WHO: Kyo & Badr WHEN: Following the Coup WHERE: Badr's Room SUMMARY: Kyo and Badr talk about next steps...and what they experienced in the tower. CW: N/A
Badr sat in his window, watching the birds that had come to know that patch beneath the sill as a dinner table. He had not fed them, even though they had gathered. His gaze upon them was somehow distant. The room behind him was subtly packed. He would not be able to take all his fine carpets, nor even his best clothes. Of his proud collection of books, he had only placed the very most relevant ones in his bags, even leaving his scrolls of Omar and Jamal in his bed. If he must run, he would have to pack light. And since he was not good at running or carrying, he must bring as little as he could spare. He had not had to run yet, though. For now, things were quiet. A storm that had not yet passed, but which had gone temporarily still.
Somewhere out there, Cinna was with Gaius, doingā¦he was not sure what. He asked Her if Cinna had tried to return to the village, and She said that Cinna had not been seen there, nor had She sensed her presence. Probablyā¦Cinna already had the Map of Stars. She probably stole it when he took her there for the planting festival. He couldnāt blame himself for that, though. How could he have knownā¦?
Maybe he should have known. Maybe he should have asked more questions. Probed. Searched. Tried so much harderā¦
But where had he misstepped? It was hard to see the exact locations of his mistakesā
His rumination was broken by a soft knock.
āCome in.ā
What was he even doing here? Kyo walked around the school in a daze mostly. He barely ate anything. Hardly even slept. He just kept on hearing Gaiusās words that he used Kyo. How Gaius tossed him aside. Used and discarded. Gaius wouldnāt even look at him, like Kyo didnāt matter. All those talks they had about changing the world and Cinna was invited and not him. Of course.
His daze had been interrupted by intense rage in the training arena. One of the training dummies now lay in tinders and his hands bloody and his throat sore. The daze returned as he cleaned up, taping up his hands, and changing back into his regular clothing.
Kyo ended up outside Badrās room. What was he even doing? Did he want to talk? What did he want? He didnāt know. Someone. Anyone. But he also simultaneously wanted to be alone.
He opened the door at permission. He hesitated, halfway closing the door as if changing his mind but then came back in.
Kyoās eyes had circles under them and his expression was dark and his hair looked a little unkempt. But he was here. Being social like this was a great effort.
Badr was not surprised that it was Kyo. He would have been more surprised were it anyone else. They had shared something in that tower. They, outsiders to Serenitas, who had been somehow drawn into its intrigues...teased out of their anxieties and their walls by love and friendship, to see it all crumble in the same moment.
Neither of them could fathom the experience of the knight or the prince who had been left behind, but they could fathom each other.
āI feel betrayed,ā Badr said, waiting for Kyo to shut the door. āBut I am not sure if I have been betrayed. Strange, isnāt it?ā He lowered his legs, slipping from the window and going to sit upon his lush carpets, beckoning for Kyo to do the same. āYou are like a ghost. Be careful, or the stars will take you away.ā
Kyo closed the door quietly and collapsed in a nearby lush carpet as if weighing suddenly gaining 100 lbs. He rubbed his face, trying to wake himself up. Betrayal. Lots of betrayal that night. Enough to go around. Do you want to feel betrayed by the church? Check. Be betrayed by leadership? Check. Be betrayed by boyfriend? Double check.
āNnn,ā Kyo agreed absently. āIā¦ Iā¦ wish the stars would take me.ā
He sighed and looked at his hands. āAnd yetā¦ā He shook his head. āHow are you? Besides feeling betrayed?ā
Badr looked away. Kyo looked threadbare, and heā¦there were things Song could fix and things Song could not fix. The hardest moments were always the ones that his power had no dominion over. He sighed, rubbing his brow.
āScared,ā he admitted. āWithout the King here, Titus is so vulnerable, andā¦there is nothing we can do about it.ā He paused, swallowing and casting all about his room before he began to hum and then sing, filling the air with what seemed some kind of summer haze. It would muffle them, if the room was compromised. There was that at least.
āI think thatā¦when it is time for us to move, he will come with me. I think he must come to understand, as we doā¦why Gaius tried to kill the High Priest.ā
Kyo didnāt sneer at the mention of Titus this time. That had also been a thought that went through his head. What if the generals tried to take out his father but would try to manipulate him? That would be absolutely terrible and he sympathized. Although he was not the type of vulnerable Badr spoke of when speaking of the Chosen of Light, he did have a secret that now Nero knew.
