《Tales of the Known》 Chapter 1: Strongest ''Three Enclavian years have passed and I still think that you''re not cut out for this''. Williams said as he took a sip from a glass of strange cocktail mixed by the lady in front of him. He coughed a little and distorted his face in a weird way. ''That bad, huh?'' Lisbeth said. ''Sorry. Here, have a raw drink.'' She said as she poured Gourlon in a glass. It was a local alcoholic drink favored by the common folk. Probably because it was cheap and didn''t taste like sewer water. Unfortunately, though someone did try to pass off sewer water as a refreshment drink a year ago. Blame the nonexistent public health system of this colony. Williams looked at her for a bit and took another sip. Most would say that there was a hint of lust in his eyes but most would be wrong. ''Not bad enough.'' He said with a smirk. ''Then I''m good to go as a bartender?'' She said with a sarcastic tone. ''No way! People are dying enough as it is. We don''t need poisonous cocktails on our menu. I sometimes wonder, how do you mess these recipes up so much?'' ''I just can''t take it anymore! Working as a miner ... all that labor and sweat. Everyone smells like a week old carcass after each shift!'' She said suddenly changing the topic. ''Yeah. But you still earn more than me. I might even start working in the mines myself.'' ''Mining sucks. Believe me.'' ''Well, I''ve not made up my mind yet. I''ve also got my eyes on farming. I hear it''s really profitable. More importantly, it''s safe.'' ''Why haven''t I thought about that?! We can team up!'' Lisbeth said with shiny eyes. ''Yeah. Keep dreaming. No way I''m teaming up with you again. You''re crazy.'' ''You''ve been planning this all along, huh? I should''ve known. After all, we''ve been through!'' Williams looked at her again with a serious expression. ''I''m glad you brought this up, Lisbeth. You know well that I didn''t call you today to reevaluate your mixing skills. I''ve sold the bar to Oman for 12400 credits. I''ve been looking for a good deal for some time.'' ''Oman?! The wannabe rebel? No! You can''t do this... we''ve so many fond memories of this place.'' ''Stop the drama. I know who you are. When did you first realize that I was planning to leave?'' She looked away. ''For some time. I was trained to be like this. Sorry, I can''t stop myse..'' ''It''s okay. It was an honor serving under you. But I guess this is where we part. Everyone from our squad has moved on. I don''t see why both of us should rot like this.'' ''Where will you go?'' ''I guess I will start with visiting Lilia. I have received news that she is pregnant. She has moved to a boundary galaxy. So I guess it''s safe to visit her there.'' ''Great. You do that. Meet your sister. I hope we''ve stayed incognito for long enough... Just remember that the system never forgives. So be careful.'' She said with a serious tone. ''I have to take that risk. I can''t live like this anymore.'' ''Okay then. I guess I will just keep on working the mines.'' She said with an awkward smile on her face. She certainly wasn''t happy about this. Williams smiled back. It went smoother than he expected. Much better than the worst case scenario where his former boss goes nuts and destroys everything around her. ''Let me make you a special drink. For old time''s sake.'' ''I''ll just go. I''m really tired, Williams. You''ve been good to me. I thank you for putting up with me for such a long time. Goodbye'' ''Goodbye.'' Williams said as he looked down. He felt too guilty to look her in the eye. He couldn''t figure out why he felt that way. He didn''t owe her anything. In fact, it was she who owed him. She came out of the bar. Bits of ice flakes were falling from the sky. ''I hate this planet.'' She thought as she started to search for something in the deep pockets of her heavy suit. She couldn''t find it, her smoking stick. And that was the moment she lost her temper. An empty table outside the bar became the victim of her assault as she punched on it in fury. ''Hey, stop there! What''re you doing?!'' A patron yelled. ''Shut up or you''re next!'' She yelled back. He looked at the poor wooden table. It was in pieces, so he decided not to confront her further. ''Nothing. Absolutely nothing, ma''am. I must have drunk too much. I''m seeing things.'' Lisbeth started to walk away. This will be a long night, she thought. Williams came out afterward. ''I heard a noise couple of minutes ago. Did you break that table, Anakin?!'' He asked the lonely patron sitting in a corner. ''I didn''t! It was a blue haired crazy woman. I''ve seen her come and go a couple of times.'' It was just a table then. He was worried if she had started to break down the bar to stop him from going. ''Oh. I see. No worries then. You want anything else?'' ''No. I think I have had enough for today.'' ''Then what the hell are you doing here? Get lost, you!'' Williams yelled. Three days later Lisbeth had finished her shift. ''Hey, wanna hang out with us later? Rodou is throwing a farewell party for us. There will be lots of protein there if you''re interested.'' One of her coworkers said as he was coming out of his mining bot. ''I don''t think so. I am not feeling well today. Thank you for asking.'' She said. Looks like everyone was leaving this planet. Every day she worked an extra hour more than the other miners. But today she decided to stop here and go for the bath sooner. She stood under the hot shower like an empty sack of meat. Every day the same thing. Work-take a shower-go home-eat-sleep. Her whole body was filled with bits of blue dust. Here they mined Satoshi''s Tears. It was a compound of various higher metals and sulfur. When mixed with perspiration it created an unbearable smell that often made the miners cry. Of course, they wore industrial suits but trace amounts of dust would still get inside and make everyone smell like rotten meat. The water had cleaning agents that combined with those bits of dust and removed them completely from the body. She stood silently and listened to others gossiping. Normally she would take a bath after everyone was gone. There were too many scars on her body and most didn''t like to see them. ''Did you hear? An actual scholar is coming soon.'' ''Yeah. I heard that he will try to enhance the planet a bit more. 9.6g instead of 9.8g is okay. But those ice storms?! That has to go.'' ''Yeah. It nearly destroyed my uncle''s shop couple of days ago. I told him to give it a metallic layer. It''s a miracle that it stood for a year.'' ''By the way, tonight he was quite ... exciting. That nano pill worked well. '' ''I told you! Verzoan traders never disappoint. It worked so well for me and my husband. You know, nothing better than good sex to improve a relationship.'' They moved out together while drying themselves using a hydrophobic cloth. Suddenly one of them noticed someone. ''Isn''t that Lisbeth? I forgot she worked here. She works in your section, right?'' ''Yeah. She is a weird one. She always bathes after everyone is gone though. I wonder what''s up with her today.'' ''What''s up with all those scars on her body ?'' ''Don''t know. Don''t care. I don''t know why but my instincts tell me to stay away from her.'' She whispered