Taken aback and alarmed by his question, the twins exchanged a cautious look. Their already precarious situation had suddenly become even more volatile and unpredictable.
Why had they been asked about this? Would their treatment change depending on what their answer would be? Did this person especially dislike the Naxsir, for whatever reason?
Questions like these came to their minds in droves, yet they couldn't really figure out much at all. To their dismay, Theodore didn't display any particularly noteworthy expression, making it even harder to settle on a course of action.
'Should we lie? But what if he has a way to determine whether or not we said the truth? Or what if he already knows, and is just testing us? The longer that we stay silent, the more suspicious we'll appear! What should we do?!'
Deep in thought, Devashtich's heart was gripped by fear and panic. He did not dread death, but he definitely didn't want his sister to suffer–or for their mission to fail!
"Yes, we are. Why do you ask?"
Jolted back to reality by Spandarmad's response, all colour threatened to leave his face. Had they just consigned themselves to complete damnation? Or had he allowed his paranoia to take over too easily? Both afraid yet desperately hopeful, he turned to face their captor.
"Because there is a Naxsir fleet that will be en route to Pytho one day–it might even possibly already be on the way. And I've taken over that world, therefore a conflict might be inevitable."
Aiming to gain some more information from the two–especially the less intelligent sister–Theodore played it straight. From their reactions and words, he hoped to gather as much intel as possible.
'Realistically, there can only be one reason for them to be coming over here...!'
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Devashtich tried unsuccessfully to keep a poker face. Still, except for the expected shock at the revelation, he didn't let anything else slip. Spandarmad, on the other hand...
"Are they trying to catch you? How did you manage to end up on our radar!? There was no information about you in our data!"
Gobsmacked and dazed, she directly spilled pretty much all of the beans. Her forthrightness didn't just leave her brother horrified, but even Theodore raised an eyebrow at this development. It felt too easy. To the point that it made him uncomfortable.
'My instincts aren't warning me, though. Maybe, I'm simply no longer used to interacting much with such utter simpletons.'
Cautiously searching for any hint of deceit in her voice, face or body language, he came to the conclusion that... she genuinely was this brainless. Whilst she had surprised him on the battlefield, she was utterly incapable of properly navigating social interactions.
"Let's assume that I want to avoid a clash with you Naxsir. Would the two of you hold any value in a diplomatic negotiation? Or will you be tossed aside like dross now that you've lost?"
Deliberately looking down on the duo, he aimed to further annoy Spandarmad–and evidently succeeded. She completely ignored her brother's pleading and cautioning gazes, making the poor guy almost shed tears of blood in frustration.
"Our father is the Venerated Ikhshid, so they wouldn't dare to ignore us! I'm saying this for your own safety, but you should treat us well. If we put in a good word for you, you might escape our father's wrath."
What made her righteous exclamation even worse than it already was, was the fact that towards the end, she had barely been able to keep eye contact with Theodore. If there was a 'Worst Liar' competition out there, then she could aim for the championship.
'... mother, father. Did something go wrong before our birth? Else, how come all the brains went to me?'
His eyes as lifeless as those of a dead fish, Devashtich silently witnessed his sister's most outrageous actions to date. With a singular tear trailing down his cheek, he mourned for the future of his people. Based solely on what had already been revealed, any capable person could make the Naxsir's life a living hell.
"Kiddo, did nobody ever teach you that you shouldn't lie? Do you take me to be stupid? Everybody knows you Naxsir hunt true prodigies as if your continued survival depends on it! And a word from you will make your leader spare me? Oh, please!"
Further stoking the flames, Theodore condescendingly patted her shoulder, pity very obviously shimmering in his eyes. And as expected, this caused her to flare up in further defiance.
With the right genes, plentiful resources, the required Energy concentration and a lot of time, even the worst waste could be raised to the Celestial Stage's first realm. Spandarmad was clearly qualified to be called a 'nepo baby', her few remarkable combat instinct-related capabilities failing to outweigh her otherwise simple mind.
"Who are you calling a kid!? It's not my fault that you're doomed! I only wanted to soften the blow, that's all! I was just being nice!!"
Glaring at him through gritted teeth, she almost began to tear up. This time, she was speaking from the heart. Notifying others about their incoming demise felt dreadful, therefore she'd ideally like to avoid it. Regardless of if she was talking to a friend or foe, this always applied.
"Well, thank you kindly. Pray tell: Why is there no room for discussion? Why will I be hunted down, no matter what?"
Heaving a sigh, most of Theodore's intimidating, arrogant air faded, replaced by worry and an unwillingness to comply with his apparent fate. Witnessing hateful him deflate in such a manner, an almost imperceptible, triumphant smile stole itself on Spandarmad's lips.
"Heh, ignorant fool! It's all for the 'great under–'"
"Shut up, Darma! For the love of the Venerated Ikhshid, shut your damn mouth!"
