A large, veinous eye appeared on the face of The Apparatus. It watched silently. The heartbeat underneath Castle Hemmer amplified tenfold. Its tremors could’ve been mistaken for earthquakes. Without a doubt, the rest of Monestate had noticed the phenomenon. It inspired panic in the streets.

A crew of acolytes cloaked in white hoisted up King Andre from his wheelchair. Chains wrapping around his torso, he dangled in the air drooling and lethargic. There wasn’t much life or light behind his eyes anymore. Ashley cringed, looking away, as the crank of a lever jerked him closer and closer to The Apparatus.

Mercutio the clown watched with an excited, twisted smile, urging his goons to hurry. “We don’t have time, fools! Get it on with!”

One looked reluctant. “I can’t take getting called a fool by this fool anymore.”

Another said with hesitant, raised hands, “If it kills him, I don’t wanna be the one that dropped him in. Ain’t killing the king illegal?”

“Nothing about this operation has been legal.”

He and the acolyte beside him bickered over who would do it until Mercutio walked over and shoved them out of the way. He yanked a stiff lever with a growl. King Andre dropped right onto a steel pipe of The Apparatus, letting out a groan.

Upon touch, dozens of fleshy appendages from claws to arms appeared and snagged ahold of the king. Ashley flinched, closing her eyes, as they slithered across his body. Andre’s eyes rolled back as his skin bubbled and melted.

Then he started wailing. His raspy screams of agony sent chills through Ashley. It scared her into praying.

Mercutio observed the process, eerily quiet, until saying, “Now we shall see if you were truly worthy of your crown. A greater force will decide.”

The black bile of devil's metal absorbed Andre completely in front of them. It spat out a picked clean skeleton of alloy onto the ground. Steam and gaseous fumes rose from the bones.

Ashley fell into despair with a cracking voice. “My Lord…?”

Mercutio shook his head with resting smugness. “You weren’t worthy then?”

Soothsayer silenced them from its spot in Andre’s empty wheelchair. “Humans are so quick to assume the worst. His soul is there. I can see it.”

The king’s bones rattled. Black lightning struck them in the room from thin air, causing everyone to jump. In the next moment, a broad and dark figure took their place. King Andre stood with a wicked, frozen grin spreading from cheek to cheek. It didn’t budge.

He'd grown to nearly seven feet tall and regressed in age to his twenties. Despite this tallness, he didn’t look slender or frail. His black iron muscles filled out his form. He easily weighed three hundred pounds.

There was no mistaking it. The risk was a success. A miracle. King Andre transformed from a senile elder into a walking statue perfect in design.

Something about him just seemed… off though. That smile? Eerie. His skin? Grey. He looked at his hands, baffled, and started stretching and popping his new body's bones. “I can’t believe it. I’m alive, and my head feels so clear now. I feel…”

He noticed Ashley and faced her. She was rattled by a combination of many emotions. Fear, relief, horror. Andre embraced her lightly. “I apologize for worrying you.”

“I thought you were dead.”

“It’s over now though. We no longer need this… thing.”

They looked up at The Apparatus. Its eye had closed and its heartbeat had stopped too. Was this the end? No more sacrifices?

Andre picked up Soothsayer and left with Ashley in tow. “We must get to work on rebuilding our nation,” he said.

“Our nation? You’re the king. I’m just a maid, Your Highness.”

“Sure, but not for long.”

Mercutio watched the king closely with suspicion, his gaze switching between him and The Apparatus. He knew or suspected something that they didn’t.

Andre and Ashley stopped at the stairs before heading back up. They detoured towards the room of caged monsters. The chaotic sounds were deafening.

He opened the door, stepped in, and every abomination hushed to absolute silence. They gazed at him wide-eyed. They covered their faces, trembled, and bowed their heads. He walked along the cages with that dreadful smile. It only seemed to get bigger and more malformed with jagged teeth.

Intrusive whispers spiraled in his head. TAKE, CHILDREN, CONVERGENCE, BURN, FREEDOM, VELLELS, YELLEN, MEAT, THE WORLD, GRASP!

He rubbed his eyes, dazed, and said, “Strange. Nothing could ever silence these beasts.”

Ashley asked, “Are you happy, Your Highness?”

“Not in particular. Why do you ask?”

She seemed put off. Staring at his teeth, she said, “You've got quite the smile.”

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He covered his mouth, apprehensive. For now, the grin went away, and the caged monsters raged on again like nothing ever happened. For now, he felt like himself. His clarity returned. He felt focused and empowered enough to solve any issue with a glance, regardless of complexity.

“I need time to get used to this new existence. It would be naïve to assume that this power comes free. Nothing does, after all. Ashley, if you ever feel that I’m acting oddly, tell me immediately. I must stay alert.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

They made their way up the stairs to Hemmer.

“Our first prerogative will be to dispose of this evidence. The Apparatus, these failures, and everything. We will build a perfect empire.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I can see the light, but not everyone can. If this darkness were exposed, no one would understand. They wouldn’t understand that perfection requires imperfection.”

Ashley tilted her head in interest, showing a half-grin. This man was entirely different from the king she knew. He was shining. Was this how Andre was in his youth as an ambitious prince?

She noted, “You’ve become well-spoken, My Lord. It reminds me of your demeanor when I first entered fealty to you.”

He took her hand, closed his eyes, and kissed the top of it. “This entire time, you’ve been my shield and blade, Ashley. When I fell ill, you threw away your noble title and responsibility to take care of me. The gratitude I have for you cannot be described.”

“I did not enjoy my rank anyway, Your Highness. The expectations were too high, and I was conspired against as the sole woman in a man’s game.”

