James looked around at his new supposed base meant to hunker down for the next couple of months. It wasn't grandeur or stunning at the slightest but rather simplistic and modest. He had a constant flow of information from the outside world which he fancied.
However today the news were far from pleasing as he read the title.
[{Breach of the eastern border}]
[{A swarm of abominations have been able to breach the eastern border and with it Reuthar is exposed. However multiple units are being sent to deal with the situation}]
His appetite was gone, but what caught his eye was the huge image of an obsidian flower in full bloom. 'Callista...' He muttered to himself thinking that the situation was rather preposterous. 'What would make her think of defecting to Jarren's side?' Till this moment he had yet to figure out the answer to such a question.
'Is it simply power or is there something far more at play that I am not aware of.' He couldn't help but sigh as he placed the table to the side. The lights above him hummed faintly that would have driven him insane had it not been for the presence of the television installed for him.
Turning it on, it was more of the same he had read in his tablet. 'May the gods help guide Reuthar out of this predicament.'
***
"Hey Clomere, what do you think of Jarren? Do you see him as a monster or something far more human?" Guinevere posed falling in thought. She had been watching Callista and her movements and her revelation of Jarren. At first she thought that she was falling into insanity but the more she toyed with the thought, the more she realized that there was some truth to it.
"As some dick and an asshole for tossing me aside but he's my dick and asshole. He may be a prick for that but he knows how to love me unconditionally." Guinevere let out a thoughtful hum as she let Clomere land a kiss on her cheek. "Why? Are you having second thoughts on what you have been thinking of him this entire time?"
Her teases met with silence. "I was joking darling. Chuu~~" The kiss was short and brisk between the two. "Something like that. So far I've always thought that he was nothing more than a monster who likes to play with others like toys but Callista's evaluation isn't that far from the truth either." Clomere probed her mind before letting out a sigh of acceptance.
"Why is she the one who gets the one to come to such a conclusion? Now she'll be getting a free date while I'm here with you. You sabotaged me!" Clomere began to complain, playfully but her voice was something Guinevere brushed off. "If you think that I was sabotaging you then please feel free to leave."
A strange silence settled between the two. "Are you sure? After all you're way too lonely to be left alone darling." Clomere posed as she began to nibble on Guinevere's ear lobes. "Anh~Don't think so little of me Clomere, after all I've been through worse." Clomere however didn't stop with her relentless assaults.
"What a shame, don't worry, mommy Clomere is here to make all the pain go away. Just leave it to me and Jarren." Guinevere jerked away for. Clomere's embrace as if triggered by the mention of Jarren. "You! Stop saying his name like that. He's nothing more than a playmaker!"
Clomere gave a look of intrigue at Guinevere as if sighting a crazed lunatic. "No wonder he won't let out go. Even I feel sad for you darling for what you've gone through." Her tone teetering between ridicule and concern taking Guinevere aback. "What do you mean? I'm perfectly fine."
A chuckle escaped Clomere's lips. "And you think that you're okay on top of the madness that reigns in your mind. When I said that you sabotaged me, did you wonder why?" Guinevere's brows furrowed upon hearing this. "Because I told you the truth." Clomere snarled, her gaze turning feral.
"Darling..." Her tone now shifted into condescendance. "...If I were to break you into such a state even I would be a unwilling to let you go. So far you've done nothing but tell me how terrible Jarren is but never once mentioned the food he has done." A sharp pain ran through Guinevere's chest.
Her face portraying her betray. "What do you mean good? He's done nothing than ruin worlds and gods alike. There is nothing good about him at the slightest." Clomere tried to approach her but Guinevere kept on pulling back. "And this is the sole reason as to why the only version you'll ever experience of him is his harshest."
"However I hope that you come around sooner or later. I'll be waiting for you sweetie~" Her tone laced with honey as she stole a light peck off Guinevere's cheek and left. 'That is why you'll experience the harshest version of him...' The words echoed through Guinevere's head, rattling around akin to barbed wire.
"What are they talking about? Is this one of his tricks again?" She couldn't help but ponder as she held the bridge of her nose. 'There's no way that I'm in the wrong? I'm after all the queen of divinity.' She reassured herself but the more she echoed it back o herself, the more unfitting it felt.
'Or maybe I'm the one who is in the wrong.' Now all alone in her room, her mind drifted back to Callista who was slowly but surely starting to learn about the depth of the abyss. She glanced at the work laid out for her. She had managed to conquer about half of the human kingdoms and yet no form of achievement clawed her.
No sense of victory, no breathe of fresh air or at the very least a smile of satisfaction. Nothing. 'Maybe there is more to him than just games.' She sighed with slow and unwilling acceptance.