to her friend. ''You stay away from anyone who isn''t a local here.'' ''Can you blame me? You know well about the people who come to settle here these days.'' ''You''re right. We should just stick to our normal routine.'' She said with a doubtful voice as she looked back at the scarred woman with suspicion. Lisbeth could hear them. Once the scar on her body was a source of pride and confidence for her. But people change. Now those scars are there only to remind her that she was someone else once and to others they were nothing but a sign of danger or repulsion. The colony was 30 minutes of walking distance from the mines Lisbeth worked on. For 3 years she walked these roads but today everything seemed different. The planet wasn''t much but she had friends, people she could trust with her life. One by one all of them had left her. Williams wasn''t just one of those friends, he was much more to her. During their time he used to be the second in command of her squad and after that, he was there to support her in every situation. Last two years she tried to make him notice that she felt differently about him. Either he didn''t notice or deliberately avoided her signs. She was trained to weigh hundreds of events against one another. Those untrained in the arts of event weighing thought she could tell the future or read other''s thoughts. But it was just a trick of the mind that some could perform while most couldn''t. From a very young age, she was told of a great future awaiting her and she was also told that she was special. Indeed, she had many gifts but they never helped her get the things she really wanted. A normal human being couldn''t think as much as she could in a given interval of time and today was different. She walked silently and felt a tingling pain in her head. Thousands of probabilities running through her mind. Hundreds of events that could unfold. She wanted to go with Williams. It wasn''t safe what he was doing. But no matter how much she wanted she couldn''t bring herself to stop him or advise him otherwise. ''What is he thinking?! How can he be this clueless? Selling the bar to a rebel is too risky!'' She thought and instantly shook her head in regret. ''No! He doesn''t want me in this. So be it.'' She said. She walked until she had reached the center of the colony. The bazaar. This colony had a thriving marketplace in its center. Here everything was sold for a price. From fresh produce to human beings and many other interesting things in between if you know your way around the place. This was the only human colony on this planet. It was self-sufficient but poorly organized. There was no such thing as a planetary government. Just a crime lord who people knew as the ''Mayor''. Thus it was a haven for criminals, rebels and people who wanted to disappear as it was a planet on the edge of the imperial territory and one of farthest planets from the clutches of the system. No matter how much she hated it here, it did serve her and her traitor buddies quite well. She sat down in a bar by the street. A couple of seats, a hardened poly ceiling on top for protection against sharp pieces of ice and an old bartender who never tried to start a conversation. This was mainly a mining planet and miners for some reason really liked to drink, thus there was no lack of bars and roadside stores like this but she preferred this place. Being a regular here, she was served a hot bottle as soon as she sat down. ''Give me something strong. Today is not a good day.'' Lisbeth said hoping this would start some sort of conversation. But it didn''t, like usual. The old man quietly took away the hot bottle of soft drink and put forward a glass half full of Brandeur heated to an optimal temperature. It was a universal strong alcoholic drink liked by many for its base flavor and was perfect for the icy weather of this planet. She took a sip and relaxed her mind. For a moment she felt a fire burning her insides and then she felt a comfortable warmth. The guy knew what to serve. ''What is this?! How dare you lie about the products you sell, cretin?! These are not upples!'' Lisbeth heard someone yell from behind her. It was an imperial military officer of some sort. She could tell from his clothing. There were 3 more with him who seemed too well equipped to be foot soldiers. Among them was a boy who looked too young to be in the military. As she was looking at them, he turned around. It was just a second, yet it seemed longer. She noticed his eye widen as if he saw something shocking. He tried to hide his shock as he immediately turned his head back. She quietly looked at her glass. Three years had passed, she had forgotten who she was. Was this the end? Caught by some kid? ''Calm down.'' She said to herself. It was not possible for someone to recognize her like this. She had gone through physical reconstruction. It changed her hair and eye color. Made her skin tone brownish from pale white. Only rigorous DNA analysis could get her. She didn''t get rid of her scars but no one could identify her from those. Certainly not when she was wearing a couple of layers of heavy clothing. That left only one other possibility. He didn''t recognize her, he felt her unusual existence. Yes, that was it. Although quite faint, she could feel his existence too when she concentrated harder. The boy was an aware. ''Captain Turok! Give this man a lesson on imperial laws. It''s high time this disgusting planet saw some discipline and law enforcement.'' The officer yelled again. ''As you command, Sir.'' One of the men said and moved towards the store unsheathing his flame sword. Small bursts of flame flew off from the shiny black metallic blade, spreading through the air. Such weapons were reserved for highly skilled soldiers as they took a lot of skill and training to control properly. Albeit the basic principle was just to combust the gaseous elements in the air, it still was a highly complicated equipment made through the extensive use of particle engineering. One of the greatest scholar, Lazarus Shivaay, was the first to conceive and make an array of such swords. Now they were really popular in the higher military ranks for their diverse capabilities. A master sword dancer could control its power to perform incredible feats. Flame sword dancing, on the other hand, was of a lower form. It had destructive power but lacked precision. It certainly wasn''t the proper tool to enforce law and order. ''It was not me! A traveling trader sold them to me as upples. Believe me, sir! I''m innocent. In fact, I''m a victim!'' ''Say, I believe you. This is still unforgivable. People could die if you sell them things you yourself don''t know about.'' ''I will be more careful from now on! I promise!'' ''Okay then. I guess you learned your lesson.'' He said as he unsheathed his sword. The shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief. ''So you''ll pay us, your new protectors and enforcers of the law, a regular tribute from now on.'' He said. ''Tribute?'' ''You still don''t understand, huh? Do you really want to be the example we use to clear the confusion of all these other low lives?'' He asked giving a cold stare. ''Of course not, sir. I understand.'' ''This planet