Acryon, Acadian Empire.
In a secluded chamber sowhere inside the Royal Palace, a eting was convened, one that would decide the fate of the world.
Only four figures sat around the table in the dimly lit room. The air was tense, for two of them did not get along.
Berger’s eyes locked coldly on the man sitting across the table, hostility evident in his eyes. He drew in a long puff from his smoking pipe, never once looking away from the elderly figure clad in dark robes.
And then, the gno exhaled a plu of smoke, blowing it straight into the man’s face... an act of utter disrespect!
"Looks like soone was never taught table manners," said the man in a cold voice. "Tell , did your elders fail to teach you even that much?"
Berger set the pipe on the table, then directed his cold gaze towards the man. "And what if they didn’t? What’re you going to do about it? Burn with your pitiful flas?"
Blackfire Balthazar’s eyes flashed with a cold light. His lips curled into a wicked smile as he said, "I don’t need my flas to deal with you, little man. My fists are enough."
Berger leaned forward, a tyrannical aura radiating from him. "Co on then, ya fuckin’ cunt!"
The next mont, both Berger and Balthazar rose from their feet, glaring at each other.
anwhile, Lucian sat at the table, his head buried in his palms as he murmured, "I knew this would happen..."
Sitting across from him, the great seer of the Empire, Old Ani, cleared her throat and said in a low, yet steady voice, "Gentlen, please. Let us set aside our past differences. We need to work together on this matter."
Balthazar turned to the elderly woman and spat through gritted teeth, "He’s the one who started it!"
Berger coldly chuckled, "Are you going to cry now?"
"You fucking—" Blackfire Balthazar glared at the gno.
"Enough!" Lucian slamd the table with his hand.
His gaze shifted from Balthazar to Berger, and he said in a flat voice, "Forget about what transpired in the past. As Old Ani said, we must set aside our differences. Too much is at stake here!"
Berger and Balthazar glared at each other for a few monts. Then, they sat back down, completely ignoring one another.
The gno had all the reasons to act rudely towards Blackfire. After all, the latter had almost killed his disciple. But deep down, he also knew that Balthazar was not to be entirely blad. Deep down, the man only did what he thought was right.
Still, Berger was a petty person by nature. He didn’t think he had it in him to forgive Balthazar for what he did to Adam and Valerian.
On the other hand, Balthazar still found it hard to believe that Adam was frad. From his perspective, Adam and Marden Benton were the two masterminds who had orchestrated the Battle of Ravenfell and were the reason for Blackwood and Gerald Acadia’s deaths.
Lucian deeply looked at Berger, who had resud smoking from the pipe, then asked in a solemn voice, "Did your trip to the south yield any fruitful results?"
Berger nodded ever so slightly. "I’ve confird that Adam is innocent."
Balthazar scoffed at that statent, but did not proceed to add any more insults. He chose to silently and patiently listen.
"Go on." Lucian gestured for the gno to continue.
"I found Ives Ballard and his n, as well as the Silent King’s assassins, both pursuing Adam’s elder sister. The forr sought to kill her, the latter only to capture her. That alone should give you an idea of how the Cult truly feels about Adam," the gno explained evenly.
"Did you manage to find the assassins’ guild’s whereabouts?" Lucian asked in a cold voice, his golden eyes blazing with rage.
Berger sighed, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, no. I did purposely leave one of the assassins alive, hoping he would lead to their lair. But not long after, the man committed suicide."
"What about Adam’s sister?" Old Ani asked in a solemn voice.
"She’s safe," Berger replied succinctly. "I questioned her about Adam’s childhood, since he spent most of it with her after his parents’ passing. I can say without a doubt that his past is clean, with no ties to the Cult."
Silence descended in the room. A few monts later, Lucian asked, "And what about the other thing?"
Berger’s lips curled into a cold smile. "Adam was right," he began. "Godfrey is indeed working for the Cult. She has been ever since she embarked on the path of arcana. I’ve scoured her mories, and I found out a lot of interesting things."
"Do tell," Old Ani muttered in a low voice, her expression solemn.
Berger remained silent for a long ti. Finally, he said in a grim voice:
"It turns out... Godfrey was tasked not only with keeping the portal under Hannes City hidden from the public, but also with supplying the Cult with promising children. These young Magi, after graduating from the Clover Academy, would be sent to secret camps run by the Cult, where they would be brainwashed and molded to serve the Cult’s goals.
"She has been doing this for the past two hundred years, and always with remarkable subtlety. She never approached students with connections to powerful Magi or those likely to study further in the Empire. Instead, she targeted talented individuals with little background and connections."
Everyone’s expression turned grim. The Empire had little to no sway in the Southern Federation, and the Cult had exploited that vacuum, turning the region into a breeding ground for future brainwashed operatives.
"And that’s not all." Berger’s voice grew cold.
"That incident that had happened in Hannes City twenty years ago, the one where the vampire turned the underground chamber into his lair, should have never happened. He had been drawn by the abundant mana below, unaware that a portal lay hidden deep beneath the earth.
"Helene knew of his, of course. But she chose not to confront the vampire, who was at the Mana Vortex Rank. Engaging him would have risked drawing attention to the portal she had worked so hard to conceal for centuries. And so, she simply let him be, confident that he would never uncover its true secret."
Berger’s expression darkened as he added:
"But that choice... ultimately led to her downfall."
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