CHAPTER 168: NIGHTS OF MASQUERADE 11

Hearing the sudden, rhetorical sounding question I attached to the tail end of my earlier words, they all looked at each other in confusion for a moment thinking I had asked them that unexpected query; which only added to their perplexity as I continued to seemingly stare into the blank wall to the side.

Prompting them all to glance where my eyes had been fixated on with such intent this entire time, but they obviously saw nothing, leading them to simply arrive at the conclusion that I had indeed been addressing them, just like I had been doing this whole time.

And now that they thought about it a bit more, it was clearly a stupid thing to even consider that someone could enter this room when none of them, high ranking and exceptionally experienced martial masters, had not so much as noticed a single oddity this whole time; so they just chalked it up to me suddenly getting lost in my own thoughts again, as I every so often did.

Yet before they could finally deliver their response to my earlier words, an eerie sigh, like that of a resigned ghost, rang out from that exact same corner I had been gawking at this whole time, which caused their instincts to instantly supersede the complicated processes of their currently jumbled minds, forcing their stunned bodies into action by the sole pull of their accumulated experiences, that had been forged and drilled into their very bones over the course of their entire life times, commanding their bodies into those familiar actions by the sheer weight of it’s repeated familiarity, as they all blitzed into positions around me, their gleaming weapons drawn and trained in the ready position, glaring menacingly at that previously inconsequential corner.

Even my brothers, who despite being a step slower than the rest, erupted in their power, causing Nizam’s emerald eyes to become dyed in a deep blue, as three rings of water, gathered from the various pitchers around us coalesced around him; and while Cyrus lacked his weapon of choice, his eyes still burned in golden light, as his fists clenched and became wreathed in brilliant light, the shape of a roaring flame.

Seeing this, a could no longer repress the chuckle tickling the back of my throat, as I calmly said with an amused smile "Settle down."

"My emperor...?!" Abraham wanted to say something in reply, probably questioning what I meant, or what that frightening sound was just now and where it came from, as they could still sense nothing from where that uncanny sigh had undoubtedly come from; but before he could, his attention was restored to that same corner, as the once silent shadows began to frighteningly pulse and squirm, like a disturbed den of writhing snakes, before then suddenly those very same shadows began to rise from their place in a monstrous mound, that very slowly began to take form in the aspect of a thin and lean oval sphere.

The unnatural phenomena caused them all to grow completely quiet in both wonder and slight dread; dread born of incomprehension, as they stared off into that abyssal unknown, their minds unfamiliarly blank; yet I on the other hand, merely looked ahead with a nostalgic gaze.

Before then, like a butterfly emerging from within the confines of a chrysalis, a woman with long, flowing pale blonde hair and pristinely porcelain skin that was garbed in a beautiful dress of black, that both hid away all the ravishing features of her exquisite body, while clinging onto her blessed contours just enough to frustratingly tease the eyes of all the hidden treasures beneath to any who saw her, while a black piece of clothe covered her eyes in an elegant knot at the back of her head, it’s colour standing at opposition with both the shade of her silken hair and the completion of her fair face, which only served to add to her frigid charm; with only the last feature of her attire standing out in such utter demurral, which was a straight black cane she held in her right hand, that held little decoration made to it, with the exception of the silver ring positioned just a few inches below the cane’s head.

In response, they all stared blankly at the flower bloomed from shadows before them, not saying a word for a several seconds more, as they all stayed silent in their comically stunned states, before suddenly, as if a lever had been pulled in their minds, belatedly returning their awareness to them, they all retracted their blades from their threatening stances, and respectfully bowed before her, ceremoniously proclaiming "We welcome her ladyship!"

Eve seemed surprised by their abrupt change, before she emotionlessly replied with a simple nod of the head, yet she said nothing in return, making them worry that their earlier actions had indeed offended their future mistress; so Darius stepped forward, as if he was a willing sacrifice, prepared to shoulder the complete weight of his future empress’ ire, saying "You have our most humble apologies my lady, we did not intend to insult you by our behaviour earlier, we were foolishly uninformed, so I modestly ask for your forgiveness."

"...Granted." She coldly replied, with a wholly unknowable tone.

Yet I was under no illusion of the disinterest that she projected from her current aloofness, as I could clearly guess each and every confused thought now swimming in her mind, as she questioned why men such as those before her today, who wouldn’t even bow so meekly and respectfully before anyone bar their sole and merciless master, would so willingly lower themselves before her in such profuse apology now.

