Manifest War: The Weapons Within

Dark clouds began covering the sun as a well dressed man looked out of his window. The speed at which the sky was racing had him completely fascinated, prompting him to tightly cup his hands behind his back while he admired the show.

Once the sun was no longer in view and his room grew darker, the large pane of glass began showing his reflection. He stared back at the featureless, all white mask hiding away his face and sighed with heavy annoyance.

Before he could run through his thoughts, a man wearing a black tuxedo and a similarly styled white mask appeared behind him. The man got on one knee and bowed his head before speaking.

“Director Selivus, I have a few updates to report. May I relay them to you?” He asked with a humble tone.

“Yes, Delandy.” Selivus replied, his deep, yet velvety voice booming across the room.

“My sources in Arista say that the nation is about to reach a boiling point. The amount of terrorism has increased significantly and they fear that they might be losing their grip on the citizens. Should we intervene and get them back in line?”

“No, it’s still too soon to lend a hand. If The Watchers intervene now, it'll alter the future that my Manifest has shown me and the outcome will be quite unfavorable. We’ll continue to monitor them from a distance and bide our time. The Arista Empire will be fine for now.”

Director Selivus continued to look out the window as he finished his statement, patiently waiting for Delandy to get on with the next part of his report.

“Yes, of course. Additionally, we’ve infiltrated the Cult of Unlearning’s main branch. That organization is now fully under our control and we should be able to make use of their resources fairly soon.” Delandy continued with a slight level of excitement entering his voice.

“Good. We can’t have those obsessive lunatics causing another Boundless situation. If it wasn’t for Azhane Belouis, cleaning up that mess would’ve been incredibly troublesome to say the least. Make sure they never attempt anymore revival experiments.”

“As you wish, Sir. That is all I have to report.”

Delandy began to stand, but once he bowed his head, Selivus posed a question to him.

“How is the LaVeda project going? Is Headmaster Quinn still on board?” He asked with a curious tone.

“Ah yes, the school recently had their combat midterms and the overall student performance was up by approximately 35%. LaVeda was even able to procure some sponsorship funding from Volaire. Headmaster Quinn is very pleased by the results of the supplement we gave him.” Delandy replied as he adjusted the bow tie resting on his neck.

“I see. And you trust his words?”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Delandy cocked his head to the side with confusion, not understanding the question at all. Selivus remained silent for a moment while he continued to look out of the window.

“Has the Headmaster given you any cause for concern?” Selivus simply asked, his velvety tone serenading the airwaves.

“Um, no Sir. I haven’t noticed any inconsistencies in his actions. Is there something I missed?”

Delandy’s voice shook and his cadence quickened as he questioned his own actions, hoping that he didn’t disappoint his master somehow. To his relief, Selivus calmly shook his head.

“No. Keep an eye on him though. I would hate for the Headmaster to get cold feet after he’s come this far. For his sake, he needs to see this through to the end.” Selivus said, still not moving an inch from his original spot.

“Yes, Sir! Consider it done.”

Just as fast as he appeared, Delandy vanished from the room without a sound or a trace, leaving Selivus alone to entertain his thoughts. However, just as the dark clouds moved away from the sun and began illuminating the room, Selivus heard a soft knock at his door.

“You may enter.” He calmly said.

The door creaked open and in walked a young man wearing an immaculately pressed, gray suit with a red tie accenting against a pure white button up shirt. As he approached the center of the room, the platinum piercings dangling from his ear jingled loudly. Needless to say, everything about this man’s attire oozed class as no expense was spared.

Selivus remained in place until he slowly looked over his left shoulder. Once he saw who had entered, Selivus turned around and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

“You seem to be working much faster these days, Zolah Belouis.” Selivus said as he stared into Zolah’s vibrant and piercing red eyes.

“Tsk, it’s not like the jobs you’ve given me were difficult. Just gotta show a little bit of force and people will fold like paper, same as always.” Zolah replied with a smirk before brushing his silver hair back and putting on his white mask.

“I see. Anyways, I have another task for you.”

