“They killed our General?! But how!?”
“How dare those Versians do such a dastardly thing! We should beat them to a pulp!”
Emotions ran high in Raktor, as the lightcapturer film of the execution of General Xan by two random Versian soldiers was publicised everywhere on the streets and in every theatre. Even the Seven Snakes’ shopping mall was showing it on direct order by the Count.
The news took the Yual Dominion by storm, spreading like wildfire. People were riled up by the blatant assassination, calling for retribution on the ‘foul Versian dogs’.
Versians working in Raktor were caught off-guard as hatred began to target them from all angles, their own colleagues and bosses turning against them, throwing them to the angry mobs that began to form all over the city, looking for a target to take vengeance on.
“Death to all Versians!”
The mobs chanted as they stormed the streets, capturing known Versians who tried to hide in their houses or far away in abandoned buildings. Even those who tried to protect them were lynched publicly.
The enforcers did not do anything, simply sitting back and letting the mobs continue unabated, bolstered even further by the major gangs in each sector who were also playing along, showing unified support for the war against Versia.
The support of the major gangs was not a big surprise to the leadership of the Seven Snakes. They were well aware that this war was bound to happen in one way or another – that was the entire reason why they had built the steel and weapon factory for Baron Cain.
In the period that Kyle was gone, Baron Cain’s prestige had only grown larger, with his new weapon designs winning a contract with the Yual Dominion’s military, allowing them to earn massive profits as they continued to scale up the production, expanding the number of manufacturing lines that they had.
The cheap access to crude iron and coking coal from the goblin dens in the Culdao Peaks made the factory extremely competitive, allowing them even to start to encroach onto the usual market share of other large weapon manufacturers in Raktor.
But what was a far larger surprise to all of them was that the Ardent Cretins did not make a single move against them, instead ceasing all raid attempts on any of their shipments in the South Sector. What made it even more confounding was a recent message from Sebastian for a meeting with Kyle today.
Keith pondered to himself as he sat in the office of the Seven Snakes shopping mall, trying to make sense of all of it. The war is expected - but what is Sebastian playing at? Does he want retribution for the degraded engravings?
Just as Kyle had been angling to profit from the war, Keith had no doubt that Sebastian would be more than inclined to find the most benefits as much as possible. The entire Seven Snakes had been on edge, waiting for a potential strike.
Both Damian and Niko had swept the gang members, trying to find any potential for infiltration or any form of espionage. Yet there were no signs at all of anything at all. It only made them even more unnerved, unsure of what was going on.
“No way, Sebastian just lets us grow unimpeded. He must know we are a threat to his position as a major gang, right?”
“He must be plotting something, I’m sure of it!”
Sebastian arrived at the Seven Snakes shopping mall for the pre-arranged meeting, only escorted by two fully armoured arctech knights. Guang Hwa was already at the front, flanked by Damian and Niko, who were equally armed to the teeth, glaring at Sebastian.
“What do you want?” Guang Hwa spoke in his best Kyle imitation, almost convincing Damian and Niko for a split second that he was really Kyle. The same coldness and self-confidence emitting from Guang Hwa were near impeccable.
Sebastian stared at Guang Hwa before a small smile began to form on his face, slowly growing into a wide grin. “Brilliant! Truly brilliant! You’re a great asset to have! I always wanted a body double; perhaps you’ll be open to working for me instead?”
“What are you talking about?” Guang Hwa kept up the act, unflustered.
Sebastian’s smile faded as quickly as it appeared, his own eyes staring deep into Guang Hwa’s. “Don’t fuck with me. If Kyle isn’t here, I want to see Keith. Don’t force my hand.”
Guang Hwa gulped, glancing for a moment at Damian before quickly giving up.
“The real Kyle would never look to his subordinates for help,” Sebastian remarked with a smug face as he strutted into the shopping mall.
The Seven Snakes guards were out in force, all armed with repeaters in the event of a fight, ready to take down Sebastian at any time, but yet he was unfazed, proceeding to meet Keith in the office.
“Get straight to the point. Are you here to take revenge?” Keith started straight.
Sebastian stared at Keith for a moment, who was sitting in what should have been Kyle’s seat. “So, the Seven Snakes is held in good hands after all. While it is surprising to see you transform this much over the months, it’s a shame you cannot hold a candle to Kyle. And revenge? Why would I be angry at you? It is completely my fault for not checking the engraving thoroughly enough.”
The Ardent Cretins had managed to fix the degraded parts of the engraving, though not to its full potential. With this, they were able to salvage their shopping mall, using the political and social capital that they had built up over the years to breathe life back into it.
Now, the two shopping malls were tied for footfall, each serving half of the South Sector and entering a tenuous balance in market share of the local residents’ patronage.
“Then what are you here for?”
“You must have heard about the imminent war.”
“I have.”
“Count Leon will strike Versia in six hours.”
Keith nearly choked on his saliva when he heard that. “Six hours?! Can he even mobilise that fast?”
“It’s a surprise attack. His forces are already prepared for it – that is why the military exercise is being held so early. And he won’t be attacking alone. The counts from Kregol and Persial are ramping up as well.”
