164 An Inconvenient Truth (1/2)
”Are you about this?” said Velvund as he started at Reed with an indiscernible expression, so as to not sway him to toward one decision or another.
He had to make the decision on his own.
”I understand, Gramps, but I still need to know regardless of how I may feel about it later. There are some things we must confront no matter what, don't you agree? I think this is one of them.”
It was the truth. Reed knew it all too well, to the point that he no longer struggled against it. He had already accepted that he was destined to walk upon a path of thorns, no matter what he might want of his life. Suffering had become such a prevalent aspect of his life that he had developed an abnormal tolerance for it.
Was it a defeatist mentality or a realist one? Reed did not know. All he knew was that it had become his shield against the horrors that he had been subjected to all his life. It was not something he was proud of, but he knew that it had served him well, especially as of recent.
It doesn't matter either way. I'll gladly take it as long as it helps me endure the pain.
Reed, Lu'um, and Velvund walked past the ominous gate and then it creaked back into life and closed itself shut with a resounding slam. A booming clap of horror echoed out into the remote mountain range, heralding the arrival of the three poor fools that had entered. There was nothing to be gained within the bowels of the mountain except... misery.
Long, black hallways of darkened rock finally led into something vaguely man-made. Somewhat normal, if only in theory at the very least. Steel, circuitry, and dim lights were all that could be seen. A technological crypt in the heart of a mountain that was hidden to the world. Anima-conductive fiber optic cables ran the length of every hallway that Reed passed through, making him wonder how much power was being used to keep the entire place operational. He guessed from th3 flow around him that the Anima coursing throughout the facility could have probably powered a capital city like the Shining Nexus easily.
”Why does this place need so much power? What exactly is being run here that needs enough power to run a city?”
Reed asked the question in curiosity, but he already knew that the answer was not going to be anything good...
”The cables around us are all connected to the central hub of the facility where the Dreaming Council is being kept. Some are power cables; others are data cables; a few more are for... other purposes.”
The further ventured into the facility, the colder it seemed to get. It even got to a point where Reed saw his breaths turn into puffs of white mist. When his teeth started to unintentionally chatter, Lu'um pulled close and conjured a tiny ball of warm light in front of them.
”The amount of residual heat generated from the Dreaming Council's integrated systems is so problematic that it became a necessity to develop a highly aggressive cooling solution. There's nothing that we can do about this, my son. We can't have a multi-billion credit investment go up in flames, can we?”
When they finally made it to the deepest level of the facility, Reed gasped in genuine horror. Lu'um made a disgusted face in revulsion, appalled by the offensive sight.
Velvund sighed when he noticed their reactions and said, ”...You wanted the answer to your question, right? Well... here is your answer.
Allow me to formally introduce you to the Dreaming Council, which is, in fact, composed by... three of the Four Sovereigns.”
A living nightmare of fused flesh and circuitry, sustained by the efforts of three capital ship-grade Anima reactors. They were a biomechanical monstrosity of astounding intelligence and cold logical reasoning.
Within a freezing lake of liquid Anima laid true ruler of Mulia in all of its ungodly glory. Reed shuddered and said, ”...Three of the Four Sovereigns? Then what happened to the fourth one?”
A lifeless conglomerate of male and female voices spoke unison and said, ”Our associate, The King of Flowers, Sovereign of the South, is alive and well. He is not part of us and serves the continent in a different way than us, Son of Coatlicue.”
Lu'in flinched momentarily when she heard what it had called Reed and said, ”...Mind your manners, lowly servant. Do not forget where you stand and most importantly, who you stand in front of...” Her words were even colder than the temperature of the alien chamber they were in, full of indifferent animosity. To her, it was as if she was gazing upon a grotesque insect and nothing more.
”....Our apologies, Heiress of the Moon. We did not intend to offend you or Her Highness. Such a thing would never have crossed our minds, we swear. All we did was answer his question to the best of our abilities...”
A truthful answer, for the existence of the Dreaming Council could never be revealed to the world. Neither Mortal not Chosen would ever permit themselves to be ruled by such an abominable horror, even if it possessed every requirement needed of a perfect ruler.
Therefore, a mask was required for the Dreaming Council and they could not have found any better than the King of Flowers, who was an Eisalon. A creature blessed to be beloved by all by virtue of its naturally calm and gentle disposition and its innate racial ability.