Zolah quickly got down to one knee and bowed his head as he awaited his next assignment, feeling eager to get going. Once he learned the specifics of his mission, the sun was swiftly covered by another round of clouds, shrouding the two in endless darkness.

The white marble walls and floors of Castle de Belouis sparkled under the brightly lit chandeliers above. Everything about the castle was tidy, neat, and highly presentable today. As Azhane gave Solana the grand tour, she was deeply impressed by what she saw.

“This place is magnificent, Azhane! I’ve never seen such a style of castle before. Very different from my sandstone palace in the Core Depths.” Solana remarked, looking around and appreciating all of the details.

“Thank you. This castle has been in the Belouis family for centuries. Over the years, various additions to the building were made as well as many renovations to keep it looking modern.” Azhane replied with a smile, grateful for all of the kind compliments.

She proceeded to show Solana the dining hall, the throne room, multiple combat facilities, their grand ballroom, and lastly the library. Once they entered the massive, four story library, Solana’s jaw hit the ground and her eyes lit up with child-like glee.

“Blessed Core! I think I’m in love!!” She squealed, looking a bit speechless.

Azhane seemed confused by her reaction, wondering what the big deal was.

“Do you like books or something?”

“Like?? Oh no, I LOVE books!! I live for a good story.”

“Oh… I see. Well, we have plenty to read that’s for sure.”

Azhane chuckled lightly, having never seen someone lose their mind so much over simple pieces of literature. As Solana thumbed through a book on the table, Kaleel of Four and Zalthia walked into the library.

“Your Majesty, I bring a report from Siestro about the progress of the western bridge project. Do you have a moment?” Kaleel stated after giving her a humble bow.

Before Azhane could even reply, Solana suddenly stepped forward and headed straight for Kaleel. She got extremely close to him and pressed her petite chest up against his as her hand gently stroked his chin.

“Oh my, my, myyyy, aren’t you a handsome fellow. Absolutely delicious!” She said with a provocative tone, her gray eyes becoming filled with lust.

“What do you say we… Spend some time together privately.”

Her gaze was incredibly alluring as she slowly moved her hand towards his crotch, caressing his inner thigh. Kaleel was suffocated by her charm and had no idea what to do at that moment. Thankfully, Azhane came to his rescue. She swiftly chopped Solana on the back of her head while showing a highly irritated expression.

“Get off of him! What is wrong with you??” Azhane yelled, scolding her like a dog in heat.

Solana sulked as she rubbed her head, slowly coming back to her senses.

“I’m sorry, geez. You didn’t need to hit me so hard.”

Kaleel cleared his throat and composed himself after the assault, still not understanding why this random woman harassed him in such a way. He proceeded to give his report and was promptly dismissed from the room. Zalthia was about to leave with him, but Azhane stopped her just as she got to the door.

“Zalthia, I need to talk to you about something in private. Do you have a second?” She gently asked.

Zalthia simply raised her eyebrow with great interest and nodded. Azhane turned around and saw Solana already on the second floor of the library, looking through every book she came across.

“Sola! Will you be alright here in the library while I handle some business?” Azhane yelled out.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine! Now shoo shoo, let me read in peace.”

Solana motioned for Azhane to leave so she could indulge in all of this written pleasure.

As Azhane and Zalthia walked through the long halls of Castle de Belouis, they began chatting about various topics including Carmen’s performance at the midterm.

“She had a few blunders unfortunately, but I think she held her own all things considered. I should message her later.” Azhane said with a smile.

“That’s good. I haven’t checked in on her in ages. I’ll just wait until she comes home for their winter break to see her. But anyways, who was with you in the library just now? I don’t recognize her.”

“I’ll tell you once we get to my room…”

Azhane shifted to a much more serious tone, insinuating that this conversation was not something to be taken lightly. Once they turned the corner, the two ran into Graymoor. He approached from the opposite side of the hall, causing Azhane to quicken her pace until they were face to face. She gave him a hug and they shared a couple of kisses on the lips.

