in his office, while the rest Great Beings had been entirely ignoring them.
They were lucky enough to be allowed to continue working inside the Tower; however, it was a definite downgrade from an entire facility at their hands.
"Ackar?" Rohkea poked him gently. "Are you alright? You seem... distracted."
"Oh... hey," his voice was drawn out, barely being able to speak.
"Um, are feeling okay? You look pale," she said.
"I'm — I'm sorry. I haven't slept for days... my head won't allow me to calm down," he explained, taking a large breath before continuing, "Even... even when I sleep, even when I am awake, I see... things. I see Invidior killing Varonis, over and over, and then feel trapped inside the electric cage again, left over to die. I endlessly run around the Magma complex, trying—"
"Hush. You are overthinking this. It's going to drive you nuts if you don't stop, for Arai's sake," she said, and grabbed his hand, pulling it. Ackar rose off his chair, following Rohkea into the room were the others were situated.
"I — I just can't help but to think of all that's happened," he sighed.
"Listen, um, Ackar, I know it's stressfull for all of us, but we have to keep going. I am no pessimist, but we've past the point of no return," her expression changed; she was confused. But then again, who wouldn't be confused at a situation like this?
Rohkea and Ackar sat close to the others.
Galintin, Raanu and Pomerax were working almost full-day on the computers. Ackar wasn't sure if they were getting something accomplished. Galintin just kept getting a hole lot more frustrated; Raanu was able to draw from Pomerax's patience, and Pomerax was distinctly confused. Ackar felt that the small, concealed spherical room, with limited access to actual security measures and databases was driving them all insane. He could have sworn Galintin hadn't walked outside in several days.
This was probably Protasious' true intention, playing a game with us, he thought.
At any rate, the need for security wasn't imminent; Invidior had disappeared ever since the accident, and the main construction facility had been destroyed. Hopefully - at least that's how Ackar tried to see it - the robot's leg had been rebuilt, bringing it one step closer to a launch.
Ackar gave a distorted gesture at Rohkea. He was trying to say something, but didn't. Finally, after giving it a bit more thought, he snapped, "I can't stand the silence, Rohkea. I just can't."
"Why don't you try to talk to them, then? I am sure the Great Beings will hear you out," answered Rohkea. Her reply was purely bogus; she wasn't sure that the Great Beings could be trusted, but she recognized it was their only option.
"Shall we take this with the others?" she replied.
Ackar walk up to Galintin, who seemed to be preoccupied with something quite intensively; he was moving his hands uncontrollably, making vague gestures in the touch-based table, spitting curses left and right — almost as if he had seen a cloakless Great Being.
"Ackar, I want to talk to you," spitted out Galintin, not taking the time to look at him.
"You feeling... alright? You seem—"
"I'm fine," he grinned.
"Very well, friend. I also need to talk to you; we've got to talk to the Great Beings sooner or later. We are giving Protasious and Invidior the time they need to plan against us," nodded Ackar; you could see how anxious he was to get this all over with.
In the same erratic manner he had been acting all this time, Galintin stopped, staring at his screen. His head turned, facing Ackar directly in the eyes.
"I don't know about that, but...we discovered something. Up to now, we've considered the Great Beings ours friends — at least allies, but..."
"Explain more clearly," stated Rohkea.
"We short of found out why the guards weren't present on the day all begun. It's recorded in the databases; they had been ordered to stand down by certain person," remarked Pomerax, and showed them a recording of... Angonce, talking to the captain of the guard.
The news left Rohkea and Ackar totally flabbergasted.
"What?! I assumed the Elder would be pesponsible for it? Why on Spherus Magna would he— No, he couldn't."
"You can't trust the Great Beings, Rohkea," said Ackar. Had it been Angonce's betrayal, had it been Protasious' treason, Ackar realized something; he loathed all Great Beings, whenever they were evolved into this mess or not. Great Beings were not to be trusted.
"Angonce ordered the guards to stand down until further notice. That's enough to get anyone in thinking," mumbled Galintin.
"I think one of us should talk to them. Angonce can sense our thoughts; it's of no use keeping a secret he already knows. Someone should address what is going to happen from now and on," Pomerax's radiant blue and teal armored shinned in the pale light of the room.