That was yet another thing that caused anxiety to occasionally bubble up. He hated emotions. Hated.
āWill he?ā Kyo asked, raising an eyebrow. āThe words Gaius used must have felt like daggers, irreparable wounds. It must be almost comforting to settle in Light must kill Dark.ā
Badr frowned, looking down. Kyo had a point. It would be easier to fall back on the old fairy tales than to face reality. Titus was, though perhaps his friend sitting across from him now might not believe it so, a very gentle person. As gentle as his brother, though not as obviously so. He was pure-hearted to a fault and innocent beyond a fault. He wasā¦perfectly primed for a hostile takeover of Serenitas.
Gaius had not intended that. Badr knew that his intention had been something entirely other. He could well imagine how the Dark Knight had hoped things would have gone. That he would slay the one selfish enough to distort the balance and invite calamity, that Serenitas would be a better and freer place this morning for the piece of his soul that he would have sacrificed in killing Neroā¦ Perhaps with Nero dead, the magic would even be able to balance itself.
It had not gone that way. Even if it had, Badr was not sure that Gaius would not still be trying to sacrifice himself. He might simply have just bought himself more time and freedom to work towards it.
āDo you remember the welcoming feast? And how so many of our classmates were obsessed with trying to see a certain constellation from that gazebo? It wasā¦a silly superstition. The stars they wanted to see are called the āEntwined Bows.ā It has, I think, something to do with the war companions of old. Well, perhaps the idea is not so oldā¦ King Tiberius and his Captain of the Guardā¦ā He stopped though, shaking his head. āThe Entwined Bows. The rumor was, if you saw them from that gazebo, the person you saw them with was meant to be your destiny. But that constellation has a different story in Simurgh. In Simurgh, it is called āJamalās Tearsāāthe tears the stars took from Jamal after he could not save his beloved Omar. Which do you think it was that we saw that nightā¦?ā He laughed, a brittle sound. āIām sorry. My mind wanders, and I become philosophical. Why do you think that Gaius was trying to destroy the Light Crystal? That is not rhetorical, I promise you, my friend. I simplyā¦feel that it is important, and I amā¦very tired.ā
Kyo listened even though he ran his index finger over the carpet he sat on. He recalled the constellation and thought the superstition sounded stupid. Now, he thought about how he wished he could have seen such a sight with Gaius āholding hands. That is how it began. He linked his index finger with Gaiusās. He instigated it. Gaius must have took advantage of Kyoās crush.
āIt must have been nice,ā he said. āThe first superstition. In Guren, that constellation had the first story but also, was lauded by generals as a place to expand to. The direction that is.ā He shook his head. āWe talked about change. About how the world was so cruel. He made me believe there could be good. That I could beā¦ā His voice got caught in his throat and he shook his head.
āI donāt know if the Gaius I knew was the one I fell in love with,ā Kyo said. āSo I canāt say why he would destroy the light crystal. He talked about balance so it doesnāt make sense that he would want darkness to ā¦ supersede light. But I donāt know.ā
āIs that what it wasā¦?ā Badr mumbled, rubbing his brow with his knuckles. āI meanā¦I do not believe that he wished to have darkness swallow the light. Perhapsā¦is that the source of imbalance? But if it is, then why does Titus seemā¦fine? Why does Serenitas seem otherwise fine? Maybe that is not the problem. Maybe it is something to do with darkness instead. Maybe he wanted toā¦destroy the light because the dark had been destroyed? That wouldā¦ā He breathed in, a long breath, and then sighed. After a moment, he stood to get his kettle and tea leaves, along with two little cups, painted with dragons.
