Chapter 791: Seven days
"The longer you stay away from earth's atmosphere, the weaker the connection of the ability cores become. Mine has already started weakening. And in seven days, the connection will be completely gone."
"And guess what happens when that happens?"
"You lose your abilities?" Lucifer stared at Xaen.
"No. Your ability cores become a ticking time bombs them. They start exploding inside your body, killing you in the most brutal way possible. And guess what? Same time will happen to you if you stay away from earth for seven days or longer."
"Your body will become a nuclear bomb, destroying everything around you, including yourself. So if you want to know the location of the stones, you must take me back to earth every seven days. Not only that, but you must also go there every seven days."
"You're bluffing. How can you know all this?" Lucifer asked, not taking all this information at face value.
Xaen had tried fooling everyone before as well. He was good at coming up with these stories to make someone do his bidding, just like he made one to convince everyone to allow him to remove his abilities.
It was only because of Veracity that Lucifer was still safe as she caught the lie. Without the presence of Veracity, he couldn't trust this man. But if what he said was true, then this was truly a risky thing to be away from home.
"Manlis? Ever heard of it?"
"The empty planet that was destroyed because of being hit by a comet?"
"Good. It seems you studied well in the academy. Tell me another significant thing that happened just a week before that explosion?"
"The Manlis landing. A nation sent a team to Manlis to study that place. The team had only stayed there for seven days before that comet struck the planet."
"Everyone was killed. It all happened ten years ago. What about it? Wait, you're saying one of the Astronauts was a Variant?"
"Mission Commander Luke Benseres. He was a friend of mine. The story about the comet was a lie. We made it up to make sure that some things stay secret."
"It was on his seventh day when he started commenting on his discomfort and the strange behavior of his energy cores. That was the last message we received before that explosion. There was no comet or anything. It was all him."
"And if we don't return, we'll suffer through the same thing."
"How do you know it was because of the links? It could be something else with him too?"
"Because we repeated it. We sent another Variant and observed them in space. I know all the changes that the body goes through. We brought them back before seven days."
"You don't trust me, do you?"
"You don't leave too much to trust you," Lucifer replied. "You've already lied to all of us so many times."
"I told you what I wanted to tell. If you want to take the risk and leave me in this place, I won't stop you. In fact, shouldn't I be happy? After seven days, you won't be able to torture me anymore. I feel like laughing at you right now. You'll never get the stones back."
Xaen walked over to the table and picked up the glass of water, drinking it all in one sip.
Finishing the water, he kept the glass on the table before turning to Lucifer. "Either you take me with you or you never see me again."
"Who else knows about this seven day limitation?" Lucifer asked.
"Everyone that was involved with the mission knows it. You can ask them to be sure after going back. Just know, it will be too late by then."
"If you want the stones, you only have six days to get the answer from me, but I won't answer. You gave me an option, right? That I need to answer before you leave if I want to be free?"
"Now I'll give you a similar option. If you want those stones back, you will make sure that these rings are off my fingers. After that, you'll take me to Earth with you. And when I feel that I'm safe, I'll give you the stones."
"Don't worry, I don't want an answer now. You have five days to decide." Smirking, Xaen sat on the chair, letting one leg rest over the other.
He felt so pleased at using the same like as Lucifer, tossing the same time limit back.
"That's impossible. I can't take you with me. They can only send a Star Alliance member to another place. They won't spend that amount of power on you."
"Then have them make me a member like you too. You said it takes a few days. I can wait."
"I think you're really misunderstanding the situation. I'm not at your mercy. You're at my mercy instead. I don't need a lifetime to make you wish you were dead. One day is enough." Lucifer warned Xaen.
"As I said, you can do what you feel like doing, but it won't change anything. In any case, I'll be dead in seven days. So if I can't be sent back, I would make sure you don't get what you want either. And as far as pain is concerned, I think I'm ready for that."
"You can start whenever you're ready. If I tell you the whereabouts of the stones just because of the torture, no one would be more stupid than me."
....
"It's...."
Sitting in the command room, the Captain of the ship observed the happenings on the ship.
Joana couldn't help but smile wryly. He heard everything that was being said in the room. He didn't know what stones these two people were fighting for but he heard the demands that were put to Lucifer.
Hearing the demands, he shook his head. "Even if it's for Lucifer, it is impossible to send two people to earth when we find it. Even though I'm a Captain, I don't have that much authority. Even sending Lucifer alone is stretching it."
"This guy can't be sent back, I agree. But sir, aren't you concerned about what he said?"
"What?" Joana looked back at the lady in the back.
"Seven days... They'll explode in seven days. We are taking them to our home world. Won't it be dangerous if the explosion happens there?"
"Don't worry about that. That guy will be kept in the Frion Cell. Even if an explosion of such massive capabilities took place, nothing will happen. The damages won't even leave the cell. We don't have to worry about that," Joana explained. "However, still... We would need to mention that on a report."