The glow of the portal overtook the basement of the Division Plaza.

  Blue light traced along the walls, outlining the many attempted translations of the runes lying on the container at the room’s center.

  Gelmidas rested Adamus beside the stone container as the portal’s light fizzled out. The steel beams were still wedged into the boy’s flesh. “You can’t do this, Gelmidas. It’s done. We did what we had to.” Davon pleaded as Gelmidas placed his hands over the container. He traced his fingers along the runes in the sequence that he deciphered long ago.

  Life is precious, life is all, I shall not raise my hand, I would weep for the dead… What comes next?

  Gelmidas huffed, wiping his face of sweat and tears, paying no mind to his glasses and their metal frame.

  “Gelmidas.” Davon set a hand on his friend’s shoulder. His Emperor knocked him aside, “Don’t try to stop me, Davon! He’s my son!”

  My son. Gelmidas’s mind ached.

  My son, who I barely knew, who I did nothing to keep here. I need time. I need to… need to…

  Gelmidas huffed again, overwhelmed by his emotions. What is next? Why can’t they weep?

  “If I had tears to shed.” He whispered, touching the last symbol, praying to all the Gods he never worshipped that he had chosen the correct rune.

  The container opened. Two metallic heads were inside. Davon reached out to stop Gelmidas, but he had already twisted the lid of the container and slammed it down on both heads.

  A blinding light and deafening sound erupted from the container along with a shockwave that shattered its stone.

  The Plaza shook as Gelmidas stood firm, gazing at the heads now gleaming with light.

  The light began to twist into a series of odd shapes. Gelmidas waited for the process to finish. Or did he wait for it to begin?

  Davon lunged forth to prevent the light from taking its final shape, but was struck down by the light twisting one last time, finding a final form in that of two orbs coated in Runes.

  “Who hath summoned?” Two voices rang throughout the room.

  “I have.” Gelmidas desperately answered, grasping the body of his dying son. The Orbs expanded their runes, plastering the walls. Flashes of light overcame Adamus and Gelmidas as a Mystic portal snapped the room in half, dragging both of them through it into a different room. A room of pure light.

  Davon cursed himself as he was left alone in the dark basement.

  “What doth thine wish to exert on reality?” Both orbs asked in unison.

  Gelmidas cried into Adamus’s shoulder, holding tight to his fading body. “Help him.”

  Gelmidas choked on the words “Bring him back to life, please. I made a mistake. I should have been with him. I should never have put anything before him. I didn’t realize it until I saw his face. Just please, heal him! Save his life!”

  It was not until he finished his pleas that he felt Adamus’s breath on him. Adamus’s body flailed and spasmed as one of the orbs disappeared. Gelmidas screamed as the blood from the steel beams lodged into Adamus’s hands dripped onto him. Adamus’s seizure continued as Gelmidas ran for the last orb.

  “Take the metal out!” He shouted. “Destroy the metal so he can live!” And with that, the orb vanished. The metal frame of Gelmidas’s glasses immediately rusted and turned to dust upon his return to reality with Adamus.

  Davon gasped at the pair's return and Adamus’s sudden revival. “What did you do, Gelmidas? What did you wish for?”

  Gelmidas didn’t respond to the interrogation, instead rushing over to Adamus, who sat up on the floor in a coughing fit.

  “Are you alright?” Gelmidas comforted Adamus, miraculously discovering that only his back had remained burned.

  “Yeah.” Adamus coughed out, “Where’s my Mom?”

  Gelmidas lowered his head. Davon stomped out of the basement, walking up the stairs back to the entrance that he had left Orson to guard.

  “Your Mother didn’t make it.” Gelmidas sighed with a heavy heart. “Oh…” Adamus turned away in sadness, curling in on himself. The blood dried over his arms, seeping into the minuscule, cracked scar that the now-absent metal had left him with.

  “She tried to save you.” Gelmidas rested himself on the floor. “I helped make sure that you lived.”

  “So that’s why you were there?” Adamus looked upon his Father, his watery eyes going wide at the statement.

  “Yes.” Gelmidas nodded. “Yes, that’s why I was there.”