āTitus will not know, and Gaius is no longer here toā¦hint to us what it might have been. But if Nero is involved, ifā¦Gaius intended to kill himā¦ Perhaps there is something amiss with Light, if not with Darkness.ā¦ā He trailed off, sighing again. āThat is, of course, why he did all this foolishness. He is exactly the man that you have loved, Kyo. The only thing is, you did not understand that he was just as much a fool as anyone else. This damned Serenitas, raising its people for sacrificeā¦ One should think at least they would teach the princes of the country to value their lives a little more. But maybe that, too, was part of Crystalismās deception. Their people will now look to the guidance of one who may wish to destroy us allā¦ And that silly ass Gaiusā¦ He will do as he has been trained and die to try to prevent it. Do you see it? How transparent his āwickednessā truly is?ā
āNo, the Gaius I knew didnāt talk about that,ā Kyo agreed, his voice stony. āBoth Light and Dark are needed. I think Nero knows something most definitely. He also wanted us to fight for him too. Iā¦ canāt believe he let us leave.ā
At the mention of Gaius being the one he loved and his āwickedness.ā Kyo brings his knees to his chest and hugs his legs, āHe wouldnāt look at me,ā he muttered. āHe said he used me. I was just a fuck and thatās itā¦ā Somehow that seemed more comforting than the thought that Gaius just ran off without him to sacrifice himself even though both were devastating.
āJust why did he leave me behindā¦ā Kyo asked rhetorically before burying his face in his knees. āDidnāt tell me anything. Or anything.ā He slammed his fist on the ground. āI donāt want him to die.ā He was certain his muttering did not make sense but it had been bottled up and Badr had been the first one he really spoke to.
āI alsoā¦am surprised he allowed us to go, and yet not. If Titus rebelled against him in that moment, the people love Titus. He is the Crown Prince and Chosen of Light, and the people will rally to him. I do not think Nero is, though held in great esteem, quite so beloved. Even if he is the High Priest of Crystalism, if the Chosen of Light and Crown Prince spoke against himā¦ He had to court us, to court Titus.ā He had stopped using āPrinceā Titus. It was too tiring, really, and Kyo already had likely realized.
He began brewing the tea, singing softly to warm the kettle. For a few minutes, he was busy, focusing only on that. His thoughts were scattered, and his emotions were not as controlled as he was letting on. He didnāt want to burn down his room. It was only when he could hear a faint whistle of steam that he stopped singing and began to prepare the tea.
āIf I had to tell Titus I hated him, I would not be able to look him in the eye. How could I face the pain that would certainly be there? To know that I had caused such misery in someone who I had only ever wanted to bring joy?ā
He poured a cup and placed it before Kyo, the scent of something floral and warm wafting from the delicate cup.
āIf you were, say, to be standing before a great chasm... If you believed that the only way that the world would go on was if you were to throw yourself into that chasm and dieā¦ But then you looked up and saw the one you loved most standing on the other sideāsaw the pain in their eyes, saw the future that you could have if you did not die, there within your graspā¦ Could you jump? He simply is being selfish. Or perhaps exposing his weakness. He cannot bear for you to see him dieā¦ā
Badr looked towards the sky for a moment, and then his brow creased in frustration. āBut Dragon devour allā¦Cinna was with me the night I stole the letter. I am certain that she stole something, too. I am afraid that she might have taken that map, and thatā¦that possibly Gaius did not yet have all he needs to reenact Itzalās sacrifice, that maybe that map points to some missing piece, andā¦ā He shook his head, his voice growing tight. āI may as well have handed it to him myself. Sheāthe Scoreāhas told me that Cinna has not attempted to return to Simurgh, and so I assume that there is no longer a need for the Dark Knight to visit.ā He rubbed his face. āBut I will figure something out. As much as Gaius wants to save us, we want to save him, so that fool of a prince will not die. We will find a better way. Somehow. That, then, is what we must consider: how to prevent the world from falling into calamity and discordā¦and, too, how to prevent Gaius from going through with recreating Itzalās sacrifice.ā He dropped his hands in his lap, muttering, āGods be, itās as though he thinks he is Itzal reborn.ā
Kyo felt a couple tears escape his eyes. All this talk about court made him also slightly anxious because he had to be the crown prince too. He had to prepare for that and he just could not get himself to function. Aditi had been right about the turtledoves.
He does listen to Badr and part of him knew the Chosen of Song was right. He thought of those last words Gaius said to him. Donāt walk my path, and Gaius even said Kyo. It still hurt that Gaius did not choose Kyo to go with him. But Kyo knew he could not let Gaius sacrifice himself.
āI shouldnāt have let him leave,ā Kyo growled as he slammed his fist on the ground. āI should have begged. Grabbed onto him. Anything. He always thinks about other people but I wanted to know. That idiotā¦ā his sadness turned to anger. āHe chose Cinna over me.ā He shook his head before letting go of his legs and crossed them, angrily reaching for the tea.
