A few years ago, on one fine morning, Daneel and Luther had been sitting in the largest balcony of the Palace of Lanthanor while looking over the army that had been carrying out war exercises.
It had been the time after Daneel had successfully taken control of the Kingdom of the Elves through his manipulation, and at that juncture, he had still been learning about what it meant to be a king.
This was one of the many instances during which his commanders had taken the initiative to help him in the journey. On that morning, Luther had told him a very interesting story.
It was about a conflict that had taken place a thousand years ago between the then Kingdom of Lanthanor, and the Black Raven Kingdom.
It had apparently been a very terse period during which conflicts had been present between each and every member of the Central Continent, but in particular, these two kingdoms which shared borders had been on the brink of war.
The reason behind this conflict being so important was that the strongest mage in Lanthanor, who had allowed the kingdom to feel safe for as long as he was alive, had died suddenly, and this placed the kingdom at a huge disadvantage, as it was right after his counterpart in the Black Raven Kingdom had attained a major breakthrough.
The two events were unrelated, but because they happened at the same time, it made it so that Lanthanor was ripe for an invasion. It was still a powerful kingdom, though, so the Black Raven Kingdom had two options: it could either go all out and risk being invaded, itself, by others, or it could use this advantage it had to force Lanthanor to sign a few treaties which would allow it to gain a lot of resources at a large profit for as long as Lanthanor was in that weak state.
In the background, efforts could also be made to make sure that no one would take the mantle of that mage, but overall, this aspect of resources would benefit the kingdom and the people of the Black Raven the most.
The King of Lanthanor at that time had been a good one, although it had been for the wrong reasons. He had apparently used to place a lot of importance on pride, so the way he saw it was that if his people were unhappy, then this was something that would hurt his image, so he always made sure that the kingdom was well.
Knowing that taking the wrong step would mean a lot of death and destruction, he had initially taken the decision to acquiesce and sign the proposed treaties which would set back Lanthanor for quite a long while, but when the time came for the meeting… Something spectacular happened.
The Black Raven King arrived with much pomp, and he was obviously very happy. The King of Lanthanor was satisfied with the fact that he would be remembered as someone who had taken the right decision, but just as he was about to sign the treaty… The Black Raven King let loose his tongue, and said, "A wise move, King. If you had not chosen to sign, Lanthanor would have easily been under my feet in nary a month. From now, don"t even think of putting up any bl.u.s.ter no matter where you go, as if you do, I might just lose my goodwill and decide that Lanthanor is a bug that needs to be squashed, after all."
A hush fell over the room as soon as he said this, as wars had started due to words that were much less disrespectful.
The King of Lanthanor froze where he stood, his quill hovering over the parchment of the treaty, and after what felt like an eternity, he sighed, and did something that would be written about by many, many historians.
Using that quill like a sword, he cut the treaty into pieces and stood up straight before bellowing, "Black Raven King. My father taught me one thing: Kings must not bow to threats, even if it means that they die. The moment a King gives up his pride, he ceases to be one. Mage, I see that the smile has still not left your face because of your breakthrough. Well… Come, let me wipe it away, forever."
After the Head Mage of Lanthanor died, the king had been the strongest in the kingdom, but he had still been a long way off from reaching the level of the one in the Black Raven kingdom.
However, taking out a blood-red knife, the King of Lanthanor lunged in the direction of the mage.
The moment that trinket was exposed to the air, fear appeared on the mage"s face, but he was too late- all of his barriers broke, and even when the dagger dove deep into his chest, he could not believe it.
"It-it"s a sacrificial dagger…why would you…?"
"Because I…am the King."
Indeed, it was a dagger that used the life of the wielder to bring out power much stronger than anything that they might be capable of normally, and as it stood, anyone else"s power would have been insufficient to use it and have any effect on the mage.
Those were his last words, and even as his eyes closed, a smile came upon his lips, as he knew that he would never be forgotten.
He had been right. Even a thousand years later, his tale was still being told, and listening to it, Daneel had been filled with admiration.
He recalled that story now as he heard the threat of the basilisk, and right away, alarm bells began to ring all over his mind.
If she hadn"t taken this tune, he might have been prepared to think it over, but now… There was no chance.
It was not the foolish arrogance of someone who placed too much importance on pride. Rather, it was the Royal arrogance of a ruler who would choose to die, rather than let his dignity be besmirched by anyone, even if he knew that they were so much more powerful than him.
Even though this was Daneel"s first reaction, he still took a moment to consider, as there were many, many lives at stake here.
That was when he realized that there were enough reasons for him to take up a very, very cautionary stand on this entire thing.
First and foremost… The thing that he was most doubtful about was the timing.
If this basilisk really was from Angaria, then why had she not contacted him before? Why had she not tried to initiate a line of communication with the Order? Why was he finding out about this only now, and not when he had spoken to the TriCobra sect before?
She had said that she knew that Fenoras was alive because she detected his presence on the continent… But even before Daneel had bequeathed the man to the one who loved him so that he could get better, he had been roaming the continent and obtaining disciples. If she had arrived before, she would definitely have found him, but instead, she had only found out now.