Keith was slightly shocked before he shook himself out of his stupor and focused back on Sebastian. “Why are you telling me all of this?”
“There is a reason why I did not attack your factories or supply lines, even when Count Leon requested it. Instead, I used my considerable resources to ensure that the joint venture established with Baron Cain and you were well protected.”
“This is a joke, right?”
“Far from it. I have only the highest respect for what your gang has achieved in such a short time. From a measly twenty members, you have risen to challenge even our position.”
“No need for flattery – we have less than a third of your members.”
“Still, the point stands. If a war were to break out between our two gangs, both sides would suffer tremendous losses. And to what end? To fight for the right to pay tribute to Baron Cain and Count Leon? For the right to a small slice of Raktor? What kind of a goal is that? Is that really the ceiling that we aspire to be? We are like chickens, trapped in a cage only to fight among each other while the audience watches on and cheers.”
Keith’s mind raced, trying to figure out what Sebastian was hinting at. Sebastian sighed sadly as Keith was still thinking. “It seems you’re too engrossed in the details that you’ve failed to see the bigger picture. The conflict between the gangs, is it really worth it? I only hope that when the time comes, the Seven Snakes will choose the right side.”
Sebastian left the shopping centre, with Keith gathering the leadership and explaining to them what Sebastian had said.
“Is he off his rocker? The whole time, we’ve been fighting with him! He’s the next obstacle to our total domination of the South Sector!” Niko urged. “If he’s planning on offering a temporary truce, we shouldn’t take it – he’ll find a way to exploit us!”
“But even if he does offer a truce, what is its purpose? What does Sebastian stand to gain…? We should think from that angle.” Damian offered his opinion.
What does Sebastian stand to gain… Keith contemplated as the various leaders of the Seven Snakes offered their opinions, though none of them could truly pin down Sebastian’s objective.
Keith tried to lay all the pieces out in sequence. The war was known to be happening months ago, and all the major gangs supported it. Not every major gang is making weapons for the military, so how do they profit from the war…?
***
The hallway was dimly lit by the glow of green LED tubes, a single blue carpet leading down, flanked by stone pillars carved with a myriad of strokes. Some looked like blueprints, and others looked like a map of the stars, charting the coordinates of nebulas, wormholes, debris fields and celestial bodies.
A lone woman walked briskly down the hallway, her sharp heels tapping on the carpet, echoing off the expansive ceiling that stretched far above her. Covered in a dark navy-blue cloak along with sharp lapels accentuating the various insignia pinned to it, her face remained stern and rigid as she marched towards the end of the hallway, her eyes glinting yellow through the intermittent darkness.
She approached a set of double doors, pressing her palm against a groove that sent waves of arcia energy spiralling out of in a dazzling fashion, tracing along the carvings on the door and lighting up the place. The doors rumbled as they began to swing slightly open, revealing Soren and Rayner standing outside, covered in snow.
“You have returned far too early. The deadline is not till next year.” The woman spoke softly, but her presence nearly terrified Soren, making Soren unable to look her right in the eyes as his head hung low in both shame and fear.
“Mother, I –“ Before Soren could offer an apology, his head was grabbed by the ‘Mother’s mechanical hand and slammed against the door, his face smashed in as the blood coated the designs on the door’s surface.
“Useless.” The ‘Mother’ remarked as though she was looking at an ant, tossing his body into the hallway. Rayner did not react, fully expecting this to happen to Soren. He quietly followed the ‘Mother’ through the double doors, with it closing with a loud resounding crash behind them.
The ‘Mother’ walked slowly up to the whimpering body of Soren, stepping right into Soren’s waist with her heels jabbing straight through, puncturing the flesh as Soren screamed through his bloodied mouth, half of his teeth already knocked out.
She turned to look at Rayner, noticing that he was missing an arm. “Who did this to you? Was it the Nasai clan?”
“No, ‘Mother’. It was an unknown transcendent who belongs to no clan.”
“Such a thing is impossible. All transcendents must belong to a clan.”
“I’m afraid he does not.”
The ‘Mother’ remained silent for a moment before speaking again: “The Great Waves?”
“I am not sure, but that is possible as well.”
“So, the fallen rebels raise their head again. Have they not learnt their lesson? What of the dungeon?”
“The Keru Forest dungeon has caved in. It would take significant effort to restore it back to its original functionality.”
The ‘Mother’ raised her right mechanical arm, revealing a multi-terminal that scrolled with information. “Take two more and return to the dungeon. I want it to be up and running by next year for the next batch. Get yourself repaired first, and drag this useless scum to the medbay.”
Rayner nodded, with the ‘Mother’ finally lifting her heel to the gasp of Soren. She leaned down and grabbed Soren’s head up, lifting him to her eye level, where her fully cybernetic eyes gazed into him, the yellow glare striking. “You are no longer fit for succession in the Wardens. You will serve as a prize instead.”
She slammed Soren’s head into the ground again before turning to walk away. “Rayner. One more thing. Arrange a meeting for me with the Archivist. Tell him that the enemy has returned.”
