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The Usurpers

Back at the outer edge of Earth's solar system, everyone stared out where Lorne had been just moments ago. The Usurper's Commander laughed maliciously.

"Hahahaha, I knew the boy was weak but one little blast from me and there aren't even atoms left! I even disintegrated his Samsara pod! HAHAHA." The Commander kept laughing. All of the anger and hate he had was finally released. He felt much better. The death of this kid was a shock for all these Royals and their pets. Taking care of this group of Royals and the pet humans were just made much easier.

"What do you know about anything?!" Lorne's father sneered. Only he and Lorne's mother knew right now Lorne was being sent through the multiverse to finally be reborn. Lorne's father looked at the Commander, giving him a deadly glare. Then, he did something no one expected; he snapped his fingers.

From the darkness of space appeared massive warships more intimidating than the ones Lorne's group faced earlier. These ships had set a perimeter around the Usurper's ships. Out of the ships flew countless elite soldiers wearing a totally different kind of armor. The majority of the soldiers were wearing bright silver armor over a tunic. A special neck scarf came out from cuirass. They wore armored short boots over leggings tucked into the short boots. A baltea hung over the groin area. The soldiers were each equipped with a tall shield, spear, sword, and powerful blasters. These armors looked far more vicious and imposing than the Usurpers’ armor.

Some of the soldiers wore a golden version of the armor. One soldier wore a black and red version of the armor with some differences. He had a much smaller shield and instead of a spear, he carried a halberd. Instead of a sword, he held a Warhammer. Two cannons rested on his shoulders. Next to him flew a woman similarly outfitted only she clutched a thin short sword and daggers instead of the halberd and Warhammer. Her shoulder cannons were more slender and graceful looking.

The male and female warriors flew next to Lorne's father and mother. Both bowed to Lorne's parents.

"We, Zug Crisos and Zug Impendia, greet Lord Emperor," the pair said together. Although the couple shared the word 'Zug' in their name it didn't mean they were siblings or married. 'Zug' was actually a title, referring to the male and female First Warriors.

Crisos was the King's, First Warrior. While Impendia was the Queen's, First Warrior. This pair represented the absolute best warriors of the Empire aside from the Emperor and Empress. Every King under the Empire had their own Zug but they were either Lesser Zug or Greater Zug. Only the Emperor's Zug had no addition to their title.

The Zug were the direct representatives of the Emperor and Empress. What they said was the direct word for word command of their master. No one ever contradicted the Zug.

"Wait a moment, I will talk with this Commander and then I will give you orders," said The Emperor.

"Yes, my Lord," Crisos said as he bowed.

"I shall attend to the Empress." Impendia also bowed to the Emperor. Zug Impendia was under the direct command of the Empress. The Emperor had no right to command her. If he wanted her to do something he had to ask his wife to command her.

Lorne's Father, the Emperor, now turned his attention back to the Commander trembling with absolute fear. He didn't say a word. He didn't know how or why it happened, he only knew it was happening. He was surrounded by the Emperor's forces. He was told the coup was accomplished. All that was left was to clean up the Royals, and he as the top commander of the Usurper Forces had the honor of forming the plan to accomplish this goal. He was also ordered to personally kill, without mercy, the Emperor and his family.

The Commander remembered the joy and honor he felt when he was entrusted with this assignment. He gathered all the forces under his command and laid out a plan to finish off all the Royals at the same time. The Usurper forces were sent to every Royal world to kill the world leaders and replace them. Based on his intelligence this had all happened. They were utterly victorious!

Now, however, he realized either thing had not gone the way he expected, or all of the remaining Royal power had gathered here. It didn't really matter which answer was correct as either way it only meant he and his men were dead.

"What did you say to me earlier? Get your old bones over here? Something about a beheading, I think." The Emperor gave the Commander a deadly cold stare.

"Your name is Hei Ark from the Pellax family if I remember," The Emperor said.

"Yes, your majesty." Commander Hei Ark bowed subserviently. His only hope was a painless death, it was all he hoped for now.

"Did I give you permission to speak you lowly worm?!" The Emperor roared. Commander Hei Ark trembled even more. He immediately fell to his knees and bowed to the king with his face touching the dirt.

"Your High Ancestor Kel Pellax is one of my most loyal and oldest servants, a true friend even. His merits are beyond measure. Before your betrayal, you had earned many merits as well. Then you murdered my son! You deserve death but that would be a waste of resources. Instead, I will take your immortal body for a worthy servant, and your soul will be used as a Warbox AI core. If you build up enough merits again you might gain your freedom one day and could be allowed to cultivate once again. However, no matter what, your soul shall be forever sealed. You will never pose a danger to my family or this Empire again!" said The Emperor.

"Crisos, have Hei Ark taken back to the Imperial prison. Separate his soul from his body and scrub the body of all memories, including cultivation memories. Copy a set of Kel Pellax's cultivation memories into the body. Hold the body in reserve, I'll be sending a more deserving recipient of the body soon. We'll have Pellax take in the new warrior to train him to return the honor that Hei Ark stole from his family." The Emperor commanded.

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"Yes, my lord." Crisos immediately signaled a subordinate over and gave him orders. The subordinate bound ex-Commander Hei Ark and took him away.

"My Lord, what about the remaining Usurper forces?" asked Zug Crisos.

"Oh them, I didn't see anyone else worthy of a second chance. Deactivate their Samsara pods and activate a Nihil field," The Emperor said.

