180 Helios Novas, Ruler of Worlds (1/2)

I frowned, already prepared to ignore this guy. Before I walked past him, Caprika raised her hands,

”Now brother, I've proven my judgment to you on many an occasion. Would you mind trusting it once more?”

Helios looked at her, his boredom fading as he spoke to her,

”Surely you understand my skepticism? He's under-leveled, and he hides his status. That usually bodes poorly. Even excluding those factors, you've chosen losing candidates on numerous occasions. Every occasion, in fact.”

Caprika wrapped her hands together, ”Daniel is different.”

Helios scoffed, ”As were the last three candidates father had me evaluate.” The big guy tilted his head and looked back at me, ”Would you explain why he's hiding his status? Is he that ashamed of who he is and what he's done?”

Caprika shook her hands, ”Why, he has several very acceptable reasons for veiling his identity. It's not out of shame either, dearest. I swear to you that he's more than competent. He defeated Delilath, Lady of Yellow even.”

Helios straightened up, his utter disdain for the situation fading some,

”Ah, she was the warrior that defeated several of your nominees, including you?”

Caprika winced, ”Ah, yes she did...multiple times.”

Helios turned to me while crossing his arms, ”Then you're actually helping my sister and not putting on a false pretense? Excuse my initial rudeness then. Your disguise as a weak peasant worked overly well.”

I shrugged, kind of surprised by the apology at this point. I tried analyzing him as I spoke, ”Eh, it's not even worth excusing. Your opinion isn't worth caring about at this point.”

He was hiding his status as well. The hypocrite scoffed, ”Likewise. Now, what makes you worthy of representing my sister?”

I raised a hand, ”Well, for starters, I'm stronger than her.”

Heliod sighed, ”While my sister is fluid in courts, she lacks the same refinement on a battlefield. You understand if that isn't enough?”

Caprika placed a hand on Helios's arm, ”Helios, I understand your brotherly concern. In fact, I find it endearing. At the same time, it's insulting to my allies.”

Helios stared at Caprika, ”Ah, then I've conveyed myself well.”

He turned back to me, ”Understand something, little one. This is my sister's chance to redeem herself. It's essential so that she may return to our homeworld once more. Otherwise, she'll rot here in this abyss for yet another year.”

Torix spoke up, ”I wouldn't fret about it too much. This isn't the first, nor the last time Daniel has been underestimated. His level is deceiving.”

Helios raised a hand, ”That's grand news, but I need more than words to prove his worth. Father has been attempting to send one of the royal guards here for the past decade. Winning the tournament on an underdeveloped world like this would be nothing for them.”

Helios shook his head, ”Yet Caprika's wanted to finish the task on her own. She's been stubborn that way since we were cubs.”

Helios shook his head, his massive mane moving with the twist and turns of his neck,

”I need some kind of evidence to prove, hmm, Daniel was it? Yes, Daniel's competence. Ah yes, excuse me if I forget all of your names. I meet many people, and their faces bleed together over time.”

Helios glared down at me, ”Especially when they wear a mask.”

I rolled my eyes, ”You're not hurting anyone's feelings here man. Good try though.”

Caprika waved her hands, ”Ahem, as for proving my nominee's worth, what if you were to watch Daniel's next fight in the tournament? That will more than assuage your concerns.”

Helios shrugged, glancing back down at his nails, ”It's as good a plan as any, I suppose.”

Helios walked up to me, ”Then I'll watch your next fight. One last message before I leave you to prepare.” He placed a hand onto my shoulder. It ebbed a vast and primal energy,

”Treat my sister well, or else I will tear you apart. Do you understand?”

I grabbed his hand, wrenching it off me, ”Uh huh. Tell me then big man, are you finished yet or do you have to swing your dick around some more? I understand if you're not done compensating.”

Caprika raised both her hands to Helios, ”I would like to remind you that it's difficult to get out of this 'abyss' as you put it without Daniel's help.”

Helios pulled his hand out of my grasp, his strength surprised me. He gripped his fist, ”Your relationship with my sister is why you're still alive. Remember that.”

”Sorry man. You forget names. I forget orders.”

Helios looked up, exhausted with the conversation, ”Then...so be it.” He turned to his sister, ”If he loses this tournament, he will die. I'll leave the remembering to you.”

Caprika pressed her hands together, ”I understand. Of course, of course.”

Helios created a portal, much like Torix's own teleportation. He walked through the purple rimmed void, disappearing in an instant. As he left, one of his gauntlets faced me.

A marking of the dimensional cipher was carved on it, the mark gorgeously rendered. As a fellow craftsman, it impressed me quite a bit. I raised an eyebrow as I turned to Caprika,

”Where'd he get that marking?”

As her brother disappeared, Caprika walked over towards the stone couch he sat on. She flopped onto the furniture, and she lifted her hands. They shook with fear as she looked at me,

”Do you see these hands?”

I nodded. She continued, ”My brother isn't someone you make snappy retorts with. You're lucky he spared you.”

