"It can't be true, young king. It simply can't! It's impossible! She would never do so! It simply can't be happening! It can't be true! It-"
If Daneel didn't have such a strong bond with the Ancient Dragon, he would definitely have asked it to keep quiet, as this was already at least the 100th time that Drakos was repeating what he was saying right now.
After the message from the system that had been accompanied by Drakos's exclamation, Daneel had needed a few seconds to process what was happening, but it was clear that the Dragon needed so much more in order to understand that his erstwhile partner, whom he had apparently just seen here and had a good time with a few days ago, was no longer present, and could even have allied with the enemies.
That last supposition was unspoken, but it was still present - if it was the truth, it was obvious that the Emperor Spirit would rather flee than risk exposure, in the event of which she would find the entire Order and the force of the entire continent descend on her in order to take out their wrath and fury at the loss of a part of the continent and frustration due to what had happened to them due to the Church on her, and her subordinates.
Of course, this was the worst case, but even though Daneel was not jumping to it right away, it was definitely a possibility, and it would have to be talked about sooner or later.
The way things looked right now, though, it seemed that it would mostly be the latter, as Drakos did not seem like he would be recovering anytime soon.
After the Dragon's rant ended, Daneel made a decision and spoke.
"Drakos, how about this. I'll put you back in Lanthanor until the investigation regarding what happened here is complete. When we have any more details, I'll let you know. This is clearly very personal to you, and I don't want you getting agitated - remember what the Emperor would say. Wasn't it his policy that people should act with logic whenever possible, while still directing their actions with the core tenets of the emotions that are present in them which have been inculcated due to their upbringing? From your upbringing, I know that loyalty is something that is very important to you, and the notion of someone as close as her betraying you after spending so much time intimately is very hard to consider. But we have to be realistic, here- the timing is just very circumspect, but still, I'm not ruling out any possibilities. Until we know for sure what happened, though, I really need you to calm down. So, what do you say?"
Daneel expected the Ancient Dragon to think about his suggestion and then realize that he really was going off the rails, so to speak.
But surprisingly, the Dragon responded with passion.
"No! No way! I need to stay here! Respectfully, young king, I would like to stay. How about this- please create a temporary holding trinket for my consciousness, and just like you said, I will take a bit of time to calm down. It's just that… The one that I knew from back during the age of the Empire had changed so much, and she had essentially become someone that I would have married without any hesitation if we were still living back then, with no responsibilities, and no war to fight. I did not tell anyone, but… Just before I left, we had decided that after I came back, we would take that step, at least in spirit, because, after all, that is what we are, and that is all that matters- if a decision is made, it is final, and we… We made the decision.We…did. We did, didn't we? Yes, we did. Then why did she…"
Until now, all Daneel had felt was confusion and anxiousness due to the fact that another foe who had been hiding might have been uncovered, and had fled before he could handle them, but now… He felt angry.
From the way that the Ancient Dragon had devolved into this blubbering mess from the dignified entity who had guided him on his way, he knew that the empire spirit had succeeded this time, where she had failed during the Age when they were alive. Either it was because she really had changed into the way that Drakos had always wanted his other half to be, or it was because with time, and the realization that there was probably no one else, the two had reached the stage where they had decided to take the plunge together. Either way, what they had now was precious and special, but then… This had happened.
Daneel did not yet know the facts of the matter, but if his friend had really been betrayed… His fury would know no limit.
He would hunt her to the ends of the world, and he would bring her back and make her stand in front of this mentor of his whom he owed many, many things to. No matter what came his way, he would do this, and after vowing this in his mind, Daneel put on a grim face and asked the system to make the temporary trinket that could hold the Ancient Dragon's consciousness.
It was done in merely a few seconds with the help of the Head, who had arrived with an investigative team from the Order who were all busily combing over the entire place. Even when Drakos's consciousness separated from his and was placed in the small object that was shaped like a dragon's heart identical to the one in his bedroom, the Ancient Dragon had not recovered, and was still repeating the same things over and over again to himself, as if he could not come to terms with the truth of what they were seeing, and everything that truth represented.
He also kept saying that everything was wrong, and that this was definitely impossible… But reality spoke for itself.
Soon after Daneel did this, the Head appeared and spoke after letting out a sigh.
