A shimmering dome of aether expanded from Kaelen, swallowing the two of them in complete silence. The sounds of rainfall, rustling leaves, and distant fighting vanished as if they had never existed.
Seth kept his eyes locked on the Dark Assassin.
"What exactly are you talking about?" he asked, his voice steady despite the dagger resting against his throat.
Kaelen didn't blink. "You hate your King. I'm offering you a chance to get even."
Seth studied the assassin's face, searching for the slightest hint of deception. The proposal was unexpected, to say the least.
"Care to elaborate?"
"At the end of this battle," Kaelen said, "I'm going to... do something in the neutral zone. And it could make him vulnerable enough for an assassination."
Seth's expression didn't change, but his fingers slowly curled into fists, ready in case the conversation turned into a fight. "That's incredibly vague," he said. "If you're asking me to involve myself in whatever you have planned, I'll need more than that."
Kaelen's jaw tightened. He hesitated, visibly weighing whether to say more before finally making up his mind.
"I'm going to release a poison gas near the NEVAK representatives," he said. "A very potent one. It doesn't affect people at our Tier, but anyone in the Platinum or Diamond Tiers… it cripples them."
Seth frowned. "Cripples how?"
"It cut their attributes by half," Kaelen replied. "Maybe more, depending on the person."
Seth's eyes widened. This could change everything.
A debuff of that magnitude would make killing the King significantly easier for Orwen and the other members of the Champions of Chaos—assuming they could reach him before the poison wore off.
His gaze drifted toward the clearing where Elena and the others likely waited before he lifted his eyes to the dense canopy overhead.
Could the Spirit hear every word of this conversation?
And if so, would it intervene?
Kaelen isn't reckless, Seth thought. If he's discussing something like this here, he has certainly taken that into consideration.
Seth looked back at the assassin. "How long does it last?"
"Two hours at most," Kaelen answered. "Less if there's a powerful Priest nearby."
Seth pressed his lips together. "So if the king is standing near the NEVAK representatives when you release it..."
"He'll be poisoned too," Kaelen finished.
Seth held the assassin's gaze. Why would the Reapers' neophyte tell him any of this? What did he actually stand to gain?
The entire proposal could be a trap.
If Seth tried to bait the King and ended up getting killed, the Empire would be rid of one of Kastal's greatest threats before the next phase of the war.
But that theory had its flaws.
Kaelen had never shown any loyalty to the Empress—if anything, quite the opposite. And if the assassin had truly wanted Seth dead, he could have slit his throat the moment he'd appeared instead of telling him all this.
I still need to know what he's really after.
"This could all be a setup," Seth said, watching Kaelen's face carefully. "You lure me with this plan, I go after the king, and he kills me."
"No." The assassin's answer came without the slightest hesitation. "It isn't."
Seth didn't look away. "Then why should I trust you?"
"Because you will have leverage with my sister as your prisoner."
Seth's brow furrowed. "What?"
"The moment I make my move, she'll be in danger." Kaelen's voice remained calm, but a faint tension crept into it. "If she stays in the Empire, she's as good as dead. It won't matter whether I escape or die."
"So you want me to take her prisoner to protect her?"
Kaelen met Seth's eyes without wavering. "Yes."
Seth fell silent, mulling over everything.
The request wasn't entirely out of character. Back in the Cave of the Elements, the Dark Assassin had risked much to save his sister's life. If protecting her was truly Kaelen's highest priority, it made sense that he would come to Seth to seek an alliance once again.
"People might find it odd that I suddenly decide to take someone prisoner," Seth said.
Kaelen didn't seem concerned. "Blame your red-haired friend."
Seth raised an eyebrow.
"Tell them she's the one who forced you," the assassin continued. "She obviously has more compassion and mercy than you."
Seth almost argued, then he stopped himself. The image of Elysha's ruined face flashed across his mind. The imperial Primalist had been a victim. Kaelen wasn't wrong. Elena had clearly more mercy than him.
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'Seth?' Nightmare's voice suddenly echoed through Link. 'Everything alright?'
Seth shifted his attention inward. Through the bond with the direwolf, he sensed that the members of his party had finished taking care of the remaining soldiers and were currently looting their bodies.
'Yeah,' he replied. 'Tell the others I'm scouting the surrounding area for any hidden imperial detachments. I'll explain everything when I get back.'
'Alright,' Nightmare answered after a moment of hesitation.
The direwolf's consciousness brushed against Seth's mind one more time before withdrawing to relay the message to the rest of the party.
Seth moved his full attention back to Kaelen. "So the plan is to cripple the NEVAK representatives," he said. "Which means whoever put you up to this will be waiting nearby to kill them."
"Exactly." Kaelen's dagger remained where it was on Seth's throat.
Seth grimaced. He would have to find a way to get this information to the Champions of Chaos before the battle ended.
The real question was whether it would be viewed as foreign intervention. Marcus could have killed the King himself at any point, but that had never been the problem. The real issue was what came afterward. If an outsider crippled the monarch before the Champions of Chaos made their move, would the NEVAK still recognize Kastal as a republic once the dust settled?
Then again, they could simply frame it differently.
High-tier assassins had come to slaughter the NEVAK representatives, and the Kastal rebels had merely seized an unexpected opportunity to take their King's head.
The official story would practically write itself.
Even so… Seth wasn't convinced.
Would introducing another variable into the operation jeopardize the Champions' plan?
They had spent months preparing every detail, though he wasn't aware of the specifics. Adding another variable could just as easily unravel everything.
On the other hand, if Kaelen's poison truly cut the King's attributes in half, Orwen and the others would face far less danger when the fighting began.
