They were down in the dungeon of Lilino, the day after Kallan, Artemis, Haven, and Lavimo had returned from their expedition in Orvana’s lair. From what he’d had heard, Lavimo had barely left his room since they got back, and that Haven was the one taking care of him, cooking for him, and getting him to eat. It was a good thing those two had each other, and Kal could see how genuinely close they were. In a way, he envied them, as he missed having the kind of bond with someone so dear to him, as well. But it was all in the past now. He couldn’t bring himself to think about it.
With him was Artemis, the Queen and King of Lilino, as well as the King of Salaven, their names being Nadia Aixon, her husband Didimitri Korule, and Cadence Canasettia respectively. Cadence was his personal leader, the man he was loyal to and whose orders he would follow without question. He was a kind and benevolent leader with a stern and lawful heart who only wanted what was best for the Udimeia. However, he had retired ever since the death of his child, Princess Arcadia Canasettia. Nadia had taken up his position after he’d handed it over to her, and the woman had led with an iron fist ever since. Their leadership styles were different, as Nadia was more harsh and stern with her people, but in the end, they both got the job done. Rumor had it that the two went way back and were also the best of friends, even though they liked to pretend that they weren’t.
“Here we are,” Nadia commented with a rather unimpressed tone of voice as she stared at the butler whom Artemis had escorted into a cell just yesterday evening. She’d looked at him, of course, and had given him a little checkup to see the length of his injuries, but despite having a severe concussion and several broken limbs, he had barely been harmed at all. It would not take much effort for someone like Didimitri, her husband, to heal.
The man took his time, kneeling down with his larger body that was rather muscular and shaped like a rectangle, his dark, reddish-brown skin looking darker in the dim light of the dungeon while his thin, sleek black hair wrapped up in a bun looked nearly like ink. His large hand extended to the butler’s head, palm landing on the unconscious man’s fair skin, before a soft green glow seeped out from the touch and into the butler’s bruised flesh, coursing through his muscle and mending his bone. His brain was wired back together and removed of damage, and his broken arm and all his many broken ribs were tended to and fixed before Didimitri pulled away, giving a simple smile to his wife before standing up and moving back. “He’s all yours now, my love. He will wake up soon.”
“Great. What of the mind control? Artemis, tell me more,” Nadia prompted with a swift command, the honorary princess of Salaven’s thick brows twitching ever so slightly while she reigned herself in before she snapped at being told what to do in such a flippant manner.
“According to Haven, the mind control can only be broken if the target is dying. Me and Kallan have both theorized that it’s because dying works as a reset button that overwhelms the target’s mind so much they can no longer be controlled. However, we don’t know if that’s all there is to it, and we don’t know much else. Which is what this interrogation is for, I might add,” she strung on rather passive aggressively, but Nadia only smiled in her satisfaction while she watched butler begin to open his eyes, his head lifting up before his teal eyes scanned over them all behind his concept numbing chains, gathering all the information they could as they swept over every face, eyes lingering on Artemis for just a moment before they shifted into a glare.
And the Queen of Lilino stepped in front of him and smiled down at where he was on the ground, looking rather smug as she rested a hand on her hip. “Hello there. I am Queen Nadia Aixon of Lilino, leader of the Central Domain Alliance. And who might you be?”
“I don’t see how that’s any of your concern,” the butler snapped rudely, jaw gritted so tight it looked like it was about to crack. Kallan watched the whole thing play out in silence, his blood red eyes observing the queen while she bent down to kneel in front of the butler, reaching out to snatch his chin and force him to look her directly in the eye.
“Oh, I very much beg to differ. Everything you represent is my concern. You have hurt my nephew, and your master will pay for what she has done to him. Now, tell me, are you under the mind control right now, as well? Or did Artemis snap you out of it, considering how half dead you were?” she hummed, milky chocolate fingers digging into the fair skin, the butler hissing and squinting in pain as nails dug into his thin cheeks and narrow jaw.
“Figure it out yourself, you bitch,” he hissed instead, voice full of unwavering defiance before Nadia reached back and slapped him, the butler’s neck popped out of place as he was swung back on his chains, immediately breaking out into a coughing fit while shaking terribly before turning back around to glare at Nadia’s now serious features. “That won’t break me,” he insisted through ragged breathing, not about to let any of his master’s information leave his lips. It was what he was programmed to do, so even if they tortured, maimed, or almost killed him, he would not be able to say anything at all. “Give me your worst,” he provoked instead, Nadia’s thin brows furrowing beneath her pointed bangs as her amber eyes narrowed.
