In the Kingdom of Axelor, in a secret location a few kilometers away from the Royal Palace.
Two men were standing in front of a third whose face was so battered that even his features weren't clearly visible anymore.
He seemed to be wearing the garb of a King, but the beating he had been through had torn through most of it, leaving behind a few remnants of the precious materials that had once protected him.
He was chained against a boulder, with his hands in the air, while a large puddle of blood formed between his legs from the multiple injuries all over his body which looked like they had been caused by some kind of ridged whip.
Indeed, to the side lay a table, on which there were multiple objects designed for torture, all of which had blood on them.
Of the two men, one had a small smile on his face, while the other looked grim.
Of course, they were Arnold and the one whom he believed to be his friend from the time of the Empire.
"You want me to step in? I didn't expect a brat to hold on this long against our tried and tested methods.", he asked, after spending a few moments while gazing at the half-dead body in front of him.
In response, the other figure shook his head and said, "No. I want to do it myself. I already told you there was something special about him. He's stubborn, at least. Makes me look forward all the more to completely possessing his body. I can only keep this guy's craziness at bay for so long."
With a nod, Arnold turned around and said, "All right. I guess we have time. Let me go see how much closer I've gotten to the last seal. Call me if you need anything. Good job, by the way. Everything went swimmingly. I trust there won't be any problems from all those soldiers and citizens?"
"Even if there are, it won't matter. We're only using them. I'll handle them if any pop up."
"Good. I'll go rest in my pedestal, then. You be careful to not let yourself stay away for too long, too. I don't want to lose an ally for stupid reasons."
"Humph. How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not that old bird who needed your help to fly again."
"Force of habit."
Saying so and waving his arm, the King of Axelor's body teleported away, following which the 'Empire Spirit', who looked like the previous King of the Black Raven Kingdom, immediately activated a secret formation and ran forward to untie the shackles.
This was followed by him touching a hidden trinket on the prone body's neck, which resulted in the 'Black Raven King' turning into someone completely different.
"Oh, that f*cking stings. I shouldn't have trusted that old geezer's damn 'pain blocking technique'. The f*cker was always saying that he wanted me to go through the worst pain possible as it would build resolve. I didn't think he would make it happen now! That f*cking technique double the pain! OW!"
That last howl was the result of the healing spells that had begun to knit the skin back together all over his body, making it even more painful for a little while.
"Brother Elanev, I said that we could try faking it. So that was why you were screaming so loudly?"
Hearing this question, Elanev, who was masquerading a Faxul as part of the plan, chuckled hoarsely and said, "Yes! But that wasn't an option. What if he looked closely? Well, we can try it now, though, as he's already come once. From next time, just don't meet him here, like Daneel said. I don't know how that kid managed to think of every damn thing."
This made Faxul smile.
"He's always had a knack for that since we were in the Academy. It's kinda creepy, in fact. Come on. Let's eat."
Saying so, Faxul stretched out a hand, which Elanev caught to raise himself up before they both headed to a table nearby on which some food was placed.
As they both devoured the bread and soup even though it was hardly food fit for Kings, they almost forgot that they were in a hostile Kingdom where if their identities were revealed, they would face certain death.
After finishing everything in front of him, Elanev sat back and resisted the urge to scratch the wounds which were healing.
Decided to take his mind off of them, he looked at Faxul and said, "All right, take me through it again. In as simple a way as possible. I don't want to miss anything."
This was the 8th time that Elanev was asking this. Yet, Faxul didn't judge him in any manner, as this was a pretty complex plan that he, himself, had had to ruminate on for quite some time to grasp properly.
Taking a deep breath, he decided to start with what had already happened.
"Ok. Well, the objective was for the betrayal to place me squarely inside Axelor, from where I can collect information. And, of course, Daneel needs to become the leader of the Black Raven Kingdom, too, so something like this was needed to create circumstances where that can be made possible."
Seeing Elanev nod, Faxul continued.
"So, the main sticking point was the army. That became simple, as all we had to do was Mind Control a few of the commanders into believing and following the orders. I and that Arnold were both supposed to do it, but Daneel did my part, because I'm not really a Hero-level Mage, you know. Of course, it looked authentic, so that guy didn't doubt a thing. After that, we had that scene of betrayal where you masqueraded as me. How did it feel when Arnold tried to Mind Control you, by the way?"
"Like someone was bashing my head in with a damn building. I could resist if I wanted to, though. Part of the old man's training was him chasing me around with a huge metal bell he found somewhere. He would bash my head with it repeatedly, and I had to recover as soon as possible and run again after throwing off the ringing sound that came from the bell. Oh, such fun."