was inside the boundary of the Empire but it was still independent. So what are they doing here? These guys are troublesome. No better than the system''s military.'' She thought after seeing the ordeal. ''The Imperial Military has come! You have been given unprecedented freedom up until now. Your imbecile leader is no more. That fool refused to pay the planetary taxes for 9 Enclavian years even after several imperial notices. Is anyone here who wants the same fate as him? If not, then each and every one of you will come to the colony center 3 days later to get registered and rechecked as imperial citizens. And then you will pay your due taxes afterward from now on. All businesses are hereby declared to be closed until further notice, as none of you have a trading permit or an overseer agency to verify quality and safety. An official announcement will be coming soon via the local news stations. So everyone will close their respective shops and go home right now. Military rations will be given from tomorrow.'' Captain Turok announced with a sound amplifier and suddenly an unusual hurriedness could be seen in the streets and stores.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Her event weighing became unstable. The upcoming events became more and more unsure and cloudy due to sudden significant changes in the world around her. She couldn''t deduce anything about the future events. A probabilistic catastrophe. Lisbeth had indeed become really rusty in using her abilities. But that was the least of her worries now. The officer in charge and the boy was moving towards her. The officer sat beside her as he took the glass of drink in his hand. He smelled it and then tasted it. ''A beautiful lady like you should refrain from drinking such ... unhealthy things.'' He said with an empty stare. ''Don''t kill him. Don''t kill him.'' She instinctively repeated to herself couple of times. ''It''s just that the weather is really cold here. A strong drink helps sometimes.'' She said with a smile. ''Does it now? Then drink some more.'' He said as he gave her the glass back. She stretched her hand to take the glass. ''I could suggest some other things that could help you in this cold weather ...'' He said with a disgusting look. His eyes were that of an animal. ''I think I should go.'' Lisbeth said with a scared and confused face. It was all part of her disguise. If she didn''t look flustered at this point anyone would find her to be suspicious. ''I think so too.'' He said. She stood up and started to walk fast. Her facade was a success. The afraid, don''t-know- what-to-do woman. This personality had helped her get out of various sticky situations throughout the years. She felt relieved that she still had it in her. This could''ve ended in a bloodbath if she had snapped. She also felt glad that she didn''t. She got into her apartment and sat down with her back against the main door. She felt too tired to start another life and find another place she could barely call home. Her one bedroom apartment wasn''t anything to be proud of but it was cozy enough. She didn''t like her job but she was really good at it. She didn''t like this colony or this icy planet but it protected her quite well from the ghosts of her past. But all her doubts subsided as soon as her years of experience as a fugitive on the run kicked in. She got up and started to prepare for another voyage into the unknown. A handful of necessary clothes. Gears she had hidden somewhere in the apartment. Quite an impressive amount of credits she had saved during her time here. At least a bit of luck was on her side. They had given three days before they would start to recheck the validity of the citizens here. It was more than enough time for her to go into a deep meditative state and find an optimal solution for this situation. She sat down on her bed in a lotus position. For more than 15 minutes she sat there quietly but it didn''t work. Seeing no other way, she tried to remember where she had hidden her gears. She needed the drugs to trigger the deep state. Next Day ''That woman. She wasn''t normal. I never felt someone like this. Her aura, it felt too strong to be true but she is real. I''m sure of it.'' Ethen thought as he looked at the electromagnetic screen radiating from a device attached to his arm. He knew that something was very wrong about her but decided not to disclose any information just now. She could be the chance he had been waiting for. He decided to seek her out. He moved out of his cabin in the strategic ship tomeet Major Vlakoska. He was the leader of this skirmish. They were ordered to purify this planet from a high official of the Ministry of Warfare. Purification was a codeword for extermination of a populace. In simpler terms, they were ordered to perform a genocide. They could have used orbital bombing but it was to be carried out with discretion. Local people are thinking that the military is taking control. The poor bastards didn''t even know that death was so close to them, drinking coffee and perfecting a strategy. ''Sir, I want to do an independent survey of this colony if you have no objections. To determine a better strategic plan to carry out our orders more effectively. '' He said standing before the Major. No more planning was needed. 15 sword dancers were assigned to Major Vlakoska along with 1305 ordinary troops yet to arrive. More than enough to take care of an approximate population of ten thousand in a day or two. Vlakoska thought for a moment. ''You outrank me in a way. So my opinion doesn''t really matter. You were sent here to acquire field experience. So I don''t see why not.'' ''Still, I thought it would be polite to ask you first.'' ''That is nice of you. Be careful out there. These low lives might not be as honorable and powerfulas us but they do employ various dirty tricks to get an edge from time to time.'' Honorable? Ethen had been with them from time to time for 2 years. He was assigned to them to acquire ''field experience'' as if the training he was going through wasn''t traumatizing enough. He had realized from the beginning that Vlakoska and his right-hand man Turok were anything but honorable. They were part of a death brigade that specialized in committing atrocities throughout the empire. Murder, rape, human trafficking, genocide were nothing special for Vlakoska. He was sadistic and insane and he had a thing for young girls. Just like their previous skirmishes, he will surely take a girl as a trophy from this colony. The empire allows this. As Ethen''s father told him, ''Know the difference between evil and necessary evil.'' Soldiers like Vlakoska are a necessary evil for the empire now. It didn''t matter if one of them thought that raping and torturing young girls and then selling them to slavers was an ''exciting'' thing to do. After talking with the locals he had learned that the woman''s name was Lisbeth. Nobody knew her full name but her landlord gave enough information about her after seeing Ethen''s credentials. At first, he didn''t believe that someone so young could be related to the government. Later, he was quite cooperative. Messing around with officials from the Ministry of Warfare is bad for health. Even people