Manifest War: The Weapons Within

In the king’s chambers of the Boundless Palace laid Briddle and Homura, waking from a long, passionate night. Their oversized bed swallowed them up as the two cuddled close in the center, facing each other. Briddle brushed the red bangs away from her face and smiled. She responded in kind with a smile of her own, happy to have woken up next to him.

“I’ve missed this so much.” She said, rubbing his arm gently.

“Me too. I made sure to prioritize you before shifting focus to our citizens. Couldn’t just leave you sealed away.” Briddle replied, happily agreeing with his mistress. Homura lightly chuckled at his childlike response before commenting.

“Speaking of our citizens, how much progress have you made so far?” She curiously asked as she nudged ever so closely.

“We’ve subjugated quite a few villages nearby and have brought back a little over a thousand Boundless citizens. Even though it’s been a month, progress is still quite slow.” Briddle’s tone turned sad.

“Over a thousand is nothing to scoff at, you should be proud, my King. I always knew you were meant to lead our people. Solana wouldn't have been able to achieve what you have.” As soon as these words exited Homura’s mouth, Briddle grew incredibly agitated.

“DO NOT SPEAK THAT NAME IN MY PRESENCE!!! That dimwitted Queen was a disgrace to our race and our cause. Tsk!” He yelled, snatching his arm away from Homura in a rage.

She looked surprised by his sudden outburst, however Homura didn't let it ruin their previous moment. Homura inched closer to Briddle and gently kissed his shoulder, tightly pressing her exposed breasts against him.

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” Homura softly replied, trying to quell his anger. Briddle sighed and his smile slowly came back.

“No, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.” He sounded incredibly apologetic now, kissing her forehead.

“Don’t know what I would do without you. You always know how to calm me down.” Homura smiled and accepted his apology.

“Well, hopefully your heir will have that same effect on you.” She chuckled while rubbing her stomach softly. Briddle placed his hand over top of hers and before he could reply, they heard a loud knock at the door.

“What is it?” He coldly asked, now sitting up in the bed.

“Lord Briddle, you have a visitor awaiting you in the throne room.” Briddle was confused by the reply, as he wasn’t sure what they were talking about.

“A visitor? Who is it?” He quickly questioned.

“The Empress of the Arista Empire, Gabriella Ramos.” Briddle’s interest was quickly piqued by the news and he swiftly got out of bed, curious about her sudden arrival.

After a few moments, Briddle and Homura made their way down to the throne room. They entered the massive room and walked past the large sandstone-colored pillars lining the path towards their thrones. They took their seats and motioned for the guards to let in the Empress. Gabriella Ramos and her entourage walked down the scarlet colored path and stopped a few meters in front of the two. Her lilac-colored eyes peered at the Boundless King as she kindly smiled at him.

“I must say, I am quite surprised to see another nation’s leader willingly visit my home. Why are you here?” Briddle asked rather coldly, still perplexed by her visit.

“I come here with a welcoming gift. I know your debut at the All-Nations Summit wasn’t as accepting as you had hoped, and that the others found your sudden appearance quite off putting. However, I would like to say that I don’t share the same line of thinking as they do. I think we could form quite the partnership moving forward.” Gabriella replied, holding out a thin notebook towards him. Briddle briefly thought her reply over before motioning for a guard to get the book from the Empress.

The guard obtained the notebook and swiftly handed it to Briddle. He examined the contents inside and raised his eyebrow, feeling intrigued by what he saw.

“Why are you giving me a list of all these locations?” He asked with an interested cadence.

“These are places within my territory that I am willingly giving you as a gift. Do with them what you will.” Gabriella’s cunning smirk put Briddle on full alert as he wondered why she offered such a lucrative deal.

“And who told you that we need more places to take over? I don’t remember sharing that information with any outsiders.” Briddle coldly responded, finding all of this extremely suspicious. Gabriella chuckled briefly before looking Briddle directly in the eyes.

“Ohhhh Briddle, surely you aren’t so naive to think no one knows what you are doing here. I have eyes and ears everywhere…” Her voice was filled with great confidence as she continued her smile. Homura slightly scowled at the statement, rising out of her chair and fully ready to give the Empress a piece of her mind.

