Everybody sitted rose to their feet as both women walked in, even Huiron who was on another planet on a far away system, countless miles away. Each of them bowed respectfully towards both ladies.

  “Lady Filenus, Lady Verrille, what a portentous visit,” Huiron said from the other side, with a twitch to his lips that said he knew something the rest of them didn't. He turned to Lady Kuno. “Your presence here is evidence that the outcome of your battle against the Infernal creature was a success, yes?"

  The stoic woman's expression was unchanged. “It is done. The demon is banished.”

  “Banished?” Keilan said before he could stop himself. “You didn't kill it?”

  His teeth snapped shut with a loud clack the instant the words were out of his mouth, and he looked on with widened eyes, spine straightened, as everyone turned to look at him. Keilan knew he was already on thin ice with how forceful his opinion had been recently, and he expected rebuke, either from Vanis or Lady Filenus herself. Fortunately, she seemed not to take offense, though he was uncertain given that her expression remained unchanged.

  “You are the Elason boy, are you not?”

  “Yes, my lady,” he bowed, careful enough not to make it subservient. A respectful bow. “Keilan Elason. We met at Za.”

  “I remember,” she said slowly, in a manner that conveyed one who had all the time in the world. “You were distraught by your failure to protect your charges.”

  Keilan grimaced, but didn't contradict her. He said nothing.

  “Nevertheless, it is fortuitous that we meet again so soon. I would have found you myself eventually.”

  He blinked, opening his mouth to ask what that meant, but she rolled over him, seemingly ignoring his slacking jaw. “To answer your question, yes, we did not vanquish the demon.”

  “Dare I ask why, my lady?” Vanis said.

  Lady Kuno went silent as she seemed to contemplate her response. She panned her gaze across the room, taking them in with a casual but near apathetic look.

  “As you all know, demons are warped beings, creatures similar in make and power to those who dwell in the unreal more closely than with us. And as such they require a more… advanced means of dispatching than we usually see. A Yxil Tyrant needs to be pulled out of its host and killed in order to be sufficiently safe. The same applies to the Primogenitors of the Vampiric race, if with a bit more esoteric means.

  “The Demon we encountered on the dead planet had quietly feasted on the lifeblood of millions of people prior to our arrival, growing until it could cover an entire continent with its mass. The arrival of DarkMoon and I spooked it, and it consumed the billions more that were enthralled under it, perhaps left for a later time. Both the dead and the living.”

  Keilan remembered the countless beings, both sapients and sentients alike, dead and alive, all of them had been pulled like marionettes on strings, drawn towards the mass of blood that had pooled from the deep gash created by DarkMoon.

  He remembered, with a shiver, how they'd burst into a mass of living blood, flesh collapsing into empty sacks as they were drained completely of liquid, red rising into the sky until they had formed the physical embodiment of the demon.

  “At that point, it was already beyond our ability to dispatch. Only an Ascendant, a very powerful one at that, could have ended its rampage. And even then there was a probability that the demon would have survived, if it had its immortality hidden somewhere. The only recourse DarkMoon and I had was to banish it back to the Hell where it came from.”

  The whole room was still when the woman finished. Silence, a loud presence in the room as they all seemed to take in what had just been said.

  “You could have just said all that in a single sentence,” somebody murmured. Perhaps they had failed to realize how quiet the room was, so silent even the tiniest bit of sound could carry across it. Perhaps they failed to account for the presence of the two women, both of whom could hear as far as miles away without effort.

  As it was, they all turned around as one, both lords and Kings, to stare at the young scion who was sitted on his semi throne, eyes unfocused.

  He must have sensed the sudden attention of everybody in the room, because his eyes focused, and he blinked.

  “What?”

  “I was just giving a brief lecture on the demon race. Was that to your satisfaction, Lord Saulae, or should I have shortened all that in a single sentence?”

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  Keilan held back his laughter from bubbling out as fear seemed to take Huiron. But luckily, he was saved as Lady Narkyra stepped forward.

  “Now that your questions have been answered, I would like to talk about your newfound kinship with Shadow Hall.”

  She turned to Vanis. “Dear, I believe it is time you and Huiron came out to the others about your recent activities.”

  As one, Keilan, Solis, and Sareina, turned towards the men in question, with mirroring looks of confusion.

  Vanis nodded and stood back up, obviously pretending he didn't see the strange looks sent his way. He cleared his throat. “A few months ago, posterior to our rescue from the Aveanii outpost, I was informed by mother that I was being followed by individuals with unknown motives. And considering where we had just escaped from, it wasn't difficult realize that I was not being followed for anything good.

  “Mother apprehended a lot of them, Lords, Kings, and even a Divine King who, as we quickly divined, were all agents of the Dominion. There were a few we couldn't apprehend, not because of any lack of effort but because they were actively being shielded by Ascendants, powerful ones, as mother had realized.”

