As Daneel tried hard to control his shock at discovering this fact, the regal man began to speak, and his voice carried a certain weight that would make anyone take what he was saying very, very seriously.
"Nobel Heroes of the Empire. Rise."
As one, everyone stood up, and when Daneel looked around, he could see that each of their eyes contained a solemnity that spoke volumes about their emotions right now.
"You all know why you are here. You have heeded my call to take up the sacred duty.
Your names will be etched into the Wall of Grand Heroes.
Your deeds will be sung in the everlasting halls of the Heavens.
For hope.
For honor.
For Angaria.
FOR THE ETERNAL GLORY OF THE EMPIRE! LET US MARCH FORTH INTO THE VOID WITH OUR HEADS HELD HIGH!"
"FOR THE ETERNAL GLORY OF THE EMPIRE!"
Although the speech was short, it set Daneel's heart ablaze, and it made him feel like screaming out like the others, even though he didn't know exactly what was going on here.
After the screaming died down, the man spoke again, but his tone seemed to contain sadness now.
"Let us depart. Apocalypse approaches, and only we can save the future of this bountiful continent. You have been briefed about your duties. At no point must you give in to the decay of time. At no point must you relax your criteria. And at no point must you let down your guard. Farewell, friends."
Suddenly, Daneel got the scare of his life when he felt someone laying a hand on his shoulder.
He had merely been a spectator till now, and the others had even passed through him as if he were just a ghost.
Hence, when this implausible event occurred, he almost jumped up in fright.
Looking around, he noticed that it was the Empire Spirit, who was in the form of that rugged man he had seen in the last vision.
"Let's go."
As Daneel felt himself yanked out of the vision, his consciousness returned to his body while he couldn't help but reel from the shock.
"W-wasn't he the one who…"
"Yes, it was him. But the reasons behind that happening are not for you to find out now. All you must know is that your friend is in danger, and he must be saved. Now, do you believe me?"
Although that doubt due to the innermost changes in him did exist even though his memories about everything he had learned were sealed, it had been rocked by everything he had seen right now.
The Daneel right now had no strong reason to think that the Empire Spirit was out to get him. So, at least momentarily, he shook his head, intending to find out what it had to say regarding him 'saving' his friend.
This was also a matter of high importance, so Daneel didn't really want to take chances.
"Good. I see that you still have some doubts, but you seem to be ready to at least listen. Let me repeat, and reiterate. Your friend, Faxul, has come under a 'Mind Control' spell, which allows that Empire Spirit to control his mind. It was through this that it ensured that he didn't contact you. You have a month's time. After that, his body will come under the possession of the Empire Spirit, and he will rise naturally to the Hero Level, at least as a Mage. I know with certainty that his plan after that involves teaming up with the Church of Rectitude. This is because corrupted Empire Spirits only want to grow stronger, and the path to power beyond the Hero level is cut off to the Angarians. Only the Church has information about it, so he intends to trade this continent for that chance to ascend beyond the Hero level. It is up to you to save your friend and this continent itself."
As Daneel heard clearly the grave implications that could become reality if he acted too cautiously, he stood up straight and asked hesitantly, "Wh-what do I need to do?"
"Kill him. Kill Faxul, at the exact moment when he is going to be possessed. This will injure the Empire Spirit and put it into a slumber it will not be able to awaken from this time."
Silence.
As Daneel heard the answer from the Empire Spirit, it was as if they echoed in his head, with him refusing to comprehend and accept what they meant.
He…was supposed to kill Faxul? His closest friend and brother?
"But I thought you said that I should save him!"
As Daneel asked this with frustration in his tone, the Empire Spirit answered with a sigh.
"Young King. By killing him, you will be saving him. The fate that awaits him if the possession succeeds is a life of imprisonment in his own body. He would only be able to watch while the Empire Spirit commits untold sins with his face. He will curse you for not saving him. He will wish for death, but there will be no one to grant him his wish."
