Alaster did not sleep that night. He had already been planning on staying awake, creating even more Forgotten. But now, he could not sleep even if he wanted to.

Could he do it?

Could he truly do it?

Could he look at the person he killed his parents, stole away his sister, ruined his life and control himself?

Alaster did not know if he could.

He had never needed to.

Since this horrible journey began, Alaster had not once needed to control his emotions. He had needed to hide them numerous times. He had pretended to be someone else before. When he had lived with the Siphas Family, he had pretended to be a normal kid.

That time had created a split in his personality. A well-behaved, well-speaking, normal child. And his true self, cold, emotionless, violent, and cruel. When he encountered Astrid, he had used a different version of his act to teach her.

It was the act that the two women loved. Not him. Astrid knew more of his true self but had not truly encountered it before. That is why he felt nothing romantic towards the two. They loved the mask that he wore.

How could he love someone who did not know him?

He had developed the mask through slow trial and error. Paying attention to other’s reactions and adjusting. Eventually, he ended with a persona that was quiet and stoic, but otherwise normal. It was designed to protect him, but Alaster was not under the illusion that it would quickly come apart under the focused scrutiny of Nobility.

The Nobles of Onigas and even Galmore were sheltered. They did not interact much with the rest of the world. That left them less intense. They did not need to play their games with the thousands of others in the world.

Against them, Alaster could simply force them into submission with his might. But he would not be able to do that with the Nobles in Lissura. Not only were they vastly more experienced and knew how to counter such crude displays of power, but Lissura also had access to a few thousand Experts that were just as experienced.

If Alaster was to infiltrate the Lissurian court, he knew he needed to create a better mask. He had to make them believe he was one of them.

If he could do that, they would lower their guard, allowing him to learn what he needed to as well as who needed to die at his hand.

He had always known that information was vital in any confrontation. The siege had only reinforced that fact. The Tarian forces had very little information about him. They had no idea what his capabilities were. That ignorance had cost them the siege.

Information would be even more critical against the Nobility. Alaster needed a way to gather information. Not just information that was public, or even casually hidden, but information that they desperately wanted to keep secret. The secrets they would kill to protect.

Once Alaster knew these secrets, he would know how to control them.

He was already better suited for discovering such information than many, but he could not be everywhere. Instead, Alaster would need a Minion that was designed for stealth and information gathering.

Alaster already had something in mind, but he was certain that it was well outside his Stream Weaving ability. He needed to experiment. To work the streams in ways that he had never thought of doing. It would undoubtedly create quite painful recoil with each failure.

But if he could get it to work as he planned, his power would multiply, in more ways than even he currently imagined.

Yet despite the idea raging through his mind, gradually refining itself. Alaster had just recently designed a revolutionary Minion capable of growth. A Minion that Alaster still had not tested thoroughly.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The System had designated the Minion as, Forgotten, or The Forgotten.

When Alaster manipulated Mana Streams, he moved them where he wanted, getting the desired result. But once he let go of them, they snapped back, effected by his changes, but changing slightly. Similar to a spring.

Despite having hand crafted the Minion, there was plenty that Alster did not know about it. Alaster knew there was a reason for its name. Some deeper meaning. But Alaster did not know exactly what.

Regardless, Alaster was intent on making the bulk of his military might consist of the Forgotten. Their ability to grow in power was incredible. They needed an ambient soul and a Mana Core to be created. But Alaster had not found a limit to how many he could have at the same time.

The ambient souls were a bit of an issue, but Alaster knew that it was the Mana Cores that would truly limit the number of Forgotten. So, until he came across more souls, Alaster would spend his time creating Mana Cores.

He would also have to worry about how to equip the Forgotten. He could of course make the weapons and armor out of bone, but that had its limits, even with his manipulation. It would also be quite costly, both in material and in time.

Alaster was already struggling with time. Being torn in multiple directions at once. Multiple things requiring his attention. He wanted to build his army, but he couldn’t ignore the rest of the world. He wanted to charge towards the Lissura Capital and raze it to the ground until he found his sister.

But he could not do that. Not only because he was not strong enough, he doubted even Aila or Richter were strong enough. But also, because such brash actions would allow his targets to escape or harm his sister.

As much as Alaster hated it, Azemar was right. He would have to go the slow route, slowly infiltrating their circles until he knows everything about them, including the best way to tear them apart.

But once he learned what he needed to, he would need to strike fast and violently. His own power would not be enough even for that.

The Capital had hundreds, potentially thousands of Experts, many of whom would be very skilled and experienced as well as equipped by the wealth of Noble Families. If Alaster mindlessly went on a rampage, they would all converge on him. As he was now, he could likely kill a few dozen, and he would only grow stronger in the year he spent in the siege ridden city of Galmore, but it would still not be enough.

Numbers remained the ruler of any battlefield.

Alaster could not waste his time creating subpar equipment. Instead, Alaster would need to find a blacksmith, or even several, who could supply his Forgotten Legion.

Galmore was rumored to be constantly under siege from the endless hordes of Monsters that deep in the forest, untouched by Humanity. Upon arrival, Alaster intended to station his army on the walls, under command of one of the Repentant Knights.

Alaster would still gain experience towards his level while he was learning from Azemar. Of course, Alaster understood that his true strength lay more in his current Abilities than his stat growth. Besides, he had [Reaper’s Touch] that could give him more Stat Points. And in a city, such as Galmore, Alaster was certain that there would be a constant stream of souls he could consume, if he didn’t use them for his own Minions.

Belgroth had already told Alaster that [Reaper’s Touch] would not work with Monster Souls. They did, in fact, have souls. It was simply that Monster Souls were too different from Human Souls. Through trial and error, Alaster might one day learn to use them, but Alaster was not willing to devote such time to it.

Sitting down in his bone shelter, Alaster began to slowly create more Forgotten. They were complicated, but Alaster was familiar with the process. He was confident he could Weave four throughout the night, before the Delegation continued on their journey.

The System helped to drastically improve the time it took, guiding Alaster in each step, but it was not as simple as the War Born or Dread Knight, which Alaster could create with a simple cast of the Spell.

If Alaster was able to create four a night during his stay in Galmore, he estimated that he could create nearly fifteen hundred. But that meant that he would not sleep at all. Which he could do, with the help of [Death Embrace]. But he doubted he could do it without drastic side effects.

As Alaster created a Forgotten, he immediately sent it into his Soul Domain to begin training under the Repentant Knights. Their levels would not improve, but their ability to fight would.

When they were first created, they were little more than mindless golems, unable to move without direct command. But their ability to learn was not limited to their level. Though it was limited to its extent. They would never be the strongest, fastest, or most agile. But Alaster suspected they could reach roughly three hundred in each stat.

Alaster was not able to see their stats, but he could see their Abilities and levels. They also did not have access to Bonuses, so even against others with three hundred points in each stat, they would still lose.

It was a shame, but not one that Alaster was too saddened by.

Before he knew it, dim sunlight began to peak through the canopy of trees. Dawn had arrived, and it was time to leave. Alaster sighed to himself and got to work on storing his shelter while the rest of the Delegation woke up.

He had only managed to create three Forgotten.