“Did you still want to go to the elementary school tomorrow? I can escort you.” Graymor asked with a smile, still holding onto her waist tightly.

“Of course! I look forward to it.”

Upon her reply, she happily stared deep into Graymoor’s hazel colored gaze. Zalthia rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by her sister’s blatant public displays of affection. They kissed each other once more before departing from one another.

When they finally arrived at the Queen's office, Azhane quickly locked the door behind them. Zalthia’s brow raised yet again at her sister’s cautious behavior, wondering what they could possibly talk about that had her so on edge.

“Alright, so what’s going on?” Zalthia asked as she took a seat in front of Azhane’s desk.

Azhane sat as well and pondered a thought before replying, resting her chin on her fists.

“That woman in the library goes by the name of Solana and well… Apparently she’s the Boundless Queen.” Azhane said with a serious glare.

Zalthia’s eyes widened as confusion raced across her face.

“What!? What do you mean she’s the Boundless Queen!? How is that even possible??”

“I don’t know how she was revived, but she appeared during Carmen’s combat midterm in the Core Depths. We ended up fighting and ultimately stalemated, so as far as power goes, she definitely checks out.” Azhane continued, not missing a single detail of her encounter.

“She told me things about their past, stuff about Briddle, and her being betrayed by the Boundless. She even confirmed a lot of the information that Lovell told us at last year's Summit. There’s no doubt in my mind that she is who she says she is.”

Zalthia sat there in disbelief, running through the implications of this.

“Okay… Let’s say that this is all true and she is the Boundless Queen. Why the hell did you bring her here of all places?? If even you couldn’t beat her, how do you expect us to deal with her should she decide to go rogue!? Her presence here is beyond dangerous!” Zalthia remarked with great concern.

Azhane looked up at the ceiling and pondered her sister's justified concern. She eventually sighed again before responding.

“Trust me, I know, but I didn’t want to leave her out there on her own. Leaving a woman with that much power to her own devices would be pure negligence on my part. We can at least keep an eye on her if she’s here and besides, I just feel like I can trust her for some reason.”

Azhane’s voice became much calmer as her serious expression relaxed. Zalthia remained silent and took a moment to think, processing everything she had just heard.

“Well, if you think she’s trustworthy, I’ll go along with it. I’m in no position to deny your decision, but… If something goes south, it’s on you to fix it.” Zalthia finally replied, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms tightly.

“If it makes you feel any better, I can call her up here later and you can ask any questions you might have. You can form your opinion after that.” Azhane said.

Zalthia gave Azhane a firm nod, agreeing to have a meeting with this mysterious character. However, once this subject was over, Azhane stared back at Zalthia with an even more concerned glare. There was clearly something else on her mind.

“What?” Zalthia asked, confused by the silent stare.

Azhane let out a slight breath before sitting forward in her chair, as though preparing for something big.

“Now for the main reason I wanted to talk to you…”

“Wait, that wasn’t it?”

Azhane shook her head and reluctantly cleared her throat. That simple gesture had Zalthia’s interest fully piqued.

“Sola told me that Carmen has Boundless blood running through her veins. Said she could smell her from miles away and even mistook her for a Boundless citizen.”

Azhane’s tone was shaky, proving that she didn’t know how to explain this. Zalthia was perplexed yet again.

“What!?? Are you even hearing yourself right now!? There’s no way she’s serious, it would be literally impossible for her to born from that race, Azhane.”

“I know it sounds insane, trust me. But… I just don’t see a reason for her to lie about that. Plus, when I arrived to save Carmen, Sola was hugging her as though she were some long lost relative or something. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I’d like for you to look into this.”

Once Azhane stopped speaking, an eerie silence entered the room. Zalthia noticed the serious look on Azhane’s face, prompting her to let out an annoyed sigh as she stood from her chair.

“Alright, I’ll go through the archives and do some digging. I’ll let you know if I find anything of interest.”

“Thanks and don’t tell anyone about any of this. Absolutely no one can find out until we can confirm things.”

Zalthia simply nodded at the request and with a swift bow, she left the room.