I turned a hand to her, ”But if a fight broke out, that would've been an easy way to prove myself.”

Caprika shook her head, ”Winning the tournament is much easier than defeating my brother. Besides, he'd tear you apart. I say that while respecting your own capacity for carnage.”

I raised my eyebrows, ”Damn, is he that strong?”

Caprika sighed, ”Allow me to send you a copy of his status the last time he let me analyze him. It's improved since then I'm sure. It will paint a better picture than I could do so.”

She fiddled with her status. Seconds later, the file uploaded. I opened it, and Caprika's fear made sense all of a sudden.

Helios was a monster.

Helios Nova, Ruler of Worlds(lvl 15,000 | Guild: The Empire | Ownership: Belka-623(planet), Meliton(planet) | Class: Fringe Walker | Titles: Winter's Wrath, Cold of the Void) - Helios Novas is a shining example of a galactic citizen. He has accomplished many feats during his relatively short lifespan. He's an accomplished Fringe Walker, having cleared over a dozen worlds. He's established outposts on even more planets, allowing him to expand his influence outward.

Outside of his class distinctions, he's proven himself time and time again by serving the Emperor. He is known as the Empire's Hammer, and he is used as such during wars or skirmishes. His overwhelming control of ice and spatial magic has left worlds uninhabitable should they provoke the Empire's wrath.

He rules over two of the worlds he's saved, Belka-623 and Meliton. Belka-623 is a mining planet, rich in rare minerals and alloys. It's gem reserves help fuel the empire, and many fortunes have been made thereby aspiring tycoons. Meliton is a world with typical development in Schema's system. There, Helios is praised as a messiah and savior of the world.

Though he lacks tact, his prowess in battle is nigh unmatched. Stay on his good side, or you will most certainly die.

I whistled, ”Damn, no wonder the guy was bored when we arrived. He's used to making some serious waves.”

Caprika nodded, ”He's very icy and quick to act. Our father called him the family's ice golem, his every move calculated and cold.”

I frowned, ”Well, I assumed he was all bark and no bite...Man...I was wrong about that.”

I assumed since Helios was royalty like Caprika, he and her would share a lot characteristics. For the most part, they varied quite a bit. Even if Helios was an asshole, he deserved some respect for what he'd accomplished.

I kept that in mind as Caprika shook her head,

”You'll find Helios's teeth are quite sharp. Try not to instigate him into biting you next time, or you won't make it out in one piece.”

I nodded, taking another mental note of the cipher mark on his forearm. The intricate marking exceeded my own ability. Based on what Caprika said earlier, the Emperor made it. It was partway to blame for Helio's success no doubt.

If the Emperor used the cipher to such success, it might be time for me to sink my teeth into the cipher. I waited till now because of what the cipher did to Yawm. He lost his mind, driven mad by the allure of power. If I progressed with the cipher, I might go down the same road.

To stop that, I decided to progress in baby steps. Practice would be my first step. With that in mind, I pointed towards the rooms at the back of the hall,

”So, who's sleeping where?”

We walked up, looking into each of the rooms. It turned out we didn't have much choice in the matter. All the spaces were identical, each one bland and barren. It worked fine for us except Caprika. Our entire group was used to roughing it in the wild or sleeping on stone. On the other hand, Caprika turned her nose up at the straw mattresses and outhouse bathrooms.

Caprika shouted from the inside of one of the said bathrooms,

”I can't believe our living arrangements are this primitive. To think they treat guests with such a careless attitude.”

I waved my hands, ”They intended on this being a space for hardened warriors, not for royalty.”

Caprika let her hands flop on her sides, ”So warriors defecate in a hole inside their house?”

Kessiah walked up and nudged Caprika, ”Told you we'd be roughing it.”

Caprika spread out her hands, ”This will be rectified tomorrow. I swear to you all on the Novas's name.”

Torix already set up dozens of charts on the wall, pinning the graphs with adhesive. Caprika walked up to him, ”Malthazar, what are you doing?”

Torix pointed at the graphs, ”I'm adding visualizations to help with my ideation process.”

Caprika shook her hands, ”Surely there's a better place for that?”

Torix shrugged, ”It won't bother me one bit. It's not where you live. What matters is how and who you live with.”

Kessiah snapped from inside her room, ”So it'll be a shithole regardless.”

Torix rolled his eyes. Althea and I walked into our room, shutting the door as Caprika raised a fuss. I was done with royalty for the day, and I agreed with Torix. It didn't matter where we were. All that mattered was what we could get done.

That being said, I pulled out a soft blanket to put over Althea and my bed. After that, I warmed the room up to a comfortable tempurature with my Star Forger skill. Even if I didn't care about my comfort, I did care about Althea's.

After laying in the bed for a couple of minutes, Althea fell asleep. With one of her arms draped over my waist, I pulled out my grimoire. Intent on practicing, I opened my personal tome and went to work. After a bit of reflection, I got an idea of what my problem was with the cipher.