The main entrance to the palace of ice opened on its own as if inviting them in. "That's not suspicious at all," Daz muttered.
"Little, suspicious," Madison countered.
Daz chucked a bit. "I was being sarcastic."
"From, you? Unexpected," Madison replied. "From, Rose, guaranteed."
"Rose is sarcasm goals for an emotional void like myself," Daz added as he led the group through the massive gates of the palace's entrance.
A large hallway greeted them that was decorated with hundreds upon hundreds of paintings as well as incredibly realistic ice sculptures.
The paintings seemed to be portraits of some sort and depicted the same family judging by the eye and hair colour - a distinct and pure snow-white.
"Are these... people?" Ellie asked as she approached one of the statues.
Thankfully, Mr Barrier was changing the shape of his barrier to extend to her despite the fact that she'd wandered off.
Daz, Madison and the twins followed her to inspect the statue.
"There's no magic inside of it but those robes..." Daz frowned deeply.
"Truthian, priest," Madison said with fury in her eyes. "Unmistakable."
Ellie raised her hand, and the largest of her robots moved - the Makrov Tank Issue Mark V Automaton. It raised one of its arms as it floated midair since it had no legs and then ruthlessly smashed the robotic limb into the frozen man.
"Dust is all they deserve for what they did," Ellie spat out as she cursed the ice shards then began stomping on them with her feet.
The twins flinched at the brutality but they didn't look away. Neither did Daz nor Madison.
"Evil," Madison softly said in that monotone voice of hers.
"So someone here has the power to turn people into ice and it actually works on those power cancelling bastards. I doubt that was just a lifelike sculpture of one of the priests of the Church of Truth," Daz noted.
"They deserve a fucking medal," Ellie stated. "A Star of Eternity you think or just Embers?"
Daz shrugged in uncertainty. "No clue. Could be something else entirely. Only one real way to find out," he said as he gestured to the ornate door that was at the end of the hall and at the top of a flight of stairs.
All other doors in the hallways had been sealed by a thick sheet of ice so it was clear where the palace's owner wanted them to go.
Ellie furrowed her brow. "We're checking all of the statues here and I'm smashing every single fucking one in a set of those robes."
"I have no issues with that. I'll take the others with me. They deserve a proper burial if nothing else. Being displayed like this is perverse and unjust to them." He approached an ice statue of a woman before putting her in his Industrial Item Box.
He then tried the same with a child who was no older than six or seven. "Thankfully, they count as one item to the skill. I won't have an issue getting them all. I wish to send them all off as well even if their souls are missing."
Daz looked straight at Ellie and the crushed ice beneath her soles. "The Truthians too. We're all children of Earth at the end of the day."
She grunted in response. "Do whatever you want, Your Majesty."
----------------------------------------
A good hour, 23 destroyed statues, and over 400 stored frozen corpses later, the group was finally ready to go through the door at the end of the hallway and meet whoever was guiding them there.
Again, the door slowly swung open to welcome them all on its own just like the building's entrance. A low sound of slow classical music leaked out from within the room and unlike the somewhat dim and pure icy hallway from before, life and vibrancy covered the room just ahead of them.
It was still made entirely out of different blue and purple ices but there was a lot more wooden furniture in the room.
Cautiously entering, Daz saw hundreds of The Owned acting as... waiters. This was most definitely a throne room as proven by the large seat of ice at the back of the hall with a calm and collected man sat upon it.
There were no doubts about the majesty of the chamber but it seemed to have been turned into a feasting hall and many humans could be seen laughing, singing or dancing together.
All of that gradually came to stop though as every set of eyes turned to stare at Daz and his group.
Only the sound of the slow and relaxing music filled his ears. The sudden silence of easily 500 or more people was deafening. Daz took a moment in this surreal situation to study the man sat upon the distant throne.
The throne itself was made of ice and very angular, not much unlike his own throne's shape. The magic flowing from the seat and the man within it though nearly blinded Daz.
The throned man was in his early thirties judging by his complexion and his skin was paler than even Rose's and she was damn near allergic to the sun.
He had shoulder-length frost-white hair and matching eyebrows. The man was wearing a set of full-plate armour but it seemed to be formed out of magical ice of some sort.
It practically glowed in Daz's eyes thanks to his Mana Sensitivity, not helping with his vision issues at all.
'It's hard to see but he's very handsome. Like, unnaturally so. He almost doesn't look human... Well, it's likely he's evolved but was he even human in the first place? I have a feeling he wasn't... I have some ideas but nothing is set in stone,' Daz thought.
If he was the personification of logical coldness then the man before him was the personification of indifferent and frigid coldness.
"Welcome, guests," the man said in a clear and sharp voice that had no accent tied to it that Daz could rightly place. "Apologies for the cold reception but it's a bit of a tradition around here. Would you care to introduce yourselves?"
