Daneel wondered whether he was in a dream.
With no other avenue left to him, he had prayed to the heavens…but he had never expected that his prayers would be answered. When they had been planning for the war, he and the Emperor had discussed the Chamber, and what it meant. With no information to go on, they had been forced to conclude that it was something they would never be able to understand, but now, the one who had saved the Emperor, himself, had appeared to grace him with a ray of sunlight when all had seemed lost in darkness.
He still found it hard to believe that the man had appeared at such a perfect time. He would even have suspected that there was some underlying plot, but the system had just a.s.sured him that he was connected to the lightning that had streaked across the sky to accompany his most recent breakthrough.
That, along with all of the phenomena he had seen around him that dictated that he was part of the Will had a.s.sured him that it was no trick. Instead of from above, the answer to his prayers had come from below, but he couldn"t be more grateful.
Still, everything that he had thought about before that man"s arrival hadn"t gone anywhere. He was painfully aware of all his forthcomings, and he knew that if he really did succeed to make one last plan…he would never squander this chance he had been given.
Excitement filled him. Excitement for the future, for hope, and for himself.
In his mind, all the tools that he had at hand were floating around, jumbled, waiting for an idea to appear that would tie them all together. It was like a puzzle, but it was one whose solution would dictate the fate of millions.
"The more I think about it, the more I feel that what just happened was predestined, somehow. He was right… a story is only ever over if one believes that it is. My story does not end here. There is still so much to do… and by the heavens, I shall do it all!"
The memory of being so shattered that he hadn"t been able to think was still fresh in his mind, but thoughts like these made it run away and hide.
"After all, why is a sword shattered… but to forge it anew, stronger than ever before?"
He reflected that if his life was drawn on a graph, there would be almost a straight line between his ascension to the throne and the beginning of the war. After the war, though, there would be a deep dip…and as for what would fill the rest, only time would tell, but he had an inkling that only one path remained to him: upward.
"I want to give everyone the lives they dreamed about.
I want to find everything about this world, and see what the peak of power is like.
I want to live, love, and fight for what I believe in. I want to grow, and know that I have grown. I want to plan and scheme and grasp victory even when all the odds are against me, and I want to make all those who go against me despair!
I want to dominate…for I know what it means to have been dominated by life. No one should have to face what I and my people faced…so I want to stand, and give strength.
I want to find just what the system is, and I want to go back to Earth and tell my grandma that she raised a king, an Emperor…and maybe even a G.o.d.
I want to leave no stone unturned! I want to do everythi-…NO! I WILL DO EVERYTHING, AND NOTHING CAN STOP ME!
This world is mine, and I shall prove it to anyone who says otherwise!
Here, my story begins, anew! Here, I stake my claim to it all…and here, I shall return to keep my word!
I AM DANEEL ANIVRON, AND I HAVE FALLEN…ONLY TO RISE AGAIN!"
[Host mental state being a.n.a.lyzed. Hidden criteria met. Unlocking concealed information.
Tribulation overcome.
World domination system, Level Two Unlocked.]
Each thought was like a bolt of lightning in his mind. Defiantly, he screamed the last one out, loud.
As if echoing him, golden lightning once again flashed in the sky above. With its magnificence on his back, he grinned like a madman and made his way to the center. The scream almost drowned out the notification from the system, but he gave an order to have it repeated. When he heard it again, his laughter resounded over the Sea. He stopped himself from making the system elaborate, though, as he needed all of his focus at hand to concentrate and create the plan that would get them out of this mess.
Soon, he entered Angaria, and surprisingly, he saw that the people had stopped celebrating. They were sitting around in silence, their faces forlorn, their shoulders slumped, and their eyes downcast. This made the grin finally leave, as he wondered whether the sovereigns had told them that they were not in the clear, yet.
When he appeared at the center, all of those present ran in his direction. Stopping them all in their tracks, he said, "Calm down. First things first: what she saw is true. That is the future we are headed towards. Now, then…where are the a.s.sa.s.sins?"
The same desperation that had almost destroyed him filled the faces of many of those in front of him. Only the Emperor remained unchanged, and in fact, he even smiled when he heard Daneel speak.
"Fenoras…tell me why you"re smiling, or—"
Arafell"s heated words made them all turn and see this incongruity. She paused and didn"t even voice her threat, but still, the man who had once ruled the continent made a face and followed her orders.
"All of you…look at your G.o.dking. Is he the image of a man who has lost all hope? No, I see someone who has found a way to accomplish the impossible. Open your eyes, and you will understand what I"m talking about."
With widened eyes, all of the sovereigns whirled in Daneel"s direction and began to study him. Sure enough, they saw that his back was straight and his brow was clear, and from him, confidence and courage seemed to radiate outwards.
They took a deep breath to drink in this aura, and right away, they felt rea.s.sured.
While they had been busy taking the shortcut to recovery, Daneel had asked the system to check with the G.o.dnet and let him know why the people below had stopped celebrating. He had found that the information had leaked via a slip of tongue from Queen Arafell that there was still an enemy to defeat, and after it had spread like wildfire, many had fallen to the ground, tired of the foes that kept coming, one by one.
Daneel frowned, and his disapproval regarding the events that had occurred was clear on his face. Yet, putting it away for the present, he flicked his fingers and made the three a.s.sa.s.sins who had been hiding until now reappear.
All three of them looked extremely fl.u.s.tered. Without even giving him a chance to ask, their leader blurted out the answer that he had come here to seek.
"It"s all ruined. All of it! And you"re the one to blame! Why can"t you have just beaten them back? Why couldn"t you have just given them enough trouble to let them pa.s.s over this stupid sc.r.a.p of land? You just had to go humiliate them! And now, look what happened! You made them suffer so many losses that the issue has become the talk of the Mainland! It would even have been fine if they were under attack by the other powers around them…but the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds had been hiding an ace up their sleeve, all along! THEY HAD ANOTHER SAINT! They revealed her by smas.h.i.+ng one of our headquarters to smithereens! Everyone who spoke against them has shut up! Their power has skyrocketed, and right now, they are unrivaled among those who targeted them… and they"re furious with you, to boot! It seems that they wanted to make this reveal at a more opportune time, but you forced their hand! WE"RE DOOMED! As soon as the Bishop tells them that she was lost, they will strike! Nothing shall remain! NOTHING!"
Spitting everywhere, the reptilian looked like she was about to pounce on him. Her words made the others" faces go pale…but as soon as she stopped speaking, Daneel froze, then clapped his hands and beamed.
"That"s it! THAT"S IT!"
In his mind, it had all clicked, and raising his hands, he roared, "YES! NOTHING SHALL REMAIN! But from that nothingness…will we rise again, one day. Everyone…Angaria shall die. It must! And from that death…will come life. Everyone, listen…its time for one last throw of the dice. Come close, for the end is near, but we shall meet it…smiling."