"Mirielis?!" Lluvia spurred. The woman in front of her twisted and convulsed on the ground. The color in her eyes gone, the inflection in her voice new.
"Contrivance is infinity! Contrivance is infinity!" Mirielis shouted. She pulled at her hair and ripped off follicles, pain disregarded.
Alanus grasped his sword and unsheathed it. "What do we do?" he asked Lluvia. The female General exasperated. She tried to console Mirielis but was pushed off.
"At this rate, she might even kill herself!"
No one paid attention to the gasping Emory.
Mirielis jolted up and screamed, "Contrivance is infinity!"
Emory watched the scenario play out in front of him with quaked vision. He wobbled to his feet and looked for his father. Charles was nowhere to be found.
"Pa–pa. . ." His voice was raspy and tired.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three shadows appeared in front of him, thrashing and agitating like crazed beasts. Emory backed away, but a sudden wall stopped him from going further.
One figure arose from darkness and muttered, "We've found him. Let's go." He reached in to seize Emory.
Shing!
An obsidian claymore cut through the figure's hand, causing him to step back and hiss. "Don't touch him," Alanus spat. "Why are you here?"
The three silhouettes showed themselves clearly, their looks were ghastly and pale. Two were women, one was man. The females had cement-gray hair and weary eyes. They all wore grayish robes covered in symbols of the dead.
"The boy belongs to us," the man said. He had poor features and a droopy face. "Listen, we don't look for trouble. But if you start it, we'll end it. Don't waste our time."
Lluvia stayed with Mirielis and tried to calm the hysteric woman down. Alanus was left to defend Emory from the three cornering them. "Belongs to you? This boy is the son of a Houtis man and woman." He narrowed his eyes. "Which Mandate do you belong to?"
The female snorted, "We're not answering that. Give us the boy." The ground below her darkened, as if it were a shadow, and she dropped instantly.
Right in front of Emory, the sorceress emerged and grabbed his shoulders. "Got you–"
Her body was blown away by Alanus. "An illusion," he noted.
The real copy came from the side and kicked Alanus many meters away. The other two dashed and fought the General, their abilities easily rivaling his.
In the distance, Emory heard Alanus's voice. "Don't let them grab you–ugh!" He was punched. "Ru. . . Run, Emory Vaughan. . ! Run!"
Sadly, Emory's fatigued body proved helpless. His migraine fuzzed his thinking. I need. . . to. . . run. He thought of his protector, Sylphossia. . . . Help me, Sylphossia. . .
"Don't fight it, you're one of us. I smell Abolition oozing out of you," the shadow lady said. "Mourn the Phantom."
She snatched and knocked him unconscious.
. . . .
Alanus glanced amidst the battle to where Emory was.
Curses! She took him!
The will to fight slowly depleted within him. Lluvia was still with Mirielis, unable to help.
The Mandate members used a myriad of moves against him. Illusion creation. Vile ghost forms. Spirit echoes. Even Alanus's own memories warped for battle.
Tiring, it was.
He stood far back, panting, and said, "Justice will be brought down against you. I'll find the boy and bring him back, even if it costs my life." He sent an air current to one of them.
Her body dispersed. Another illusion.
Luckily, it wasn't all to naught. Alanus had managed to badly injure one of them. He now lay and worked to heal. Death would have found him if there was only one fighter.
As the second fighter rose, and the two grouped together, Alanus lost hope. It was decided. He would die. They launched at him and coordinated their attacks.
One moved his hand in strange patterns and said, "Wake up, my servants." The floor turned black and gassy. Many murky figures, both men and women, arose and hunched their backs. They were bony, black, and grisly.
He commands the dead? Alanus thought. He spun his sword and prepared himself. "Obey me–"
Boom!
"Rear yourselves," a pompous voice called, foreign to some on the battlefield.
Up above, multiple bodies soared like herculean eagles. They landed in front of Alanus and cratered the earth. "This land is now under Bersebus authority," the same voice said. His eyes peered at the two illusionists. "Hierarchs. . ."
The servant shadows of the dead faded away like teardrops.
Alanus steadied his breathing and shrank.
There was no way this person showed up. To such an event. . . To here!
A man levels above Constance Wales in terms of power. A man who could destroy cities at will. A man they only heard about through rumors. Not even the Commanders had any gall to freely speak about him!
