Shortly after the raid of Bhrunum came to its unexpected conclusion between Novius and Maxith the Opik army was forced to improvise. Under the command of Maxith, they encroached on the remaining Kadince territory. Forcing the enemy military into submission, the Opik Empire ended the war spelling out victory for Sintia. With the mission complete Maxith met with the nobles of Sintia who had traveled to the border for the occasion.
“We cannot thank you enough for what you’ve done for our people. Without you, Maxith, our country wouldn’t be celebrating this victory. The table has agreed this cooperation between our countries has established a great trust between us. Prince Maxith you can rely on us in the future as allies of the Opik Empire.”
“Well it was my father's plan, I don’t think I deserve all the praise. Your alliance with us is greatly appreciated and I will communicate this with my father,” Maxith humbly replied to the seven nobles sitting before him at a crescent-shaped table. “Please Maxith, don’t be so modest,” One noble on the left began, “The rumors of what happened in Bhrunum reach even our ears. Without you, that demon would have ruined our plans and brought defeat to our land.” Another noble near the middle of the table chimed in, “Your capability to adapt to the situation and improvise during such chaos has proven you quite capable. Let me ask you, how do you plan on bringing your men home?”
“We planned to depart tomorrow morning and march through Lorta.”
“Ohh, no no no,” the room filled with whispering as the nobles leaned in to speak to each other quietly. Maxith stood before them awkwardly in the empty room containing just the table, the nobles, and himself. Waiting for them to finish Maxith observed their strange attire. All of them wore baggy robes and tall wide hats, all of which were of different colors. They all stopped speaking and turned back to Maxith. The noble in blue spoke, “We will be giving you ships to return home in.”
“Whoah… thank you for the offer but that is unnecessary. We can’t take such a generous gift from you,” Maxith responded hastily.
“We cannot allow you to walk across the continent after the assistance you lent us. Allow us to give you this in return,” The noble in Yellow continued, “The ships will be prepared for you by tomorrow morning. Allow your men to rest for tonight before your journey home.” After thanking them for their kindness Maxith exited the room to find Emerson still waiting outside for him. “So we're getting ships huh? That’ll be nice,” Emerson said now walking beside Maxith making their way outside. “Ya know the whole point of you not being in the room is so we can have a private conversation. You listening in kinda defeats that purpose,” Maxith responded half serious but not actually worried about it. “It is your first time holding a meeting of such importance. I’m supposed to be able to guide you to become king so I need to be able to give pointers. Just know most political meetings don’t go so pleasantly, you’re lucky your first one is after a major victory.”
Reaching the outside Maxith looked up at the baby blue sky and stopped for a moment. Emerson stopped and looked up with him, “Still thinking about him huh? Your job is almost done Maxith, see it to the end. You’ve done better than anyone expected of you, finish off our journey clean and you can worry about your personal affairs then.” Looking back down Maxith continued to walk on the dirt path through the trees, “It’s not like we can do anything immediately anyways, we don’t even know where he is. I’ll have time once we’re sailing to figure out a game plan.”
“Well, not to put more pressure on you but, what about the woman? What do you plan to do with her?”
“Oh shit,” Maxith whispered and widened his eyes for a moment before continuing, “I almost forgot about her. Fuck do you think they’ll get home before us? Father might execute her.”
“Well, the ships they’re taking back we’re Lorta property so they will be leaving them where we set sail in Indona. Walking home from there will slow them enough to allow us to sail back first,” Emerson loosened the cuffs around his wrists from his uniform to let some air in. He never slacked in the appearance of his uniform around others so Maxith found it odd. “You plan to keep that big fucking sword? Thing chopped your shoulder up pretty good.” Maxith put his hand on his wound from it and rotated his shoulder around lifting his arm in the air, “I’m not sure, to be honest, I can’t even lift it now without all the adrenaline from last night.”
“Keep your hands on it for now, you might want to look into using it again.”
“What do you mean?” Maxith furrowed his brow confused.
“Well, you beat Novius in a duel for the first time while using that thing. Whether or not that was him doesn’t matter, his fighting instincts were still in there and you injured him first. Perhaps that sword could help you find a fighting style more suited to your strengths. A stature like yours could take advantage of such an odd weapon and become a real difficult thing for an opponent to deal with in battle,” Emerson fixed his cuffs back to normal now reaching the town with friendly soldiers and civilians walking around. “Yeah I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to look into it,” Maxith said as they reached the dock of the river they would sail on tomorrow to reach the ocean.