Silence.
There was no question Ackar was going to be that someone; he had become infamous for his frustration and apathy towards the Great Beings ever since the incident. Besides, none of them wanted to get evolve into a heated conversation with the Great Beings. Ackar didn't care.
He wanted truth, and he would do anything for it.
"I'll be off then," said Ackar.
Everyone nodded in agreement.***
"There's no need for words. We all know why we are here, brothers, don't we?" Angonce asked.
Besides Angonce, three other distinctive cloaked creatures stood: Heremus, Raeir, and Morkoth. It was out of the question all of them knew; Ackar had quite specifically requested that all four of them met here, in the Tower's highest balcony. A common observer could oversee the entire construction platform of the almost completed robot. Renata was visible as well.
Abruptly, the balcony's door opened slightly, just enough so a Glatorian could pass through. Ackar, dressed in ragged robes morphed out of the shadows, almost if he had never been there. The Great Beings were intrigued, and yet somehow offended. If he wanted to met them so badly, why did he had to stay anonymous? Of course, all of them could have just read his mind, but they knew that took the fun out of dialogue. Since they communicated with each other using mind-reading powers, having someone to discuss matters with was something they craved for — even for such beings of higher intelligence, dialogue with common sentience was...fascinating.
Ackar's voice whistled in the cold air, "—get to the point. You already know my questions," grinned Ackar.
"Using our powers to read your mind would negate the point of this conversation, Ackar," Heremus explained, "we came here, and agreed to come because we know you have questions that requiere... verbal communication, for one reason or another," he said.
It was the accident to blame for Heremus' sudden change of heart; all of them knew that the Order of the Hidden, and the robot, was in fact Protasious' plans for control; the Great Beings didn't have to deny it anymore, and thus, Heremus had sided with them once more.
"I don't care for your silly prophecies, I care for my people. I need to know if you're are going to stop the Elder. And I need to know right now," Ackar retorted, with a tone the Great Being regarded as anger. It was quite hard for a Great Being to recognize emotions, for their actions didn't rely on emotion, but judgement of facts.
Raeir, whose wisdom outnumbered those of the four others, stepped in the middle of the conversation, "It is no secret to us, nor the Elder that we know of his crimes. However, we cannot act against the Elder, and our brother, Invidior, with out going down the path of corruption—"
"Stop trying to mislead me, Raeir. I'm tired of your lectures; you should have stopped him years ago—" He shook off his cloak, throwing it in the floor. "—you could have read his mind, for Lithon's sake!" tensed Ackar, without fear of getting the Great Being angry. Raeir was thrown out of proportion; it wasn't everyday someone would interrupt him with such haste. He almost could sense... emotions.
Shuddering off what he could regard as clouding of judgement, he replied, "If you wish to get answers, you must learn to have patience. Had we decided to act against him, the people would have misunderstood us for traitors, and be torn into a civil war. Their trust to us would be neglected, and years of work begone in seconds. However, your team is an outside force. It is outside of the 'equitation'; should you try to stop the Elder and succeed... should Protasious and Invidior die, we'll..." Raeir paused, waiting for Ackar's heated reply. Meanwhile, Ackar was gazing at the robot, pondering how could he stop them.
"Ackar?" an unfamiliar voice echoed - Morkoth's.
Yet another emotion formed into Ackar's face. Happiness, Raeir was sure this time. Ackar's lips titled upwards, forming a smile, "I was hoping you'd say that. All of us have been waiting for you to say that."
Raeir dazzled. This wasn't the Ackar he was talking to moments ago. He tried to suppress the irritating feeling of wanting to read his mind, but he couldn't deny he was provoked to. He was charmed by Ackar's way of thinking.
"What Raeir is explaining, is that you can try to stop them. We can handle the reformation of a more reliable governmental body, and we can appoint a new Elder, and a brand new council. That is all we can do," remarked Angonce, pushing aside his not-so-curiosity to explore Ackar's mind.
"It's settled. We take them out—"
Another figure came out of the shadows, this time pivoting the doors to fully open, forcing the Great Beings and Ackar to step back a few millimeters.
It was Galintin.***
"HOW?"
Osavus' was being driven mad by Invidior's annoying, endless cry.
