Evolution of the Ruined Heir - Chapter 345: Purpose
Chapter 345: Purpose
The expressions of Darke and the Iron Saint darkened. They glanced at each other before shaking their heads.
“No, my sovereign.” Darke shook his head. “But we’ve been able to discover how it was achieved.”
“How?”
Darke turned to the Iron Saint who nodded.
“Darkness creatures, sovereign. The people we arrested and kept in the catacombs all had their left arms missing, except the fourth pulse.”
“We believe,” Darke continued, “that this was planned. The destruction of Sylvastein. All of it, done so that they could get into the catacombs and retrieve their target.”
“And we fell for it.”
“Unfortunately, my sovereign.”
The sovereign suddenly felt tired. So many events, so many enemies. So much chaos.
A day after the events of Sylvastein, the blood sovereign had ordered an immediate investigation on exactly what had occurred.
Blood Knight Captain Rhett had stepped forward and given an account of everything that occurred, and after some hours, his brother, the Warden of Sylvastein, also did the same.
They narrated the events of the night and weeks prior, and highlighted the main cause of the destruction.
The fourth pulse.
Their words had been backed up when they met with and conversed with the surviving Sutrex, the Gor’Mekhai found in the ruined forest of the Murkroot and in the destroyed underground base underneath the fourth pulse’s mansion.
There they had discovered her inhumane experiments, and that it was due to her actions that everything occurred the way they did.
The fourth pulse had been arrested, and so had all of her subordinates. While the sovereign ordered that they be put to sleep in the catacombs, he stayed behind in Sylvastein to assess the damage.
It was in that brief moment that they had struck. Upon his return, Othric felt something was amiss. The heavy aura that usually covered the fortress had vanished. He rushed to the catacombs, but it was too late.
Somehow, the slumbering body of the past Zenith, Kaineth Von Sanguine, had vanished.
Othric found himself clenching the armrest of his throne. Cracks had already spread across it, clearly about to burst.
The death of a Zenith would birth a darkness even he might not be able to handle.
“Do we know who’s responsible?” he asked after a moment.
“All signs point to the Black Lotus, my sovereign.” Darke responded.
“The Black Lotus.” Othric echoed. They were an organization more different than the Maugrim. More sinister.
Deranged, was what Othric would always find himself calling them. Because no sane human would ever choose the darkness over their own. Choose death over life.
Still, Othric had long since accepted they couldn’t be called human any longer.
They had each dealt with darkness that many in the dome believed they’d become more darkness than human.
’Possessed.’
It was believed that members of the Black Lotus were possessed by darkness creatures. But this was where the major problem lay.
Even as a Zenith, somehow, he still couldn’t tell if a human was possessed by the darkness or not, unless they showed themselves. This was the same case for the other Zeniths.
This turned the Black Lotus into one of the most feared and obscured organizations in the dome. The most dangerous.
Othric sighed, a deep resonant wave. “Don’t spare any resources. We must locate my father’s body as soon as possible.”
“Of course, my sovereign.” Darke said, then hesitated.
“Speak.”
“Should… should we inform the other grand clans?”
Othric’s expression darkened. This was a dome wide threat. The sudden death of a Zenith would cause a destruction the like of which many had never seen. Warning the other clans would make them wary, and prepare. It could save lives, a lot of it.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t the way of the dome. Politics had engulfed all. Every move had to be calculated, planned. Especially one as significant as this.
’It’s dangerous.’
The other grand clans, especially the Heliarch, had been searching for a way to bring down the sanguine.
Their dominance over blood, coupled with their control over the dome’s food sources, made the sanguine… dangerous. Especially to the other overlords.
Revealing that they had lost a Zenith would give them exactly what they needed to bring them down.
It was selfish, but Othric would not have that.
“No. Inform no one. Just continue the search, and bring me results. Do not fail me.”
“Yes, Sovereign.” They both answered, bowing deeply.
Then as the silence stretched, the Iron Saint suddenly broke it.
“The Heliarch clan has placed a bounty on the ninth vein, sovereign.”
Othric’s eyes narrowed. “When?”
“Today.” Darke responded. “How should we retaliate?”
“Cut all food supply going towards them.”
Their gazes darkened. It was obvious that it would cause even more friction between their two clans, but the sovereign had made his choice.
“For how long, sovereign.”
“However long the bounty remains.” The sovereign said, suddenly rising. “If it’s war they want, they should declare it. I’m tired of these tricks.” He said, walking towards the exit. But as he reached the door, he paused.
“Caelum.”
“Yes, sovereign.” The Iron Saint responded.
“Watch him.”
“As you wish.”
…
Khana Sanguine, the wife of Varnel, the third pulse of the sanguine clan, paced around the main building of Crimson Hold.
There was a small smile on her face, as though she was anticipating something.
The past couple of weeks had been… uneventful for Khana. After the events of the hunt where Malakai had surprisingly defeated her children, the eighth and sixth veins, and the subsequent torture of her husband, Khana had felt… off.
Her children had each gone off to different cities for their blood knight apprenticeship, and unfortunately, Malakai had also done the same.
This left her alone. And during the past weeks, Khana had never felt so hollow. Like she had no purpose in life other than to be a pulse’s wife.
While that was her reality, it had grated on her nerves. Her relationship with Varnel had never been better, but the thought of having no purpose weighed heavily on her.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