No.
That couldn't be!
Unwilling to believe it, Daneel removed his hands from the podium and stepped back, taking the support of the wall behind him to stand upright.
It was as if all his strength had left his body, and what was left was just the frail, powerless shell.
This reminded him of how he had been when he had met Faxul in the training hall: each fight of theirs, each plan, each dream-had enabled him to rise to this position today.
And he was supposed to just kill the guy?
Furious, Daneel walked forward and put his hands on the podium again with the intension of demanding for a different way to resolve this matter, but the Empire Spirit spoke first as if it had read his mind.
"There is no other way. I don't expect you to come to terms with it right now. Take some time. Think. Reflect. But whatever you do, DO NOT contact Faxul to find out if what I'm telling is true. That would be the dumbest thing you can do. The Empire Spirit would become aware of my plan to use you to stop it, and it would take precautions. Go. The fate of the continent is in your hands, and yours alone. Even the bigwigs in those puny sects that call themselves the 'Big 4' can't stop it. Only you can. I hope you make the right decision. If you do, come back here in 3 weeks. If you don't…"
Suddenly, Daneel felt his surroundings blur, as he once again found himself being transported into a vision.
However, this time, it was very brief, but also very vivid.
It was that image of the figure he had seen just now slaughtering people left and right without mercy.
"The agent of destruction might be different, but the result will be the same. I hope you do not repeat the mistakes that we made. Now, leave."
With this, the Empire Spirit completely sealed itself off, not responding at all no matter how many times Daneel tried to call upon it.
With a hopeless expression on his face, Daneel teleported away and arrived at his quarters.
There was a large, wall-length mirror on one side of his quarters. There, he paused to look at himself.
[No eavesdroppers have been found. Unsealing memories.]
Gasp!
In the mirror, Daneel could see as the blood completely drained from his face when all the things he had learned about in the Sect and from the talk with the crazy king reappeared in his mind.
With staggering steps, he stumbled back and fell on the ground near the bed, using it to take support while viewing everything he had been shown by the Empire Spirit by Lanthanor in a new light.
At this point, he only had one question in his mind.
WHAT THE F*CK?!
For once, the King of Lanthanor was well and truly flummoxed.
The Big 4's opinion was that all Empire Spirits were evil, and just wanted to possess a body.
This Empire Spirit, on the other hand, wanted him to believe that it was only a few that had gone mad to due to boredom.
Whom was he supposed to believe?!
Running his hands through his hair, Daneel felt as if he were going mad.
The statement regarding the fact that killing Daneel was the only way to 'save' him didn't simplify matters, either.
All in all, Daneel found himself overwhelmed.
It was as if was a poor college student who had been studying for 2 exams which, in his case, were the problems of the impending invasion of the Church along with his quest to incriminate Ashahell, and the issue regarding how he was going to deal with all the hidden experts and the Mad Doctor when it was revealed that he had a powerful Inheritance.
However, now, another mad professor had come along and said that he had a third exam, too!
'Really, what the f*ck, man? Don't I have enough on my plate?', he would have asked, if he could find someone to blame for everything that seemed to be happening at once.
No. He couldn't let himself be overburdened like this, as it would definitely lead to him committing mistakes, which might spell doom for the entire continent itself.
Once again, just like when he had become King and had been overwhelmed by all the things he had to take care of, he had to learn to prioritize.
Taking a deep breath and running his hands one last time through the mess that was his hair, Daneel thought about everything, and realized that if he handled things properly, those second and third 'exams' could be taken at the same time.
As for whether the Empire Spirit of Lanthanor was lying or not, and all the conspiracies that could be derived from the visions he had seen about the truth behind the Empire, Daneel realized that it really didn't matter right now.
All he knew was that his friend was in danger, and he was going to save him.
No matter what it took.
And in the process, he might just shoot forward to become a Peak Warrior, while also putting an end to that goddamn 'bird'.