Chapter 19 - Lord Emperor [Start of 2nd Book: Soul Discovery Arc]
Far away from planet Magenta, there existed an isolated planet, located in a remote region of the Western Galactic Sector. The planet orbited a distant whitish star, and its dim glow only made the reflective surface of the planet appear even darker than it really was. The vastness of blackness dominated everywhere, the barren land stretched ubiquitously, and living organisms were nowhere to be found. Planet Berungu was the epitome of desolation.
At a particular location, there was a deep circular black water lake, its diameter around 350 metres wide. The water of the lake was in complete stillness, with no sign of currents or ripples. In the middle of the lake, there was a small flat rock, and its height was just a couple of meters above the water level of the lake.
Sitting cross-legged on top of this rock, there was a young man. The man had long green hair, so long that some of it rested on top of the rock. He was wearing simple cloths and had a long earring on his left ear. An elegant violet crystal was engraved on the earring, giving its appearance a fashionable touch. He remained there expressionless, as he stared blankly ahead, seemingly patiently waiting with his hands crossed.
BLURP~~~~ BLURP~~~~~
In the waters adjacent to the rock, bubbles of air began rising, originating from within the depths of the lake, and when they reached the surface, they instantly burst out with popping sounds. The frequencies of the bubbles kept increasing, until a shadow of a creature could finally be seen.
SWUSHHH~~~~
Suddenly, the head of a majestic blue serpent dragon emerged, as it blew out a powerful jet of black water, stretching for hundreds of metres. The dragon then peacefully rested its head on the water, as it inhaled back some air.
A droplet of water fell on the face of the green haired man. He sneered as he turned to face the creature, “You`re so weird… it is my first time that I am seeing a dragon that enjoys bathing in water… and even breathing it out!”
The dragon griped as it lowered slightly its head onto the water, whilst uttering slowly in a feminine voice, “My soul is a water elemental… it is only natural for me to favour regions with ample of water. Besides, for my own well-being, I must keep a safe distance… from ‘that thing’ over there...”
On the other side of the lake, there was an enormous stone giant, so immense that it completely occupied an entire side of the lake. The giant laid horizontally sideways on the ground, whilst its head quietly rested on its fist. The eyes of the giant gradually opened, and its brown body began to change into a reddish colour. The stones then caught fire, and in just a couple of seconds the giant transformed himself into a blazing fire giant, with lava flowing slowly down from its body, giving the surrounding atmosphere a hellish hue.
The green haired man frowned at the fire giant, but then he turned his gaze towards a towering construction, which was around five kilometres away from the lake. He rose up to his feet, then nonchalantly informed, “Finally, they have arrived.” He then muttered to himself, “About freaking time…”
At the top of the tower, stood a large sphere made up of violet crystal, and around it orbited in a clockwise fashion five smaller red crystal balls. The space above the tower started to twist, whilst cracks appeared in the air above. Then, the violet crystal below emitted an incredible violet electrical-like beam, as a very large dimensional gateway formed. From within the portal, furiously emerged a three headed black dragon, which immediately let out an ear piercing roar that rattled the very surroundings, then it travelled with tremendous velocity towards the lake. The powerful creature landed aggressively at the edge of the lake, producing a violent shockwave. The very lands trembled, the several mountains in the vicinity collapsed and the winds expanded out with an incredible force. The flames of the fire giant were completely extinguished by the strength of the winds, whilst the water of the lake was completely blown away, revealing fully the fantastic physique of the water dragon.
The green haired man, who was forced to use the power of his magnetic core to protect himself from the shockwave and rising waters, fumed in protest, “You bunch of show-offs! As if waiting for your tardy asses wasn’t bad enough! Who treats his guests this way?!!”
“Grrr…” The black dragon growled as it moved its three necks erratically, then rested its body on the ground.
“You really don’t understand a thing about style Amerigo! I wouldn’t consider us as being late at all. We are just being fashionably late you dumbass!”
This voice originated from a black haired man, who was riding on top of the black dragon. He was wearing stylish black cloths; a trouser and a button less plastic-like military coat, which only covered half of his muscular chest. He had three decorated bracelets on his left hand, and on his back there was a two handed great sword. The shape of this black sword was very artistic, with golden lines and diagrams drawn on it. He then hopped from the dragon and slowly descended down below onto the ground. His appearance radiated an aura of a formidable fighter.