All this forcibly dragged a faint laugher from the depths of my being, before I calmly addressed them all, saying "Worry not, she holds no grudge against you all."

Hearing my words, they all looked at me in relief, especially my brothers, but before they could say anymore, I commanded "Now leave us alone for a moment; she and I have much to discuss after all."

"Understood, sire." Darius and others quickly bowed, as they made their way to the door, but before they departed they all took one more glance at her, one that was filled to the brim with both curiosity and appreciation; a shame she could not discern it with her own eyes.

"Please, have a seat." I invited, a couple of seconds after the door was locked behind them.

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, before she made her way to the chair opposite me, her cane tapping rhythmically before her, as she elegantly sat down.

"It seems you’re still a long ways off from unlocking your second gate if you still require the aid of a stick to perfectly make your way through the dark." I commented.

"Not as far as you think, lord of the Eclipse Empire." She challenged with a frown and a defiant tone, one undoubtedly born from her continued unease of my seeming omnipotent familiarity regarding matters she once believed to be this world’s most well hidden secrets.

"Why don’t we drop the formality and simply refer to each other by our first names." I simply shrugged her haughty tone, and said with a smile; not that she could see it.

"What?" She muttered in shock.

"I suggested that we should simply call each other by our first names.." I nonchalantly repeated, but in actuality I was slightly miffed, even if unreasonably so, at the idea that I had not heard my name leave her lips just yet.

"...I don’t believe we are close enough for that, Eclipse Emperor." She retorted, and though her voice perfectly hid it, I could still discern her slight enjoyment from referring to me by my title again, right after I had asked her twice not to do so.

"Not yet, no." I reluctantly admitted, before continuing with the same "But as I told you in the ballroom earlier, I intend for us to have a very long relationship from this day forth, so I believe it beneficial, don’t you?"

She remained silent after my words for a few moments, before asking "...And what sort of deal do you speak of?"

Smiling, I answer "A simple one, my offer to you is that not only would I aid you in completing your father’s test, but I guarantee your success in it, and in exchange I gain what I most want in the world."

"How?" She instantly questioned, her eyes even beyond the black veil, burning in both apprehension and glee, for I knew this would the fist time someone had willingly offered their help in accomplishing her father’s seemingly impossible challenge.

Something she never doubted herself on, utterly convinced that she would eventually accomplish her test, but it still remained a task she had grown slightly restless of, as she saw no quick end to it, believing it might even take her several centuries to properly fulfil. But now with the potential of my immense support in hand, she could finally see a swift path to success.

At the same time I extracted a moderate amount more pleasure from her excited expression, that she had not yet caught on to letting it slip past her defences, before I then calmly explained "In a fairly straight forward manner actually, your father’s test is for you to construct your own organization from the ground up, with no support from him, your mother, or any of your older siblings, but he said nothing of others, such as myself; so I will provide you with the perfect place to start laying down the foundations of your own power in my land, by giving you free reign over the criminal underworld of my empire."

"You would actually do that?!" She asked in a reasonable tone of disbelief, for how many rulers would willingly offer their own nations as the breeding ground for the birth of a new criminal empire.

"Of course." I assured her.

"B-But haven’t your decrees and orders, ever since your ascension to the Black Throne four years ago, been especially persistent in their attempts to completely purge your lands from any and all criminal activities? There are even those who say that the city walls of nearly every settlement in the southern empire are constantly decorated with the headless corpses and rotting entrails of executed crooks and outlaws, who dared step upon your decrees!" She argued back, finding it odd that I would do such a thing that stood in such jarring parallel to what my previous actions told.

"You are correct, I have indeed appeared adamant on purging the empire from the parasites who have infected it." I did not deny her allegations, before continuing calmly "But such a mission is firstly, a fools errand, one that is impossible to truly achieve, as you would not be in battle with a single person, or an expansive organization, or even a vast syndicate, but against the very nature of man himself, who will always crave more than what he has, no matter the cost." I momentarily paused to better admire her stunned expression, a countenance she barely ever showed in my past life, before continuing.

"Secondly, it is a laborious effort, one that ruthlessly demands eternal servitude to simply maintain what you have already achieved, let alone anything more. So instead of standing in opposition of the inevitable, it is far wiser to control it, mould it and then use it as is needed to further the interests of your desired goals." Though my words sounded cruel, they were indeed the objective truth, and Eve knew this as well, prompting her to ask.

"Then why offer this to me, a stranger, when you already have so many loyal and far more experienced subordinates beneath you?"