  Adamus smiled through his tears and asked, “So who are you?”

  “Davon ran back into the room then.

  Ranting and raving about how the Rusting had overtaken the city. Destroyed, the ships, the houses, the tools, the weapons, essentially everything surrounding the Plaza. The railings and doors were the first things I noticed were crumbling, mainly because everything around them looked so beautiful to me. My backwards country boy self was just awestruck by the elegance of royalty that I didn’t even notice the chaos around me.

  Or the blood.

  Soon enough, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, my condition began to manifest, and my Father quickly found a solution as he does for everything.

  I try to contain the beast as best I can, but it needs to be let out on occasion, as all beasts do. I typically save it for the gladiator arena, but I have had quite a few friends who admire it as a party trick. Why are you giving me that look? Come on! It isn’t that gross!

  I know for a fact that you aren’t exactly free of sin, yourself, Ms. Soryu. Yes, I did say, Miss. I discovered your little secret after your so-called daughter dropped a not-so-subtle hint towards it when I had a rather scandalous conversation with her.

  Y’know, if she hadn’t been in the position that you so carelessly put her in, I would have killed her on the spot, but then I thought that I should do the mature thing, be the bigger man, and all that sanctimonious shit, and simply tell you about it because the situation does fall into your jurisdiction after all.

  Now, now. Before you ask the obvious question, yes, I did want to do this sooner, but my mentor was indisposed due to his hunt for the Scorched Archer, and I needed him to transport me here in secret so that I could do all this behind my Father’s back. Because what Cassandra told me is indeed so scandalous, so heretical, so dangerous, and so, so stupid that I simply had to devise a plot equally as stupid!

  So, Madam President, now that all the cards are on the table and you have my secrets and I have yours, tell me, how are you going to go about killing your daughter and marrying my Father?”

  Vanessa laughs.

  She nearly falls out of the wooden lounge chair due to her hysterical fit.

  Adamus goes red as he removes his hands from the Presidential desk and crosses his arms, tugging at his bracers.

  The laughter echoes in the wide oval office, crawling out into the hall, alerting General Loeb. He enters the room out of both caution and curiosity. “Is something wrong, Madam President?”

  Vanessa slaps her knee, tilting forward in the chair and giggling as she gathers herself. “Heh, no, Loeb, no. Heh. Everything's fine, you can leave. Ha, ha!”

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She clears her throat as Loeb shrugs and exits. “That is a mighty stupid plan, Adamus. Why don’t you actually tell me what Cassandra said instead of giving me your life story and then, heh.”

  She chuckles again, “Telling me to murder her, leave her Father, and marry your Daddy dearest. Whose sexuality, I may add, is a very hot topic of debate among my senators.”

  Adamus plants his palm on his forehead in disgusted embarrassment. “My Father saved my life. That was the entire point of my story. And as for his preference.”

  Adamus sneers, “I myself am evidence of the gender that he lusts over, and I’ll have you know that he has never once shown any sign of lusting after his own, and I’ll further state before you spread any more of your bigotry that yes, the Messenger of the Division, Davon does favor men and he is indeed my Father’s most trusted advisor and my beloved mentor but even if the pair were in a relationship it would be none of your business. Politics are all about optics and perception after all, as you prove with the existence of your fabricated family.”

  Adamus motions toward the documents lying on the desk, the most glaring of which being the birth certificate of one Cassandra Batharuk.

  “Though I will admit I don’t particularly care for such lies and masks. I’m proud for the universe to see me in all my glory. Which is why I was rather disappointed when I was told that many of your Republic planets don’t even know my name and that some don’t even know my Father has a son.”

  “Get to the point.” Vannessa spits, growing bored and frustrated.

  “Right.” Adamus claps his hands, crossing his arms again as he strides forward to stand directly beside Vanessa.

  “Cassandra wants to kill you and my Father because she thinks one of you, or both of you, may attempt to seize the opportunity to take control over the leadership of all humanity. Ridiculous, isn’t it?”

