My soul is damaged.
Xavier put a hand to his chest. There wasn’t time for him to think on what that might mean. Not until they got Justin and returned back to Earth.
There are other things that must be done. My soul is the least of my worries.
He looked at the carnage he’d created. The dead councilmembers. And he frowned, noticing something he hadn’t in the middle of the fight.
Allegra had told him that there would be ten councilmembers. Five men and five women. Yet in this room, there were only nine. Five men and four women.
Where was the last councilmember?
He replayed what had happened. Entering the room. The fight.
No one had left. There had only been nine councilmembers when he’d arrived. He got a bad feeling. Like something had gone wrong. But that councilmember could be anywhere, and he’d certainly sent his message.
Xavier quickly looted the Storage Rings off the councilmembers’ fingers, even if he was afraid to open them, knowing they might disintegrate like the Lord of the Endless Horde’s Storage Ring had.
He touched a hand to their weapons. At least he could loot those.
Then he looked at the free stat points he’d gained. He couldn’t help but grin. He had gained four levels during that fight. Almost felt too good to be true. He went from Level 108 to Level 112.
And he had 160 free stat points to use.
Though he’d managed to avoid most of the enemies’ attacks, when taking out the first councilmember to gain a level, he’d had to take a few hits. During that time, his health had gotten dangerously low.
The level up had helped fix that.
But he needed to avoid something like that happening again. At least, as best he could avoid it.
Looking at his Toughness attribute, and thinking about his next priorities, he made a choice he hoped he wouldn’t regret. He threw all 160 free attribute points straight into Toughness. At 4,307, Toughness was his lowest attribute.
That didn’t seem smart.
Adding those points brought it up to 4,623—still his lowest attribute, but at least it was a bit more respectable. He felt the difference instantly, even if he couldn’t identify everything that had changed.
I’d feel a lot safer if that was over five thousand and it broke through another threshold.
He figured he’d get there in time.
With that all done, he returned to Allegra, speeding through the carnage he’d created in the metal building. Allegra was waiting outside by the door. Xavier hadn’t known what to expect when he made it out here. A crowd had gathered, but they looked too afraid to approach the building. Clearly, they’d noticed that their communications had gone offline.
Allegra jumped when he appeared. Her eyes widened. “You… you did it?”
Xavier smiled, trying not to think about his apparently damaged soul. He didn’t feel any different. “I did. You sound surprised. Though there was one councilmember missing.” He blinked out at the crowd. “We should get back to the portal. See what’s happening with the others.”
Allegra nodded. “Agreed.”
Xavier yanked the Subspace Communications Area Blackout Array rods out from the ground and placed them all in his Storage Ring. Now that he knew the way back, he didn’t need Allegra to lead.
And there was a way for them to move a lot faster than they had been.
With her permission, he wrapped an arm around Allegra and put the other hand behind her head to protect her neck, then he sped through the city back toward the field with the portals, feeling a little faster after he’d gained a few points in Speed from his four level ups.
He grinned when, along the way, his running skill reached Rank 56. He felt as light improvement, boosting his Speed even more.
That hasn’t ranked up all that much lately. Maybe I need to do some more running…
There was still no sign of the others. He tried talking to Howard through the Communications Stone, but the man never replied.
That only made the bad feeling in his chest more intense.
As Xavier ran, he made sure to change his clothes back to the robes that showed the crest of the planet Nasrien, glad for his ability to quick-equip clothing. When they arrived, the same guard that had been standing by the portal was still there, though he looked more alert than he had the last time they’d been there.
The fact that Howard had yet to reply to him was making Xavier more and more worried. He knew they wouldn’t be able to communicate with him while they were in the prison, and he also knew that he hadn’t spent a great deal of time taking care of the councilmembers, so it hadn’t been all that long since they’d lost contact in the first place.
But something just felt off.
That’s when he received a message, from a voice he didn’t recognise.
[Am I speaking to Xavier Collins?] It was a woman’s voice. It sounded… satisfied.
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Xavier’s eyes widened. He didn’t recognise the voice. How could he not recognise the voice? The only Communication Stones he had active right now were the ones connected to Howard, Allegra, and Adranial.
This clearly wasn’t any of them.
Xavier sent a quick message to Allegra, telling her what was happening. They stood by the portal. The guard looking at them. That odd, overly alert expression on the man’s face.
[To whom am I speaking?]
[My name isn’t your concern,] she replied, and he could hear the smile in the woman’s voice. [I am a member of Bellaran Federation Council that controls the Invasion Force Division on the planet Nasrien, and I have four of your friends held captive. If you wish for them to live, then you will follow my instructions to the word. Have I made myself clear?]
The last member of the council. So this was what she’d been up to…
Xavier swallowed. He swiftly relayed the message he’d just received, sending it off to Allegra beside him. Her eyes widened, fear in them.
I should have been with them, was Xavier’s first thought, but he couldn’t change what had already come to pass.
All he could do was everything in his power to change the future.
Xavier gritted his teeth. [I’m listening.] A blind, furious rage filled him. If he’d been feeling vengeful before, then he didn’t know how to put into words what he was feeling now…
Wrathful.
Yes. That sounded about right.
Xavier summoned his scythe-staff back into his hand. He gripped the haft so tight he almost worried he was going to snap it.
They’ve taken my entire party, and that girl Melissa.
[Come to the prison. You know the one.]