An unknown power has tried to compel you. It has no effect on you.
"I'm Kat-"
"I'm Kath-"
"Sleep," Daz said before he quickly moved to catch both of the twins.
He laid them down gently on the floor before looking at Madison and Ellie. Ellie shrugged, showing that whatever had been tried on them had failed on her as it had on him. Madison, likewise, seemed unaffected.
"That was rather rude," Daz stated, staring into the eyes of the man across the hall who was looking down upon them from his icy throne.
"Perhaps, though you are intruding upon my city entirely uninvited. Consider the offence written off with this," the man said.
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"... You want an introduction, yes? Well then, I'm Daz Crowthorne, High King of New Earth. And you would be...?" Daz said, deciding to not be testy just yet.
He needed more information before he began pursuing the objectives of his and Madison's quests. Ellie's too if he could help even though she hadn't informed them of what her quest demanded of her.
"Ah, New Earth's ruler. I see... The one at war with those who call themselves Truthians, yes?" the white-haired man asked. "They tried to intrude upon my territories too. Unwilling to speak but very willing to attack, those religious ones. Perhaps we have some common ground after all."
He tapped the armrest of his throne a few times in thought before adding, "I am Lord Lit'ur, ruler and the current controller of Lian'Wa'Runda. Tell me, High King Daz Crowthorne of New Earth, why have you come here?"
Daz replied with a question of his own, "Are you aware of the numerous entrances to this place dotted around Earth?"
Lord Lit'ur nodded. "Indeed I am."
"One of them is close to bordering my kingdom. I came to investigate in the hopes of stopping whatever was causing the land to be turned into a frozen wasteland. It's as simple as that," Daz answered.
'I also need to liberate this place, presumably from you but I think it's best to keep that to myself for now. I still don't know why he turned those people into The Owned yet and I'd rather get some info on that from the horse's mouth itself,' Daz added in thought.
"I see," Lord Lit'ur said softly. "That being the case, you are now free to leave. The snow will not stop but you are more than welcome to seal the entrance to this place that is affecting you, should you have the means to do so. I will forgive the theft of my entrance hall's decorations in respect of you being a fellow lord of sorts."
"Oh, how gracious of you," Daz said with a smile, "However, upon coming here a few more things have become immediate priorities. Leaving, I'm afraid, will have to wait for now, despite your polite and merciful invitation to do so."
He could feel the tension in the room rise but not from the icy lord himself, no. It was coming from the hundreds of other people who were still silently watching them.
'That's a lot of fear mixing in there,' Daz noted through his Ember of Empathy. 'Mu would have a field day with this much of the stuff. What are they afraid of, exactly? That is the question but what is the answer...'
Lord Lit'ur raised an eyebrow and a hint of discontent flashed through his expression. "Speak then if you refuse to vacate my throne room."
"This guy really has no respect for you," Ellie whispered to Daz.
Madison nodded angrily as she held onto the twins to keep them safe and warm.
"He's the lord here, not me. I'm a guest at a push but a dangerous intruder is probably how he actually sees me," Daz replied in a similarly quiet voice.
He then stepped forward and directly exited Mr Barrier's protective bubble. "Take this as a sign of my sincerity. I hope you can return the favour by answering another two questions of mine, Your Lordship. The Owned. Why do they exist and where are the souls of the people they once were? And I must ask, why were there women, children, and ordinary men frozen as statues out there? I'm also curious about their souls too."
Daz pointed towards the still open ornate doors and immediately numerous nervous mumblings sprang forth from the enormous group of onlookers.
Ember of Empathy [Entry-level] initial mastery increased to 16%.
'Mmm, the suppressed feelings of the people here are far more vibrant than they were within the barrier. I guess the little blue furball was subduing it even further than the people are actively trying to do themselves,' Daz observed.
He didn't ignore the weight of the emotional pressure that was pressing down onto him but instead tried to acclimate himself to it. That seemed wiser than fighting it, especially given how new to emotions on a whole he was.
Lord Lit'ur didn't seem to notice the slight shift in Daz which was perfect for him. He did, however, raise a clenched fist and commanded, "Silence."
Daz didn't miss the power and magic in the man's word nor did the immense spike in emotions from the former party-revellers go unnoticed to him.
Ember of Empathy [Entry-level] initial mastery increased to 17%.
The icy-white lord then replied to Daz directly, "Sincerity for sincerity. Quaint. Intruding upon my land can only lead to a few outcomes, becoming an Owned is one such outcome. The decorations is another, though that is a privilege usually reserved for the disobedient."
Many people stiffened at the mention of that though smiles remained on all of the faces while the soothing music played ever on in the background.
"As for the souls, I do not know. I have no mastery nor knowledge of such things. Perhaps they get ejected from this realm? I know not nor do I care to," Lord Lit'ur answered with a bored tone.
