Although Daneel’s heart was one that has been tempered over a long time under conditions of very high pressure, this was still a bit too much for him to take in.

He had to make a visible effort to stop himself from raising his hands and holding his head which was buzzing with too many questions at once.

And, of course, one question stood out among them all, and the amount of curiosity he felt regarding its answer seemed to be burning him up.

How the hell had an Empire Spirit managed to gain control of one of the sects of the Big Four?

True, she had given a few details, but she had left too much out which was pretty infuriating as it was even worse than knowing nothing. What did she even mean by saying that she could forcefully enslave the leaders of the sect, who were pretty damn powerful individuals, while being just an Empire Spirit who was bound by all the limitations that had been placed by the Emperor?

No matter how much he thought about it, Daneel couldn’t figure out how she could have managed to break any of her seals. The Emperor had made sure that all the criteria he placed that had to be fulfilled for them to be broken needed the one who was the leader of the place that the Empire Spirit had been placed in to be in command of quite a large number of common citizens. Leave alone the last part, from what he understood so far, this was an Empire Spirit whose original location had most probably been a kingdom or force that had perished in the tides of time, like in the case of Senior Fists of Justice, which meant that she shouldn’t have any method to even try and break the damn seals.

Even if the Emperor had taken countermeasures against this and put it so that the Empire Spirit could unlock its seals for any leader of any settlement within a set area around it, this was the Big Four, where Hero level individuals roamed around freely. From what he had seen so far, leaders of the sects of the Big Four were hardly the most powerful individuals in the sect, hence, even the slightest indication that the leader was obtaining spells that he or she shouldn’t know about would set off a lot of alarms that would bring down the entire High Council upon them.

With so much risk, how had she managed to accomplish anything? Daneel had been lucky enough to be in a backward place that was hardly noticed by most Heroes, and it had allowed him the privacy he needed to slowly go about breaking the seals. Even when he obtained and displayed stuff that he shouldn’t have, he had been able to hide it as he wasn’t gathering too much attention at the time, anyway. It should surely be different for the leader of the sect who should constantly be in contact with others at the same and even higher level, right?

Realizing that he was raving, Daneel first made an effort to calm himself down and stop this line of thought.

He had been repeating basically the same thing over and over again, as his mind that had already been quite damaged from the panic and the shock before had basically begun to spiral into confusion.

As he took a few deep breaths and finally managed to take control of it, he pondered on the questions he had raised, and wondered if it was possible.

And when he did so... he realized that it could be done if the person in question was careful enough.

Or... If the Empire Spirit in question, was careful enough.

With this, Daneel raised his head to see Erin playfully put her hands around Drakos’s neck, as if they were longtime lovers who were meeting after a long break.

Until now, Drakos had been holding her back by her shoulders, but as she did this, he actually... removed those hands, and put them around her waist, as if this was something that was so natural that he had done it automatically, without thinking.

historical

Was this really the Ancient Dragon that had been present in his head all these days?

Yet, this was only for a moment. His hands dropped to his sides, and he also removed Erin’s hands around his neck and stepped back.

After that, he walked to stand beside Daneel and said, "I don’t know if I can trust you yet, Erin, and I don’t even know how you managed to stay sane. Until I get all the answers, I’m afraid that I simply can’t believe that you are still the same person who was with me for 143 years."

This made Daneel glance to the side with raised eyebrows at the Dragon.

They had been together... For more than a century?

Was this really the ’innocent’ Dragon he had known until now? From the way the woman was looking at Drakos, he could tell that this wasn’t kiddy love, or affection. No, they had definitely been in a very serious relationship, and as this occurred to Denny, he finally understood something.

He had been thinking of innocence in terms of his home planet, Earth, where matters such of these were scorned as dirty and sacrilegious by many communities and religions. However, there were also many who said that this was just a simple, basic act of life, and that it should not be besmirched so.

In his case, innocence clearly meant him not being exposed to the truly dirty side of life, and human nature. Well, living being - nature, at least.

