Soren followed the Royal Commander out of the tent but not before flicking out a tongue childishly at the officer whose eyes burned with a mixture of suppressed rage and disbelief.
The officer’s eyes widened before he sputtered, shocked at what just happened.
Soren grinned before schooling his face when the Royal Commander glanced over.
Soren breathed out a sigh of relief when he got out of the suffocating tent and into the sun, relishing the wind that blew across his skin.
He followed the Royal Commander further into the Grand Stage until he reached the epicenter of the explosion where the Abyssal explosion originated.
Instead of rubble and ruins, Soren saw a fortress-like war tent that was heavily guarded by several royal guards patrolling every entrance.
He saw several runes and enchantments inscribed into the tent and the surrounding ground, making the tent near-impenetrable to hostile forces.
Instead of gaping at the sight, he walked into the tent with a steeled expression that betrayed no thoughts or emotions.
Inwardly, he braced himself for interrogation and possibly torture from the Captain Valen-like Commander in front of him.
When he entered the tent, he was stunned by the sight.
The entrance was like a portal to another world, many times bigger than the outside appearance would lead one to believe.
If he had to guess, he would assume that there were hundreds of people running around, reporting to their superiors and documenting things.
If he had to guess, he’d assume that the size was approximately as large as a medium-sized castle.
He quickly followed the Royal Commander deeper into the tent and watched as every single person stopped what they were doing and deeply bowed at her.
Soren knew that the Royal Commander was the highest ranking title of the Royal Army but it still amazed him how much respect she was getting.
“Come in,” the Commander said, pushing open a door that stood at the back of the tent.
Soren nodded before walking in.
He scratched his head as he saw the door lead to another room that was clearly larger than what was physically possible but inwardly shrugged, already getting used to the bizarreness that came with the Royal Army.
He quickly sat down on one of the plush, black couches and made himself at home, uncaring how jarring the sight was that a grimy ex-scavenger was sitting in such a luxurious piece of furniture.
He had enough and simply wanted to relax.
The Royal Commander sat at the opposite couch, looking at Soren with an unreadable expression in her eyes.
Getting tired of the silence, Soren took the initiative to start the questioning.
“Royal Commander of Vulcanis, are you Captain Valen’s sister?”
The Royal Commander remained silent until she sighed, leaning back against the royal couch and looked up at the crystalline chandelier that hung above.
“You can call me Vayne.
No need to be formal with me when we’re in private since I hate formality,” she said, tiredly waving her hands.
“And yes, I am Valen’s older sister.”
Soren winced at the confirmation.
Although he was glad to meet a family member of the Captain’s, he didn’t expect to meet one so early and for her to be the Royal Commander of Vulcanis.
Frankly, just a day before, this most prestigious person he knew was the boss of the Scavengers and now, he knew several high-ranking people.
“I’m… sorry,” Soren managed to say, cringing and berating himself for such a lame condolence.
Royal Commander, no, Vayne simply chuckled tiredly before shaking her head.
“No.
Rivor and Meric caught me up.
While you did have a small part of her unfortunate… demise, it was ultimately her decision.”
“Ah,” Soren simply said, rubbing his sore wrists awkwardly.
“Well, if you’re not here to kill me, why am I here?
With all due respect of course.”
“I was informed that you were going to accept your ‘punishment,’ but I don’t find that fair,” Vayne said, craning her neck to look at him seriously.
“With your potential, I believe you could be tempered.
If you could survive whatever monstrosity killed Valen and grow from it, you could be an invaluable variable.”
“What about the Righteous Council?”
“They likely would’ve wanted to throw you into the deepest and darkest parts of a dungeon and inspect how you survived,” she replied, a faint, cold smirk touching her lips.
“The Empress and I, however, prefer useful assets over corpses.
Meridia named you a Royal Ward to pull you out of the Righteous Council’s legal reach, but do not forget, Soren, nobody is untouchable until they become strong enough to determine what’s right and wrong.”
Soren shivered at the Royal Commander’s cold but practical words.
She leaned forward, her presence pressing down on the room with the sheer weight of a high-ranking Ascender—stronger than Captain Valen’s presence.
“You are now a piece on a very dangerous board.
The Council sees you as a threat, the Undercity wants your head, and we expect a return on our investment.”
Soren met her gaze without flinching, feeling the reassuring weight of the white stone beneath his shirt.
He had spent his entire life surviving the Undercity and survived an encounter with an Abyssal Titan beyond the entire might of Atheo itself.
He could easily survive royal politics too.
“Tell me what she wants,” he said steadily, his Awakened aura flaring to challenge her.
“And I shall deliver.”
Vayne glared at him, threatening to suffocate him beneath her aura, before it vanished and a faint smirk touched her lips.
“I can see why Valen liked you,” she said, standing up and walking to him.
“You can ask Meridia what she wants directly from her, though.”
Soren opened his mouth to ask what she meant before she grabbed his arm.
The world warped, turning black, before he stumbled, nearly falling onto the ground.
When he orientated himself, he found that he was no longer inside the tent but outside in the streets of Genesity.