It was an enormous advantage. Taking it could save lives.
"I'll do it," Seth answered at last. "But one of my friends needs to leave the Rift a day or two before the two of us. I have to make sure the King is in the neutral zone when the battle ends, and I also need time to warn the people on my side so they're ready to make their move."
Elena or Devus could carry the message to the Champions of Chaos. After that, the decision would be theirs. They could seize the opportunity—or ignore it altogether.
If they chose the latter, all of Seth's current efforts would amount to nothing, but the final outcome would remain the same. Marcus would step in to protect him, and Orwen and the others could simply execute their original plan whenever they deemed the time was right.
The only remaining issue would be convincing the Alchemist to protect Seth's friends until the King was finally dead.
If the Champions of Chaos decided to capitalize on Kaelen's plan, however, Seth would have to ensure the King was standing beside the NEVAK representatives when the assassin acted.
"The people I made a deal with will be waiting in the neutral zone in four days," Kaelen said. "We need to end this battle within the next two or three days. That gives your friends enough time to leave the Rift with my sister before everything begins. After they leave, we'll spend a full day hunting each other around this place to keep the Spirit from ending the battle."
Seth glanced at the canopy of dripping leaves above them, where he could feel the heavy gaze of the Spirit.
"How could your allies know the battle would end on that exact day?"
"They couldn't," Kaelen replied. "If the battle is still going, I'll use an Escape Scroll to get out. If it seems like it's going to end too early, I'll work against the Empire and slow it down."
Seth nodded.
Kaelen had already accounted for those possibilities. Every contingency had a backup plan, making it extremely clear how determined he was to see this through.
The assassin was about to move against one of—if not the—most powerful organizations in the world, all in exchange for a single favor from his mysterious allies.
The reason was obvious.
Revenge.
Against whom, Seth couldn't say. The Empress? Corrupt nobles from her inner circle? Someone else entirely? He lacked the pieces to know for certain. But only a deep hatred could drive someone like Kaelen to gamble not only his own life, but his sister's future as well.
Another question lingered in Seth's mind.
Who are the people helping him?
Anyone capable of assassinating NEVAK representatives—even if they had been crippled by the poison—and willingly inviting the association's retaliation had to be terrifyingly powerful.
They certainly weren't from the eastern continent.
Seth knew from his classes that far stronger nations existed across the ocean, like Draeria. That was precisely why the NEVAK focused most of its oversight on the weaker countries of the east. Even so, there were only a handful of powers in the world that could execute an operation of this scale.
Seth took a deep breath.
Hopefully, Kaelen's allies would eliminate the NEVAK representatives and disappear before anyone could react, leaving the King weakened for Orwen and the Champions of Chaos to finish the job.
Seth met Kaelen's gaze. "Will your sister actually cooperate, or is she going to fight us as soon as we try capturing her?"
"I don't know," Kaelen replied. "But I'll handle it. Neither you nor your friends will have to fight her."
'I will convince her,' Colossus said through Link. 'I think she likes me quite a bit.'
Seth somehow managed to keep a straight face, though he closed his eyes for a moment. 'Since when have you been listening?'
'Umm...' the scorpion began sheepishly. 'Since the beginning?'
'Great.' Seth shifted his attention back to Kaelen. "We have a deal," he said aloud. "I'll help keep your sister safe."
Kaelen withdrew the dagger from Seth's throat and slid it into the sheath beneath his leather doublet. "Remember, we only have two or three days to finish this battle," the assassin said, reaching into his vest. "I'll assist you from the inside if needed."
He tossed a communication orb over to Seth, who caught the glass sphere.
The moment Seth slipped it into his Endless Pouch, Kaelen deactivated his Isolating Crystal, and the shimmering dome of silencing aether dissolved around them, causing the forest's natural sounds to rush back in.
"Let's settle this at the end of the battle," Kaelen said as he turned away. "When you aren't crippled by that spell of yours."
Almost immediately, Seth felt the Spirit of War's attention settle over them once more.
He was right. It really couldn't hear through the Isolating Crystal.
Taking the cue, Seth glared at the Dark Assassin to sell the act. "You shouldn't have spared me. I'll kill you by the time the battle finishes."
Kaelen's silhouette was already melting into the shadows beneath the towering oak, but his voice drifted back through the trees.
"Worry about Jaz first. He might take you out before I get the chance. He's far harder to deal with than Celess."
Thanks for the tip, Seth thought as he turned on his heel and began his steady trek back toward Elena and the waiting members of his party. He didn't expect those little jabs to fool the Spirit, but as long as it didn't end the battle prematurely because of that alliance, it would be fine.
'Wait, we're going to fight him at the end of the battle?' Colossus's deep, puzzled voice rumbled through Link. 'I'm confused.'
'No, you giant boulder,' Nightmare replied with an exasperated sigh. 'That was for the thing in the sky. They were putting on an act.'
Seth rolled his eyes as he stepped over a fallen log and continued toward the clearing.
The decision would rest with the Champions of Chaos.
They would have to choose whether they wanted to kill the King in the middle of the neutral zone, surrounded by the elite Crown Guards, the heads of the noble houses, and the Empire's highest-ranking officers, or at a later time like they'd originally planned.
But if the secret alliance with the Marshal and the other rebels held, none of their enemy would lift a finger.
Two Platinum-Tier powerhouses would be more than enough to crush anyone foolish enough to intervene.
Maybe they'll have already acted. Maybe the King will be dead by the time we walk out of the Rift, Seth thought, eyes sweeping over the ferns ahead. Only time will tell.
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