The next day, Nero sat in the atrium of the cathedral twisting his new engagement Blood Ring on his finger.
“This should be my proudest accomplishment. To be engaged to a BloodStar empress. And not just any empress… Xenia Victoria BloodStar. One of the, if not the strongest empress in the history of the BloodStar name.”
Nero leaned back and sighed, “Instead, I am plagued by my own failure to provide my empress with an heir.”
He clenched his fist and grit his teeth, “But I will not allow my failure to persist!”
At that moment, he heard a loud knock at the cathedral front doors. He shot a sharp look towards the door and carefully approached. He then opened the door.
“Ah, BloodStar Immortal Nero. Thank you for welcoming me.” St. Michael stood in all white robes at the door with no less than twenty Holy Knights accompanying him.
Nero shot a death stare from knight to knight and then finally looked at Michael, “Just because I have answered your knock, does not mean you are welcome here, St. Michael.”
Michael smiled as to keep the mood light, “You are right. I must apologize for not giving notice. After all, this is an independent region, and you are the governing sovereign. Nonetheless, I was hoping you might welcome me in, so we can discuss a few concerns people around the empire are having. May I?”
Michael motioned with his hand to the door, and Nero grunted but ultimately stepped aside, “You may enter, St. Michael. However, these knights are not allowed entry. If I find one snooping around, or if I find any reason at all to distrust your men… I will kill them swiftly. All of them.”
The knights gulped and felt an immense amount of menacing aura radiating off of Nero. They knew his bark carried a bite; however, it was only at this moment that they realized they stood absolutely no chance against a man of his caliber.
Michael stepped through the doorway and turned back to his men, “Please wait in the cars for me. Nero means our empire no harm.”
The knights gladly retreated to their convoy of armored cars, and Michael and Nero entered the cathedral.
Nero led Michael through the cathedral proper towards a meeting room. Michael gawked at the opulence, “My God, Nero. I am the Pope of the Holy Light Empire. I live in a holy basilica. However, your cathedral bests our finest in every way down to the last detail of the stained-glass windows.”
Nero ignored him as he cleared his thoughts to convey a message to Xenia who he assumed was always listening in, “My empress. Forgive the intrusion as I know you are meditating; however, we have company.”
He immediately received a response from Xenia, “I know. St. Michael has arrived. This is interesting. Entertain him. I am keen to know what he has to say.”
Nero and Michael entered a luxurious room with walls made of solid oak wood, and they sat upon two opposing black leather couches with a marble coffee table between the two men.
Nero was silent and stared Michael down though Michael was unbothered as he knew Nero to be less than talented with people skills.
“Nero, thank you for welcoming me on such short notice. Well… no notice in fact.” Michael laughed; however, he was only met with an unwavering gaze from Nero. “Right, so, the reason I am here is that my ki monitoring department, a subdivision of the department of defense, has detected several massive ki spikes emanating from Bella Domina. And I mean massive. These spikes are larger than we would even expect from myself or Jacek. They even surpass Jarek Heraklinos’s ki output.”
Nero and Michael simply stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time until Nero crossed his arms and said, “What is your point?”
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Michael sighed, “I’ll cut to the chase.” Michael eyed Nero sharply, “Is Xenia still alive?”
Nero kept his arms crossed but leaned forward, “So you have come to offend me! In one question you have undermined my potential strength while also raising the specter of my dead empress. Someone I very much loved and spent my life protecting… from men like you!”
Michael raised his hands to calm Nero, “I did not want to come here, Nero. I believe I know the answer. I have spoken with Jarek himself regarding Xenia’s death confirmation, and there is no higher authority than his opinion; however, that leaves a very hard to explain ki reading which has come from Bella Domina on more than one occasion including just last night. If you could explain, that would go a long way with people.”
Nero grunted and leaned back in to the couch, “I am responsible for those ki readings. I have personal goals regarding my strength. Goals I will stop at nothing to achieve. Goals that I am currently failing greatly in progress towards. So, as I work harder towards these goals, you can expect more of these spikes in your readings. But rest assured, it is me. And I mean the empire and the rest of the world no harm.”
Michael nodded, “Then with sincerity, thank you. Xenia would be quite proud of you and your progress.” He stood and nodded at Nero, “I will relay your words, and I am sure they will sooth any concerns people may have.”
Nero stood and silently walked with him towards the front of Bella Domina where he opened the door and watched Michael exit without saying a single word. Michael followed his lead and silently left in what was an awkward lack of farewells between the two men.
As Michael walked back towards his car he felt he had gained nothing, “While I do believe Xenia is dead, I have a hard time believing Nero is that powerful. You are hiding something Nero. But so long as you keep it hidden, it is none of my business.”
Michael stepped into the armored SUV, and he and his men made a swift retreat from the lands around Bella Domina and back to the Holy Light Empire.”
Nero returned to his thoughts within the cathedral; however, it was no less than five minutes until he heard another knock at the door.
“God damnit, Michael! I do not like to be interrupted!” Nero stood with anger in his step as he returned to the front set of doors and pulled one of the large doors open with a scowl. However, to his surprise, it was not Michael. It was an unassuming man with no entourage to speak of.
Nero maintained his scowl, “You have found yourself at the step of the foremost cathedral in the world, Bella Domina, built by the late empress Xenia Victoria BloodStar herself. I am BloodStar Immortal Nero. I treat this cathedral as a holy land. You have risked certain death by coming here today. State your name.”
To Nero’s surprise, the man was completely unphased.
The man nodded his head and smirked, “I have utmost respect for these lands and this cathedral. How could I not? I served the late empress Xenia BloodStar up until her dying day. Much like you, I never defected to the other side, and I have come to speak with you regarding our empress.”
Nero frowned as he had never met the man, “Who are you?”
“My name is John Vand. I ran the Holy Light Empire economy while Xenia reigned though currently I serve as head of banking for Scorched Shadow.”
Nero hesitated for a moment thinking, “The man’s story is plausible, but…”
An intrusive thought from Xenia then reached Nero, “John Vand is a friend. Let him in. But do not tell him anything of my existence.”
Nero nodded to himself, “Very well, John Vand. Let us talk.” Nero turned and walked towards the same meeting room he and Michael had just recently used.
John let himself in as he quickly followed Nero’s fast step. He had never laid eyes upon the interior of Bella Domina, and as he admired the interior’s architecture and detail, his breath was literally taken from him in awe.
However, he had little time to admire the cathedral as Nero quickly disappeared into a hallway. John double-timed after him so as not to get lost in the numerous hallways and staircases beyond the cathedral proper.
John tailed Nero until finally they reached a beautifully opulent room with walls of solid oak and plush leather couches.
Nero sat down, and John sat across from him as he admired the marble coffee table running his hand along the surface, “This marble, I recognize it. So exclusive that not even I dare to make an offer on it. The most beautiful in the world, coming from a very limited quarry. $100 million per tile was the last known sale. I had always wondered who was crazy enough to spend that much money on marble… now I know.”
John gazed at the table which cost well over $2 billion as he smiled, “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; Xenia never did spare any expense.”
Nero unfolded his arms and leaned forward, “No. She didn’t. And I hate to spare my time. Why are you here, John Vand.”
John leaned back in the couch and rested one of his arms outstretched along the back of the couch, “I am glad you ask, BloodStar Immortal. First let me say that Xenia never spoke more highly of anyone other than yourself. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I have always grasped for remaining connections to Xenia, and there is no stronger connection than you.”
Nero merely stared John down awaiting the answer to his question.
John got the message and finally answered him, “But enough small talk. Why am I here, you ask?” John smiled and stared back at Nero, “I am here to make a deal.”