Hearing this almost made Faxul pity Elanev, but he just smiled in reply and went on, after actually feeling quite surprised that there was a way to defend against this spell that seemed all-powerful against all those at a lower level than the one casting it.
"So, he basically did that to distract you, so that the real Mind Control by me i.e the Empire Spirit could happen. That stone trinket he kept on your forehead was a special 'connector' trinket that connected your consciousness to my…I mean, my character's stone pedestal, as that is required for the Mind Control to be carried out. Well, we faked that part, as Daneel made that trinket to just mimic the real deal and throw Arnold off. That's why you were instructed to act in that manner. It was pretty good, by the way- especially that cold smile, you pulled it off well. Arnold thinks Daneel and Katerina have no idea what's going on, so it will look like a betrayal, but Daneel is also supposed to be smart, so he released a statement saying that he thinks you've somehow been hoodwinked. Well, we couldn't disclose the fact that he has Drakos. Or that I'm a Champion level Fighter. Yet, anyway. And, finally, you were selected because we needed someone to match the known power levels of the Black Raven King. Arnold has a level detection formation around this Kingdom, so it was necessary to use you. You were only being Mind Controlled, which is a temporary thing unlike the transfer of a part of a consciousness, so the complexity of your mind was supposed to remain the same. Thankfully, the formation can only detect a major level. So, your dabbling in the Mage path which allowed you to become an Amateur Mage was enough to pass you as the Eminent Mage that I'm supposed to be. And, of course, it scanned the body, too, which fits again because I'm supposed to be an Amateur Warrior. My bloodline allows me to hide my body's power level, though, which is apparently something only awakened bloodline possessors can do."
That last part made Elanev grimace fiercely.
Initially, it had just been Daneel. Yet, now, even his other younger brother had surpassed him.
No, the most infuriating thing was that he had surpassed him as a Fighter!
Damn those Bloodlines! They were so unfair!
When he had cursed about this in the presence of the old man, the latter had said that with the surprise waiting for him in that sect in the Big 4, he wouldn't have to worry.
Yet, they couldn't go now, because this plan had to be implemented first.
"Yes, I just thought of all the things I would do to the old man in case he got a body, and I got that smile.", he replied, before standing up.
That had been their plan so far, but the next part still remained.
Because his mind was only supposed to have an Amateur Mage complexity, bringing along the old man had not been an option.
The next part was going to be pretty boring, though, as all he had to do was wait and be 'tortured'.
Faxul, though, had an important job, which he spoke about after a few moments of silence came between them.
"I'll be off to start my thing, then. Daneel wants a clear analysis of all the towns, villages and gatherings all over the Kingdom, along with all the data I can get about everything that has happened in this Kingdom over the past few years. It's essential for the third phase, which will bring everything to a head. I also need to scout all the important places, so that he can come and steal those parts of the GI he needs. I've got my work cut out for me, while he must also be pretty busy handling everything outside. You can use your free time to do as you wish. This formation was given by Drakos: it will alert you if someone's coming, which won't happen anyway because I'll be monitoring it. I'll come back right away and intercept anyone who comes. Bye."
Saying so, Faxul teleported away, leaving Elanev alone in the room.
Initially, after hearing the plan, he had thought of this as a vacation where he could get some rest away from the old man.
Yet, seeing that fact about this guy, who was younger him, becoming a Champion while he was still just a Warrior, he was no longer in the mood to rest and pass time.
Choosing the back side of the boulder he was supposed to be imprisoned on, Faxul began punching, repeatedly.
"Iron hands: A skill that can only be trained by one's hand breaking and then being mended over and over again, until they adapt to become strong enough with the influx of Energy."
This was one of the most excruciating techniques given by the old man because it required one to break their fingers and hand hundreds of times.
Yet, it was apparently a technique that scaled with each level, allowing a Fighter to use it even after he became a Champion.
Deciding to master it during this trip, Faxul continued punching, while ignoring the pain.
…
Meanwhile, Daneel had just visited all the places he had wanted to go to in the Black Raven Kingdom.
He was basically building resistance pockets in preparation for a very important event that would soon go down, so they needed to be as spread out as possible.
For now, his job was done, so he finally got some free time.
Deciding to talk to Eloise, Daneel headed to her chambers, only to find them empty.
Just when he was about to contact her through a communication trinket, a maid approached and gave him a letter that Eloise had left behind.
As he read, a cold sweat sprang up on the King of Lanthanor's forehead.
"Sister Xuan invited me on a trip somewhere. She said she wanted to talk to me. We will not be reachable for a while."