Badr smiled thinly. āHe didnāt choose her over you. He simplyā¦recruited her, because she will not hesitate. If there is a tried and true method to save this world, even if it requires a human lifeā¦ She will not hesitate. She can beā¦rather cold in her convictions.ā
āThank you,ā Kyo said methodically as he raised it up before taking a sip.
At hearing about what happened with Cinna, Kyo slumped forward, āHeās an idiot. But a smart idiot. Interesting he didnāt use you to get a hold of the Map of Stars, I guess that means he canāt look at you either.ā He meant that metaphorically. āIām sorry, though. It is awful when family betrays you or uses you. Although that is routine in my family.ā He lowered his cup. āGaius made me realize I could take control of my life and be a good person. And notā¦ head for the horizon of the Entwined Bows.ā
The tea filling up his empty stomach revived him somewhat, although he continued to look solemn, āGuren has a vault with artifacts no one has seen. I thought of going there with my sister to see if we could break in. I wondered if we had some sort of important piece to the puzzle. But I donāt know. I bet many eyes are on me now that I have been outed as a heretic. Whichā¦ā he sighed rubbing his eye. āSome generals who want to coup may use that as a reason to recruit. Iām tired of being a prince. So tired.ā He rolled his eyes. āBut I did promise Aditi. And I want to change the system.ā
Badr looked away again, huffing. āThe most dangerous kind of fool. But are we not also āsmart idiotsā?ā His mouth quirked as he looked back at the Prince of Guren, but then fell as Kyo brought up Cinna. He pinched his brow again. āI donāt believe that sheā¦betrayed me. I believe she intends to save me, the same as Gaius intends to save us all. I suppose they believe that these decisions must be made unilaterally. Perhapsā¦that is not unfounded. There would be no small amount of argument were they to put these ideas to committee. Though who knows? People can be so shockingly selfish. Maybe most would agree: one sacrifice for the sake of many. Perhaps it is ironicāthough I am from Simurghā¦still, I would contest it. But I believe that there was no time before. I am certain that what Itzal chose happened out of desperation. If only Gaius had spoken with us franklyā¦perhaps we would not be soā¦pressed now. I suppose that, too, was his intention. To force us to see the logic in his method. There is no time, so you must now accept what I will do.ā
He sipped his tea, burning his tongue a little and frowning.
āYou should. Truly, we should leave this country as soon as we can. I cannot fathom that it will be a safe place for us much longerā¦ But beyond that, you ought to go there and see if you cannot find whatever he might wish to take. Anything we can hide from himā¦thatās at least one barrier to his plans. It may buy us time, if nothing else.ā He paused for a long moment before lowering his cup.
āIf you hate to be a prince, then do not be a prince. You do not have to be a prince to be a leader. You do not have to wear a crown to guide your people. Touch their hearts, and they will follow you. Touch their hearts, and perhaps they will demand that change themselves. Butā¦I am afraidā¦that your crown will soon be the least of your worries, for Nero still lives, and we have no answer to repair what he may have wrought. I should like to prevent Catastrophe entirely, but I do not know that we can do so as things stand. And as Chosenā¦that must be our priorityāto do what we can to protect this world and her inhabitantsā¦including Gaius.ā
Kyo took another sip of tea, the conversation providing him with much needed grounding, āThatās pirate talk, or Donnersberg talk. Guren, it is sacrifice one to save the many. It does make sense though. Does this meanā¦ā he smirked, the very action feeling. āWeāre those who canāt be trusted with these big choices?ā He frowned again.
At the mention of leaving the country, he rubbed his brow, āMy father will not be pleased, I can say that much. That is if Nero tells him of what happened.ā He felt a surge of anxiety reach his chest and he swallowed hard. āLove made me such a fool.ā
He glanced up at Badr as he spoke about being a leader. He scoffed, not so much at Badr but himself, āBe inspiring. I am about as inspiring as wet clothā¦ā He smirked again. āI fully intended to occupy the space to prevent the generals from taking over. And listen to the peopleās concerns butā¦ā He sipped the tea, looking up at the ceiling. āBut you are right. Gaius wouldnāt have wanted me to be consumed by cynicism and to have a good heart. We have to protect the world.ā He blinked his eyes as a pair of tears ran down his cheeks.
Badr shrugged, his eyes following shadows moving over the window frame, blurred by the haze of magic.
