Chapter 158: Uncertain

Cassian finally understood where his mother’s sudden advice had come from.

?It had nothing to do with his behavior toward Nyxara, nor was Seraphina simply teasing him about his romantic prospects.

She had been watching the emergency Council meeting on Gaia and had overheard their discussion about the mysterious Lord who had neutralized the Worldbreaker Core.

?More specifically, she had heard the female councilor suggest securing his favor by any means necessary, including offering resources or women.

?No wonder his mother had suddenly advised him to keep his wives below seven.

?Cassian lowered his gaze, concealing the amusement flickering in his blue eyes.

?’These people are interesting.’

?They had spent the meeting speculating about his identity, strength, and possible intentions.

Some feared him, others wanted to recruit him, and at least one councilor had decided that the best way to secure his cooperation was to offer him women.

?Unfortunately for them, none of them had considered the possibility that their mysterious benefactor was currently listening to every word of their conversation.

?Well, perhaps it was time to give them something far more interesting to discuss.

?"Why don’t we make the best out of this?"

?Seraphina raised an eyebrow.

?Cassian reached for his communicator, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips. He found the Overseer’s contact and initiated a call.

?"Who are you calling?" Seraphina asked, though the amusement in her eyes suggested she already had a pretty good idea.

?"My Investor."

?The call connected after a few seconds.

?Planet Gaia. The House of Council.

?Louis Ferdinand glanced down at the communicator in his hand.

?Cassian.

?The young Lord had messaged him only moments earlier, instructing him to answer the call and play along.

Given Cassian’s track record, Louis had a distinct suspicion that whatever came next would be troublesome.

?He accepted the call.

?"Overseer, I have a proposal for you."

?Louis straightened slightly in his high seat, listening quietly as Cassian outlined his plan.

?For the first few seconds, his expression remained perfectly composed. Then, his eyes widened almost imperceptibly.

?He stared at the communicator, wondering if he had somehow misheard what had just left the young man’s mouth.

’?This young man...’

?Louis had lived long enough to witness countless absurdities. He had negotiated with hostile civilizations, commanded armies against cosmic threats, and survived situations that would have driven lesser men to despair.

?Yet somehow, Cassian Voss continued to blow past his expectations.

?"Are you certain you want to do this?" Louis asked quietly.

?"Quite certain."

?Cassian’s voice remained completely calm, almost disappointingly casual.

?Louis studied the interface for another moment. He could hear no hesitation in the young man’s tone, nor any indication that he was acting on a whim.

Cassian had clearly weighed the consequences and decided that whatever he intended to accomplish was well worth the stir it would cause.

?In the end, Louis gave a small, resigned nod.

?"Very well. I’ll play along."

?He ended the private channel and routed the incoming audio directly into the Council’s main speaker network.

?A faint chime sounded throughout the chamber.

?Several councilors turned toward the Overseer in surprise. Until that moment, Louis had kept the call private.

Routing an unverified transmission directly into the room’s speakers without explanation was a massive breach of standard protocol, especially during an emergency session of the Dominion’s highest governing body.

?"What is the meaning of this, Overseer?" one councilor demanded.

?Louis offered no explanation.

?Instead, he placed his communicator flat on the table and leaned back in his chair.

?In the next instant, a voice emerged from the audio array.

?It was calm, deep, and utterly unhurried. There was no theatrical attempt to intimidate the listeners, no deliberate emphasis on the speaker’s power, and not a trace of nervousness at addressing the ruling elite of an interstellar civilization.

?Yet the absolute composure radiating from that voice made several councilors instinctively straighten in their seats.

?"I hear you’ve been searching for me."

?Total silence descended upon the chamber.

?The councilors exchanged startled, wide-eyed glances.

?They had spent the better part of the meeting debating the mysterious Lord who had suppressed the Worldbreaker Core on Planet Roca.

They had questioned his rank, speculated about his motives, and brainstormed ways to buy his favor.

?And now, without warning, the exact entity they had been dissecting had hijacked their Overseer’s line.

?Before anyone could recover enough to speak, the voice continued smoothly.

?"Well, you have my attention."

?A brief, heavy pause followed.

?Then came the words that made the entire Council freeze.

?"Consider your search over. I’m right here."

....

For several seconds, nobody in the Council chamber spoke.

?The mysterious Lord’s declaration still lingered in the air, leaving the assembled councilors struggling to process what had just happened.

They had spent the better part of an hour debating how to locate this individual, only for him to contact the Overseer directly.

?It was almost too convenient.

?Eventually, one of the councilors recovered enough composure to speak. He was an elderly man with silver hair, dressed in the formal robes of one of the Dominion’s most influential Legacy Families.

Although the previous display had unsettled him, decades of high-level political experience prevented him from blindly accepting the situation.

?"How can we be certain you are truly the Lord who neutralized the Worldbreaker Core?"

?The question was reasonable. Anyone could contact the Overseer and claim responsibility for the incident.

Without some form of verification, accepting the stranger’s identity would be foolish, especially when the actual individual in question might possess enough power to threaten the entire Astral Dominion.

?A brief silence followed.

?Then, something shifted.

?Louis’s eyes narrowed instantly.

?He felt it first as a subtle disturbance in the spatial atmosphere, an inexplicable sensation crawling along his skin.

A heartbeat later, the entire chamber seemed to plunge into an invisible, bottomless abyss.

?Death mana.

?Unfiltered, crushing, oppressive death mana flooded the House of Council.

?It did not erupt like a violent explosion. Instead, it descended with the quiet, absolute inevitability of a grave closing over its occupant.

The energy permeated the air, seeping into every corner of the vast hall until the councilors could practically taste the cold ash on their tongues.