Maxith looked toward the water focusing on its beautiful blue color while his mind mixed and turned thinking about everything. He managed to power through his previous worries just to be introduced to new ones, ‘What kind of demon infested him? Does any semblance of his true self remain?’ He attempted to wrap his head around the possible scenarios but everything was just assumptions as of now.
Staring at the waves crashing he could hear seagulls squawking around him. He was shaken awake from his deep thoughts by a soldier grabbing him around the shoulder. Looking up from the waves he saw Ventium not far from the boat he was aboard. The soldier grabbing him urged Maxith to join the crew in a sea shanty celebrating their arrival home. Four days of sailing was rough, but much better than marching. Happy to have his military duties behind him now that he was home, Maxith joined in the singing. Upon docking Emerson and Maxith left toward the castle to speak to Decimus about the victory. Informing him the Kadince region had been brought to its knees Decimus was pleased, “Wonderful, good job Emerson. Maxith I hope you gained some good experience from Emerson during this.”
“Actually Decimus, I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear Maxith did well on his own after a bit of a hiccup in the plan,” Emerson corrected Decimus now looking over to Maxith proudly. “Oh? What hiccup?” Decimus inquired. Maxith then explained to his father what happened with Novius, and how he led his men south improvising from the disruption of the plan. “Novius did what!?” Decimus exclaimed ignoring the impressive actions his son had taken, “Where is he now? He’ll be executed for this.” Without hesitation Maxith yelled back, “What? Did you not hear what I said? He's infested with a demon! It wasn’t Novius who did it, it was the cursed blades, he needs our help to bring him back!”
“Do not raise your voice to me, child. Him or not, he is now a threat and must be dealt with. Those blades have brought nothing but misery to the world in their past. Emerson send soldiers back to Bhrunum to keep a lookout for him, I want him found.” Maxith raised his voice even more now growing impatient with his father's history of inhuman actions, “We will not be killing someone who needs our help! Novius is a good man and wouldn’t turn against us! Your rash actions-” Decimus interrupted Maxith standing up from his throne spilling his wine glass on the floor, “You don’t make the decisions around here Maxith! Sit in your place like you should and allow me to-” Decimus suddenly spit up a black liquid from his mouth and collapsed to his knees. Emerson quickly ran to his side to help him up. Maxith stood frozen in place confused as to what was happening. Decimus continued to hack up the thick mushy grunge staining the carpet at Maxith’s feet. Emerson urged Maxith to go get the doctor but he couldn’t hear him.
Maxith’s ears were ringing while his eyes stayed fixated on his father doubled over on the ground. He’d never seen his father harmed before and had felt as though he was an invincible force, incapable of being stopped. Seeing his father’s mortality for the first time was stunning. Emerson stood from his crouching position and walked back to Maxith grabbing him by his shirt, “Get the doctor, NOW!” Emerson pushed Maxith towards the door letting go of his shirt and returning to Decimus’ side.
Fetching the doctor Maxith ran to his father's room with him explaining what happened. Emerson laid Decimus on his side to prevent him from choking on the muddy fluid while the doctor began to run basic checks on him to see what was wrong. After about fifteen minutes of him coughing up the dark filth, he stopped and stabilized. The doctor explained that he would need time to check some things before an actual diagnosis could be made. For the time being Maxith and Emerson would have to wait.
After two days the group from Bhrunum arrived at Ventium. Maxith of course greeted them at the gates, happy to see his men in good health. Reina sat in the back of a horse carriage with her hands tied behind her back. The soldier who Maxith had threatened back in Bhrunum to protect her walked up to Maxith while shaking in fear and said, “I stayed with her every moment and made sure she was safe! I promise nothing happened to her Prince Maxith!” Laughing Maxith patted him on the shoulder and said, “Thank you, good job,” dismissing the frightened soldier who gladly left Maxith’s presence.
