The Void-Cells of the Motherland were not built for men; they were built for concepts. The walls were lined with Anti-Mana obsidian, a material that didn't just block magic, but hungrily inhaled it. In the center of the pitch-black room, Kael sat on a cold stone slab, his skin no longer glowing with the heat of the forge. He looked human—mortal, bruised, and dangerously bored.
The heavy door didn't creak; it simply ceased to exist as Neith stepped through the threshold. The 99th Goddess of Knowledge looked as she always did—a doll-like figure with the eyes of a dying star. She hopped onto a small stool that manifested out of thin air, swinging her legs.
"You look terrible," she chirped, her voice a bright contrast to the suffocating silence of the cell. "Lava-chic is clearly out this season."
Kael leaned back against the obsidian, a ghost of a smirk on his face. "And you look like you're about to tell me 'I told you so.' Skip the preamble, Neith. How's Mikaela?"
"Icy. Literally," Neith sighed, picking at her fingernails. "She's in the cell next door, trying to freeze her way through four feet of soul-sucking stone. It's adorable, really. Though, I have to ask... who's the bad influence here? Did you corrupt my favorite frost-weaving prodigy, or did she convince you that poking the Supreme Commander was a solid Friday night plan? It's a real 'chicken or the egg' situation of manipulation."
Kael chuckled, the sound dry and raspy. "We're a team. It's called a partnership, Neith. You should try it sometime in the next hundred lives."
"Partnership? Is that what the kids call 'mutually assured destruction' these days?" Neith leaned forward, her expression sharpening. "Let's be real, Kael. You knew you wouldn't win against Harold. Not yet. The God State isn't just a power-up; it's a cheat code. So, why challenge him? Were you just feeling particularly arrogant, or is the soot from Forgemire finally clogging your brain?"
Kael's eyes narrowed, the golden-brown depths flashing with a calculated spark. "Arrogance? No. I'm a Sovereign, Neith. I don't gamble. I invest."
"I may have lost the skirmish against Harold," Kael continued, his voice dropping to a confident rumble. "But what do you think was exactly my objective? I didn't go to Osoroshi to kill a God. I went there to kill a ghost. I succeeded in liberating Osoroshi. By the time the morning news-spheres reach the Motherland, everyone will see that the 'terror' of the south is gone."
Neith hopped off her stool, pacing the small cell. "But what you went for was a slaughter, Kael. Some would call it genocide."
"Soldiers killing soldiers is a Tuesday in Tellus," Kael countered sharply. "No civilians were killed. The Grave-Walkers were already dead, and their masters were monsters. As per my right as a conquering Sovereign, Osoroshi is now a part of Forgemire. Its resources, its labs, its people—they belong to the iron."
"Harold is the Supreme Commander," Neith reminded him, pointing a small finger at the ceiling. "He decides the borders. He decides who is a hero and who is a prisoner."
Kael stood up, the chains of anti-mana rattling against his wrists. He stepped into Neith's personal space, radiating a confidence that even the Void-Cell couldn't dampen.
"No, he doesn't," Kael whispered. "Harold is a relic of a silent world. My subjects in Forgemire aren't just workers; they're zealots. If I'm not back on my throne within the week, Forgemire alienates the Alliance. They'll shut down the foundries. The A.N.Ts will lose eighty percent of their weapons manufacturing overnight."
Neith stared at him, her ancient mind already calculating the economic collapse.
"And if he tries to play it by the book?" Kael smirked. "Then he takes me to the Court of the Sixteen. Let him try. I've done the math, Neith. At least nine of the Commanders will side with me regardless of Harold's 'God State.' Why? Because I achieved what the A.N.Ts couldn't do in a century. I claimed a rogue nation. I ended the threat of Noelle's birthplace. As far as the public is concerned, I'm not a prisoner. I'm a Hero."
Neith remained silent for a long moment, the gears of a thousand years turning behind her eyes. "You've turned a military defeat into a political checkmate. You really are a piece of work, Kael."
"I learned from the best," Kael said, glancing at the door. "Now, go tell the Supreme Commander that his guest is getting hungry. I'd hate for the Hero of Osoroshi to starve in the dark."
Neith turned to leave, but stopped at the threshold. "One more thing. Harold isn't just a commander. He's a believer. And believers don't like it when you mess with their scripture."
"Then it's a good thing I'm an atheist," Kael replied.