Chapter 1378 (2/2)

The Highest Commander and the Leader of the Xyrt Brigade glared at each other. Octavius couldn’t see the Xyrt Brigade Leader’s eyes, but her poisonous hatred was clear. The two had been at each other’s throats for five hundred years. The Highest Commander had been sniffing after the opportunity to send his subordinates on missions that weren’t just short patrols. The Leader of the Xyrt Brigade didn’t understand why so much Aether had to be sent to the frontlines each year.

Each thought the other was at fault for their current predicament.

Both the figure at the far end of the table, opposite the empty chair, and Divvius Swacc remained silent after the Highest Commander spoke. They were content to allow the two military representatives to hash out their differences before they made their own moves.

The head of the Xyrt Brigade shifted, her gaze finally leaving the Highest Commander. Her sneer was clear in her voice. “Do you think this will be the only attack at comes? Besides, the System is powerful enough to resist one Nether Horde. No, I do believe… the Xyrt Brigade won’t be moving to help this… Earth. We are best served keeping our most powerful force prepared for the true strike of the enemy.”

Slowly, Octavius’ face shifted into a look of horror. Why hadn’t it occurred to him that the Xyrt Brigade would simply abandon Earth to avoid the Aether expense it had assumed it would swiftly be rid of…?

Of course, the Highest Commander shared Octavius’s feelings, albeit for different reasons. He slammed his fists together with enough force that Octavius’s bones vibrated. “So you admit it! You are going to ignore the directives once more?!? At the next Nexus Council, I will strip you of everything-”

“You fool. Think about the bigger picture.” The Xyrt Brigade Leader shifted slightly, ripples jiggling out across her fleshy cloak. Octavius wondered if she was sitting inside of the skin of a larger monster that she had killed. “It is because I value the directives that I’m taking this course of action. The Seventh Cohort is less important than the System framework that allows us to create additional Cohorts. Or do you fail to understand what will happen to the Nexus if we cannot create additional Cohorts…?”

“You…!” The Highest Commander hissed, but even though his heavy breathing revealed his fury, he had to be careful about what he was about to say. Words had meaning here; what he said would be remembered and used against him. Speaking casually was akin to creating an ideological opening. At this tier of power, those weaknesses were what his rivals were waiting for.

Everyone in the room understood that the Nexus needed more fresh images every day in order to keep going. Losing the ability to create additional Cohorts would mean the Nexus itself would soon collapse from the weight of its own existence. The Highest Commander couldn’t claim otherwise. And using the words to argue she was wrong would make this a complicated affair.

Octavius could barely move. He didn’t like to admit it, but the ripples of power from everyone’s images were enough to wipe him out of existence. Even if he wanted to share an opinion, he knew it would not be accepted here. He was just a decoration in this room.

Divvius stirred, sending a waterfall of maggots off of his chair and onto the floor as he raised his arm. Octavius tried not to stare as they crawled up the chair to rejoin their fellows. “So… we cannot afford to rescue the Earth? Is that what you are claiming, Vanity?”

The Leader of the Xyrt Brigade nodded, radiating annoyance that Divvius had used her nickname. Also likely because she was forced to take a firm stance. But compared to when the Highest Commander had said it, the Leader of the Xyrt Brigade was now willing to accept the slight. Especially because it seemed like the business tycoon of the Swacc Family was moving to support her.

Finally, the last figure at the table spoke. Her tone was clear and lovely. “Does no one else care for the potential that the people of Earth possess?”

Solomon Rex deserved to be sitting in the chair by right, but he took every opportunity to slight the other forces within the Nexus. So in the chair belonging to him sat his daughter, Neshamah Rex, with her legs curled up under her like she was at a family dinner rather than a meeting that discussed the fate of a world.

She was, in a word, beautiful. Her hair was emerald and it cascaded down the chair around her to the floor. Her skin was robin’s egg blue. She was humanoid, with a constant smile as she looked at the other individuals seated at the table, as though everything was a joke.

There was a moment of tense silence as the other three powerful individuals considered whether to agree with her or to speak out against her. Honestly, for these powerful figures, dealing with Neshamah was exhausting. Because pining her down with words ignored the true threat, her father. Engaging her at all was just speaking unnecessarily.

Octavius could only look at her and wonder whether she knew what she was doing by intruding in this issue that had been about to be settled. Of course, Octavius was thankful that she had, considering his arrangement with Randidly Ghosthound, but still…

And then he nearly jumped out of his skin as Neshamah’s bright red eyes met Octavius’ and she winked at him.

Finally, the Leader of the Xyrt Brigade seemed to sigh and shook her head. Apparently she decided to take Neshamah’s words seriously. “...it is truly a promising planet. But we cannot-”

There was the noise of the Leader of the Xyrt Brigade choking and the whole room froze. Octavius had still been peaking at Neshamah, so he read the genuine shock and horror in her stunning features as she looked directly across the space toward the empty chair. His skin tingling, Octavius slowly turned and looked at the figure that had appeared at the head of the meeting.

“Ah… broken so easily…”

A figure sat in the reserved spot. His limbs were long and muscled. He wore a simple white robe and had reached out a hand to touch the shoulder of the Leader of the Xyrt Brigade. And as Octavius’ vision pivoted, he watched every atom of that powerful woman crack and disintegrate to dust. Soon, the chair opposite Octavius was empty.

The figure continued to speak. “The Earth… so familiar… but her memories were gone… I think I’m forgetting… who led me to her…?”

Each word was a hammer against Octavius’ brain. Being so close to the head of the table, he could hardly breathe. In his mind, there was no doubt who this individual was: Elhume, the man who had stood on the Pinnacle.

“Anyway… I didn’t wish this… but another can take her place…” His gaze went around the table. There was a fuzziness to Elhume’s face, as though he had purposefully drawn a veil across his vision. But even so, when Octavius felt that gaze he felt his Class groan and crack beneath that scrutiny. “Protect the Earth. This… bothers me. And I was just… if I could just find…”

Slowly, the mumbles trailed off. And then Elhume disappeared from his seat at the table.