Basillius and Amaranth walked up the final steps to the palace. The massive black-gold marble structure had two solid steel doors. The blackened steel doors had gold in-lay that drew out a detailed Basillius standing atop a mountain of Azarian corpses with his sword held high. He sighed as he reached for past the closed-fist knockers, opting to simply pull open the doors without warning.

The doors swung open, much to the surprise of the honor guard stationed at the palace doors. The guards whirled around with their rifles at the ready, only to meet the gaze of both Basillius and Amaranth.

"L-lord Basillius?! It's such an honor! I heard that you never visited this palace because you were always on the front! I can't believe I get to meet you! My name is Atticus, and he's Aegeus!"

Aegeus didn't respond, simply staring at Amaranth with an incomprehensible look. Basillius gave the two a curt nod and a warm smile as he reached out to shake their hands. "It's very nice to meet you two. Thank you for standing guard here in this remote place. I have a speech to make, however, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this short. Sorry for that."

Amaranth gave the two a smile and a handshake as well, "It is nice two meet two who are so loyal to my beloved." She gave the two a sly smile before stepping back with Basillius.

As Basillius walked off into the palace with Amaranth, Atticus looked back to Aegeus with a shocked expression. "The... The Empire has finally gained an Empress! Basillius finally found someone to love! This is huge!"

Aegeus didn't seem excited in the same sense that Atticus was, however. The expression on his gaunt face was an almost neutral smile. His eyes, however, betrayed his fanatical excitement. He quietly looked over at Atticus, the mad glint in his eyes covered up with a small smile. "Indeed... It is huge indeed... A truly wonderful event."

Atticus gave his fellow guard a sideways glance, "Aegeus, What's wrong? We literally just met the Emperor! Be a little happier! These gloves are literally going to be family heirlooms now! You could sell yours and be set on nanites for life!"

Aegeus smiled wider and the fanatical glint in his eyes became clear, even to Atticus. "Atticus, we just bore witness to the truth of the rumors going around right now. She wasn't human Atticus, she was a Goddess, Atticus... A Goddess of the veil. Atticus... Basillius is a true god, after all. The 'cults' weren't wrong in the end! My father was right!" he said, as he began to laugh maniacally.

Atticus looked at him with a concerned expression. "Shhhh! A-Aegeus... Are you part of one of the cults? I can't cover for you if you get caught, so you need to keep it down."

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Aegeus stifled his laughter and looked Atticus in the eye. "It matters not, anymore. We are vindicated. Our faith was not misplaced. Basillius is our beacon in the veil. Our god. He is a god of war, conquer, destruction, and death... However, he is also a god who cares for his followers... A gentle god to us... But to his enemies, he is a god of infinite hatred and sure death. I cannot wait for the day that we can follow Basillius into the veil, guided by his fiery blade. We will become his wave of destruction and put the Azarians in their place."

Atticus' eyes widened as he listened to the fervor in his friend's voice. "Oh shit... Do not let his majesty hear you! You know how he treats the cults!"

Aegeus gave him a calm and enlightened smile, "Worry not, my friend. Our Head Priest foretold this day. He said that there will be a day when Basillius finds his love in the veil. She will be of godly descent, and she will complete him. On the day that he attains true godhood in the eyes of the veil... There will be great upheaval, and he will call all to his aide. Even those of us who have hidden away in the dark reaches. Even those of us who have sacrificed to the veil in return for the power to serve our lord..."

Aegeus started crying tears of fervent joy as his greatest vision was realized. The more he thought of what just happened, the more he was certain that this was the foretelling that his father spoke of. It was his time to rise up and fight beside his god. His time to become the blade Basillius wielded against the Azarian hordes.

He looked towards the hall Basillius had entered earlier and bowed, "Soon... Soon you will accept this acolyte into your ranks... Soon I will bask in the glorious light of your holy flame..."

He looked back to Atticus. "My friend... I would like to show you. We may have only known each other for a few years, and I may have been disguising my true self... But I have cherished this time, as I hope you have. So please, come with me. Witness his glorious flames as they bring all of our enemies to ash. Witness such a holy scene alongside me! I wish to share his light!"

Atticus shuffled around as he struggled with his friend's new fervent religious demeanor. "I... You... By Basillius' left nut, you lost it... Man... I... I don't know what to do here..."

Aegeus rested his hand on Atticus' shoulder and gave him a truly warm and heartfelt smile. "Don't worry... I haven't lost my mind or anything. This is who I have always been. I'm simply feeling incredibly liberated right now. We've always hidden away in the shadows... Yet now, we will be able to fight alongside our god. He is finally going to accept us. It will be alright for you to be there with us."

Atticus gave him a pained look, "I... I'll go with you. I'm not going to 'convert' or anything though. I am going to make sure that you're ok. I need to see that you are ok with my own eyes. The second that things look dangerous for you I'm pulling you out of whatever cult you're in."

Aegeus nodded at him happily and clapped his shoulder, "Welcome then, brother! We are The Swords of Basillius. I will personally oversee your admittance and your baptism. Hopefully, you will be conferred as an initiate easily."

Atticus simply shook his head in dejection, "Oh, I feel like this is a really bad idea."