āIāve been trusted with big decisions since I was a child. I believe that she did choose me for a reason, and I can have faith in that, if nothing else. I will make the decision my heart requires.ā He sipped his tea, running the burned part of his tongue against the back of his teeth. āI doubt he will. He isā¦perhapsā¦ā Badr rubs his brow. āYou are more usefulāwe are more usefulāto him as sheep within his fold. For nowā¦we must continue to bite our tongues and say only what is needed, as we did in the tower. But if I were youā¦I might also prepare to leave in the nightā¦on any night. I donāt know what will happen next, but weāve spent nearly a year learning about history and tactics. The alarming part is really this: the years of experience he has over us. We should be less worried about what happened in the tower and more concerned about how we could be manipulated going forwardā¦ā
He watched as the tears slipped down Kyoās cheeks and then scooted closer, placing a hand upon his back gently.
āIf we are brave and unrelentingā¦I have faith that we will save this world and everyone we hold dear. Later, courage will be our only shield. Pain may be a luxury we cannot afford. But for nowā¦it is fine. To be sad.ā
Kyo didnāt have the same experience as Badr as a leader. It had always been here read this book, train to fight, learn statecraft. But there was no actual practicing war or politics or book smarts ā no meeting and listening to the people. He trained to be a leader but even now, Kyo didnāt know what that meant. He retreated the first time he saw the dark knight and even now, he didnāt go after Gaius. Kyo let him go. A leader would have stopped him.
He nodded cautiously to Badrās words, āI need to do that. Pack. Go back to Gurenā¦ā He didnāt mention anything more about manipulations because he already knew. Nero knew his major secrets. Those could very well be up for sale now. Aditi would kill him.
āIf we only knew someone who still had that connection to the church. Something happened there that set Gaius off, I thinkā¦ā
At Badrās touch, Kyo flinched and he wiped away his tears, āYou definitely have a way with words, Chosen of Song.ā
āMost likely,ā Badr agreed, withdrawing his hand. It didnāt seem that Kyo wanted affection then, and so he put his hands back in his lap, considering. āI believeā¦your āHoly Fatherā had control of the magitech feed. I could not tell quite what was happening, butā¦it seemed to cut at very critical moments, did it not? And so, it seems that what we did seeā¦ā He sighed, twisting his fingers together. It didnāt bode well. As he thought, Nero was a far cannier politician than either of them could hope to handle. That alone made him thinkā¦that it would be best not to stay in Serenitas past their welcome.
He sighed, half-laughingābut without any sound of amusement. āI wonder which is really more frightening? A lion or a snakeā¦ā
Kyo still felt distant and disconnected and with Gaius out, it took every effort of himself to keep the door open that had been closed all those years ā the door that Gaius flung open to the Kyo that people like the Dark Knight and Zuya and Nowaki always knew existed but Kyo didnāt. Finching at a touch was just Kyo trying to build up that barrier again.
āHeās not my holy father,ā Kyo bit back. āI renounce it. I renounce the church. Denounce it even.ā How much he hated fathers at this moment. All of them. āYeah, we need to ask Titus what happened. Hear his story. But Iām not sure if what he experienced or was told would help either. Maybeā¦ I donāt know. Gaius covered for Zephyrās escape with the King. Maybe theyāre alive somewhere.ā He paused, āIām really tired and Iām not sure if Iām remembering things right.ā
At the question on who is scarier, Kyo smirked, āA snake. A lionās fight is more straightforward. A snake is trickier.ā
Badr glanced at Kyo and nodded. When you were bitten by a lion, you only bled. A snakeās bite was poison.
āI believe, we can assume that things were not as they aired. Besides, Titus did not arrive until after the King had been wounded, so he would not be able to sayā¦ Whateverā¦resentments Gaius might possess for this country and its peopleā¦ I cannot imagine him doing such grievous harm to his father, only to abscond with him. My feeling wasā¦that he wished for Professor Zephyrā¦to take him somewhere safer, not keep him as a captive, or ensure his demise.ā He rubbed his brow.
