The Emperor – Chapter 11. – The Goddess

Chaper 11

The Goddess

Sephra stood alone by the window, staring into the darkness, listening to the beeping of her communication device as she silently waited for a response. She had an idea where they had to go for the piece of the sword, but they faced challenges. Despite her patience, she received no answer. She had to make a decision and take action.

Quietly contemplating the possibilities, Sephra turned on her heel and walked straight to the royal quarter. She neutralized the guards before they even noticed her, then knocked directly on the door of the Chancellor’s suite.

Rattern opened the door, expressing his displeasure at being disturbed in the middle of the night. However, when he saw Sephra, he forced a smile.

“Admiral, a splendid early morning to you too! How may I assist, and where are my guards?”

“They’re taking a break,” Sephra replied calmly as she entered the room, giving the Chancellor a significant shove that made him stagger but he kept his balance.

Rattern uncomfortably rubbed his arm, averting his gaze. It was evident he felt uneasy being alone. Perhaps he feared an attack, realizing he stood little chance against a skilled soldier.

“How can I assist?” he asked again, turning back to Sephra.

“We need permission for Angron to enter the ocean,” Sephra stated.

The Chancellor shook his head, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes as the woman snarled, extending her hand towards his neck. However, as if reconsidering, Sephra suddenly lowered her hand.

“I think I didn’t express myself clearly. It wasn’t a request; it was an order. You will grant permission for Angron to enter the ocean.”

“Admiral, I believe…”

“Grand Admiral.”

“My apologies. I think there’s a misunderstanding. As far as I know, there’s nothing obligating me to owe you obedience. We are rebel territory afterall. “

At this point, Sephra turned her head with apparent interest, as if something had captured her attention. Rattern slowly attempted to reach for the alarm on his wrist, prompting the woman to turn her head back, grabbing his arm, and skillfully twisting it. The Chancellor, struck by sudden pain, fell to one knee.

She smiled at him. “I’ll cut off your arm if you try that.”

Knowing it wasn’t an empty threat, Rattern simply nodded in silence.

“Let’s start again. You will grant permission to Angron!”

“I can’t. Lord Quilen will have my head if I assist the Imperials.”

“He doesn’t have to know.”

“Where do you even intend to go?”

“To Mirella.”

Sephra enjoyed watching the Chancellor’s shocked expression, then released his arm. Rattern didn’t risk getting up, only rubbing his wrist as he stared at the floor. The admiral walked across the room to examine the original copy of the Kha.

“I would like you to see the situation clearly. I don’t want bloodshed if it can be avoided. I am willing to settle this peacefully for Angron’s sake. However, if we don’t get permission, I’ll have to resort to force. With or without your assistance, we will go to Mirella. Am I clear?”

Rattern continued to study the floor silently.

“We would appreciate your cooperation, Chancellor. Hyraus went there too, didn’t he? He also went to Mirella.”

Rattern looked up with a hint of alarm.

“How did you…”

“Tell me, why did you give him permission? After all, he was an outsider. The Kha forbids it, doesn’t it?”

“I… There are moments when, for the greater good, I overlook the Kha.”

“What was this greater good?”

“Lord Hyraus was the only outsider I ever respected. He was brave enough to oppose the former Emperor. That was reason enough for me to help him. I don’t know why he went down there, nor what he did, but he swore it was important. I believed him.”

The admiral nodded thoughtfully, contemplating what she had heard, before speaking again.

“I understand. We also aim for the greater good.”

“The difference is, I don’t believe you even when you ask.”

Sephra then walked back in front of the man and smiled at him.

“So, you call me a liar?”

“I call you deceitful and manipulative. Why do you have to go there? Whatever Hyraus did… he had a reason. You can’t ruin it.”

“We don’t want to ruin it. We want to continue. Let me say it again, to make sure you understand me. Whether you like it or not, we will go to Mirella. It’s up to you whether I use force for this.”

“I can’t.”

Sephra sharply inhaled, closing her eyes. Her hand clenched into a fist, and Rattern was sure she wanted to hit him. However, a moment later, the admiral shook her head, gave a mocking smile, turned, and left the suite.