Walking up to the cart containing Reina Maxith stuck out his tongue making a funny face as to playfully mock Reina for being tied up. Seeing this she responded, "Oh, hilarious. Let's see how funny it is when I tie you up." Hearing this Maxith widened his eyes and looked to the side and sarcastically said, "Woah, not in front of everyone else dear." Reina got flustered and blushed a little now noticing how what she said sounded. Turning her back to Maxith she allowed him to untie her. Getting up and exiting the cart they walked side by side down the street, "So where do you plan on keeping me?" Reina asked him. "Well if it were up to me you'd stay in the castle," Maxith began, "But it's not. You'll have to stay in a cell until we find out anything about your family and can let you leave." Reina made a twisted face and said, "Oooo, so you like keeping girls you meet locked up huh? How pleasant." Maxith laughed and responded, "I would try and talk Decimus into being ok with you staying in a room with us but tensions are a tad high right now."
Maxith left Reina in a cell in town closest to the castle reassuring her if something happened he’d be there to help her. Walking back into his home he was greeted by Emerson who did not look happy, "Maxith, the doctor needs to talk to you." Looking over he could see the doctor seated on a couch leaning forward clearly stressed with his face in his palm. Maxith sat next to the doctor and Emerson stood beside him and said, "Tell him." The doctor looked over to Maxith and spoke, "Maxith I believe your father's illness is terminal."
They sat in silence for a moment as he absorbed the sudden information, the doctor continued, "I can't be sure when but it'll probably be a few months." Maxith furrowed his brow and thought for a moment before speaking, "Why can't you fix him?" The doctor sighed, looked down, and rubbed his eye with his palm while he said, "His body seems to be collapsing inward on itself, whatever he has it's making him eat himself alive. The thick black stuff he’s hacking up is blood mixed with his liquified flesh. It's looking like a slow process so it gives us some time." Maxith looked at him tilting his head to the side not understanding what he meant, "Time for what?"
"To finish prepping you to be king," Emerson butted in without hesitation.
"What? I'm only twenty! I wouldn't even know where to begin," Maxith said as he looked up at Emerson with a panic in his voice. Emerson provided no comfort, he just looked blankly at Maxith and said, "Your people call for you to rise to the occasion and lead them and you complain? Do you expect someone else to do it for you? What kind of prince is afraid at the thought of becoming king, that's your whole purpose in life. You live in these walls and lead the privileged life you do because you're expected to do more than the average man can. Do not whine again. Your days will no longer be so relaxed, they will be spent learning strategy and politics. On top of this, you will carry out your father's commands as the acting king since he is bedridden, this will provide experience. Today he wishes to issue a message to the civilians of Ventium and you will be the one to deliver it. Here." Emerson handed Maxith a piece of paper with the message written on it for him to memorize. While Maxith scanned the page Emerson directed the doctor to leave the room so they could have privacy. Maxith's eyes widened while he read and the doctor leaving the room acted as a fuse for Maxith's reaction. Once the door closed Maxith exploded, he shot out of his seated position and said, "I can't tell them this! This is bullshit and you know it!"
Without the doctor in their presence Emerson loosened up his rough exterior and tried to calm Maxith down, "Listen kid, I know it's not something you agree with but it's what needs to be done. Rumors are already spreading now that we're back from the raid and eventually, everyone will hear what happened. The people will feel angry and demand to know what's being done about it if you don't inform them first. Someone has to tell them and it's best you're the messenger."
Maxith turned red in the face from anger and began pacing back and forth, "Then why don't we tell them the actual truth, not this shit!" Emerson sat down and ran his hand over his clean shaved head, "No matter how you look at it he's a massive threat in the people's eyes Maxith. Even if you say he's infested with a demon is that supposed to make them feel better? What about their families? Sure they'll feel bad about what happened to him but they still want him dealt with to keep their lives protected. You’re supposed to provide that insurance for them." Still pacing and looking at the floor Maxith was thinking what to do, "Ok how about a compromise, we keep his name intact telling them it's not his fault, it was the demons, but we promise to deal with him."
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"You're not getting it, telling them a demon is on the loose would make them worry more, and on top of that, it'll split the people. Some will feel you're doing the right thing putting out a manhunt on him and others will feel pity for him like you do. In a situation like that no matter what you do some of the populace will question your actions and view the Opik family as unfit to rule. Keeping a common enemy among the people will create unison and keep them happy knowing we are fixing the issue. With our limited knowledge and understanding of this demon, we have no clue what to expect. This is the best course of action we can take for now until the situation changes later."
