"OH MY LIGHT! WE'RE FLYING!?" Castor screamed, pinning his body to the backmost corner of the elevator.
Drashira and Phyra glance at each other; Drashira seemed disconcerted, while Phyra looked mildly amused.
"…Are ye' joking? We're barely even moving'!" Drashira said, tilting her head slightly.
"Yes! I know! But why are we going so FAST?" Castor rebutted, holding onto the steel railing tightly.
… Drashira looked utterly flabbergasted. She tried smacking her face a bit.
Maybe it was her imagination. She was just dreaming that for some unholy reason, the Celestial put such an… obtuse specimen in her path.
Unfortunately, she did not wake up. This was no dream.
Phyra giggled. "You know, I can kind of see why you took him in now." She took the lollipop from her mouth and pointed it towards Castor subtly.
"He's kind of cute. In a sort of stupid, puppy-dog kind of way."
DING!
A sudden bell sound effect rang from inside the elevator, causing it to come to a screeching halt.
Castor glanced at the number that was now lit up brightly just above the door of the elevator.
"100th FLOOR."
And shortly after the bell rang, the doors opened, slowly…
The room that preceded them was humongous, both in width and length. From the ever-spanning walls to the shining floor, it was all made of marble.
Various miscellaneous boxes and objects were scattered around the far corners of the room, along with a strange area along the wall with a wide array of mysterious machines poking from the long, green sheet covering everything entirely.
The entire space was very well-lit, thanks only to the gargantuan floor-to-ceiling glass window, where the sun beamed in and the entirety of the bustling capital of Tenebris could be seen in full.
But what truly hits your eyes first is the long, rectangular ebony boardroom table fixed right into the middle of the room.
Three people sat on varying sides of the lengthy table. An elf sat at the head of the table, a rare kind of elf to see, a moon elf.
His eyes were ocean blue, as was his gorgeous hair that flowed down to his chest; it strangely accentuated his cyan skin color perfectly.
His outfit was a polar opposite.
A black, high-collared tunic and cloak that flowed like a cape, all the way down to his black jackboots, all detailed by silver accents.
He also wore black rubber gloves, his hands clasped together as he continued in deep conversation with another creature. One who was wildly different from every other creature Castor had seen so far.
… There was no better way to put it. She looked like… a cat?
From her twitching, triangular ears to her round black nose, whiskers, and even long tail.
Her fur was purple, as well as her long dress. She gave off a regal presence, hands resting atop her lap, sitting up in her chair respectfully.
Though, her expression told a completely different story. She seemed utterly engulfed in rage, telling off the moon elf to the left of her.
Castor's eyes quickly glanced over to the third person sitting at the table. Their head was down, seemingly uninterested in the surrounding conversation.
He squinted his eyes to get a better look, and it was…
"…Pollux!?" Castor shouted.
Pollux instantly turned his head; his eyes practically lit up.
"Castor!?" He replied.
Castor rushed towards Pollux, any concern or previous apprehension thrown right out the window.
"I'm afraid not! Inelia cannot afford any more wasted resources." The feline slammed her hand on the table, any earlier decorum vanishing.
"Especially since Luni are now practically battering down our gates after the stunt you pulled!"
She cut herself off, quickly turning to investigate the source of the shouting, and when she laid eyes on Castor, she froze.
And slowly, rage began to visibly bubble inside of her, rising all the way to her face.
WOOSH!
With a single flourish of her furred finger, a blazing ring of fire encircled Castor, stopping him outright.
He dared not move a single muscle, slowly meeting the gaze of the feline woman, who began to slowly make her way towards him; the room fell so silent, you could feel each step of her high heels.
"…Why do you test my patience so, Samyaza?" She referred to the moon elf who sat at the table calmly, but she didn't take her eyes off of Castor. "It's bad enough you're harboring even ONE of these beasts."
She closes her fist, and the fire rages even wilder.
"But now, another walks into our midst. So it just causes me to wonder," Finally, she turned and glared at the moon elf.
"What your game truly is?"
Castor glanced around frantically, the smoldering flames licking at his skin—less concerned of how she was even doing this and more worried about how he was getting out of it.
He nervously peeked over his shoulder and saw Drashira and Phyra standing dangerously still. It's not like he really expected them to help in any way.
But it was almost as if they were panicked as well; maybe they knew something he didn't.
His gaze then fell over to Pollux, and he began to wonder if he was going to make a move, but as he looked closer, he realized something…
Pollux's hands were cuffed and chained together. All he could do was watch Castor with trepidation.
Suddenly, the moon elf stood up from his seat. "I apologize, Dal'dahra. I do not mean to provoke you. But these are our guests." He gestured with his arms, beginning to slowly make his way over to the feline.
