Legends of the Stars

Interlude: The Nova Empire II

Interlude

The Nova Empire II

"I found myself sitting alone in the dark, staring at our victory pyre. The entire camp was alive with joy over the day's victory. All except for me. I only plan to celebrate once my quest reaches its end. Looking forward to that day, I wonder which of my comrades will still be around to see it. Will I even survive my mission, or I will be the only who lives? Any way I see it, only I shall remain."

-Erik Harbinger, Destroyer, p. 139

The next day, Kaiser was alone in his meditation chamber in the Imperial Palace. He sat on a black throne at the center of a mechanized altar designed to stabilize his dark energy. Such a device helped him focus and clear his mind, as the sheer weight of his powers threatened to ravage his psyche. Combined with his harrowing memories of his life before, his malignant magic constantly tore through every cell of his brain. Though he had learned to live with this cancer, this altar provided him with what little pleasure he could hope to enjoy.

Here, Kaiser could finally take off his mask, which now rested on the counter next to his throne. He had always found comfort in seeing the world behind his mask. Hiding in the black behind it, peering in through a red lens, he was in a realm of his own. One where there was no fear.

Only darkness.

Next to his helmet sat a cup of steaming herbal tea and his tattered paperback copies of The Astronomicon and his favorite wartime novel, Destroyer. The latter told the tale of an Astrean soldier sent to assassinate an Imperial general, only to be left behind and captured by the enemy. Though the Empire were presented as the antagonists, the Dark Lord was always moved by the soldier's story every time he read it. Though everything in this sanctuary kept him relaxed and focused, he was still left irritated by his army's most recent failure.

His meditation had been interrupted by his right hand, Lok, who now joined him via holographic transmission. He and his Riders took off to find the Princess and this Ark Knight the minute his energy was detected. Just like them, Kaiser had foolishly let this boy slip away from his grasp. He remembered seeing his face the day he took the capital. As this child stared up at him balefully, Kaiser had sensed something strange in him. A glimmer of light he had not felt since that traitor, Johan. Seeing that this power was inferior to his, Kaiser made the mistake of ignoring him once.

But seeing this boy's face in the Imperial records, Kaiser kept asking himself:

Could it really be his son?

He yearned to find the answers along with him. Hopefully, his Death Riders would finally report something that would bring the Ark Knight to him.

"Status update, Lok," Kaiser ordered.

"We've searched the mines, and we found the bodies of General Halldor and much of his brigade."

"How unfortunate," he said apathetically. "And the crystal?"

"We found the Divine Temple, but the crystal wasn't there. The key that Halldor had with him was also missing. The Royal Family most likely has them both."

"Then everything is going as planned," the Dark Lord said, putting on his skull-shaped helmet.

"My lord?" Lok inquired.

"Halldor may have been an arrogant fool, but he was prepared. He planted a tracking device on the necklace in case it was ever lost. If either the Princess or the Ark Knight has gotten a hold of it, it should lead us right to them."

Kaiser pressed a button on his screen, revealing a window that he shared with his right-hand man. It displayed a map of Astrelm. The entirety of the kingdom was painted blue, except for a small red dot in the western region, pinging crimson waves across the continent.

"Notify the Emperor. Tell him it's time we deploy our new army on Argos."

Kaiser ended his transmission, and he continued to stare at the map from his world of darkness. Gazing into this pitiful world with blood-stained eyes, the marker on Argos repeatedly washed over the kingdom in a sea of red light.