Chapter 18: Most terrifying entity
"You'll advance to the rank of knight in a few months after the necessary training. When you're done, you'll have to choose a Vanguard team to work in. Ah, but be careful not to choose one without my input. There's quite a lot of teams that will only hinder your growth in the short and long run. It's all about synergy, you see," Bastian explained from behind the desk as he skimmed through a set of files Ophilia had handed him moments ago.
"Wait, what? Just like that?" Arbus muttered in confusion.
Several minutes had already passed since he'd cried his eyes out in front of the Sentinel. Arbus would be lying if he said he wasn't the tiniest bit embarrassed for doing that. Still, he didn't regret it as much as he thought he would. He knew he needed to let out some of his grief and frustrations. Holding them back never seemed to help him in the long run. He was proven right when the feeling of emptiness that had been weighing his heart down after he killed Ronin finally disappeared.
"Yes, just like that. Why are you so surprised?"
"Well, like you said, the council is almost never willing to let you get your way. Especially when it comes to me. You made it sound like you'd need a few more months to convince at least half of them for this to go through."
Bastian hummed slightly as he leaned back, his fingers casually tapping his armrest in a consistent pattern. "You're right, they usually wouldn't. Which is why I decided to gain the upper hand by having a few conversations before the meeting was even held."
Arbus's brow raised, his head tilting to the side. "You... bribed them? Seriously? With what?"
Bastian glanced at Arbus with an indignant expression. "Bribe? I don't remember saying anything like that. It was a simple request for a favour in exchange for a future one. It's not nice of you to use such crude wording before a Sentinel."
Arbus stared at him blankly, not saying anything in response.
"Anyways, they accepted, thankfully. I won't say who, but they'll be more willing to support me in the future whenever you're involved in the conversation. It's hard to go back when you've already thrown your eggs into a basket, after all," he said with what seemed like a conspiratorial grin.
Arbus let out a small snort as a smile began forming on his face. "Thank you, Sentinel. I'm really sorry for my outburst earlier. I shouldn't have blamed you for my misfortune and situation when you're only trying to help me," he said apologetically.
"...Don't mention it. Your complaints were valid as well," Bastian said as he finally selected the files he felt the best about and displayed them on the desk in front of Arbus.
Arbus glanced at them in puzzlement. They seemed to be renegade bases of some kind. The region around them was drastically different from each other, so Arbus guessed they were on different planets.
"And, like I told you six years ago, I'm not simply helping you out of a sense of altruism. Just like you, I'm filled with hate for the second chance group and their minions. And yet, there's little I can do about it for the foreseeable future unless they come knocking at my doorstep." A self-deprecating smile crossed his lips. "Even then, it seems I was too late to do anything, either."
He sighed, turning back to Arbus. "I'm helping you because I believe in your immense potential."
"Because of my father's ability that I inherited," Arbus said, already knowing what he was referring to.
"Precisely," Bastian confirmed. "A soul ability that powerful is a rarity for most humans, believe it or not. Let alone a half-human."
"You understand why your father was captured all those years ago, right?" Bastian asked with narrowed eyes.
Arbus's expression twisted slightly. "Because he's immortal and the Renegades couldn't kill him."
"That's correct. Someone as powerful as the emperor himself was present that day on Tarok. Even with his negation, your father managed to get out of the situation alive."
Arbus could still remember that day as clearly as yesterday. A day that had started off with his father—Joren Kaelen—taking him hunting again despite his discomfort and making him understand something he referred to as the circle of life—quickly devolved into a nightmare when those first pillars of green smoke rose above the treeline.
His father immediately realized they were coming from Hai as they both rushed over to the scene of the chaos. Another human was attacking the village like a maniac, the Tarokian warriors at the scene unable to do anything against his power.
He was demanding Joren, somehow already knowing he was hiding there.
The look in his father's eyes when he took off his disguise bracelet and gave it to Arbus with a smile on his face was something he couldn't forget.
After that, everything went by in a hazy blur for him. He remembered his father beating the other human, and then multiple head commanders descending a few minutes later. He remembered finally losing consciousness when the emperor himself—the ruler of the entire universe for the past ten thousand years—arrived on Tarok.
When he woke up, his father was gone. Most of the head commanders were gone. He heard whispered conversations about him and his family and felt the gazes directed at him. His entire life had changed in one day.
"Your ability is far weaker, just like the sword saint's ability was in comparison to his father. At least at the start."
"When you finally gain a Heart shard, the potential synergy between your trickle of soul energy and the heart energy could do wonders," he continued.
"And hopefully, it provides you what I believe will be the greatest asset to this endless war. Time."
Bastian looked up again, but not at the mural on the ceiling. "Time enough for you to possibly reach that level. And put an end to this endless war."
Arbus glanced up as well, a hateful expression colouring his face.
Every species in the universe knew of the otherworldly parasites known as Humanity.
Each of them had either experienced or heard of the countless horrors humans had perpetrated across the Cosmos over thousands of years.
They had also heard of the accursed second chance group. An organized gathering of the strongest humans with the sole intent of conquering the known universe.
They had even heard of the traitors working under them, citizens of Rendes that aligned themselves with the Humans—turning their backs on their own universe for various selfish reasons.
Those were the horrors that most of the universe were aware of.
But there were just a select few, mostly among the very top brass of the universe, who knew better.
That there was one more horror to worry about. One more being more terrifying than them all. The cause of this endless war.
A being that existed in a void outside the universe, constantly watching them without their knowledge.
A being not even the emperor could reach, despite his god-like power.
The primordial.