Chapter 985: The Stolen Authority
"Exactly what are you talking about?" Zane asked, also directing a suspicious gaze at Luka, but the Progenitor goddess didn’t mind their suspicion and responded calmly.
"Well, obviously, I’m talking about when this got stolen from Syndra."
She raised her hand as she spoke, and when she opened her palm, a pulse of cosmic energy spread out from the swirling orb of power held within.
In that instant, Syndra’s hand flashed through time, reaching toward Luka’s to take the orb, but Luka, already expecting such a reaction, instantly teleported behind Syndra, concealing the orb while raising her other hand and shaking it.
"Nuh-uh, not so fast."
"How do you have that?!" Syndra demanded, cosmic energy bursting from her body as her demeanour turned hostile, a clear contrast to Luka, who remained calm as she replied,
"Obviously, I took it from the guy who stole it after I killed him."
Hearing her response, Zane immediately connected the dots and then spoke.
"It was you. You’re the reason our numbers decreased for a few seconds. You killed that Progenitor and resurrected him."
"Bingo!" Luka shouted playfully, pointing at him.
"Yes, I’m the reason our numbers reduced for a few seconds. I did get a bit too heated while I was testing him," she added, scratching her hair with a sheepish smile.
Syndra, however, didn’t care about any of this and simply wanted to reclaim the fragment of her Progenitor Authority currently in Luka’s possession.
"Give. That. Back."
At her demand, Luka’s sheepish smile disappeared, her expression turning serious as she met Syndra’s eyes and replied.
"I’ll give it to you, but you have to agree to a little condition of mine," Luka said.
However, Syndra wasn’t willing to hear her out for even a second.
"I have no obligation to listen to any condition of yours."
Cosmic energy rapidly condensed around her right hand, creating a giant lance with a tube extending from the hilt and connecting to her upper arm.
Seeing this, Luka laughed.
"Oh, you have no choice, my dear. Because the alternative..." she paused, glancing at the orb in her right palm as she scoffed, "Forget your Authority fragment. We’re talking a war here."
With those words, Luka unleashed her own power, the immense cosmic energy radiating from her body matching Syndra’s in pressure. The space around them, already partially ruptured from Syndra’s earlier punch, began to break down even further.
Just when it looked like the two of them were about to come to blows, Zane appeared between them, snapping his fingers in front of their faces.
"Alright, both of you time the fuck out."
Each snap released a countering pulse of cosmic energy that nullified the effects of the pressure their powers placed on the surrounding reality.
Looking at Syndra, he said, "Calm down for a bit. Luka’s clearly provoking you."
Then he turned toward Luka and continued, "And you, state your conditions already. Not everyone has time for your games."
Syndra frowned and called out to him, "Zane—"
"Look, just listen first," Zane said, cutting her off. "Luka’s batshit crazy, you know? She can actually cause a war over whatever it is she’s trying to get out of you."
"Did you just call me crazy to my face?" Luka quipped, her expression filled with disbelief.
Zane immediately turned back toward her, an eyebrow raised in confusion as he responded, "Yeah, I did. What about it? Did I say anything that wasn’t true?"
He spoke without blinking, his attitude making it clear that ’Luka=Crazy’ was a confirmed fact as far as he was concerned, as obvious as 1+1=2.
"Anyway, let’s get straight to the point," he said, brushing the matter aside as if it wasn’t important. "What do you want?"
Luka clearly had a lot to say about being called crazy so casually, but she simply sighed and looked at Syndra before stating her condition.
"I’ll give you your Authority Fragment, but in return, you don’t go after the one who took it."
"...what?"
Syndra’s eyes narrowed with displeasure at this, and seeing her reaction, Luka sighed once more.
"This is exactly why he didn’t tell Aleksas or Quinn to give it back to you already. Because he knew you’d react like this," she muttered.
Luka had known Syndra for trillions of years, so she understood that even if she returned Syndra’s Authority fragment, it wouldn’t stop her from going after Arthur simply because she felt insulted by the fact that a young Progenitor managed to steal from her in the first place, even if indirectly.
And that was exactly what Luka didn’t want.
Her eyes lit up with a dull glow, her gaze turning cold as she spoke, her voice filled with cosmic power.
|That’s MY Slayer, Syndra. Don’t you dare spoil my fun, or I’ll make sure you regret it for the rest of your days.|
Now, this wasn’t a "condition" anymore. It was a direct threat, and Syndra wasn’t about to ignore it.
However, the telepathic message from Zane that came just before her annoyance reached its peak stopped her from acting.
[Just agree, Syndra. It’s not worth it to get mixed up in Luka’s craziness. Especially when we’ll have to deal with Astrel soon. The lookout I had on him just reported that he’s on the move. His destination is obviously here.]
"..."
Syndra frowned deeply, then finally clicked her tongue, dismissing her lance as she did so.
"Fine," she muttered.
At this, Luka immediately broke into a light smile, tossing the orb in her palm to Syndra as she spoke cheerfully, as if her earlier coldness had never been there.
"Pleasure doing business with you."
By the time the sound of her words reached Syndra’s ears, she had already vanished, not just from that region of space, but from that multiverse in its entirety.
◇ ◇ ◇
Luka reappeared within an empty throne hall at the centre of the Imperium’s Headquarters in the god universe of the Origin Multiverse.
Aside from her in her true body, the only other living presence within the throne hall at that moment was her clone, the same one she had sent after Arthur.
For a clone of someone at her level, it was on the weaker side. Its power was only at the Monarch Realm, but that was acceptable since she needed something weak enough to slip beneath Aleksas’ and Quinn’s senses.
She walked up to the now inactive clone, raising her hand and sliding it across the gash on its torso where Arthur’s sword had cut through, her fingers becoming stained with the blood still dripping from the unhealed wound.
As she lifted her hand and looked at the golden liquid on her fingers, a small smile appeared on her face, and she muttered, "This... I should preserve this."
She reached toward the clone again and touched it, and the moment she did, the clone became temporally locked, completely removed from the flow of time and therefore unable to be affected by its passage.
Luka snapped her fingers and moved the clone to another space, and immediately after, she turned around, her smile widening as she shouted in a loud voice, "Yes!! I finally got mine!!"
She pumped her fists and jumped as she shouted, like a child celebrating the acquisition of a new toy. The woman laughed cheerfully while spinning around until she dropped back onto the throne at the end of the hall.
Leaning against the armrests, she hugged herself and said, "Ah, my dear, dear Slayer, you have no idea how much joy your mere existence brings me."
She closed her eyes, threw her head back, and laughed joyfully, but her laughter stopped abruptly, and a trace of faint irritation crept into her tone and expression as she muttered, "Still, he’s far too weak to provide me with any substantial enjoyment. This time was fun since I used a clone, but I can’t do that every time, can I?"
The memories of her ’battle’ with Arthur passed through her mind, and as she thought of the ending, she smiled and said, "Ah, that’s right, I did plant a seed, didn’t I?"
She began to chuckle to herself as she continued, "Yes, yes, after such an experience, he would feel humiliated, wouldn’t he? He would be angry, filled with rage. That’s right, he should be. It’s only natural that he would."
Spreading her arms wide, she then declared loudly,
"Convert that rage of yours to desire for strength!
Crave power! Grow stronger! As fast as you can! However you can!
And come before me seeking revenge.
I will be waiting, ready to accept it all, my dear, dear Slayer."
