Xuan remembered being in a dark, dark place for a long, long time.
Her mind that had been broken, remade and then broken again and again, while still holding onto a singular will that she would not betray the man who meant the most to her in the world had been in pieces for the longest time, but it was only now that it was starting to get back to a semblance of what it had been before everything that happened.
Hence, one of the first things that returned to her was the ability to think, by herself, and listen to her own thoughts as they frolicked around like little children who had just been given birth in the cavernous contents of an otherwise extremely damaged consciousness.
She was not yet ready to consciously take control of her body, but she could at least sleep, calmly, albeit for a limited period of time, unlike before when even every moment of rest had been filled with dread and fear for what would come on the following day.
She vaguely remembered going through something unbelievably beautiful and amazing, and even though she often saw glimpses of it, she could not remember it at all.
Yet, she knew that when she was all better, she would be able to recall it in all of its glory, and she waited for that day, forcing herself to take full advantage of all of the spells that were being cast on her so that they could do their best and fix her.
Only… All still wasn't perfect, as there were still manifestations of what she had gone through that repeatedly assaulted her mind, in a final push to break it all apart and cast her consciousness into a state from which it would not be able to recover.
Feeling that storm coming again, all of the little thoughts that had finally been reborn in her mind hid, and of course, along with them, Xuan hid, too.
The storm came, and seeing it, panic and extreme fear took ahold of Xuan, making her reach out and yearn for the same person that she had prayed for throughout her time of being imprisoned.
He hadn't answered, then, but no matter how many times that happened, she had never cursed him - somewhere, inside, she had known that it was nonsensical for her to hope that he would come, but that hadn't stopped her from wishing for it day in and day out, and it was as if this wish, itself, held power, as it represented the one for whom she was doing everything.
Now, though… Suddenly, Xuan felt herself being enveloped by a soft, warm feeling, and even though she couldn't really feel everything going on in her body, she could tell that she was being held, which made her cuddle up as comfortably as she could before letting out a sweet, deep sigh.
Now was not then. Her wishes had been answered, and her consciousness would no longer be shattered every day, to reform and be broken again whenever the pain started anew at the beginning of each morning in that hell hole.
Now, she was not alone, and she would never be, too.
Now, he was here.
Yes, he was here, and all…was well.
…
In the Hall of Beginning, the Head stood in front of the gigantic chair, looking up at the constellations in the sky.
The last time he had come here, he was only a regular member of the Order, and hence, even though he had been extremely curious about why these constellations were so much different from what every Angarian would see during the night, he hadn't had the authority to ask.
Now, though, as the Overseer, he had all kinds of information at the tip of his fingers, and hence, he knew the answer - these constellations were apparently the same ones that had been present in the night sky back when this hall had been established, and they had been frozen there, in that form, never to change and never to fall, to represent the sanctity of the moment when this Hall had come into being.
Many had studied the constellations in order to find out some sort of timeline into which they could tie the creation of the Hall, and in turn, the creation of the Order in the distant past of the continent, but they had failed, as the data they had was not enough.
Seeing the king appear on the other end, the Head snapped out of his musings, and saw that the man had a pleasant smile on his face, despite what they were about to do.
Had revenge really been that fulfilling?
Worried, the Head was about to open his mouth and ask, as he had seen many take too much joy in inflicting pain that they would get used to it, and keep looking for that high which could not be found elsewhere.
Yet, thankfully, his question was answered before he even asked by the king who seemed to have read his mind.
"I'm was just comforting Xuan, who seemed to be having some sort of a nightmare. If you could have seen the way she smiled when she felt herself being held- it is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen, and I have a strong suspicion that this entire thing has changed a lot in her, but for the better. I can't wait for her to get up so that I can… oh, leave that. Where is our guest?"
Hearing the king's words that were filled with genuine happiness and excitement, the Head smiled, but then, that smile turned into a grimace as he heard the question, which was delivered in an almost deadpan tone, as both of them were not looking forward to what was going to happen.