He looked around and saw that he was in the midst of a battlefield where there were numerous soldiers and royal guards fighting Abyssal Creatures.
But what caught his attention the most was a woman that was at the vanguard to the assault, dancing around Abyssals.
She wielded twin blades that flicked from creature to creature, killing them with a single blow.
She had flowing red hair, obsidian black armor, and a sharp, noble intensity that was unmistakable.
She was the Empress of Vulcanis, Meridia.
After she quickly dispatched the remaining Abyssal Creatures, she noticed Vayne and Soren and walked over, flicking the blood off her twin blades and sheathing them.
“So, this is the infamous one?” the Empress asked, scanning Soren from head to toe.
“My personal, royal ward.”
Among them, the soldiers and royal guards snapped into deep bows, but the Empress waved them off.
The hairs of Soren stood up before a flash of blue erupted beside him.
“Rivor,” he said, looking at the man who just arrived.
Rivor just stood there, arcs of blue lightning settling across his skin as he looked at Soren with a muted expression, but Soren could tell he wasn’t happy with his presence.
Behind him, riding green vines, Meric approached with a relieved expression in his eyes.
“Meric!” Soren said, greeting him.
“Soren,” Meric greeted back, a small grin spreading across his face.
“I’m glad you didn’t run away.”
Meric placed a glowing green hand on his shoulder, filling him with a sense of warmth as he started healing the painful burns and cuts he accumulated.
“I’m glad you guys are already acquainted with each other,” the Empress said, interrupting their reunion without a hint of awkwardness in her tone.
Soren was surprised that they knew the Empress but in all honesty, he did somewhat expect that.
Afterall, it seemed like the Captain and the Empress were somewhat close and with them being in her team, the chances of them being acquainted with each other were quite high.
Soren quickly snapped out of his thoughts and gave a deep bow to the Empress, embarrassed that he didn’t show the proper respect. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
“Oh, stop that,” the Empress said, sounding annoyed.
“We don’t have time for that.
What I want is for you to do something for me.”
Soren quickly stood straight and grimaced at the tone.
“What do you want me to do, exactly?”
The Empress looked up, scanning the clouds that stretched above them.
When he looked up to see what she was looking at, he couldn’t see anything.
“I want you to join a… specialized team I’ve recently created.
An elite group that will nurture your strengths and do specific missions,” she said, her arm raising to the sky.
Soren nodded while watching the sky before he noticed a small blot in the sky.
When he squinted, he found it quickly growing bigger until he took a step back in shock.
“That’s a dr—”
The creature slammed into the ground, shaking the earth and causing Soren to stumble back.
He covered his eyes, protecting it from the dust and dirt that shot up until the dust cleared, revealing a huge serpent-like creature with wings that emanated a noble-like authority.
“That’s a dragon.”
Soren could only stare in awe at the regal creature in front of him.
Dragons were only seen either in the capital city of Vulcanis or the great mountainous volcano range that bordered the Empire of The North, Exodus.
They were creatures that were born as Transcendent creatures and could easily climb to Divinity, being the secondary rulers of Vulcanis.
He never thought he’d be able to see these legendary creatures within his lifetime—most people, including nobles, didn’t.
The dragon lowered its giant head, its emerald eyes fixed on Soren with an ancient intellect.
A low rumble vibrated through the earth, shaking the very air in his chest.
“This is Ignus,” the Empress introduced casually, approaching the noble creature and placing a hand against its red, iridescent scales.
“He will take you north of the Empire and into the border city of Droc.”
Soren tore his gaze away from the mythical beast and looked at the Empress.
“May I know why?” he asked, his expression finally settling to be serious.
“Well,” the Empress said, turning to Soren.
“I believe that the Council will blame the Order Break incident on the Empire of The North and will call for war.
They will be furious with my decision to make you my personal Royal Ward, but if I send you to the frontlines, I believe that they will barely tolerate it.”
Soren froze, the fury deep that he suppressed thawing once more.
He believed that the Syndicate was responsible for the assassination of the Divine Emperor that dragged him and Shindo into the Abyss, but if what the Empress is saying is correct, then it wasn’t that simple.
There were numerous factors currently at play.
He had merely scratched the surface of the chilling mystery that threatened to consume him, but he could only suppress the fury that was bubbling inside him.
If what the Abyssal Titan said was correct about the Convergence of Fate, then he’d need to get stronger to survive the storm that was coming.
Soren looked at his two former teammates, guilt threatening to consume him before he sighed.
“Tell Standhaf and Caligo that I’m sorry for everything,” he said tensely, the fury somewhat subsiding to the guilt he felt.
“I was going to tell them myself but it turns out I might never see you guys again.”
Rivor merely stared at him with his arms crossed before he nodded, acknowledging the silent apology directed to him.
“Okay, but we’ll tell them under one condition,” Meric said, taking his glowing hands off Soren with a grim expression.
“You have to survive like the Captain commanded us to and tell them yourself when this is all over.”
Soren nodded, resoluteness steeling in his gut.
He was going to survive, take revenge, and apologize no matter what it took.
This time, he’ll show no mercy to his enemies, human or not.