In the grand living room of the mansion, Astrax and Ignis stared at each other in heavy silence.
Finally, Ignis broke the tension, his face completely serious. "We will talk about the money later."
"Yes," Sophia nodded quickly. "We will."
"Let's talk about Simon first," Ignis said.
Solara sighed in relief. "Smart idea."
Astrax crossed his arms, his expression darkening. "He is a Ranger like us, but he is a sadist. He killed three people today while laughing."
"And he wants to meet me?" Ignis asked, furrowing his brow.
"Yes. It was like he has some history with you," Astrax said, studying Ignis closely. "Do you know him?"
"I don't know anyone named Simon," Ignis replied.
"What about Serena?"
Ignis looked at Astrax, then turned to Sophia. She raised an eyebrow. "Do you know her?"
"No," Ignis shook his head, looking completely lost. "I don't remember her at all." He paused, a sudden realization washing over his face. "How did your parents die, Sophia?"
"They abandoned me," Sophia whispered.
"It makes no sense," Ignis said, his eyes widening. "All our parents died or left us. We were all from the exact same orphanage." He looked at Solara, then back to Sophia. "Rose. No parents ever came for us. And it was only the six of us in that entire building."
Sophia gasped, covering her mouth.
"We were made to be Rangers," Tunde said softly, his face pale. "You are right. This is crazy."
"Someone was pulling the strings," Ignis said, his voice hardening with determination. "I am going to the orphanage to investigate Rose."
"I will follow you," Sophia said immediately.
"Okay," Ignis nodded. "The rest of you, stay here and figure out how we can deal with Simon." Ignis turned back to Astrax, his eyes narrowing. "And Astrax? This house is going down."
Astrax frowned deeply. "Excuse me?"
"Yes. We are public servants," Ignis stated flatly.
"We are superheroes," Astrax argued, stepping forward. "We only follow the law because it is moral."
"No," Ignis replied firmly. "We belong to the people alone." He looked at Sophia. "Let's go."
Sophia glanced at Astrax and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
With a flash of light, Ignis and Sophia teleported away.
Astrax blew out a frustrated breath and turned to Solara. "What do you think?"
"We will get to the bottom of it," Astrax promised.
"Get to the bottom of what?" a cold voice echoed.
Astrax jumped, spinning around. Simon was standing right behind him, casually leaning against a golden pillar.
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"You need to stop doing that," Astrax snapped, summoning his weapon.
Simon slowly looked around the luxurious room, a mocking smirk on his lips. "Can money save you from Azathoth? Can money save you from Luciferio? Can money save you from me?" Simon threw his head back and laughed loudly. "Hahahahaha!"
Tunde gripped his Green Gem tightly. "How did you get here? How did you find us?"
Simon just kept laughing.
"He probably tracked us using some tech," Solara guessed, her eyes darting around for a device.
Simon stopped laughing and looked at her. "I like you. You sound smart, but you are wrong."
"Then how?" Tunde demanded.
"Damn, getting angry already," Simon teased, tilting his head. "I sensed your energy."
Solara’s eyes widened. "Interesting."
"That is so scary, right?" Simon whispered, stepping closer. "I can come to you anytime. In your sleep. While you are playing. While you are completely alone."
Simon began to pace around the room. "To please my master, Azathoth, I will skin all of you alive and give your flesh to him. He will be so happy. Or... maybe he won't. All he cares about is Luciferio."
"Who is Luciferio?" Astrax asked fiercely. "And who is this Azathoth?"
Simon ignored him, his eyes scanning the room. "Where is Ignis? Why is he always away?"
"Sense him, then," Astrax challenged.
"He might have de-transformed," Simon shrugged lazily. "This is beyond you. It is just so crazy. I came for Ignis, but if he does not come, then I will force him to come." Simon chuckled darkly.
"What is so funny?" Solara asked, glaring at him.
Simon stopped pacing and locked eyes with her. "Everything is connected. You just have to find the puzzle pieces and put them together. And when you do..."
"What?" Tunde asked, his heart pounding.
"You will say one thing," Simon whispered, his eyes glowing faintly. "Azathoth is God."
Simon smiled, a genuine, unhinged look of awe on his face. "It is so funny! Once you see the full painting, you will wonder who painted it. Everything is going according to his plan."
"What plan?" Astrax demanded.
"No, no, no, even I don't know," Simon admitted. "But what I know is that everything is working out for Azathoth. I am just a tool for him. I can't explain it until you see it for yourself."
"The Crown of Seven Days," Simon answered simply. "Find out for yourselves."
Simon continued to walk freely around the mansion. "I will come for you. One by one. I want you to feel the fear of my coming. I don't want to just fight you. I want to torture you."
"Why are you like this?" Astrax asked, disgusted.
"Because of Azathoth. He made me this way," Simon said coldly. "I just came to talk to Ignis."
"You are going nowhere!" Astrax yelled. "Tell us what you know about this Azathoth!"
"Well, I know he is God. And I know I have no choice but to follow him forever," Simon shrugged.
"If he is God, why doesn't he come down and take the gems himself?" Astrax challenged. "Why send you?"
Simon frowned slightly. "We will find out. I don't know."
Suddenly, Simon looked past Solara and gasped. "Ignis! So you are back."
The three Rangers instinctively looked back. The room was empty.
Simon instantly lunged forward and grabbed Solara tightly by the waist. Without missing a beat, Solara spun around and kicked him violently in the stomach, sending him flying backward into a golden chair.
"What the hell?!" Solara shouted, dropping into a fighting stance.
Simon slowly stood up, dusting off his armor with a disappointed sigh. "I wanted to start with you. You got lucky. I was going to teleport you away with me... imagine what I would have done to get Ignis's attention."
Simon pointed a dark finger at Astrax. "Tell Ignis I want to have a conversation with him."
"Why not us?" Tunde asked, stepping in front of Solara. "Why only him? And do you know anything about the orphanage?"
Simon smirked, shadows swirling around his body. "Look, your whole life was staged by Azathoth. That is all I know. Find out the rest."
Simon looked at the three remaining Rangers. "The legendary Power Rangers," he mocked.
With a dark flash, he vanished completely.
Meanwhile, Ignis and Sophia arrived at the orphanage.
Ignis looked around the decaying, overgrown building. "This place must have been abandoned for a long time."
"It's like it was only used for us," Sophia said, shivering slightly. "What is going on?"
Sophia walked down the dusty hallway and peeked into the room they used to share. She walked inside, looking down at a dirty, broken bed. "This is where I slept."
"Yes," Ignis said softly, standing in the doorway.
He turned away and continued to walk down the hall. His heart hammered against his ribs as he finally pushed open the door to Rose's office.
He stepped inside. There was nothing but an old, dirty, and dusty bed in the corner. Papers were scattered across the rotting floor.
"Nothing," Ignis whispered, his face falling in frustration. He walked over and touched the dusty mattress. "Still nothing. What is going on?"