  He gestured to his mother, who remained standing with a faint smile on her face.

  “Moreover, this group never operated with their actual bodies. They made use of constructs, as well as a few citizens who had been deceived and turned into mind thralls. I reckon Keilan here should have detected a few?”

  “Me?”

  “I would assume your hidden protector would have made you aware,” Vanis raised an eyebrow.

  Keilan froze and a shiver ran down his spine as the others turned their attention from Vanis to focus, raptly, on him.

  “Did you think we would not know?” Lady Narkyra decided at that moment to speak. “An unknown Spirit lord appearing in Lese is one thing, an everyday occurrence. But one whose background we cannot decipher, whose history is hidden from even the Duchess?” She smiled. “Your ‘unfortunate’ spatial appearance on the spatially locked down Aveanii outpost was already a great telling of the power of those behind you. Moreso, your ‘Minder’, whatever it is, isn't as subtle as it thinks.”

  Keilan opened his mouth but no words came forth. He prepared his mind to move through space, but even as he thought of it, he realized instantly how futile it was. He was in the midst of a room with three Spirit Kings, one of whom was a Divine King, all of whom could lock down this entire building without moving a muscle.

  That was excluding the Ascendant who could erase him before he could move, or lock down the entire planet with a twitch of a finger.

  “I can see the panic in your eyes,” Lady Narkyra said, smiling. “It is misplaced, I assure you. House Verrille owes you a life debt for the return of my son—I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid. Doing anything untoward to jeopardize your existence would be a stain on the honor of my family, and a bad spot on my karmic record. You are a Verrille in all but name, young Elason, and I assure you that you would have our protection, against whatever foes, within and without, that will come for you.”

  Keilan stared at the woman with dumb Incomprehensibility. It was like his ears were hearing but his mind was finding it hard to understand.

  “... Keilan? Kei?” A voice called to him. “I think you broke him, Lady Verrille.”

  Keilan blinked as he came to, and he took a deep breath. “Thank you, my lady.” He said, drawing an arm against his blurry vision. Why was it wet? “I am touched by your words, and will do my utmost best to protect the relationship I have with your family.”

  Lady Verrille smiled.

  “Awwwwn, Little Kei man is so overwhelmed he failed to register the part about enemies within and without.”

  Keilan turned towards Huiron. “What do you mean?”

  “Don't you know? Your little stunt back at Za has drawn attention from those up tops, both from within Lese as well as our neighbors. A talented, powerful Spirit lord, one powerful enough to kill a Spirit King, is rare but not unseen. Now make that Spirit lord not only powerful enough to kill a low-tier Spirit King, but have an Ascended Technique, one powerful enough to contest the Ascended Technique of a Divine King? There, Keilan, is a treasure that would surely start a full-scale interstellar war.”

  “Young Saulae speaks truth,” Lady Filenus added, eyes eerily fixated on Keilan. “Your deeds have reached the ears of not only the Dominion, but the Chirameni tribes as well as the other Powers out there. Many will come for you soon, both to secure your servitude or end you if you prove stubborn to their gestures. The patronage of the Verrilles will go a long way in repelling any forced attempt at securing your servitude.”

  “Or assassination, though I'm sure your secret bodyguards have those on hand.”

  “How? Why? I… I don't understand,” Keilan tried, finding the words difficult to push out.

  “As Vanis would explain in a minute, we long-lived ones thrive on patience” Lady Narkyra explained. “The fact that you have a soul powerful enough to contain an Ascended Technique shows that future Tribulations—progression—will not be an issue for you. This cuts off every speculation that you might die to the judgment of Order before becoming a true threat. You are a talent that has yet reached a quarter of your true power. Many will try to secure your allegiance before that day comes or risk your enmity bringing about their doom.”

  “I haven't been attacked since I was back home,” Keilan said. “Nor have I detected any unknown observer.”

  “I know. Those who might do you harm are the patient sort, who will no doubt watch and wait for the perfect moment to strike. I reckon the thing that keeps them in check right now is the probability that you might fall to some foe before you step into the Domain tiers, but that is a probability that dwindles more and more as you entrench yourself with us. You will acquire new tools, new equipment to cover your weaknesses, and that will shrink the chances of you dying to some stray attack or trick.”

  “This is all so…” he sighed, “I lack the words for it. This was something my brother faced back home, and would surely have faced coming into this new world. I expected it for him, but me?”

  “Don't despair, Kei man. I reckon those sent after you would be within the allowed scope for the cosmic rule of war. Nothing beyond your ability to deal with, I assure you.”

  The others nodded, and Keilan groaned some more. If only they knew that the death of the Spirit King had been a fluke, an act carried out mostly by the consciousness of the Wind rather than his hand.

  Taking his silence for acceptance, Lady Narkyra turned to her son. “Vanis, if you would?” she gestured.