《Hypogean》 Chapter 1 - Welcome Home ¡°Come on your highness settle down now, its time to sleep or shall I read you a bedtime story?¡± The young prince hearing these words nods his head to the dismay of the Head Maid. ¡°You mean ¡®Yes Please.¡¯¡± ¡°Yes Please¡± While the prince is getting comfortably into bed, the Head Maid is browsing the bookshelf to find an appropriate story to end the day. ¡°Good, then how about this book ¡®HVE¡¯¡± flipping the backside reveals the summary that the Head Maid quickly skims through. ¡°It seems to be a story about a hero who came from a despairing village, a Kingdom seemed to be hoarding their wealth and its up to the hero to bring about a more even society.¡± States the Head Maid. ¡°a Kingdom? Hoarding their wealth?¡± ¡°Yes, it means that those in charge of the land are holding onto too much money, which is a very bad thing to do, as the residents of the land are the ones suffering.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good everyone in a kingdom should be happy like us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, all of us here in Hypogean are happy because your father is a great king, and you¡¯ll be just like him, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll be even better than my father.¡± ¡°Good¡± Carrying on the Head Maid continues to read the Children¡¯s book until the young prince eyes felt too weary to continue. Whispering sweetly the Head Maid leaves with the final words ¡°Good night young prince¡±. While the prince is dozing off, he recalls his fathers visit to his room earlier today. The young prince remembers his fathers deep imposing voice from his light grey beard, almost taking away all attention from the buzzing noise around his mother. With a bold voice the King addresses the prince ¡°My Son, you see this fly in your room?¡± ¡°Yes, Father I see it.¡± ¡°What will you do about this fly who came into your room? Will you kill it?¡± ¡°No¡± ¡°Good¡± A moment of silence is broken by the increase of buzzing from the fly around his mother, with the breaking point coming from the fly finding rest in her bright purple hair. ¡°Now what will you do to this fly who came into your room and became an annoyance to your mother? Will you kill it?¡± ¡°Yes. It has become a bother to my mother.¡± ¡°Good. Always remember that family is most important, do not let anything deter you from this fact. Have no mercy towards those that plan to harm anyone in Hypogean, as they are all our family.¡± The kingdom of Hypogean has been a tight knit community of people that have taken to living underground for generations, to the point where their bodies have naturally adapted to their environment. Average residents of Hypogean would rarely see above ground in their lifespan, with hardly any relations to other kingdoms, Hypogean has become a fully self-sufficient society with their own energy supply, farms, cities, and amusement parks. Over the coming years as the prince was growing up, he would hear rumours of their neighbouring Avian kingdom that is located above ground. At first only positive things were stated about the advancement of technology due to the brilliant minds at Avian, only for it to spiral down into rumours of poverty and famine rates rising. Waking up today the prince made a clear mental reminder to be one his best behaviour, after taking his time to shower and style his bright purple hair making sure all the beads on his hair are still attached. Even though majority of his hair was quite symmetrical he liked to style one simple 2 strand twist over his right eye with plenty of dark purple beads attached. ¡°Nice¡± he mumbles as he looks at himself in his room mirror, his eyes gaze towards his room wall where multiple paintings of his family and close subordinates are shown proudly. He then walks towards his dresser to put on his prized possession, a bright gold chain with a blue pendant attached matching the colour of his eyes. After being satisfied with his appearance he mumbles to himself ¡°Alright, its time to go meet Sir Ourax wouldn¡¯t want to keep him waiting¡­.¡± THUMP ¡°Woah¡± The prince strikes his wooden sword impacting the mentor¡¯s chest creating a sound powerful enough to pierce through the walls. ¡°To think that you could land a hit on me after all these years, how far you¡¯ve come.¡± ¡°It was only thanks to your training, thank you sir.