He took his time, and when he made it to where she stood,
Softly, he placed his hand on the feline's shoulder, and when she turned around, he wore a domineering expression. "Such brutishness is beneath the Princess of Inelia, wouldn't you agree?"
Dal'dahra growled in response, but surprisingly, she seemed to back down; as she unfurled her fist, the flame's enclosure around Castor disappeared. He breathed a subtle sigh of relief, as did Pollux.
Dal'dahra angrily threw Samyaza's arm from her shoulder and marched over to the now vacant elevator, rudely pushing past Drashira and Phyra without so much as a glance.
She turned once more to glare in Samyaza's direction; without breaking her gaze, she pressed one of the buttons, and a loud bell noise accompanied it as confirmation.
"This conversation ISN'T over, Enoch." She crossed her arms—the doors slowly closed in front of her.
But you could still feel the stare through the hoistway.
It was silent for a couple of seconds; Castor was still trying to get his bearings, while Phyra and Drashira both looked as if they were still trying to build a response.
But Samyaza surprisingly broke the silence.
"Phew…" He dropped his arms and untensed his shoulders with a relieved expression. "That woman is always a HUGE pain right up my ass."
…
Castor lifted his eyebrow. He didn't know what to expect from him, but it definitely wasn't that response.
"Uh, what? - OOF!" Castor began to finally stand up straight, and that's when something started to rapidly barrel towards him out of the corner of his eye.
THUD!
His body crashed to the floor, hard—not afforded even a second to react. It felt as if someone planted their knee directly into his sternum!
A very small knee… But it still hurt like hell!
Castor swore he heard giggling, and when he opened his eyes…
He was met by a small child—the largest, toothy smile plastered across her face.
"Haha!! Yeah! Yeah! Sammy got a new human! New human! New human!" The child exclaimed, jumping up and down and stomping her black boots on his chest, despite his groans of pain.
Aside from her unnecessarily hardened combat boots, this kid's appearance was anything but normal.
Her blonde bangs swung from each side as she used Castor as a trampoline—a glint in her blue eyes. She wore a black bomber jacket on top of a layered hardened undershirt with the Bellator Luminus logo at the forefront—her cargo pants just as long and baggy.
Though, most of her attire seemed to have been drawn on in permanent marker. Smiley faces, hearts, and flowers.
Even her face was adorned with drawings, along with various stickers.
Judging from her porcelain skin and sharp ears, she must've been a High Elf.
She suddenly ceased her bouncing and turned to Samyaza with a curious expression. "Wait… But I thought we don't like humans?" She gasped excitedly, "Are we adopting them!?"
Samyaza walked back to his seat and fell into it with an obnoxiously loud groan. He kicked his feet up on the table and leaned back in the chair, letting his neck fall over the top of his seat dramatically.
"Phee. Water. Bucket. Face. Please." He requested.
"Okay!" Phee jumped off of Castor, and a blue aura suddenly started emanating from her small body.
And Castor watched astounded as this little girl began floating through the air, all the way over to the corner of the room, where she picked up a metal bucket filled with water.
She picked it up surprisingly easily for her size, then flew back to where Samyaza sat and…
SPLASH!
Flung the water straight at his face! Drenching his flashy clothes from head to toe,
But he just let out a sigh of relief, patting Phee on the head a couple of times as she smiled.
Castor and Pollux shot bewildered glances at each other, not sure if their eyes were working correctly.
Phyra casually approached the table from the side and took a seat, crossing her legs and pulling out a device that looked strangely similar to a Light Phone. "Ugh. Can you not go one second without being weird? I thought these were your 'guests'?" She said, tapping away on the phone without looking at him.
Samyaza didn't respond; he instead glanced over Phyra and noticed Drashira standing solemnly with her arms crossed.
His entire expression shifted; a small smile grew on his face.
"Hello, Drashira. I'm very glad to see you again."
Drashira stared at him for a moment; her expression never really gave anything away—but there was a visible rising turmoil within her body language. "Yeah, yeah. Alright. Why don't ye' just cut the bullshite? What do ye' need from me?"
Samyaza slowly rose from his seat, unbothered by the water drenching the floor. "Like I said. You, and these two young men here, are our guests."
Castor stood up straight, brushing himself off without breaking eye contact with Samyaza. "Oh yeah? Then why do you have my best friend handcuffed to a chair?"
Samyaza peered over at Pollux, who bared his teeth at him, practically vibrating with anger.
Samyaza clasped his hands together, resting them behind his back. "Well, after we… 'intercepted' your friend on his little fall. He wasn't exactly the most cooperative when he woke up."