“How dare you look down on us you littl-.” She yelled before getting swiftly cut off. Briddle held up his hand to Homura, motioning for her to stop. Homura sucked her teeth as she sat back down, feeling rather annoyed by the current events.

So you would willingly give up your citizens' lives for my cause? Why?” He questioned, staring back into her eyes. Gabriella chuckled again before responding.

“Citizens are nothing more than pawns in this game, Briddle. I can’t stay ahead with such useless people in my nation. I'm simply giving these pawns to someone that will help make this game even more interesting.” She replied.

“Hmm, I see… I must say, you are quite the surprise, Garbriella Ramos. In that case, I will happily accept your ‘gift’. However, don’t assume there'll be a partnership between us. I don’t take kindly to working with lesser beings…” He shot an icy glare in her direction, still not fully trusting Gabriella.

“That is fine… All I ask is that you consider Arista as a potential ally after this meeting. I think you will find our cooperation quite useful long term. Think it over…” The Empress calmly said, not wanting to stir the pot further.

Gabriella turned around and began to walk away. Her subordinates bowed their heads and quickly followed suit, swiftly leaving the throne room.

“Asking to be allies? Why would we ever need her help?” Homura asked, not understanding the meeting they just had. Briddle shook his head and looked down at the notebook filled with village/town names and maps.

“No, this meeting had a hidden purpose… The Empress was essentially telling us to do whatever we want with everyone else, but leave her alone. No true leader would willingly sacrifice their people to save themselves. She only talked in such codes to not look weak in front of her subordinates. Pfft, what a pathetic woman.” He replied with a snicker, making fun of the Empress. Briddle then turned his attention towards Karris and handed him the notebook.

“Let’s pay a visit to some of these locations. I want to see for myself what the Empress has offered us.” Karris quickly agreed and took the book from the Boundless King.

“Come, my great generals, let us leave at once!” Briddle shouted as he stood from his throne, arms fully extended outwards.

Mallie, Lovi, and Trion all bowed in unison, fully prepared to depart from the Boundless palace. Karris stepped forward and conjured a runic seal on the ground, opening up a black portal in front of him. Everyone walked through and found themselves at the first destination listed in the notebook, Village of Cyprus Crossing.

The village was significantly larger than any of the other locations the Boundless had attacked thus far and was brimming with life and Core Energy. Even though the homes and buildings were akin to simple looking huts, there was something rather charming about the area. Serving as home to a nomadic clan of people, it was remote enough that no one would be able to assist them in dangerous situations.

“We've arrived, Lord Briddle. Shall I call for Moku as well before we begin?” Karris asked with a humble bow.

“No need... I sent him to the furthest reaches of this land to scout. His work is too important to waste on this lowly establishment.” Briddle replied, looking out towards the long pathway leading to the village.

As they began their approach, Homura held one hand up to the sky and exerted her Core Energy. The clouds started to swirl and turn a menacing black, as though a terrible storm were about to occur. The wind picked up significantly as lightning danced across the clouds like ribbons.

Homura then turned her attention to Priscilla and darkly glared at her, hoping she got the hint that it was her turn. Priscilla flinched with fear and then quickly gripped her amulet, causing it to glow brightly. The size of her shadow increased greatly and out of it came hundreds of shadowy soldiers, eager to do her bidding. The mass of soldiers lined up and marched in perfect unison with the rest of the group.

The village went on high alert as they saw this massive threat heading their way, proceeding to close the large gate of this particular entrance. However, Briddle aimed his hand at the large, stone door and within seconds, it melted away into nothing. It was as though he could change the very chemical makeup of objects at a molecular level. The soldiers blitzed through the entrance and quickly flooded into the village, wasting no time.

All the citizens looked on fearfully at these mysterious beings entering into their home, not sure what to make of this situation. The marching stopped as the procession ended at the foot of the stairs leading to the village chief’s home, at the center of Cyprus Crossing. The village Chief stepped forward with his subordinates and stared intently at his unwelcome guests.

“Dorial and Carthia, go and evacuate the village... I have a terrible feeling about this.” He commanded with a worried expression. “But Chief Sayon, we can’t leave you here on your own!” His subordinates quickly responded, not wanting to abandon their leader. Before he could reply, the mass of soldiers split and moved aside, revealing a group of individuals at the center.