Still, it was their duty to see it through, so the Head shook his head and said, "As you asked, I did nothing except keep an eye on him and prepare the formations in secret which can abduct him. But it is strange - he has been lying motionless on a bed for this entire time, looking as if he is asleep. It's almost as if… He is waiting for us, as he even did not bother to activate the restriction formations around the room that he is in."
With a frown, Daneel shrugged and said, "Well, let's get on with it. No reason to dally."
With a nod and a sigh, the Head raised his hand, and an iron chair on which shackles for the neck, hands, and legs were present came into being in the center of the hall.
Both of them first reach the chair to check whether it was really as effective as they had read in the annals of the order - apparently, it was the object with the strongest restrictive ability in the entire continent, capable of keeping even a Peak Hero in control if they managed to put that person into the shackles. Of course, this was no mean feat, but with the help of all of the other formations that could knock one out or disorient them for a while, it wasn't that difficult, as these were physical shackles which would latch on without any warning and come into effect instantly, by which point it would be too late to do anything to oppose them.
"Really impressive, indeed. The workmanship and formations are even more complex than the best that I know of from the age of the Empire - this was made much before then, by people much more skilled. I wonder what happened to them."
"I had the same question, King, so I checked- they had a war with the Godbeasts, and unlike during the age before the Empire, they weren't lucky enough to win. They lost and became slaves for the longest time, but that was also mainly because there was too much friction between themselves, with too many people thinking too highly of themselves in order to be able to ally properly. In some ways, an overall lower level of power might be more preferable to one where too many individuals with too much power exist, who are completely independent and wish for places to rule for themselves while there is only so much of the continent that they can divide and conquer. I will cast the spell now."
With a nod and a thoughtful glance as he heard the deep words of the Head, Daneel braced himself, because he wasn't sure how this would play out- if there was resistance, he would have to put forward some effort even though he was still an apparition. The only consolation was that he was stronger as his healing was going well, so he prepared himself to do his best in case the worst case came to be.
Yet, a second later, it turned out that his caution had been unwarranted, as the man known as the Reaper appeared in the chair and calmly opened his eyes and looked at them as the shackles took effect, locking him in perfectly and securely.
His deep voice which had instructed so many seeds in the Order, and which would be able to rally hundreds of Heroes and Champions if it rose up echoed in the Hall as he said, "That was a bit longer than I thought it would take - I gather that Mrs. Quenry is dead?"
After the initial surprise from seeing someone who seemed like he really had been waiting for them faded away, stiff expressions came on both Daneel's and the Head's faces, as they realized that there was no more chance of what Mrs. Quenry said being false- she had been right: Cain, of all people, was an agent of the Church.
"She's not dead, but close to that state- but tI plan to punish her for a few hundred thousand years, at least. I did take my time with taking revenge for what she did to someone who is very close to me now, though- but I think you must already know about what happened to her, right? A little Seer calls Xuan?"
For just a moment, when Daneel said her name, the calm veneer peeled off, showing a vulnerable man who wanted nothing else but for his existence to end.
Both the Head and Daneel took a step back as they saw this, as such an immense amount of emotion would definitely incite a reaction from anyone who saw it.
However, with an effort, Cain calmed himself, and spoke.
"I'll explain everything. But I have just one request. I might seem presumptuous, but it is for the good of the Order, and the continent. However…it will also require you to have trust in your ability to give judgments, King. If used properly, this opportunity will help you a lot. I ask…for a public hearing."
Cain looked straight into Daneel's eyes as he asked this, and in those eyes…Daneel saw the same look that one might expect from a righteous criminal who was about to be executed.
In it was the singular wish to be of help for one last time, and Daneel trusted his gut, which told him that it was sincere.
Thoroughly curious, and fully confident of his own scam-er, or, political skills, Daneel nodded, which the Head took as the cue to give the order.
The summons began to be sent out to all members of the Order, and after exactly 1342 years, the proceedings for another public hearing, with the last being especially memorable as they had indirectly led to the deaths of 8 Heroes, began.