***
'So rude, it's shocking that Atherion hasn't fired him.' James couldn't help but wonder as he saw the footage of the meeting by the ministers play out. The performance from Seamus was unfitting of a counselor while Seris was just a joke as he was used to. "I hope that you can tolerate these two Toren." He chuckled at the future of the four interacting with each other.
Seris and Seamus going at it while Dren watched from the sidelines and Toren tried to establish order.
*Whoosh*
The power to his room cut off making him exclaim in shock. "What is going on?!" His tone filled with annoyance and a hint of fear. "Nothing to stress yourself over James. We'll the get the issue solved in a matter of minutes." An operative mused casually before taking their leave.
A few more minutes ticked away before his vision was flooded with light once more. "That's much better. Now I can get back to work." From there he went back to his work, sorting files and all while delving into the secrets of the Ark Facility with the hopes of finding anything of use to help curb Callista.
*Four hours later*
"Here's your meal James Vaewlyn." A scrumptious dish was laid out for him. A blend of both fauna and flora alike, greens and meat that made his mouth drool. "At least the food here is nice." He sighed as he dug into his meal without much thought. Before he could move onto his wine, a bell filled his ears.
"James, it would seem that you have a guest that would wish to have a chat with you." His face showed bewilderment. "It's way past my allocated time for visitors. Have them come back tomorrow." Thinking that it was a subordinate from the capital with more documents for him to sort through.
"It's not from the capital." The voice this time was flat, devoid of any life however he didn't notice it right away. "He'll be entering the chamber." The door opened without his consent and his visitor finally came into view. James's face went pale the moment he realized who it was.
"Well hello James, I'm sure that you enjoyed the meal I made for you. I made sure that you would enjoy it before you met your end." Jarren's tone playful as he let himself in. What greeted him was a sterile white room with comfortable looking furniture, a luxurious television and a tablet to the side.
He didn't waste any time as he made himself comfortable and poured for himself a glass of wine. "Are you going to keep on standing there or are you going to join me?" His tone still laced with his playful demeanor that further sent chills down James's spine. "How did you find me?!"
His throat dry as a thin bed of sweat trickled down his face. "Finding you isn't a problem James. After all I've got eyes all over this small marble of a world you call Arcania." His tone flat as he took a light sip of his wine before letting out an exclamation of satisfaction from the taste.
"Oh my you've got good wine here, I'm sure that you won't mind if I got it, right?" His gaze locked with the wine in his hands. James however didn't plan on staying any longer with the monster in his room as he reached out for his tablet.
With a few flicks of his fingers, the usual commands of lifting the door didn't come but rather silence was what he was met with. "I'm sure that you don't plan on leaving your guest after greeting him. Wouldn't that make you rude?" James grit at the devil seated across from him.
"If you are going to kill me then make it quick." His tone bitter as his fist remained clenched, ready for death's embrace. "I can't kill you yet, we have one more visitor joining us before you come to pass." His tone enigmatic as he dug into the steak meant for James.
'I have to get out of here but the tablet won't work and fighting him is already out of the question. What should I do?' He paused in his mind before his gaze landed on something gleaming on the table. His motions swift as he reaches out for the knife and readied himself for the pain to come.
'Anything is better than dying at this bastard's hands!' He concluded in his mind as he made a quick horizontal motion on his neck however no blood gushed out of his artery shocking him. "Did you think that I would be that easy to end your life? If so then me making my all the way out here would be a waste of time."
His tone light as he sunk back into his seat reaching for the remote to turn on the television. "Do you think that you can just crash here and do as you please?!" James unable to endure the disrespect shouted however his target kept on with his act. "What's wrong James?" Jarren's gaze turned cold. "Or do you wish to meet your end without the last parting words of your daughter."
James let the butter knife clatter to the ground letting Jarren get back to his shenanigans. "What do you mean my daughter?! Don't tell me that the demonic hell spawn is making her way here." His face turned sour at the thought.
"Well as the father of the communion, it would be best if you watch over us and wish for the two of us a happy beautiful life." His gaze filled with apathy as he kept on skimming through the channels with the remote. "Isn't there something interesting to watch James?! How about you help me find it."
As much as James didn't want to yield, is body restrained his movements and made his way next to Jarren who welcomed him akin to an older brother while he was a bit younger than him.
Handing the remote over to James's trembling hands, the screen flickered between screens before James finally came to a stop. "How about this?" His tone dripping with uncertainty as the screen recalled the events of what had happened back at the eastern border. Jarren however didn't seem all that interested.
"What would be the point of watching something I had already said before?" His tone filed with irritance.