A dark sky, flashing with lightning.
Gigantic tentacles, reaching down to swallow an entire continent whole.
A maw that was opened wide, surrounded by rows and rows of teeth, unseen within the clouds, but still affecting the very reality around it.
And finally…an all-encompassing will to consume all of creation.
Daneel had to shake himself to get back to normal, as it has felt as if he was back in that memory shown by the Emperor.
That had been the first, and only exposure to the force that had been attracted to Angaria by the mishap of the Emperor.
Seeing the expression of terror that had passed across Daneel's face, the one who had just spoken started to laugh.
"Oh…'seems you've had some exposure to us. That really makes things easier! S'there any chance that 'yer scared 'nuf to let me go?"
Hearing this, Daneel narrowed his eyes, and in the next instant, a squealing sound was heard in the room.
"Aight, aight, fine! I get it! Stop!"
With a nod, Daneel sent the message, and the frantic begging of the one who had been speaking so boldly just a few minutes ago ceased.
Still, he could hear him panting, and he could tell that it must definitely be hard to feel the object in which the main part of one's consciousness was located to lose the Energy that was enabling it to do its job slowly, which would mean that they would have no option but to slip into a permanent slumber if what was happening to it didn't stop.
Shaking his head, Daneel first moved to rejoin the consciousness of his sovereigns with their bodies.
He knew that it might be dangerous for one to stay so far apart from their physical body for so long, especially if they were not well versed with the arts of controlling one's consciousness, and now that he had a different bargaining chip that he could use, he didn't really need to have anyone or anything on standby in case the one in front of him decided to mount a counter-attack.
If he did so, it was the simplest thing to begin the process that had scared him so much again.
As for what it was… It was taken from a very pleasant memory where a certain Black Raven had been defeated, forever.
As soon as Elanev and Faxul returned to their bodies, Daneel said, "You must have gotten a lot of insights into what consciousnesses are, and how they can be controlled. The best thing to do right now is reflect on them, because they will be lost if you ignore them at the moment. Our friend here has a very interesting story to tell, though, so I suggest that you enter a meditative state and still keep listening. Even if you don't, I'll recount it later-but I reckon that his story would be too interesting to ignore."
Surprise flashed across the features of both Elanev and Faxul, but after a few moments, they nodded.
They still seemed to be in some kind of a daze, and that was to be expected when one went through such an experience for the first time.
Even Daneel had gotten a few insights, but he knew that he could enter that state at any time he wanted. He had the system to maintain his consciousness and make sure that no mishaps would occur, but the same was not the case with his two sovereigns, who had to cherish this opportunity.
Right away, they entered into the poses that they were most comfortable in: Faxul sat down with his legs crossed, whereas Elanev lied down flat, almost as if he was sleeping.
Every individual would have a different physical pose in which their mind would be the most relaxed, and as Daneel saw this, he realized that this pose really matched with his elder brother's personality.
Putting the thought aside, though, he turned back to the oval diamond, which was basically another Artefact of the same type as the one that had been used by the Emperor to store the Empire Spirits. Under the façade of the extremely reflective glass that gave it the impression of being a diamond, the knotted Ker Roots were still present.
Conjuring a chair, Daneel sat down and said, "Tell the entire story. And let me tell you that it is actually in your best interest to do so: it is because of the Overseer chasing me with the intent to kill that I came here, and I wanted to use everything that I could find to go back and defeat him. Whether you decide to help me or not, his downfall shall come, and you have my word for it."
For a few moments after Daneel said this, there was a startled silence, but after that, a jubilant cry broke the tranquillity of the vault.
"Are you serious?! Did that really happen? Oh, my Lord, that's f*ckin' awesome! I thought that it was all bad luck, but there's a silver lining, too! Well, that certainly loosens up me tongue, although it wasn't that I wouldn't have told you everythin' you wanted, anyway. After living for so long, there is no way that I want my life to end by being put to sleep…"
Daneel simply nodded to reply, and braced himself for the story that only one other person who still existed knew.
However, even before it started, it looked like there was another revelation that was coming his way.
"If what you say is true, though… Wasn't this place hidden? That son of a Sea Shite knew that I came in here, but he was too weak at that point to do anything. Although I have an inkling regarding what he must've done after that, he should still have placed at least a few countermeasures to make sure that no one would find this place… ain't that the case?"