Disregarding all potential consequences, Devashtich's enraged, anguished shout interrupted her before she could finish. Even one as slow as her finally noticed that something was amiss, feeling deeply rattled and afraid as she glanced at their captor. If she had continued on for just a bit longer, then she would have made an irreversible mistake of cataclysmic proportions!
'I guess this is as far as this method will take me. It would have been far too good to be true if I could get everything I wanted out of her without separating them. It's high time I stop playing around.'
His distraught expression vanishing entirely, a calm smile returned to his lips. Deciding to turn this into a bit of a spectacle, he faced the 'camera'–or rather, the exact position in the Array from which he knew that his people were currently watching.
"Kjartan."
Seconds after this name had left his lips, amidst the confused and distressed stares of the twins, a black-haired young man clad in a 'cloak' of tiny flies used the teleportation function of the Lesser Void Guarding Array to arrive at their side. His poisonous green eyes were impassive as he gazed upon the restrained duo.
"Kids, let me introduce you to Kjartan, one of my Followers. He's got these wonderful little creatures with him–the Parasitic Flies. They can burrow inside of anybody if they aren't careful enough to prevent it. They'll then take over their body, assimilating their consciousness and memory in the process. And Kjartan will then have access to it all."
Snatching one of the flies from the 'cloak', Theodore happily shoved it directly in the faces of the deathly pale twins, letting them have a good, detailed look at the tiny insect.
"With their help, I'll be getting access to the answers that I want one way or another. But don't worry! If you aim to go down the fly route, I can guarantee that you won't feel much pain. There'll be some discomfort at first, and then it'll be over before you know it!"
Gently patting the brother and sister pair's shoulders, his warm smile terrified them beyond belief. Even Spandarmad could figure out what would happen if this statement was indeed the truth and that ugly little thing did its job properly. Their fate would be far more miserable than they could have ever expected!
"Rest assured, there is always another option. If you so choose, you can become my Slaves!"
Right on cue, a notification appeared in front of their eyes.
[ Theodore Winter has offered to become your Master.
Will you accept this offer and become his Slave?
Warning: Becoming someone's Slave is an irreversible decision. ]
It was at this moment that they finally learned the identity of the one who had waylaid them. Yet, unaware of almost all information regarding the Heavenly Court, they had no idea what his name signified.
Both of them were still sound of mind enough–yes, even Spandarmad–to not immediately agree to this without a singular thought. However, this didn't mean that they had any other viable paths to pick from.
"I'll make it simple for you: Either die and be turned into Fly Slaves, or live and become regular Slaves of mine. Make your choice. I'll give you a minute to decide–no pressure!"
His smile more radiant than before, he nodded at Kjartan, who reciprocated in kind and walked closer. When he was next to him, he took the Parasitic Fly back and plucked another one off of his 'cloak', eyeing the twins with hints of intrigue and anticipation overshadowing his apathy.
'It's a blatant, shameless act of intimidation! But... there is nothing that I can do about it. Even Darma should have realized that threatening this man with our father won't do us any good. In the event that we could be saved, it would take a while–and by then, we'll long have been subdued.'
Eyeing his sister, who was already silently sobbing, Devashtich rationally analysed their options. This nearly instantly brought him face to face with the reality of their situation: Except for the ones that Theodore had put forward, there were no others.
'It sucks to admit, but we cannot escape at all. Even if a fleet of allies was to arrive at this very moment, they couldn't do much, I fear. Would it be better to die and never be met with our father's disappointed gaze? Or should we submit, become active traitors to the Naxsir's cause, and hope for a miracle? If this guy can be thoroughly eradicated, we should stop being his Slaves, after all...'
Whether it was simply the most reasonable choice, or his desire to survive whispering sweet nothings into his ear, he couldn't be sure. However, the longer that he thought about it, the more tempting becoming a Slave sounded...
"Darma... let's accept his offer. I'm sure father will understand."
Putting on the bravest smile that he could muster, he shot his struggling sister one last pleading look, then he closed his eyes and walked the walk. Immediately after the notification disappeared, all hints of resistance in his heart vanished into nothingness, replaced with utmost respect, loyalty and the constant compulsion to obey Theodore's commands.
He also got strengthened via Coattail Ascension, yet the improvement was very minimal–he barely even noticed it.
"... o-okay."
With a tremble in her voice, after much internal struggle, Spandarmad chose to listen to her brother. She hated the idea more than anything, but she didn't want to be permanently separated from him if she could help it.
As soon as she made her choice, her tears dried up and a comfortable peace settled over her heart. She had no capability to feel alarmed at these changes, as any rebellious thoughts against her new Master were not allowed to exist.
Instinctively, the twins had begun to kneel, not daring to speak a word unless they were given express permission to do so.
"You may rise. Follow me–there's a lot that we need to talk about."
Glancing at them for a while, Theodore eventually broke the silence. As he led them towards Pytho, he thought of the Voidfaring Vessel that they had arrived in, as well as the rest of its crew and passengers.
'They're not actually important. I'll figure out how to deal with them later.'
For now, he had a likely hostile civilization to learn more about.