  Vanessa taps her chin, being sure to hide her shock at the truth of her scheme being revealed in such an odd and humorous way, “Yes, almost as ridiculous as you proposing the idea of a marriage between your Father and I.”

  Adamus wanders away from Vanessa’s chair, drifting aimlessly about the room. “Well, you still need to do something about Cassandra; she has the perfect mix of intelligence and insanity to actually go through with such an idiotic plan.”

  “Sounds like you admire her.” Vanessa rises from the wooden chair, approaching Adamus, who figures that it's his turn to chuckle.

  “Oh, please. She’s not even close to being my type. Her breasts are flatter than my own chest for crying out loud!”

  He’s made his way to the Republic flag mounted on the wall. Adamus turns so that the red sea of fabric with the white phoenix in the center rests directly behind his unbuttoned blue suit jacket and black undershirt.

  “That’s a nice flag,” He grins, the short curls of his wispy brown hair move with his head as he tilts it, “but mine's better.”

  Vanessa stands in idle disapproval.

  Adamus is clearly a man who puts very little thought into his actions, but then again, he did uncover the truth behind Cassandra’s parentage. That had to require at least some level of thought. Therefore, it should be treated with at least some level of importance.

  “I saved Cassandra and her Father from the gutter.” Vanessa spits, her white cape twirling as she moves for the desk. “The rat should be grateful.” She snarls, “I’ll deal with her, Adamus, believe me.”

  Adamus’s grin turns to an impressed smirk at Vanessa’s sudden intensity. “Well, alright, then, I suppose I should leave you to your business, then.”

  “Wait.” Vanessa holds out a hand, quickly pulling it back to become more relaxed and confident for Adamus’s sake.

  “I was going to settle the matter internally,” Vanessa starts, “But in exchange for this information, I feel that I should provide some information of my own. Information…” She smacks her lips to emphasize the subject, “Concerning someone that I know the Emperor, and even Cassandra, feel quite strongly towards.”

  Adamus chooses to seat himself, although he does so in a mocking manner. His eyes playfully flutter as he presses a fist to his chin and spreads his legs to take up as much space as possible.

  “Well? You gonna tell me outright, or do you just enjoy my presence so much that you’re willing to engage in foreplay?”

  Vanessa rolls her eyes at the young man.

  Men only ever have one thing on their minds, don’t they? She thinks, with a sigh, “It’s about the Scorched Archer.”

  Adamus is unfazed. “And?”

  “I have it on trusted authority that she’s on one of my colony planets. The one in the fifth region solar system, to be exact. She’s stranded and wounded, apparently being assisted by a pale human companion around your age.” Vanessa coldly states the line she memorized from the report, only improvising the last three words.

  Adamus removes his fist from his chin and nods, “Interesting, I’ll be sure to relay that to the right people.”

  The comment piques Vanessa’s curiosity, “Why don’t you go after her yourself? She’s an infamous, deranged killer, sure, but you certainly have the means to win a fight against her.”

  Adamus nearly blushes at the flattery but cuts off the blood rushing to his cheeks with another chuckle. “I appreciate the vote of confidence, Madam President, and being the man to kill the Scorched Archer would be a great achievement befitting of a warrior such as myself. Sadly, Daddy dearest, as you so eloquently called him, forbids it. Apparently, I’m to remain in Rome until the wedding, which is why I had to sneak off to be here.”

  He lurches up in the chair to wink, “I’m guessing my Father’s restrictions on me are for the sake of keeping my good looks intact.”

  Vanessa resists the urge to roll her eyes again as she asks, “So does your Father really not know anything about this? The fact that Cassandra is plotting his murder and that you still want to unify our governments by proposing that I marry him?”

  Adamus takes a moment to register the questions. He straightens himself in the chair. “No. My Father doesn’t know anything. I intended for you to tell him after you dealt with Cassandra, but clearly you have other ideas…” His thoughts trail off before leaping to a far-fetched conclusion.

  “Do you not want unification between our governments?”

  Vanessa removes herself from the desk and walks back toward the flag.

  “No.” She mutters, knowing that she’ll have to be careful not to reveal the plans that formed in her mind after that faithful day when Gelmidas first brought forth the idea of unification, the very plans that Cassandra has already deduced.