¡± ¡°Mm, think nothing of it. How about one more spar?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you for the opportunity!¡± After a few more matches between the two of them, Ourax claims ¡°Ight that¡¯s enough for today.¡± ¡°Thank you for the practice today, I¡¯ll be heading out now.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back together then.¡± Leaving the training room leads into the kingdom hall which seemed more busy than usual today. Being the first one to notice this Ourax notes ¡°Ah it seems that today the diplomats from the Avian kingdom will be arriving, we should hurry up and freshen up before they arrive.¡± ¡°Mmm, that¡¯s true at least I won¡¯t have to worry about my bruises showing up, I don¡¯t know about you though.¡± ¡°haha real funny, the day you can bruise me in a spar is the day your King.¡± As they¡¯re walking through the hall some idle chatters from nobles to the side comes into hearing. ¡°How pathetic is this Avian kingdom, how do you waste all your resources till the point of destruction.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°I wonder how they let it get this bad.¡± ¡°Living a life of only leisure does that to you.¡± ¡°Seems everyone¡¯s thinking about the same thing.¡± States the prince. ¡°Yeah, the Avian kingdom has to be pretty convincing and desperate come here asking for resources.¡± Replies his Mentor Ourax. ¡°Highly doubt this will lead to fruition, but for now I¡¯ll be heading to my room to freshen up before waiting in the throne room.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll meet you there.¡± After taking a quick shower and checking his appearance in the mirror again, the prince takes a moment to calm himself. Thoughts start racing his mind ¡®What could Avians want with us?¡¯ ¡®Will everything go smoothly?¡¯ ¡®Should I prepare for battle?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve never been to war though, haven¡¯t I been training all this time for this moment.¡¯. All these thoughts are pointless, at the end of the day time waits for no one. The prince finishes his preparations and heads over to the throne room. Walking into the throne room is always a spectacle to behold, after the guards open the doors in a grandiose fashion, a blue carpet catches all attention standing in contrast to the dark grey tiling on the floor. With a grandiose vivid red throne that is reserved for one man alone in this whole kingdom. The guards on both sides of the room clear the view and path between the prince and the King. ¡°Ah My Son, come over here, stand by my side while we await the Avian diplomats.¡± boasts the King. ¡°Did you freshen up after your spar with Ourax¡± asks the Queen. ¡°Yes, I have mother.¡± ¡°Good, how did the session go? You¡¯re not too bruised now, are you?¡± questioned the Queen. ¡°haha not this time, I learned some new things from Sir Ourax, but I would be more worried about him.¡± A heartly laugh is heard from the King ¡°HAHAHA my son saying that he has beaten Ourax in a spar huh, those old bones must be betraying him.¡± ¡°If I may interrupt, I feel this story has been bloated, but moving on from that. What¡¯s the plan your highness?¡± states Ourax. ¡°Yes, back to the topic at hand, while I would like to remain open minded, I highly doubt they could offer anything worth diminishing our current lifestyle for.¡± the King responds. Ourax remarks ¡°Makes sense cause at the end of the day there has never been prior communication from those above, only when they tarnish their land, they resort to us.¡± ¡°Your highness, the Avian diplomats are here, shall I let them in?¡± exclaims a guard. ¡°Open!¡± Three intimidating figures walk into the throne room, with no words exchanged between us it was clear these three were not from Hypogean. They immediately took a knee to demonstrate respect to the king. With the dark tan skin tones that contrast their white attire with red accents. I assume its due to them being above ground in the sun all the time, I¡¯ve only ever seen farmers that dark. Starting from the left, this man was a very big individual with a bald head and broad shoulders, looking into his eyes portrayed a very serious demeanor with a noticeable scar on his right eyes. On the far-right side was a thin female who somehow was floating in the air with very little effort displayed, I assume this is due to the advanced technology from the Avian kingdom. In both of her