"HOW COULD I HAVE FAILED? I!!! A GREAT BEING! A GREAT BEING!?"
Why couldn't he just stop? Osavus didn't remember Invidior ever acting so erratic. He was madman, filled of mortal emotions. Osavus was filled with the very same strange emotions, anger, exhaustion—
How could that be for a Great Being?
"THAT CREATION-FORSAKEN THING CAN'T JUST DIE? - Oh, I KNOW. IT'S BECAUSE I - MADE - IT!"
No.
"NO!"
Osavus rose off his chair, storming into Invidior's study and grabbing him off his chair, slamming him into the bare ground. He made sure Invidior felt his anger.
"CAN - YOU - JUST — SHUT UP?!"
"Don't you just see??? We can still do it, I know that now. The Elder will pay, no, DIE, for all he has done to me and us! He will, he will, he - just - will!"
"Invidior, you blabbering idiot! How can you fail to realize we've become just like him? Jealousy has driven you to madness, expressing vague emotions! You, one of the Great Beings!"
"It— It doesn't matter, I'll—
"It does! All of my life, I have been hearing people — IDIOTS! — talking, screaming, babbling and yet I kept shutting myself up. For what? Eh, FOR WHAT? SO YOU COULD JUST RUIN MY LIFE ALTOGETHER, YOU PETTY EXCUSE OF CREATION?!" Osavus could no longer concealed his true self. He bowed to his nature, pushing aside all of Protasious' abusing.
Invidior kept laughing manically. No thoughts came to pass through his head. Just pure laughter, and emotion.
Like the flung of a sparkle, it occurred to Osavus.
One single thought was all that Osavus needed to fall back into reason.
What was he doing?
He was arguing with a madman. There was no salvation for Invidior; it was pointless! All of the fighting to stop the robot had turned Osavus into the same pitiful man the Elder was. He had killed twenty of his own species, five months ago, not caring.
Was it worth it? Did anything matter to him?
Did it?
It did. The sorrow, the regret and pain of his actions had weared him down. He had to—
Osavus' hand came loose, and he stood up. No more.
Invidior's smile broke out. "What? What is it, brother?"
"I am not your brother, you lifeless piece of scarabax," said Osavus and exited the complex, running — he didn't even grab a sand stalker, nor did he teleport. He just felt like running; so fast his mind would just leave everything behind him.
No more.***
"Give me one good reason why we should trust you," Galintin choked out.
"Dangit Galintin, we had deal—"
"Oh, keep that mouth shut for once Ackar. Did you just forget they ordered the guards to ignore all crimes that day? Or is too "trivial" for you, eh?"
"Are you really that ignorant?" Heremus' comeback, came, quite tensed and out of place.
"Maybe I would be so ignorant if you actually explained to me what business you had with the guards!" said Galintin.
"I am sorry, Galintin, this didn't mean to come out this way," Heremus' tension had trembled him. Was this what other beings regarded as emotion driven thought? He didn't know.
"Galintin, think; the robot was running with a false power source. If the Elder had managed to steal the blueprints — which you prevented — then he would have fixed the problems. At this rate, the robot's flaws might cause... violent and erratic behavior in the AI," Angonce explained.
"With the cost of my life, and my co-workers?!" cried out Galintin. Behind his Helmet, tiers ran down his cheeks.
"Need I to mention the agent wasn't planning on destroying the complex...?" said Raeir.
"It doesn't matter!" he said. "You could have done something to prevent it!" In his mind, a billion concepts of him attacking the Great Beings played out, knowing he couldn't win. Even so, something snapped him out of it: If they didn't stop Protasious, thousands more would suffer the same fate.
He could settle his score with the Great Beings later on. His quest for vengeance had begun long before today's events.
"I understand Galintin; loosing so many people at once is something one can never truly forget about," said Ackar. The Great Beings, nodded in agreement.
If only you knew it was the second time, he thought.
"We stop Protasious and Invidior, and you make sure this never happens. Afterwards, we all act individually, even if that means our paths might cross again."***
"Why won't he pay us?" said the large brute, quite mindlessly.
"It's not something for you to get worried about, your mind might sore or something," said Silex, in quite a quirky way.