Homura, Trion, and Lovi walked down the newly formed path wearing cheeky smiles on their faces. They stepped up to Chief Sayon and Homura began to speak loudly, making sure all the citizens in this village could hear her clearly.

“Rejoice, for we have come to make use of your pathetic lives! You lesser life forms will be the catalysts for our wonderful and important cause. Fear not, for your deaths will be swift and painless.” She yelled with a gracious smile, beautifying her dangerous words.

The chief and his subordinates flinched with horror as they heard this statement, finding it both ridiculous and terrifying. The surrounding citizens started to panic and chatter loudly amongst themselves, still not understanding what was really going on.

“Who and what are you people!!??” Chief Sayon asked as he gripped his cane tightly.

“We are the Boundless and as their master, I would like to thank you in advance for offering up your lives.” Briddle replied while walking past his generals.

“Like hell we are!! We’re not dying today!!” Dorial (Middle Sapphire Class - 10,400 rlvl) yelled out while summoning his Manifest, a bright blue spear with a flat tipped blade.

He leapt towards Briddle with great speed, aiming his weapon directly at him. Before he even reached the Boundless King, a massive strike of black lightning blasted down from the sky and zapped Dorial, turning him into a pile of fine dust.

“How dare you raise a hand towards Lord Briddle, you lowly insect!!!! Turning you to dust is not enough for such insolence!!” Homura yelled out to the pile of ash in an absolute rage, incredibly irritated that someone tried to attack her lover.

“Dorial!! NO!!!” Carthia (Lower Sapphire Class - 9,750 rlvl) screamed out with panic, saddened that her friend was killed so easily. Before she could retaliate, Mallie’s bear-like partner stood on its hind legs and swiped its massive paw at Carthia. The slash easily chopped the upper half of her body clean off, as though it had swiped through pudding, killing her instantly.

“Oops, sorry! She shouldn’t have been so loud, Nioh hates getting startled.” Mallie deviously chuckled as she patted her dark blue colored bear on the head.

The village Chief stumbled with great fear as he was terrified that these people could do something so cruel and with so little remorse. He fell backward to the floor and Briddle approached him, standing over his body with a dark expression.

“Pitiful… Here, you have power over these citizens and yet you cower beneath my feet. I had hoped you would show a bit more backbone and make things interesting, seems I hoped wrong. As always, you Humans are such a disgrace to these lands. The more of you we eliminate, the better...” Briddle said with an annoyed cadence as he began to aim his palm at Chief Sayon.

“No… What you're doing is a mistake. I don’t know what pit you people crawled out of, but I assure you, things will not end well for this crusade of yours.” The chief cautiously stated as sweat trickled down his face. Briddle cocked his head to the side, looking confused by the man’s words.

“And why do you think that? Tell me...” Chief Sayon cleared his throat as he looked directly into Briddle’s dark gray eyes.

“There are beings in this world with power you cannot even fathom. If you are as wise as you think you are, you will not fly too close to the sun…” His delivery was filled with determination, hoping the severity of his words would sway Briddle.

The Boundless King stood in stunned silence at the Chief’s statement before he suddenly broke out in hysterical laughter. His loud cackles filled the air and traveled across the village in an eerie fashion.

“Oh please, what a joke! Spare me the Metaphors, old man! I fear no humans and I will fly as close to the ‘sun’ as I damn well please.” Briddle exerted his Core Energy towards the Chief, now forcefully pulling power out of him.

Chief Sayon started convulsing and seizing vigorously as a hole formed on his chest. A silver and reflective string emerged from the opening and the Chief’s body went stiff, becoming more gray and shriveled as the string moved further away.

The object floated up to Briddle’s hand and he smiled as he took hold of it, admiring its slender beauty. This string was the Chief’s Strand, forcefully removed from his body. He then turned around and averted his gaze towards his subordinates with a determined face.

“Gather the Strands from every lesser life form in this area, leave no one alive!” Homura, Lovi, Mallie, Karris, and all the soldiers nodded and dispersed into the village, causing mass panic and destruction. The pained screams of women and children filled the air as Briddle looked at his reflection in a nearby window, smiling and enjoying the chaos around him.