Like rabid animals, the people of Appethus jumped at any members of the clergy and nobility, beating them senseless with canes and rocks before tying them up, ready to deliver them to me as fast as possible, fearing that I might change my mind before the allocated time if I deemed them too slow. After all, no one wants to test the patience of the man known as the Bloody Emperor, now do they? Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁 So Appethus trembled, as millions upon millions of desperate citizens swarmed the now cornered few of the rebellion, racing to grab hold of the redemption offered to them, all the while I patiently waited in my now finished tent, passing the time by slowly circulating the small amount of hellfire within me, imbuing my entire being with the essence of hell, excruciatingly forging my body to better prepare for the third gate, which I estimated would take me the better part of four years if I remain at this pace, something I found utterly intolerable. 'I need to regain the power of my prime as fast as possible.' I thought with a frown over my closed eyes, feeling time's breathe at the back of my neck, as images of that hateful Nicholas emerged in my mind. "Sire, the enemy gates are opening." Abraham's voice then suddenly called out from outside my tent, breaking me loose from the constraints of my thoughts. Instantly snapping open my eyes, which swiftly returned to normal after being momentarily still tainted in their haunting silverish white and black, I jumped off my bed and went outside to behold the sight of the city's doors being opened, and slowly from within it spill a stream of scruffy men and women, surrounded by hundreds of both fully armed and armoured soldiers, as well as ordinary people, equipped mostly with kitchen knives, while others simply carried bricks they found on the road or a sturdy looking stick, they either gained from their broom closet or a branch they broke from a random tree. "Finally it's over." Abraham muttered, just as my uncle, Valdour and Isaac came to my side; Horus and Leonid were still constrained to their beds, while Hekan simply had no interest in all of this, preferring to continue reading his books in peace. "Indeed." Isaac agreed with Abraham's words, his voice showing as much relief and joy as him, but my uncle said nothing, his focus trained solely on the coming people, and on one face in particular, one that was both similar and alien in his eyes. "Come." I said, starting to make my way to the front of the camp "Let us meet our anxious guests." The man leading the people of Appethus was a soldier, and seemed to be a fairly high ranking officer in the rebellion's army, as he was clad in the finest armour and his aura was clearly that of a fourth rank martial artist. I was still quietly scrutinizing him, when he suddenly squealed "My Emperor!" and rushed before us, kneeling with both his knees and his nose pressing against the dirt. "We greet the emperor, and ask for his mercy and generosity, by accepting these traitorous yoke as proof our eternal loyalty!" He then said after a moment to collect himself, though his voice was still obviously strained. "We greet the emperor!" The rest of the crowd behind echoed out soon after, falling to their knees, while forcing some of their still stubborn captives to do the same. But I cared not for all the riff raff, who I'd deal with eventually, my eyes, like my uncle's, were now aimed only on the crown jewel of these betrayers, their king himself, Zadkiel. Zadkiel was bowing like the rest, his head drooping and his eyes vacant; his previously well groomed hair was unkempt and dishevelled; full of disgusting muck, that looked like it was the product of dirt mixed with blood, blood that very clearly was not his own. His armour was also soiled beyond recognition, with several pieces of it missing, probably due to the people ripping it off of him during the struggle to arrest him, but he surprisingly also seemed to still be clutching something in his arms, wrapped around a cloak or a flag of his now fallen kingdom, almost looking like a mother who's desperately clinging on to her most precious child. But then he unexpectedly raised his head, and removed the object from it's cover, which turned out to be his golden crown "Here nephew!" He barked, throwing it at my feet. "You can add it to the collection. I'm sure our ancestors would be happy to see another trophy added to the Black Vault's pile after so many millennia without change!" Zadkiel spat the rest, his tone a noxious amalgamation of spite and sarcasm. Initially surprised by his knowledge of the Black Vault and it's contents, something no one should be privy to except the ruler of the Eclipse Empire, I quickly calmed myself, figuring my foolish father or grandfather must have shown it to him at some point in the past. But in that brief moment I took to think of only that, my uncle had already teleported to his side, his face a mask of hurt and fury, as he slammed his fist into Zadkiel's face with such force, that some of us thought he'd killed him. Thankfully he'd stayed his hand at the last moment, so only a portion of that blow had actually connected with the traitors face, sparing him the fate of death, but not the shattering of many of his teeth and jaw. "You still have the nerve to talk after all you've done! Have you no shame or honour left?!" My uncle said through clenched jaws, his deep blue eyes now wells of pain. Zadkiel merely spat out a mouthful of blood and white fragments, before he looked defiantly back at my uncle, his gaze a wrathful curse upon us all. "You damn..." My uncle was about to continue, his aura now flaring wildly, lashing all around him without