Maxith stopped pacing and plopped onto the couch opposite of Emerson, “When do I have to do it?” Emerson sighed and answered, “At four this afternoon… all you have to do is put up with your father's wishes until you wind up becoming king. When that happens you can make your own decisions with my advisory,” Emerson stood up and continued, “Once you’re done memorizing the speech the maids will dress you up in the proper attire.”
Satisfied with his memory of the speech Maxith lowered his arm plopping it to his side, paper still in hand. He looked at himself in the mirror standing still while two maids circled him fixing every minute detail of his appearance. Maxith tugged at the collar of his white blouse and immediately one of the maids swatted his hand away, “Ow!” Maxith exclaimed, “Why do I have to wear this again?” Maxith groaned looking at the over-the-top outfit. “The people don’t know about your father's sickness yet. We must begin to prepare their view of you as a man ready to take on the responsibility of a king,” the maid replied while strapping a gold necklace around his neck. “How exactly does this convey that?” Maxith complained while tugging at a crimson cape that covered only half of his body, it tapered gradually from left to right until it reached floor length.
“Would you stand still already?” The other maid asked grabbing the cape from his hands. His black long coat was finished with gold trims and a red notched lapel to match the cape. After pulling the coat straight and leaving it open to show the blouse the maids stepped back and simultaneously said, “Perfect!” Maxith could hear the massive crowd outside talking excitedly in anticipation of his speech. “Now hurry and give your speech before you mess up our work!” the older maid said. “Ok ok,” Maxith replied walking towards the open doorway beaming with bright light.
After stepping through Maxith’s eyes adjusted to the sunlight revealing a massive crowd below him. The balcony he was on overlooked the town square which now contained a large majority of the city's populace. Almost entirely at once the talking ceased and the large crowd fell silent. For a moment Maxith’s heart raced as he became the center of attention of such a large group. A speech on this scale was something he’d never done before. The silence in the square grew awkward before Maxith noticed something. Emerson was in the square at the front looking up to Maxith giving him a thumbs up of encouragement. This eased Maxith’s nerves and allowed him to take in the crowd on a more personal level. He began to recognize the faces of people he knew and met throughout his years growing up. This made him recall how these people look to him for protection and comfort and how it was his responsibility to provide it. Confidently Maxith began to speak.
“A week ago our military invaded enemy territory to put a stop to an unnecessary war. The king of the Kadince people had grown selfish and began to take land, food, and water from the people of Sintia. This act of bullying another nation is not something the Opik Empire takes lying down. As the capital of the Kadince region, Bhrunum was the targeted city for the raid. Our men sailed into that city in the dead of night planning an assassination on the Kadince king, and today I am here to inform you of our success. The Opik Empire finished a four-year-long war in a single night!” Applause and cheers began to fill the square as Maxith raised his voice to continue the hype, “Our nation’s might is that of the best in the world!” Maxith stopped for a moment allowing the applause to simmer down before he continued, “But with the light of victory comes the darkness of tragedy. I would first like to acknowledge the Opik men who passed on that night fighting for peace in the eastern continent. With their sacrifice comes the guarantee that Opik and Sintia children can mature in a safe, peaceful world. To honor them I would like to hold a moment of silence before we continue.” This part of the speech was something not written by Decimus but was added in by Maxith.
After a minute of silence, Maxith began to speak again, “Along with their deaths came the unexpected event of betrayal.” Maxith stopped before he read the next sentence knowing it was against everything he wanted, “A man named Novius Leviticus, who belonged to our homeland, murdered several of our men and betrayed our country,” The crowd began whispering amongst themselves as Maxith held back a disappointed face, “We will be sending troops back to Bhrunum which was his last known location in an attempt to find him and prosecute him as any traitor should be.” The civilians now began to grow louder and louder discussing the shocking news. Maxith now struggled to get them back under control as he raised his voice, “Quiet! Quiet!… Silence!” The people finally stopped talking, “We planned to leave the Kadince region as a proxy country ruled under us but not occupied by us, but with this complication, we’re forced to do so. The traitor currently poses no threat to our livelihood and should not be feared as we have the situation under control.”
Maxith abruptly turned and left in disgust having finished the speech. Seeing this the crowd understood how Maxith felt, most of them knew they were best friends. Not knowing the true scenario they sympathized with their beloved young prince and directed their hate towards Novius. Someone in the crowd started a chant, “Kill the traitor! Kill the traitor!” The civilians hoped to aid Maxith’s despair by showing their support for his actions. Emerson lowered his head and buried his face in his palm knowing how their good intentions were just hurting Maxith more. Walking into the empty dressing room Maxith tore off his long coat and cape throwing it to the side in anger. Without breaking his stride he approached a wooden mannequin punching it square in the face. The hardwood splintered out from the crushing force and was sent flying into a wall.