from these rogue colonies knew that. He even shared his contract of rent with him. It had the basic information he needed. Unfortunately, nobody is required to produce any official papers to rent housing on this planet. So it was still unclear if the information was authentic or fake. Basic Tenant Information Name : Lisbeth Hasko Age : 22 Enclavian/ 25 Massian Gender : Female Birthplace: Cluster-Hashlaw, Galaxy- K9214C, System-AB8241, Planet-Suphroida B It wasn''t much. She is now 25 according to Enclavian. This was written 3 years ago. Hashlaw cluster had collided with a supermassive dark mass three years ago. Many took refuge in neighbor clusters. She must have used that as her backstory. The building wasn''t that fancy. Ethen had to climb three floors by stairs. There was no bell and camera. Just a metallic door. This was her apartment. He knocked on the door lightly. He could hear noise from the other side. A couple of moments later she opened the door a bit to take a peek outside. ''Ma''am. I''m an official of the Ministry of Warfare. I would like to talk to you.'' He showed her his ID. Lisbeth let him in. This was a new escalation. This kid knew something was really different about her. She wondered why he hadn''t notified his higher ups. He must have ulterior motives. ''You can sit there.'' She said showing him a sofa. Ethen sat down quietly. He knew that this was dangerous but it had to be done. ''I know you''re a really powerful aware. I can feel it.'' He said. ''Directly to the point. Interesting. There is no point arguing. It is obvious that he wants something.'' She thought. ''Let''s assume I am. What of it?'' ''I want you to help me with something.'' ''And if I don''t help you?'' ''You will be exposed to the Systematic Government.'' He said with a calm tone. ''This brat has figured out that I am wanted by the System somehow. He surely doesn''t know my actual identity. He wouldn''t have dared to blackmail me like this if he knew.'' She thought. ''Okay. I''m listening.'' ''I want you to help me escape from the Imperial territories.'' ''That''s a bit shocking. Let me guess, you''re in some sort of brutal super soldier program because of your awareness.'' ''Yes, you''ve guessed right. I''m sure you were part of something like this too. So you know where I''m coming from. They have been training me since I was 8. I''ve endured it for 6 years. I don''t think that I will survive the next 4 years.'' He said with a tired looking face. She felt sympathetic towards the boy. She knew how inhuman these programs were. During her training period, she often imagined that someone would come and free her but that never happened. ''Besides you''ll be leaving this planet soon. I don''t see why I can''t come along with you.'' ''That would be too risky for me. I''m sorry. Escape on your own.'' She said. ''Leaving me will be more risky for you.'' He replied. He didn''t see her move. No human could possibly be this fast. Before he could realize he was being pushed onto the soft pillow behind him, her firm hand on his neck. He couldn''t breathe, she was choking her. ''Do you even know who you are threatening, boy? I promise I will kill you if you try to threaten me again.'' She said with a calm voice. ''Please help me.'' He said with his last ounce of breath as she was choking him harder and harder. A bit of tear had accumulated in his eyes and that is when Lisbeth decided that she would help him. She let him go and he started to breathe heavily for some air. This woman was more dangerous than he had previously thought. For a moment he felt that she was trying to kill him. What was he getting himself into? ''Okay. I will help.'' She said hesitantly while looking at another direction. ''We should take the strategic ship. It is entangled with important fast travel stations.'' ''And get hunted by the whole empire? You''re actually an idiot, I see.'' ''Well, you''ll have to kill Major Vlaskoska and the 15 sword dancers he brought with him first. So stealing the strategic ship shouldn''t be a problem.'' She couldn''t believe the nonsense the boy in front of her was spouting. She thought that he was clever but now she felt disappointed in herself for making such a wrong observation. ''Let me plan, okay? You just stand in a corner there till I come for you after making the necessary arrangements.'' ''I''m not stupid. They are here to kill everyone. There will be no arrangements to make after tomorrow. So you have no choice but to kill him and his elite soldiers. The larger force will arrive soon and they are unaware of what they are going to do here. Only Vlakoska and his sword dancers know about the purification order. It will make our escape much easier and will also give these people another chance at life.'' ''That certainly is a big problem.'' She said with a worried face. ''Will you be able to overwhelm them? They are quite capable.'' He wanted to believe that she could. Lisbeth didn''t reply. She walked towards the kitchen counter. There was a thin metallic storage unit on it. It opened when she put her hand over it. Ethen stood up and followed her to see what this was all about. Inside was a hideous looking mask that shook him to the core. ''What is that thing?'' ''It is a Mask of Chaos. An incredibly powerful spoil of war I kept for later use. Worshippers of the void use this to unleash their full psychic potential in exchange for immense physical pain and those are drug gauntlets. Aware''s use them to balance their unstable physical state while using the outer layer of their mind. That is also quite painful to wear.'' She said with an annoyed face. ''What am I? A masochist?'' she said to herself. Ethen felt a bit surprised that she wasn''t hesitant about sharing such secrets with him. Who trusts someone so fast like this? He could feel that something was really wrong about her. ''I get it. Various instruments of pain and power. So can you take them down with these?'' ''Shut up for a moment and let me concentrate, boy! This is hard for me.'' She yelled at him. Ethen moved away to give her some space. He watched silently as she prepared herself. After some breathing exercises, she slowly pushed both of her hands into the gauntlets and then began the screams of agony. It was too hard for him to watch someone suffer pain like this even though he was accustomed to pain. ''Fuck! I will never get used to this shit.'' She said. Ethen looked at her hands. It seemed like the gauntlet had fused with her flesh. ''It feels worse than it looks.'' She said. ''I don''t know if that is even possible.'' Ethen replied. ''You will never understand what true power really means if you don''t use these.'' ''I don''t want to know what true power means. That''s why I''m running away.'' There was a deep-rooted cowardice inside this boy but it wasn''t the thing to worry about now. ''Listen carefully. After I wear the mask you will feel it.'' ''I don''t understand. How will I feel it?'' ''Let me finish. It will unleash my psychic potential. I don''t want to brag about it but I''m probably one of the strongest aware in the universe. You will feel an enormous pressure on your body when I wear the mask. No matter what you do, you must not becomeunconscious. You will have