hands appeared to be fire or some heat that is similar to it, with her long purple hair you¡¯d have to wonder how she doesn¡¯t accidently burn her ends. In the middle of them both there was one figure who clearly had a different presence from the rest of them. Even with him taking a knee his eyes felt as if they were looking down on us, not out of pity for our archaic ways like he¡¯s a savior. No, a Hero who is looking at us with understanding and respect like when you pretend to understand a toddler trying to converse. The most disturbing thing to me was his eye colour. It¡¯s red? That isn¡¯t a common sight especially here in Hypogean where majority of our pupils are blue. Now that I think about it his hair is also white, I guess there¡¯s a lot of differences between our races. The king sets the tone with a bellowing ¡°Welcome Avian diplomats, I hope your journey here wasn¡¯t a treacherous one.¡± With a swift response the Hero replies with ¡°Nothing of the sort, the citizens of Hypogean have been very welcoming, thank you for taking your time to hear our pleas.¡± ¡°Think nothing of the sort, now I assume these pleas relate to the deteriorating landscape above ground.¡± ¡°Yes, forgive me for going straight to the matter but as I¡¯m sure your aware. Above ground we have been suffering from a lack of resources to the point where some are starving. We would like to open trades between our kingdoms for your excessive Xavulus supply. ¡°And what would you be offering for limited access to our Xavulus supply? It would take a large amount of Xavulus and proper use of its energy to restore your kingdom to its Former glory.¡± ¡°We would like to offer to Hypogean and its citizens our kingdoms finest scientists, gold, and workers. I believe this trade would benefit both of our kingdoms as our technology has brought upon monumental change to this world.¡± The room takes a brief silence to let the weight of these words digest, understanding that currently I am witnessing my father determine the future trajectory of Hypogean. Will we lead a life of convenience or of stagnation? ¡°HAHAHA Correct there is none better at this science you speak of. While we could introduce this poison into our society, I will have to firmly decline this offer. The last thing my family here needs is this deadly poison that destroyed your kingdom and has blinded you so. Sadly, there is not enough Xavulus for us to spare, we could spare an amount but not nearly enough for you to reproduce your kingdom.¡± ¡°Thank you for considering our proposal. We will definitely take all the help we could get. Surely, we will repay you one day.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it, please feel free to stay the night here I imagine your journey here was not an easy one. Although I must apologize for rooms we have prepared, we still have quite a lot to learn in hospitality, a hotel might be a fine addition for the future.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kind offer but we must decline as we have other plans for the night.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, feel free to explore the city in the meantime then. Guards make sure to escort them properly!¡± ¡°YES YOUR HIGHNESS!!¡± exclaim the guards. With guidance from the guards the Avian diplomats take their leave with a polite bow before walking into the kingdom hall. Once the doors shut the first to break silence was the Queen with her kind hearted comfort ¡°Take a deep breath Honey, you did well.¡± ¡°Thank you, it was a shame that everything was decided so quickly, but this was our first time having any relations with the Avian Kingdom. I hope we seemed hospitable but not fragile. Most importantly Ourax, I need you to investigate into how Avian has heard about Xavulus supply.¡± ¡°I see you noticed it too Sir. It¡¯s strange how those above ground would know about our Xavulus supply, assuming they don¡¯t know our mining methods we should still have the upper hand.¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s a matter of trust. To think one of our family members would allow info to spread saddens me.¡± That¡¯s Impossible. ¡°I doubt any info leak was purposeful, when I walk the streets of Hypogean, I see smiles, I hear music, I hear laughter. There is no possibility of a traitor. Absolutely None.