It had been only a few minutes since Osavus had charged at Invidior, slamming him into the ground, and then leaving him and running away. Avarus, followed by Silex, Ferveon and Robur had crawled from the depths of the Magma complex to examine the situation — they found Invidior working on his desk, acting in the same erratic way he had been for the past months.
Because of their permanent exile from Magnacus Renata, they were forced to retreat and live the past five months guarding the Magma Complex with the two Great Beings. Silex was used to hiding; Avarus, Ferveon and Robur weren't used to spending time in concealed spaces.
Things had been going from bad to worse for them; along with Varonis' death, their secured anonymity against the law had been broken. Remnants of the henchmen clubs that lived on the sewers of Renata had been hunted and destroyed; the whole operation had been slayed in days, all because of the Elder's large bounties placed on their heads.
"Hush. He hasn't heard us yet," said Avarus.
"Can't he read our minds...?" added Silex.
"I'm pretty sure his madness won't allow him to," replied Avarus.
"Dangit, I am not talking to the madman about our payment, Avarus!" snapped Ferveon.
"Can you give me a minute to think this through?" Avarus murmured. He knew that persuading a Great Being wasn't a lightly handled task. You couldn't just intimidate him into doing something; however, they needed the money if they were going to start new lives somewhere else.
"I can crush him," said Robur.
"Do I really have to spell it out for you, idiot? You cannot slain a Great Being, he's way to powerful to handle with," repeated Silex.
"I am getting certain Robur was born without braincells," joked around Ferveon.
"You need a brain to have braincells, first of all," added Silex
"By the Great Beings, all of you idiots shut up. I'll go talk to him."
Avarus walked closer to Invidior's study; the hallways of the complex were dark, shady, and didn't exactly qualify as safe. As he walked slower, the light pouring through the broken sailing fell on his eyes, forcing him to grimace in a unpleasing manner. It was a wide open area, thus the light was giving limited visibility from Avarus' viewpoint. The Great Being, Invidior, was sitting in his chair, next to the electric sell the Fire Glatorian Ackar was once kept, constantly checking the blueprints of the robot.
It had been a blast living inside the complex. Avarus was certain this old building wouldn't last much longer; a large earthquake would take it down instantly. He stopped at a safe distance from the Great Being, and he squeaked:
"M-master Invidior?"
"Are you blind and stupid? I am busy," said Invidior.
The Glatorian took one large breath, and replied, "I am sorry sir, but my men have been here for months. I think it's time for us to...get off your back. We can just take our money, and go away," explained Avarus, trying to trick Invidior's blinded mind into paying them.
The Great Being rose instantly, walking closer, "But don't you see? I think I got this working! We can still destroy it! Haha!"
"Master.... we are better not be evolved into—"
"What? WHAT? Y— you idiots! Don't you realize the opportunity I am giving you? Do you know that history — FREAKING HISTORY! — will talk about us, if we do this? EH?"
"Well, we—"
"No, wait, SCRATCH THAT! WE'LL MAKE HISTORY, TOGETHER!" Invidior's insane mind had lost all awareness. Avarus didn't want to break as well, but—
"Give us our payment!" Robur, the idiotic brute, jumped in Invidior's way, hitting him. The Great Being was slammed against the wall, shattering the glass of the screens; the complex shook, several walls became submerged, and some hallways were blocked.
"YOU—"
Invidior stood up, straightening his cloak, "YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME, PETTY CREATURE?"
The Great Being shook his hand, and Robur's hammer was crushed upon itself, then thrown upon the brute. Avarus, Ferveon and Silex watched, as Robur was telekinetically smashed into the floor. Invidior's cloak and body started growing, his form changing. He had shapesifted into a giant scorpio.
Invidior begun to repeatedly hit Robur with his four legs, who kept crying out for help — the others watched, praying they wouldn't be next.
"YOU ARE NOT WORTHY OF LIVING! IDIOTS!"
Robur was screaming in pain, trying to get away from Invidior's grasp. Unable to do so, he stood there and waited for him to stop. Invidior, who heard his cries, stopped, staring at him. Something — the same "something" that driven him to madness had ordered him to stop, and look up the brute. He was alive, that was for sure; his wounds weren't that bad either.