“Cadence,” she summoned, the King of Salaven gazing at the butler with his sad, pale green eyes. The man was perhaps characterized by his misery, the very thing that seemed to define him and his life at this point. He was over two thousand years old and was considered to be one of the older of the middle aged people in the Udimeia. Not only that, he was the first member and founder of the Central Domain Alliance, the legendary bringer of peace in the world, who had once ruled his portion of the universes and protected them fiercely for over a thousand years, no enemies ever slipping through the cracks of his rule. Though he had also suffered more than most, as well. He had thin, platinum blond hair and soft green eyes, their light color mossy and reminiscent of the blades of grass that covered Salaven’s vast and beautiful flower fields.
Though the man didn’t immediately respond to Nadia’s call, merely continuing to stare down at their captive as the butler turned to glare at him, as well. Cadence’s expression was blank and unreadable, the butler unable to tell what the mighty king of yore must be thinking no matter how hard he met his green gaze, before the great King of Salaven eventually lifted his chin and spoke with dignity. “He is still under the mind control. But don’t worry, I can remove it.”
“You can what?! Don’t make me laugh!!” the butler snarled, almost in panic as he lunged against his chains, Nadia only glaring at him in disgust when he got closer to her. “Orvana’s power is absolute!! No one can break her mind control!! No one, do you hear me?! You must be some other breed of arrogant if you think you can—!!” the butler kept screaming, clearly going on quite the heated rant, before suddenly, his teal-colored eyes snapped out of focus and began to glance at nothing but the air and space in front of him as his jaw fell slack and open.
Everyone watched as his head suddenly slumped, shoulders sagging against the weight of the chains around his wrists while the butler’s eyes suddenly opened wide, the most alert they’d ever been in centuries. The group of four all quietly turned to stare at Cadence, instinctively knowing he must have used his terrifying concept of his to break the mind control, a feat only he could achieve. Nadia was satisfied with this, staring down more gently at the silver-haired man as his head continued to hang while his eyes stared widely and terrified at the concrete ground.
“Hello, there. Let me restart by introducing myself again. My name is Nadia Aixon, and it is my honor to finally speak with you… the real you,” she clarified calmly, the silver-haired man finally turning up to stare at her with an absolutely horrified expression on his face.
His lips were quivering and his chin was trembling, and he felt like he was unable to control his shaking as he kept looking side to side, gathering the new sights of his surroundings. He didn’t know why he was in a prison, but he remembered being under Orvana’s control and her concept of the marionette. He was aware that he’d done horrible things. And his head hung down again as he processed it all, Nadia staring at him more gently.
“It’s alright now. You have been freed from her control, you are no longer her slave to command. Your will is now your own once again, so please, tell me all you can… so that we may stop this threat and this woman from controlling and harming more innocent people like yourself,” she questioned sincerely, the man’s teal eyes looking up to her once again as small cracks began to form on his cheeks, Kallan’s red eyes squinting at the sight.
“Ah… I, I never wanted this…” the silver-haired man gasped, eyes darting all around the room before he eventually looked down again, hanging his head in front of Nadia. “I don’t know much. I don’t even know how Orvana’s concept works. I, I used to be friendly with her, she was the mother of the love of my life… I trusted her, I… I don’t know how this happened…” he choked out, as if the air in his lungs had been snatched away the moment he came to his senses. “I barely remember anything from when I was under her control. I barely remember anything at all, I… I’m sorry. All I know is that, is that… the organization she’s a part of… they want to start the apocalypse. I don’t know why, but they do. They call themselves Sinbrek,” his eyes shook, chin lifting to stare horrified at Nadia’s grim, serious face. “You can’t beat them. It’s impossible. Their leader, their leader… Sinicus, he… he has the concept of evil. He’s strong, but he’s not even the strongest… there, there’s this woman… ah…” he hesitated, looking down once again as tears welled up in his eyes, suddenly unable to continue.
Kallan didn’t know what to make of this, blood-colored eyes narrowing in on the poor soul while he watched the silver-haired man shake harder, sweat dripping off his clammy skin as anxiety filled him to the brim. He obviously knew something more than what he was saying, all of Kal’s training and skill with people told him that, but for some reason, this man didn’t want to tell them. Why? Why not? He seemed to hate and be scared of Sinbrek just as much as the next person, so what was holding him back? What was stopping him from sharing all he knew?
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But the cracks on his face only continued to grow and deepen, Nadia’s eyes widening, disturbed, before she reached out and grabbed the man’s shoulder, only for it to crumble and fade to dust the moment force was applied, the queen flinched backwards in shock. “Cadence… Cadence, what is happening to him?!”
“I don’t know,” Cadence wavered, just as shaken as she was before Kallan’s survival instincts took over, and he stepped up to be right beside the queen before he demanded all the information he knew this man was hiding.
“What else do you know?! Who is this woman, the strongest member of Sinbrek you were talking about?! Who is she?!” he demanded sternly, Cadence staring at the crumbling prisoner with pity as the silver-haired man only gave a dark, defeated laugh.
