TBATE | The Brightest Light and The Darkest Night [Discontinued]

Additional Circumstances

||Seris||

"Lady Nezera," Aselith announced his presence as he bows behind my back.

I quickly turn to meet him.

"Please don't bow, I'm not a god," I said to him which made him instantly stand.

"But to some of these people, you are." He gestured his hands as he emphasized the crowds of people gathered below in a town that we overlooked. The orange sunset, basking each and everyone caught in its warm rays, especially us two who were on a stony cliff.

"Anyways, what are you here about?" I asked him raising an eyebrow, curious about what he had to say.

"It will be only a matter of time before Agrona will consider prison as an ineffective option, he has already begun cracking down on suspected people who have joined our cause. I suggest we take more actions than just spreading our propaganda." He explained to me. His suggestion was quite tempting but quite unnecessary for the time being.

"You're right, it won't take long until Agrona starts beheading people left and right. But I'm not going to consider an action such as armed conflict against his regime just yet." I walked up to the edge of the cliff before turning my eyes to him. It was uncommon of him to reveal his face, his navy blue eyes locked on mine as we go about for the rest of the conversation.

"Why?" He revolted at me.

"Our cause isn't that fundamentally stable yet. Sure we might have a few connections to high-bloods and significant figures but most of these people see our party as a push for peace, please don't forget our history. Our race still considers the Vritra's as rightful rulers that reunited and gave the whole continent a chance to thrive in tranquility and prosper at times without shedding blood." I informed him.

"Then what do we do then?" He quizzed me, his voice confused by my contrasting ideals.

"Dicathen, we'll need to use Dicathen's progressing win on the war," I replied to him.

"So you're saying that we'll help them pile up bodies of our blood? I thought you were against Agrona."

"There isn't another way, Aselith. If we make the first move Agrona could declare us an enemy of the nation as a whole that hinders the progress of their divine sovereign's goal." I gestured both of my hands placing my forearms up in the air.

"He would declare the revolution the enemy of the state either way." He countered back with a good point.

"If the public sees the war turning sour without evidence of our direct help they would raise an eyebrow to the government, not us. Not everything can be solved by just diving headfirst." I sounded like a mother scolding her child.

"I see, thank you for your words of wisdom," Aselith said after he mused on my words.

"But I'm afraid that we will have to arm ourselves sooner or later. I have already made preparations and a plan is underway to manufacture the TNT I said to you." He continued.

*Sigh*

He was a stubborn man...

"See to it that we don't get caught smuggling these weapons," I warned him, without hostilities to my words of course.

"Understood." He tersely responded to me.

"I'll have to talk to them about this." I talked to myself. 

I closed my eyes and meditated deeply focusing only on the dark expanse I see. I cleared out my thoughts and focused on the solitude I set myself in.

"Arthur, we need to talk," I called out in my mind, my thoughts echoing inside my head.

"I can hear you, what is it Seris?" He responded rather quickly.

"Your new weapon. We may have found a way to improve it." 

"What weapon?" He asked confused, which in turn made me confused.

"Black Powder." I made him remember.

"Ah." He replied.

"It's not a weapon, I would call it a 'compound of substances'," He corrected me.

"Well, as they say, I stand corrected. But anyway, I have a friend of mine that has an interesting concept." I tried to capture his attention.

"I'm all ears." He said, quite intrigued to me.

"TNT." That was my only reply to him.

The communications were silent for a bit, which was a bit uncomfortable given that I don't know his reaction from the other side.

"Who is this friend of yours?" He asked me, his attention now fully captured.

"Aselith, I believe you've met him."

"Aselith..." His voice trailed off making me curious as well.

"Arthur?" I called out to him as he was probably spacing out of his thoughts.

"Yes, sorry about that. It's just, something doesn't add up here."

"Is there something wrong?" 

"What's his surname?" He quickly asked me, catching me off guard.

"Seincreistin. Aselith Seincreistin."

"Seris, he isn't an ordinary high-retainer."

"I could see that."

"No, I mean. He isn't." He responded quickly with a grim voice.

. . .

"Then what is he?" I ask, somewhat terrified of what he has to say. Despite being a close friend of mine he never opened up about his past, he did say he has a brother. But he never said anything other than that, was he perhaps adopted?

"I don't know myself. But I just have this familiar connection with him." 

"Anyways, will that be all? If it is possible maybe try and smuggle some of those here, you have guys in the military right?" He ended our little gossip with a request.

"Yes we have ties with some of the people working in the docks, however Aselith hasn't told me any of the details in the quantity and the date of the manufactory of TNT. But I'll update you with them as soon as possible." I replied to his help for aid.

"Seris, can I ask you another favor?" He continued on.

"Hm?"

"If you have any possible colleagues that are interested on 'improving and sharing technologies with Dicathen' I would be glad to hear from them in the future." His tone genuinely like a child asking for candy.

"I'll see to it that my associates will try and look for some enthusiastic men of research. But it will take some time, at best we could only try to move out and improve when the war is over." I replied to him, reassuringly.

"Great. I'll see you next time." He said, I could imagine the curled-up smile he has.

"Likewise." 

My moment of calmness was immediately cut of as I hear whizzing of projectiles racing towards me. The two constructs shattered my mana barrier and I heeded my body's instincts to jump a plethora of black flames, the shape of balls were hurdled to my position.

"You never let your guard down do you?" A voice that echoed among the trees praised me.

"Of course, I am considered dead and possibly a traitor if they found out I'm alive. You know where this is going right?" I retorted to the mysterious figure that silhouetted the edge of the forest.

The person stepped forward into the light revealing his physique. A man with complexion as grey as his hair which was long and proud, and blood red eyes filled with animosity emerged, his two horns that were on the side of his face that bent downwards while its edges were pointed to the sky.

He still wore those clothes, huh?

"Long time no see, Cadell." I exaggerated my voice.

"This ends here, Seris." He declared to he raising his right hand revealing a scythe made out of black, corrosive mana.

Pretty poetic.

"Impressive." I charged a rune on my back which glowed radiant purple judging from the light that were in the corners of my vision.

A sword made of violet sheen materialized between my arms, it was a simple looking sword with a thin double blade but nonetheless a very powerful one, a gift from a friend you could say.

He raised an eyebrow to me, surprised at why the sword had no mana signature to it. His expression darkened in contrast to a grin that crept to my face as he realized what it could be made of.