āIf Gaius wounded his fatherā¦it would have been by accident alone. I doubt he would have also wounded Zephyr, whoā¦it seems had been his colleague all along. And soā¦ā He sighs, pressing his lips. āFor those who do not know Gaius, who only saw him at odds with the Church and Chosen of Lightā¦with his bloodied father at his feet, wearing that ridiculous armorā¦ Serenitas will never welcome him home, no matter what he does, but as it is not his intent to return, or restore order to this placeā¦ Like us, he now focuses on a larger stage. The damages done here willā¦echo, spread until they have touched every part of Elysiumā¦ If only becauseā¦ The Dark Knight heralds Catastrophe, doesnāt he? And perhapsā¦what we feared could happen is no longer preventableā¦ā
Kyo nodded a little, taking his last sip of tea. He stared at the bottom of the cup, thinking about all he had talked about with Gaius. All that had been real. All of it. It had to be. He found himself having to remind himself of this because those dark thoughts still wanted to counter them.
āThe moment, I really fell for Gaius,ā Kyo began. āWas when he finally dropped his mask and had opinions different from what it seemed. We both shared thisā¦ desire to control our own destiny. Like how could my sister just so easily run away and become a pirate and I had to stay back. Play the part of prince ā isolated but just expected to master everything to some day take the helm of the great Guren Empire. Gaius told me he felt the same in his cryptic way. That he felt frustrated. And yet. We continued talking. About how we wanted to improve the world. It was all hypotheticals. I always felt the world was rotten but he made me realize that it could be changed. He made me want to be a good person.ā
He shook his head, āI asked him if he ever wanted to be king over Titus. He said he wouldnāt. But I know the longer we talked. The more I could tell he didnāt want to be a priest. And here I thought it was because he wanted to be able to love me.ā He smirked and chuckled at his own naivete. āWhen we finally ā¦ you know. He told me we didnāt have much time left. And I thought again it was because I am to be married in the summer.ā He shook his head, āIām just rambling now stupidly. But. I think he loves his family. And he doesnāt want people to suffer. Iām the one with a cynical heart and should be the villain over him. People should not hate him like Itzal was removed from history. But I am so angry at him. I asked him over and over to let me take his burden or at least share it and ā¦ā
He squared his jaw. āWe need to do something. Gather the rest of the Chosen, plan an attack. Find out where Gaius is. And neutralize Neroās people. Sounds easy. Sounds like something my father would say in the war room but execution isā¦ā He shook his head. āOur objective is to save Gaiusā¦.ā
Badr was quiet, sipping his teaāhis eyes roving the room, as though searching for some mechanism that his magic might not blur. He had always felt uneasy in this room. But now, he thought, it might have been smarter to have retained that unease everywhere in this country. If Badr was to hypothesize, he would posit that Neroāunmasked by Gaius and Zephyrāhad attempted to assassinate the King. Though Nero had persisted in trying to get Titus to attack Gaius, he had also proven he did not require any particular protection. The magic he had thrown at Gaius seemed apt enough, and if he had harmed the King that grievously, with Gaius and Zephyr thereā¦ Badr rubbed his brow. How adroit this man was. It was hard to maintain his composure, for Badr was shaken himself, but he could not afford to let his own bulstrodes collapseā¦ Somehowā¦
But the talk of love did warm him, and he smiled, looking up again. āI knew how I loved him when I discovered his secret puppet show. There he was, with the children of the city thronged about him. They knew him well, and it was clear how they loved himā¦ The smile on his faceāI knew that his love for them, too, was of profound depth. Titus loves his people, and so it is not only that he is their hero, their pride and joy and one-day Kingā¦ Any people will be moved should they see their leaderās heart so open and warm. If heāā If Titus only followed the advice Badr whispered to himā¦but the prince was alone now, without explanationāreeling. What would he do next? Was Nero already whispering in his other ear? This peacefulness, though it felt false, was certainly to Neroās benefit. He, who quelled the rebellion of the evil Dark Knightā¦and now offered his sincere guidance to their de facto rulerā¦ But Titusās heart was pure. He would do what was right, wouldnāt he?
If only Gaius had not kept everything to himselfā¦ He felt his supports shudder and closed his eyes.
