[Some moments Later.]
BAM!
The heavy, ornate door burst inward, shattering the calm of the room. Nioh stumbled past the threshold, eyes wide and frantic, and scrambled behind a large, velvet-upholstered sofa, his breathing ragged.
"....?!"
Sunny, who had been listening intently to Morgana, merely raised an eyebrow, a flicker of annoyance crossing his features.
The massive silhouettes of five men filled the doorway, armed with crude but formidable battleaxes. They froze, their aggressive momentum halting abruptly as they registered the two people calmly seated within.
"Huh??" one of the brutes muttered, confusion overriding his initial bloodlust.
"Who are you guys?!" another demanded, his voice thick with menace but undercut by surprise.
"No! The main question is! Where is that guy that just rushed inside here?!" The largest man, clearly the leader, bellowed, his voice shaking the crystal chandelier.
Morgana, who had been studying the intruders with a clinical detachment, finally spoke, a low, dangerously smooth tone that held more threat than any shout: "Who the fuck are you guys?"
"You! Do you think we are scared of you?!! If you don't tell us where he is hiding! We will destroy this whole building until we locate him!!" the leader roared, taking a threatening step forward.
Morgana's expression did not just turn cold; it became utterly frozen, the predatory warmth in her eyes replaced by the chilling vacuum of space. "Destroy my house?" she repeated slowly, the words heavy with disbelief.
"Not even the leaders of the nations can say that to my face and expect to live. Who the hell are you fools to spat such nonsense?!"
She rose slowly, a study in lethal grace. Every muscle movement was precise, demanding attention.
"The one you are looking for is hiding behind the sofa," she stated, her hand lifting in a dismissive gesture. The heavy door behind the five men slammed shut with a deafening finality:
"It's too bad none of you will be alive to touch him."
The five men exchanged nervous glances, turning to the door, then back to the woman. The leader puffed out his chest, attempting to reclaim his bravado. "You!! I am a grandmaster! While the four behind me are all masters! Do you three think you can win!!"
Morgana didn't answer with words. She simply snapped her fingers. The sound was quiet, yet it felt like a thunderclap.
The Grandmaster suddenly gasped, his eyes clouding over as if a light had been extinguished inside. Before anyone's eyes, a faint, shimmering vapor—his soul—detached itself from his body and coalesced into a small, flickering blue orb hovering above Morgana's open palm.
"....?!!"
THUD!
The Grandmaster's body hit the marble floor, a lifeless husk. The sound echoed in the sudden silence, a horrifying punctuation mark.
"Monster!!" The remaining four exclaimed, terror paralyzing their formidable frames.
Morgana casually inspected the soul orb, a look of simple curiosity on her face. Then, with a calculated motion, she compressed the orb into a dense, marble-sized pellet and brought it to her lips. She swallowed it with an almost sensual gulp.
".....?!!!"
Even Nioh, who had peeked out from behind the sofa, stood fully upright, his previous fear replaced by a deep-seated frown of moral revulsion. He had run from mercenaries; he had not expected to witness a literal act of spiritual consumption.
"You!! Who are you?!!" one of the men asked, stumbling backward, his fear a palpable thing.
"Who am I?" Morgana smirked, the shadow of her past—the legend she was—unfurling around her like a physical mantle. Her impossibly long, red hair shot forward in a flurry of black silk, wrapping around the four men with incredible speed and strength, immobilizing them completely.
"Let us go!!" they shrieked in mild horror.
Morgana turned her attention to Sunny and Nioh, her voice returning to its light, almost polite register. "I think it would be bad if my customers see what will happen next. Can both of you be on your way?"
Sunny rose, his internal composure unshaken, yet his mind was working furiously. 'Morgana. Her legend is understated.'
He had seen raw power, but this level of detached, intrinsic malice was a unique spectacle. "Ok, Morgana... We will leave you to your fun," he said, walking toward the exit. He felt no desire to interfere, only to observe and remember.
"Mor... MORGANA??!!!!!!" The sheer dread in the mercenaries' voices was deafening. They were not just terrified of death; they were terrified of herreputation. They had threatened a legend.
Sunny and Nioh walked out, leaving the pleas and desperate, frantic screams to be muffled by the closing door. Nioh, however, couldn't help a final glance back. He saw Morgana approach one of the men, her head tilted, and watched as she deliberately licked his face.