Aulus Caesar.
Aulus sidestepped and wiped one of the 'Hierarchs' out of existence. The now-dead attacker's partner drained of color. She staggered back and put her arms ahead. "Don't hurt me! I was just doing what I needed to do!"
Aulus didn't listen and severed her head with movement not even Alanus could follow.
". . ."
And just like that, two of the three 'Hierarchs' that came to kidnap Emory died.
Aulus's companions came forth. They wore white long jackets with intricate patterns. Tall, they were. Mighty and towering.
"We found her," the female said. She stood shorter than the rest by not much. "Might have been a little late, though."
Aulus stepped forward, ground chasming. "We can handle it from here."
"Alright. . ." Alanus replied.
They headed toward Lluvia and the hysteric Mirielis, obsidian swords in hand. Lluvia noticed the enormous folk and scurried away.
They're. . . They're here? Aulus Caesar. . . Chalesi Andromedus. . . Vasolos Lysades. . . Is Mirielis's situation this bad? Lluvia shuddered.
"Vizier Aulus, she has been corrupted by Contrivance"
Aulus, the tallest of the bunch, nodded. His wavy black hair curled at the edges, and he used two dirt-colored eyes to stare at Mirielis. "There's little to no turning back now. Stun her, then we'll take her back."
Aulus faced Lluvia and Alanus. "Thanks for your cooperation. It must have been quite surprising, the lady waking up and screaming nonsense. I'd suggest going to an experienced Apothecary to rid any residue of Contrivance. You see, your colleague here has seen something she shouldn't, that's why she's acting like so."
Alanus lowered his tone and head while speaking. He didn't ask about Emory's situation yet. "If you don't mind, sir, what did she see?"
Whilst the other two white-clad worked to still Mirielis, the short-bearded Aulus explained, "She saw a fragment of Emperor Bersebus. And because this was a dream parasitized by Contrivance and his Second Servant, the former had easy control over her."
"Contrivance again. . ." Lluvia mumbled.
"Correct. You don't notice this, but Contrivance controls every aspect of your lives. He forcibly took the reins from Maisedes years ago, and now the two Entities battle to keep control. It is best not to think of him or his Cult much, for his pseudo name attracts harmful spirits and the Lesser Emperors attention."
"Lesser Emperors?"
"Usurped, Blest, Lapsed," Aulus replied. "Any Emperor not with an 'Almighty' prefix is by default lesser."
A thundering lightning bolt shot in the sky.
He muttered, "Don't share this information with your Commander just yet," then rubbed the symbol of an obsidian claymore piercing a golden crown on his chest. "The military will be informed later."
Lluvia and Alanus nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Vizier, the woman has been stunned," Chalesi called out. She had red hair and green eyes, features that looked to be hardened by war. "Let's go quickly."
"Good thinking," Aulus replied. "Long live the Crown."
"Long live the Crown."
"Sir!" Alanus raised his hand. "Mirielis saw the 'Emperor' while she was in a little boy's mind. . . Those Hierarchs took him! We need to get him back."
"I'm aware. We'll handle it," Aulus calmly answered.
Vasolos Lysades spoke this time. "The boy was taken to a Mandate's base, most likely Abolition. We can locate it, but it takes a while. The fastest way is by interrogating an Abolition Chronicle user."
Chalesi corrected him, "Interrogation almost never works, Contrivance has them too deep in his palm. They'd rather kill themselves than out a Tyrant."
Aulus nodded. "She's correct."
He walked forward, not looking back while talking. "There is some bad news for the boy."
"Bad news?"
"When Hierarchs make an appearance, it's almost always for one of two reasons." Aulus turned around and put two fingers in the air. "First and most common, they're hunting someone. Not anyone, but people with the Emperor's blood."
Is that who Mirielis was referencing when she said I was cursed with an Emperor's blood? Alanus wondered. "Which Emperor?"
"Conqueror of Aglana and Satiator of all the Land, Emperor Julius Bersebus," Chalesi answered.
Aulus nodded again. "The second reason why a Hierarch would curse you with their presence is quite sad for your case." He lowered his tone. "They came for the boy because he recited a Chronicle, and now he's a part of them."
Alanus and Lluvia had a hard time understanding this, so Aulus reiterated,
"The boy is a Hierarch."