to fight it. Because if you go to sleep you will be gone for 2 days at least. In that case, I will just leave you here.'' ''I understand. I will try my best. How long do you think the pressure will last?'' ''As long as I wear it. But I shouldn''t be able to endure it for more than 25 minutes now.'' ''Will it affect the local people too?'' ''Of course, it will affect the nearby people. But being unconscious for couple days is better than death. Unfortunately, sword dancers are trained to withstand this pressure. As you''re just 14, you must not have received your formal training in awareness abilities. Where did that creepy Major set up his base of operations?'' ''In the right landing station.'' ''That''s good. Less population density there. We will move out soon.'' She said. ''Absolutely nothing happens for three years and then out of nowhere things starts to escalate like wildfire. Yet this feels so familiar to me.'' Lisbeth thought. This is how Ethen came to know Lisbeth Hasko. A normal person wouldn''t take so many risky decisions so rapidly. He started to wonder if following her would be a good idea after all. Chapter 2: All Hail The Emperor Brethora Shivaay was the next heir to the throne that ruled over half of the known universe. His family produced great rulers, diplomats, scholars and tyrants throughout its long history and lineage. Even though he wanted to be a diplomat, the universe had something else in mind for him. The youngest of his siblings, he was deemed to be more worthy of the throne because of his somewhat softer nature and adaptive intelligence. Only couple hours were left before his inauguration ceremony. He liked to spend time with his uncle, the Grand Scholar of the Empire and the Director of the Unified Imperial University. His wisdom had always astounded Brethora from when he was just a child. Once every two months he would come to visit him in the Capital System but today he came to pay respect to the Emperor like millions of other powerful men and women. They sat in a booth at the Garden of Words as Brethora contemplated his next move to defeat him in a game of Battlemage, a 3-dimensional board game that required extensive brainwork and strategizing.Prolov Shivaay, the Grand Scholar was not concentrating too much on the game. Every time he came to the Garden of Words he felt surprised and a sense of awe. Humans could do so much and understand so little. 21385 human caretakers were assigned to tend to this garden and 60000 Android laborers. For what? So that pompous fools like himself could come and spend some time here and .. talk? He never understood the meaning of such waste of resources. Before he sat his nephew, the next emperor of mass. The owner of an uncountable amount of planets, of which less than fifty thousand were occupied. Diplomats with no sense of scope made treaties about galaxy clusters and superclusters as if they were nothing. ''You seem a bit distracted today, uncle.'' Brethora said as he made his next move. ''Dear nephew, this is the 67th time we''re playing this game and you haven''t learned anything from it.'' ''That is what I''m trying to figure out for so long. What is it that you want me to learn from this?'' ''As today is your inauguration, let me just tell you. You have to see more than the game. I wanted you to learn that there is no point in fighting someone you know you won''t win against.'' He said while making a game winning move. ''Incredible. I again walked right into your devious traps.'' Brethora said with an awkward smile. ''I heard that the Ministry of Warfare is secretly purifying planets with rebellious elements. It would be a matter of shame if these vile acts were traced back to the Imperial family.'' Prolov said. ''Father making his last moves as the Emperor, I assume. I''m sure my dear elder sister is the one handling these orders from him.'' ''Ministry of Science, Diplomacy, Economy and the Union of Aware''s support you. You also have the full support of the House of Commons. The House of Lords and the Ministry of Warfare seem to be a bit vocal against a more ''civilized'' emperor.''Stolen novel; please report. ''With you by my side, I don''t think their voice will matter much. You already hold the position of the Grand Scholar. I know you''re old and tired but you are still the most important piece of my game. I want you to be an official part of my inner circle.'' ''You know well that it is impossible. I was banished by your grandfather from the imperial line. I cannot be a part of your inner circle. I will serve you from the shadows as always. I only hope that you will stay firm in your decisions about the problems I discussed with you.'' ''Of course. The Dark Matter Catastrophe effects us all. It is time the Empire focused on more important things rather than gaining useless territory.'' Their meeting was interrupted by a Royal Guard bearing urgent news. He appeared out of thin air and bowed before Brethora. ''Elsa Ruthlaw has been brought as ordered, your majesty.'' ''Finally. I have to go now, uncle. The High Minister of Warfare''s daughter is here.'' ''And why is she here?'' Prolov felt surprised by this. He wasn''t informed about such an escalation beforehand. Normally Brethora took advice from him before making significant decisions. ''It would seem indecisive of an Emperor to ascend the throne without a Champion.'' He said. ''What a cunning choice...'' Prolov whispered. Brethora quietly looked at the woman in front of him. She seemed confused and a bit worried, as anyone would be if they were forcefully invited to the Emperor''s palace without any written reason. More than 5 minutes had passed since Elsa had bowed down to show respect to the future Emperor. Yet it seemed like he had forgotten about her as he didn''t permit her to rise. ''Will you spend all day in that demeaning position, Lady Elsa?'' She stood up registering this as an indirect permission. Elsa was just a representative of the House of Commons. A quite insignificant role. She certainly was not important enough to be called directly by the Emperor. ''I''m sure you know about the employment of the Champion.'' Brethora said seated informally on the wide pluorite table of his inner office. ''I respectfully deny your offer before it is made. I mean no disrespect to you but I''m just an insignificant part of your government. I have never dreamed of holding such power and responsibility.'' Elsa said with much politeness in her voice. She realized what sort of deep trouble she was in right now. The emperor knew her actual identity and her past. She was about to get entangled in the repulsive inner politics of the empire. ''Quite fast, your response.'' Brethora said with a cold voice. She wouldn''t give in to this nonsense without a fight. Before she could react two Royal guards appeared behind her. Without any weapons, her fate was decided the moment she set foot into this enormous palace. Two immensely powerful Astral Blades pierced through her body rendering her powerless. Brethora slowly walked towards her as the two guards forced her to kneel down. ''I wish there was an easier way to do this.'' Brethora said as he put his hand firmly on the right side of her face pushing her head