Lord Shadow

‘You must not have thought of the plan backfiring when you are scheming against me’

Hirate was silent bit he closes his eyes and he sighed. He did not only trying to dispel the hallucination but he is also recounted the past.

The Psionic force revolves around his Disk trying to dispel as much a possible of the domineering aura that has begun affecting Hirate mind.

He then opens his eyes once again and sitting in front of him is the Death Monarch in his original height.

‘I did not know how you know but it is not a secret that I try to schema against you. That was not the first time and I doubt it is the last. I see you still keeping that grudges alive.’

‘But is that important now? Considering the many things that have changed since then?’ Azief nodded

‘It is not important considering our situation now. I’m just reminding you why I hate you’

And Azief finally take another sip of the tea, smiling. Hirate seeing this also takes another sip trying to calm down his burning heart right now.

‘And Death Monarch if you want me to come here just to insult me, to hash out old things, then it is not too late to let me return to Island of Peace and wage war against each other.’

Azief eyebrows rose up

‘I could still do that’ Azief said

Hirate smiles

‘But you didn’t’ Azief chuckles a bit.

Azief then sighed and ask

‘Why did you trust me enough to let me bring you here to Pandemonium? It is quite surprising when you agree to my request’

‘Does it really matter?’ Hirate ask. Azief just nodded as he put down his cup and lean back on his throne.

Hirate put down the cup and then he said, trying to explain

‘It is not really a hard choice to make’ He begins.

‘Especially because I have no other choice. After all if there is one thing l learned about people it is this. If you want people to trust you, you sometime have to trust them first. Especially when you don’t have leverage over them’

And Hirate smirk a bit at that.

And then looking at those clear hazel eyes of the Death Monarch, he said this word

‘I am not the man I was before. And I doubt you were the man you were before. At least I think we both could acknowledge that’

Azief nodded.

He still remembers the determination of the people inside the bunker room in Hawaii. They were prepared to die fighting if the fleet attacks Earth.

It surprised him to see that kind of determination and will

War brings out the worse in people.

But sometimes it also brings the good in people. Hirate then sighed as he said

‘War brings out the worst and the best in people. Wars do not make men great, but they do bring out the greatness in good men. War is romantic only to those who are far away from the sounds and turmoil of battle. I came back as better men as a result of being in that war and I would do it again if called upon. But each of us that participated in that war hoped that if we had learned anything from the experience it is that war is unreal, and we earnestly hoped that it would never happen again.’

Azief look at the fiery eyes of Hirate and there is a slight smile and slight puzzlement. He then ask

‘What happens in the years that I was gone?’ Hirate immediately answers

‘War happens. You were not present in the early days of the occupations of Weronian and you were also not present during their last struggle. I have never seen so much suffering and such brutality in my whole life. It still keeps me up at night sometimes.’

Then taking a deep breath he said.

‘Me killing people and fighting against people scheming against them while it is reprehensible, I have reasons for my killing’

Azief look at him and his eyebrows rose up. Hirate understand the irony. He just smiles bitterly and continues his word.

‘Whether it be profit, some kind of personal sense of justice or because of interest, I have a reason for killing people. But I have never seen such senseless killing in such a massive scale the way that the war teaches me. In a way they were not really meaningless killing ,you know. It is an eradication. Genocide of the entire race of humanity’

Then he sighs and then looks wearily at Azief.

‘You defeated Purunghasa and brought down the Pillars of the Weronians and weaken the Weronian on Earth. Most people would tell you that we humans started a counterattack since that day and we won every battle and manages to drive of the Weronian invasion. It was a moment of glory and triumph. It is also a great story’

Hirate said this sentence with a sense of sarcasm.

‘The few Weronians that are still alive are in hiding somewhere in the world. They hides in some dark caverns or tunnels while there are still some people that are hunting them for their bones or their skins which can be used to make many things. And some are hunting them for some personal reason. There were many people that die that day. There are people with grudges. People who have their loved ones taken from them. And they still do not forget what happens to them’

Azief was silent at this. He understands hatred. He understands anger. He lived four lives as Azul.

He felt regret, felt sadness, felt sorrow and longing, felt love and heartbreak.

How could he not understand it? How could he not understand these desires and these feelings?

More than anyone he understands.

He is only thankful that while he understands those feeing, he still manages to feel empathy and not indifference.

At least he learns that much from Azul regret.

The real pity is when you feel nothing.

He let Hirate continues

‘But it was not as easy as the people describe. It is not at all a successful counter attack where we won every battle. It is just that the battle that is won is more heavily emphasized. There is nothing we could do. I, Boris we all lie to the world. Because the world…in the absence of you….needs a new hope. So, we sell them hope…and by God we sell them a great story and they all bought it’

Hirate snorted a bit, not out of disdain to the world but to himself.

Azief sighed. But he also understands where Hirate is coming from. Nothing is more demoralizing than losing hope.

Hirate laugh bitterly as he said

‘The last struggle of Weronians is terrifying. I saw it by myself. Their warrior tribes decide since they could not get Earth, they would rather try to inflict as much damage as possible. It is a scorched Earth tactics onto the whole world’

‘How many people were killed in their crazed attacks and how many cities and villages were razed to the ground, how many men , women, children and people getting eaten by the Weronian. I walk the Earth and the only thing I saw was corpses, bones and ashes’

He closes his eyes for a moment and it was like he was reliving those moment all over again. Then opening his eyes he ask Death Monarch

‘Tell me something, Death Monarch. When you experience something like that tell me, won’t that kind of experience changes you belief and value?’