“The feels… seeing all five of us gathered here is so nostalgic, isn’t it? I haven’t summoned you like this for over 100 hundred years…” The black haired man said as he reminisced about the old times.
Amerigo wasn’t mesmerised by these words, and replied ironically, “For the last 100 years, we have been waiting for you to finish your so called master plan. Did you finally manage to come out with something with sense, oh dear great Emperor?!”
“Hey Amerigo! Watch your mouth, who do you think you`re talking to?!” The three heads of the black dragon furiously roared simultaneously, as if controlled by a single mind.
The black haired man laughed as he interrupted, “Calm down my little brother, you should already know by now of what kind of impulsive man Amerigo really is. He is after all, a person who betrayed his own clan, didn’t you Amerigo?”
Amerigo remained silently frowning and his eyes turned dark. “The reason you summoned us… what is it?”
The black haired man grinned in excitement, “Now that is what I would call an intelligent question! The reason I`ve sent for you all is very simple. I have an important matter to announce, and I felt it would be best to tell you face to face rather than over the telecommunications devices.” He then opened his arms grandiosely as he continued, “The moment we have been waiting for has finally arrived! Yes, it`s just around the corner… a war that will shake the entire galaxy!”
The giant was visibly shocked by this declaration, and instantly expressed in surprise, “Lord Emperor! Are you saying that we are going to immediately mobilise our armies for an attack?!”
The black haired man instantly replied, “No… not yet… We can’t go all out like that, we have to be extremely vigilant this time. At all costs, we cannot afford to alert the Pillar clans, or the Supreme Kanklar, at least not at this stage!”
The clearly disinterested Amerigo interrupted him sarcastically, “Did I hear correctly?! Are you really comparing this hush-hush plan of yours with a war that shakes the entire galaxy?!”
The now slightly irritated black haired man replied, “Just be patient and let me finish what I have to say…” He then paused for a while before uttering, “I hope you remember what happened around 100 years ago Amerigo? We were too rush, and we ended up paying a hefty price for that; by failing miserably. I trust you don’t want us to repeat the same mistake again?!”
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Afterwards, the black haired man`s expression turned serious, as he commenced a long speech. “Let`s not deviate… from the scope of this meeting.”
“I am sure all of you are already aware of the current political situation. With our present military might, securing the three Western Galactic Sectors will be a piece of cake, whilst the Southern and Southeast Galactic Sectors are uninhabited, so there is no need for any military action. In contrast, the Northern Galactic Sector will most probably end up as a war zone, and the major battles will be focused in there.”
“The main Headquarters of the Imperial forces is located in the Northeast Galactic Sector. Attacking that sector before conquering the Northern and Eastern Galactic Sectors would be tantamount to suicide.”
“Now, the plan I have in mind is actually quite simple. First we distract the Imperial forces by having someone acting as a decoy, and at the same time causing havoc in a specific Galactic Sector. Meanwhile, the rest of us will make good use of this opportunity, by organising our armies. Then when we are fully prepared, we will attack the Imperial Forces with all of our forces. When that time arrives, they will not even know what has hit them.”
He then turned his wicked gaze towards Amerigo, “In my opinion, the perfect decoy from all of us would be you Amerigo. You are already labelled as a traitor by your clan and the Imperial forces. They will surely believe that you`re doing your little revenge game; they will never suspect that you have a connection with me!”
Amerigo`s eyes shone with excitement, “Finally… some music for my ears! So far this meeting had only bored me to death!” He then grinned evilly, “I am assuming that since you are choosing me, you are going to target the Eastern Galactic Sector, am I right?”
The black haired man agreed, “Precisely. May I enquire on the present strength of your entire army?”
“My army? Sure, I have two Chief Kanklars and three High Kanklars as direct subordinates, with an overall army of 2,000,000 fighters, all hidden and ready to strike,” Amerigo replied coolly.
“Hah, you call that an army?” The rock giant asked in ridicule. It was clear that he and Amerigo didn’t see eye to eye.
