CHAPTER 1.6

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UNDISCLOSED LOCATION

The usual spots were filled in the edifice, the two master heads at the front, resting their weight on two majestic thrones, beside them two other smaller thrones, one to the right and one to the left. The right throne was empty, it was always reserved for Kanchi Asobi but he was attending to other obligations hence he did not make it to the meeting. On the left sat Lady Melo. The platform in front of the raised thrones was where Dakario and the Administrative head stood. Supporting the platform were pillars on all the corners, the pillars on the right side were rarefied for Shinshin and Kuro. The front pillar to the left was Anato Strider’s spot, where he would stand and fidget with his dagger. The back left pillar was always empty for the longest time, but with the induction of the ninth head Daito, that spot would, later on, be declared his.

“Is everyone ready? Can we begin the meeting?”

The unbroken silence was a satisfactory response, the administrative head walked over to the candelabra at the center of the platform and performed the awakening ceremony. He rolled up his sleeve and made a slight incision on his wrist, allowing the blood to drip on the candle flames. The fire specks rose to the ceiling, fading into the darkness. Finally, the two master heads became animated.

“My lords. The plan is moving on as predicted. There was no resistance from the civilians that we freed. The casualties were minor. They are set to arrive at the Free State border in three days' time, maybe less.”

The master heads were still stiff, nonreactive to the news given. The administrative head continued.

“But, there has been some unpredictable turn of events that you need be aware of.”

“PROCEED!”

Their rumbling voices echoed.

“The covenant, it… it seemed that we did not manage to break it.”

The room was a cocktail of reactions. Anato Strider, being his arrogant self chuckled loudly, exaggerating his laugh with slaps to his knees, Shinsin and Kuro didn’t yield that expressive of a reaction, after all, he was not a part of the lot that crashed the invasion. Daito just stood there like a scarecrow. Lady Melo on the other hand tried hard to fake an expression. She knew of this since she was the one secretly housing the fallen king himself. The administrative head locked eyes with her for a few moments. It was as if he was trying to read everyone’s expressions, looking across the room, he finally locked on to her and kept his gaze aimed at her for a significant amount of time.

“As mentioned in my plan, the first phase was to invade the Independent States. Help Tyndale overthrow the rule. Then he was to live inside the kingdom for five years and build us the inter-realm link to the Null realm. When he was finished building it we would have to get rid of him. Knowing very well the range and limitations of his soul magic we sought to cut him off from any supply of souls that he had at his disposal. So we break out the captives he has, stopping any chances of him gaining power by taking their souls, we evacuate them through Free State.”

“THEN WHAT IS THE DISTURBANCE THAT HAS RUINED YOUR PLAN”

“Masters, the plan was to acquire the dark bender and he alone has the power to cross over to the null realm, since he is a god magician he bears the same celestial powers as the gods, allowing him to travel through the realms. The plan was to cut the ties of the covenant that linked him with the Shai Magician, the king. The covenant limits the dark bender's ability. Originally, dark benders were known to utilize the forces of the Null realm, the black canvas. That is where their name originated from, their ability to bend the dark realm. But over time that power was suppressed by a lineage of cowards and it became a lost art. The only solution was to break the covenant and set the dark bender free from the ties of the pact, but it seems the covenant was renewed soon after, by someone else. Meaning the man we have now is not the dark bender!”

One of the master heads reacted for the first time in a long time. He shifted his sitting position and brushed his fingers across his robe to straighten the creases.

“DO YOU KNOW WHO RENEWED THE COVENANT?!”

“Yes, masters. Her name is Alicia Iko. Shinsin and Kuro confirmed it to use recently. We are sure it is her.”

“Then what shall we do about this, Daito?” Lady Melo asked, trying to mask her unease.

“He could still be useful to us. In three days' time, the captives migrating towards the Free State border should have arrived. And it is safe to assume the tyrant is also on the same route, so we expect a showdown, and we will need all the help we can get. After we handle the situation with the tyrant our next move should be planning how to capture that Alicia. And when all of that is done he will be no longer useful to us. We can just kill him”

“I mean, we could just lure her to Free State on the same day we go there and capture her there?” Dakario implied.

“That could be too risky. Kanchi Asobi told me he has something in mind. He said he wanted to teach her how to travel through realms. She is on her way to the Forgotten Temples where we left Kanchi. He told me as soon as she has learned what she needs to learn he will contact us to make the move.”

“And how long will that take, teaching her that?” Dakario asked.

“All that depends on her ability.”

“… All in all, we cannot continue this without the knowledge of the king’s whereabouts. If he is alive he is somewhere. If he was inside the walls he could have easily been found with the god Arni. Which means he is outside of the Independent States. And he is not in good condition, someone is hiding him. I suggest Daito should continue with his village purges. He has to be in one of them, if he finds him he should kill him.”

“Agreed.”

“Seconded!”

The administrative head looked back at Lady Melo, as if to taunt her, “And we should leave no stone unturned. I suggest we start with every village under our rule, to get rid of all the suspicion and establish trust moving forward… lady Melo, I suggest we start the search in your Village, the Flower Garden!”

“You want to send that murderous machine into my village?”

“He will not kill anyone I assure you that. He follows my orders because I am the one in control of his slave emblem, so I will order him not to touch any person in your village, as a matter of fact, I will accompany him.”

“I see no fault in that,” Dakario said.

Lady Melo reluctantly agreed to the proposal.

“That is settled, we begin the search tomorrow! That is all for now masters. We are graced by your presence, you may depart”

The master heads fell back into their seats and returned to their deep slumber. The meeting was adjourned and the rest departed, leaving the room to the two masters.

Lady Melo arrived at her home distressed. She was worried sick. It was only a night, and the morning after the search would begin and she had no ideas on how she might hide Drom. She knew she could not control herself and she wreaked of suspicion. What was she to do?

Her biggest obstacle at that moment was the search. Even without that she still had no plan of retrieving the covenant dagger that could save Drom. On top of all that was the news that they were planning to kill Daito. Everything seemed to be going terribly wrong and she wanted to do something, but where could she start in the first place?