Dark Son of Mortis (Chapter 6)

AN: I wanted to put out six chapters of this before continuing Piercer of Heaven. Next chapter for that tomorrow.

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About two weeks later.

The ‘Demon Savior’ of the Old Ways, a young boy around fourteen years old, stood inside the Spire—Zakuul’s capital city.

“Good grief…”

Lifting his circular cloth cap, he scratched idly at the top of his head.

“…how do people even make something like this?”

Essentially being a country bumpkin, he’d never personally witnessed the absurdity of Zakuul’s mega-cities. Just describing the sight was difficult.

A massive tower, more a monument than a building, rose into the atmosphere. From it, a vertical city sprawled outwards, with skyscrapers and pyramid shaped buildings suspended atop of one-another.

Everything was cast in varying shades of gold—bright, glimmering lights illuminated everything, the city shining like some kind of huge, solid gemstone.

At his side, the blindfolded Dagon fared a little better, given his blindness.

“My P-… I mean, ‘Amon’. Are you certain about this?”

Turning his head, he ‘looked’ at the youth, bereft of his usual disguise.

Amon didn’t reply immediately, simply drinking in the city’s sights. Nowhere in his memories could he find anything resembling this level of grandeur—it was truly mind-boggling.

“…now that you mention it, I’m suddenly having second thoughts.”

His voice was quiet. Even after a week’s stay, the awe hadn’t quite worn off.

Dagon exhaled slowly before laying a hand on his master’s shoulder. Over the years, he’d realized the ‘Demon Savior’ of legend was ultimately a creature of flesh and blood, just like everyone else.

Sometimes, he even acted his age—something Dagon found rather endearing.

“You are still young. Your strength will only grow, given time. There’s no need to force yourself.”

His tone was simultaneously respectful, never forgetting their difference in status, yet caring.

Tearing his gaze away from the magnificent city - bearing a resemblance to both the legend of El’Dorado and the tower of Babel from his old world - Amon addressed his servant’s concerns.

“That wasn’t my meaning. Rather, I’ve already been away for so long—my dear Father and Sister surely wouldn’t mind if I stayed a bit more. Yes, I think planet Zakuul won’t be rid of me so easily…”

Amon stroked his chin, chuckling quietly to himself.

However, his words were confusing to Dagon.

“Master you, well… I’m certain you recall the tale of your birth. Your mother died during labor and you have no father or sister. If there is some other meaning to your words, then pardon me for not understanding it.”

Unsure of whether this was one of the Prince’s ‘profundities’, those he sometimes espoused, Dagon could only voice his lack of understanding.

Amon waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. In any case, I won’t change my mind. For now, I think we should just carry out the plan.”

After years of living like a savage, the conveniences of civilization were something he’d desperately missed. The time had come for him to create a public identity for himself—the first step toward getting what he wanted.

The only problem was, they were completely broke! Before the two of them could even think about luxuries, or even basic necessities, they needed to secure a source of income.

Being a force-sensitive, Amon immediately considered joining the military. There would undoubtedly be some sort of program for destitute, but gifted aspirants.

There was the issue of the two of them being wanted criminals, but both Amon and Dagon lived their lives on the run. As such, avoiding capture was something they had plenty experience with.

Besides, notorious as they were, the Knights of Zakuul surely wouldn’t expect the two right under their noses! At least, that was the idea…

After scanning the futuristic skyscape, Amon spotted a pair of bronze-armored individuals, standing in the suspiciously derelict area. They were guarding what looked to be a mag-lev reception unit—a form of public transportation.

Without wasting time, he started walking toward them.

Dagon sighed before following after his master.

Though Amon’s gifts in the Force were powerful to the point of perversion, the old slave still didn’t think this was a good idea. A single person, no matter their strength, couldn’t resist the might of an empire.

Yet, after trying and failing to change the Prince’s mind, Dagon could only accompany him. Already, the Cult of the Old Ways was nearly extinct—aside from the two of them, none remained.

“Hello.”

Arriving near the two men, Amon offered his greetings.

However, the Knights didn’t even look at him, nor did they respond. Instead, they continued staring into the distance, clutching rigidly onto their polearms.

Amon waited for a moment, but then seeing nothing was happening, he stood on his toes, waving his hand in front of their faces.

“Sorry, can you help me? I’d like to…”

However, before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

“What are you doing? This is a restricted area. Aside from the civitas, none may enter.”

The voice was pleasant-sounding, it’s tone slightly curious.

Turning his head, Amon spotted what looked like a female officer, clad in a cream-colored uniform.  She was a Chiss, sporting their signature blue skin, red eyes and dark hair.

She was also extremely beautiful.

Wearing an apologetic smile, he straightened his admittedly threadbare outfit before speaking.

“Oh, pardon me officer, but my uncle and I seem to have gotten lost. One moment, we were wandering the streets, admiring the city’s wonderful scenery. The next, we were suddenly out here with no clue of what happened.”

Naturally, his claims were complete nonsense. The truth of the matter was that, after spending a week looking around, Amon had been thinking about the right people to approach.