  “I want the unification now more than ever, but tell me, Adamus, why do you want to reject political power?” Using the question to shift the conversation back to the self-centered black hole of shallow charisma sitting in the wooden chair proves to be a brilliant strategy on Vanessa’s part.

  Adamus smiles proudly. “Oh, so you think you’ve caught me, have you? Tell me, Madam President, is it the king who gets the tales of adventure written about him, or the valiant prince who dons the sword and shield in service of his kingdom?”

  Vanessa laughs once more at Adamus’s absurdity, much to his dismay. “Ha! Of course! A child who lost his Mother when his village went up in flames, only for him to be taken away by his noble Father and imbued with mystical abilities, your Father even has a crown. It truly is a fairy tale, Adamus. Heh.”

  She snatches the arm of the chair, leaning over it to look Admus in the eyes. “You have much more in common with Cassandra than you think, I swear, you both think that you’re heroic characters in some children’s novel. There are no heroes in this life, Adamus, do well to remember that.”

  Vanessa lifts her hand from the chair as Adamus cracks his neck and adjusts his jacket, feeling as if a thousand spiders are crawling on his skin.

  “You may go, now.” Vanessa bats her hand toward the door, refusing to face Adamus as she kneels over the desk to organize the documents on it.

  Adamus stands, shooting a grimace at Vanessa’s back as he opens the wide double doors and exits the oval office.

  “Davon,” Adamus calls out to his mentor, who is busying himself by trading war stories with the head of Vanessa’s personal guard.

  Davon slaps General Loeb’s shoulder as a quick goodbye before joining Adamus, who angrily marches through the halls of the castle. “How’d it go?”

  “How do you think it went, Davon? She insulted me. Her entire family has done nothing but insult me.” Adamus huffs, planting himself in a wide courtyard with birds and clouds flying above.

  “Will she deal with Cassandra, though?” Davon asks, attempting to avoid touching Adamus’s fractured ego and keep him focused on the task at hand.

  “Yes, Davon, yes. She’ll deal with her, but that’s beside the point. She rejected everything else I proposed and even laughed at my own past. Even worse, all she gave me in exchange was the location of that bitch, the Scorched Archer, who I can’t even pursue.”

  Davon’s eyes go wide. An alarming jolt shoots up his spine, shocking him to attention.

  “Where is she?” He hastily blurts out.

  Adamus shrugs, “The Republic planet in the fifth region solar system, she’s stranded there apparently, and nearly dead from the sound of it.”

  Davon juts out his arm and snaps his fingers. The portal appears in the courtyard as he grabs Adamus by the shoulders.

  “I need you to listen to me,” Davon whispers the command. “Do not tell your Father where she is. He still has the idea that she can be reasoned with, but I know better. Let me deal with her myself, Adamus, go through that portal back home, and don’t say a word.”

  Adamus slaps Davon’s hands off him, backing away. “Why Davon? Why not let me go with you, if my Father doesn’t have to know?”

  “Because-”

  Davon hesitates, looking into the eyes of the young man, who in all regards is still the child of his oldest and closest friend. Even after so many years, Gelmidas is still the man that Davon would do anything for.

  Which is exactly why it’s best that Adamus learns that Nadeden is his Mother from Gelmidas.

  It’s a family matter after all.

  Always has been.

  “Because your Father would kill me if anything happened to you,” Davon says with a smile, pushing Adamus through the portal.

  “Davon!” Adamus shouts in anger as he emerges on the balcony of the Division plaza, sprinting forward only to find that the portal is now gone. He curses himself as he grips the railing and gazes at the city of Rome below.

  Blue light overtakes the courtyard of the Republic Castle.

  The wind of the portal blows back the leaves of the trees and interrupts the flight of the birds as Davon walks toward it.

  I’m on my way, Nadeden. Davon grins a wide, malevolent grin at his thoughts as his hands tighten on the handles of his daggers.

  I’m on my way to do what I should have done to you on that planet all those years ago.

  He steps through the portal as its light fizzles out.