“Among Cosmos’s six scattered Wills, Nox Caelum has inherited a rather puzzling aspect of our mother: the Will of Desire. Unlike the other Wills which grant a set blessing, Desire changes its boon to match the inner, well, desires of its inheritor. Luxmi, may the Stars wish her peace, wanted to improve her nation with the advent of technology, and so Desire granted her the strength to bend metal and mold ash with but a thought.

“The current Grand General’s blessing is still quite veiled despite this year marking the twentieth of his rule. The only demonstrations of his power are through the occasional usage of The Corvid’s Eye—which I garner serves more as a display of his authority—and none else. He is a careful man, that Xeros. Very careful indeed…but with the advancement of his forces on Polus territory, perhaps the world shall finally see the true depths of his ability.”

Arch Magus Virgil, Ruler of Augurium

———

Xeros

Luxanne steps hesitantly towards the monstrous woman and bows before her. “It has been a while, Commander Libevich. I am relieved to see you in good health.”

“Oh, you don’t need to use that stuffy speech with me darling,” she croons, crushing Luxanne within a tight embrace. “Bitter men like Xeros may be stuck to the past, but we should be wild and free like the young souls we are.”

Her words are insulting as usual, but Xeros must endure: she will be very useful in the upcoming invasion. Although Libevich is a reckless, bloodthirsty, infantile, crazed, and demeaning old hag, her experience and combat expertise trump all others in the nation. He will hold his tongue and steady his hand for now; there’s no use in getting upset over this creature masquerading as a human.

“If you are done with your disrespect, I suggest you release your grip on Luxanne,” he says.

“Oh, I apologize dear! You must be tired after dealing with this bore for so long.”

Luxanne is set free from Libevich’s grasp and she swiftly rushes over to Xeros’s side. It would appear her fear of the old woman is greater than her hesitance towards The Grand General, not that he can blame her.

“…Please follow the proper procedures next time instead of causing such a scene,” she says. “I know residing in this city may be a bit dull to you, but I ask of you, please, to at least show a little bit of restraint.”

“Fufu, how can I refuse my favorite goddaughter’s request? Don’t worry about that darling, I don’t want to make raven boy’s hair any more grey than it already is.”

What Luxmi ever saw in the hag to make her Luxanne’s second mother, Xeros knows naught.

“Oops, I almost forgot!” Libevich says, suddenly. “I have a surprise for you darling.”

“…Surprise, you say?” Luxanne recoils at her words. Whatever the old woman has planned, it can’t be good.

“Indeed! I figured Xeros would get a little heated, so I stored some presents for you in a very special place.”

“And where would that be?”

”Just wait a moment! It should be here any second now…”

The three stand in silence together for a rather long period. Xeros is just about to lose his patience when a soft squelching sound suddenly enters his ear. He looks behind himself and spots something approaching them from the distance. It appears to be something soft and…wet; the thing drags itself across the ground, leaving behind a trail of slime and something red.

Ah, it appears to be a heart.

“There it is!” Libevich chuckles. “I was wondering when my heart would finally show up. My chest has been feeling quite stuffy without it.”

Xeros is surprised to see that she still has one, even more so that it isn’t pitch black like her soul. But who is he to judge? His own has probably been stained since long ago. Nonetheless, the display is a rather distasteful one. Judging by the soft trembling of Luxanne’s body, it appears that she agrees with him.

“W-What?” she mumbles.

“Yep, I put the gifts in my heart to show just how much I love you dear~”

Libevich walks over to the beating heart and rips it open. Two objects fall out of it, and she slams the torn organ into her chest before gleefully skipping over to Luxanne.”

“Here, show me your palms.”

Luxanne does as she says, and the old woman places a necklace laden with a shining white pearl on top of it. “I know your mother used to make these types of necklaces for you back when she still walked among us, so I wanted to give you a little something special.”

“O-Oh,” she says, voice mixed with a surprised hint of gratitude. To think that old woman would actually pick out a rather considerate gift…Xeros is amazed.

“But that’s not all, I saved the best for last!”

Following the beautiful gemstone, Libevich now takes out a necklace laden with what appears to be human body parts. Broken teeth, a ripped ear, pieces of a liver, and two pairs of brown eyes are strewn along a bloodied rim.

“Oh.”

Ah, that’s more like it. Xeros feels foolish for ever thinking that Libevich could ever replicate normal human behavior. This time is much more revolting than usual, though.

“Do you like it?” Libevich asks with sparkling eyes.

“…This, this is Rogier, isn’t it?” Luxanne clenches her fist, voice overcome with bubbling rage.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

“Oh, was that the boy’s name? I forgot to ask.”

“Why?” That one word appears to hold many questions in it, but Libevich of course doesn’t seem to recognize the fury within it.

“Hm? Oh, well the boy said that you appeared to value people most of all, so I thought you’d be delighted to have one of your men always be with you wherever you go! How is it?”

“…”

Control your rage, Luxanne. Xeros knows more than anyone else how disgusting Libevich’s nature can be, but lashing out at her now will only result in complications. It’s not worth the frustration, just humor her.

“…I-I thank you for your gifts, Commander Libevich. I shall treasure them always.”

Yes, that is the correct decision. Good, very good.

“Hah, I knew I was right!” The old woman jumps around in an eerie display of mock youth. “Let me know anytime if you ever want another gift, darling. I’m always happy to spare some time for you!”

“Of course...”

Xeros coughs abruptly and brings the attention onto him. Luxanne will not be able to control herself if she’s forced to interact with the old woman any longer. “You’ve had your fun, Libevich. Now, let us make for the spire’s summit and we shall finally organize the war you so crave.”

