Outside the ti bubble.
Exalon stood tall with his knuckles pressed against the sides of his thick waist.
He looked up again at the translucent mbrane that made up the bubble before him.
’Hmm,’ Exalon could feel a weak pull toward the bubble.
To the ordinary eye, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell how wide the bubble was. But Exalon could see that the bubble had a diater of a couple of hundred kilotres.
For mphis’s continent, which was actually very large, this occupied space was not worth ntioning.
Although not as large as Exalon’s continent, it was still very big and capable of housing hundreds more of this ti bubble.
Speaking of mphis, Exalon could not locate her, nor could he find Ozia. He suspected that they were in another ti bubble.
"Let’s give it an hour. After that, we’ll find mphis," Exalon said as he looked up to the sky.
Arkships occasionally flew by, each of them was among the secret force currently here to ensure Kael’s safety.
Behind Exalon, Katari was standing with her hands behind her back, her long two-piece black robe fluttering in the wave of the force field coming from the ti bubble.
"We’ll go once it’s thirty minutes, just to be sure," Katari said.
Exalon raised an eyebrow, "That’s too soon. The All-King might not have gotten what he desired by then."
"I know. Like I said, just to be sure," Katari said. She wasn’t going to take any chances.
Exalon did not say anything again after that, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with Katari.
After so ti, Katari was the first to break the silence.
"Why are you like this?" Katari asked.
Exalon turned around with a puzzled expression. His bald head reflected the light of the multicoloured sky and the passing arkships.
"Why am I like this? I don’t understand," Exalon said truthfully.
Katari looked at Exalon directly in the eyes, "You’re a bit too...unreliable, for my liking," She said.
"Huh?" Now Exalon was truly confused. He couldn’t even feel offended because he didn’t understand what Katari was trying to say.
"Are you playing dumb?
I’ve noticed that you seem to be putting in the bare minimum with our All-King, it makes wonder if you are really as trustworthy as Kael makes you out to be."
Katari’s words slowly settled into the mind of Exalon who processed everything instantly.
He narrowed his eyes as a faint pressure billowed out from his body. He took a step forward and was instantly standing in front of Katari.
His body towered over her form as though she were a dwarf. Compared to him, she seed very small and squashable.
"Do you have a problem with , Katari?" Exalon asked.
Katari didn’t flinch or budge. She stood firmly against the terrifying behemoth of a humanoid, her head raised high and she didn’t even think of backing down.
"Yes," Katari stated boldly.
"Hmm," Exalon squinted his eyes before releasing them and putting on a nonchalant look.
"Earlier, you caused the All-King to be very dissatisfied with you. You failed to let him know about the existence of the Horses and the threat they symbolise.
Isn’t it enough that many of the All-King’s enemies are waiting in the shadows for a good ti to strike? Why must you aid their efforts?"
As Katari spoke, she removed her arms from behind her back, as if to say that she was ready for anything.
"So? You think I’m unreliable just because of one minor issue?" Exalon was really wondering how Katari’s mind worked.
"Minor?" Suddenly, killing intent flashed in Katari’s eyes and she leaned forward slightly.
The killing intent was so strong that Exalon had to lean back slightly. Katari reminded him of his early hundreds, when he was still very brash and ready to enact all manner of violence.
"You seem to be very paranoid, Katari. Relax, with around, the All-King’s enemies would have to kill first to get to him," Exalon said, casually dismissing her worry.
"My paranoia has served Kael well since we t," Katari said calmly.
"Good for you then.
However, I will not tolerate insults on my person. I may be unreliable in gathering and distributing intel, but if you really want to see how reliable I can be..."
Exalon didn’t complete his words, he just clenched his fist fast enough to create a loud thunder boom.
The ssage was clear.
Exalon did not for once feel threatened. Katari was rely stating what she knew about him, not what he knew about himself.
Exalon knew that he could be a bit bland sotis but he also knew what he was capable of. His calmness was unbefitting of the monster he truly was. In his early days, he was considered a genius.
Now, he’s just an elder guiding the young.
If Katari wished to believe her own words, that one simple mistake marked him as completely unreliable, then he could not argue with her.
Whatever worked for Katari, he guessed.
"One minor mistake is all it takes for The Enemies, the sinners, and the weaklings, to rear their heads and strike a killing blow," Katari said.
"That will not happen," Exalon shook his head and folded his arms.
"I don’t trust your words, King Exalon," Katari said, leaning back and retracting her killing intent.
Exalon sighed with relief, feeling that he wouldn’t have to beat so sense into Kael’s consort.
"Do you trust anyone’s words?" Exalon asked out of curiosity.
The question was sothing Katari did not expect Exalon to ask.
"Yes, I trust Kael’s words," She said.
"I thought as much, what about your words?" Exalon asked again.
"No," Katari shook her head with vigor.
Exalon rolled his eyes, "So you’re telling you don’t even trust yourself but you trust Kael,"
"Yes,"
"It all makes sense now, hahaha," Exalon leaned back and laughed boisterously to the sky. His laughter shook the ground and created a minor shockwave that offset the pull from the ti bubble behind him.
"What’s funny?" Katari asked with a deadpan look on her face.
"It all makes total sense now. You are crazy.
That’s why you’re acting like this," Exalon said amidst his deep laughter.
"I’m crazy?" Katari acted like she had just heard the weirdest insult in her life. She had fought many enemies and many had taunted her with different kinds of insults.
But none had ever told her that she was crazy. Not even her fellow pride sisters had told her that she was crazy.
They had called her the devil, a demon, multiple derogatory terms right before they began to beg for rcy. But none ever actually said anything about her ntal state.
Not even jokingly.
Would Katari have even found it funny in the first place?
Katari seed to enter a state of full self-awareness all of a sudden.
"Is that a complint or an insult?" She asked with a blank stare. Her mind began to piece things together, thrusting her into an unwanted state of clarity.
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