Also, from the way the man from the TriCobra sect had spoken before the resonance had occurred between their techniques, it had been obvious that he had been about to deliver some sort of a threat, or a proposal that would have meant that Daneel would have to follow the orders of the sect if he wished for the continent to win the war. This was a reasonable conclusion given the knowledge regarding how the sect usually operated, and in fact, he had even prepared a response for the same.
The entire tone of the conversation had changed after the resonance, so things were just a little too circ.u.mspect at the moment.
There might be a simple expedition which tied everything together and made it so that it all made sense, but until he obtained it, Daneel decided that he would act as if the one in front of him was just another enemy who was gunning for Angaria.
Secondly… What if it was all a bluff? What if the Emperor would be whisked away as soon as he was exposed?
Powers were at play here which he could not understand, so he definitely could not risk one of the greatest a.s.sets of the continent being stolen at such a crucial juncture.
True, the man might not be able to fight, but there was so much more that he represented which could not be taken away.
Yet…There was also no way that Daneel would sacrifice his master, even though the man knew the risks a.s.sociated with this plan. He had been fine with putting his life on the line, but until there was no other way, Daneel did not want his master to be outed as a spy.
It was moments like these that truly tested the mettle of those in charge, and Daneel knew that the decision he made here would definitely have a large effect on the outcome of the entire battle, and this world that he called his home. The worst thing was that he didn"t have time, but thankfully… He had always been a quick thinker.
The semblance of a radical plan that used a roundabout, but effective approach started to form in his mind, and after further thought, he realized that he actually liked it a lot.
It would be risky… But what in the world could be gained without some risk?
Putting on a serious expression, the King spoke.
"My master knew what he was getting into when we embarked on this plan. I simply cannot trust you… Until you prove that you are at least capable. If you are really as strong as you say you are, it should be easy for you to do so: the Emperor suffers from a damaged consciousness. There is another person with the same affliction. Fix her, and I will believe you. Fail, and it will all be exposed as a bluff. Do you agree?"
As Daneel looked into the Basilisk"s eyes in front of him, it took all that he had to ensure that he wouldn"t be affected by what he saw in them.
Rage had filled them the moment he had begun to speak, and this emotion had only grown by the time he was done.
It was the kind of rage that was capable of stirring up millions into a frenzy that would make them fight and die as they would be lost in its dominating grasp, and for a moment, it seemed as if she would follow through with her threat.
Daneel had a method to ensure that the worst wouldn"t happen even if she did, but it was something he really didn"t want to use.
Thankfully, after a few seconds, she controlled herself with visible effort and said, "Oh, how much the Mainland would gossip if it found out that the Basilisk had to control her anger in front of such a weakling…well, bring out the girl. If you hadn"t been the one to take my Inheritance…we wouldn"t even be speaking right now. After I prove myself, though, I will be expecting an apology, and all the respect that I am due."
With a relieved nod, Daneel disappeared.
A few moments later, he returned with a beautiful lady in his hands.
Her body had been healed completely, which allowed her to once again look like the G.o.ddess she was, but as her mind was still fractured, she looked as if she were sleeping.
As the Basilisk flew over, Daneel prepared to act at the first sign of danger.
Seeing him put up his guard, the Basilisk stopped, and with a shrug, she simply pointed at Xuan"s head.
There it was again!
No elementary particles moved, at all, but Daneel felt like something was happening.
Only, before he could blink, it was over.
Seeing Xuan"s eyelids flutter while he protectively held her at his chest, his heart skipped a beat, and he was overcome with emotion.
He remembered all she had done for him, and her pure feelings which had melted the cold steel that his heart had been made of.
He remembered the kiss they had shared, and the promise that it represented.
He remembered her smile that was capable of toppling Kingdoms, and her laugh which was sweeter than the freshest nectar of heaven.
Finally…he would be seeing them again!
But first, though…the Basilisk needed to be dealt with.
To anyone who was looking at the scene, it would seem as if the King had gotten his proof, and was going to make good on his word.
Only, before anyone could say anything…the individual who had just been cured opened her mouth abruptly.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
With an ear-wrenching scream, Xuan rose into the air with her back arched into a perfect "C".
As the Basilisk and the King of Lanthanor watched on with utter shock, her eyes became filled with white light, and as she opened her mouth and spoke, a foreign voice floated out from her tongue, which felt as if it were emanating from everywhere at once.
"I see…a vast world. I see a snake with three heads. I see the heads being crushed, one by one, and I see that as the last one prepares to die, it decides to take its entire body with it, even though the body could have lived on…I see the flames of destruction and the smoke of an unquenchable fire, but from it…rises a Golden Dragon! The Golden Dragon comes to pay back a debt…and the snake is saved! But…after the victory, I am being taken back to the beginning. The snake is about to be crushed…but no one comes to save it! IN ITS EYES, I SEE REGRET! It killed the Golden Dragon, and now, there"s nothing to save it! It sighs…and takes the plunge! DEATH! DEATH! DEATH! DEA…"
As the seer"s shrieking continued, the witnessers of the Prophecy could only look at each other, completely perplexed.
However…in his mind, the King of Lanthanor was chuckling to himself while listening to the system which spoke in its usual stoic voice.
[Emotion and expression modulation are active. Fake prophecy has been deployed successfully. Deleting all traces of manipulation. Traces deleted.]