Xavier blinked. Howard, before losing communication, had let him know that Allegra’s directions had panned out—the Blood Tracker had sent them to the exact prison that she’d thought Justin would be held inside. All Xavier needed to do was head there.
[Will you let them go when I get there? Will you let them return to Earth?]
[That depends entirely upon you, True Progenitor.]
True Progenitor. I guess she knows what I am.
Xavier remembered the directions he’d been given, and he left Allegra behind. Before he did, he cast Willpower Infusion to make sure that the guards near the portals were once more in his control—he didn’t want them attacking Allegra. Even in his blind rage he didn’t want to forget to protect those around him.
It didn’t take him long to reach the prison.
[I’m here,] he said through the Communication Stone. [Where are you?]
A single guard stood outside of the prison. The man’s eyes were on Xavier. Intent.
[Follow the guard. He will show you the way.]
This was obviously a trap. He was literally taking the enemy’s orders, walking exactly where they wanted him to go. As angry as he was, he could see that clearly enough, but that didn’t mean it was going to stop him.
This woman, another councilmember, had clearly underestimated him. He could tell from her voice that she had absolutely no idea what had happened to the council. He wondered how it was that she was even communicating with him, if she was within the walls that blocked out communications. Maybe she’d shut down those safeguards, or was simply able to bypass them.
He didn’t know.
The longer I take to get to wherever she is, the more likely it will be that she’ll discover what I’ve done to the council.
I can’t have that.
Xavier did as the woman instructed. The guard didn’t look afraid of him. If anything, he just looked a little angry.
Xavier had the intense desire to chop off the man’s head. He held off, wringing his grip about the haft of Charon’s Scythe, seething and ready to save his friends.
It sounded as though this had been a trap from the beginning. This woman, and maybe even the council as a whole, must have heard about the True Progenitor on Earth. Word had spread quickly. That was something he was glad for.
The word spreading—not the trap.
He wasn’t sure how they’d discovered Justin knew him, however.
He must have told them. That’s the only way. They hadn’t planned on capturing him—he was just a lucky surprise, wasn’t he?
Part of Xavier felt a little betrayed knowing Justin must have talked. Then again, he had no idea what the teenager would have gone through. And as long as he was still alive, Xavier didn’t care what he told them.
The prison was a maze of hallways. Xavier was glad he hadn’t killed the guard. At least, glad he hadn’t killed the guard yet. He definitely would have gotten lost in here.
He tried talking to Allegra through his Communication Stone but found that he wasn’t able to. Something was blocking him. The same thing that had blocked Howard from communicating when he stepped within these walls.
That meant that the councilmember wouldn’t be able to talk to him right now either. Apparently, she was able to bypass the communication lock on the area, but that didn’t mean she could communicate with people who were already here.
They walked through the labyrinthian hallways until the guard stopped just before turning a corner.
He turned to face Xavier. His eyes burned with rage. Was that only because Xavier was the enemy? The man didn’t say a word. He motioned for Xavier to turn the corner.
Xavier took a moment. He didn’t have Spirit of Vengeance to utilise anymore. Checking the cooldown, he found it had another week until he could use it again, as it had been active while he’d been gaining those last few levels.
Besides, he wasn’t quite sure if he wanted to use it anyway. Not until he addressed the little problem of it damaging his soul.
God, I hope that’s only a little problem.
He gave the guard he wished to behead a curt nod before rounding the corner. He quick-equipped his Anointed Robes of Umbral. There was no point being in disguise anymore.
As he rounded the corner, he saw a woman standing in front of a cell. Inside the cell were four people, and a dead body. He didn’t recognise the dead body, something he was eternally grateful for. It must have been the commander that Justin had killed before getting trapped here.
The people in the cell, however, he did recognise. It was Howard, Siobhan, Justin, and Melissa.
A part of him felt a bit bad about dragging Melissa into all of this, considering they had just met the girl. But he was going to get them all free.
In the end, perhaps it would be a good bonding experience…
The woman standing outside the cell wasn’t dressed in armour, or even robes. She had the same odd-looking business clothes that the other members of the council had been wearing.
Like she didn’t even see him as a threat.
The woman raised a hand. “Stop right there, Xavier Collins.”
“You have me at a disadvantage.”
The woman smiled. It was a vicious, self-satisfied smile, one that spoke of privilege, and always having one’s way. “That much is clear.”
Once again, she didn’t provide her name. He supposed it didn’t matter when she would be dead soon.
“Let my friends go,” Xavier said.
The woman held up a key, gripped between her thumb and forefinger. “I will, if you do what I say.” She tilted her head to the side. “All you must do is sign a contract of permanent servitude.” She tilted her head forward. “To me.”
Xavier glanced at his friends in the cell. None of them had said a word. He wondered if they were afraid to speak. Wondered what this woman had done to them.
“I think you misunderstand,” Xavier said. He took a step forward, which made the woman scowl. She’d told him to stop right there, and now he was moving.
She waved a hand. Screams of agony rang out from within the cell. Xavier eyes widened. He froze where he was, couldn’t help but see a smirk on her face in the corner of his eye, and stared at his friends.
They were all still alive, but they’d crumbled, all four of them, to their knees. They were grasping at their heads as though their brains were about to explode, the pain too much for any of them to control. Blood poured from their eyes, noses, ears.
Xavier gritted his teeth. He didn’t like this. Not one bit. But as quickly as he could kill this woman, he worried she could kill his friends quicker.
He needed to figure out how to get them out of harm’s way.