āThe problem with secrets is that they always bind the people who do not know them. We have no hope of routing Neroās people. All we can do is support Titus should he move to do so. All of the world, save Simurgh, adheres to Crystalism. And at the heart of Crystalismā¦Serenitas, its High Priest and its Champion. Politically, we now enter into a delicate moment. If we play a game against the Pontifex Maximusāa game that he is far more adept atāand we loseā¦ The damages will be irreconcilable. We will speak to the other Chosen, for we must think of how to approach the coming calamityā¦ But it is unwise to attack when we do not know the face of our foe. For now, the best thing that you might do is to return to Guren and ensure that if there is something there that Gaius needs to complete his tragic planā¦he will not have it.ā
His fingers brushed along his lower lip, and he was quiet for a moment more before saying, āThe world is not rotten. That is where you are mistaken. Men may be corrupt, and faulty systems need replacement, butā¦this world is not rotten. It is filled with just as manyāI think moreāpeople who wish for good. It is, at its core, a beautiful place, filled with hearts that are kind. If they are lost or confused, if they are walking paths that bring harm unknowinglyā¦that is not rot. That is simply because they have not been given the options required to choose what it is their hearts might naturally suggest. A sword can save, or it can kill, and so every tool that we use, including society, can be used for great good or great ill. The world is not rotten, but there are men, such as Nero, who are. Let the blame lie with them, then, and remember that this world is not in ruin. It deserves protection, and with that hopeā¦one day, it will flourish as it should. It is ironic, but it was that manā¦ āFaithā¦upholds the hopes of our people.ā So have faith that the world is not rotten, that you may use your sword to protect it without any doubts.ā
Kyo added, āI should say, Gaius maybe was a lot more hopeful on how to change things. But. He told me once, he wants me to lean into having a good heart.ā He swallowed. āThat is important to him.ā
As Badr talked about his rival in such a way, Kyo still listened, although his eyes dulled a little. He never saw that side of Titus. Instead, he saw this dunderheaded jerk who acted like he was better than everyone. But Titus was important to Gaius and to Badr so he did not say anything further. He could see why someone could fall for someone like Titus. āThatās really sweet.ā
Badr nodded, smiling faintly. Titus had all the makings of a great king. He justā¦had to look at things clearly and understandā¦and to listen to his conscienceā¦ The waters were muddied, but Badr still thought if anyone could forge their way out of the mire, it had to be Titusā¦
Then Kyo nodded about what the closer target should be, āYes, I will get my sister and weāll go back home to protect the vault.ā He sighed, āI keep on expecting the stuff I said in the Tower to come back and make this more difficult butā¦ā He shook his head. āTake care of what is right in front of us. What will you do, Badr? Maybe you can talk to the other chosen.ā
āI willā¦start there,ā he agreed. āSome of them are my relatives, after all.ā How that had happenedā¦ Well, it was convenient at least. āThe only thing is, we should be ginger. We canāt be sure what their allegiances might be, andā¦things look quite bad at the moment. It may be importantā¦to separate what we know about Crystalism and Serenitas from what we know about the calamityā¦if it can be done.ā That, he thought, was going to be very tricky. At least Zuya and Thora would not need him to explain from the beginning. They were similar in that way: tell them the problem, and they would focus on that. Aditi would be more difficult, though, and he didnāt have much of a relationship with the two pirates, nor the Chosen of Earthā¦ But he would make do. Somehow.
At Badrās thoughts on a rotten world, Kyo inhaled sharply, āI donāt want to believe the world is rotten. It just keeps on proving itself to me there is rot. I thought for a moment that maybe I was wrong. When we talked about these plans but I had no idea would lead to thisā¦ā He looked back at the ground. āIt is an inward dialogue I have with myself. But one thing I am certain about that the world should not end because some of it could be bad. My sword is best used with precision after all.ā
He closed his eyes, āI want to make the world less rotten.ā
āIt is unfortunateāthat you were kept away from your people. I think you wouldā¦ā But Badr shook his head. It was not crucial, really. And though he waxed philosophical when tired, he thought he might not have the energy for it now. Rather, he felt drained behind his placid expression. It was only because he had had to wear this face for so many hours, for so many days and seasonsā¦
āAll that matters is that we do not fail. If we work together, though, I believe that we will not. Who knows? Perhaps with some luck, youāll run into Gaius in Gurenā¦ And that could be an opportunity to talk him down.ā
Kyo nodded slightly. Would he be able to stop Gaius? Would he be able to? Could he even trade blows with his love if talking did not work? Did he even know what to say? The weight of his exhaustion really began to weigh on him.
āI feel tired. I think maybe I can sleep now,ā he admitted. As if he had weights attached to him, he got to his feet. āThank you for hearing me out. I will stay in touch if I flee into the night.ā