EPILOGUE

ENTER, BELLUM

Caden failed.

As soon as he said the words, he immediately regretted it. He'd only ever wanted to bring good news to his master's hearing. Most of the time, when a problem arose, it was quickly taken care of, and there was no need to report it.

But now, the problem was too big to ignore.

He knelt in silence, cloaked by the shadows of the throne room he was in. His master stood with his back to him, hands folded behind him. He thought he hadn't been heard the first time.

“My lord…,” his voice trembled ever so slightly. To repeat himself was admitting that his master hadn't heard him the first time. If he was wrong, the price would be his life. “The advance team with Caden has failed.”

The air grew colder as the words hung in the silence.

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His master turned and he forced his gaze downwards.

You're a fool. You opened your big mouth and now you're going to die, he thought to himself.

“Tell me, Crow…Is he dead?”

Bellum's voice reverberated throughout the room, bringing with it an icy fury. Shivers went down his spine as he heard his master's voice for the first time today.

“H-He’s still alive.” Crow stuttered, “The humans of that world are holding him in captivity. What would you have us do?”

“Nothing. What do we know about the ones that bested him?” Bellum spoke slowly, not feeling the need to move at anyone’s pace but his.

Crow gulped, “We weren’t able to retrieve much from what was left of the murderbots’ database, sir. We were only able to figure out a name.”

“Tell me.”

“Dang.”

If the room wasn’t already chilly before, it was now. Crow tried to mask his shivering as best as he could. Weakness was not something his master loved to see, and his master currently wasn’t in the best of moods.

“And the Project Titan?” Bellum asked.

“Destroyed, sir.”

The room seemed to shake, a deep hum filling the air. Crow's heart pounded, knowing his master was angry. He didn't dare look up, scared of what might happen next. The walls seemed to throb with rage, and Crow swallowed hard, hoping he could leave without more trouble.

Then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.

Bellum’s voice filled the room once more, “Wake the Five, tell them there’s a job for them.”

“Yes, sire.”

“Leave me.”

“Yes, sire” and with that, Crow turned and rushed out of the room, grateful to have been spared.