\"Show me.\"

As soon as Daneel uttered these two words, the Emperor gathered himself and went back to his dignified self before nodding and raising his hand.

[Host is-.]

\"Grant permission.\"

Knowing the system had been about to inform him about the Emperor’s attempt to draw him into the memory, Daneel gave the permission right away, and a second later, he blinked as he felt his vision go dark before the feeling of flying through endless eddies of time and space engulfed his mind.

About a second later, a burst of light became visible in front of him, following which the falling sensation stopped.

He was on the ground, so as he got up and began to look around, he had to resist the urge to widen his eyes and stare as the Emperor was right beside him.

This was a place that he had heard of before but never seen. It had been present in the memories that he had obtained from Fenoras’s scrap of consciousness, but as he had never needed to experience it, he had not deigned to enter them and witness the magnificence that was now blinding his vision.

It was a large hall whose ceiling was at least 200 feet(60 m) from where he stood. With a rectangular shape, it stretched on and on both forwards and backward, but the side was only 100 feet(30 m) or so away from Daneel, who was standing at a point equidistant from both ends.

At both of these sides, gigantic sculptures of a man dressed in regal robes were present who was standing with one arm stretched forth. The face of each sculpture was, of course, that of the very person standing beside him, but it was much more regal and commanding, almost as if the artist had been given liberty to change what he wished when he was creating these objects of legend.

On each sculpture’s head was a crown with a sword-like point at its front that reached the ceiling, and the hand that was raised met the tip of the other hand of the sculpture opposite to it. In this way, one would always be under the shadow of the Emperor’s arms, which was the idea behind the construction of this central hall.

50 sculptures were present on either end, and they were precisely constructed in such a way that all of the light sources present would ensure that the shadow of the hands encapsulated the entire hall, except for a single area at the very front of it.

Without a word, it was toward this area that the Emperor began to walk, and seeing him, Daneel followed.

He remembered the legend about the construction of this hall well. It had been commissioned and built by an ardent follower of the Emperor during the time when he had been constantly traveling to take command of a few kingdoms that had continued to resist his banner. Trusting the man as he was famed for his sense of art, the Emperor had given an oath that he would only gaze upon the hall after it was done, but later, he found out to his unpleasant surprise that the man had only taken the oath so that he could show how much he loved and adored Fenoras in a way that would be remembered in all the legends of the land.

The Emperor had asked for a simple area where he could pass judgment, but instead, the man had constructed such an elaborate palace. The Emperor had asked for no indication to be made that he was the one who was financing the construction as he wanted it to stand and be used by future generations, too, but the man had gone ahead and created the sculptures which would later serve to humble each and every individual who came to the hall, no matter who they were.

It was said that the Emperor had flared up with anger at first, but after seeing the passionate expression of its creator who looked extremely proud of his work, Fenoras had simply patted his shoulder and said, \"Slaves are supposed to take what they are given. I escaped the slave mines, but I see that I’m still a slave to your love. Well, the work is done, so let it stand forever as a mark of your faith. Thank you.\"

The story always ended in a bitter fashion, as this same man was one of the first to be slain in the war for the continent. But just as Daneel remembered this part, they reached the throne where the counterpart of the man beside him was sitting in judgment of a caged creature whose face was burning with fury.

The body was that of a stunning woman, but from between her legs, the tail of a snake could be seen that was agitatedly swaying to and fro.

Her face had a beauty to it that would take the breath away from most, if not all men, and even though Daneel had never seen it before in his life, a flash of realization struck him as soon as he laid his gaze on it.

How could he ever forget those scheming, cunning eyes?

This was Alistair, and there was no doubt about it.

Two familiar individuals stood on either side of her, outside the cage that was wrought of a shining, silver metal that kept her power locked up inside her body. They were Drakos in his human form, and Arafell, dressed in armor from head to toe.

Both of their faces were filled with shame, though, and as for the Emperor, he looked like he was ready to kill everyone in front of him.

As they reached the spot right behind the cage, the memory began to play.

\"Let the record show that we are here today to judge one Queen Alistair, self-proclaimed ruler of all serpentine Godbeasts. Her crimes and the punishments listed for them in the Tome of justice are as such: for the crime of intending to betray Angaria during the war to ensure its fall, death. For the crime of secretly swaying certain powerful Godbeasts to her side to commit treason, death. For the crime of betraying the oath sworn as one of the closest followers of the Emperor, death. I, Arafell, commander of the Empire’s armies stand in witness to the judgment to be meted out to the traitor. Divine Dragon Drakos is standing by to corroborate the judgment. Let the session officially begin now.\"

Hearing Arafell say this in a tone devoid of emotion, Daneel could only stare at the Basilisk. If she had done this much, why was there no mention of it anywhere? Why had she been allowed to live?

Despite the proclamation, the rage that was visible on her face only grew, with nary a hint of the hopelessness that one might be expected to feel if they were in a similar situation.

\"The defendant can now speak.\"

\"I deny nothing! I live only to ensure the survival of my race! It is futile to think that we can come out of this war unscathed! This was the best way to make sure that the line of Basilisks would not die! I knew that even if we were caught, we would be pardoned... But why did you kill my only trueborn son? The son I bore after trying so hard for centuries? Why, why, why??!!\"

She screeched out the last word repeatedly and fell to the floor of the cage, crying.

An expression that almost seemed like it was that of shame appeared on the Emperor’s face, but it was quickly wiped away before he answered in a cold tone.

\"We gave him the option to surrender. He didn’t.\"

\"Of course he didn’t! I told him that it would all be alright, but I could not tell him how that would be! You monster! You...\"

Beside him, Daneel could feel that the Emperor had stiffened as soon as he was called that word.

The Emperor on the throne, though, raised his hand to silence Alistair before sending a message to the two followers in the room.

\"Leave. I will pass judgment myself. Let no one interrupt.\"

They looked surprised as they heard him, but they teleported away a second later without asking the questions on their mind.

historical

As soon as they were alone, Alistair got up and looked at the Emperor with naked disgust in her eyes before saying, \"Let us be done with this farce. When I saved you all those years ago, before you were the most powerful man in the continent, you granted me three boons before making me swear that I would never tell anyone about them. I will be using all three of them now. First, remove this death sentence on my head and allow me to leave Angaria and take my chances on the Sea. Second, allow my lesser children to stay on the continent and carry on my legacy. And third... Wipe away all mention of me and everything I’ve done in the entire continent, including in your mind. Should I remind you that not giving me these boons, which are within the limits that we agreed upon, will result in your death?\"

The Emperor on the throne listened to the Basilisk list her demands with regret and pain visible in his eyes, but when she was done, all he said was, \"Granted.\"

As if she had been expecting it all along, the Basilisk did not even flinch when the cage around her disappeared.

She turned around to leave, but right before she teleported away, she half-turned her face and spoke in a tone filled with such bitterness and hatred that Daneel felt his whole body shiver as her words echoed in the massive hall.

\"Do not think that our debt has been settled. Your end is done, but mine remains. A son for a son. I do not know when I will collect, or even if I will be able to, but if I ever get a chance, his death will be filled with such pain and terror that you will writhe in your grave. Farewell, child-killer Fenoras. I know that you will be happy to be rid of these memories...but I will never forget, and never forgive.\"