However, if he had dated someone who was a Master of torture, spies, and infiltration, had he really not been exposed to all that stuff which was basically what the Emperor had been trying to keep him away from in the first place?

It looked like that really was the case, as Erin walked over to Drakos’s side once again and put her hands back in the same place while ignoring Daneel, as if he didn’t exist.

Looking into his eyes, she said, "That’s all right, it makes sense. Even I would do the same thing. This is just a physical apparition, so you must know that even if am not who I say I am, I cannot do you harm, unless I target your friend here, who is completely exposed anyway. With that being the case, can’t you...not be so cold? You don’t know how much I missed you, my burning Dragon. Over all these years, it was on you that my thoughts lingered the most. So give me this, okay?"

A difficult expression appeared on the Ancient Dragon’s face, before he glanced at Daniel.

Was he asking for permission or something? In a hurry to just get the answers he wanted, and not intending to come in between these lovers anyway, Daniel shrugged and nodded, while Erin watched everything with an expression of displeasure that soon melted back into the happy one from before when Drakos caught her hand.

After this, she hugged him again, and this time, he didn’t push back.

It stretched on for quite a long time, until Daneel wondered whether he should say something, which was when she finally stepped back and said, "Let’s sit first."

The moment she said this, she turned away, almost as if she was hiding tears that had appeared in her eyes, which she didn’t want the others to see.

Flicking her fingers, she made two chairs and a table with steaming tea on top appear.

Daneel sat on the one that looked normal, as the other was clearly some sort of loveseat on which two people could fit.

Damn, this woman even had something like this lying around to conjure right away when she wanted it?

After both of them sat together with Erin still holding his hand while looking into his eyes, she finally began her story.

"I don’t need to tell you about the first part. We were all placed inside those podiums and placed in random places that the Emperor judged would be where kingdoms or forces would arise. If that didn’t happen, we were even given the power to make sure that we would be in the capital of whatever kingdom arose around us, using the temptations of men. I succeeded for a time, but there were many leaders who just weren’t good enough. You know how much I believed in the Emperor, and his plan for the Grand Inheritance. I tried a lot, Drakos. Believe me, I kept trying, but I didn’t find anyone who could fit the role. And at some point... I lost hope. Maybe it was because the leader of the Kingdom I was in was plotted against by his sons because he was too greedy, which led to the downfall of his kingdom, and to my capture by the big four. By hearing bits and pieces from those around me, I realized that we had all started to be collected in this manner, and I thought that I would be doomed to a life of isolation which would eventually end with me going completely mad, just like the others. I even judged that Angaria was doomed, or at least, that there was nothing for me to do except trust the other spirits and hope that at least one would succeed. However...that just wasn’t me. I wasn’t ready to give up my goals and place hope on others. I waited for a chance. And I found it... in the form of Cara."

As the Empire Spirit paused and took in a breath, Daneel did so, too, as he had been holding his the whole time he was listening. This was fascinating, and that was why he almost missed Drakos’s expression of sadness when he had heard her speak about losing hope. When he did catch it, though, it made Daneel wonder whether this dragon had gone through the same thing, too.

"At this point, I guess I need to give you a small gist regarding this sect that I was placed in for safekeeping. You must surely have guessed that this is based on the Life and Death Path of the greatest enemy of the Emperor, and even though we thought him to be vanquished, the truth was that he placed a secret inheritance site which was later found by the survivors of the apocalypse. You and I witnessed his power firsthand. Those who found the Inheritance had no trouble in setting up a powerful sect that rose to the Big Four. Unlike other sects, recruitment in this one happens by randomly bringing people who have gone through certain things in their lives. The secret Inheritance of that man who almost managed to kill the Emperor dictated that his art should only be taught and passed down to those who meet different conditions, and the first individual who founded the sect laid down the law that only those who met these conditions could enter the sect. One of those conditions...is that those who have given up on life can enter. Cara was one who entered on that condition.