Zug Crisos's eyes widened in shock. The Emperor was not in a forgiving mood. Deactivating the Samsara pod meant after these soldiers were executed they had no chance of remembering their past lives and their souls could reincarnate anywhere in the multiverse. This was already a severe punishment because it meant these former soldiers might never rejoin their race again!

The Emperor, however, ordered a Nihil field to be set up. This meant their souls would be marked with a rejection sigil. They were forever banned from joining the ranks of members of the Empire. Even with entirely new cultivations and memories they would always be suppressed and rejected from any territory controlled by the Empire. These former brothers and sisters would become eternal outcasts. The shock was only momentary. Zug Crisos quickly carried out his orders.

"My Lord, the Nihil field is active." Zug Crisos informed the Emperor.

"Very good," The Emperor said.

"Listen, all members of the Usurper Army. You betrayed your Emperor and Empress. You murdered a Royal son. Traitors will not be tolerated. You have no place in my Empire. A Nihil Field has been activated and from this day forth your souls will be outcasts to my Empire. You will never join our people again. In your next lives, should your souls survive Samsara, you will forever be forbidden entry into the territories of the Empire. You will be eternal outcasts!" The Emperor coldly said.

The horror and despair the Usurper soldiers felt quickly spread. They thought they were doing the right thing for their Empire by ridding it of the petty Emperor and his ice-hearted Empress. They never expected their end would be outcasts.

Suddenly a person cried out. "Good, I Qanton Fledge do not want anything to do with this evil Empire any longer. I will happily severe my ties with you and join the Outcast Empire! We will end the oppressive rule you forced upon us!" the man shouted.

The Emperor signaled with his eyes to Zug Crisos, and the man was immediately removed from the group.

"I shall never grant you the opportunity to do as you like," The Emperor said.

"Your orders your majesty?" Zug Crisos asked.

"Soul implosion for 1,000 years. Followed with soul disintegration for a period of 500 years," The Emperor commanded.

"If anyone else would like to say anything please feel free. However, before you do, why not see what's in store for you," The Emperor taunted.

Zug Crisos nodded and brought the Usurper before the others. The outspoken man of a minute ago was stricken with terror and begged and pleaded with the Emperor not to do it. He regretted every word he said. He knew Soul implosion was the most painful experience a person could experience next to a prolonged soul disintegration.

The Emperor ignored it all while typing on a pad provided to him. The Emperor even ignored the process of soul implosion. It seemed like it wasn't even that important to him. The Emperor was truly making an example of this person.

A device was brought out and attached to Qanton Fledge's chest. Once activated, a sphere split apart and moved hundreds of meters away from him. Qanton's body served as the center of the enlarged sphere.

The first step of the soul implosion process was the body almost completely separated from the soul. However, the soul was attached enough it could feel the disintegration of the body. Every nerve fired pain signals, and those pain signals hurled into the soul. This was only a minor torture.

Next, a special force field activated around the soul. This forcefield didn't protect the soul, instead, it turned the soul into a supergravitational phenomenon only affecting other souls. Since the sphere cut off all external access to soul energy, the soul began to attract itself. This attraction eventually caused the creation of a spectral singularity. The soul felt all of this and was in absolute agony. Finally, the expanded sphere came back together encasing the spectral singularity within it. The sphere returned to its original size.

A side effect was the screaming of the soul was heard by every soul near it. The sphere was collected and would be sent to the Imperial Prison where it would be stored in the soul prison located in the center of the Imperial Prison. This was so all other criminals felt the screaming soul the entire time they were in the prison. Some prisoners went insane, but most endured vowing never to do anything earning this kind of punishment from the Empire. Often, they vowed to never act against the Empire again.

Every remaining member of the Usurper Army was relieved they were only having their bodies disintegrated and their souls marked to prevent them from returning to their people. To them, their execution seemed more like a divine mercy and less like a punishment.

"As a final act of favor, I will recognize the previous years of service you provided your Empire. I shall execute you all myself. A heavy burden for an Emperor. No true Emperor wants to bring harm to his people. However, no true Emperor would ever hold back from doing what needs to be done," The Emperor said.

With those words, the Emperor activated his laser vision. First, he destroyed the Warships, then he turned those inborn death rays on the last members of the Usurper Army. Everyone was disintegrated. If one could see their souls, they would see as the souls flew out to rejoin the universe they first passed through an energy field which branded the souls. The execution was finally over. With the destruction of this army, the Usurper War was finally over. The Empire was secure.

The Empress flew to the side of her husband and ask through voice transmission. "Tell me, the Warbox you sent with our son; whose soul did you use for the AI core?"

"Whose do you think?" The Emperor responded.

"Even your own brother! How could you do that to him?" The Empress asked.

"What else could I do? He gave me no choice. I know he was used, but he raised his hand against me. The only way I could offer him any hope was to place him in the Warbox. At least he might return to us one day," The Emperor sadly said.

"Did he know? Did he know he was used?" The Empress asked.

"At the end he did. I shared with him all of my secrets. I showed him everything. He cried and begged for my forgiveness. It took everything I had not to break down in front of him," The Emperor said.

"Were you able to learn who was behind your brother?" The Empress asked again.

"No, even Heken didn't know,” said The Emperor.

The Empress was silent for a time before asking: "Do you think our son will be successful?"

"I hope so, he's our last child. The firstborn and youngest always have a special place in a parent's heart," The Emperor said.

"I pray he survives, I hope his ending isn't like poor Markon," The Empress said as her eyes teared up.

"I do too." The Emperor said finally.