In search of a way to release his anger, Maxith stormed off back towards the castle. Barging into the training room he approached the hulking chunk of steel he used during the raid. Fuming with emotion he grasped the handle of the weapon and attempted to lift it. Veins popped out of his neck and biceps as he poured all of his rage into the action. He let out a savage scream forcing the hefty blade from the ground and placed it on his shoulder once again. Blood trickled down his ruffled white silk blouse as he walked up to an old beat-up sandbag. He lifted the cold steel from his shoulder and brought it down in a diagonal slash cutting the bag in half. Sand poured out from the now-ruined bag while Maxith struggled to lift the sword a second time. His face turned red with the effort as he failed to move it an inch.
Releasing the air stored in his lungs he dropped the handle and the weapon went crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Maxith fell to his knees and yelled, “Fuuuck!” as he lowered his forehead to the floor and balled up his fists. After the release of his pent-up rage tears began to flow to Maxith’s eyes. The emotions from recent events had caught up to him and blew up all at once. Images flashed through his mind, men he slaughtered during the raid, the burning man he put down, shouts of women and children, his father's looming presence, the deathmites’ haunting appearance as they pulled his men into the dark abyss, Tyra’s haunting face screaming at him for help, Novius’ eyes staring at him through the fire.
Eventually, Maxith’s mind calmed down and went blank. He pushed himself up from the ground and felt the pain from his now reopened shoulder injury. Wincing from it he remembered Reina’s renown and figured he could ask her to fix it for him. Leaving the training room he wiped away his tears to not be seen as weak by his people. Upon reaching Reina’s cell she greeted him saying, “Hiii-” She jumped up from where she was seated and rushed to the cell bars before continuing, “Oh my god what happened to your shoulder!?” Maxith opened the cell door and entered while giving an awkward smile, “It was healing fine but I kinda messed up and it opened again.” Grabbing his blouse she pulled it over his head removing it. “What the hell were you doing?” She pestered analyzing the wound. Pulling up her chair she sat down, “C’mon, sit here,” she motioned for Maxith to sit on the floor in front of her as she grabbed her water bucket and a rag.
Now seated between her legs she leaned over his wound cleaning out dirt from the sword with her rag. Answering her previous question Maxith said, “I was using a weapon a tad big for me.” Reina stopped and made a funny face, “A weapon too big for you? Ha I didn’t think such a thing was possible,” she said while touching his oversized arms. Leaning his head back into her lap he smiled at her and said, “Thankfully I have my damsel in distress here to fix me.” In return to his sly remark, Reina poked at his wound with the rag causing Maxith to wince and reply, “Ow!” Looking down at Maxith with a smile she sarcastically said, “Sounds like you’re the helpless one now.” Without hesitation Maxith shot back, “Oh I’m helpless alright,” while staring into Reina’s sparkling eyes.
Blushing, Reina looked away. Maxith chuckled and raised his head from her lap to look forward again. After a moment Reina continued to clean out his wound silently. Maxith looked down at the ground and thought for a second before speaking, “I feel like I’ve done horrible things and… I’m not sure if I can be a good leader anymore.” Reina dunked the rag in water and wrung it out while asking, “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know it’s just… I’ve watched bad things happen and did nothing to stop it… thinking it was for the best. I killed people during that raid and I- I don’t think I’m ready. How can someone like me become king so soon? A few months at best isn’t enough for me to prepare.”
“Woah woah! King? What are you talking about? You sure you didn’t hit your head too?”
“Haha oops,” Maxith began, “I kinda forgot to mention I’m prince of the Opik Empire.” Suddenly Reina’s hand reached over Maxith’s forehead pulling his head back into her lap again, “PRINCE?! What the shit, I thought you were just a captain!” Maxith squinted his eyes and shrank his head into his shoulders, “Sorry?” Reina swiftly flicked him on the forehead and added, “How could you forget to mention such a thing? Besides wouldn’t your father be king if you’re the prince, what are you talking about?” Maxith looked to the ground again and sighed, “Don’t tell anyone but… my father is sick, he's not expected to last two months. I feel like I’m not ready to be king yet, I mean what does it mean to be king?” Plucking out the last bit of dirt from his wound Reina said, “I’m sorry to hear about that… My father used to tell my brother and me ‘A false king owns the lives of his people, a true king's life belongs to the people.’ Everything you do and every action you take is dedicated to the people who rely on you. You take on the pain and suffering for them so they can live good lives. That's what makes you a great king.”