"You aren't worth it, low life forms," he muttered. His metal exoskeleton turned into dark leather, shrinking back into his "normal" form. He was incapable to remember his original form, quite similarly to every other Great Being.
The Great Beings didn't age; they evolved by shapesifting. Changing constantly, always learning. They could become mad and eventually get tired of it, regaining sanity, even if it was briefly or for the next thousand years.
And he had gotten tired of it.
"That means we'll live?!" screamed Avarus.
"It means you're fired, free of charge," Invidior stated. He raised his hands, as if he were to reply with a gesture, teleporting all four of them outside the complex, in the process causing another earthquake. The Magma Complex shook, submerging even further into the ground. The walls around the complex exploded from the pressure applied to them.
But it stood.
"Scarabaxes," cursed Invidior.
He sat back down at his desk, continuing his daily routine of staring at the blueprints.
"Fine, Osavus, fine. Go tell them. I don't care," he said to himself, "The flawed power source Protasious will use, will des—"
He suddenly realized the blueprints were his, and not Protasious' flawed power source designs — if he were to change the priortiy of the booting sequence to the—
His madness returning, Invidior rose of his chair, screaming in excitement.
He had found a way to exploit the power source for his own purposes.***
A shady figure walked his way across the entire room, sitting in the chair were the last Elder of the Great Beings was once stationed. Protasious, the Elder of the Great Beings, had requested yet another one of his infamous meetings. One evolving his new council — the smartest and most powerful Great Beings to date; Raeir, Angonce, Heremus and Morkoth.
Protasious took a small glance at the four Great Beings; it was no secret they all knew what he had done, and what he was going to do.
"It's been a long decade. The robot's launching tomorrow," he muttered. Raeir, Morkoth, Angonce and Heremus all rose off their chairs simultaneously. It was a mystery for the Great Beings how Protasious had managed to keep his mind closed from them; they couldn't sense his thoughts, and therefore, could do nothing to influence his way of thinking.
"That's— That's— outrageous!"
"Impossible! You simply can't..."
"It's not stable yet!"
Their voices were nothing but distractions to him.***
"Why are they talking so long?" he said.
"I don't know, Raanu," replied Pomerax.
Raanu and Pomerax were anxiously waiting for Angonce to come out of the room. Suddenly, the figure they acknowledged as that of the Elder jabbed the doors, using his psionic power to flung them in the hallway. He almost killed both of them. Four of the Great Beings walked outside with him, following. Protasious, enraged, created a small psionic shield to keep them from following him into the elevator, which he used to travel at his office.
Angonce gestured to the two Agori, as if he was trying to tell them to follow him. The Agori, shrugging, followed Angonce through the enormous Tower's hallways. It felt like hours had passed since they had talked; Pomerax was brave enough to break the silence.
"Angonce... what just happened there? I presume the Elder is going to launch it soon?"
"Tomorrow," divulged Angonce.
Angonce, Raanu and Pomerax all simutionousy stopped walking. The two Aogri realized Angonce read their mind, and stopped with them. Raanu, as he was used to talking with Angonce, nodded in agreement, and ran off to tell Ackar. Pomerax, who found himself with the Great Being, stared at him. Such a magnificent being he was; Pomerax had never seen something quite like it.
"Curiosity," remarked the being.
Pomerax knew what he meant. He was inquisitive. Too inquisitive. He knew that it was going to be his downfall, one day.
"I'm — I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't looked one of your kind from up close ever before. Something about your eyes is deceiving and yet... mechanic," he replied.
"It's only logical. Great Beings consider emotions trivial; as you can see, experiencing vivid emotions can drive most of us into corruption. Thus we neglect all of them, and act based on pure judgement of facts, always understanding what's better for the common well being," he interpreted. However, Angonce's explanation nearly tapped on a Great being's daily challenge with emotions.
"Isn't it what we all do?" Pomerax stated. "We try to keep ourselves from clouding our judgement."
"It's different with a Great Being, because the process, is, quite literally, technical. However, a Great Being can "read" even further into the mind. We can sense every mind in the planet, predicting every action, outcome, and decision you will make. Piecing this all together gives us a limited view of what could happen. That is why I mentioned a specific characteristic of yours," said Angonce. It was a lot to take in for Pomerax; he stepped back, realizing that the Great Being's mind was only giving him partial information for something that was going to happen to him.
