Free Web NovelChapter 1630: Story From Within part 2
[Oh, unwind your panties, you ambitious war dog,] the magician said once he noticed that Feroxxa’s guard had risen to an...understandably high degree. [Neither my master nor I are the type to prematurely pop someone’s head off just because there is a slight chance of them wanting to try and kill us. We’re the type to prefer to make others pay for their crimes after they have been committed. Much more satisfying in a karmic sense.]
"I...see."
At this point, Feroxxa had fully realized that he wasn’t having a conversation with a rational being in the slightest. If anything, he was being extorted by a monster from the darkest depths of his nightmares. freewёbnoνel.com
[That said, he did also express some form of interest in helping you guys. Maybe. But first, take a seat. This is your office, after all,and we both need to be comfortable if we wish to discuss the possibility of an alliance...or more accurately, a transaction.]
Or not.
"I...see..."
Feroxxa sat back down in his chair, once it was made clear that the magician wasn’t quite yet a threat, and tried his best to gather his thoughts. Granted, he was having some mild discomfort doing so because of an oddly familiar aura radiating off of the strange caped being before him.
An aura that made Feroxxa think that trying to muster even the tiniest of lies would lead to dire consequences.
[Now, this would be the part where I introduce myself, but I’d rather not share my name if I can help it. So for all intents and purposes you can call me...Jack. Like Spring-Heeled.]
"Who?"
[Don’t worry about it,] Jack said as he waved a hand to dismiss any confusion. [Just understand that my master is interested in possibly providing assistance to you and your cause. Emphasis on that word by the by, possibly.
"I...see..."
This sort of diplomatic talking was outside of Feroxxa’s area of expertise and more like something that should be handled by someone like Hulna or even the benefactor.
Then again, perhaps he was being talked to at this time, because diplomacy wasn’t his strong suit.
Maybe this was a flimsy attempt to declare war, despite what Jack had said earlier about not being a threat.
Or maybe he was just being more paranoid than usual; he didn’t know for sure.
[Anyways my master has expressed interest in throwing his lot with you, but they have a few conditions and concessions that must be addressed before they’ll commit. Understand?]
"Yes..." Feroxxa answered with gritted teeth. "That is...sensible."
[I’m glad you think so!] Jack said with a smile and a clap of invisible hands. [Now, for starters, my master would love to know what your end game is exactly. Because supplanting the object of worship for an entire religious nation with its bastard offshoot doesn’t exactly scream "final goal" to me. If anything, it feels more like a first step to say...world domination.]
At this observation, Jack noticed that Feroxxa’s eye had slightly twitched.
[Am I right?]
"...note that at this moment, I speak for myself," Feroxxa started. "I do not speak for that...man...who spends his days sniffing the emissions of others like some kind of dog, nor do I speak for the Holy Fire that has blessed me with my current strength. Is that understood?"
[Hmmm.]
Under normal circumstances, such blunt speech would’ve instantly angered the other party and led to an immediate breakdown of negotiations, which would then be followed by a swift blade to the neck.
To "Jack," however, this was confirmation that even though Feroxxa was exposed to something "like" [Chaos], it wasn’t enough to completely repel the effects of his aura.
And that every word out of this man’s mouth was probably going to be the honest truth and nothing less.
[Go right ahead,] Jack eventually answered. [What is your personal goal?]
"Unification." Feroxxa said with a conviction that caused his [Regalia] to temporarily manifest.
[Oh?]
[Regalia] are a reflection of the resilience of one’s [Convictions]. The fact that this single word caused Feroxxa’s [Regalia] to flare up meant that this was a conviction he held close to his heart.
"Do you know how many different sects of our faith exist in Emberona alone?" Feroxxa asked before immediately giving the answer. "Six hundred and twenty-seven. Over six hundred and twenty-seven different sects, each with their own varying numbers of rituals, rites, and practices. All clustered in a single city." freeweɓnovel.cøm
The tone in which Feroxxa provided this answer didn’t sound as if he were pleased by this factoid. If anything, it sounded like it bothered him in the same way insects bothered him.
[I thought one of the core tenets of the central fate was that diversity was a strength and the ability to shelter any and all who came to your doorstep was a grand virtue,] Jack pointed out.
"Oh it is," Feroxxa immediately agreed. "But only when there is a solid core of identity for such things to gather around. Like say, faith...or a common enemy."
Feroxxa paused his speech in order to open a drawer in his desk and pull out a handful of metallic trinkets that he unceremoniously dropped on to the table. It only took a brief look from "Jack" to see that they were all different types of holy symbols, mixed with a bunch of military identification medals originating from the Erupting Dawn Empire.
"Right now, the Theocracy is united because of the Erupting Dawn Empire at our doorstep. They’re united because they understand that going alone, or fighting with one another, is the equivalent of dumping a bucket of pig’s blood over their heads and trying to run through the hunting ground of a sixth-tiered lion buck naked. In other words, fucking stupid and shortsighted," Feroxxa growled.
To better visualize this point of view, Feroxxa used some aether to manipulate the holy symbols and identification medals on the desk.
He made it so that there were two piles of the metallic trinkets, one side being the holy symbols while the other was all of the identification medals.
"However, once this common threat disappears, once the Erupting Dawn Empire has either collapsed or surrendered, then the pressure that keeps the sects united will be gone."
Feroxxa illustrated this idea by scattering the identification medals off the table with a blast of energy while simply knocking over the pile of holy symbols.
"The sects will start to become greedy, focus on their own congregations alone, and begin fighting each other again."
With another wave of his hand, the holy symbols began to hover off the table and collide with each other. Loud banging and clanging sounds echoed throughout the room as the holy symbols clashed.
Some broke.
Some got stuck together.
In the end, everyone suffered, and there was debris everywhere.
"But...if someone were to unite the sects. Smooth out their differences and make them into a uniform whole...then they become something greater!"
The holy symbols began to glow bright with light and heat before turning into molten metal and forcibly merged by Feroxxa’s aether.
"And if I can be the one to help facilitate this unity, to create a truly lasting unity...that would be all the better."
A couple more moments later, filled with the sound of metal being rapidly cooled and shaped, Ferroxa had reforged the molten holy symbols into a single holy symbol. One that greatly resembles the one around Feroxxa’s neck, except a touch more ornate.
[Sounds to me that you want to be the First Hearth Tender,] Jack had noted. [Are you bitter that you weren’t chosen over that little girl?]
At this question, Feroxxa released an ugly laugh.
"Me? First Hearth Tender? Ha!" Ferroxa snorted at the idea. "Being the Hearthtender means being the slave to a tool. Now, if I were the one to wield it instead, though...would that not bring me to the edge of Aether Divinity?"
The holy symbol began to glow with the light of the sacred flame offshoot, but there was something else to it that made the air feel...ill.
"I may currently work with that pervert, but that is a temporary measure. Once our job is done, Hulna and I will finally determine who will be the tender of the New Flame...and well, you can imagine how that will go."
[And you want to make sure that the outcome to that fight is...]
"Already set."
[Right...]
...
’You know...I feel like I shouldn’t really be surprised that someone who regularly decapitates people in the same manner one butchers chickens would be this...blatantly ambitious...but still. I was thinking they would at least pretend to not want to make a deal that bloody fast.’
[I can’t even really make an argument that its because they weren’t used to being exposed to Chaos given their proximity with that pseudo-Sacred Flame,] Springerdermain commented. [That was just...greed.]
[We really should come up with a better name for that offshoot thing,] Screamira pointed out. [Something snappy.]
[The Greedy Flame?]
[The Flame of Ambition?]
[The Covetous Flame?]
[Figure it out later; this guy is still talking.]