down. ''By the power bestowed upon the ancient blood that flows through my veins, I hereby brand you with the Mark of the Emperor. I declare you my Champion, the manifestation of my power in the physical realm. My wrath and the agony of my enemies.'' Ancient power surged through her body. A power that she couldn''t even begin to comprehend. Secrets of the very fabric of existence revealed before her as she stood before the black throne of an all powerful being. She had to bow down. How couldn''t she? It forced her. As an inanimate object, she existed as the being devoured her mind and body. She slowly became a part of the deepest secret of the Imperial family and the source of their unimaginable power. Chapter 3: Know Despair The planet was certainly colder than a model imperial habitat. It was natural for such independent planets as they lacked the infrastructure and resource to control the weather properly. Inside the apartment, it was comfortable enough. Still, an unusual warmth was radiating from Lisbeth''s body as she was in a deep meditative state. Ethen knew that meditation was directly connected to the mysterious powers of an aware, he would''ve learned more about it if he stayed to complete his training. He walked back and forth with visible nervousness in his steps, waiting for her to open her eyes. She had been like this for too long. She just said that she was going to ''see beyond''. Another thing Ethen had no knowledge about. His wait ended moments later when she suddenly grabbed his hand and their position in space and time changed. They fell from feet above a rooftop of an abandoned building. It was close to the right landing station. The station wasn''t brimming with visitors like other great colonies and planets. At first explorers and wanderers traveled the vast expanse of space and settled down here. Establishing a new boundary of the known universe. Now only people of lesser morality came here, according to the locals. Ethen stood on top of the building with Lisbeth looking down at the base of operations of Major Vlakoska. It was a perfect time to strike as he was giving a briefing to his men outside his strategic ship, a coincidence? ''I will come get you after I''m done. Remember to stay conscious if you want to escape with me.'' Lisbeth said as if she frankly wanted to help him with his situation. She bound the mask on her face by encircling it with a black piece of spiral cloth covering it completely and then she pulled up her hood. A moment after that she wasn''t there anymore, she had teleported to somewhere else. Ethen had seen his instructors use such teleportation techniques. ''So now that we have created the illusion that we are here to peacefully take over this colony, our strategy is in motion. Most of you are veterans, except some new faces who aren''t exposed to this side of our work. It is normal for some of you to question the underlying morality of this job. But ask yourselves first, are these people worth it? They threaten the way of our lives, our culture and identity. Rebellious thoughts spark in their community against the Imperial blood. I ask, Will you forgive such audacity, disloyalty and disrespect? NO! You will rise up against any tongue that goes against our masters and any hand that dares to take up arms against the Empire ... Our masters who have given us power, prosperity, and peace for eons. You will do their bidding as your ancestors have done for thousands of years and you will deliver this speech onto the troops that will be bestowed upon you, like my superior delivered to me.'' Major Vlakoska said walking back and forth in front of the row of his sword dancers. ''Our lord''s allow us incredible rewards for taking part in this necessary evil. You are allowed to indulge yourself with anything this planet and its people can offer. Anything. You are hereby exempted from the Codes of War. Your honor will not be tarnished, my brothers, even if you indulge yourself in things unworthy of an Imperial soldier.'' Major Vlakoska ended his speech. ''Dismissed.'' He yelled out. The seemingly perfect row of soldiers became disoriented and started to speak among themselves. Among some of them, blood boiled in excitement and among some a yearning for forbidden ''things'' rekindled. Vlakoska took a long breath. This was a speech he had given many times before this. A minute later, he suddenly lost his balance and stumbled a bit. He knew this feeling but he never felt something so strong before. All of his training and experience was bleak before this power. ''Unsheathe, Sword dancers. Some sort of a monster is approaching us!'' He screamed hurriedly as his words jumbled up. This was impossible. The rebels? How could they have something so powerful in their disposal? Turok was the first to unsheathe. He jumped back from his standing position to take a more alerted and firm form. He felt for a moment as something with immense speed and strength went by him and the next moment he felt his trusted sword still held by his trusted hand, tear his body apart in half. The monster wasn''t even using any weapons. Was this despair? A flood of memories surged through. He had lived a life of power and confidence. He believed in his own strength when he crushed the weak beneath his heels. But what did he feel now? He couldn''t stand his weakness. He was nothing in front of such true and raw power.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ethen stood with all of his strength with the weight of a planet crushing on him. He never felt something so ridiculous. But he had to endure this even if it meant losing his life. All he had known until now was pain and suffering. Just a bit more and he would get another chance at life but his body and mind felt differently. They were not even remotely strong enough to withstand something so twisted and unknown. Soon an emptiness devoured him as he fell down on the icy metallic concrete beneath him. All he wanted was a normal life, was it too much to ask for? *********************************************************************************************************************************** He felt he was alive for generations in nothing but a dark empty space. He was probably left behind by the enigmatic woman he trusted so naively. When he woke up everything was different. He was inside his cabin in the strategic ship. He felt really hungry and dehydrated. A sound of cracking noises reached his ears. Someone was eating snacks loudly in the room. He turned around to see. It was Lisbeth Hasko, he guessed. So she did save him? He couldn''t see her face. Her legs were rested on his study table. What an inelegant way to sit in a chair, he thought. A bowl of snacks floated beside her. He never saw someone use awareness so irresponsibly. He then slowly pulled himself up from the bed. He noticed a big poly cylinder on the table beside her legs. He saw that cylinder somewhere before on this ship, he couldn''t remember. As he focused more closely he saw that it was filled with liquid and something was submerged inside it. The Mask of Chaos. An archaic revulsion grasped him as he felt an overwhelming urge to puke out the rest of his already empty stomach. Her face. He could see