The Primeval Era-Chapter 70: Guests II

His dark eyes glittered with amusement that didn’t reach any deeper than their surface.

"I would have loved an invite to come watch the lives of Dross play out their little dramas. Is it possible for me to come in?"

...!

The moment he spoke, the Saint of Stone became increasingly somber in her calmness, her stellar eyes hardening into something that looked less like stars and more like weapons being drawn from sheaths.

The Holy Daughter actually rose to her feet, her wing-shaped pupils blazing with a flash of anger that she couldn’t entirely suppress.

Around the temple where they sat, the four guards that stood at the gateways instantly snapped to attention, their postures shifting from ceremonial stillness to combat readiness in the space between heartbeats. Rivers of Mana began to burn around them, the energy visible as flowing streams of pale light that wrapped around their bodies and their metal weapons alike.

And the guards on the paths leading to the temple, the dozens of female Warriors who had been standing in patient silence throughout the journey, grabbed their weapons and surged forward. They moved with the coordination of those who had trained together for years, spreading out to surround the temple and encircle it entirely, their metal blades gleaming as they formed a defensive perimeter against whatever threat had just announced itself.

The Saint of Stone looked at the floating man with eyes that had witnessed centuries and found most of them just decent.

"Imperator Luddya."

Her voice was sharp as obsidian, cutting through the air with edges that could draw blood.

"Why would you be so far from home? Does the Hallowed Voice know you are here?"

...!

Her words were pointed, each one a weapon in its own right.

This was an Imperator.

In the Covenant of the First Stone, only the most powerful leaders of the Imperial Families held the distinction of Imperator. They were not merely nobles or generals or advisors. They were the swords and shields of the empire itself, beings whose personal power was considered great enough to represent the Covenant’s might in any conflict.

There were perhaps ten Imperators in the entire Covenant.

Each one commanded armies.

Each one answered only to the Hallowed Voice himself.

And this particular one, Imperator Luddya of House Valdren, was from one of the families within the Covenant of the First Stone who had lost their candidacy for the Throne the moment the Holy Daughter was born. His family had been positioning themselves for generations, accumulating power and influence and favorable prophecies, all aimed at placing one of their bloodline upon the seat that the Hallowed Voice would one day vacate.

The appearance of the Holy Daughter, with her Wings of the Radiant Dawn that hadn’t manifested in a woman for seventeen generations, had shattered those ambitions overnight.

For him to be here, so far from his territories, in the same obscure corner of the Lands of Stone where the Saint had brought her disciple to hide from exactly such threats...

This was not coincidence.

HUUUUM!

Just as the Saint of Stone processed the implications of Luddya’s presence, her gaze became even more somber as another entity materialized in the sky beside the Imperator.

This one didn’t arrive with the subtle grace of floating upon clouds.

This one announced himself with presence alone.

He wore armor of crimson metal, plates and segments fitted together with a precision that spoke of master craftsmen. The metal was reinforced by Mana that had been woven directly into its substance, and unknown runes crawled across its surface like living things, glowing with a red light that pulsed in rhythm with the heartbeat of the being who wore it.

In his hands, he held a greatsword that seemed too large for any normal Warrior to wield, a massive blade of that same crimson metal that radiated hunger even when held still. The weapon looked less like a tool for combat and more like a beast that had been temporarily tamed, waiting for the moment when it would be unleashed to feed.

His hair was wild and crimson, the color of fresh blood spilling across snow, tangled and untamed as if he had never bothered with the grooming that nobility usually demanded. His face was handsome in the way that predators were handsome, all sharp angles and fierce features arranged in a bloodthirsty smile that revealed teeth slightly too sharp to be entirely human.

And he floated with a cloud of Mana beneath his feet just as Luddya did, his dark eyes releasing tendrils of red Mana that crackled through the air around him like lightning seeking ground.

The surrounding atmosphere felt squeezed and compressed just by his appearance, the very air growing heavy as his presence pressed against reality itself.

When the Saint of Stone saw this second figure, her somber gaze became unfathomably heavy, the weight of understanding settling upon her shoulders like chains being locked into place.

"Imperator Luddya."

Her voice had grown quieter, more dangerous.

"I wonder why you would be here in these lands with an Imperator of another empire."

Her stellar eyes moved between the two floating figures.

"Why would the Crimson Imperator, Jack, from the Dominion of Crimson Stone be with you?"

BOOM!

The Crimson Imperator!

Another terrifying being, one of the mightiest warriors in the eastern Lands of Stone, the sword arm of Ensi Valdrath himself!

He was not merely an Imperator. He was The Imperator, the being that The Murderous Saint trusted above all others to carry out his will when violence was required!

And he stemmed from the Dominion of Crimson Stone.

The empire that used to be the Vakochev Empire.

The empire that had been built on the bones of the family that Khorvash had slaughtered eight summers ago.

With the appearance of both Imperators together, many things became abundantly clear.

This was not a chance encounter.

This was not even a simple assassination attempt by a rival family within the Covenant.

This was something far larger.

Something that connected the internal politics of the Covenant of the First Stone to the external ambitions of the Dominion of Crimson Stone!

Something that meant the Holy Daughter’s enemies had formed alliances across empire lines to eliminate her.

Imperator Luddya smiled lightly, the expression never reaching his dark burning eyes, and he turned to look at the defiant gaze of the Holy Daughter where she stood beside her master.

"Let us not beat around the bushes when you know why I’m here."

His voice was pleasant, conversational, utterly at odds with the violence that his presence promised.

"I actually like you, O Saint of Stone. You’ve served our empire well throughout the years and taught many of our young geniuses. Your contributions to the Covenant are immeasurable, and your loyalty has never been questioned."

He spread his hands in a gesture of false reasonableness.

"I brought my friend here as an assurance, since I know you’re powerful and I cannot take you on alone. The stories of your strength are not exaggerated. But with the both of us here..."

His smile widened.

"Even you will find it hard to survive."

The Crimson Imperator’s bloodthirsty grin matched Luddya’s pleasant smile, the two expressions creating a contrast that somehow made both more menacing.

"So how about this."

Luddya’s dark eyes fixed on the Holy Daughter with an intensity even as she remained immeasurably calm.

"You just give us that little thing there, that so-called Holy Daughter who’s bringing so many problems to so many people. You just give her to me, and you can be on your merry way."

His voice dropped to something almost gentle.

"Walk away, Saint of Stone. Live another century. Teach another generation. Let me handle this... complication... and everyone who matters can pretend this meeting never happened."

...!

The words hung in the air between them, an offer wrapped around a threat wrapped around the promise of death for all of them if the wrong choice was made.

The Saint of Stone’s stellar eyes burned brighter.

The Holy Daughter’s wing-shaped pupils blazed!