A week past the poisoning, the emperor rose from his bed with a light headache as proof of what he'd been through. Looking around with his droopy eyes, he found himself all alone with only the warm light from the window as company.
"Recover…" He mumbled, and a gust of mana-charged wind pulled him off the bed before landing him on his feet. Healing his aching body as well, the wind finally trailed back off into the environment.
'How long has it been?' He wondered, making his way to the wardrobe to pick out his clothes. Scanning through a collection of robes as well as the emperor suits and ceremonious attire, he grabbed a hold of a red robe that had a light cape with spotted fur around its ends. 'I don't suppose nothing had changed in the time I was gone, Asmodia must've had a plan if she risked so much by attacking me directly.'
Getting into the robe, the emperor quickly made his way out toward the throne room. The guards stationed right outside were the first ones who noticed him back on his feet, and the look of surprise on their faces let the emperor know exactly how confident they were about him ever waking up again.
"Bring me the war general, I need a briefing on what happened while I was unconscious," the emperor ordered the guards, intending to get on top of things as soon as possible.
Washing off their shocked expressions, the guards gave off a salute and gently bowed before rushing off forward. After watching them disappear from his sight, the emperor continued on his way to the throne room. Every step of the way he was showered with curious gazes and confusion reflected in the eyes of the guards and other inhabitants of his domain.
Only upon getting to his empty throne did he find some semblance of peace in the lone company of his own. Settling under the light beaming down at his throne, the emperor peered up through the familiar warmth that he'd felt often while occupying the throne.
"Are you there, Asmodia?" He asked, his eyes shut lightly.
Getting no response from the other end, he had no clue what to make of the situation. So waiting for his generals to gather up in the room, he leaned back into the throne and let his mind be cleansed of all thought for the faint moment of peace.
However, the moment the news of the emperor's awakening made it to the generals, it didn't take them long to gather up inside the throne room. Kneeling before him with the exception of Dominion, all the generals showed great respect towards the emperor.
"Mighty long sleep it was, don't you think? I wonder how that poison made it to your lips even though there was no cup or vial for you to drink anything in that room of yours," attacking him instantly with his question, Dominion showered his brother with scorn.
"Oi, idiot, whom do you think you're talking to?" Nabe warned, glaring up at Dominion.
The other two weren't far behind in their contempt for Dominion and stared at him with the same look of rage.
"While I would appreciate your brutal honesty and drive to sever the emperor," rising to his feet, Razor took his saver out of his belt and held it towards Dominion's body. "I don't exactly remember making you the spokesperson for the rest of us."
"Settle down you two," getting up, Michael quickly lowered Razor's blade to de-escalate the situation. However, being an elf he only ended up gathering aggression on himself.
"Get your hands off my blade!" Intentionally drawing it back sharply, Razor cut Michael's palm with his razor-sharp fencer.
"I don't need a monster telling me what I can and can't do so keep your distance," a bit less aggressive than Razor, Dominion glared at the emperor instead.
Left bleeding from his hand all the while having insults hurled at him, Michael took a deep breath before making use of true holy magic to heal the wound shut. Backing away from the two, he decided to fall back into line by standing next to Nabe who seemed utterly indifferent to the conflict between the two.
"Do you have an answer to my question? Or do you plan to keep it all a mystery just like the rest of your plans which have been failing so miserably lately?" Showing no signs of backing off, Dominion kept pushing the emperor's patience.
"You already know the answer don't you Dominion? Then why do you keep wasting everyone's time by asking the same thing over and over again?" Crossing his legs in a nonchalant manner, the emperor returned a sharp glare at his brother.
Curling up his fists, Dominion kept looking at the emperor with his eyes bleeding with rage. Shocking the others, he conjured up his bloodsword and clasped it onto its handle as if ready to fight against their supreme lord. Although, of course, the other generals wouldn't just let it simply happen. Jolting in front of him with their weapons drawn, Michael, Nabe, and Razor were all ready to take on the demi-god in case he tried to lift even a finger against Atlas.
With Michael on his left with his holy lance, Razor on the right with his fencer and reality alter portals, and lastly Nabe in the middle with her body burning with dark miasma, Dominion knew that although he could take them on to some extent, the moment he was caught off guard even his time control abilities won't save him.
"You're all blind sheep who'd simply follow this moron down a cliff," he muttered before putting his sword back into the mercury portal.
Giving one last look to the emperor, Dominion turned around and began marching towards the exit. Watching him march off, the other general kept on guard until he was finally gone out of the throne room and was far from likely to cause any trouble.
"I have to say, he's not wrong about what he said," playing devil's advocate, Razor turned around to face the emperor. "You've kept too many secrets from us, and with each day it's getting harder to trust you as a savior to our kind."
Talking specifically about humanity, he'd already irked the other non-humans that were considered monsters. Keeping their frustration to themselves, however, the two also wanted to hear the emperor's response.
"I am no savior," said the emperor, showing no signs of any emotion on his face. "I am your lord, the one entrusted with the fate of this world, and if any of you wishes to deny that, then there's more than enough traitors that you can serve."
Surprising everyone with his answer, the emperor remained unbothered. Almost as if he'd given up hope in his people or perhaps lost faith in his own map toward an undying future.
"That said, I never wanted to be on this throne, so if any of you intend to take over then be my guest and do so," getting out of the throne, Atlas began descending down the steps and once his feet hit the floor, he moved right past his generals. "Go ahead, carry the weight of the world, and then let me know if you'd share every secret with your brethren."
Leaving the throne vacant once more, the emperor left the room, and soon enough he'd be back on land wandering through the cities posing as the robed beggar.
"What the hell happened to him?" Still unsure what to make of the whole ordeal, Razor was more confused about the emperor's demeanor than ever before.
"He seems broken," replied Michael.
Having seen a hint of his past self in the emperor, Michael knew better than to chase after the man, but then again, leaving the emperor in such a vulnerable state would end up causing even more chaos in the empire than what had already happened.
'Three kingdoms have fallen under demon rule, only two fronts remain in our hands. There couldn't have been a worse time for him to leave us stranded like this.' Contemplating defecting to Feral lands to his people, Michael was really close to betraying the emperor.
"So who's going after him?" Nabe asked, hoping to get the chance of following the emperor so she could keep Haruki up to speed about his moment at all times.
Putting a hurdle in her plan, however, Razor stepped up to follow the emperor just like did in the past.
"As much as I'd love to leave the task to you people, the emperor and I have already done this dance," opening up a realm tear, Razor stepped right in and disappeared.
"I'm sure he'll be fine, this won't be the first time he'd lost his will to fight," mumbling to himself, Michael began making his way out as well.
'If something happens to the emperor and he dies or even gets mortally hurt, I can't imagine Dominion or Razor allowing my people to live peacefully in Feral land.' Reminded of his promise to the emperor to treat his people with dignity and let them stay alive, Michael backed off on his plans of defecting.
"You're all idiots," left alone in the throne room, Nabe was the only one closest to figuring out the source of the emperor's trouble. "Sometimes, being the only female war general, I forget the others are blind to the power of true love."
Being closest to the answer, she felt her heart squeeze in hurt at the very thought of her adoptive father losing the one he truly loved.
'He needs time to himself before he kills the one he loves with his own hands.' Knowing he'd be back on the throne, she decided to contact Haruki, but much to her surprise, there was no answer on the other end.
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