Nioh stepped into the starship's hall, a vast space that could easily accommodate a grand banquet. His gaze swept over the ticulously arranged seats until it landed on Sunny, perched on a bar stool. A curious expression on his face, Nioh walked towards him, stopping three feet behind.
"My king?" he inquired.
"Sit," Sunny commanded.
Nioh nodded, taking the seat beside Sunny, who then picked up a bottle and poured him a full glass of wine. The action deepened Nioh's confusion.
"Now, tell the origin of the... Artifact you stole."
"No... I didn't steal it, but took it," Nioh quickly corrected.
"You took sothing that doesn't belong to you, isn't that the sa thing as stealing it?" Sunny countered.
"It doesn't belong to ," Nioh admitted, his gaze drifting to the glass of wine. "But my parents sacrificed their lives for it."
Sunny stared at him, a mixture of surprise and confusion on his face. Nioh sighed and continued:
"When I was just a kid, 10 years old... The Wendigos went on a warpath with my nation. No one knew why, until they discovered that Artifact in the deepest cave in the Three-Eyed Mountain." He took a long drink before resuming his story.
"No one knows how it appeared there or what it is... The leaders only discovered that Artifact has an imnse amount of celestial energy. Hmph!"
He scoffed, a small, mirthless smile playing on his lips. "So even said it has the power to destroy suns and planets." He took another drink.
'Well... It does,' Sunny thought to himself, silently listening.
"Because of its dense amount of energy, the leaders decided to guard it, far from the city people... When the Wendigos discovered this, they went on a rampage! Attacking the hidden base. None of my people knew how they got the coordinates, and they were outmatched!" He gripped the glass with both hands, his knuckles white.
"My father, who was the commander then, and my mother, his vice... Led the defensive, and tried their best to push the Wendigos back!"
He turned to Sunny. "You saw that woman who wanted to hand over the artifact?"
Sunny nodded.
"Her na is Jade, and she is a close friend to my parents, alas... My mom's best friend..." He turned his head back to the half-filled glass. "When my parents were fighting the Wendigos, she cold-heartedly took all the remaining troops with her, leaving all the exits open for the Wendigos... She took the artifact with the troops and ran away! Leaving my parents alone in the midst of Wendigos!" He chuckled with disdain. "You know what she told ; 'The artifact was more important'." He shook his head, a small, forced smile on his face. "That artifact was more important than the lives of my parents." He added coldly, and gulped the whole wine down.
"I so wanted to kill her... But, she ca back with the Artifact and troops; and beca the new Commander... I was out of her reach." He sighed.
"How do you know all these? You were just 10 then," Sunny asked with a frown.
"Let's say the man who trained isn't as lovely and parental as you will wish... He not only told everything, he showed the CCTV cara, and I stood there and watched as the Wendigos tore my parents apart."
"....?!" Sunny was stunned. "What type of guardian will show a ten-year-old that?" he asked.
"The type who is a bounty hunter," Nioh chuckled.
"Bounty hunter? Your parents died as martyrs, shouldn't you have gained sothing?"
"Gain?? Being their son made a target... I don't want to admit it, but I also hated my parents... How could both of them leave their ten-year-old child and enter such a battle?! Isn't that crazy!" He exhaled deeply, calming his emotions. "When they died, my uncle ca in and took everything away, and almost killed if that bounty hunter hadn't saved my... He took in, trained , and turned into who I am today." He looked at his palms. "I might be a rogue, a deceiver, or whatever bad nas are out there... But I have done a lot of things that I am not proud of... All to get stronger, so I can have my revenge on these people."
"Are you close to that goal?" Sunny asked.
"Thanks to you, I can have my revenge on my uncle... I will act when I know I am free, not when I am needed here," he said, turning to Sunny with a grateful expression.
Sunny stared at him for a few seconds before asking again: "Why did you steal the artifact?"
"That? I wanted to destroy it... The Wendigos have no clue the artifact was still standing; everyone thought it was destroyed. Only the leaders knew that, and well, my guardian, he helped secure the artifact, and I ran away with it."
"Ran away? You were caught."
"Yes, and I have to thank you for saving my life," he said with a smile.
"How do you plan to destroy it?" Sunny asked, while Nioh shrugged. "I don't know."
".....?" Sunny was stunned.
"That Artifact has imnse power! I don't even know if a high grand weapon can destroy it," he added.
Sunny nodded again, but he wasn't done. "When I gave you your first salary, what were you intending to do with it?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"To buy the pirates, and then the rcenaries."
That caught Sunny's attention. "rcenaries?" he asked, confused. There was nothing like a rcenary faction in any of the mories he had received.
"Yes..." Nioh smiled and turned to him. "Yes. The elves discovered them." He paused, then added: "Not all races knew about these soldiers... Only the chosen ones."
'As the forr empire of the Star Empire, the strongest empire in the galaxy, I am not a chosen? No! That can't be possible. I think Matilda knows about this and hid it from ,' he thought, and then asked:
"What are these rcenaries, and how can I buy them?"
User Comments
0 comments from readers