"Hmm... Tasty," she purred.
Then her eyes, a predator's eyes, snapped up and met Nioh's. The look held nothing personal, only the deep, vast hunger of something ancient and unconcerned with morality. Nioh's skin crawled. He whipped his head away and hurried after Sunny.
"My... My king, can she be trusty?" Nioh stammered, the words tripping over his tongue. He was unnerved, not just by the violence, but by the casual monstrosity of it. This was an experience that would shift the lines of his personal morality forever.
Sunny walked on, his voice calm. "Morgana?" Nioh nodded. "No... But she also can't be untrusted."
Nioh stopped, confusion replacing horror.
".....?!"
He felt the weight of his own naivety. "What is she going to do with those men?"
Sunny paused, looking at his companion over his shoulder. The King's eyes were distant, already processing the broader implications. "It is better you don't know that," he said, and continued walking.
The two walked to their spaceships, the silence between them now heavy with the weight of consumed souls, and flew out from the planet.
___
Night settled over the makeshift encampment. Within a small, humble tent, the mood was one of strained debate.
"My queen... Why do you give them time to think about it?" Blood Eye asked, her confusion genuine. She respected Josephine deeply, but her compassion often felt like a liability in a world of wolves.
Josephine, unburdened by her heavy armor, sat in a simple green dress:
"Yes... There are children, and innocent people in that city. If we attack now, they could lose their lives."
"No!" Nicolas yelled, slamming his armored fist onto a crate.
"I don't accept that! Do you think those guys will leave our people alive if this happened to us?!! They will take them as slaves, who they could sell and make money!! I say we attack!!" He was driven by a deep, protective fury, a need to eliminate the threat before it touched a single one of their own.
"Yes my queen! I know you are kindhearted, but we know these guys! They aren't to be trusted! Even if we buy them off, they will betray us the moment they get an opportunity!" Blood Eye added, appealing to her tactical judgment.
Josephine slowly turned her gaze to the two of them, her eyes searching for any hint of wavering. "So you guys won't betray us?"
The two looked at each other, and then back at her, their resolve hardening under her scrutiny.
"Yes!" they affirmed together. "We will never betray you and the king!" This moment of shared affirmation cemented their unwavering loyalty, revealing the true core of their service—devotion to the monarchy, not just the cause.
Josephine stared, lost in thought. She sought a bloodless victory, a triumph of diplomacy that would save the innocents. It was a risk, an attempt to believe in the best of humanity, even as she prepared for the worst. With a heavy sigh, the kindness in her heart overriding the caution of her mind, she nodded.
"Ok then, tomorrow... We will know their decision. If they refuse, we will attack, no matter what happens, we must tak—"
BAM!!!!
Josephine froze, her breath catching in her throat. The sound was not an explosion, but a sickening, wet rupture. A blade, cold and gleaming, burst out from her chest, tearing through her heart.
A sharp, unbearable pain lanced through her. Her final, fading thought was one of self-reproach: 'I should have listened to them. My kindness cost me everything.'
".....!!!!"
Blood Eye and Nicolas were instantly paralyzed by horror. Behind Josephine, a figure slowly shimmered into view: Illusion.
"Without your armor, you are useless!" Illusion sneered, the words laced with cold contempt for Josephine's vulnerability.
Nicola: "No!!"
Blood Eye: "Illusion!!"
Illusion smirked, drawing her blood-slicked sword from Josephine and pushing the Queen's body roughly to the ground. The casual disrespect was a clear message of victory.
"You guys are fools! Your base is already surrounded," Illusion taunted, savoring the shock. "You want to bribe us with money? Once we kill you three, all your people will become slaves, who we can sell away... This whole planet will also be ours, then, we can make more money than ever!" Her words laid bare the brutal, calculating greed of their enemy.
"I will kill you!!" Nicolas's voice was a promise of vengeance.
Before the two could move, Illusion vanished.
"This!!" The tactical frustration of fighting a ghostly assassin was immediate.
The two rushed to Josephine, their panic overriding their training. "My Queen! Don't die! Don't!" they yelled, their voices breaking as they stared into her rapidly dimming eyes.
"Master!" The tent flap flew open as a guard rushed in, only to freeze at the scene.