¡± I exclaimed. Suddenly, I couldn¡¯t hear my own voice anymore, it was overpowered by a sharp noise that sliced through the air. It sounded like a large explosion has gone off in the distance I could feel the tremors from here. ¡°Huh, what was that?¡± I ask with thoughts racing through my mind. My father demonstrates his authority giving out orders ¡°Guards check on the source of that noise IMMEDIATELY.¡± ¡°YESSIR!¡± A calming voice in the mixture emerges from my mother ¡°I have a bad feeling about this, especially after our earlier meeting.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope for the best.¡± Replies my father with a soft tempo. ¡°It sounded like something went off in the City Centre.¡± conveys Ourax. City Centre? That¡¯s the densest population in Hypogean, I need to go check on my family. ¡°I¡¯ll go check!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Screams My Mother. Before I get to the door, I hear the giant screech of the heavy door being pushed open, the guards walking in have now become in this moment the most important people in this room. ¡°Sir, there was an attack from the Avian kingdom. It seems they planted poison bombs in the City Centre. Although there wasn¡¯t much damage to the buildings, there have been quite a few injured civilians. Mostly those that were close to the impact of explosion and young ones who still have a weak poison resistance¡± ¡°Thank goodness it was only a poison, has everyone affected been situated into the clinic? Where are the diplomats currently?¡± replies the King. ¡°As soon as they left the gates, the bombs were set off. It must be the work of this science they speak of.¡± ¡°Then we can understand this as a declaration of War. They must have planned to poison us due to the lack of fresh air underground. Robbing us of our Xavulus and lives without risking damage to our environment. Ourax we can discuss this in detail later, for now let us go check on our family.¡± ¡°Yes, your highness¡± I need to go provide support in any way I can. ¡°As will I, I still haven¡¯t seen my subordinates yet, hopefully they are assisting at the city centre.¡± This is the time to protect my family, I have been given the finest education, training, and upbringing all for this moment and if I must go to war with the Avian kingdom I will not shy away from my duty as Prince. Chapter 2 - Poisoned City ¡°If Patience is the ability to waste time, and time is valuable, then why is Patience a virtue?¡± Just last week in this very street I was pondering this question given to me by a little girl. Who would have expected such a drastic change in my day-to-day life less than a week after. The very scene playing before my eyes reminded me of a destructive painting, buildings crumbling, streets demolished, injured civilians everywhere, families panicking. I don¡¯t even want to finish painting this canvas anymore, I need to support the recovery process. ¡°GUARDS SPEED UP THE VENTILATION PROCESS!¡± Shouts Ourax. ¡°Prince, Go check up on your subordinates and the rest of the civilians.¡± Shaking me out of my melancholy was Ourax¡¯s voice, he was right it was time for me to focus. I need to check up on my subordinates and assure that they provide relief to those in need. Thankfully most of the lampposts were still up, meaning it was easy to look around and assess the area. To my right was the bright blue police station, frankly it was extremely busy at the current moment with an influx of staff moving in and out to provide helping hands. To my left was the residential apartments that were very minimally damaged, it was very noisy around these buildings from resident¡¯s being curious as to what occurred earlier. Though the further you look into the city centre, the epicenter starts to unveil its true damage. In the middle a large, wide water fountain lacks the usual grace it normally displays, protected by nothing but the wishes given to it everyday. Looking onward you can see the residential buildings to the left continuing to crumble under its lack of foundation. Wait across the street is the Hospital. I quickly turn my head to assess the damage done to the hospital. ¡°Phew.¡± No noticeable damage done to the exterior; I can only imagine the Hell that awaits me inside it though. Now that I¡¯ve checked out the damage done to the City, it¡¯s time for me to provide support at the epicenter. Ah. I recognize that blue tracksuit by the hospital! It¡¯s Andrex, I need to reconvene with him. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s the Prince! How¡¯ve you been?¡± Boasts Andrex. ¡°I¡¯ve been good but how¡¯s the situation here? Are the civilians fine?¡± ¡°Haha I¡¯ve been good as well! Thanks for asking! The situation here is fine we¡¯re just trying to ventilate this area out for those entering the hospital.¡± I don¡¯t remember asking about him¡­ ¡°That¡¯s nice keep up the good work, meet up with me in front of the police station later on when you¡¯re finished.¡± ¡°Haha Aye Aye I¡¯ll see you then sir.¡± Well, that calmed me down quite a bit, Andrex has always been an unserious person. Speaking of which isn¡¯t that Xara carrying a little girl on her back. The poor child¡¯s face scrunched in pain reminiscent of a stomach-ache, had a slight blush on her cheeks as if she were out in the cold for too long. How dare the Avian Kingdom, I feel anger starting to rise within in me but it abruptly simmers down as Xara moves closer. ¡°Xara. Do you need help?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got everything under control, don¡¯t worry about me Sir.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good but what happened here?¡± ¡°A poison bomb went off in this area while this poor girl was nearby. Since she¡¯s still quite young we¡¯re planning on taking her to the hospital just to make sure she¡¯s fine. Once thing¡¯s settle down we¡¯ll find her parents to inform them.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll leave this to you then.¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m already carrying her who else woulda took over hihihihi. Just make sure the other 2 actually get their jobs done this time.¡± ¡°There you go with your weird laugh again, and don¡¯t worry about the other 2 just finish up here and meet up with me in front of the police station when your done.¡± ¡°Yea, Yeah I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Dealing with Xara is always so tiring, I truly do wonder where she gets all that energy from. At least I can always count on her to get the job done, for now I need to check out back alleys and overlooked locations. I guess I should start out near the police station, with all the foot traffic it wouldn¡¯t surprise me if a vital clue got overlooked. Oh? It seems I was one step behind. Well compared to him I¡¯ll always be one step behind. Of course, I¡¯m talking about Praxa who could be seen cowering behind the police station but sadly I doubt we¡¯re here for the same reasons. ¡°Praxa. What¡¯s going on here.¡± ¡°Oooh S-Sir umm, there was a poison bomb Sir. Once it went off the police and guards came to handle the situation. I even saw Xara and Andrex helping too.¡± ¡°I see but what have You done? Why are you over here and not near the epicentre?¡± ¡°Ooooh S-Sir umm, you see I was going to help but it seemed so busy I didn¡¯t want to get in the way. If anything, staying calm and collected in a situation like this should be praised no?¡± ¡°Praxa, you¡¯re my subordinate, how you act reflects upon me. The next time I see you cowering away when our precious family is going through peril. I will personally make sure you have something to fear. Once you get your act together come meet up with me.¡± ¡°Oh Sir, I¡¯m sorry for my actions, I¡¯ll do my best from here on out!¡± I always feel bad being so strict on Praxa considering what he¡¯s been through but I need him to develop his confidence. Especially with the upcoming war, his intellect will be indispensable. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Looking around one more time I notice a doctor near the destroyed residential building, I start making my way towards him. ¡°Doctor. How are they?¡± ¡°Your Highness, don¡¯t be startled most of us are fine. The only one¡¯s a poison of this calibre could affect are younger ones. Since they haven¡¯t developed the same resistance to poison that we have.¡± ¡°I see, please make sure to care for them and let me know what you need. I¡¯ll always be nearby to provide help.¡± ¡°Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness.