Shades of the New World

Chapter 172: Plans

In the highest platform of the Black Tower, Two Tales was patiently waiting for The Empress to arrive. The sun's presence loomed beyond the horizon, its rays painting the morning sky blue and giving shape to the clouds below. It was all the more beautiful, since the spot he was standing could be called the highest point in the entirety of Alvox. Even the great mountains of the North weren't able to reach this height. 

How the Empress was able to create the Black Tower, Two Tales had no idea. Though everyone who saw the Tower with their own eyes had their own theories and speculations regarding it. In the past, Two Tales was also one of those people, excitedly fantasizing about the miracles of the Empress.

But... unfortunately, when one witnessed a miracle once too many times, they grew numb to it. Only if the Empress were to one day declare that the whole universe had fallen into her control, Two Tales would be startled ever-so-slightly.

'Any other miracle... well, those were just everyday events,' he thought with amusement.

'Jokes aside, where has she disappeared off to?' he thought ponderingly.

As far as Two Tales knew, if one didn't count the Velvet Procession, the times the Empress left the Black Tower for something personally could almost be counted on one's fingers.

'Her leaving today is most likely a monumental moment in history...'

But Two Tales wasn't worried. Her leaving didn't mean anything too dangerous. Probably just something she didn't expect when she was first building the tower. Two Tales knew that the Empress built this tower with the intention to never leave, so she definitely would've thought of what to do when something dangerous occured. After all, she herself bragged about its versatility all the time.

'And I did it not because I am lazy, but because I want a place where I can do everything I need from. Well, also because it's a bit of a pain to get out sometimes,' she would say.

"Well, after this, her tower will be one step closer to omnipotence," Two Tales muttered. Since she had to leave her tower for a problem today, then that meant she going to later think about how she might solve the problem without leaving.

As he was thinking of such random things, a grandly dressed woman materialized in front of him. There was no need for a portal or anything else, The Empress simply appeared where she pleased.

"Good morning, your highness," Two Tales greeted dutifully.

The Empress just half-smiled in response and waved her hands. She then walked towards an armchair and began to sip a drink with one of her countless hands, her golden eyes shimmering in the dimness of early morning. Two Tales didn't take the Empress' behavior to heart, as greetings had lost meaning for the two of them after all these years. 

"It is currently the last month of Fall of the year 1478, almost two years since you've last fallen to slumber," Two Tales recounted and began to report to the Empress of the more important events that happened throughout the years.

Although the Empress was a diety, it didn't mean she was omnipotent or omniscient. Otherwise, it wouldn't be necessary for the Worlds and the Authorities to exist.

Two Tales recited the general state of the four countries, the level of technology and magic, the state of the population in the countries, the ongoing war of the South and the conditions of the Worlds of Magic. 

The Empress expressionlessly listened to these news, occasionally asking for more clarification and information. 

"The biggest events that happened these past years are all tied to the Religion of Ascendants. Too many organizations are using its face and ideals as a cover for their ambitions," Two Tales said and the Empress chuckled slightly.

"The one created by my supposed child, right? I still find it humorous when I think about it."

"Smalltime criminal groups, underground or unorthodox organizations, and even some people tied to the countries are hiding behind the Religion's face..."

"It'll die out pretty soon, I'm sure," the Empress shrugged. She seemed more impressed with the fact that the Religion was able to stay afloat with all these negative influences attached to it.

"In any case, the Otherworlders have also used the religion's face to move against us," Two Tales recounted solemnly.

The Empress' shimmering eyes stopped for a second, and she showed a rare almost expectant smile. Unfortunately, Two Tales could not show the same excitement as her.

Alvox, on the whole, was a relatively new fish on the big waters. They had a great ally with the Ruler of Earth, so none dared to mess with them... but the mysterious being suddenly disappeared about two and a half centuries ago. This meant that Alvox was now left to fend for itself 

"I suppose those conquerors and warlords of the other civilizations have waited enough Hmm Do you know who they were, exactly?" The Empress asked.

"Unfortunately, no. But their technology was very advanced. From what Kal described, they have used a spaceship to escape with their members," Two Tales explained.

"Hmm, a technology based civilization is a bit troubling but the deities of the magical civilizations aren't so easy to deal with either"

Two Tales tried to reply, but decided not to after seeing the Empress' mouth curling into a slight smile, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"There's not much time left at all Perhaps ten years? No They should take at least 20 years or more. That's enough time to prepare the citizens... but that's a pain in and of itself. And it's not like its guaranteed to work in the first place..." the Empress murmured under her breath and chuckled quietly. 

