"What the hell was that?" Ardent was asked by Lucius. "Why do you ask me? Do you believe I am knowledgeable about this? Without emotion, Ardent answered. "This is alarming... really, I felt like I knew Morsus... At least a little bit... However, this was not what I had anticipated. He's... Perilous." Lucius stared over my lifeless, feeble body, trying to make sense of what had happened. "I assume you saw that? That's not possible for vampires, is it?" Lucius tried to observe on Ardent by staring into his eyes, but all he could come up with was a shrug and lifeless eyes. He looked back at my unconscious body, hoping to find something there, but he was unable to find anything. He looks up, trying to think of something, looking off into the distance. "What should we do now, in your opinion? The holy kingdom now views us as a great threat and will probably start a war, fighting our kind; the Ordo Noctis will undoubtedly punish us for our failures; and so many other things... He killed the assassin, who was a blonde-haired female vampire, of all things. I am at a loss for what action to take, Ardent. I'm in the same boat as you are! Please brainstorm with me now! This is the time to discuss and come up with ideas." With a heavy sigh, Ardent looked out to the far horizon. "Lucius, there is no denying that we are in a dangerous situation. Morsus has revealed abilities that defy comprehension. Regarding what we ought to do...," Ardent stopped to consider the intricacies of their predicament. "We have control over what comes next, but we cannot undo what has just occurred. We must reorganize, evaluate our connections, and get ready for the impending storm. Currently, diplomacy may be our most effective tool since it can persuade the holy kingdom and the Ordo Noctis that Morsus was an isolated rogue element. We're walking on thin ice, Lucius, and the path forward demands careful navigation." Lucius' shocked gaze expanded, asking, "What did you just propose? That we ought to simply pretend that Morsus is our enemy and betray him? For the love of The Seven, he's both my friend and our partner! Even though it's not always the best course of action, I have personally trained him for years, and I am confident that he has a good reason for everything he has done." Lucius ran a hand through his hair, his face reflecting the stress and confusion within him. "Ardent, none of this makes sense to me. Morsus now appears to be an entirely different creature. But you're right—we can't just follow along mindlessly. If finding the answers is important to our survival, we must proceed cautiously. While I have faith in Morsus, I also respect your opinion. For the benefit of all involved, let us ascertain the real account behind this." Ardent nods, "All right, then. We must now conceal him somewhere on Earth. Some distance away. I am aware of the precise location. Simply explain everything that transpired here to the Ordo Noctis; do not inform them that we are assisting Morsus. Inform them that I am pursuing him in order to confront him after he fled." "All right. Sounds excellent. If I survive to be disintegrated, I'll see you later." Ardent nods, grabs me up, and bolts in the other direction, not revealing his actual location—as if he was trying to keep Lucius in the dark about it. He saw that, but ignore it anyhow—there isn't time to be thinking about stuff like that. He needed to carefully consider the words he would need to tell the Ordo Noctis so as not to disintegrate him and help them understand their predicament.
Lucius sighs and activities his portal orb. When he arrived, the other vampires were already gossiping and staring at Lucius. He sees this and sighs again. Walking up to the gate, he was going to write on the papers, but the guard stopped him, "Lucius, the Ordo Noctis wants to see you. Now." Lucius stared off into the distance, unsure of his next move. Knowing that there isn't much option, he walked through. He opens the doors to the castle, and it's dead silent. Usually there would be sounds of talking and the 'hum' of magic, but there's nothing. He walks towards the Room of Judgement. Opens the door... And enters...
"Lucius Valerius. You have been a great disappointment to us." Their voices rumble through the room, and Lucius immediately trembles in fear and nearly falls towards the ground as he tries to kneel. Too scared to look up, he looks straight down at the floor, trying to somehow find cover. "Forgive me, Ordo Noctis, there were… complications… We truly couldn't have foreseen…" "You are a great vampire, Lucius. It would be a great waste to lose you, but you are one of the most experienced of all vampires. So you should have prepared for everything, but you didn't. It makes us question your… perfection." "Please, Ordo Noctis! I'm begging you! Don't disintegrate me! I have important information for you!" Lucius screams in desperate fear. "Very well. Let us know what information you have and if we're satisfied, we'll consider giving you another chance and sparing your life." "Thank you, Ordo Noctis… As you may have seen, the assassin was a blonde female vampire. She really didn't intend to kill the holy princess, but instead brought out Morsus Frigus, who showed us... another skill that I don't think any vampire should be able to..." "That's right. Vampires shouldn't do that. As a result, he was now branded "deficient" and disbanded. Now it's up to you and Ardent to find him and then bring him to us so he can receive his punishment. Where is Ardent?" "He's chasing Morsus as we speak. I'll see if I can find him." "Good, because our mirrors are trying to find him. Maybe they're too fast for the mirrors to catch up. Any idea where they are now?" "No, I don't know, but maybe he'll let me know, somehow." "You'd better hope so, or all three of you will be labelled 'imperfect' and will be disintegrated. Now to other matters. This "incident" caused by Morsus made the holy kingdom extremely paranoid and hostile. Now they will probably start a war against other kingdoms and vampires. This is very problematic. The worst possible scenario that we feared would happen is now coming true. You three will pay your debts in full, but right now you are too important to lose, especially in these soon-to-come troubling times. We will make plans and prepare for what is to come, but for now, find Morsus and Ardent and don't come back without them. You are dismissed." "Thank you for your mercy, oh great ones." Lucius quickly exits the courtroom and closes the door. Tensely, he lies against the door, panting and trying to calm down. "That was too close… I thought this was the end of me... Gods dammit, Morsus! Look what you've done now! Who are you anyway?" Lucius shakes his head, knowing that such questions are pointless to ask. "I have to find these two. Try to figure out what to do next…" He runs into the teleportation room and teleports back to the Earth Realm.