Pollux growled, pulling on his handcuffs. "BECAUSE YOU KILLED MY FAMILY!" He shouted. Tears began to fill his eyes—it seemed like he was going to tear off the handcuffs through pure anger alone.
All eyes were suddenly on Pollux. Almost like everyone present in the room could feel the venom in his words.
When Samyaza looked back to Pollux to acknowledge him, he seemed… strangely collected—though his eyebrows did narrow a bit. "…Atlas Silverwind was… a valued and important confidante of this organization, as was his family. But, more importantly—a friend."
"…It wasn't supposed to go down that way. You may not believe me, but I am truly sorry, Pollux." Samyaza continued.
"Wait." Drashira cut in, stepping out of the corner she isolated herself in. "Sam, what is he talking about? You… Don't tell me ye' actually went through with that suicide mission!?"
"Please. I've already heard an earful from Galaria already." Samyaza pinched his nose in annoyance and turned away from her.
He then seemed to compose himself again, taking a deep breath before turning to face the room once more. "Every member of Bellator Luminus is well aware of the dangers we face and the potential sacrifices they need to be willing to make for the gain of all creaturekind."
That comment seemed to irk Castor, tilting his head to the side slightly. "Is that why you brought us here? Are we the 'gain'?"
Samyaza scoffed. "Hah. No."
Suddenly, a tall figure emerged seemingly out of thin air—body building itself from a strange viscous liquid from the ground up. Sharp ears, a black bodysuit, and the same unreadable expression from earlier…
Castor's eye went wide!
It was that hot dude from earlier!
…
… Maybe he shouldn't refer to him as 'hot dude' in his thoughts.
The dark elf's body seemed unstable; he reached into his shoulder and rummaged around in it disturbingly—like one would do in a box or a chest.
To everyone's surprise, he pulled out a long, sharp weapon. A sword. Castor's Odachi!
He handed it to Samyaza, who examined the jagged edges of the blade, running it across his finger.
"H-Hey!" Castor shouted. "Give that back, you damn—!" -"
"You are not the 'gain.'" Samyaza remarked, studying the blade intensely.
WHOOSH!
Suddenly, he launched the Odachi at Castor, causing him to throw his arms up and brace for impact!
THUD!
…Instead, it lodged into the ground next to him, missing by literal inches.
"…You are my pathway to it."
Samyaza began to calmly, but very slowly, walk over to where Pollux was sitting, and without even looking at him… "I have a proposition for you both."
SNAP!
… Crushed the lock on Pollux's cuffs with just one of his hands.
Pollux glanced at him, almost as if he thought Samyaza was stupid.
Does he not think Pollux will attack like earlier? Or maybe this was a power move?
Castor and Pollux stared at each other in confusion but quickly reattached their gaze to the cyan-colored creature that circled them.
"You see, I have two very big problems. After our 'visit' to your capital of Lychinus, we suffered far more casualties than we ever could've imagined… Or been ready for.
Unfortunately, that means I'm low on agents to dispatch around Tenebris, and the villages, strongholds, and cities that we usually protect from the Luni will be rendered completely defenseless." Samyaza continued, taking off a strange device from his wrist and tossing it onto the table.
Castor and Pollux both approached it to get a closer look. Pollux didn't really know what he was looking at, but Castor recognized it from earlier; it was definitely that weird-looking watch device Drashira had on her counter…
"…And more importantly, most of our watches were destroyed in the attack. They aren't exactly cheap to produce, and if we are to keep using Light, we'll need agents to make a supply run for the parts and… 'energy' needed to make more."
Castor hung on Samyaza's words, or more accurately, a single statement.
"Keep using Light…? What are you talking about? Just what is this thing?" He asked.
Phrya, Drashira, and Phee all nervously glanced at each other. They seemed to be wary of what Samyaza could possibly say next.
Samyaza paused—mulling over his next words until he finally decided on a few.
"It's called an E.N.G.Y.N." He replied. "As I'm sure you're well aware by now, the Light doesn't reach down here, meaning that there is no way for us to perform Lucernarium. Which leaves us at a wild disadvantage against any kind of human, let alone a Luni."
He picked the watch back up and pointed to some of its features. "See this needle here? This is what injects Light directly into its users' bloodstream, granting them a sort of 'artificial' ARS."
Castor listened intently. So, this must've been what that dark elf used in their battle before…!
"Wait." Castor cut in. "How is it even possible to inject Light into someone?"
Samyaza went silent, forcing Castor to look around the room for an answer, or a reaction at the very least.
Phee and Phrya didn't even make eye contact with him, or it was more like they were trying their hardest NOT to. What's their problem? Did he say something wrong?