¡± That¡¯s a relief, it was just as the guards stated earlier there wasn¡¯t any significant damage or loss that occurred from this poison bomb. I¡¯m glad all of my subordinates we¡¯re quick to provide assistance to the situation before I even issued orders, I truly am proud of all of them. Well it¡¯s time for me to head back towards the police station to meet back up with them. The tallest one amongst the bunch with his unkempt purplish hair, decent beard, and lazy tracksuit outfit was Andrex. Next in line was Xara with her bright blue, bushy hair shaped like an afro. While wearing a black qipao dress modified for athleticism allowing her to demonstrate her martial arts to any unlucky opponents. Finally was the shortest member Praxa, his small frame allowed him to go unnoticed. Wearing a normal long sleeve and jeans he wore a normal safe sandwich outfit with shoes and shirt matching colors. His hair style was quite similar to mine being light purple and all, but he had more small braids with beads covering his forehead. ¡°All of you have finished up I presume?¡± ¡°Of Course I have.¡± States Xara. ¡°Haha Yea, I¡¯ve finished helping the hospital.¡± Boasts Andrex. ¡°Mmph.¡± Nods Praxa. ¡°Praxa you didn¡¯t do anything, I saw you standing near the police station looking like a lost child hihihihihi.¡± Teases Xara. ¡°HAHAHA he did look like a lost child, Praxa you¡¯ve gotta get more confidence. All that time in the library ain¡¯t helping.¡± Boasts Andrex. ¡°I was just keeping an eye on the area for suspicious figures, with all the chaos going on someone had to keep order. What if a kid got separated from their parents or the one¡¯s who set off the bomb were still around?¡± Defends Praxa. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The one¡¯s who set off the bomb aren¡¯t around anymore. If you haven¡¯t heard yet after the meeting with the Avian Kingdom earlier it seems they used the opportunity to activate their poison bombs. They made it clear their goal is our Xavulus supply, so we will be preparing for war to defend our Kingdom.¡± ¡°Yessir, I won¡¯t disappoint.¡± Affirms Xara. ¡°I shall be at your command.¡± Affirms Andrex. ¡°W-w-war? If it can¡¯t be avoided then the only thing left to do is win.¡± Affirms Praxa. ¡°Well said Praxa, I will rely on you three, but I also want you three to rely on me. With the time we¡¯ve spent together, the time we will spend together, we will continue to get stronger and defend our home. I want all of you to spend your time improving your skills and getting stronger, when the time comes, I will reach out to all of you.¡± ¡°YESSIR!¡± ¡°YESSIR! HAHAHA!¡± ¡°y-YESSIR!¡± For now I¡¯ll spend some more time helping around before I retire to my chambers.
The next morning wasn¡¯t any easier on waking up, especially with my sore body from all that heavy lifting. ¡°Yawn¡± While rubbing my eyes I see a familiar face staring me down. Oh no¡­ ¡°PRINCE! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU TO KEEP YOUR ROOM TIDY!¡± Even after all these years the Head Maid has never laid off on the complaints. ¡°I was going to clean it but I was so tired after helping yesterday.¡± ¡°No Excuses. Get to cleaning. Now!¡± ¡°Yes Ma¡¯am.¡± While still feeling groggy from the wake up, I get on both feet and start making my way towards the cleaning supplies. I look through my closet for cleaning supplies, broom, mop, fire core, dust bin. I grab the classic broom + dust bin combo and get to cleaning, until I got the approval from Head Maid to stop. ¡°Hmph. Well that¡¯s enough for now. Get dressed.¡± Finally, I didn¡¯t know how much longer my sore body could handle these early morning chores. I open my closet to return the cleaning supplies, broom, mop, fire core, and dust bin. Wait. I grab the Fire Core for closer inspection, its usually used to burn trash in safe manner but now that I think about it. With a bit of modification couldn¡¯t I increase the output to implement this core into my armor/weapons for increased resistance against fire? Hm, I¡¯ll hold onto this for now. Ah. I can¡¯t keep wasting time here I need to freshen up and get ready before my meeting with Ourax.