"Yes, that should work. Though a bit extreme, but would be very interesting to see it unfold. And besides, any of it wouldn't really matter in the end, so it's acceptable. Even if it all somehow fails horrendously, I can try again from scratch after all"

"Oh, how I wish this could be solved through brute force but alas, I'm not so omnipotent. Yet. No I shall never be We've been through this Don't you remember what happened to you when you tried to be omniscient? The best you can try for is to be nigh-omnipotent, or nigh-omniscient " 

"But still, having to wait for these indecisive cowards to finally make the decision to attack you is such a chore What a pain Hmm? This feels rather nostalgic, doesn't it?" she said with an eerie smile.

"Though... I wonder what would happen if I just let everything play out by itself? The citizens would surely not just silently let the otherworlders slay them, right? Or will they still somehow manage to compete with each other like always? Heh," The Empress chuckled again.

Two Tales only stood silently in the background, listening to the Empress mutter about random topics, supposedly formulating a plan.

"In any case, the countries should at least be encouraged to unite. Perhaps I shall officially declare it the next time I appear in public" the Empress' eyes regained focus, and she seemed to have decided on her actions. 

Hearing of the unification of the countries, Two Tales could not help but shiver slightly. An inescapable tide of chaos was about to wash over the Empire. 

"What do you require from us?" Two Tales asked, speaking on behalf of the Authorities.

"Nothing yet. I'll need to think a bit more about this whole matter," the Empress replied smilingly.

His duty finished, Two Tales relaxed slightly. It wasn't his job to worry about the future, his job was to follow orders. As the Empress casually mentioned, even if all else fails, the Empress would survive to tell the tale, that much he was sure of.

"If you don't mind me asking, why have you left the Tower?" he asked, feeling chatty, as the Empress seemed to be in a rare good mood. 

"Oh, I felt someone peeking into my past. Turned out it was a set of coincidences that involved that spirit from Earth. Well, now he goes by Evin Anyway, Four tried into escape to Evin's mind, by tainting his soul and baiting him into jumping into her World. Obviously, Twelve stopped everything before anything happened, but decided to leave Evin inside Four's World to go through the flawed trial, thinking that I was interested in him," the Empress laughed.

"In any case, somehow, the first corrupted soul he encountered tried to merge with him through an exchange of memories after failing to absorb him. Moreover, the soul just happened to be someone that met me personally. When Evin's soul reached a point in the woman's life when she met me, I could feel someone glancing at my past through some weird, abnormal way. Curiously, I went to check it out and found out about the whole matter," the Empress finished narrating, amusement apparent on her face.

After listening to the story finish, Two Tales couldn't help but frown.

"I haven't told you this before, since I thought it unnecessary, but we were able to discover the Otherworlders thanks to Evin," he said and narrated the whole story.

Hearing the account, the Empress fell into thought. 

"That's a bit... too coincidental, isn't it?" she muttered out loud and asked: "What do you think of him?"

"Nothing too special, but there is a certain charm to him. As far as I know, most of the older Authorities end up liking him after they converse with him. As for his powers, he's on the more powerful side in his own league. He owns Dark World Sprites, a skinshifter and a connection with the Cosmics. If I also consider the fact that he lived through the life of that woman in Four's World, his chances of assimilating the Beast Lord he met should also become high. In conclusion, it would be hard for him to not succeed in the long term," Two Tales narrated. Then, thinking about how Evin's first appearance inside his World made such huge waves, he couldn't help but notice something wrong.

"Hmm... What are the countries doing about the Otherworlders?" The Empress asked after thinking for a bit.

"For the time being, they're investigating their origins. The Otherworlders seem to have built many secret bases when they were staying here, so the countries are trying to reverse engineer the unknown technology inside them," Two Tales said.

"Hmm If I tell the countries to unite so suddenly, they'll definitely do at least one irrational thing... Let's see what they do for the time being. You can tell the other Authorities to take this matter seriously..." the Empress made a pondering expression, her hand touching her chin... "As for the spirit... let's see where he gets to," she said with a smile.

"Do you wish for me to help him?" Two Tales asked.

"No-no-no. That's over-forcing it. We have to maintain some neutrality here, at least on the surface. We'll just watch the show from the sidelines... don't worry about it," she said and the eerie smile reappeared on her face.