The last words were said with Daneel"s head raised, and hence, he could see the last of the mists clearing in the Emperor"s eyes.
He truly felt proud, at that moment, for this idea which might or might not have worked.
This was the man who had sacrificed himself for them to be free, and he definitely did not deserve the fate he had been subjected to.
The Emperor looked around a bit, as Daneel"s words echoed in the chamber.
Finally…he put forward his hand, and as soon as it grasped the hilt, the sound of gla.s.s breaking could be heard.
One by one, the formations that had been placed on this Artifact over generations were broken, because, for these objects, legends stated that they possessed a consciousness, at least a primitive one, which would always be able to recognize its master.
The sword, itself, was a marvel to look at. The Emperor"s fondness for Dragons had always been known, despite the fact that he had the record of slaying the most.
A brilliantly detailed Dragon seemed to be dancing along the scabbard of the sword, and on the crossguard was the stylized head of one which was two-dimensional, running from right above the hilt to the spot where the blade began, parallel to its length.
The hilt was wrapped in reddish leather, and according to the system, it was actually the skin of a Dragon that had always been a highly treasured commodity.
Finally, there was a brilliant red gem which shone as if there was a fire burning within it at the bottom-most part of the sword.
When the Emperor drew it, though…it"s true splendor was revealed.
The blade was long- as long as almost half the height of a fully grown man, and the moment it was exposed to the air in the hands of the one who had forged it, it even seemed to make a happy sound that was akin to two metals being struck together.
Seeing its tip would make anyone feel threatened, and along the blade were, coincidentally, the very words that Daneel had spoken.
"For Angaria!"
Seeing these words, the rest of those in the cavern could not hold themselves back.
"For Angaria!"
"FOR ANGARIA!"
They cheered, and the man who had finally been restored to normalcy seemed to bask in that sound.
Yet, after a few more seconds…all of that crumpled, and the Emperor almost fell to the ground.
[More deterioration than has previously been a.n.a.lyzed detected in target"s mind. Relapse imminent.]
While the message was heard in his mind, Daneel hurried forward to help the man.
He supported him by his shoulder before placing him on a chair that he conjured, and as he sipped back, he couldn"t help but smile and shake his head when he realized that he had automatically conjured one of the thrones he always sat on, out of habit.
Of course, it almost seemed to fit this man more than it did Daneel, and the King of Lanthanor did not begrudge him for that fact.
The Emperor"s eyes were closed firmly, and his brow was extremely furrowed, as if he was fighting a demon inside his head.
What he was actually doing…was trying to hold on to this state that he had achieved.
Alas, knowing that that would not be possible, Daneel quickly said, "I apologize, but it seems that you will have to return to your former self soon. I swear that I will find a way to cure you permanently, but right now, I need this for you. When you die-I mean, when you disappeared, you left no master for this Artifact. Hence, many methods had to be used to make it work. I need you to make me it"s master, because Angaria is once again in peril, and I need a way to help it."
At this moment, the quick mind of the Emperor came on display.
The man thought for a moment, and said, "Thank you for what you have done. But when the fate of the continent is at stake…I cannot take chances. Give me access to your consciousness, and I will find for myself whether I can trust you. I would not ask for this normally, but as time is short, we have no other way."
Daneel nodded right away, as he had expected that this would happen.
After all, he was the one graced with the memories of this man, and hence, he knew that the Emperor would definitely choose caution in this situation.
So, he had decided to use the same trick that he had when his mind had been checked by Ashah.e.l.l: the system changed all of his memories, and he subsequently let down his defenses.
The Emperor did a quick scan. The truth was that he held no power at the moment- just like the Empire Spirits, his consciousness was the one which had been saved, and the body he was in was normal, even though it was in the same, or at least, minimized form that he had possessed in the Age of the Empire.
In a moment, he was done, and with a nod, he quickly said, "I feel myself slipping away. Please bend a bit, if you don"t mind. Your achievements do not need you to kneel to me, but this Artifact…is a stubborn one. She has entered the misconception that I am the most perfect individual who can wield her, as her creator, and that means she will only be willing to accept someone else if they accept that they are not superior to me, by kneeling. If you do not wish to-"
Daneel answered with his actions. He once again bent, for this was the few men for whom he would never hesitate to give this kind of respect. They had earned it, and more.