“Wait a little longer and I shall restore what you’ve lost. It’s the least that you deserve. Then you could wear something more befitting of your status.”

She shrugged. “I politely decline, Your Highness.”

“Why?”

She walked ahead of him, arms behind her back. “Many reasons. I want to continue to be by your side. My current role allows me to be closer to you than anyone else. I also like to wear these kinds of dresses. Back then, I had to dress and act as a man to be respected. I feel no such burden here.”

“You never shared that with me before.”

Ashley scratched her head. “Really?”

They ascended to Castle Hemmer’s halls only to meet Gundyr dragging a steaming corpse. The Champion threw Jericho’s unconscious, mid-regeneration body before the king and knelt.

Gundyr explained, “I defeated The Wyrm. He was weaker than I expected.”

Andre nodded with a somber look. “He wasn't weak. You were simply stronger. Poor thing. Where have you been all along, my son?” He snagged a piece of Jericho’s peeled flesh and shut it between Soothsayer’s pages.

With the book opened to its freshest pages, he traced red, bloody ink with his finger. “I’ll take it upon myself to tame you properly this time. We’ll need warriors of the highest echelon to lay down their lives against the Zaibans.”

He stopped at a point, furrowing his brow. “You were with Rath Ghul, under my nose, all along? Here for the great machina? Even when it is broken? Lovecraft may still have a purpose. And there is another? Here? Sasha? The cycle of Convergence comes again...”

He skimmed further until reaching the name Simon. He shut the book, his mood completely shifting to predatory coldness. His eyes sharpened and his grin stretched. This animosity released a wave of overwhelming, alien ki that made Gundyr break out in goosebumps. The energy was otherworldly. No ki artist possessed such a thing.

Andre announced, “There is another intruder here with a machina granting invisibility. He is after our great machina. It may be too late.”

Gundyr scrambled to his feet. “Shit! I’ll go, Your Highness!”

“No. You take my son to the supreme dungeon. We will apprehend Simon.”

“Affirmative, Your Highness.”

Andre took off sprinting with Ashley alongside him. His footsteps rang out like heavy metal. Hers were silent. She asked, “Do you wish to test your new form?”

“No. I wish to understand our intruder and this situation. If someone else kills him before I can read him, invaluable insight will be lost.”

***

Simon shoved open the grand double doors to Lovecraft’s room. With the great machina’s guard gone, there would be no better chance to take it. He rushed up steps to a pedestal holding a glass display case. Within it, the hilt and shards of Lovecraft rested.

His heartbeat bounced from his chest as he imagined the reactions he’d get after returning to the manor. They sent him to scout and he instead returned with Lovecraft? He’d earn the full trust of the party. Maybe even Abdul would come around to liking him. More than anything else, though, he imagined how happy it would’ve made Sasha.

Simon set the glass cover aside and collected Lovecraft’s remains into his satchel. As soon as he tightened its strings, the double doors opened. He slipped behind the pedestal and hid low, peeking out from behind it. The maid, Ashley, and a tall stranger approached quickly.

Simon eyed the king nervously. Who is that? His aura is weak, but what little I can sense is sickening. Is he repressing his power?

Ashley spoke, “You were right, Your Highness. It’s gone. It must be close though. I can feel it.”

Simon tensed up. King Andre? If he looks like that, then he’s succeeded. Jericho’s lost.

Andre searched around the room. “I can still sense the signature of Lovecraft in this room. Simon is nearby. If I were invisible, where would I hide?”

Ashley responded, “In plain sight?”

Simon held his breath. His stomach dropped. The king knows my name. He must've read Jericho. This is where this mission ends.

He would have no choice but to ditch Lovecraft. If he escaped now, they’d track its energy and pursue him. Simon got greedy. He should’ve stuck to scouting and gotten out of there.

He slipped off the satchel and pulled its tying string loose. That tiny sound alerted the king.

Andre jolted in his direction, asking, “Did you hear that, Ashley?”

“No. What was it?”

“Something like a rope.”

They rushed towards him. In response, he slipped to the other side of the pedestal.

Simon’s heart about jumped from his chest. He’d forgotten something important about homunculi. Abdul showed over and over that he had heightened senses. It was most likely the same case for Andre. Simon’s bag was filled with all kinds of things that rattled and moved. Any more fooling around with it could’ve gotten him caught.

Fuck. I’ll have to leave my satchel.

But this came with another danger. What if something in there could’ve been used to activate the condition of Soothsayer? A loose hair? A flask with his saliva?

He’d have to take the risk.

Simon left his satchel and snuck to freedom as the king and maid searched for him. The moment Andre found his satchel and snatched it up, he reached the closed door.

Andre underestimated his strength and ripped the bag in half by accident. Its contents, Lovecraft included, spilled everywhere onto the ground. “Our thief has given up. A smart choice.”

The double doors opened and closed. Ashley gave chase after Simon, but Andre stopped her. “Leave him be. I am sure we will meet again.”

“But Your Highness…”

"Our halls are grand. He has escaped. His machina does its job well. It didn’t only hide him physically. It wiped his spiritual signature as well. If I could sway him in the future, he would be invaluable for espionage against our enemies.”

“Right now, is he not our enemy?”

“Not until I understand him. I’ll read Simon further through my son. They were both with Rath Ghul.”

“Very well.” Ashley squatted next to the shards of Lovecraft. She sifted through Simon’s belongings. “And I’ll see if I can find anything in here that would be of use. If that is the case, there will be no escaping for him.”

“That’s right.” Andre gazed out the nearest window into the night, his devilish grin curling. “Scurry to your burrow, mole.”