NOVEL NEXT Chapter 58: Oaths & Cultural Divides
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"Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place."
–– Billy Crystal
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<Atem POV>
"Caiera Oldstrong! At last, you care to visit your Emperor. I thought that the Shadow People had forgotten about me after you guys got back the true might of your magic from this planet." I spoke out breaking the silence of the throne room while sitting on a recently made crystal throne.
In the newly constructed throne room of the castle, before Caiera had arrived, I was silently grappling with the weight of my next move in my quest to survive and conquer this world. And the allure of returning to Earth was tugging at my thoughts with tremendous might—an escape from the sluggish pace of my current Galactic invasion plan. Who would have imagined that conquering a star system could be so painstakingly slow?
The initial hurdle of my amazing plan lay in the breeding process of the formidable spike soldiers. Conversations with some seasoned red skinned Sakaaran war veterans who had taken part in some interplanetary battles before revealed the daunting requirements of taking over Morag: hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers and thousands of ships. These forces were the minimum necessity to breach the Kree's formidable military checkpoints encircling Morag's star system—a territory fiercely guarded by the Kree within this galaxy since they considered the sector a sacred place for their species. And we needed at least that many bug soldiers to defeat the Kree forces there if none of the heavyweights in my army like Karnilla or Brunhilde helped that is.
The Sakaaran engineers adeptly handled ship construction, leveraging my new planet's matter-generation capabilities. But the soldier-breeding process hit a roadblock. Karnilla, our magical master geneticist, had meticulously engineered a dozen specialized Spike Queens. Their sole purpose: birthing the genetically modified Spikes we desperately needed. Even though, these queens lacked the defensive prowess of their original natural counterparts like their psionic might to command millions of spike children at once; their abilities were confined to the more delicate art of soldier production. In essence, Karnilla was orchestrating an intricate avian ballet, turning her queens into specialized hens on her private farm.
Yet, the queens' output remained frustratingly finite. Each could produce approximately a thousand spikes per week—a commendable feat, but insufficient for our grand ambitions. Even at full production, we still faced a ten-week wait to amass the requisite numbers. And so, we embarked on a parallel endeavor: breeding more queens which would still take weeks. But my patience wore thin as the days stretched into weeks. I yearned to see the Spike army conquer... something, yet the monotony of patiently waiting on my throne with nothing truly important to do gnawed at my resolve.
"Of course not, Emperor. I was simply waiting for things to become stable in my clan before visiting you. I wanted myself and my people to be at our peak so that we could be of some actual service to you." Caiera spoke with a respectful but not overly servile tone of voice. She was a warrior through and through. As the leader of her people, she understood the intricacies of politics and power, but she couldn't bring herself to lick someone else's shoes just for some favor. She had served someone else as a slave for too long and she had no intention to to return to that role again.
"I see. And how strong do you feel?" I asked curiously. "Do you think these lands emit enough of your magic as your old planet?"
"No, not yet" she confided. "The magic on this planet is burgeoning, growing with each passing day. While it still pales in comparison to the ancient power of our former home, it inches closer. I can sense it—the very pulse of this world resonating through those crystals." I can access the entirety of the old power present on this planet, so I think I can even rival Karnilla in a few days when it comes to mystic forces." She revealed, not knowing that Karnilla had never used her full power in front of her. All the magic that the Norn goddess has used in her presence was her own. Caiera had no idea that Karnilla was vastly more powerful than the divine sorceress let on because of the powerful Nornstones that she possessed.
"The entire planet's magic, huh?" I mused, my mind grappling with an enigma. Why couldn't I tap into this wellspring? Despite my connection to the planet through my system, the cosmic energy remained elusive, slipping through my grasp like sand. Perhaps it was my New God nature, devoid of the Shadow People's unique lineage... but whatever it was, despite being connected to the planet through my system, I still wasn't able to access the massive amounts of cosmic energy reserves of this planet without getting a headache, much less some other mystical energy.