"It's a possibility," he said — then, Pomerax sensed it. Angonce had projected a thought inside him.
"I'll make sure to stop it," Pomerax remarked, "We just have to get rid of the Elder."
"Once and for all", he added.***
"Hey!"
The conversant voice of the fire Agori echoed in the room. Rohkea, Galintin and Ackar turned, caught off guard by the voice.
"So, um, what's going on?" replied Rohkea
"The Elder — Protasious! ...he's..." Raanu paused, trying to gather his breath.
"Calm down first! What's the problem?" said Galintin, in a rather worried tone.
"Protasious said the robot is launching tomorrow. I am afraid there's nothing we could do, unless... unless we hurry," he said.
"What — on Spherus Magna? Are you absolutely sure?" Ackar couldn't believe that after all that had happened the past few months, Protasious' only intention was launching the robot. Ackar was certain he wasn't a person to be trusted, but this? This was too much.
"I am one hundred percent sure! Angonce himself told me so, and he just finished off a meeting with him! You've got to hurry and talk to him," shouted Raanu, attempting to squeeze as much as information as he could in one sentence.
He glanced at Galintin and Rohkea; both of them replied to his glancing with an ensuring nod.
"He's going to have to explain a lot," mumbled Ackar.***
"Tomorrow? We won't make it!"
"Do you know how many years thereafter we will get to talk about this moment?"
"Truly a sight seen only once a millenia."
"Yeah, more like a thousand years!"
The Fire Agori could barely stand the noise all the flocked Agori and Glatorian around the plaza were making, considering everyone where just too excited to stop screaming. Just seconds ago, transmitted through all forms of communication in Spherus Magna, was the announcement that the enormous giant robot of the Great Beings was going to go online tomorrow; Jakara didn't care much.
He was in the Water Tribe for the sole purpose of keeping stable the long running trading agreement between the Water and Fire Tribe. His problems were focused on the representative in Renata — a guy named Pomerax — who left quite surprisingly his position on the spot; the agreement was slowly breaking apart.
Jakara would be forced to return home soon enough. It was a pity really; Galotajun was quite a majestic city in his opinion. Unlike everyone else on the planet, Jakara tended to find the robot useless and scary, and he was uncertain if the robot was enough of a reason to set off.
What the reason everyone one the planet were traveling to Renata to see this one machine? He didn't know. He knew that all of his friends, family and relatives were going to be there, along with thousands of people.
Jakara was right; crowds made up of thousands of Glatorian and Agori were waiting to enter the city, admiring the robot. It's would be too late for them to escape when Protasious unstable power source would cause certain malfunctions.***
Ackar gathered his breath; all thoughts and speeches he had prepared on his way to the Elder's office flashed in his mind like a slideshow. This was the moment of truth. He was going to stop Protasious from launching the robot, no matter the cost.
He continued walking the marble hallways, heading straight for the same doors he passed through several months ago. Ackar was greeted by two familiar faces — the same guards he and the team met months ago. As he neared closer, they, acting like well-made clockwork, simultaneously opened the two doors leading into the spherical platform which was used to access the top of the Tower, location of the Elder's Office.
It was surprising that a man of his pride would spent so much time in isolation; it was almost irritating for Ackar.
He's waiting for me to make a mistake, he figured, hopefully, he will be first to make one.
The platform lifted Ackar gradually all the way to the top. Last time he was here, he was focused on acquiring the note from Raanu's pouch, ignoring the room's design completely. Now, he had more than enough time to memorize everything he could. Just like the rest of the Tower, Protasious' office was crowned with elegant designs on the walls, depicting various events in history; while also showing off various rare items and paintings.
According to the room's large space extent, ten holograms detailing the robot's basic structure were playing repeatedly, lighting up the whole office with bright green light. The Elder's desks were filled with countless papers, notes, and other blueprints regarding the robot and not only — various projects, studies and others. The same throne-like chair was situated close to the window; it floated using a magnetic field. The massive window that took up the majority of the office’s back wall, curved from one wall to the other, was crystal clear, as always.
