Chapter 1379 (1/2)
Octavius Shrike would have liked nothing better than to quickly escape and return to his office in the Seventh Cohort. The Shining Palace was located in one of the mid-levels of the Nexus Capital, which meant that Octavius had rapidly descended into the underway and proceeded to the nearest portal at top speed. He sped along dimly lit corridors with metal mesh floors and walls composed entirely of various pipes. But to his horror, Octavius found himself followed. The steps following him only grew louder, clanging and echoing strangely in the deserted underways.
At this time of night, the combination of System privileges and willingness to be was a very rare combination. So Octavius felt a sinking feeling in his chest as he considered who could be the culprit. And when he turned around to confront his pursuer, he was faced with the lovely smile of Neshamah Rex passing through a billowing blue cloud of smoke.
Her red eyes gleamed as she examined him. “Why the rush? You know, most individuals trip over themselves for the opportunity to speak to the daughter of Solomon Rex. And yet you run… perhaps you, even now, are in the pocket of one of the other factions? In which case I promise that our conversation will be… discrete.”
“No, my lady… it’s not that.” Octavius responded awkwardly. He resisted the urge to reach up and nervously rub his rhinoceros horn. It might come across as disrespectful, under the circumstances. And this woman was someone that Octavius couldn’t afford to offend. Neshamah shifted her weight, considering the Overseer carefully.
Of the powers that were present in the Nexus, Solomon Rex was the one that was the least well understood. The Nexus Purists obviously did everything they could to support the running of the System, giving their lives like martyrs in order to advance its causes. Both military factions, the Commandership and the Xyrt Brigade, broadly fell into the Purist faction, although they each displayed a bit more self-centered focus than most of the purists.
Meanwhile, the Swacc Family furiously connived and cultivated talents in order to achieve its eternal goal: to have one of its number reach the Pinnacle. Even though they were fairly overt about their aggressive recruitment efforts, their reach was large enough that they could manage it without leaving behind any proof. The Swacc Family’s methods were an open secret in the Nexus.
Of course, all of the different factions within the Swacc Family squabbled about who should receive the resources and what that person should do once someone managed to reach the Pinnacle. But all would united against outside influences to protect themselves.
Solomon Rex and his organization was both smaller in size than any of the other factions and more… for lack of a better term, passive. They clearly amassed powered and selectively recruited talented individuals from planets, but the organization never had any grand schemes running to gather power.
They moved cautiously. As though they were not even part of the deadly tug of war happening within the Nexus.
Of the twin children of Solomon, Neshamah was the one publicly seen. But for all that, she seemed more of a distraction than any sort of heir. She attended balls and banquets held in the Nexus capital, doing everything she could to earn a reputation as frivolous and vapid. As those red eyes considered Octavius the through clouds of steam that were a constant companion in the underways, there was a sort of play present, sure, but it was the sporting humor of a predator considering how to take down wounded prey.
“Well then, Mr. Shrike, I have a few questions for you about Earth. We just witnessed Elhume himself, the most powerful individual in the Nexus, appear at a meeting! Wasn’t he a sight to behold? It’s perhaps a bit too soon to say, but… Truly, I fell in love with the raw power he wielded as soon as I saw it! Ah… those gentle hands of his…”
Octavius gulped. “Unfortunately, I do not have much time. Considering the situation on Earth-”
“Oh come now, I’m sure my father would love to hear your version of events.” Neshamah continued with a cold cheer. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she considered Octavius. Even though he was half a meter taller than the girl, he felt like he couldn’t move beneath that scrutiny. “As a show of sincerity… although time certainly is pressing… let me extend a very genuine invitation to return to my home… the countryside near the Solomon manor is delightful this time of year-”
“If Octavius Shrike doesn’t want to go, then I don’t think you should force him, girl.”
A stranger’s voice, light and vaguely familiar, drifted into Octavius’s ears. For a split second, Octavius felt relief, but then he felt the heavy scent of flowers fill the air. The surrounding ground erupted into a meadow of vivid flowers, oranges and emeralds and turquoises all competing to be the most eye-catching plant of the bunch. The underways were completely blanketed with the flora, becoming unrecognizable.
More curious than angry, Neshamah tilted her head to the side. Her emerald hair was lightly brushed by a flowerpetal-laden breeze. “How… strange. I promise that this is just a kind invitation. I might have been… forceful with my manners, but I swear that it was due to zeal, not malice, that fueled my enthusiasm.”
“Doesn’t matter. In this case… he as others waiting on the pleasure of his company.” The voice spoke again and the flowers vanished. With just a few words, Neshamah’s powerful image was completely oppressed.
Neshamah seemed to deflate. She looked extremely tired as she shook her head, an inner sorrow clear in her expression. “Truly, I… I apologize for overstepping my bounds. Madam, whoever you are… I meant no offense. Be well, both of you.” Then in a faint breeze, she was gone.
Out of the shadows of the alley, a figure walked forward. She had blue-grey hair and a long scar across one side of her face. The original Vualla smiled sadly at Octavius. “Honestly… her apology seemed genuine. But I believe I owe you an apology as well. Sorry I took so long. But now that I’m here… it’s time to get to work.”
*****
Randidly’s first move after the disjointed notification had appeared was figuring out the actual state of affairs on Earth. So he quickly said goodbye to Hank and Alana and returned to his island. Seeing those errors…
Now, Randidly was no stranger to System errors, but they generally fell into one of two categories. Errors that informed him that he was going to die or errors relating to the fact whatever he had just done broke some rule of this System. This was more closely related to the latter, but in a very dangerous way for the people of Earth.
So he sat down and pushed every ounce of his Willpower into strengthening his Grim Intuition to the fullest. His senses blasted outward from his floating island in response. Rapidly, the area of Earth that was within Randidly’s purview expanded. His focus rushed over ridges, forests, ravines, rivers, canyons, lakes, and deserts. He pushed through frost tipped mountains and flew over the wide stretches flatlands. Over the sea, he skimmed.
Very quickly Randidly was beyond the limits of what Vye had managed to map out thus far, far beyond the human territories. Huge hordes of monsters covered the lands, almost innumerable in some areas. In other places, he saw bubble cities cautiously beginning to explore the surrounding area.