Four people sat at a very long table.
One sat at the head with a face that made little expression. The other three sat at his sides.
The ethereal atmosphere was the first clue. The presence of individuals who were supposed to be domains away was another to the fact that they were dreaming.
After Ashen and Lucia finished cleansing the settlement of cultists, they'd returned without a word.
For Lucia, who had seen similar things during her cult hunts, this was routine. She stayed unfazed.
The same couldn't be said for a man who'd spent most of his life behind a veil of normality, where the worst thing that could happen was death.
She had faith he would overcome this. The Ashen she knew would never let anything hamper his spirit. But she was curious why he'd called for this meeting.
"We encountered cultists today." Ashen opened with the main agenda.
The two women leaned in, their faces turning grave. Seraphine's reaction was the most drastic. Her faction was at the forefront when dealing with cults, so she knew their horrors best. It wasn't even about their strength anymore… just their cruelty and savagery were enough to warrant the kill-on-sight order.
"I need your help." He got straight to the point. "Especially you, Sera."
She nodded earnestly. "What do you need me to do?"
Ashen fell silent for a moment. What did he want?
'Of course I want to eradicate every last monster off the face of this earth.'
That was the only thought running through his head recently. But he knew he didn't have the capabilities or resources for that, so he'd settle for something else.
"Back in Esperra, in the twelfth century, the church was famous for something. Do you know what it is?"
Seraphine tilted her head in thought.
"They zealously hunted everyone they deemed heretic back then. If I remember correctly, they were called..." Ashen trailed off, waiting.
"Inquisition?" Seraphine's memory caught up.
"Yes. That." He nodded. "I want you to create a team of professional cultist hunters."
"I know Paradise stays mostly free of cults thanks to the Everlasting Covenant. I need your know-how on how to deal with them. Of course, it's best if you can handle their training yourself, but I won't complain if we have to hire someone."
"Hmm." Seraphine tapped her cheek with one finger. "I have the theoretical knowledge, but I'm not very experienced in catching those rats yet." She looked at him curiously. "Should I find someone more experienced after all?"
Ashen smiled. It was the first smile since the meeting began. "No, having the theory down is enough. All you have to do is partner up with Lucia here. She has all the practice."
He turned to the pinkette. "Is that alright with you?"
"No problem." Lucia nodded.
"Good." He looked to the other side of the table, where Alice was leisurely listening as she relaxed in her chair. "Our surveillance has always been focused outward until now because we feared outside threats..."
She nodded, understanding where he was going with this. "Enemies come from inside and outside alike."
"Yeah." He nodded heavily. "It's time we focus on surveillance inside the territory."
"You know our financial situation is good lately, so materials can be brought in anytime. The only missing piece is you."
"Don't worry, I was going to come back anyway." Alice smiled faintly. "Ashbastion is stabilized for now, and I have free time. Even my usual work, I can do in the Northwest Territory and send in batches later. All you have to do is prepare a workshop for me."
"You've got it." Ashen nodded easily. "I'll prepare one that'll make you stay for good."
"I look forward to it."
He had to admit, it felt good to be rich. Most problems could be solved by throwing money at them.
"Alright, that's all for now." Ashen clapped his hands. "I'll be responsible for recruiting our inquisition department members. They'll be jointly managed by Lucia and Seraphine after training."
"Do you girls have anything to add?"
When all three shook their heads, Ashen released the dreamscape. "Then dream sweetly, ladies."
"Goodnight~"
"Nighty night, Ash!"
"I'll see you tomorrow."
⁂
When he left the land of dreams and returned to reality, sleep refused to come as he'd predicted.
The images from earlier in the day kept appearing in his head, persistently reminding him how low someone could sink.
Finally, he decided to get some answers from his Twin Soul as he felt him stirring awake.
'You there?'
{...What is it?}
'What do you think?'
{I have no particular thoughts.}
'None at all?'
{If I had to name one, it would be more of a request. Stop overreacting.}
Ashen palmed his face. He'd known what kind of response to expect from his stoic twin, but his restlessness had won out.
'Well, you must have seen worse things. Having already fought them all.'
{Hah. You're underestimating humans and their capacity for savagery.}
The older soul continued with distaste. {Do not be so quick to blame everything on alien influence. Even without them, we were cruel enough on our own.}
{Back in Esperra, if you study history, you will find cannibalism, sacrifices, and every shade of atrocity imaginable.}
Ashen said nothing.
{What I am trying to convey is this: do not place all the blame on those devils above. The ones who yield to temptation are just as guilty.}
{Harden your heart and kill them as the monsters they have become. Do not let their cruelty shake you. Hold fast to your conviction and keep walking your path. In time, they will cease to exist, because the paths we tread were contradictory from the very beginning.}
"I understand." Ashen took a deep breath and finally calmed his perturbed spirit.
It was truly as they said… only you understand yourself best. A few words from his older version had allowed him to sort out his scattered thoughts.
'By the way, this Outer God of Reverent Self-Consumption... is he one of the Seven?'
{That's just a small fry.}
'What?'
{...What's above us is much more than seven—or six now.}
Ashen went silent.
{Naturally, they also have their own subordinates. Just like we have an army, generals, and commanders, so do they.}
{Or do you think those miserable thralls were all there was?}
"Fuck... But how…?"
{Plunder enough civilizations, and even a worm could call itself a god if fed long enough without consequences.}
{Those seven devils have plundered more planets than you can count. Do you think they won't keep some useful slaves around when they tolerated the Narkals?}
'Shit. And I was getting happy for a second there after Secrets' death. Guess nothing is ever easy, huh?'
{...Well. You also have your own allies to lean on this time around, no?}
Ashen thought about his lovers, Sabrina, and Braun. Then the thousands of soldiers following him. Then the thousands of residents under his territory.
He let out a quiet sigh, a faint smile tugging at his lips. 'You're right.'
{Just allow them to support you as you support them. If you do that, you will never be alone when you face them. Don't repeat my mistake of doing everything alone.}
The twin's voice seemed to be getting fainter, but Ashen didn't mind. Sleep was also beckoning him.
{...Ah, how envious.}
Before his eyes shut, he heard an echo of a whisper, though he didn't catch its meaning.
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