the skin fused with the mask. ''You''re awake.'' She said as she stood up. Her head covered with white recovery clothes. Only one of her bloodshot eyes barely revealed. She slowly approached him and instinctively he tried to slowly move away from her as much as he could. Terror, fear, disgust... he felt more than that. Soon his back was against the cold hard metal alloy of the ship and he had no space left to back away anymore. ''Let''s talk before I patch you up..'' She started. ''Thank you for not leaving me behind.'' He said nervously. ''You''ve already made some severe mistakes. Firstly, You naively trusted someone with your life. Secondly, You tried to blackmail me without knowing who I am. Finally, you assumed that I even had a bit of humanity left in me to help you with your ridiculous childish dreams. Your dear Major Vlakoska suffered a slow and brutal death for insulting me, although I don''t think you can handle the details.'' She said without a pause and stopped. He could feel it. There was a sadistic smile beneath the cloth that was wrapped around her faceless head. ''I respectfully apologize for trying to blackmail you. It was disrespectful of me.'' He tried to speak formally. ''I guess what''s done is done. Now, tell me about you and your family. I hope that you will be cooperative and truthful. Otherwise, I can be really ... persuasive.'' He didn''t understand why she changed the topic so suddenly. Did it matter who he was now? ''My name is Ethen Maxim. I was diagnosed with a low-medium case of awareness when I was 8 and then I was sent away to train in the Imperial Academy of Specters. But miss, I really don''t want talk about family.'' He tried to say properly with the small amount of life force he had in him. Whenever he thought about his family, especially his parents, anger shrouded his mind. ''Foolish boy, Blood and lineage is everything in the empire. Are your parents connected somehow to the Imperial Blood? Were you branded with a mark by anyone?'' Ethen read a bit about Branding. It was an unbreakable contract that someone made with another person. He didn''t know much more about it. ''I was never branded by anyone. My father is a middle ranked official in the Ministry of Warfare and I don''t think we have any direct connection to the Imperial family.'' ''Then you should be okay. I hope you''re not lying. Because if you get caught later by me, I will find something really creative to do to you. And no, not the good kind of creative.'' She said as her lone red eye pierced through him. ''I understand, ma''am.'' He replied as if he had received and understood her message completely. ''We are going through the underspace now. We will reach an independent colony soon. There we will sell this imperial junk and buy a getaway ship. I also need to go through physical reconstruction. Then we will go into the systems territory. I will drop you on some remote planet so that you can start a new life and we will never see each other again.'' She said. Ethen felt terrified and grateful at the same time. He didn''t know how to feel about this .... faceless woman. Chapter 4: She Who Had No Name Dahrim and his Reaper squad waited eagerly in the middle of the Sindhu desert.Orbital intelligence had projected that an unidentified object was going to land here. His men were surprised when their leader commanded them to stay put even though the object that landed was an imperial ship. This was one of the rebel capitals, hidden away in the vastness of the space. Their cause slowly gained power and meaning under the protection of secrecy. Dahrim, a veteran aware who had arrived on Hamon four Enclavian years ago, slowly rose through the rebel ranks. Now he led a powerful team of aware''s.He could feel the impatience in his men after they started to feel the unusual aura of someone in the ship. It was ever so familiar to him. Sometime later, the bay door opened. A woman and a young boy came out of the ship. ''Old friend! How have you been?'' Lisbeth said with a happy tone, pointing to Dahrim. Even though his face was heavily covered she could feel his aura. ''What are you doing here?'' Dahrim asked. ''Just passing by. I need some things and I also have a gift for the good inhabitants of this planet. Don''t worry I have already removed the trackers.'' She said pointing to the ship. ''All of you, search it thoroughly for intelligence and then take it to the docks.'' Dahrim ordered. ''And you two, come with me.'' He said to Lisbeth and Ethen. ************************************************************************************************************* Ethen couldn''t believe what he was seeing. The rebellion crisis was much more serious than he thought. They were exterminating populaces with even a slight sense of rebellion. Yet here they were in all their glory. A thriving megacity in a barren planet not any less than the imperial cities he knew. He watched the bustling city from the balcony of the 147th floor of an administrative building, Dahrim''s office. He and Lisbeth were talking and he was told to wait here. ''Okay. So you used the Mask of Chaos, murdered a group of veteran sword dancers and stole their ship? You say they were carrying out an extermination order?'' ''Yeah. That boy might have more information. You can interrogate him if you want to.'' ''I will.. talk.. to him. So having the System and the Worshippers of the Void up on your ass wasn''t enough? You just had to go ahead and mess around with the Empire too. If you''re telling the truth then I''m grateful that you did.'' ''Grateful? You''ve truly become a part of them, I see. When you decided that you won''t travel with us anymore and stay here, I didn''t really think that you were so serious about it. Good for you.'' ''These bastards kill weak and innocent people without mercy. So forgive me if I think that it is a good thing that you stopped them.'' ''They wouldn''t if the actual rebels came out of hiding and confronted them. Instead of inciting the young and clueless.'' Lisbeth said with a sarcastic tone. ''I would rather get fucked by the Emperor than hear about morality from you. You want a reconstruction and a getaway ship? Fine. But leave as soon as you can.'' Dahrim said as he pressed a tab on the electromagnetic screen radiating from his table and soon a man entered. ''Take this woman to ASAP reconstruction center.'' He ordered him. ************************************************************************************************************ When Elsa woke up three female androids were dressing her. A dress made of armestine. Such clothes were only worn by nobles. It kept the body in an optimal temperature. Although clothes made out of armestine were thin and light, they were harder than katchin. No amount of stress and tension could create a tear.