Rattern hesitated for a moment before raising his arm and speaking into his own communication device, issuing a few commands. Sephra dealt with twelve attacking guards by the time she returned to their room, where she stood in the darkness, watching as her unconscious comrades were carried away before she walked into Angron’s room and sat on his bed, waiting.

***

Angron wandered the city alone until dawn. After everything he had heard, he couldn’t bring himself to rest. Eventually, he noticed that some of the residents had already woken up and were going about their daily routines. Most of them greeted him, but he turned away from them with a shudder.

He wanted to believe that what his old companion had told him wasn’t true, but he couldn’t shake the thought that everyone hated him. What happened when he killed his brother was not his fault. He wouldn’t have participated in the entire experiment if it hadn’t been his father’s command. He couldn’t defy him. He did run away afterward, but what else could he have done? He was scared, desperate, and helpless. He didn’t know what happened to him and what he could have done against it, not to mention the guilt he had to contend with. Such a king should never have been fit for his people.

Angron stopped in front of the window and stared at his own reflection. Astonishingly, he noticed that along with the angry thoughts, his face began to change. He ordered himself to calm down and took a cigarette from his pocket to calm himself.

He resented his father for everything, but deep down, he never wished for his death. In fact, he respected him and longed to talk to him again. He wanted to understand why all of this was necessary, why he had to become what he was. He never thought his father wanted to hurt him. Maybe he had no idea what the consequences would be if they administered the drug to him.

Angron shook his head and headed back straight to his room. He was surprised to find Sephra there.

“Sephra? What are you doing here?”

“The others are missing.”

Sephra seemed more nervous than necessary, and the man didn’t understand why. Although he himself was irritated by the thought, he wouldn’t have been so concerned if something had happened to his companions. He barely knew them.

“Do you know where they are?”

“I escorted Solar back myself in the evening. I saw her go in before I moved on.”

“Why, where did you go afterward? You could have been in trouble too.”

Sephra got up from the bed and walked over to him. “I was investigating. I know where the…”

Before the woman could finish her sentence, someone clung to the door. It was Daron, who seemed much more cheerful than necessary.

“What’s this gathering here?”

Sephra looked disdainfully at him. “Are you drunk again or still?”

“Have you seen Serion?” Angron asked. “He was with you last.”

“We came back here. He went to sleep, but I couldn’t, so I slipped out. I found the entertainment places. What a night, I tell you!”

Angron shrugged and turned back to the woman, who shook her head condescendingly.

“You wanted to say you know where the shard is?”

“I’m just guessing, really. It has to be somewhere outside the city, probably a cave where no one goes. It can’t be nearby and in a place with valuable material; otherwise, they would have found it. It has to be somewhere no one would visit willingly. So what fits all that the most?”

“How should I know?”

Sephra rolled her eyes irritably before responding.

“It’s a good thing this isn’t my home planet. The Dream Cave!”

Angron stared at her for a moment before awkwardly grinning to mask his tension.

“Indeed, no one goes there willingly. I certainly don’t want to.”

“We don’t have time for this. You need to go down. Hyraus survived, and you will too.”

“What about the others?” Daron interjected, less interested in the sword. “I just want to know because I want to go to sleep.”

“You won’t sleep, at least not here and now,” Sephra replied. “I won’t let you disappear either, so you stay with me. Angron goes alone because they would never let us down. As far as I know, outsiders still can’t enter the ocean.”

“They won’t let me in either…”

“They will,” Sephra answered confidently.

“But…”

“I’ll take care of it. No one will stand in your way. You have to go. You know exactly what’s at stake. This is an order.”

The truth was Angron had no idea what was at stake, but he found himself talking to the Grand Admiral.

“Do I have a choice, boss?”

“No. You don’t.”

***

The Dream Cave was the place where Angron had never dared to venture in his life. It was kilometers below the city, and just like many other kids, he wanted to explore it out of curiosity, but something always scared them off. Parents often frightened their children with tales of this place, and not without reason. While most of Shouta’s caves were already discovered and known from the outside, very few stepped into this one. Those who attempted always returned changed. Some claimed to have seen their future, others their past, but they all agreed that the cave induced hallucinations.