Protasious was sitting in his chair, overlooking the city and managing several touch based holograms. After typing a few key sequences, he turned around, looking Ackar. His hood lowered, Ackar took a good look at his face — an unfamiliar one — and probably his true persona.
"What a lovely surprise! Please, Ackar, sit down."
"I prefer not to,' he replied.
"Straight to the point, eh? I suppose you are here to talk about the robot?"
Ackar couldn't play stupid; Protasious could see through his thoughts as if he was an open book. Engaging him in open conflict wouldn't work.
"This... experiment. It has to stop, and we both know why."
"Well, but you see... it's a no-win situation for everyone! I would waste countless hours of preparation, and would make all these people unhappy. We wouldn't want this, would we?" frowned the Elder.
"Unhappy but alive. Everyone will die if you activate that machine!"
"Tsk. Tsk. Now wouldn't that be ignorant of me?"
"Listen to me! Invidior and Osavus could still be out there, looking out to destroy the robot! You excuse-of-an-Elder will risk the lives of thousands simply because you might loose some publicity?" he said, refusing to accept Protasious' hypocritical remarks.
"Ha! Do you actually believe that you can change something? What, persuade me to stop the launch? This — is — happening — today. Do I really need to spell it out?" Protasious rose off his chair, and with a flick of a switch, the entire room rotated three sixty degrees, facing the robot's platform. The robot's leg and inner workings had been restored; almost all scaffolds had been removed as well. Ackar couldn't deny the robot was more than ready, at least visually.
"Unlike you, I care for those people!"
"You care nothing but for yourself."
"NO, I DON'T! I care about others! I care about them because I know Invidior could be out there, planning whatever he is planning," he screamed, hoping Protasious would listen.
"Relax, Ackar, relax. Invidior is just one Great Being. He isn't going to cause trouble — and Osavus won't do anything by himself — he's that pitiful," said Protasious.
"You— You leave me no choice then. I will have to reveal all I know."
"Is that all you've got? And whom are you going to tell? The governor of Spherus Magna? He's my puppet. The whole system is me, and going against me, is highly not advised. Not to mention your team works for me!. You do as I please."
"We are in charge of protecing the robot, and that includes stopping people from getting hurt!"
"That's what you think. Do you know why I hired you Ackar?"
"Honestly... no," he couldn't think of a good reason as to why Protasious would hire them in the first place.
"Because I find it amusing. You're nothing; I could fire you at this instant or kill you right now, all of you! You are just a toy, a game I have decided it would be fun to play. That's all you are, Ackar."
"Do you want to go this, Protasious? Do you? I didn't bring my sword for no reason!"
"Hmm?"
"I'll kill you!" anger flared inside Ackar. He felt disgrace, and pure hate about Protasious. He just wanted him killed so badly he—
He didn't even plan how he was going to do it. Protasious already knew; he used a psionic shield to tie Ackar's hands and legs against the floor. It was useless resisting.
"You don't know anything," he mumbled. "The Order of the Hidden is nothing - NOTHING! It was simply another failed experiment. It's fall was trivial to me."
"Now hear me good. If you want your little life extended for some time, you'd better stay out of the way," this time Protasious was dead serious. He wasn't going to back down.
"I'll keep that in mind," Ackar said, and with that, the psionic shield broke.***
Another hill.
Osavus had never before felt such physical exhaustion, for he had never traveled this long by foot. At least, as far as he could remember in his life's infinite expansion. He had lost all realization of time ever since he started running away; passing the hill, he saw the billions of people waiting to enter Renata.
He didn't care for the crowds. He needed to reach the city gates, no matter what. He had to surrender, tell the others what Invidior was doing. As he walked closer and closer, his heartbeat became faster. Osavus couldn't help by think he was going to be killed on spot by the guards, thinking him to be a threat. As he burst running into the city, bypassing the guards, the alarm went off.
In just seconds, thousands of guards surrounded him, pointing their weapons at him. Osavus fell on his knees, and choked out a few words:
"Don't worry, I am here to surrender."
It's long, around 6,000 words. Chapter 7 is meant to be the prologue for the climax of the serial, and has various plotlines related to the Great Beings' and Galintin that are introduced here.
And yes, Galotajun is Tajun.