But this did give me a unique idea. I might not be able to manipulate the mystic forces on this planet but I might be able to influence the connection that Caiera made with the magic here.
'Maybe, I should try it out.' I thought as I tried to mentally connect to my system to directly take control of the planet. My intent was all I needed to single out the connection that Caiera had developed with the living semi-sentient planet. With a slight mental tug, I was easily able to disconnect that link and completely deprive Caiera of her newfound power.
"What the...?" The Queen of the Shadow People stood motionless, her gaze fixed upon her hands. To her, I hadn't even moved from my throne and nothing else had appeared out of the ordinary in the room, yet an inexplicable shift had occurred here. Her connection to the Old Power was suddenly gone. "My strength... it's gone. How? This should not be possible."
"Oh, but it is possible. 'Your' magic or old power as you like to call it was never yours from the beginning. It comes from the very planet you are standing on. Yet, understand this: the land itself is under my dominion, obedient to my commands alone. And what I have given, I can taketh away." I asserted, a faint chuckle escaping my lips with a sinister undertone belied by the satisfaction of my success, all the while feeling giddy inside that it actually worked.
Caiera, however, appeared shell-shocked as she gazed at me, her expression weak and drained. It seemed as though she had been stripped of every ounce of confidence she had painstakingly amassed recently through her growing power, confronting a bitter truth about herself: she was, at her core, still very much weak.
I confess that my motives stemmed from the deep-seated necessity to make her realize something rather than just a mere desire to test out my power. She needed to acknowledge her vulnerabilities. The bestowal of immense power upon her was a double-edged sword, more perilous than beneficial. With the sudden surge in strength, she was succumbing to a dangerous level of overconfidence. There lingered a perilous possibility that she might disregard her limits, maybe even contemplate defiance against me in pursuit of greater benefits for her people—a scenario that I couldn't entertain. Thus, I felt compelled to show her the difference in power between me and her, to prevent any notion of rebellion from taking root in her mind.
"... I see. So, that is the true difference between a mortal like me and a god like you," she murmured, her gaze fixed upon the spear clasped in her hands. "Perhaps my people spoke the truth. I am but a small fish floating in the vast expanse of the ocean." She spoke with renewed determination as she knelt upon the ground, her voice steady as she proclaimed, "I, Caiera Oldstrong offer the God Emperor me and my clan's unwavering loyalty. I swear that as long as he safeguards my people, my power, my sword, my strength, my heart, body, and soul shall be his and his alone. This oath I pledge as of this day."
Truthfully, I was only mildly surprised by her vow. I knew from the very start that she would make a deal with me to make sure that she and her people could remain on the planet to enjoy its benefits and the new power that it brought them. Yet, her pledge of loyalty caught me off guard. In the warrior-centric culture of the Shadow People, where integrity, bravery, and honor were paramount, oaths held unassailable weight. So, I too became serious as I met her gaze while adopting a solemn expression and acknowledging her commitment with a slow, deliberate nod. "And I, Atem, the New God of the Void and Domination, accept your oath."
Caiera bowed her head gracefully as I accepted her oath, then silently rose from her kneeling position and walked up toward my throne with measured strides. Setting her spear gently upon the ground, she knelt once more before me, her face still sporting a stoic demeanor as she sought to unfasten the armor encasing my groin.
"Umm, what are you doing?" I asked with palpable uncertainty while wondering if I should stop her or not. I mean I had no idea if this was supposed to be part of her people's ritual of taking oaths and if it was, I didn't want to offend her by intervening.
"Huh? I just pledged myself to you and you accepted, so you are now my husband and I belong to you. So, I am trying to consummate our marriage. Is there anything wrong?... Wait, I heard that some of the more powerful warriors in my tribe liked to be the ones to dominate their wives in front of their friends and family on their first night. Do you want to do that too? I can pretend to resist and fight back while you forcefully take me on this cold floor if that is truly what you want. We can even call some people to watch." Caiera looked more serious than ever while she innocently suggested what she thought I wanted.
"..."
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