“Hohoh?” A manic smile envelopes her face. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time raven boy. Your neck would have been mine you kept this old woman waiting any longer.”

“You can never kill me, Libevich. You know this.”

“I can at least cause you some annoyance. Although I don’t know if it’ll change much what with that perpetual scowl of yours.”

“This scowl of mine will change the day you finally decide to behave like someone of your stature.”

“What a shame. I’ll probably never see you smile then.”

And with that, the three of them set off, leaving the panic-stricken district behind. It is of no concern; there are much more important matters to attend to.

Hopefully, by the end of this day, The Grand General will finally be able to have a peaceful rest.

———

Satanael

”How go the preparations, my lady?” Satanael asks, stepping out from his garden and into an abandoned factory repurposed for the liberation movement.

“Ah, there you are Mr. Rose,” Ceraphina replies, turning her head back from directing the countless stream of people running around the base. “Everything’s all set and ready to go. My men and women have infiltrated the main entryways and we’ve set up ambush points everywhere we can. Alleyways, street corners, exits…you name it, we’ve got it monitored. All we’re waiting on now is the shutdown of the protection sorcery encasing the city.”

“Very good, very good. I shall be the one to handle that matter.”

The resistance leader has been quite amicable since Satanael has sought her aid. He expected there to be a little bit of hesitation towards his plan, but it appears that their resentments for The Grand General is much greater than he initially anticipated. To think that so many people are now at his beck and all, how exhilarating! Satanael considers himself a lover of more solitary roles, but this sort of change isn’t bad at all every once in a while. His position allows him to see so many colorful individuals after all, many of which have great potential to be a seedbed. Great potential indeed.

Ah, but that is that, and this is this. He must be focused on the task at hand before he can think of such fancies.

“Sure you’ll be ok?” she says with a hint of worry. How cute. “I don’t know how hard it was for you to find little ol’ me, but the main core where they house the Nox magi will be very, very heavily guarded. Even if you were to gather every one of us to storm the core, I wouldn’t be confident about our success.”

“Never to fear, my dear. I’m quite the lurker I’ll have you know; the main barrier shall fall before the day’s end, that you can count on. And when it does, I trust that you shall fulfill your duties?”

“Of course.”

“Heheh, then I shall be off. Do make sure to survive, Ceraphina. I would dearly love to show you my beloved garden once this is all over.”

“Well well, looks like I have to now with such a proposition on the line. Don’t keep me waiting!”

“I shan’t. Until we meet again, my lady.”

With a grand flourish, Satanael bids Seraphina adieu and retires to the comforts of his garden.

“Now, just where was that door again…” he mumbles with a tap tap tap of the foot. “Down, up, to the right, and…ah, there it is!”

He slashes the air with his curved dagger, splitting the seams of reality and conjuring a door in front of him.

“Hm~ it has been quite the while since I’ve engaged in a little evisceration. I shall quite enjoy this.”

He opens the door and comes face to face with a surprised Nox guard.

“Wha-”

With a gentle slice to the throat, they fall to the ground sputtering and writhing—blood pooling ever so softly below him.

“Now, now. Can’t have your cries alerting the others, can we?”

Satanael chuckles and walks into the grey, metal-lined walls of the Core, or so they call the underground base of the spire towering over the city. Everything, from the factories power source to the sorceries protecting the empire, comes from this little place here constantly fueled by magi sorcerers.

He hums a little tune, he whispers a quiet song, and every time he encounters a startled guard whilst wandering the winding corridors, he dispatches them with nary a sound—nary a word. A stab to the throat and a jab to the heart is all it takes to create such wondrous art.

But all good times must come to an end, eventually. Satanael has silenced eight some odd guards before he finally reaches a large, open room with a strange looking device in the middle. Its appearance is rather intimidating; glowing blue energy passes through the column-like structure of the machine with metal tendrils and wires sprouting from above and below into wherever which way.

A massive orb sits in the middle, lumpy and pulsating, surrounded by a large group of magi supplying it with power. There are…about thirty of them all huddled together; this could be a bit troublesome for Satanael for his expertise lies in assassination and not assault. However, perhaps there is no need to dispatch them all to cripple the city’s power source. The orb appears to be rather crucial to their efforts; it sure would be a shame if something happens to it…

He leaps into the air and stabs his dagger into the ceiling. Touching the exposed wiring is probably not a good idea, but Satanael is quite confident about his flexibility. He twist and turns his body in all manner of shapes whilst crawling above the busy Nox magi until eventually he’s right across from the orb. It’s protected by a see-through barrier, and while Satanael wants to just carve a hole into it, something tells him that touching it is probably not a good idea. Is it the ominous whirring of sound coming from it? Or perhaps the occasional blue streaks of electricity that flashes across the surface? Nonetheless, he must think of another way for now.

“What to do, what to do,” he thinks to himself. “If I can’t go through, then perhaps…”

He looks around and spots a ventilation duct meant for spreading cooling sorcery to those below.

”Ahah!” The vent does appear to be rather tight, too tight for the body of a normal human being to fit into, but again, Satanael is quite confident in his flexibility.

He cuts into the metal grating and slowly climbs into the vent. Although there’s no exit that leads directly into the orb’s containment area, it is a simple matter to create one himself.

Satanael slashes around himself with the finesse of a performer and watches the metal plummet into the ground below. The magi look at the sudden piece of rubble with puzzlement, but they have no time to process their thoughts before a knife is swiftly thrown at the exposed orb.

It cracks and, in an instant, the entire room is enveloped in a blinding blue hue.

Then, boom. Everything is consumed by light.