The scene that Daneel returned to was one he would fondly remember over the years, whenever he dwelled on the events of the month before the battle.
They had decided to use the central throne that he had created above the center of Angaria as a makes.h.i.+ft base of operations, so that was where he headed after receiving the good news that his sovereigns had succeeded.
They had not given him any details, and even though he could have found out exactly what happened by checking the logs of the G.o.dnet, he had decided not to do so, as he guessed that they must want to tell him, by themselves, while bursting with pride.
If he was being honest, he was also quite impressed by their actions, and once again, he felt that he had made the right decision by giving them the power and authority to use the G.o.dnet as they wished.
They were all people that he cared about deeply, so he wanted them to be able to rely on themselves, in case there came a day when he could not be there for them.
Seeing that they were well on the path to this point made him feel happy, so he had quickly started to teleport to the place where he was healing himself, first, so that he could drop off his body.
The system was the one doing the healing, but he had also opted to take the help of the G.o.ddess of Healing, who greeted him on his return.
"You chose well… Those five did a great job of changing the hearts of many of the Heroes in the order. I daresay that they might even have started an avalanche of change, but it remains to be seen whether that will be the case. I sure hope the day comes that the Order can stand together, without being forced…"
"I didn"t choose them- they chose me, and I sure am glad they did. I"ll make sure that happens."
As soon as he said this, she had patted on his head in a motherly fas.h.i.+on, which had led to him remembering his own mother, whom he had visited over a month ago.
Deciding that another visit was long overdue, he had made his way to the throne, where the scene waiting for him was one that could be drawn by an artist to depict the coming of age of some very important characters in a story.
The five of them stood together, beaming, in front of the throne, even though he had not arrived yet.
Behind them, 60 individuals knelt with their heads facing the tiled surface that they had created. Their hands were shackled behind their backs, and their bodies were covered with formations that prevented them from using their Mageroot.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen…
With this thought, Daneel descended to the throne, where its function that magnified his image instantly activated.
Hence, his appearance was accompanied by a boom of thunder, which he had programmed before into the throne and forgotten about.
Strangely… The moment they heard this, most of the 60 began to s.h.i.+ver with fear, while looking around intently as if there was an enemy coming to kill them.
What was going on?
Why would thunder scare so many powerful Heroes to the extent of making them soil their pants?
Seeing the puzzlement on his face, Eloise and the rest of the sovereigns began laughing, seeing which he understood that he really needed to hear the tale of how they had accomplished this momentous task.
"I am truly proud to have such capable followers. Today, you have taken the first step to truly deserving, and taking possession of the thrones of power that I have created for you. Now… Who will step forward to tell me the story?"
Conjuring a cup of wine, he leaned back and relaxed, while each of the sovereigns began to speak in excited tones to tell him everything that had happened.
Before they started to so, he also took the step to call over the rest of the sovereigns, and a few other individuals, so that they could hear, and be inspired.
Apart from the five who had been busy training the people, those who appeared were: the two Elf Queens, the father and son who had helped him a lot before- Rayen and Raul, the Head, the Chief of the Fortress, the Matron of the G.o.ddess"s Sanctum, and finally, the bandit queen who had a.s.sisted him so much during the coronation.
Each of them was sent a message before being teleported over, and as soon as they arrived, they bowed to him, and turned to the five who were waiting.
Due to the audience, Eloise and the other four spoke with even more zeal and pa.s.sion than what would have been there if they were reciting the tale to just their G.o.dking.
Seeing the twists and turns of the battle, Daneel and the rest felt gripped, and when the moment came when he found out about how they had wielded the fury of the skies like the very thunder G.o.d himself, he gripped the armrests of the throne and bent forward, before beginning to clap with pride s.h.i.+ning in his eyes.
This led to a round of clapping from the others, too, who could not believe that these five, who they had thought of as weaklings in relation to the rest of the continent just a few months ago, were now so powerful that they could subjugate such a powerful family of Heroes by themselves.
It was a feat that would have garnered respect and honor even in the Order, so drinking in all the praise, the five bowed with a flourish.
After doing so, while the clapping still continued, Elanev jumped forward and picked up Eloise on his shoulders, following which the rest of the sovereigns took his lead and joined him to hoist her up together on their shoulders.
After all, a lot of the credit did go to her, and due to the close-knit bonds that they all shared, they felt no jealousy - all they were filled with was joy, seeing which the rest who were present also smiled with happiness, taking pleasure in this small, but precious moment while knowing that opportunities like these might become fewer and fewer as the days went on.
"Alright, enough, enough - let"s get to the matter at hand."
Eloise had been unable to stop herself from laughing the entire time that she was paraded around, but after a few seconds, she said this.
Hearing her, the sovereigns nodded and finally put her down.
The primary members of the Eskilon family had been watching all of these proceedings with scorn and regret on their faces. They regretted that moment they had allowed these five inside the house, and they even regretted exposing their intentions to the five after believing that they were also traitors, just like them.
They knew that she was talking about the judgment that was to be pa.s.sed, so knowing that it was time, nervousness and fear became visible on many of their faces.
Daneel also noted this and decided to get it over with, before moving towards bigger and more important things.
First, he flicked his fingers and made a man appear in front of the throne.
It was Mark, and as soon as the members of the family saw him arrive, they looked at him as one with angry eyes.