“Hah… it does not matter anymore.”
“What do you mean?!”
“I mean exactly what I say…” he sighed, teal eyes staring down at the ground as they began to lose their light. “I don’t want to live anymore,” the silver-haired man admitted with a twisted smile, Kal’s own features twisting up into knots as well the moment he heard his own darkest thoughts and desires mirrored back at him. “I am done. I have lived a full life, before the mind control, anyway… I seek no more from this world. But, if it helps, I don’t think you people have zero chance to win,” he smiled, turning up to warmly gaze at the leaders of the alliance as his hair began crumbling off his face, his arms shaving off as a pile of grey dust began to pile at his knees. “I know you have Feather on your side, even though I don’t know who he is. But I know that he is the one person Sinicus is scared of. If you have him with you, I believe you can win. And I wish you all the best of luck, because you’re definitely going to need it,” he laughed weakly, his pale cheeks and rosy nose withering away as his skin began to turn even whiter, cracks spreading all along his features while his clothes crumbled to dust at his feet. “Please, know that my name… my name is Silver… I’m begging you, don’t let the world forget me… and, also, please… please, please, please… save Piper, too… for me,” he gave one last horridly sad smile, the group watching in horror as the cracks spread and his entire form crumbled to dust, nothing but a grey pile of ash and chains where the silver-haired man had once been.
It was something none of them had ever seen before. Kallan had no clue what any of it meant. Who was that woman he had said was the strongest of Sinbrek? Why hadn’t he told them more about her, as if he were protecting her for whatever reason? Who was Piper? How on earth had someone managed to develop the taboo concept of evil without getting caught and killed first? Why did this mysterious group want to start the apocalypse in the first place? Why had he crumbled to dust? Was it a side effect of being freed from Orvana’s control, or something else? There were too many unanswered questions they could’ve received had they just been given more time, and yet they had not been granted that, leaving them completely in the dark.
“Well,” Artemis was the first to speak up rather sardonically, crossing her arms as she stared at the pile of dust that had once been a man. “Isn’t that just great.”
“We should’ve tried asking which of those concepts were actually his own,” Kallan hissed, entirely pissed off with himself for not thinking of it while he’d had the chance. “Haven said that Orvana had shared the same concepts as this man, and I remember Artemis saying that during their fight, Silver had also mentioned that he had all the powers of his master. That must mean Orvana can give her concepts to the people under her mind control. But not all of those concepts were hers, some of those concepts had belonged to him. But which ones?” he cursed, glaring at the ashes as everyone else looked solemnly to the ground. “If Orvana has the concept of rewinding time, we’re all screwed. That concept is taboo for a reason.”
“If she had it, then why didn’t she use it on either Haven or Lavimo?” Artemis countered, Kallan only scowling further at the remark.
“Because she wants to use Lavimo for something, and she didn’t view Haven as enough of a threat to take them seriously. Either way, with Orvana on the loose, Lavimo is in danger, and we don’t even know why. We know nothing of her goals or motives, or whatever someone like Lavimo has to do with her plans,” Kal pointed out angrily, Cadence turning to him before resting a calm hand on his back and in between his shoulders.
“Kallan,” the old king of peace summoned, his personal guard, captain of his troupes, and legendary strategist flinching at the calm call of his name, immediately calming himself down as the tenseness in his shoulders began to relax, Cadence smiling with the motion. “Good. We must not let our emotions get the better of us. Lavimo will be protected, as he is under our care. Leave it to Nadia, and the boy will remain safe. Orvana will not be able to reach him here.”
“That’s very true,” Nadia gave a serious nod, still staring at the ash of the silver-haired man before reaching out a hand and running it through her fingers, unable to do anything but frown. “Didi, dear, please go fetch some of our scientists. I want this ash studied immediately. We must know if it’s related or if it shares any of the same properties as the black ash from the planets that were the victims of the corruption and the apocalypse. Contact Betalina and Ophiuchus if you need to, he has the greatest access to the alliance’s most intelligent men and women.”
“Of course, love. I will be on it right away. Please try not to fret too much,” her husband comforted her, waiting for her to respond to his words before he left, Nadia only able to give a wry smile as she took another handful of the ash and watched it slip through her fingers once more.