Glancing over at Drashira, Castor noticed her expression; she looked… guilty. Even more than Phee and Phrya.
Thinking back to it… She had one on her counter, and it even had her name on it. So she must've been…
But is that bad or something? Why are they acting like this?
"…Not important." Samyaza finally responded.
"I'm sure you both understand what I'm getting at, yes?" He walked back and sat down in his seat, clasping his hands together like he did earlier.
"You two are going to be my agents for the time being."
…
"…What!?" Castor and Pollux shouted in unison.
"I'll pay you, of course, seeing how I am a bit desperate, and I'm sure you both need to eat and have a place to sleep."
Samyaza's proposition visibly surprised the entire room; even Phee and Phyra looked as if they weren't exactly aware of Samyaza's plans.
"Woah! Woah! Time out! Ignoring the outrageous fact that you're asking us to betray our people, you want US to actually FIGHT Luni!? Are you insane!?" Castor rebutted.
"Really?" Samyaza replied. "I think from anybody's point of view, Aetheron's the one doing the betraying. Atlas Silverwind is a prime example, and he's already regaled me with the tales of his son and his best friend's unstoppable abilities."
Then, he looked over at Drashira. "Besides, I wouldn't be sending you in there blind; you'll have Drashira to show you the ropes."
A look of exasperation immediately covered Drashira's entire face, slowly turning to face Samyaza. "What!? Is that why ye brought me here!? To babysit two of our most sworn enemies!?"
She marched over to where Samyaza sat and slammed her hands on the table. "I don't know who ye think ye are, ENOCH. But I've already told you', I'm DONE!
I'm DONE with these missions, I'm DONE with Luni, and I'm DONE with Bellator Luminus! So, PLEASE, make this the first and last time ye drag me away from my peaceful cabin and my PEACEFUL LIFE! -"
"Remember that favor?" Samyaza suddenly cut her off.
Drashira paused, her earlier fire completely snuffed out; she just stared at him now. "…What?"
"That favor? Remember? The one that you owed me a long time ago?
I think I may cash that in right now."
Drashira scoffed. It was the only thing she could do—crossing her arms and walking back into the corner. "…Fuckin' bastard." She muttered under her breath.
Castor watched her back down; he was confused but most of all, concerned.
… It was just weird. She was so headstrong and lively when he first met her, but as soon as they got around Bellator Luminus, her vibe completely changed.
… Maybe this is just how she truly is? He hasn't really known her for very long.
But it's just that… feeling. Every time he looks at her, he can't help but feel…
Sad.
Pollux shook his head; he had been completely silent up to this point—but it seemed like the feeling that was boiling over inside of him finally reached its breaking point.
"Yeah. None of this shit even matters. Because I'd much rather take my chances on putting each and every last one of you in the fucking GROUND before I spend a MINUTE even thinking about working with you ANIMALS!" Pollux growled, his eyes began shining bright blue, as well as his body—his fists shaking in anger.
Castor instantly jumped in front of him, grabbing his arm. "W-Woah! Pollux! Just wai—"
Pollux smacked his arm away and aggressively pushed Castor to the floor, marching over to where Samyaza was sitting.
Phee and Phyra instantly sprang up from their seats and jumped in front of Samyaza. The stares on their faces suddenly turned cold, prepared for anything that may transpire.
Castor picked himself up and grabbed Pollux from the back of his black suit's collar and threw him to the floor in response.
"You need to calm your ass down, Pollux." Castor barked; now his eyes shone crimson red in response, a red aura surrounding his body just like Pollux.
Pollux looked bewildered; he didn't expect that reaction from Castor. He bit his bottom lip, trying to gain some sort of control over his emotions—but the anger was still there.
He sprang up off the floor. "Why!? Why should I!? Fuck this, Castor! We could take 'em. They wouldn't even be able to stop us if we—"
Castor grabbed Pollux by the collar once more and pulled him to eye level. "Are you an idiot!? Seriously! Does it look like we're in any position right now to make enemies!?"
Pollux gritted his teeth and met Castor's stare with a heavy one of his own. "…They ARE the enemy." He muttered.
…
Samyaza sighed. "I expected a reaction like that, I must admit.
…But I think you may change your tune… When you hear what I have to say."
Castor and Pollux ceased their bickering for a moment and turned back to Samyaza.
"Though, if I have any pride as a negotiator, I must preface this by saying I will only elaborate on this after you have completed a mission for me."
Castor narrowed his eyes, giving Pollux one last glare before he released his hold on him.
He stepped forward. "…What?"
Samyaza met Castor's steely gaze with confidence, a smile growing on his face.
"What if I told you…
I had a way to kill Aetheron Lychinus?"