"You know me, Drakos: I was always a strong supporter of the ideal that the goal is important, not the path. That’s why I supported the plan of the Emperor to use the Grand Inheritance to stop the Church, because I valued the lives of the millions of this continent, just like him. I felt that it was better to take the shot instead of letting them all die. Look what happened! The Apocalypse came to be, but Angaria, and Angarians, survived! If the Emperor hadn’t done that...that name, itself, would have vanished, which is the worst thing that we can allow to happen, especially when we were born due to this land. I never knew who my parents were, but like many, I took this land as my mother and father."

So this was the kind of person this Empire Spirit was.

That was certainly interesting, but she continued, not allowing Daneel any time to think.

"Cara had been talented quite talented in these arts because of the incredibly harsh life she had led, and she only continued to train and grow stronger because she believed that she would find meaning for her life if she did so. In that process, she found...me. One day, she felt lonely, and she entered the room where I was, in my podium, thinking that it was empty, and told her life’s story. She had no purpose in life, and she had been contemplating whether to just end it all, which happens a lot in this sect, believe it or not. That was my chance...and I took it. It could have ruined everything, as the Big Four were not supposed to find out about our ability to make a link, so that they would leave the Central Continent alone according to the designs of the Emperor. I was prepared to sacrifice myself to erase her memory if things went wrong. But...they didn’t. She understood me, and she found her purpose: to ensure that there would at least be some strong force which would be dedicated to saving Angaria from future threats. And in turn, I found something to cling to to remain sane. By then, I had found out that the Heroes were getting too comfortable with their long life, which meant that they would not stand if the time came to stand against those who would seek to vanquish us. I knew that the Emperor masked us from the Mainland, but I also knew that it would only be a matter of time until someone else found us. So, I took this as my duty, as I was sure that I couldn’t fulfill the original one given by the Emperor."

A smile finally lit up the Empire Spirit’s morose face as she said this, although the last few sentences were said with urgency, as if that was the emotion that had engulfed her at that time.

Here, Daneel saw the clear differences between her and Arafell. Arafell had the same goal, but she wanted to rule the continent and even take the Grand Inheritance. She believed that she didn’t need to be held back by the Emperor’s thought that those of the present age should be the ones to hold the mantle, and not those from the Empire. Clearly, Erin agreed with this, so she had only wanted to do what she could do without going for all-out World Domination.

"Together, we hatched a plan. She was the same as me: for the greater good, she was prepared to do anything. Oh, I even tried then to see if she could break the seals, but she just wasn’t that type. Hence, I stuck to this path. We needed to ensure that at least of the Big Four would remain pure, or at least, as pure as possible, with the single intention of protecting Angaria, instead of just focusing on power and long life. She became the Sect Leader, and with my help, she achieved far more on the Path than any one else. She took the Sect to new heights, and in her honor, she and I made sure that a law was laid down that every consequent sect leader should touch a certain Artifact that she had made which would allow them to look through her life, and learn how to be a great leader. Of course, that Artifact was something we made with great difficulty that attacks one’s mind, and makes them vulnerable to my consciousness taking them over."

With this, Erin finally took her eyes off of Drakos, and fixed them on Daneel. The weight of her gaze bore down on him, but he didn’t flinch.

"Did I trick her? Yes, of course. I had to only tell her a few things while hiding much, because the seals forbade me from revealing almost any information. I also had to convince her to plot against all those who came after her, and that was hard. I used her poor heart and fragile mind to my purpose, but I regret nothing, because it was necessary. The consciousness of the one that I am in control of right now screams with a longing to be free every day, just like all the others that I forcefully enslaved over all these years. But I ignore them. Well, if some were good, I allow them some things, but others whom I can’t trust eventually go mad after screaming themselves hoarse. You can judge me if you wish, but I know that you are not one foreign to the way my mind works, King."

Daneel gave nothing away regarding what he was thinking. Clearly, she wanted to understand more about him in the same way that he had understood a lot about her, but he didn’t want to give her that chance. He just stared back defiantly, and their gazes clashed for a few seconds, before she finally humphed and continued.

"That is my tale. Now, it is high time we return to my first question, King. Although I am grateful that you allowed me this reunion, why are you here?"