Angron never believed in such things, but he wasn’t thrilled about having to go in, especially alone. Regardless of how they looked at it, it was impossible for any of his companions to accompany him. There were gates that led out of the city, of course, but they were strictly guarded.

The Tencous never liked the idea of outsiders contaminating the ocean, except under very justified circumstances. They managed to obtain some diving equipment and vehicles, but it was still rare to let outsiders out. While they had larger machines for transporting minerals from caves and crevices, they were definitely not allowed to borrow those.

The prince, setting aside his doubts, eventually agreed to go down alone.

Sephra pondered for a short while on how to get rid of the guards, eventually simply bribing them to reassure Angron. The man didn’t want bodies left behind.

He would have preferred to discard all his clothes and jump into the water, but as a prince, he couldn’t do that, and it would have offended the Kha’s rules, as the guards were keen to emphasize to him. So, after some hesitation, for the first time in many years, he rid himself of some of his implants. It was a strange feeling as his humanoid form ceased to exist. Once again, he had fins instead of legs, his teeth turned sharp, and the shape of his face, head, and arms completely changed. Those beings who had never seen a Tencous in their true form would have been terrified of him. With his huge black eyes, he looked around one last time before diving into the water.

He enjoyed the way the waves tossed him around. He caressed the fish and smaller sea creatures that dared to approach him. These creatures had always lived alongside them, so they weren’t afraid of him at all. Angron knew that according to their real, old dietary habits, all these animals would have served as food for them, but most had changed their diet and digestive systems along with their implants. The majority of the them no longer wanted to eat meat.

He found openings where thousands of bubbles emerged, just to experience again the old, tingling sensation as the multitude of tiny bubbles touched his scales. He wasn’t bothered when the lights of the city no longer provided the usual brightness. Like the rest of his people, he could see well in the dark, which is why he swam into one of the crevices.

Angron always loved to explore. In the city, he felt like a caged animal, but swimming in the ocean, much like flying in space, he felt free. Despite his initial worries, he loved being back home, even if only for a short time and for the last time according to his plans.

He visited the old familiar places he had often frequented in his childhood. He was determined to see it all, as he thought he would never see them again, and the water somewhat replenished his energy. He remembered playing around with his siblings and parents when they first ventured this far.

But now, he hovered in place in front of the Dream Cave’s entrance, hesitating to swim in. Thanks to the protruding rocks, the whole place looked like a giant predator’s mouth. He felt there was something inside that really shouldn’t be there.

Angron would have happily lived without seeking the sword, but according to Sephra, it was important, and if the Grand Admiral said something was important, then it probably was. Sephra knew more than any of them. She claimed to be close to the Emperor, and Angron hoped that if anyone knew why things were done, it was her. At least he hoped so very much.

He shook his head and with a quick movement, he swam into the cave.

It wasn’t as dark as he expected at all. He cautiously ran his hand along the wall but felt nothing unusual. Encouraged, he swam through the long underwater corridor. The entire passage sparkled with inner light, as if the walls were made of powdered blue gemstones. However, the first thing that struck him was that he didn’t encounter any living creature here. It was as if everything avoided the cave.

A corridor led into a cavern where a small island emerged from the water, allowing Angron to climb out into the air. Above him, a beautiful, foaming waterfall cascaded down, its bottom disappearing into the white mist of the water. He had no idea how this formation could have come to be here, nor was he sure if it was really there or just his imagination.

Angron sighed softly and climbed onto the shore, shaking himself and turning around. He shivered and rubbed his arms. He felt cold, but he didn’t understand why.

More and more, the horror stories from his memory surfaced, despite his efforts to push them out of his mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he wasn’t alone. He wanted to go back to the city.

As he turned around, he noticed that he had stirred up the sand, and the glittering particles seemed to float around him in the air. There was a very strange smell.

Then he realized what caused everyone to hallucinate when they entered here.