Hirate look determined as he look at that unmoving hazel eyes, a passive observer. In those eyes, Hirate almost could see a trace of feeling.

Then he said

‘In your eyes I might look like some evil schemer and that is fine by me. I know what I am and I do not deny what I am. But I am not some heartless bastard. I like power. In fact I love power. But I also learn something. And it is etched on my heart since that day. I now understand the responsibility of people with power. You want to say that I schemed against you and it wrong?’

And the Hirate smirks

‘It is wrong…to you. Yes, but it is not wrong to my people. Because at the time, my people wanted to expand the World Government and unify the hearts of all humanity under one banner. At the time, what is one measly life compared to the unity of humanity?’

Azief scoffed. Hirate continues

‘The only wrong thing I did was that I underestimated you and that changes the entire plan. And instead of gaining the recognition of the world, my organization instead gained a powerful enemy we don’t want. Trust me, if I could turn back time, I would take it back. But we know that is not possible’ Azief only smiles mysteriously.

Azief then shakes his head.

‘Enough of this. Hirate, I’m not your therapist. In the end…isn’t it is simply because you are weak?’

This sentence shuts out Hirate mouth. Azief then chuckles and look pointedly at Hirate, his hand gripping the skull on the handle of his throne.

‘Do you really think I do not know why you did the things you did? Do you think I am some naive kid living under some rock?

He then laughs like he heard some joke.

‘You think I don’t know the reason why you did all those things? You make it sound so noble. You make me laugh. Doing it for your people’ Azief said like he heard the greatest joke ever told.

‘Isn’t it simply because of your ambition? Don’t deny what is in your heart. At least I never say white is black and black is white.’

There was silence in the garden as these two men look at each other. They then both smiles at each other.

Then both of them took a sip out of their tea cup. On the distance the chirping of birds could be heard singing a song only they understand.

‘How much of the story was true?’ Azief asked as he put down his cup.

Hirate then reply

‘As much as you trust me.’ Hirate then put down his tea cup down onto the table.

‘Is that so?’ Azief said.

‘And do you think I trust you?’ Azief ask back. Hirate smiles and then shakes his head

‘I guess it is not enough for you’

‘What makes you say that?’

‘The fact that come here with your clone’ Hirate calmly answered. Azief eyes narrowed.

‘You notice?’

Hirate nodded.

Azief did not explain anything nor does he shows any signs of his expression indicating whether he is sorry or anything else.

He just sits there on his throne of bones, looking nonchalant.

Neither does he need to explain.

The more he tries to explain the more people would know about him. And that would not be something Azief wanted.

Especially not for someone who is now neither friend nor foe. But something in between. Hirate just sighed.

To pry words from Death Monarch mouth is impossible unless he wished to tell him.

And he is not hoping to do such things.

‘I don’t want to waste time, Death Monarch. The longer I am here, the more restless the outside world will be.

‘There are a lot of things we need to talk and try to reach an agreement with. First, there is the world distribution events’

‘Are you intending to split it between us three?’

Though Azief said otherwise before, Hirate still hope Azief could reconsider. Azief just close his eyes for a moment and then he answer.

‘There are a lot of factions that rises in the aftermath of the Weronian War. I intend to split the world into seven parts’

Hirate frown his eyebrows. Death Monarch decision would introduce an unstable factor in an already unbalanced sphere of power.

But what caught Hirate ears was the seven parts. Why seven?

Then Hirate ask

‘Would you please reconsider this matter?’

Azief shake his head.

‘Like I said Hirate, the floodgate is already opened. The age of the Three Great Power has ended’

‘You truly don’t mind sharing it?’ Hirate ask.

Azief smiles.

‘The world was never mine to begin with and I am not interested in it. If I want it, do you think anyone could stop me?’

Azief said it with such unswerving confidence that his word seems to be the truth.

‘I am not the once that coins the word Three Great Powers. I did not establish the many cities in Pandemonium. I did not administrate the many things that happen in Pandemonium. If anything I am just a figurehead’

Then he smirks and added

‘An effective figurehead to repel flies and ants but still just a figurehead. I am not interested in this world. You can have it if you are that interested’

‘Then, what i-‘

But before Hirate managed to finished his words, Azief shakes his head and laughs. It shocked Hirate as Azief then said

‘At least that is what I thought before I was almost being assassinated’

And there is a cruel and cold smile etched on Azief face.

‘But I learned that if you have a large group of people helping you, listening to your orders, you could easily do many more things and achieving many more things. In a way, that assassination attempt on my life has opened my eyes on certain things I failed to notice and neglected’

Hirate nodded. He understands that is the perks that come with having many people following you.

‘I understand’ Hirate said about the matters of the Distribution of the world. He knows enough to no longer insist.

Then he sighed as he proceeds to another topic they discussed before.

‘The world right now could not handle another war. We have only two billion people left on Earth. Imagine the sheer casualties of humans. Almost five billion people die since the beginning of the Fall. We need to have a period of stability and peace. Do you agree with this Death Monarch?’

Azief nodded and reply

‘I do agree on this matter. We need to bide our strength and prepare ourselves’

Azief acknowledges that no matter how strong he is he alone could not defeat an entire civilization of aliens more advanced than they are.

If not for the World Orb suppression that suppresses otherworldly beings on Earth, Earth would have long fallen under the Weronians.

Hirate nodded in agreement and then he ask

‘Then why didn’t you just make the Prohibition of War permanent? That would ensure world peace’ Hirate ask

***

The fourth part of the chapter. It is near for you all to understand the reference in the beginning. And what did you think about the AOA? Should I? Should I not?