With that, the Emperor smiled, and it was one filled with the vicissitudes of life. Here was the man who had gone through more than they could ever imagine, and no one could really put an estimate on what he must be feeling right now.
Yet, when he saw someone show him respect and act in line with the qualities he had always believed in, a smile still came to his face.
Shakily standing up, the Emperor raised the longsword.
Its tip was slowly taken to a spot right in front of Daneel"s forehead, and although the absolute sharpness of it almost made him break out in a cold sweat, he controlled himself.
He trusted this man whose countermeasures were one of the main reasons behind everything he had accomplished so far, and in the next moment, Daneel…felt something reaching out to him.
He had heard about this, but he had never expected that he would feel it this soon.
For some reason, Daneel got the bizarre image of a baby cautiously extending its hand to a stranger.
He caught it gently, and then, that image disappeared.
[Artifact Link created. Consolidating Link. Collecting information.]
In the next second, the Emperor did a movement with all his strength.
He flipped up the sword, and said, "Catch."
Daneel instantly stood up, and it was as if there was something telling him what to do.
The sword did one flip in the air, and as Daneel raised his hand, its hilt fell squarely within his fingers.
He caught it at the perfect moment, and his eyes widened with shock as he felt a sliver of emotion enter his mind.
Joy.
The joy of finding companions.h.i.+p after millennia of being alone overwhelmed Daneel, making him smile, too, which, in turn, made the Emperor laugh and say, "She likes you. Please, never use the word "it" when referring to her. I did so once, and she deactivated herself for a week. Also…please, take good care of her. Artifacts live and breathe, like all of us."
After saying the last word, the Emperor collapsed, and all those present rushed forward to see if he was all right.
Daneel was about to say that the relapse had occurred, but before he could do so, he received a message from the man which no one else heard.
"Daneel Anivron. I could tell that your memories were doctored, somehow. But I could also tell that most of them were true. Enough to let me trust you. I find nothing wrong in it. You have your secrets, as do we all. The fact that you truly care for Angaria gladdens my heart. We are blessed to have someone like you among us. Alas, this form of mine cannot help you further, for I only know what you have restored for me- I can tell that there are parts that I cut away when placing pieces of my consciousness within the Empire Spirits, but I cannot recall what they are. I truly hope that you do succeed in helping me, for I truly wish to be of more service to you, and to this continent. Farewell, for now, King. May you become worthy of the t.i.tle "Emperor" soon."
Those last words made Daneel get a wide smile, but still, it was wiped away when he saw that same blubbering old man as before reappear.
"Wh-who are you all?", he stammered, and Master Jonah spoke from behind them.
He had made himself available for this special occasion, and his eyes seemed to be br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears.
"Put him there. I"ll activate the coc.o.o.n."
They did so, and that same coc.o.o.n which they had seen before reappeared before enveloping the old man.
Wiping his eyes, Master Jonah spoke in a placid tone.
"The Terror of the West, they used to call him. Oh, and you should see the curses they threw at him in the history of the organization that was beaten back. Daneel, I really hope you succeed."
The King of Lanthanor nodded with resolution, as he, too, had just told himself that. He would do so by any means, and he looked forward to the day when he could converse with the man at length, and ask many of the things that he had always wanted to find out.
A feeling of a.s.sent also appeared within his mind, and again, it was from the secondary consciousness that had entered it.
It wasn"t really a consciousness, though, as it could not form words- no, they were merely feelings, but they held a lot of import.
Curious, though, Daneel asked, "Do you like to bind bad people who should be set right?"
Instantly, excitement erupted from the sword, and Daneel couldn"t help but laugh out loud.
…
In a location that had been picked due to its limited footfall, a group of Heroes had once again gathered to get updates on their mission to somehow get in the good graces of the Church, when the time came for them to flip sides.
The one they had sent for surveillance had just arrived, and soon, the meeting would start.
After everyone gathered, it did so, and soon, the time had come for Magda to give her report.
Yet…when she got up at spoke, everyone present looked at her with confusion, as they wondered whether something was wrong with her head.
"My report is just that the time has come for someone to bend you all over and spank your behinds. Let"s get started, shall we? Because I have a lot of spanking to do…"