"The preliminary report I gave you before has just been confirmed. The entire sect began preparing for their departure at around the same time frame when your actions in the Fortress became public. It is now apparent that they had always had mechanisms in place to be able to do this quickly, and this is quite strange as usually, it should be no small feat to be able to dismantle all of the deeply embedded defensive and offensive formations that guard the Headquarters of one of the Big Four. It is something that would take months, as these formations are things which are improved upon for decades and decades, but here… It was done in a matter of days. Each and every item of value, and also each and every scrap of information that we could have used to track their whereabouts, or even what kind of Paths they were practicing have all been either scrubbed or taken away. There was no attempt to hide this - they knew that someone would come and find out the truth sooner or later, so they had no intention of trying to fool the one who came so that they could get an even bigger head start. As for the final departure… It happened at around the time you entered the Goddess's Sanctum. Yes, you heard me right - we missed them by just around an hour."
Daneel had taken a step toward the Head with surprise when he heard that last part, as he couldn't believe that there was such a short timeframe between his arrival, and the emptying of the sect that had been full with those enigmatic men and women who all practiced bizarre and dangerous Paths, and the empire spirit who had taken control of the sect for generations by using her wit.
Even now, he remembered how impressed he had been by that feat of hers, and how he would even have applauded her for the same if she had not tried to piss him off with each and everything she said.
And hence, a reasonable deduction could be made that if she had decided to take this step… Then she must definitely have had the means to pull it off in a way in which she would not be followed.
Sure enough, the head confirmed this with his next statement, which was spoken in an agitated tone.
"That was the bad news, and here comes the even worse one: even with everything we have at our disposal, it is impossible for us to track them. It's like they vanished off the face of the continent! I've used all of the formations that keep watch over the entire continent, but I saw nothing! I'm definitely sure that they did not leave, but I'm also certain that they're not on the continent! It's easily the single most frustrating thing I've had to deal with since taking the position of the Overseer… To think that even the Order has failed! This, more than anything, makes me believe that there might be someone else's hand in all of this…"
At this, Daneel instantly raised his hand to stop the man and said, "We cannot jump to conclusions. Historically, this member of the Big Four has always been a mystery-I've gone through the Library of Origin, and even it does not contain a very detailed description of the Paths that are taught here. It is only written that there is a high chance of failure, and such a high chance of death that it is illogical for any institution to take up this Path if they intend to have considerable power. Apparently, even though attempts were made to find out more, they were always stopped because forcibly trying to obtain information left behind by that legendary foe of the Emperor would have resulted in the destruction of it all, and the loss of a formidable force on Angaria. Hence, they settled with what was given to them, which was the rudimentary explanation regarding what they did which we know, and a few basic Paths which are simply suicidal to train in. True, we have two strong reasons to suspect the involvement of off-continent forces, but until we can establish anything for sure, I suggest you classify them as deserters."
With a shrug and a nod, the Head said, "Alright, fine. It's not like that classification is that much better than traitors-even deserters are supposed to be imprisoned when found, and will be executed if no method is found to forcibly put them to work fulfilling the very responsibility they tried to flee. What are you going to do next, King? I've been seeing all of your actions in the Big Four, but I haven't figured out your goal, yet. Whatever it is, I know your goal in the Central Continent, so this is what I feel- it looks like you are doing too many things at once, and not concentrating on something and seeing it to its completion. I like that Godking thing-true, there was a lot of pushback from the members of the Order, but there should be nothing wrong with an ideological god-like being in the Central Continent who will push people to give more of themselves for the cause. If they become a problem, we could have dealt with them together. I thought you would take action to solidify that further, but you set yourself on this track! Why?"
In one statement, the head had summarised the problem with Daneel's recent actions.
But the truth was… That this problem only existed to those who did not know his endgame.
Looking straight into the eyes of the Head, Daneel gave his reply, and as soon as he did so, the Head's eyes glinted with excitement.
"Let me put it this way…with this revelation, the Big Four would have had to change their name to the Big Three, but due to what I'm going to do…there won't be a need for this. Oh, and as for that derogatory name that signifies the ants who the Big Four always thought they could crush-that won't be necessary, too. You've been watching with patience, Head, so I suggest you do the same some more- and I reckon that the answer to your question will soon be given. Farewell, then- my preparations are complete, and even though I didn't expect things to turn out in this way…it's time to start the second phase."