1561 Knocking On The Doors Of Nexus
Eshala Starlight clenched her fist and a violent wave of red struck the palace.
The beautiful building built out of precious gemstones cracked at a rate visible to naked eye before it turned into powder and dissipated into space.
"Haaa~"
Eshala closed her eyes and took a breath. Time rewinded and the building was back in its place.
The one thing that happened was enough to piss her off. But two?
Her avatar had been killed. That was shocking and frustrating enough.
Did Varian already get the backing of a divine ranker? If so, how strong? Was he already being backed by the Alliance? Did the Alliance already knew about him but kept it a secret for his safety?
Questions, questions and questions. They went unanswered because the clone that should've given answers was cut off from her.
The force that interfered with their link did not feel like the work of another being. It's like a…
Eshala closed her eyes and bit her lips.
If she was given a choice, she'd rather stop everything. She didn't feel the greed for slivers themselves. Nor did she have ambitions to reach rank 2 for the sake of it.
She wanted a simple thing. A simple thing that every common person could have. But for the princess, it's the most difficult thing to acquire.
"Even if I have to break every rule, I won't let this chance go."
*** *** *** ***
"Waa~ Waa! Uwaaa!"
The loud screams of the baby rang across the orchid garden and the aura that followed the cries split the flowers into pieces.
"Oh, oh, don't cry! Look at the sun! See, see, see!"
A sweating Varian tried to cajole the baby, ignoring the damaged garden that would cost money worth an entire luxury apartment in a premium district.
His attention was focused on the baby and he tried earnestly. "If you stop crying, I will…I will show you my war footage!"
The baby paused for a moment, her large red eyes looking at him, as if she was evaluating his words. And then, she closed her eyes shut before wailing even more loudly.
"Ah, seriously!" Varian sighed in frustration.
"Give her to me." Sia took the baby and the screams stopped.
"Ehe, hehehehe~"
The baby chuckled as she used her tiny hand to touch Sia's cheek.
"Ooh~ What's the cute baby doing today? Are you going for a walk? This garden is really beautiful, right?"
"Hehehe~"
The baby responded enthusiastically to Sia's words, giggling and waving her little chubby hands.
Varian's face darkened and he clenched his fists.
With a swipe of his hand, the power of order was used to create a fine mirror.
[…]
The System might've lodged a protest for the atrocious act but for some reason, it remained silent.
A very handsome young man looked back in the mirror. Maybe it's due to his powers or maybe not, but he could easily be a top model with that face.
Due to being a leader and facing people from high ranking positions, Varian developed both a sense of authority and charisma.
"Why…" He pointed at the receeding backs of the young woman and the little baby. "Why does she hate me so much?"
[Maybe because you killed her once?]
"She has no memories, I checked. And what's with the weird curse?" Varian shook his head.
She's cursed to become an infant after reaching 9 years of age. It's a very powerful seal of time placed deep inside her soul for rewinding her existence. At some point, the girl should regain her memories.
But…
"Black Rose is a child?" Varian exhaled in disbelief.
The infamous assassin organization that killed the members of both the Alliance and Jai Empire.
Its leader, Black Rose, was woven in frightening legends. Except for the fact that she is a female, no credible details about her exist.
She had killed lords of provinces, dukes of duchies and even kings of kingdoms. It didn't stop there.
Under her blade, even the supreme generals of kingdoms, the super geniuses and ancient powerhoues—very very strong pseudo divine rankers—died miserably.
"A pseudo divine ranker who is accessed by Equilius…"
Varian frowned.
Black Rose was fearless but she drew a line with those closely related to divine rankers. If she had known prior to the mission that he had three divine rankers around him, she wouldn't have risked.
But that information was top secret. Perhaps only beings like Aphosis knew about it.
"Equilius should know."
So, why did he send her on this mission? If she failed, she'd be killed by Varian. If she suceeded, his wives would kill her.
Varian felt like there was a deeper plan at play than the apparent assassination.
But unless he deciphered the secret of her regression, he might not be able to find any clues.
[So she stays?]
"Yeah." He looked up to the sky and smiled. "Oob, thanks for the help earlier."
"Heheh, no worries!"
With the power of slivers Varian stored with it, Oob directed Hortus to block the flow of information to Eshala from her avatar.
[It's a close save. If Hortus isn't as extraordinary as it is, that princess would've discovered a lot of secrets.]
"Hm."
[So, what are you going to do next? Train? Hit the divine ranks?]
"I want to do that, but a Synergy is still away. If I train, I might hit the divine ranks in a month or two. Or maybe early, can't say. But even if I reach divine ranks, it's useless if I die."
[Ah.]
"If Equilius is bent on killing me, I won't be able to survive by myself. I need support."
A glowing purple portal appeared in front of Varian.
"I'll need the complete support of Nexus."
*** *** *** ***
Unlike Genesis or Mors which were ruled by a supreme monarch, Nexus had a council of three.
Aphosis remained the central figure and handled most of the administrative decisions amongst the three, becoming the monarch figure. But that didn't change the fact that power was shared by the three.
The highest ruling office of Nexus, a building of geometric wonder, was in the center of a blackhole.
The highlight was that the blackhole's suction was 'tamed' by an overwhelming power of Order.
Unless it's a hostile entity, the blackhole would not pull them.
It'd have taken a hundred years for Genesis or Mors to construct the palace but Nexus did it in ten.
Since its inception, Nexus ran with an efficiency and order beyond normal undertanding. Everyone in the hierarchy did their job and there was no question of corruption.
Tourists from Genesis and Mors described Nexus as both the most peaceful and most distubring place to live in.
Even if there was no ruler, the empire would not fall into chaos. There would be rebellions, no riots and no complaints.
Perhaps that's why Pemdas, the supreme palace, would usually remain vacant for decades.
'If you need my help, you can reach my avatar in Pemdas. But do not expect any promises.'
Aphosis said those words in their meeting before he left and gave him a pass.
When Varian reached the border of Nexus, he envisioned a lot of scenarios. But the border security just checked the pass and teleported him directly to the highest administrative district of the empire.
As he reached the palace, he encountered several divine rankers.
Usually, he would expect them to interact. Either they would support or oppose him, a rank 9, entering this holy place.
But no. There was no such thing at all.
Once they verified the authenticity, even the divine rankers didn't bother with him.
No one asked why he got the highest grade pass and how he knew Aphosis. Nope. No questions. No interrogation. Nothing
The only thing they did was take a few pictures of him reaching the palace. Apparently, it was for the records.
Be it citizens, officials, businessmen, they had no need to visit the supreme leaders for anything. Everything was taken care of systematically.
So, when the bell of the palace rang after so many years, it was a news in itself.
Varian ascended the glowing white steps which smoothly released the power of Order, increasing the pressure on him with every bit of progress.
Thankfully, the pressure was relative to the rank. If it was absolute, then even a tiny bit of pressure from the home of rank 2s would've killed him.
The slivers hummed, boosting his steps. He reached the in just a few minutes for a journey that's supposed to take at least a few hours.
And then, he knocked on the giant door that was engraved with inscriptions that seemed to originate from an ancient era.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The entire palace shook for a moment and the power of 'Order' swept over him.
"Welcome."
The doors opened smoothly and Varian stepped into the hall.
On top of a large platform, three men were seated, as if they were waiting for him.
Demon of Order, Aphosis.
Punisher Aridam.
Keeper Equilius.