Maxith stared intently at the ground deep in thought, something about what she said moved a blockage in his mind. Reina then used her renown to heal his shoulder and leaned forward placing her arms around his neck on his chest hugging him. Whispering in his ear she said, “I think you’ll make a great king.” After a few moments, Reina kissed him on the cheek and stood up. Maxith woke from his deep thought and also got to his feet. “Say, do you always have to clean the wound out before you use your renown?” Reina plopped down on the edge of her bed and said, “Nope! I just wanted to,” with a bright smile on her face.
Having left the cell it was now nighttime. Maxith made his way back home determined to get something off his chest. Entering his father's room he found the doctor by his side sleeping while watching over him. Maxith abruptly awoke him and told him to leave his father and him alone. The doctor said to get him if something happened which was brushed off by Maxith. Now alone with Decimus, they met eyes and Maxith began, “I know you can’t speak, but it doesn’t matter. All you need to do is listen to me.” Maxith didn’t sit down or make the situation comfortable for Decimus, he simply loomed over the side of the bed staring at his father. “I want you to know how much of a piece of shit you are… scum like you could never rule an empire and make it better, all you did is maintain it. Every action you took was selfish with the desire to benefit yourself in the hopes to feel like your sorry self was worth something,” leaning forward over Decimus’ face he continued, “I want you to remember for the little time you have left your existence as king will be overshadowed by my rule and forgotten. Your mediocrity was your downfall as a ruler and won’t be difficult to surpass.” Maxith stood back up straight without breaking eye contact and Decimus had a furious look in his eyes. He tried to retaliate back but got sent into the worst coughing fit yet, spilling more slimy liquid than before. Maxith watched and spit on the floor next to the bed in disrespect.
The doctor heard the hacking and came rushing in through the door, “What happened?!” Without looking away from Decimus’ suffering he responded, “Nothing.” Leaving the room he could hear the panic of the doctor attempting to stabilize Decimus. The sounds faded into the darkness of the castle Maxith left the room unfazed.
The sun rose the next morning with a slightly cooler breeze in the air. Summer was coming to an end as they moved into the later months of the year. Emerson who was awake at dawn as always approached Maxith’s room planning to wake him up for political classes. With no response after knocking Emerson opened the door prepared to shake him awake, but found no one inside. Confused Emerson exited back into the hallway and began searching for Maxith. Finding the living room and courtyard empty he grew worried and asked one of the maids in the kitchen if she’d seen him, “No but there is some food missing from the pantry,” she answered. Now speed walking through the narrow hallways he thought to himself, ‘Don’t tell me he did something rash. I know the speech was hard on the kid, especially after those crowd chants, but I figured it’d be best to let him deal with it alone.’ Now heading towards the training room the doctor caught up to Emerson in a panic, “I need to tell you something!” Not in any mood to be distracted with something that wasn’t his job Emerson responded, “Not now, deal with it yourself.”
“No seriously we need to talk-” They burst into the training room to find Maxith holding a barbell like a sword with weights on the end. “Maxith! What the hell are you doing?” Emerson said with a smile on his face pleased to see Maxith training. Empty plates of food were scattered here and there making it obvious he stayed awake all night. “About time you woke up old man!” Maxith sneered lowering the barbell to the ground slowly. Emerson walked toward him raising his hand, clasping it with Maxith’s, “Good to see you’re doing well kid.” Now done with their greeting the doctor interrupted again, “Guys you really need to listen.” Both turned to face him and Emerson asked annoyed, “What the hell is it!” Shying away from Emerson’s aggressiveness he said, “It’s Decimus… he’s dead.”
Shocked by the news Emerson quickly looked over to Maxith expecting him to be thrown through a loop, panicking. Instead, he calmly picked up his oversized baggy shirt from the floor and put it on. Walking past the doctor towards the door he said, “C’mon Emerson, we have an empire to change.”