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. She felt that something was rushing through her body. It gave her strength. As soon as she remembered what happened to her she lost control of herself. Suddenly her vision changed. She could see more now and that only disturbed her. A feeling of indignation made her queasy as the space around her abruptly vanished. As if everything had ceased to exist. Only she, in a cold and harsh darkness, prevailed. Then she felt a warm touch on her shoulder and was pulled back to the world she knew. ''That is a realm where the line between everything and nothing is blurred. It will devour you if you try to see it.'' Brethora spoke. ''What have you done to me?!'' Elsa screamed with rage. ''I have opened your world. Calm down and get ready for the inaugural ceremony. It would seem inappropriate if my Champion behaves so angrily in front of my subjects.'' He spoke calmly. His words only angered her more. ''The force that I feel wreaking havoc inside of me, I can rip you apart with it.'' She said. ''You undoubtedly have the highest position of power in the empire now but I own you. Let me give you an example.'' He said. ''I command you to calm down and attend the ceremony with me.'' Brethora spoke with a commanding voice Her anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of serenity. ''See? Blame your genes. You know exactly why I chose you.'' She was afraid of this.The mark gave untold power to its wielder but for a value too high. Her mind and body belonged to the Emperor now. Everything was going according to Brethora''s plan. High Minister of Warfare''s illegitimate daughter was the key to a big problem. The more extremist portion of the empire was still disloyal to him and he used an extremist way to tackle them. He could feel it. He now had authority over the bloodline of this girl. ************************************************************************************************************** Ethen was seated in front of the man called Dahrim as he gave up everything he knew, which wasn''t that much. ''As expected, you''re useless to me.'' ''This is all I know.'' ''So you''re trying to flee with her, huh? Do you have any idea who she is?'' Maybe this man will tell him about her. ''I don''t but I believe her.'' ''She just tried to get rid of you now. You could just stay here. We are badly in need of people gifted with awareness but we will take you under our protection only if you decide to fight for our cause. '' ''I respectfully decline as I don''t want to use my ''gift''. I will take this risk and see if she keeps her word.'' ''Good luck with that. By the way, where are you two even going? Another independent colony, I assume?'' ''No. Into the Systematic Governments territory.'' He took some time to realize what he had just heard and then he started to laugh hysterically. ''She has gone completely insane, I assume. Well, she is deranged enough to use something like the Mask of Chaos. So I shouldn''t judge.'' He said trying to control himself. ''She is the most wanted criminal of the system and the most unpredictable being you''ll ever come across. And that is just the start. So take some rest, travel around the city and reconsider my offer.'' Dahrim said. This revelation didn''t bother him as he had deduced that she was someone like that. Either a deep undercover agent or a wanted criminal. Her being a criminal seemed more likely. Someone like her wouldn''t be used as a secret agent. It would be a waste of potential. She certainly had a twisted sense of morality. ''I will do that, sir.'' Ethen replied. ''I will assign a guard to show you around our military training grounds and awareness development academy.'' Dahrim said. ********************************************************************************************************* The gauntlets were pushing in an unusual amount of painkiller particles in her. Certainly, getting your face ripped off is painful. The creators of the mask put several safeguards in it so that no one could abuse its power too much. Painkillers would take away any physical pain but the mask fused directly with the brain and the nervous system. So only people with an extremely high pain threshold could wear it. Another physical reconstruction, another face. No. She decided that she will return to her original form. Going back into the system would be a death sentence for her. The Elder Council will surely feel her existence, so there was no point in hiding herself with a new face. Lisbeth was busy making a mental list of things she would do after going back. Going back to her home planet to meet with her adoptive family was at the top of her list. She wondered how they felt about her now. Lore 1: The First to See Long ago, when mankind was still bound to a pale blue dot they called home, a curious young man walked their corridors of knowledge. Complex mathematics and baffling concepts of new physics came to him naturally. Brightest among his peers, he was sure to attain success. But when his fellow men strived for a position in the academic world, he devoted his day and night to further his understanding of the physical one. His home was dying and his kind was divided. They denounced each other based on irrational ideas.Then they spilled each other''s blood to further the selfish advancement of few. In the name of development and better lifestyle, they violated the nature around them. The more he learned about the world and its people, the more he sought for a solution. It was clear to him, the suffering of mankind and his world would only end if a clean and effective source of renewable energy was found. He searched and searched but to no avail. If it was clean it wasn''t effective and if it was effective it wasn''t clean. His undying will to change his world only led him to madness and his nightmare was about to begin. One cold night,under the refuge of thousands of pages of research, calculations, and speculations, he saw. The source of all things and the vessel that contained the physical realm. Something sparked in his mind. Like other pioneers before him, his ideas were so revolutionary and radical that they soon made him an outcast in the community he was once revered by. Yet, that didn''t stop him. Through years of struggle, he devised a way to tap into the power of this source of infinite energy, ushering in a short era of peace and prosperity. He gained back his rightful place in the world.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. It changed everything. Impossible things suddenly became possible. Instead of harming the physical nature around them, some humans started to abuse the power of a realm that they barely understood. They named it, the Void. An underlying existence that contained both matter and space. On the other hand, the curious man, an atheist from a very young age, started to question himself. Was this the realm of God? The creator, the omnipotent? He slowly started to believe in a higher power as he saw the benevolent impact of his discovery on the world. This was surely a sign of an indifferent higher power. Humans never change. Soon his God had forsaken him as he saw his home crumble. From the savior of his people, he soon became the villain. They blamed him for all the ill caused by powerful men and their ambitions. His discovery had the potential to bring forth an unending age of peace and prosperity but that potential was bleak in front of the capacity it had to cause chaos and destruction. With a heavy heart, he sat down in his beloved study. Unable to bear the guilt of all the suffering he had caused, he never again stood up.