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Interlude 8

Beta-Reader: Ant0nius

“Would you like a cup of coffee?”

Apogeo had been treated to many niceties in recent times, mostly through a certain human deciding that, since she was their friend, she could keep around for a few extra minutes beyond her usual task, but this was getting pretty ‘frequent’ at this point. At first it was adorable, but now a hint of interest lifted off at the notion that there could have been more to it than it seemed to. Yet, she accepted the request, as usual, and sat down with the rest of the Crests and interacted with them. Most of the time, things were optimal between all of them, with the sole exceptions created by some bickering between Carmesi and Pulsar. They didn’t mean to be offensive to one another, but they tended to ‘trip’ a lot on each other when it came to a wrong choice of words to highlight a defeat, or to confirm a superiority towards the other. And while this would be normally solved by Matt himself, Apogeo would always find the time to be the one to take charge of the ‘diplomatic effort’ and make sure that their differences were sorted out. She interacted with them and gave them ‘compromises’ which didn’t see a clear winner, but both parties left happier than before the entire conversation. It was there, as she spoke with them, that the Spirit caught on something that was unique to this generation of Crests.

They didn’t have any boundaries in the form of formality. Different from the last group from Prism, they were not bound to any ‘division’ that was tied to a hierarchical organization. The Fire Crest bickered but still appreciated the Water Crest and the Ice Crest for their own strength. Part of Apogeo really wondered how her ancestor would react to this behavior. It was so similar and yet so ‘distant’ from the usual ‘cool attitude’ shown by Carmesi’s predecessor. Same for Pulsar, he was actually the one that looked to be the most different between the current Crests to the past ones. She could still remember the lack of reaction from the weary Ice Crest when Earth and Dark were shattered during the first clash. Same for when even Wisdom fell to the might of the Emperor’s strongest warriors, overwhelmed by their numbers. Likewise, she had to admit that Ambar had yet to show any hints of arrogance that was a counterbalancing flaw to her ancestor’s brilliance.

There were other odd correlations, but the truth was one and the same: this generation of Crests was bound to be closer to one another compared to any previous ones. Everyone was set to be as tight as siblings during all conflicts, and Apogeo could tell this was going to hold as soon as the rest of the Earth-bound Crests were brought up to the fold. Courage and Light had answered the call earnestly and they were given a destination to reach so they could be recovered and brought to the Colonial Ship. Ambar was going to remain ‘on the ground’ as she tried to reach out for both Dark and Life as both had remained quiet over the Spirit’s efforts to bring them out of their current locations.

The real issue manifested in the form of one of the Crests on board… which allegiance was dubious at best. So, as the rest of the group was back to chat with one another about what to do next, Apogeo decided to deal with this matter at once. Feather, the Sky Crest, was unnerved at her sight. Not like she could blame her, not when the Emperor had branded her something akin to a ‘Devil’ considering her role within his opposition. She was the living representation of a Planet that physically died, but remained whole through its people’s survival. She was the beating heart and the chorus of those voices that will never be conquered by this form of Evil.

Sitting down with this particular Crest proved to be as engaging as relaxing. Feather tried to push her away- no, deny her as Apogeo proved to be far more ‘difficult’ to deal with compared to other ‘interrogators’. It wasn’t like she was being forced to give out any info. They already knew as much as they could about the Empire right now and so it was easy to coax the Eagle Prime to switch the topics to less ‘sensible ones’. They discussed Primes, about Feather’s own ancestry, her unique bond with the Death Crest (which won a couple of good points from Feather herself as she smiled in delight at the support of the Spirit at an eventual union between the two), and… Humans.

Feather wanted to know if there was a chance if she remained to serve the Emperor. And that’s where Apogeo knew she had the means to win her over. She showed her who her opponent would have been had she kept her loyalty to the Empire. And it shocked her how easily she conceded- she merely stopped at the first World Wars, the time where humanity showed the true power of ‘banding together’ against common foes. And if they were able to muster that kind of brutality if it was two different factions within the globe fighting against one another, then a united front made by Humans and Primes was going to score a successful defense ‘until the Emperor intervened’.

“He can be beaten.”

“Really? The Crests have the means to defeat him?”

“Only if you start trusting your brothers and sisters. They might be different to you in many ways, but you have all seen pain in this war. And I don’t need to explain that it will not stop if the Emperor wins.”

“...But will it stop when the Queen wins?”

Apogeo merely answered, as she knew Feather knew the answer already. Their exchange was mostly positive, and it left her in a good mood. One that almost died down when Matt asked a question that she wouldn’t have expected him to request an answer from her, one that he decided to entertain her with while they were away from others’ attention.

“Who is Pandora?”

The question drew a wide-eyed expression from Apogeo. And rightfully so as this wasn’t something that she thought the Grand Knight to be even aware about.

“Did you… how do you know that name?” She inquired, more surprised than concerned. There was a general lack of trouble within the human’s soul and body as he asked about this specific topic. He wasn’t tainted, but it could be possible his inherent chaos, of the same blend as order (so pure and tame), had allowed a way in for the entity that no longer lorded over the domain of discord.

“She… She appeared to me in a vision. She said that she wanted to speak with me.”

“...What about? And… Did you do something we should be worried about?”

He shook his head. “No. We just talked. And she told me that she was once the one in control of the power the Emperor says was always his.”

“She was. And… what else?”

The rest of the discussion focused on the matter, drawing more and more confusion out of Apogeo as some of the old memories tied to the forbidden thing that was Pandora started to come up… and conflict with this whole situation. Many centuries had passed since she last heard of that name, and the fact that she had somewhat changed her ‘mind’ regarding her hatred for the Gods just felt odd. But also… possible. All this time, Pandora was left to herself and her own thoughts.

To accept fate as a hateful being or actually agree that it was time for them to stop.

For this war to end. Not the war waged by the Emperor, but the one she had started way before this ‘small’ conflict happened. Back to when she uttered her war declaration. Back when she was squeezing her bloody fists, soaked in innocent life that she failed to protect back then. When she thought she found a way around divinity itself. When she thought that the universe as a whole had become her playground.

Her hatred punished her by allowing the Emperor to come to be. So when she reached out to the newest ‘champion’ as she called Matt now, she knew that she wasn’t going to have any leverage… except for pure honesty. And in that mystical prison she was forced to live in complete solitude for so long… Pandora learned to be truthful about her pain. Not enough to confess to this champion the purpose of her existence in that landscape, but still enough to give her the mental strength to accept friendship with an honest individual. Matt didn’t ask for strength, he made it clear to the former deity, and that presented a reason to latch onto him. She hoped for chaos to stop warring against order. A chance to create the balance that was broken during the first age of the Kingdom of Prism.

Would the Gods accept this? Not yet. Not without proof. Not without a manifestation of truth. Words meant a lot, especially when she was renowned to never show any lies and be blunt about her desires, but the Emperor changed that. His appearance shook the ‘simple’ nature of that hate, and distrust had been within their heads ever since Prism fell.

Still, Matt did something good. He told her something important with the purpose of keeping an eye out in case of any trouble. He knew he couldn’t tell the others, not when they would worry about the chances of his mind being corrupt already. But Apogeo knew this wasn’t the case. The spirit felt the dread in his mind and she eased it by telling him that he did nothing wrong.

_ But while she could guarantee his safety now, Apogeo was going to keep guarded around any possible chaos resurgence within Matt. It was imperative the Grand Knight didn’t perish to the corruption this time around. _

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AN

Next time… Invasion! The First one.