The island wasn’t covered in sand but with a spore, originating from a certain type of mushroom. The same thing was floating up there in the city as well. They tried to filter it out as much as they could, but they never completely succeeded. That’s why many outsiders, who weren’t accustomed, saw everything around them as beautiful, suppressing any other feeling, as it happened with his companions. Those who lived there for a long time eventually became immune to the quantity, or there were many outsiders who regained their senses after a while, usually due to some external influence, like Serion. However, there was much more of it here than Angron’s accustomed body could endure without the effects.

He shook his head and looked around again. He had no idea where Hyraus could have hidden the piece of the sword if he had indeed been here. There was nothing in the cave but rocks, so he hurried over to them, peering between them.

Increasingly, he felt like someone or something was watching him, but he didn’t dare to look up; he just continued searching fervently. However, when he heard a deep, powerful female voice in his head, he froze.

“Welcome, Angron!”

The man didn’t look around. He didn’t dare, but he still saw movement from the corner of his eye. He didn’t flinch; he just listened.

“Don’t you want to know who I am?”

“Whoever you are, you’re not here. I’m just hallucinating.”

“That’s an insulting assumption.”

Angron decided to face whatever awaited him. He straightened up, and when he lifted his head, he almost fell backward in fright.

Giant tentacles twisted around the island, and facing him rose a nearly five-meter-tall female figure emerging from the water. She was bare, but her entire body was covered in silvery scales. On her head, where hair would be depicted on sculptures, long, motionless tentacles hung. From the waist down, she was in the water, but the twisting tentacles were adorned with scales of the same color as her upper body. She had four arms, each with three long fingers, webbed between them. Her elongated face had no nose, but her mouth was constantly smiling, just like the statues. She had six eyes, three on each side, all glowing with a dazzling blue light. Her entire aura seemed to glow faintly around her, casting light on the dark rocks of the cave. Her arms and upper body were constantly in swirling motion, reminiscent of a dancer he had seen before.

A name popped into his mind.

“Mirella?” he finally said uncertainly.

The voice in his head began to laugh, yet Angron saw that the woman’s mouth did not move at all, neither then nor during her speech.

“Yes.”

“That can’t be… You can’t be real…”

“Are you sure that’s how you should speak to your goddess?”

“You’re not my goddess. I don’t believe in you. I never did.”

“In your childhood, you believed.”

“You only see into my mind because I imagined you here! Obviously, you know what I know!”

The woman tilted her head slightly to the side and continued to smile. She didn’t respond.

Angron was about to open his mouth to ask something when one of the silvery tentacles lunged toward him, grabbed him around the waist, and lifted him up. As he struggled, another tentacle lunged, coiling around his upper body, pinning his arms. Together, they lifted him toward Mirella, so close that he could almost touch her face.

He felt like a helpless fish caught in a net.

He stared into the woman’s radiant eyes up close, then the tentacles began to tighten, squeezing harder and harder. After a few seconds, Angron felt like if he let this continue, they would crush his spine.

Hanging there in the air, whether he was imagining it or not, he felt powerless. He wanted to get out of here.

“Alright,” he moaned. “Alright, I understand.”

In response, the pressure eased, but Mirella didn’t let go.

“What do you want from me?” Angron asked after a brief pause.

Mirella tilted her head.

“You came to me.”

“I didn’t mean to disturb you, I’m just looking for something. Please, let me go!”

Mirella’s expression didn’t change, but she clasped her upper arms together and seemed to ponder.

A few moments later, the tentacles released Angron back onto the island, then retreated to the side, back into the water. Nothing remained on the surface except for Mirella’s silvery, undulating upper body.

Angron felt sore all over. He had no idea if he had been truly hallucinating.

He began to understand why those who dared venture here returned in such a strange state.

“What are you looking for?” the goddess asked curiously.

“Once, an outsider was here. His name was Hyraus. He brought something. I need it.”

Mirella’s smiling expression turned contemplative, as if she were looking into the void.

“Yes, he was an outsider. Small and strange… I’ve never seen a being like him before. It was interesting to converse with him, to find out what lies beyond. He was so young, yet so lonely… I asked him to tell me where he came from and why.”

“He brought something here,” Angron repeated.

