Chapter 11: Declaration
Sydon fell on his steps, the pilot killed the engine and just stared as the new ruler walk down with impertinence. Sydon did not bother to thank him, and the pilot was used to it.
The trumpeting footsteps of Sydon warned his coming. All the other workers and associates quickly returned to their working stations. The Dragon's affair did not end fairly, and they can see it in his eyes.
Caesar from afar saw his master, with knees bending down he waited for Sydon to pass by. Everyone did the same thing. They worked in unison, most showed respect only because of fear.
The warlord assumed that Sydon will pass through him, but he stopped. Caesar looked up to attend his agenda.
"Gather all the Hemians," Sydon coldly ordered. No further commands or details were given, it was a vague pursuit, but Caesar wasn't in the place to ask.Before Caesar could even answer, Sydon moved forward.
He went on to his office, the same picture of trembling citizens before him lined up. Everything looked like a paradise in his eyes, only in his eyes. Hemians remained as slaves, whether they object or not, they're nothing but captives to a powerful Pharaoh.
The door sensed his return, it opened automatically. No one dared to walk inside with him, his henchmen and guards remained standing by the doorframe. The Prime's treatment was a lot different than this, he showed value, something that Sydon couldn't do.
Cold breeze intoxicated Sydon's lungs. The air conditioner was extremely set. The glass window gave him a wide view of the whole city. He walked closer towards it.
A huge dome being built was the first thing he saw. Wide grins and devish stares apprehended. Everything was going according to his plans. The Prime was too weak to manacle his progress, that is what he thought of.
The warlord joined him after a few minutes of marching, from the doorframe, Caesar spoke.
"Sir, the Hemians are readily awaiting your coming."An official warlord attire complimented highly on his terrorizing look. Sydon remained unmove from his spot. He just raised a hand, signaling Caesar that his job was over. The warlord walked away to follow Sydon's call for peace.
After he was left alone, a familiar nostalgic voice echoed inside his memory. It was a blurted laugh of evil and cruelty. His drive and pursuit spoke their way.
"It's time..." Sydon murmured.His feet started to leave the room, heading straight towards the exit. Every land of his feet groaned like earthquakes. The employees rushed through to bow down for the second time, their backs were aching from all the degrading.
Near the main door awaits the buzzing drones ready to enter Sydon's hearing. The city was busy, but everyone turned their heads after Sydon left the premises. An invisible spotlight was pointed towards him. Almost every Hemian trembled in fear. But not for Van, a crowd of citizens filled the front side of the Kezylian tower. Hemians were forced to listen to the Dragon's deceitful speech.
Right on the dais, Sydon gawked forward. Before his eyes were his dream coming to life, a fake smile flashed to enlighten the heavy aura. For a bit, the citizens were eased but not yet calmed.
"My dear citizens," he spoke. Every ear fell to attentive listening. "For the past few days a misunderstanding occurred." Sydon resumed.
Crickets howled and his next revelation was very much anticipated. Van from the corner, stared at Sydon with eyes scanning every flaw spotted. This philosopher doesn't like to be fooled. No matter what he will say, Van will no longer believe it.
The few second pause ended, "I hereby lift the slavery from you. I made the wrong people suffer." The Dragon successfully wore his deceitful skin, the gain for democratic power began. It wasn't just power that he had, but now also support.
In the most possible way, Sydon wanted to defeat and make himself better against the Prime.
Everyone's jaw dropped dead, it was beyond what they expected. The silence remained, but an old man broke into tears. He was nearly dying from all the heavy load, to hear such words was indeed a breath of fresh air. His hands clapped lowly, but everyone's hand joined in unison. The loud noise of acceptance fed Sydon's pride. It exalted him more.
'Hemians are too easy to fool.' The Dragon concluded.
Van pursued to doubt the happenings, his hands remained clenching in anger.
He declared inside the halls of his mind, 'Sarah died because of you! You liar!' The strong emotion reflected on his face. Upon the thousand of faces in front of Sydon, he caught Van's angry look.The fake smile on his face faded. A minute was used for the staring contest. No one's gawk went down, everyone was busy celebrating and it camouflaged the twist of events.