“Shut your mouth you pile of rubble,” Amerigo replied irritated, as he turned his gaze towards the black haired man. “Was there really the need to wait for one hundred years for all this?”
The black haired man instantly responded, “Not bad, but could have been better… As regards to your question, I was secretly training in seclusion for the last 100 years, in a far away place. My training was abruptly interrupted a while ago, when I was informed that we had found and acquired the power of the ‘unlocker’. However, when I returned back to the clan two months ago, I was surprised to hear that the Imperial forces had captured him back…”
“I am sorry my lord, we have been played by the Imperial forces,” the rock giant solemnly interrupted.
“No, you weren’t played, you were used! They let you do the dirty work, and then they just stole all your work. That way they acquired what they wanted without even hurting their reputation by a bit! In the end they made you look like complete idiots!” The black man replied irritated. His expression was now full of anger, but it slowly changed into a wide grin. “But anyhow, now I know who the ‘unlocker’ is, so it will be an easy task for me to recapture him. Don’t worry about this anymore, I will be taking this matter directly in my hands now!”
“I now said what I had to say. I hope my instructions were clear enough. I will definitely not be tolerating any further failures from now on.” The black haired man threatened his companions.
All but Amerigo replied back, “Understood Lord Emperor!”
The blue serpent dragon then gathered dimensional power on its tail, before smashing open a portal, then disappeared within it and left the planet. Even the black haired man, without moving a part of his body, opened a large portal, and instantly the black dragon flew and vanished into the portal. Amerigo was about to leave too, but was interrupted by the black haired man.
“Hey Amerigo… there is something I wish to remind you. It has been 100 years after all, and you may have forgotten about it…”
The curious Amerigo stopped in his movements and asked, “Remind me? What exactly? I don’t understand…”
The rock giant, who had just stood up, paused as he attentively listened to this conversation.
Suddenly, a burst of dark power erupted out from the black haired man`s body, as it rushed towards Amerigo. The strange power forcefully entered Amerigo`s body, leaving him totally shocked and temporary paralyzed. He opened his mouth completely thunderstruck, as pain spread all over his body. Shortly after, black smoke began emerging from his ears and nose, followed by his mouth and other parts of his skin. His eyes changed and were now glowing with a pitch black colour, whilst his body shivered. A spasm of pain contorted his face, before he fell panting on the ground. He couldn’t endure this suffering anymore, and at one point he finally let out a scream full of agony and desperation.
“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”~~~~~~~~~
His cry appeared to have shaken the entire planet, as it echoed back for multiple times. The power of the cry itself had cracked the very lands and the remaining mountains of the area. He then fell on the ground almost unconscious, as he scratched the ground with his fingers in torment. Luckily for him, the black smoke gradually vanished, and his body slowly returned to normal.
The Lord Emperor then smiled sadistically as he slowly elevated himself upwards, “I just wanted to remind you… that I am still your Lord Emperor.”
“Don’t fret, the agreement we made is still in force. I shall be appointing you as the Eastern Sectorial Patriarch once this impending war is over. I really have high hopes for you Amerigo, don’t disappoint me!”
The Lord Emperor then disappeared within the portal, which closed shortly after.
Few moments after, Amerigo struggled to raise up his head, and was still on the ground heavily panting and shaking in fear. His mind was presently filled with countless of thoughts, “How did he become this strong in just 100 years…? How can someone be so monstrous…?”
The rock giant seemed to have enjoyed viewing all this. He then started to gather dimensional energy over his hand, whereupon he released a powerful punch. However, nothing happened and no portal formed. He instantly turned his irritated gaze towards Amerigo, “Idiot… stop blocking my portal formations with your spiritual aura…”
Amerigo looked at him disdainfully, “That`s for laughing at me Nero!” Amerigo immediately punched his fist upwards and formed a portal, then unleashed a downwards force onto the ground, which propelled him upwards and straight into the portal.
“What a spoiled…” Nero was clearly annoyed by this childish behaviour of Amerigo.
Nero then again gathered dimensional energy and formed an enormous portal, large enough to accommodate his entire body. He then impressively moved inside the portal. With his departure, the meeting of planet Berungu was officially concluded.