The problem with simply visiting a recruitment office was that he’d have to start from the bottom. No, it was far better to enter in through the right door, so to speak.

For that reason, he’d sneaked into district-X23—prime real-estate for running into high-ranking imperial officers.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say this whole thing was a setup, even running into officer Yessen, the Chiss standing right in front of him.

How he’d learned about her, well… it was a long story. More importantly, despite her current immaculate appearance, Amon had discovered her humble background—a war-orphan who’d managed to work her way up through the ranks.

Officer Yessen quietly considered the strange boy in front of her. He was a pale, human child, appearing to be around fourteen cycles, with shoulder-length black hair. His features were fairly good, a sharp sort of handsome, but a bit on the skinny side.

“You and your uncle… accidentally found your way here?”

Her tone was disbelieving. Given the sheer amount of surveillance, it was impossible even for a fly to slip through without being noticed.

Amon rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

“Uhm… okay, I lied. The truth is, my uncle was hired by a merchant named Kal. He deals in green spice and, us being Desolate natives, he wanted my uncle as an advisor for his company. You know, to help him check the merchandise so he doesn’t get scammed…”

Amon started to lay out their prepared alibi, portraying the two of them as a pair of countryside-bumpkins who’d relocated to the capital in search of good fortune.

However, before he could get very far, officer Yessen cut him off impatiently.

“No matter the reason, you were caught trespassing. You will receive your punishment, as well as the merchant you work under. For letting his employees wander around unsupervised, his district-X23 license will be revoked.”

Gesturing toward the two knights, she was about to call for their arrest before Amon hurriedly waved his hands from side-to-side.

“Please wait, officer. The truth is, we weren’t just wandering around for no reason. I came looking for you specifically because, well…”

Shutting his mouth, he stretched his hand toward her, his fingers outstretched.

Suddenly, the pistol holstered near her waist started rattling, slowly lifting into the air and drifting toward him.

However, it had barely advanced two inches before the Knights were on top of Amon, slamming him into the ground. Despite being clad from head to toe in dura-alloy, their movements were incredibly quick and agile.

Grabbing the pistol out of the air and re-holstering it, officer Yessen examined his prone form with narrowed eyes.

“…I want to join the Order, but I need a recommendation.”

Though his arms were twisted painfully behind his back and his face was pressed against the ground, Amon calmly stated his demands.

The Chiss woman considered what had just happened, her face a passive mask.

“A recommendation…”

For a while, she mulled over the words. Then, as if thinking of something, a look of interest flashed across her face.

“Knights, you need no longer concern yourself with this matter. From here on, I will deal with it personally.”

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Amon and officer Yessen sat in her private shuttle, the latter wearing a scrutinizing expression. It needed to be said that, given her position, something like personally escorting a candidate rarely happened, even if they were Force-sensitive.

The reason she made the effort was because of circumstances, as well as the kid in front of her being a bit special.

“Your abilities… they aren’t limited to telekinesis, are they?”

Steepling her hands, she pressed her gloved fingers against the tip of her nose. Given the Spire’s tremendous scale, there was more than enough time for a conversation before reaching their destination.

Amon’s boyish face showed surprise, then hesitation.

“I don’t think I know what you mean, ma’am.”

Turning his head to the side, he broke eye-contact.

Officer Yessen raised an eyebrow, but didn’t press him. Of course, she could tell he was lying—his body language was just that transparent.

It was somewhat of an open secret that, although she’d never been formally trained in that area, Yessen possessed some meagre Force-gifts. It was one of the reasons why she, despite having no background, was able to rise through the ranks, eventually serving under sergeant Senya Tirall herself.

More relevant to the current situation, she had a knack for reading people that went beyond mere psychology…

“In any case, if there’s anything you haven’t told me or told incorrectly, you’d better clear things up. The military academy conducts background investigations on all new candidates, if they find something… out of order, it won’t go well for you or your uncle.”

Leaning back in her chair, Yessen narrowed her red eyes, luminescent in the shuttle’s dim interior. Well aware of how intimidating her appearance was, she always leveraged it during situations like these.

Amon gave her a weak smile. Before leaving, Dagon and he parted ways, the former returning to their small, crummy apartment.

“Ah, you mean I could actually be accepted? Even though I'm inconveniencing you, you're showing me such kindness. But don't worry, there isn’t anything like that, ma’am.”

With his head lowered and shoulders hunched, he showed an appearance befitting his age and background. Needless to say, after a generous application of his force-gifts, the risk of being found out was near zero.

While a highly-trained Force user could do something on the level of muddling the minds of individuals or even large crowds, his abilities extended far beyond that. Even something like implanting false memories wasn’t impossible…

However, Yessen wasn’t fooled so easily. Everything about this ‘nephew and uncle’ pair was suspicious.

Yet, from what she’d glimpsed via her Insight, she knew Amon was a Force-prodigy rarely seen, a one-in-a-hundred-million seedling. For someone like that, exceptions could be made, as long as his trespasses weren’t too grave.

The timing couldn't be more auspicious either, as lady Tirall was urgently in need of young, moldable talent...