"What happened?!" Nicolas demanded, his killing intent an almost physical force.
"They... They are attacking!!" the man yelled.
"Bastards!!" Nicolas stood up, his fury consuming his grief. He summoned his armor, the metal snapping and locking into place with a fierce clank.
"Take care of the queen! Make sure she is alive! I will deal with these monsters!" He spat out, rushing outside, the guard following. He was running on pure adrenaline and the desperate, illogical hope that a fight could somehow undo this catastrophe.
Blood Eye was left alone, staring at the wound. 'What the fuck can I do?'
The sword went through Josephine's heart! There's no way she can help. She watched, numb, as Josephine closed her eyes, and breathed her last.
"No!" Blood Eye whispered, a tear tracing a path down her face. It was not just the death of a Queen, but the death of their chance for peace.
WHOOSH!
"Huh?"
Blood Eye watched, bewildered, as the ring on Josephine's finger began to glow with a brilliant, white light. The Queen's body ascended and hovered mid-air. A thick, opaque cocoon made of light enveloped her, sealing her away.
"What is happening?" she asked in mild confusion. Fear and confusion warred with an unexpected, fragile hope. This was not the end. 'The King had clearly accounted for every contingency, even this one.'
____
BAM!!
The sudden, internal impact hit Sunny like a physical blow. He spurted a mouthful of blood that splattered on the steering wheel of his spaceship. He gripped his chest, the pain a profound, agonizing echo of a wound he hadn't received.
"Why does it feel like a blade went through my heart?!" he muttered in shock.
{Warning!!}
{Mate's health is rapidly decreasing.}
{90%...60%.... 40%.... 20%... 10%.}
{Mate is dead.}
Sunny froze. Dead. The word was a heavy, paralyzing weight. His pragmatic mind reeled, unable to process the total loss.
{Mate have entered a dormant state.}
{Mate requires Master's blood in less than 30 minutes, or Mate will die for good.}
The second warning was the lifeline. Dormant. A chance. The profound grief that had begun to grip him was instantly incinerated by a singular, overwhelming determination. His emotions—were all channeled into one primal, desperate drive to save his mate.
He slammed the accelerator. The spaceship roared to life. It shot forward, leaving Nioh's ship trailing in a flash of light.
"What the fuck?!!" Nioh cussed, frantically trying to catch up. "What is happening?! Why is he suddenly in a rush?!" He could only feel the chaotic energy emanating from the King's ship, a desperate urgency he couldn't comprehend, yet was compelled to follow.
__
Back at the settlement, Nicolas stood ready for war, his soldiers forming a resolute line behind him. He was incandescent with rage and despair.
'Shit!' He thought inwardly, observing the enemy formations:
'Who would have thought they damaged our battle spaceships and vehicles! We won't be able to use them in a while!'
He yelled aloud, his voice amplified by his helmet, a sound of righteous fury. "You monsters!! The queen gave you time and all you can do is stab her in the back! That is unforgivable!"
"What can you do?!" Illusion reappeared, standing confidently before her troops, flanked by the black-skinned man, one of the lords of the city. Her long, black hair moved in the wind, a banner of impending victory.
"You have been mentioning this king for so long, and we haven't even seen him! Do you think we are fools!!"
"Yes! And that your queen is the Beastify race's Queen," the black-skinned lord interjected with a cold, logical cruelty. "If she is that wealthy, will her race and kingdom be almost destroyed by the Wendigos?!" He was dismantling their reputation, eroding their support.
Nicolas's eyes narrowed with deadly purpose. "You!! The King helped her! And he plans to help you too! But your action today! I don't know if your city will see the next day!"
"Are you threatening us?!! Open your eyes and see! We have rounded up everyone in our city! Every man and woman who could wield a weapon! Now we have a total of 5,000 troops! And this is half our number!" Illusion spat out, showcasing her overwhelming numerical advantage.
"You think a mere 5,000 soldiers can stop us?! You are dreaming!! Once I take out your eyes! You will see the reality!" Nicolas spat out, pointing his sword at the opposing 2,500 soldiers. His grief had hardened into a singular, unwavering focus: vengeance for his Queen.
"Attack!!" he yelled, launching himself and his loyal troops into the fray. The diplomacy was over. The war had begun.