Manifest War: The Weapons Within

Many hours passed by until King Darius brought up the topic of stolen artifacts and how they’ve yet to be found.

“It’s been months and we haven’t heard any news about them. I’ve had my men scour every inch of Olun and still nothing. I grow more concerned that we will never locate them.” He said, sounding anxious at the thought of not finding them.

“Well, I’m not sure if this is related or not, but Carmen was ambushed over some kind of key while she was in Olun. They were escorting a woman that had it in her possession and needless to say it was stolen from them.” Azhane replied, crossing her arms in annoyance. She then looked over at the High Priest and glared coldly.

“High Priest, Leo Vaux’Hallah, would you like to add to this matter? Seeing as how one of your deacons was involved.”

Leo slightly scowled at the request, feeling annoyed that she brought this up again.

“Ahem, well, Richard Allmark wouldn’t tell me any more information during his interrogation. He said he ‘feared for his life’ if he told me anything. So, unfortunately, I have nothing new to add to the matter.”

The High Priest nervously glanced over at Gabriella and she lightly smiled, indicating that she knew to keep quiet. King Darius sighed while stroking his thin white beard, deep in thought.

“Ah, that is quite unfortunate to hear. Hopefully things don’t go poorly from this.”

King Darius looked rather dejected from this news, not understanding why Olun was the source of this unfortunate issue. As he sat there, Lovell remembered something related, prompting her to join the conversation.

“Speaking of stolen objects. A few weeks ago, one of my guards noticed that our ancient vault was unlocked. Since we store so many important documents and valuables there, it's kept under heavy security. No one but me has the authority to open that vault and yet it was somehow entered into.” She commented with her soft, dainty voice.

“Oh my, what was taken from there?” Jonn asked with concern.

“That’s the thing, nothing was moved or stolen. It is quite peculiar.”

Everyone at the table took a moment to think, trying to recall times where something of theirs was taken. The Empress also made mention of a similar situation at her palace. Worry started to fill the room and the six leaders agreed to up their security, making sure that nothing else would get stolen.

More conversations took place and after a long day, the meeting began to wrap up. Azhane stretched her arms and sighed with slight exhaustion.

“Alright, if no one has any other topics, I will call this Summit adjourned.” She said with a smile.

Everyone agreed, eager to leave and enjoy the festival before heading back to their respective nations. However, just as the meeting ended, the room grew dim and a faceless voice made a loud throaty statement.

“I believe I have a topic to discuss.”

The room warped and shifted, the walls extending far out and leaving nothing but the six leaders sitting at the round table in an empty plain.

“What is this!? Where are we?!” The High Priest yelled out, confused by their change in location.

“Calm down... It’s a projection, we haven’t left the castle.” Azhane replied, looking around with a cold glare.

“Are you sure?” Jonn asked as he stood from his seat.

“Yes, nothing has disturbed my closed space. The room I created is still intact.”

The other leaders were put at ease by this news, but they still wondered where that strange voice came from. Whatever it belonged to, was clearly already in the room before she ported them.

Moments later, a set of white stairs grew from the ground a few meters in front of their table. At the top of the steps was a large throne and in it sat an extremely pale skinned man, who was fairly young in appearance. He had shortly cut black hair and gray colored eyes. Under his eyes were long, thin black lines that led down to his jaw line. He wore a loose fitting white robe with simple white pants and a tight black shirt that hugged his chiseled physique.

The mysterious man sat there with his head resting on his left fist as though he were already bored of this meeting. Standing next to his throne were two individuals, one on each side. Karris on the left and a young girl with short purple hair, wearing a frilly black dress, stood to the right. She couldn’t have been older than eleven and had fairly sad eyes, never making eye contact with anyone. Everyone shifted their gaze upward at the mysterious group and looked confused.

“Who are you?” Jonn Ravenfell questioned deeply, fully prepared to summon his Manifest.

The man glanced down at them with disgust, now sitting up in his throne and ready to speak.

“Greetings, other nation leaders. I have come to introduce myself.” He said confidently, as though he were also invited to this meeting.

“I am Briddle, King of the Boundless.”

Upon hearing this declaration, Lovell took a slight step back while wearing a fearful expression on her face.

“The Boundless?!? That’s impossible! You all were sealed away two millennia ago!” She yelled, extremely perplexed by his statement. Briddle fixed his gaze at her and grinned deviously, showing his rather sharp teeth.

“Ah, you must be the current Ocean Goddess. I see that vile woman, Sially, finally croaked.” He said, referring to one of the previous rulers of Siestro.

Lovell was taken aback by his comment and slightly scowled, feeling offended by the blatant disrespect towards her ancestor. He snickered at her reaction and continued to speak.

“We, the Boundless, have waited oh so long to walk upon this world again. We’re ready to reclaim and fix what is rightfully ours after you miscreants meddled in our affairs.” Briddle remarked, now looking incredibly irritated. Jonn stepped forward and stared intently at him, not fully understanding what Briddle meant.

“And what exactly do you think is rightfully yours?”

“The Core of Alaira and all of that succulent energy it sends out. That same energy sitting inside you and everyone else here. It isn’t yours and it never was yours. All you’ve been doing is, hmm, keeping it warm, as you say.”