“I will try, but I can make no guarantees. I will not let my nephew be harmed. That boy has already been through far too much,” she smiled darkly, thin brows furrowing as all the grey ash dropped back to the floor. “We are all Lavimo has left, my dear. You, me, Cirrus, Nefion. His entire family is dead, and Osiris is nowhere to be found. That brother of his comes around every twenty or forty decades and gives me all of his research and the answers he’s found about reality’s corruption, and visits Lavimo for a few days while he’s at it, before disappearing all over again. I understand his desperation, considering his parents and five of his siblings were killed by the apocalypse on his planet, but he should still be here for his brother. Lavimo needs him, has needed someone who knew and could share his pain to be there, and yet Osiris was not. He may visit yet again in another decade or two, but by then it may already be too late,” she smiled and glared simultaneously, standing up and leaving the ash alone before she turned to her husband once more, Didimitri returning her grave stare with a grave look of his own. “We must be there for Lavimo. We cannot let him be corrupted any further, and we cannot let that wretched woman have her way. We must protect him, and do what his parents could not.”
“I agree. Lavimo must be our top priority. Perhaps Cirrus can help, when he returns,” Didimitri offered wisely, Nadia smiling truer at the thought.
“Yes. He’s always been the closest to Lavimo, and right now, his cousin needs him more than ever. I do wonder what Cirrus is up to right about now, don’t you?”
“Searching for the miracle worker, is that it?” Cadence suggested, Nadia turning to give him a nod while the King of Salaven processed that. “I’ve heard a lot about him. Who do you suppose he is?”
“Hah. After that letter and book I received from Jayce and my son, I’m more curious about the new divine healer he’s found who I’ve somehow never heard of,” she gave a smug grin, Cadence taking that in for what it was.
“A new divine healer? Are they on par with Didimitri?”
“Even greater than my darling husband, I’m afraid. According to Cirrus, at least,” Nadia smirked, Didimitri bowing his head at the words. “Apparently, he managed to heal Cirrus’ all-knowing eye and removed all its pain, as well as healing my son’s deadly wounds, reattaching his arm, and preventing him from turning into a monster. As much as I praise my husband’s wonderful skills, I don’t believe he would’ve been able to do all of that so effortlessly,” she smiled, Didimitri smiling too with a small chuckle.
“Then when our son finally brings him to meet us, I should ask for some advice.”
“Haha, that may be helpful,” Nadia joined him with a small laugh, Cadence still thinking about who this mysterious new healer could be. Someone who was a greater healer than Didimitri, able to cure people from turning into monsters and healing the effects of strenuous concepts which should very well be impossible…? It sounded like a fairy tale.
Kallan, on the other hand, could only stare at his leader and king from where he stood beside him, observing the way his majesty’s chin was lowered in great thought. He could predict what Cadence must be thinking. The miracle worker’s true identity, the identity of that healer. He and Artemis were perhaps some of the only people who knew the answer to both. The only two here who knew that Cadence’s son was that very man, that very man of miracles for whom legends are made as well as most likely being that healer, as well. Would the legendary King of Salaven, known for his ability to keep the peace among the Udimeia for over a thousand years, something no one else had ever accomplished before… be proud of his only son, if he knew the truth behind it all? That Arcadia was using the concept of anything, had officially transitioned to become a man, and was dying over and over again, repeatedly and then some, just to use it and live? How would his king process it, when he learned that Arcadia had only been driven to that awful, cruel, and twisted fate because of Cadence’s failings as a father? Would the guilt overcome him, or would he overcome it?
He knew Cadence was strong, that was undeniable. But in his grief and age, he was growing weak-willed. Kallan wanted to protect him, to preserve his power and status as best he could, because Cadence was a man he admired like none other. One of the only adults to ever see worth in him, to give him a home and status and the power he craved and had desired and been oh so hungry for ever since he was a young child dealing with his parent’s weighty expectations. He was a good man, Kallan wholeheartedly believed so, and Cadence would always have his loyalty first and foremost. But what of Arcadia? When his king learned the truth, that his beloved son who he had hurt was alive, would reconciliation even be possible? Was it something the fierce and hardheaded Arcadia he remembered would even consider? That fierce, hard-headed child he had once known, who he had once played with and taught the art of war and strategy to, and who had always been such an eager learner… what would he say to his father when they met again? Would forgiveness be on his mind, or inside his heart? Would Arcadia ever give his father another chance again?
Kallan didn’t know how he felt towards Arcadia anymore. He had always had fun playing with him and teaching him things, as the boy had always been the quickest and most natural learner he had ever met, but in the end, his twin sister and lover had chosen that boy over him, abandoning him and leaving him to rot without another word… so, in the end, if Arcadia could not forgive Cadence, would Kal ever be able to forgive Arcadia? Was the bitterness he felt towards the man unfair? Should he try to make himself feel differently? Was that even possible? Was taming the betrayed and ugly emotions in his heart, who had tainted and poisoned him every waking moment of his dreary and pitiful life… even possible for a man like him? Could he… really ever overcome himself, and forgive that child he had once helped raise? Could he… even tell his king the truth? Was that something… he was capable of… at this late point in his life? After over four centuries of lying… could he really… do something like that and finally come clean…?