Finally, the clapping ceased. Warlords and generals stood up to join their master. Behind Sydon lies the second most powerful army in the city. They're one of the reasons for Sydon's trembling picture.
The drone scanners launched in mid-air, their red lights scanned the area, deactivating their lethal collars. Despite their freedom, many doubted the sudden change of Sydon's decision. But the courage to seek more was out of their reach. After all, who wouldn't want to be free?
Sydon continued with his harangue. "The city's original state will be back. The mistaken slavery will only remain as history." The fooling began.
The crowd cheered even more, they believed what he said. Even if they wanted to object, their curiosities were eaten by relief. But deceitful words did not wash off madness from Van's face. This time, it was Caesar who caught his look.
Things looked suspicious, and as Caesar looked around, he noticed that Van wasn't alone. A number of people accompanied his indirect revolution, the traces were strewn in their faces.
The warlord signaled the others, "Watch that man's action. Report anything suspicious." Guards beside him got the order clearly, they nodded.
Van saw everything from his place. But he wasn't scared at all. Furious as he was, furious he will be. Something was wrong, and he was just about to find that out.
Everyone went home with smiles plastered on their faces, but just like before, Van remained unconvinced. Slowly, he walked pass the same familiar road. Lights filled in and it was different.Flakes of snow cascaded from the skyline, Sarah's death was still fresh. Losing a wife was more painful than losing an arm. A loud sigh escaped Van's breathing. The unpalatable silence made his reverberating sound loud. Almost no one was left wandering along the streets, only at least two or three citizens were strolling. Van found the silence that he was looking for. On his very steps, Van's thoughts vigorously ran. He still couldn't forget what Sydon said. No one objected the declaration, it was all about freedom. "People were blind," Van said. Men whom he came across with did not bother to look back. He was just an insignificant man in their sight. A small house reached Van's sight. He was nearly home, the withered greeneries was the first thing which caught his attention. Sarah died alon
"No," Ace refuted. The facts from Yvo's mouth was of no use. The chancellor yet failed again. A short stare stopped Yvo from replying, he was analyzing the looks of Ace's face, hoping to get just a single hint of what he was feeling. But he found nothing, the man was great with pretense. "Very well then," Yvo said. "I won't force you to believe or trust the Prime." Yvo backed away slowly, his time was running low and the high tower was waiting for him. Ace's eyes remained fix to Neo, it was a blank gawk, and he looked out of his senses. The medical team stood beside the chancellor, everyone was ready to leave. But before the crew went on with their steps, Yvo spoke. "Be wise Ace... be wise like Ashmeir." This time, Ace looked up with forehead crumpled in confusion.The wondering began, "How did you know my father?" He asked.A petite smile curved out from Yvo's face, "He was the Prime's friend." Those were the chancellor's last words.He signaled everyone to move out, leaving Ac
Despite Ace's curiosity, Ashmeir did not answer him directly. "It's up to you if you'll believe me." Ashmeir added.None of them dared to reply, the hologram turned off. It left Ace with a vague view of what his father said. A retained memory kept through a tab was already unusual for him, and perhaps doing what Ashmeir just said was beyond his blue.'I can't trust the Prime,' Ace thought of.The whole operating room glowed in bright blue, monitoring cameras and allocated security systems filled every corner. While Ace was left alone, he glanced forward.The very conversation kept on bugging him, sadly Pier wasn't there to listen. He crossed his arms while speculating. Trying to find a way to ease his own affliction. Ace was practicing deception into his own thoughts. A minute more passed and Ace found nothing but the movements of animals and leaves, it was more boring than he anticipated. 360 degrees covered the whole house under protective software. Nothing will surpass without be