'He isn't lying. Maybe the mass of souls just outside of the portal were actually from Owned? That seems likely,' Daz theorised. 'And disobedient... Are these people not here of their own wills? Hmm...'
"I see. Thank you. Well, what now, Lord Lit'ur?" Daz questioned. "You implied that you also have difficulties with the Truthians. I'd like to know more about that if you'd be willing to discuss it."
Lord Lit'ur shook his head slowly. "No, I would not be willing to do so. You may leave now. Know that I offer this mercy rarely but as a fellow ruler with a common enemy, I allow you your freedom despite your constant questions and arrogance."
Daz frowned. "Well, that kind of brings me to my next point. I don't suppose you'll just let me stand here and keep tossing questions your way to resolve it, will you?"
A sharpness entered Lord Lit'ur's eyes. "Leave."
Power boomed from his voice and it actually affected Daz this time unlike the previous 'silence', much to the reaper's shock. He could feel every fibre of his very being begging for him to turn around and walk away.
Naturally, he resisted this. Madison and Ellie were struggling to fight off the effect as well from the looks of things.
Madison had closed her eyes while Ellie immediately decided to invoke her god-ranked skill.
"Only If You Need Me," she chanted.
Daz saw a violet glow surrounded her entire body. Her eyes turned a deep shade of purple and the strange aura even extended to her robots.
She then exited the barrier as well to stand next to Daz. "I got lucky. Got the perfect set of temp skills to ignore this shithead. I assume this'll become a brawl pretty quickly. Lethal or non-lethal?"
Her tone was chilling to the bone.
'What a truly unique god-ranked skill,' Daz thought.
"Non-lethal if it comes to that. These people do not want to be here and I want to talk to him more. The Owned? They're already dead so go wild," he stated as he stepped forward, using a lot of his mental power to resist the controlling effects on his body.
"Lord Lit'ur, I have been given a task from the system. This task would have me liberate this city and add it to my growing sphere of influence. Tell me, from what does it require liberation?" Daz inquired.
A wave of anxiety, lament but also hope burst forth from the numerous people that filled the hall, almost overwhelming Daz.
Ember of Empathy [Entry-level] initial mastery increased to 18%.
At that accusatory question, Lord Lit'ur stood up from his throne and smiled grimly. "You would challenge me in my own home, you, a stranger who I have reluctantly welcomed into my halls and graciously listened to for the past few minutes?"
"Is that a confession that you are the target of removal?" Daz asked calmly as he controlled Hamson to fly straight into his hand.
Not a second later Mr Barrier's shield shrunk and condensed while Madison walked out of it with her longsword - Family - drawn.
"Mr, Barrier, protect, twins," Madison said before she gestured to Lord Lit'ur's waist. "That, sword. Give, please."
"And now you have the gall to demand my weapon... You people are all the same," the white-haired lord sighed wistfully.
"Negotiations?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.
A dismissive and demeaning laugh was what met her in return. Daz saw her frown with her eyes and mumble, "No, negotiations..."
Daz shook his head and said, "We're perfectly willing to talk things out. We can even trade you for that blade if you're open to parting with it."
"However," Daz slowly gestured to the hundreds of spectators to this interaction, "These people, explain their fear of you if you wouldn't mind. Also, explain the frozen people and The Owned in a less vague manner. Explain why you tried to control us instantly against our will, including two children. And finally, close all portals that lead from here to anywhere else on Earth. Agree to explain yourself and negotiate on these things or I'll sadly have to resort to violence."
"Are you threatening me, High King Daz Crowthorne?" Lord Lit'ur asked menacingly.
Daz threw Hamson from one hand to the other and back a few times casually while he responded, "Your power is odd and pressuring but I've killed a Truthian cardinal with all of my system access stripped of me. Quite honestly, you have no chance against me. So yes, yes I am. It was your choice to escalate things, not mine."
Lord Lit'ur exhaled deeply as he unsheathed the blade at his hip. "I mentioned that you were free to go earlier. A mistake it seems, to have offered mercy to a barbarian. Come then and meet your end. Guests, return to your rooms."
The side entrances to the hall practically exploded from the force of the bystanders fleeing as if for their very lives.
Daz, Madison and Ellie didn't move while the throne room was cleared out though Ellie seemed a bit bothered by it.
Just as the hall was left empty bar Daz's group and Lord Lit'ur himself along with his waiter Owned, a flood of additional Owned streamed in from the set of double doors that flanked either side of the frozen throne.
"You three have the means to resist my control. I was going to let it go at first but now I'm curious. I'll find out how you can do this once you've been subdued," Lord Lit'ur said before he motioned with his hand. "High King Daz Crowthorne, come. Let us dance while my puppets take care of your puppets."