Chapter 699 Soul Splitter (4)
In a dimly lit room on the war-torn Planet, Ashton, Ibis, Anna, and a few Xyrans sat together. The chaos outside had lessened as the Xyrans, Orions, and mercenaries worked tirelessly to clean up the aftermath of the fierce battle.
However, despite the ceasefire, the tension in the room was palpable. Before giving the control back to Ashton, Astaroth had assured him that there wouldn't be any hostility between the earthlings and the Xyrans anymore.
Ashton was sceptical of Astaroth's words but willing to trust him as long as they could stop the war.
"I know you'd have heard everything about me from Astaroth," Ashton started the meeting. "But I would like to clarify one thing before we take this meeting any further.
I do not trust you or your kind, and I'm only willing to talk things because the dumbass inside my head wants me to, and I respect him enough to see this through for once."
Ibis met Ashton's gaze and nodded. Astaroth had already warned her that Ashton was a bit hard-headed but had a soft side.
"I won't ask you to trust me either," she said. "However, I would like to help Astaroth and, by extension, you. Although Soul Splitter had never been used to separate two beings from one body, it could-"
While Ibis was explaining the procedure to them, Anna saw it was necessary for her to intervene. Her intuition was screaming at her that this friendliness was just a front and nothing more.
"Say what you want, Ibis or Iris or whoever you are," Anna taunted the Xyran. "I don't care if we're on the same side now, but I won't allow this alliance to work until and unless you answer my questions."
Ashton tried to intervene, but Anna was having none of it. After nearly losing Ashton, she had sworn that death would have to go through her before it could touch him.
As such, she wanted to clear every misunderstanding between them before Ashton got prepped for the so-called procedure.
But the tone Anna used for Ibis was a bit over the top, and the Xyrans did not take kindly to it. They were there to come to terms with the ceasefire, not to be ridiculed and stood up, their eyes blazing.
However, they lost all their strength a moment late and collapsed back into their seats. It was then they noticed Ashton's fingers that were pointed towards them.
"The next time you bare your fangs, my aura will crush your heads," Ashton sternly warned them. "Is that clear?"
The Xyrans begrudgingly nodded before Ashton let go of them. Ibis looked at her assistants and shook her head in dismay. Astaroth had already informed her about Ashton's limitless strength, and she knew it wasn't wise to trigger him.
"I'll be willing to answer any questions you might have, Succubus," Ibis replied with a smile, but her words were clearly a jab to Anna, who ignored her remarks as the Xyran had done the same.
"If you wanted peace, why did you attack us?" Anna inquired.
"We believed that Ashton was a sinful Precursor, much like Kro'Han, who had forcefully seized control of the kernel tower," Ibis replied without hesitation.
"We feared that in Ashton's hands, the tower could unleash havoc upon Earth, a planet that some Xyrans consider the abode of fallen heroes. As such, we came to stop you."
Ashton couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he heard Ibis's response. The Xyrans wanted to protect Earth? But weren't they the ones responsible for the Planet's pathetic state?
Ashton was one of many confused about Ibis's statement. Astaroth had always known that humans were their enemies. Yet Ibis's statement was the complete opposite of what they had expected.
"Wait," he interjected, his brows furrowed in bewilderment. "but weren't the Xyrans the ones who caused the Great Disaster over a century ago? And didn't they abandon humanity because they felt challenged by us as if we were trying to replace them?"
Ashton's words took aback Ibis and hurriedly clarified, "No. Earth's mutant disaster had nothing to do with the Xyrans.
She continued, "We didn't abandon humanity out of revenge or jealousy. We never intervened with anything related to the Planet because of a promise to the Precursors never to destroy or interfere with Earth."
The room fell into an uneasy silence as the weight of this information settled in. Xyrans and the Earthlings were supposed to be each other's enemies. At least, that's what Ashton had learned from everyone involved with the Precursors.
But Ibis was claiming all of it to be false. But how could so many people be fooled into believing falsified information?
"Astaroth... you got something to say for yourself?" Ashton mumbled.
[I-I have no clue...]
Ashton and the Xyrans shared a perplexing moment of realisation, and even Astaroth was left feeling disoriented by the revelations. Something didn't add up, and it felt as if the memories of the events leading to war between the ancient civilisations point had been tampered with.
Moreover, Ashton had used [Heartbeat sense] on Ibis and knew she was telling the truth, making the situation more complex.
"Ibis, this is all so confusing," Ashton's voice was marked with uncertainty, "In my understanding, the Xyrans wanted to end the Precursors. Is it a lie?"
"Ashton, the Xyrans never attacked all Precursors," Ibis took a deep breath and looked directly into Ashton's eyes. "We were only at odds with the faction led by Kro'Han, also known as the Nyx, who wanted to rule over the galaxy.
She continued, "Meanwhile, the Xyrans supported the faction led by Lord Jo'Han to defeat Kro'Han. But like them, not all Xyrans were on board with the plan and turned to help Kro'Han, which possibly led to mixing up the history as you know it."
As soon as Ibis mentioned Ashton's father's name, Anna grabbed his hand, while Ashton didn't show any emotion to give away what he had hidden from Astaroth.
The Xyrans were unaware of the familial connection between Jo'Han and Ashton, so they didn't know the value of the revelation. But it finally made sense why Kro'Han wanted Ashton on his side.
Had Ashton joined Kro'Han, it would have been the ultimate disrespect towards Jo'Han, and Kro'Han wanted his brother to turn in his grave.
Ashton's mind raced as he processed this new information. He had been led to believe that the Xyrans were his enemies, but now, it seemed that not all Xyrans were alike.
The history of the Precursor-Xyran conflict was far more complicated than he had ever imagined, and he no longer knew which side was speaking the truth.
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