Briddle slowly stood from his throne, putting his hands behind his back.

“I also find it quite despicable that you all have done nothing to help maintain the Core of Alaira in our absence. I can feel it screaming out to me to relieve the suffering you insects imparted onto it. You people don’t deserve even an ounce of its power!”

Briddle’s face became incredibly furled as his rage began to boil over.

“Maintain the Core of Alaira? What are you even talking about?”

King Darius was trying his best to understand the current circumstances, but the anger emitting from this mysterious foe was getting in the way.

“Like anything that’s been used an unending amount of times, you need to cultivate it so it can continue to function as intended. If you don’t even know this basic information, my arrival is even more necessary.”

Briddle was talking down to the group as though they were clueless children, not holding back even an inch.

“With that being said, Me and my people will be taking back that energy and rebuilding an even greater nation. Once I complete the ritual, my people’s revival will be assured and we’ll continue our work. I kindly suggest you all fall in line.”

The area grew silent as the six leaders continued to gaze up at the man with intense glares.

“And if we don’t allow it? Stopping you from moving freely?” King Darius responded, breaking the brief silence.

Briddle was dumbfounded by the question and started to laugh heavily.

“Are you serious, old man? Don’t allow it? Stop me? I am not asking for your permission. Oh no, no, no. I am TELLING you what I am going to do. You all have no power over me.” He annoyingly remarked, not amused at all by the Olun King’s statement.

“If any of you leaders interfere with my work, I will bring your nations to their knees. I have all your little secrets in hand and I will not hesitate to reveal everything to everyone here. Do not test me!”

The moment he made mention of this, Gabriella Ramos’ interest was immediately piqued.

'Oh? I might be able to use this to my advantage.'

Gabriella couldn't help but smirk as she imagined getting her hands on info about Volaire and the Belouis family. The rest of the group looked shocked and wondered what kind of information he had at his disposal.

“So it was you who’s been snooping around our homes.” Lovell chimed in as Briddle gave her a dark smile.

“What can I say? Your security is pathetic. Mere childsplay for my subordinates, especially with this in our position.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver key with a human heart shape on the bottom edge.

Azhane wondered if that was the key that got Carmen ambushed, matching its design with the description she gave her. Before she made a comment, Jonn interrupted and voiced his doubts.

“Please, you’re clearly bluffing. You expect us to believe your blatant lies? How could a single man obtain the information you claim to have? Stop trying to abuse such weak scare tactics.” Jonn remarked, not believing this man for a second.

Briddle started to chuckle before averting his gaze towards Karris, nodding to him as though giving permission to proceed. Karris held out his hand, causing a glove to appear and glow brightly. It illuminated the area with a harsh yellow before a sudden projection happened in front of the group, playing out a scene in real time.

It revealed Jonn Ravenfell having an affair with a woman that clearly wasn’t the Melspire Queen. The scene got hot and heavy before eventually fading away, leaving the group of leaders stunned. It was as though someone recorded his actions without his knowledge, an impressive feat against someone as powerful and aware as Jonn Ravenfell.

Once the projection ended, a massive ice shard fired up from the ground, colliding with the stairs and completely destroying Briddle’s throne. The air around them got incredibly chilly and the force of the impact made it difficult for them to stand their ground. The floor rumbled and quaked as the Melspire king stood there with his hand aimed forward, showing an angered expression. He had not wanted that information to be known by anyone and yet, his comrades knew what went on behind his closed doors.

However, despite the destructive blow, Briddle’s group rematerialized on the opposite side of the table, completely unscathed.

“I bet you didn’t expect that, huh? And don’t think for a second that this is the worst thing I have on you, oh great Knight King.” Briddle sarcastically quipped, trying his best to irritate him even more.

Briddle gathered himself after his brief laugh and glanced over at Azhane. She glared back with her sinister red eyes, staring deep into his soul. Her power seeped out in incredible fashion and bloodlust boiled over, indicating that she was highly annoyed by the current circumstances. Azhane didn’t speak a single word, but for the first time since his appearance, Briddle felt slight concern.

“Ahem, well.. Now that we’re acquainted with one another, I look forward to your cooperation. And, if you’re smart, you’ll stay out of our way.”

The room quickly shifted and flexed, turning everything back to normal. Briddle and his companions were nowhere to be seen and everyone was seated at the table again.

Karris ended his ability of projection and their cave turned back to normal. He lowered his arms and gently straightened the wrinkles in his black robes. When Karris looked over, he noticed that Briddle seemed bothered by something.

“Master Briddle, are you alright??” Karris asked, seeing the fearful expression on his face.

Briddle sat there sweating profusely and wide eyed, looking as though he were incredibly excited about something.

“That woman’s power is terrifying, I must admit. I haven’t felt that much Core Energy since the Boundless Queen was sealed away. Hmm… No matter though, we will continue on as normal.” He replied with a shaky yet eager tone.

“Yes, my Lord. Ah, and the scouts we sent to the city should be finishing up soon. I will have them report their findings right away.”

“Good.”

Briddle leaned back in his throne and started to crack a devious smile, thinking about Azhane again.

'I wonder what makes her tick. I guess we’ll find out!'

His crazed laughter filled their dimly lit cave and the little girl standing opposite of Karris started to shiver, scared of the events coming up next.