With a start, Daneel realized that he had just found something else.
All of those precautions to hide the Library of Origin… were they truly only to hide the truth regarding the Overseer's role? Or was it also an attempt to hide the existence of this place?
In order to confirm it, he said in his mind, "System, in what way was the information regarding Elysium present in the Library of Origin? Was it obscured, just like the other piece of information that we uncovered, or was it open, just lying there for people to see?"
The reply confirmed his suspicions.
[The same level of obscurity was present for both pieces of information.]
Yes!
After hearing the one in front of him speak before, although Daneel had been thoroughly shocked, he had wondered whether he should believe the words of an enemy at face value.
He had decided that he would look for reasons which would justify that decision, if he made it, and it looked like he had already found one-why else would anyone want to hide Elysium?
And also… Right after the Order had been alerted that there had been a disturbance in that location where Daneel had formed the horde, such a large party had set out to hunt whoever had caused it. At that moment, Daneel had gotten the slight suspicion whether there might be some other reason behind it, and now, it was evident that everything related to Elysium must have a very high priority in the Overseer's mind. Hence, it was possible that he might have masked the reason behind him sending such a powerful party by saying that he wanted to make sure that there was no way that Daneel would be able to escape.
It was as if a jigsaw puzzle was in Daneel's hand, and he was slowly finding the pieces to complete it.
After figuring these things out, a smile came on Daneel's face, and the same sweet feeling that he had gotten before, when he had figured out just how the monsters had continued to live, flooded through his mind.
Looking forward to hopefully enjoying it again soon, he said, "Yes, there were quite a few precautions, and it wasn't an easy journey to get here. Begin, or I might let my finger… Slip."
Daneel said this by pointing his finger in the direction where the primary vault was. There, he had set up the same solution which would deplete the energy of Ker roots and put any consciousness that was residing within an Artefact made of these things to go into a permanent slumber, and as the being in front of him saw this, he spoke up in a panicked tone.
"Got it! Let's see, where do I start… How about this: I'll give you the rundown on the most important points first, and the rest is just trivial information that you can find out from me at any time. Hell, I don't care about it, so I'll even make an information tile for you that you can check at any time if you want. I'm only doing this 'cos you said you're that sh*tsmear's enemy- if not, I wouldn't put in so much effort."
Daneel had to applaud the way in which the one in front of him had repeatedly cursed the Overseer in different ways every time that he was mentioned, but he was at the end of his patience.
Seeing his expression start to change, the being seemed to sense it, too, as it began to speak in a hurried tone.
"First things first: you gotta understand something. No one wanted a war. Think about it. War is such an ugly thing… You have to get down in the mud and fight, putting your life on the line, or at least a part of you, anyway. Why not just be happy with the power you already got, and live a peaceful life? We could have done just that, but NOOOO… We HAD to go up against a different faction on the Mainland which had started to take…let's say, 'bold' actions. We were part of a force that had existed for a long time, and they had begun to target our operations. All of us had languished in our wealth for a lotta time, so none of us were really that quick to respond-we thought they were just a bunch o' buzzing bees who would leave after stinging for a bit, but to our surprise, it looked like they had come to uproot us. It all happened in a single night: our strongest members were killed, and most of our resources were seized. It was only later that we found out that they had actually given an offer to our dear Leader before, oh-he's the one you now know as the 'Overseer', by the way-who had refused because he wanted everything."
"They didn't like that…oh, they hated it, and that made it turn into a rout, cos even our leader had become a lazy f*ck. It turned out that he wasn't ready to let go, though, even though we could've settled down quietly somewhere- he wanted revenge, so we needed a place rich with resources, whose Energy we could tap. All we had was a bunch o' weak folks and a World-eater who wasn't even mature, but we set out into the water. We roamed for months before findin' you lot luckily, when your hiding mechanisms failed. Rest can be summarized easily: we came, we fought, and we got F*CKED. Our dear leader and I were brought close to death, but we-huh?"
The reason behind the being stopping his story…was that Daneel had suddenly gotten up from his throne with a unique expression on his face.
It was one of…pure relief, as if some spell had been lifted from him, and in the next second, the King jumped in the air and shouted something that surprised all those present.
"YES! HE CAN BE HURT! THE BASTARD ISN'T INVINCIBLE! HA HA!"