“That’s correct.”

“Do you know where it is? Will you help me? It’s very important that I find it.”

“Why?”

Angron opened his mouth to respond, but he realized he had no idea why this mission was important.

“You don’t even know what it is and what it’s for, yet you’re here searching for it. Why?”

“I believe it’s important. Please, help me!”

“You unconditionally trust the words of the woman who was taken in from the outside world. Why?”

“Sephra knows a lot about things I don’t. She’s my superior, my friend, and she’s always had my best interests at heart. I believe she knows what she’s doing.”

Mirella’s expression seemed to change.

“That outsider, Hyraus… He was a fugitive. Desperate. He asked me to protect what he gave me at all costs and not to give it to anyone unworthy. He claimed only two were worthy of it, his two sons. You’re not one of them. Why would you be worthy? What are your intentions with it?”

“Sephra would know more about this. I… I only know that he wants to take the sword to the Emperor. He hopes it will prevent something, but… I… I don’t know what…”

Angron struggled to find the right answer, realizing he truly had no idea what the goal was.

Mirella straightened up.

“The Emperor? The same one Hyraus fled from?”

“No! No. We have a new ruler for some years now.”

“Who is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Then how do you know it’s truly someone else? Why do you think he’s dead?”

Angron erupted at this point.

“I don’t know! I know nothing! I just follow orders!”

Mirella looked down at him thoughtfully for a moment. Her tentacles twitched intermittently under the water. It seemed as though she was trying to discern the truth from the man’s face.

The goddess then turned her head away and began to gaze at the walls.

“I saw him too. A very, very long time ago… I also saw the Emperor, long before your father ascended to the throne. He visited me. I hated every moment of it.”

“Did you speak to him?”

“Yes. He was curious about me. I always felt it when he visited Shouta. I felt your fears. The same fear emanated from Hyraus when he came to me. He tried to disguise it, but he was terrified of the Emperor finding him. He stood right where you are now and cried. He knew he had no chance against him. He just wanted to escape.”

Angron listened silently to the woman when he suddenly realized he was hearing things he couldn’t have known. This couldn’t be solely his imagination.

“Are you really real? Are you a god?”

Mirella leaned forward with the same smile. With her massive arms, she leaned on the island and leaned close to Angron, who instinctively tried to recoil, but a tentacle pushed him back.

The woman extended one of her large, cold hands and tapped the man’s chest. One of her fingers was as big as an average humanoid forearm.

“You’re interesting. No one who has come here has dared to question that. I’m not what you think I am up there. I have no magical power, and I haven’t created anything. However, I am the oldest living being in Shouta, and everything that lives here is my descendant. Including you. Without me, you wouldn’t be here.”

“Do you really serve Rattern?”

Mirella’s smile remained on her face, but her voice turned angry. She raised one of her arms and slammed it into the ground, just inches away from the man’s chest, causing the entire cave to tremble. She didn’t miss. It was clearly meant as a warning.

“I serve no one!”

“I didn’t mean to offend you. So, you really hear what people say about you in the city? Just like you’re hearing my thoughts now?”

“I hear the thoughts of all living beings on Shouta and also when they address me, but only as long as they are on the planet. Thanks to you, my consciousness and the language I use are constantly evolving. I gain new information. I know roughly what’s going on out there. I have an influence on certain events, but I don’t like to interfere in what happens. I’m capable of doing things, but I don’t have the power that some attribute to me. I have my own goals, so I only help those whom I think will be of use to me. Right now, Rattern is the best tool for me, so I stand by him as long as I see fit.”

Angron nodded. This sounded much more logical than what they were taught in the city. An ancient being concerned with its own goals was much more realistic than a selfless goddess who created the planet but didn’t prevent any harm from happening.

“Would it disadvantage you in any way if you gave me the fragment of the sword?”

“Not really.”

“Then please, give it to me.”

“I want to show you something from your possible future. These are the opportunities that lie ahead of you on the path you’re on now.”

“Why?”

“I want you to see. After that, only after, if you still desire it, I will give you what Hyraus gave me. That’s my only condition.”

Angron nodded.