Adrenaline kicked in with euphoria. Ace had no other choice but to satisfy his drive for answers, hands positioned themselves. He was ready to open the two door cabinet above the counter top. Quick phasing heartbeats accompanied the tension, it was nothing more but a peculiar phenomenon he wanted to escape from. To quit the excitement, Ace pulled the cabinet open. It revealed something far from consumable or edible. Things went even more odd when Ace finally realized of what was it. He concluded, "This came from the ancient Hemians," the story Ashmeir told him was still fresh from his memory.The box looked like a cube carved in intricate designs of ferns and curves. It was nothing more but ancient, Ace reached out to grab it. He had too many revelations for one day, but seems like the sun wasn't yet ready to set. Silence was still the most dominant sound, Pier and Warren remained asleep and resting. Ace continued to stare deeper to what he has at hand. "You were lost centuries a
"Pier, wake up." Ace continued to shake Pier's shoulders. He could no longer bear it, he needs to confirm or just either have someone to talk to. Ace hoped that he was just dreaming or maybe just under the severe influence of drug which Yvo injected him. Finally, Pier got snapped back from his sleep. He slowly opened his eyes from the beaming light flashing against the ceiling. The aflutter face of Ace popped in through his sight. "What's the commotion about?" Pier asked.Before Ace could even answer, Neo ran straight towards their direction, whooshing like an airplane. Pier immediately furrowed his eyebrows. He did not remember leaving Ace with a new kid to take care of. Pier immediately asked to confirm, "Who's that?" They caught each others gazes, none of the two can grasp for the answer. But the same conclusion arose from Pier, his eyes went down to Neo's wrist. "The tag..." Pier whispered beneath his breath but Ace heard it.His eyes did not move away from the toddler. Ever
"I understand Sir Warren, but remember that we'll see Claire very soon." Neo found the right words to uplift Warren's nearly broken spirit. A faint smile recognized the very same hope Warren held unto before. The Prime's son was indeed wise. Warren patted Neo's head, and replied. "Yes, very soon..." Despite the intriguing scene, Pier and Ace was still unsatisfied with what they heard, they were expecting more than that. The two voyagers almost forgot their tiredness, but their rumbling tummies reminded them. Ace heard the loud grunch of Pier's stomach. His friend hasn't yet eaten for a day, and the doctor experienced the same fate. "There's food inside the kitchen," Ace said. It relieved Pier, and even Warren's senses sharpened. They both stood up to eat, thus leaving Ace with Neo again. The whole living room was empty and silent, and only the beeping sound of the systems confronted Ace. He stayed with a plain stare dragged to the toddler. Neo looked busy on the other hand, his
"What do you want me to do?" Ace replied in a heroine poise. The wind almost blew his hair imaginatively, making his prestige stand look even more awed. Yvo finally succeeded in his mission. Over the other line he answered and dictated the exact thing which needs to be done. The enumeration started, "Leave the protection facility and head off towards the Grand Demesne." Yvo paused for a few seconds, "then meet the Prime's army outside the borderlines." The directions were clear yet a bit vague to Ace's perspective. 'Can't they just pick us up?' He asked himself.Ace do has his point. Reluctance reflected on his expression. Yvo immediately responded to his unspoken query."Matters will be explained fully open your arrival." It eased Ace, though the whole plan looked like a mystery, an inch of his heart called to trust the chancellor. A few minutes more, the call finally ended and Pier along with Warren went out to exit the kitchen after a satisfying meal. They grew curious of wh
"Sir, I followed Van." The orderly came back bringing good news. Caesar immediately turned around to face him, he plastered a poker face rudely despite the joyous ambience.The General commanded, "Resume." "Van Aeron was once part of the Prime's elite army," the guard paused, "his wife died at the course of the pandemic." Silence embedded the two of them, Caesar was still studying the given information. Based on the facts, it wasn't far from the conclusion that Van will rebel against Sydon. His facial expression showed discompliance during the grand speech of the Dragon. And both Caesar's instincts points out that the man will be one of their adversaries. The guard continued speaking, his revelation wasn't yet over. "The man was down and broken. Sir, we can use that chance to gain him." What he said does have a point, with a forefinger rubbing his chin, Caesar reflected more on the statement. For sure Van knew a lot about the Prime's army, Caesar can use those informations to gai