CHAPTER 15: BROAD
Aboard the main Tessel.
The corridor stretched long and narrow, lined with sleeping pods stacked against both walls. Metal frames left no space for comfort.
"This is where our team sleeps." Jade's voice carried evenly as she gestured to the bunks. Her eyes slid past them, fixing on a table where two figures played cards.
Siah and Asha followed her gaze.
"That's Stetto from the Shurur Empire," Jade said, pointing toward the boy with porcelain-pale skin and hair the color of polished platinum. His chin-length bob framed eyes that glowed a cold cyan-blue, their light almost unnatural. Black arrow-marks etched into the backs of both hands, pointing opposite ways. Earrings glinted along his ears.
Stetto's frown cut sharp when he noticed Siah. But the instant his gaze met Asha's, the coldness cracked into a smile that touched only his lips.
"And the other," Jade continued, "is Lohim Haphestus, from the Tarturus Empire."
The second figure shifted, his long white hair spilling over his shoulders like a veil of snow. Large, black, curved horns jutted proudly from his skull. Crimson robes hung loosely around his frame, open at the chest to reveal glowing red markings crawling like runes across his torso. He leaned lazily, but his eyes burned hot with quiet disdain.
Siah smirked. "A half-Critten. Interesting."
The remark landed like a stone in water. Lohim's eyes narrowed, a chill sliding into the air. Siah's smile faltered.
"Lohim's sister is out on a mission," Jade continued smoothly. "But with you two here, our squad makes six."
Asha frowned, gaze sweeping the cramped room. "Jade… we share this space with them?"
Jade nodded once. "Crew County rebt is expensive."
Stetto rose suddenly, moving toward them with fluid precision. He bowed slightly before Asha, hand extended. "Lady Mau. This must be Lady Ardour you spoke of."
Asha accepted his handshake, though his grip lingered, gentle but firm. Then his eyes cut toward Siah, the warmth draining away. "You reek of depravity. How is someone like you allowed to walk free?"
Siah's chuckle was low, mocking. "Didn't know Crew County was a Pantheon."
Lohim sneered, cards slipping from his fingers. "He has no Stillness. Likely born in the Abyss." His voice curled with disgust as his gaze traveled over Siah, like something foul had entered the room.
Stetto laughed—a high, sharp sound that bordered madness. "Born in the Abyss? Impossible. More likely his consciousness was contaminated. Maybe he came into contact with a legacy of the Abyss. Mortals can't survive the contamination. Not even Status Ten to Status Five stillness. Only those who've broken the restraints of the Physical plane can expell the contamination."
His laughter broke into a grin edged with pity. "And yet here you are."
Jade sighed heavily, eyes flicking toward Asha, urging her to intervene.
"This is Siah," Asha said firmly, stepping forward. "Son of The Redbane. His freedom was verified by my uncle—Cael Ardour, Grand Marshal of the Eidolon Pantheon."
The room froze.
Stetto's face split into wild laughter. In an instant he wrapped an arm around Siah's neck in a mock embrace, grinning with almost manic delight. Lohim's expression, however, darkened to a slow, simmering fury.
"Why didn't you say?" Stetto's tone dripped honey now, his face close to Siah's. "Blood of The Red Bane of Degeneration … Do you even know who you are?"
Confusion flickered in Siah's eyes. He tried to pull back, but Stetto's arm only tightened.
"You are the Almighty's seed!" Stetto's voice rose to a near shout, joy sparking across his pale features.
The words made Jade and Asha stiffen, jaws falling slightly open. Asha's whisper reached Siah's ear. "The Fallen Acme of the Shurur Empire. God of the Solity Pantheon."
Siah's eyes narrowed, his voice sharp. "What do you mean by that?"
"The Redbane was his woman," Stetto said, glowing with manic certainty. "Before the Orthodox Pantheons imprisoned her."
Siah chuckled coldly. "My twin brother and I have a father. He looks exactly like him. So no—your Fallen Acme is not my father."
Stetto's manic joy collapsed in an instant. "What?"
Siah leaned back, smirk tugging at his lips. "Don't sulk. Keep worshipping me."
The mockery struck like a blade. Stetto's face twisted, fury flooding in. "If not for Crew County, your head would already be rolling. And don't you dare call the Almighty Fallen—not even in your dreams."