“You have two futures. Even I don’t know which one will truly happen, I can only see them now, as I look at you.”

Mirella straightened up, lifting both of her upper arms and began to circle slowly above the water with them, while using her lower arms to draw circles on the island, stirring up the spores with them. Her eyes shone even brighter than before. Then, where her right hand touched the water, something appeared and began to swim outward. When it reached the shore, it stopped and crouched, panting, then straightened somewhat and lifted its head.

Angron froze. He saw himself transformed for the first time.

The other Angron didn’t notice him. His clothes hung tattered on him. He turned his head from side to side as if he saw something. His hair hung damply in his face, which was dirty with blood flowing from his mouth and eyes. He constantly snarled. His black eyes were empty. He began to walk, hunched over, muttering silently to himself, occasionally reaching out with his long arms into the air.

“I know this is when I transform… Why are you showing me this?” Angron asked.

“Because this vision of your future will never turn back,” Mirella replied.

Angron felt his head throbbing and his eyes burning, despite being unable to cry in his real form. He flinched as the monstrous version of himself wandered past him, then reached into the water with its clawed hand, pulled out some creature, and bit off its head.

“What about the other?” Angron asked.

Mirella then touched her left hand to the water, and another figure began to emerge from the water. It was another Angron, with an upright posture, a serious gaze, but his clothing clearly reflected the colors of the rebels.

“I would be a rebel…?” Angron murmured.

However, this still seemed better, but something didn’t feel right. The new Angron began to walk, just like the other. He moved slowly, as if his limbs were made of heavy metal. His face was expressionless. His eyes were glassy, completely lifeless, staring blankly ahead. He never once looked around. He didn’t think. He was like Daron’s android. Lifeless.

Angron leaned forward and almost began to retch. All of this seemed impossible. He didn’t know anything that could turn a living being into such a robot.

Mirella’s voice laughed softly.

“If you continue on this path, this is the fate that awaits you,” she said.

Angron had had enough. He wanted to get out of here.

“Neither of these can happen! There must be a solution! Tell me what it is, please!” he pleaded.

Mirella’s two tendrils surged forward, grabbed his two other selves, snapped their spines in half with a single motion, then sank beneath the water with them.

“I told you, Angron… If you continue on this path, this is what awaits you. So tell me… Do you still want to receive the fragment?” Mirella asked.

“What should I do then?” Angron screamed hysterically. “Abandon the others?!”

Mirella then extended one of her hands and spread her fingers apart. A green-glowing object lay on her massive palm.

“The choice is yours, Angron… Perhaps it is already too late. Your fate was set in motion when you returned to Shouta,” she said.

Angron stared desperately at the fragment. It couldn’t be true. Maybe his own mind was trying to convince him not to do anything. Either way, Sephra would have found a solution to get what she wanted. Besides, she would never allow him to permanently transform, nor to join the rebels.

Angron suppressed his fear and took the shard from Mirella’s hand. It was as big as his forearm.

The goddess lowered her arm and shook her head.

“Hyraus made a grave mistake when he created these swords. They have no place in the hands of mortals. They bring nothing but trouble. Nevertheless, I hope you can use them in the right way,” she said.

Angron recoiled in fear as the woman sank back into the water, and he was swept out by a massive wave. A few moments later, he was no longer inside the cave, but outside, in the ocean.

He turned around to look back. The entrance was a few meters below him, gaping blackly and menacingly. He considered going back, but then he noticed that the current didn’t stop. He couldn’t even swim close to it. Whatever was inside, he knew he wouldn’t be able to find it anymore.

He looked down and noticed that the shard had cut his forearm when it dragged him out into the water, but the wound was already beginning to heal.

Angron shuddered. He didn’t understand where this ability came from. He didn’t know anyone else besides himself who could self-heal. He had only existed since the monster came into being.

He shook his head and started swimming upwards. He no longer enjoyed the caress of the water. He wasn’t surprised that everyone who returned from there was changed. He felt cold. Afraid. Every time he remembered his two other selves, he shuddered. He didn’t know if he saw reality or just imagined it, but he hoped he would never find out.