care, like the mammoth waves of the churning sea; so I quickly called out to him, but not as his beloved nephew, for I knew he wouldn't answer me as such in his current blind frenzy, I instead called out to him coldly as his master and emperor "Archduke, that is enough for now." He instantly paused, then looked back at me, the battle of his honour and duty, against his feelings of fraternal hate and betrayed brotherhood reflected in the light of his eyes, before a moment later he closed them and uttered "Understood, sire." "Go, lead the vanguard into the city, we still have much to do." I commanded, my tone leaving no room for any refusal. "...Very well, my liege." He answered again, turning around decisively without a single glance back. Everyone understood why I had ordered him to do this, when any other could have done this same task; it was to spare him any more anguish. Without a doubt the one most pained throughout this war was none other than my uncle Haytham, with his mood becoming as temperamental as the sea these past few months. This is especially so when faced with Zadkiel. I said nothing more after my uncle left, creating a momentary awkward silence in his wake, after which I nodded to Valdour, so that he may take hold of he situation for a moment in my stead, before then looking at Isaac and darkly ordering "Bring him to my tent. We have much to discuss." "Right away, sire." Isaac replied with his usual bow, before then appearing next to Zadkiel like a phantom and dragging him behind us. But as he did so, Zadkiel seemed adamant to completely loose all his teethe today, saying in slurred way that none understood, due to the pain and condition of his mouth "Shuth thoyam khanddsss. Yoff tranth em welm." He continued on with his undiscernible gibberish all the way back, until Isaac could stand no more of it and threatened him with his dagger to his throat. Once we were inside my tent, I sat down on my large chair, idly playing with his crown in my hand, as a priest quickly healed him, so that we can actually understand him. "You like the crown nephew? Beautiful isn't it, but I can assure you that it wasn't cheap to make. I'm certain it's going to be the next centrepiece of the Black Vault, since you stupidly gave Adaanin back to Qayan. Then again how else would you have bribed those bastards to come running to your..." He jabbed with a snarky smirk, before Abraham smacked him with the side of his glaive, silencing him. "Remember who you're in front of, worm." Abraham growled. Zadkiel snorted mockingly in reply, but he had spared us the torture of his voice, before then I calmly said, my tone devoid of all emotion "I am not here to trade petty insults and sarcastic remarks with you Zadkiel. All I want is a few questions of mine answered." "Oh? Well I'm certain that your men will find and go through all the files and documents in my castle by tomorrow, so why the need to ask me?" He asked with a crocked grin, like the one a conman would give before he tricks you. "Do you think me a fool, Zadkiel? Both of us know that there are secrets in this world that we wouldn't even trust paper to keep." I replied annoyedly, my patience beginning to thin. "And what would I get in return for this se... Ugh!" He tried asking again in his taunting tone, before Abraham's fist found it's destructive way to his upper stomach. "You get to experience less pain before I kill you." I answered chillingly, as the priest at hand rushed to heal him. "Such... graciousness. But...I'm afraid... that I'm not... interested." He replied between laboured breathes. I cock my eyebrow at this, as Abraham delivers another blow, before I continue "If you think that this act you are playing, of the bravery of a man who's lost everything is going to make me give up on my pursuit, then you are gravely mistaken. I will pry open your mouth and drag it from your throat if I must, your only choice in the matter is the manner of how I do it." "Do your worst nephew. Death is death, and no pain you think you can inflict on me, can topple that of my precious dream dying before my eyes." He defiantly said, a triumphant smile on his face. "Stubborn dog." Abraham muttered, ready to strike him again, but I raised my arm, stopping him. I then looked at Zadkiel with an amused smile, my pupils taking on their haunting silverish white colour and my sclera blackening, while incomprehensible dark tattoos emerged upon my skin, which almost instantly banished the dying light of the already nearly gone sun, as his crown in my hands began to bend and deform, as if it were melting "You seem to take great deal of faulty pride in this precious accessory of yours, the same way you seem to falsely think that all death is the same, but tell me uncle... do you truly believe that." I finished as his crown utterly melted into a golden puddle that splashed on the ground, just as a wisp of hellfire materialized in the palm of my open hand. Zadkiel eyes snapped open in panic, his throat instantly parched, and his voice now brimming with terror "You wouldn't..." Yet before he could finish his sentence, my hand was already upon his throat, like a vice grip trap, chocking him as I lifted him effortlessly into the air "I either hear you speak the answers I want, or I hear you scream them. Choose!" Staring into my inhuman eyes, ones that shone with divinity of our esteemed ancestor yet with a demonic darkness to it, that he couldn't even understand; his earlier bravado vanished and his lips spoke before he even thought the words "Wh-What... do you want to know?" A predatory smile then took hold of my lips, as a pair of beautiful of amethyst eyes crossed my mind "Tell me everything you know of the Sapphire Swallow Guild!"