Hye knew the newly recruited forces wouldn’t be on par with his seasoned veterans—warriors who had bled during the apocalypse trials—but quantity had a quality all its own.
They would fill the gaps in the planetary defences and, more importantly, they would begin amassing rits and experience in the high-stakes clash with the Toranks. They needed to be forged in the fire now, or they would be useless when the true "God" weapons arrived at their doorstep.
"Now, it’s ti to pay my dear Moth a visit," Hye concluded. He stood up and, for a brief mont, the cold warlord vanished. He hugged and kissed his ladies, lingering for a heartbeat. He knew that this departure was different; he would be gone for a long ti, separated from the core of his support system by vast distances and even vaster secrets.
As he turned his attention fully toward his ssage interface, beginning the process of nagging and poking at Moth’s digital silence, Olana watched him from the periphery.
The sight of Hye’s affection for his girls caused sothing to shift inside her heart—a sharp, unfamiliar pang of envy mixed with a craving to experience that sa grounding warmth from him. ’One day,’ she thought to herself, her eyes tracking the lines of his back.
On the other side of the sector, within the highly secured diplomatic chambers of the Hescos, Moth was staring at his terminal. The notifications were piling up—Hye was being relentless. Moth wasn’t replying on purpose, hoping that a bit of silence would force the "Human Brat" to be more reasonable in his next proposal.
"From the look on your face, it looks like he is still nagging you," one of the younger Hescos leaders joked, spotting Moth’s troubled expression. He enjoyed teasing the usually unflappable diplomat.
"I honestly can’t tell if it’s our bad luck or his," Moth said, squeezing his temples as another alert chid.
"Whenever he gets a big chance to work with us, and just when we had a glimr of hope in breaking the long, stagnant downtrend of our influence out there, the Toranks suddenly show a level of might they weren’t supposed to own—a power that shouldn’t even exist in this cycle!"
"I’d say it’s our good luck," one of the elders countered, his voice rasping through the hall. Others turned to listen to the debate happening at the edge of the grand eting. "We still can’t say for certain if this is his misfortune or a hidden blessing."
"It’s definitely his good luck," the Grand Elder suddenly joined the conversation. At his words, the room fell into a respectful, absolute silence. Everyone leaned in to hear the wisdom of the one who had seen kingdoms rise and fall for millennia.
"I understand why it’s our good luck," Moth muttered, rubbing his eyes until they were bloodshot. He and the other elders had been operating on a razor’s edge, almost entirely devoid of sleep for the past few days.
Ever since the Toranks had unveiled that nightmare of a weapon to the universe, the strategic balance of the universe had been thrown into a blender. "We learned about the grand threat our biggest rival was hiding.
Our fortune doubled when they decided to point that weapon not at us, but toward soone else. They exposed their ultimate ace, and in their arrogance, gave us the ti to properly study it. But I still don’t believe this is Hye’s good luck. He..."
Moth trailed off, struggling to find the words to articulate the chaos currently flooding his ssage interface.
He waited a few minutes, staring at the blinking notifications, before finally adding, "If we—the mighty Hescos—are feeling this oblivious and at a loss regarding the nature of that weapon, then I can only imagine how terrified he must be. Just one look at my ssage dashboard, and I can tell he is shaking in his boots. He’s desperate."
"I disagree," the Grand Elder interrupted, his voice cutting through Moth’s speculation like a chilled blade. "I still recall how vividly you spoke about him when you returned from your last eting. I expect more from the man who managed to snatch one of the greatest single deals in our history than simple cowardice."
The Grand Elder paused, his clouded eyes fixated on the ceiling of the eting hall, before adding in a calm, resonant tone, "Why don’t you actually see what he wants from you? Speak with him and report back. I would bet that he is already well past the stage of fear. A man like that is likely thinking about how to counter-attack."
"Fine..." Moth sighed, realising that for so reason, his past enthusiasm about the Human Prodigy had managed to recruit more allies than he ever intended.
It wasn’t just the Grand Elder, who was a monuntal ally to have in his corner, but the surrounding elders as well. He noticed how many of them looked at him with an intense, quiet anticipation, as if they were waiting for a sign that Hye was truly worthy of the Hescos’ formidable support.
Following the command, Moth finally opened his ssage interface and sent a brief, formal acknowledgent to Hye. The response was near-instantaneous, as if Hye had been hovering over the send button for hours.
[Finally! I want to ask you for an urgent eting!] Hye jumped over the standard pleasantries, his words vibrating with an intensity that Moth could feel even through the text.
[I have a plan to counter the Toranks’ new weapon—or at least a way that will give us the chance to gather more valuable data. I also need more help regarding the safety of my people.
As I sent in my earlier proposal, I want to move the core of my kingdom over to your secured lands! Prepare for a eting and send the coordinates as soon as you are ready!]
"So..." the Grand Elder noted the sudden shift in Moth’s expression, the way his jaw tightened and his brow furrowed in disbelief. "What did the boy have to say?"
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