N.E.C.R.O.

Part 1 - Chapter 8: Context

A hierarchy, I thought, chuckling to myself. The slightest notion of their disunity will prove to be the reason for their end.

I assumed the attire of the soldier, who just entered the room, with the Guardian's power and camouflaged in one corner of the corridor, sunk in darkness. Before long, another soldier dressed the same way entered the room, showing me exactly how to enter.

Just as I had opened the room, three guards stopped me. "What is your purpose here?"

"Lord Mist had asked for my immediate presence."

"You may pass."

Ignorant fools, I thought as I passed them. The Shard was now thoroughly pulling me to it. I was almost flying past the corridor, until I banged hard on a sturdy and tough-looking door. "Oof!" I gasped.

From behind me, two soldiers came towards me in an outfit similar to that I was previously wearing. "Sir, what are you doing here?" they asked.

"Lord Mist had called for me."

"But, sir... The room is filled... We came here to lock the door."

"I am the last one."

"But..."

Taking advantage of their hierarchy, I said, "You dare stop me from passing?"

"No, sir, sorry."

"Hmph! Open that door to let me pass."

"As you wish, sir."

They held the door open for me, and closed it after I entered the room. It was a very large room, filled with guards. The place was completely dark, so I camouflaged into a corner and removed my disguise. In the middle of the room, was the 'Lord Mist'.

"... So, we take control of the Infinite Realm, with the Shard of Eternity. As your leader, I, Mist, give you all my word that by the time we meet again, the Infinite Realm will be ours. I will abdicate the Guardian of the Cosmos with sheer power – the power of the Eternal Shard."

I could feel the Shard pulling me very intensely, but I countered its pull. Just as Mist stepped down from the platform on which he was standing on, out came the locket – my locket – containing the Eternal Shard, resting on a podium. The soldiers in the room cheered very powerfully. "WE CONTROL THE INFINITE REALM," they all screamed. Fairly enraged, I let go of the counter force that I was giving out to keep the locket in place.

The locket zoomed past all of the audience and into my hands. The room was filled with commotion. I revealed myself, donning the locket. "I am Laetus," I announced. "And I own this Shard. Which means that I can access its powers as I please."

"What!? No, no, no!" Mist screamed.

"I hereby eradicate the Highland Royals. This is the Guardian's, Viol's and my 'judgement'," I said. Letting out a smirk of satisfaction, I declared, "Obliteration."

Laetus had, using the Eternal Shard's and the Guardian's powers, destroyed all those who were actively part of the Highland Royals with ease. The others, who had just intentions were spared, though injured.

Laetus transported himself to the City of Energy. "I want to know what had actually happened," he asked the Guardian.

"I created the Highland Royals to provide justice to everything and every entity in the Infinite Realm. But a certain day, Mist, who was supposedly part of the Highland Royals, showed himself to me, asking me to abdicate. But when I refused, Mist assumed leadership of the Highland Royals and aspired for my end, in his rage. They knew that to put me into slumber, they needed the Eternal Shard. Thus, Viol stole your locket and what they returned was a fake one.

"Seeing that you are the owner of the locket, they sought to destroy you along with your village. Luckily, you weren't in the island when they burnt it. But since Viol had allowed the escape of many villagers, she was... killed when she was caught."

"No!" Laetus could only whisper over his grief.

"I'm sorry. But there was nothing you could do. There was nothing I could have done. Nothing... At all..."

"Is there a way... so I can meet her again?"

The Guardian hesitantly replied that there was a way, but there was a condition.

"What is the condition?"

"That you should be ready to wait for a long time."

"I shall wait for however long it takes, before I can meet her again."

"You should take over an 'alive' planet and look after it until it ends. If you can prevent its end, the Void Piece will connect you to Viol."

"What is the Void Piece?"

The Guardian showed themself, at that moment. "You will know all in due time..."

"I comprehend, your eminence."

"You are, from this instance in time, Praestes – the Caretaker of Orbis."

×××

*Continent, as in tectonic plate.