Unbothered, Siah threw himself onto one of the bunks, lounging with legs crossed and a grin tugging at his lips. "If your Fallen Acme adored my mother so much, maybe I'll earn a little favor for it."
The words broke Stetto. With a violent roar, he flipped the card table, wood clattering and cards scattering across the metal floor.
Jade's shoulders sagged with relief when Lohim chuckled from his bed, his voice low and heavy with amusement. "Nice to meet you, Siah of the Grelon Empire."
Jade cut in firmly, voice steady though her eyes lingered on the chaos Stetto had stirred. "Enough. Rest now. Tomorrow, we'll sort your contracts as members of this Team."
---
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, ANTILLA — PIRIAH ISLAND
Vex Bates — the richest man alive. From his velvet chair, Vex lounged. Piriah's cityscape glittered below the window — steel, firelight, and the endless churn of industry. Tessels docked at the shore, as they unloaded chained half-Critten slaves. Vex looking down at the commotion a bright drew his expression.
He had a glass of wine in his hand, half-drained. A holoscreen's pale light cut sharp angles across his grin as he read the headline aloud:
"FORMER CHAINED GENERAL OF THE SHURUR EMPIRE — THE BLACK PEARL — SENTENCED TO LIFE IN THE EQUITENTIARY. REFUSES TO NAME ACCOMPLICES."
A low chuckle crawled from his chest, guttural, like a predator's purr. "My poor friend… how unfortunate. I wonder what my dear son Kale would think of this."
He swirled the wine lazily, then stood, stretching as if the news had only entertained him. His shadow stretched long across the glass wall as he tapped the window with a fingertip, watching the slaves dragged ashore.
"You think martyrdom buys redemption?" His voice was low and as fell deep in thought.
"Or… is it guilt?" He tilted his head back toward the holoscreen, eyes narrowed, mocking. "Loyalty to STALE? No… not you."
He tapped the edge of the holoscreen again, as though poking at a wound.
"You've never been loyal to anything but your illusion of purpose."
The thought delighted him. His laughter broke free — sharp, uncontrolled, swelling until his whole frame shook with it. He threw his head back, wine sloshing over his knuckles.
"Hahahaha! That bastard Numen truly has eyes!"
The laugh shattered when another voice cut across it. Cold. Young.
"I doubt The Almighty has eyes. Or else you'd have joined The Black Pearl."
Vex turned, grin lingering like a mask.
The boy stood rigid. Golden hair fell messy over his brow, the rest sweeping back in layered strands. His eyes — piercing blue, glacial and unflinching — locked on his father's.
Kale Bates. A mirror of Vex Bates, stripped of madness.
Vex's laugh slipped into a quiet hum. His gaze softened only when it turned toward the horizon.
"Son… you reject me," he said, voice low, even calm. "My dream is to see you strip away the chains of your false morality. Becoming a free man. Chasing desires without guilt."
His eyes gleamed then — fever-bright, almost mad. "Morality cannot break the boundaries that you will be faced with on your journey."
Silence stretched, heavy between them.
Then Kale spoke. Soft. Steady. "I'll be joining Crew County."
Vex's grin widened, edged like a blade.
"How naïve. Dyson is ripe for the taking. Stay with me. Together, we'll flip the Acmes' fates upside down show me the benefits of a having a child with a Critten."
His tone hardened. A warning. "An expedition beyond Dyson is suicide. Monsters and unfathomable beasts roam the old worlds. I wouldn't be able to ensure your safety."
Kale's hands balled into fists at his side. His jaw clenched. "Shame gnaws at me every day knowing i share your blood. My forgiveness and your Repentance are things you will never grasp." His voice tightening with conviction. "Your half-Critten project failed I hope we never meet again."
He paused, gaze steady as ice. "I have no strength to avenge my mother. But life is more than revenge on someone as pitiful as you and The Black Pearl is gone i have no need to hate him and the rest of STALE."
Vex only hummed, mockery curling at the corner of his mouth. He didn't answer.
Kale turned, the door hissing open at his command. He walked out without looking back. The door sealed behind him with a cold hiss.
Vex stood alone. His laughter — hollow now, but loud as ever — echoed through the fortress halls as Tessels wailed outside, and half-Critten slaves were herded into the night.