The training room was strangely quiet today, no clashing sounds, and no grunts. Well, it made sense since today we were using the training room for our meeting with Ourax. I brought my subordinates along since they will each play crucial roles in my army, so I felt it was important to bring them along. ¡°Prince, this will be an important war. I will be here to guide you through it.¡± ¡°Thank you Ourax, I appreciate your assistance.¡± ¡°Our plan will rely on your skill and the abilities your subordinates provide. Whether it¡¯s Xara¡¯s martial prowess, Andrex morale boost, or Praxa¡¯s strategic intellect. We will take the battle above ground as we can not have a repeat of the poison incident.¡± ¡°I understand Sir Ourax, but if I may ask with this battle we will be fighting on unfamiliar terrain, I assume we will attack during evenings since bright sunlight will be a hinderance on our eyesight.¡± ¡°Correct, we will be hosting training expeditions for our soldiers to accumulate experience on above ground warfare. Our scouts will keep watch on Avian movements, whenever they seem to start organizing an army we will retaliate. Until then I want you to explore above ground and become more acclimate with nature.¡± ¡°I understand. Thank you again for your wisdom Sir Ourax, I appreciate your continue guidance.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, I¡¯ll start making preparations. Until then, Young Prince.¡± As everyone starts leaving the training room, I notice that Xara pulls on my arm. ¡°What¡¯s up Xara¡± ¡°Hey Prince, do you want to spar?¡± ¡°Sure, but I¡¯m still a bit sore from yesterday but if it¡¯ll help calm your nerves.¡± ¡°Yeah I need to train, I¡¯ve gotta stay prepared for any moment. Last thing I ever wanna see is my family in pain again.¡± ¡°Guess that poison attack hurt you more than expected. It was a wake up call seeing the young ones in so much pain, we need to remember that feeling and work towards never feeling it again.¡± ¡°Of course, and with my martial arts I¡¯ll never fail to protect anyone again!¡± ¡°Xara¡­ I hope you still don¡¯t blame yourself for what happened to your parents.¡± ¡°No¡­no blame isn¡¯t the right word, to blame my younger self for wanting something isn¡¯t right. How would I have known at that how much power words held.¡± ¡°Yeah, asking to try beef from above ground for your birthday isn¡¯t a bad thing. Everything that occurred afterwards wasn¡¯t something you deserved. Your father loved you very much which is why he did what he did. Don¡¯t let your mother¡¯s voice still haunt you.¡± ¡°As I grow older I understand her point of view, if I wasn¡¯t so greedy and continuously begging my father to try it, he wouldn¡¯t have went above ground and passed away to the wildlife. Mother would have still been smiling, but now all I get from her is pure hatred.¡± ¡°Xara as bitter as your mother was at the time, at the end of the day she is still your mother. I didn¡¯t want you to continue this spiral of self-blame and hatred, I wanted you to enjoy life, enjoy the bonds a family shares, even if it isn¡¯t your biological one.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Look at how far you¡¯ve come, look at how strong you¡¯ve gotten, no longer are you a weak little girl who couldn¡¯t protect her family. You¡¯re now my subordinate who protects All of Hypogean.¡± ¡°Thanks, it really helps to talk about these things every once in a while. Its hard to look at myself from another point of view but I guess I really did change a lot. Hihihihi I bet father would be proud if he saw how strong I got.¡± ¡°Hahaha I bet he would.¡± ¡°Enough about that though, its time to spar!¡± ¡°Please go easy on me¡± I say with a faint smile.
¡°It seems your little poison bomb, didn¡¯t do much of anything now did it.¡± ¡°No Mr. President, we tried to avoid drastic measures.¡± Says the Hero. ¡°Well, due to avoiding those measures we will now be conducting a full scale war. I hope you and your subordinates are ready! I will not be tolerating anymore failures.¡± Silence deafens the room, not a single soul dares to make light of those words. In the Avian Kingdom only one person can command such respect, named the President of the Kingdom. He summoned the Hero and his 5 subordinates into the meeting room earlier today. ¡°I understand Mr. President, to subjugate Hypogean we will be attacking them using the full front of our scientific prowess. WEYARM!¡± *SCREECH* ¡°YESSIR!¡± This man was a very big individual with a bald head and broad shoulders, looking into his eyes portrayed a very serious demeanor with a noticeable scar on his right eye. ¡°Get your army ready. You will be commencing the first raid on Hypogean.¡± ¡°I would be honored Sir Hero, I will bring back Xavulus for our kingdom, for our homes, for our families.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear! You¡¯ve got some great subordinates Hero. I am expecting great results from this raid. I will let you begin your preparations, for now you are all dismissed.¡±