One day later, inside the Domain of Infinite....
The atmosphere inside the domain remained calm and silent. Due to the time dilation, only a few hours had passed outside.
"Oi, wake up!!!" William shook Rah’s figure, but it did not budge.
Rah’s massive body lay unmoving like a dormant beast, showing no immediate response to William’s attempts.
[Rah has entered deep sleep, host. Changes are happening in his body.]
The system’s voice sounded steady, yet there was a hint of curiosity within it.
"What type of changes??"
William’s gaze sharpened slightly as he focused on Rah’s condition.
[It is hard to judge at this point, but one thing is confirmed. Rah’s ancestors were definitely living in a world where sunlight was common. His recessive genes are reacting wildly, as if they were thirsty for sunlight.]
The explanation made William pause for a brief moment.
"So now what?? Will he turn back into his original form like his ancestors?"
There was a mix of curiosity and caution in his tone.
[I do not think so. Although it might be possible through some methods, such changes will not appear on their own unless excessive genetic alteration is carried out.]
William listened to the system intently, carefully processing every word. "Do you think Rah’s ancestors were stronger than the current form?"
[They should have been. Evolution works on survival of the fittest. The fact that their bodies adapted to the influx of varying energy suggests that countless survivors of that era refused to die under this new energy’s influence and hence ended up evolving.]
"Well, I just hope he does not die with all the changes happening in his body," William said. He could still see Rah’s destiny halo clearly. The glowing halo remained stable, giving him some reassurance.
The space in front of William shifted slightly as Maris appeared and knelt in front of him.
"Has the verdict been given?" he asked the shaking figure that knelt in front of him.
Maris remained kneeling in front of William. At small intervals, she glanced at the massive, terrifying beast lying in the distance. At first, she had failed to notice it, but then her eyes had instinctively shifted towards the massive form. Its slow breaths sounded like distant howls of a monster, and its form intimidated Maris far more than she was willing to admit.
Her body remained tense the entire time.
"Do not worry. He will join you guys in a few days," William said reassuringly, but it did not resolve Maris’s fear. Instead, the statement intensified it even more.
The idea of such a creature being among them only deepened her unease. She did not want to be anywhere near this monstrosity that could crush her with a single move.
"Answer me," William’s firm voice brought her back from her wandering thoughts.
Maris flinched slightly before regaining her composure.
Still, she stuttered slightly before speaking. "Yes, my lord. The evidence against Daniel was successfully presented; the cult elder that Amourphous had brought turned out to be effective."
"The remaining opposing voices taking Daniel’s side were silenced when the emperor proposed that Daniel prove his innocence by taking an Oath of Heaven."
"Daniel remained reluctant, but after repeated calls, his truth became clear to most. In the end, due to being unable to prove his innocence, he was sent to the worst prison of the empire, while the cult elder was beheaded along with the rest in the center of the human capital."
She spoke quickly, as if trying to finish as soon as possible.
"Had the slow poison been registered?" William asked
"Yes, my lord, I personally made sure that Daniel ingested it. I made him ingest it 3 times with his food to make sure he gets it properly in his system."
William nodded and then asked, "What is the atmosphere in the empire?"
"The whole dialogue of the throne hall was recorded and distributed for free across the empire. The voices against Emperor Aurelius fell silent, and the whole empire is now recovering from the shock of what happened."
Maris narrated the whole incident in a few seconds. William nodded silently, but no expression of satisfaction appeared on his face.
His expression remained unreadable.
"You can go," William said, sending Maris back while he intently observed Rah’s condition.
***
Five days later, inside the Domain of Infinite....
While several hours had passed outside, inside the Domain of Infinite, almost five days had gone by.
Finally, Rah’s eyes opened, and the first thing he saw was William standing in front of him.
The creature immediately sat up. His breathing came out in heavy bursts, as if he had woken up from a deep hibernation, his chest rising and falling with intensity.
"You sleep a lot," William said with a smile etched on his face. There was a hint of amusement in his tone.
"What happened to me?? Why do I feel so different??" Rah looked at William in shock and asked with unease.
"Look at yourself," William replied, making Rah’s tail eye move and observe his own body. Rah’s outer skin had now turned pitch black.
"Congratulations, Rah. You have awakened an echo," William spoke, catching Rah’s attention.
An echo was another term for an inherent, unique ability that every Vyker awakened in its lifetime. The ability also indicated Vyker’s destiny in some ways.
When compared to someone on Aris, one could say that an echo was a combination of a talent and a path.
While paths were rare on Aris, that was not the case in the realm of Vykers, who awakened echoes at the age of five flux periods.
Rah’s eye looked at William intently as he asked in a shocked tone.
"How??"
The sudden realization left him stunned, he immediately wanted to check the echo he had awakened, but he heard William speaking.
"I completed my promise, but there is something you should know."
Rah, who was about to look into his echo, stopped midway and looked at William again.
"Rah, now that you have awakened your echo, you have two choices ahead of you, and today’s choice will define your future, so reply to me carefully."
William’s tone became more serious.
"Today, either you return to your realm and rejoin your clan, or I will go my own way. You will gain some respect for awakening your echo, but your clan elders will still impose their will upon you and will continue to oppress and harass you as they always have. You might still live a relatively peaceful life ahead, but that will be all. Your elder siblings will never let you become the leader of your clan, and you will remain in their shadows."
"Or you can choose the second path. Pledge your loyalty to me, and I will change your life forever. I will help you become the leader of the winged Vyker clan. I will take you into new battles every day, make you fight strong enemies, and help you create an identity for yourself, not just in your realm but in mine as well. You will gain new experiences while leading your clan as my general on the battlefield. I will help you ascend to levels of power you could never reach otherwise, and even though I cannot promise it, there might be a chance to recover the strength that your ancestors once possessed."
William remained straightforward in his offer. If the destiny halo truly meant Rah was special, then he would surely choose what was best for himself.
After a brief pause, Rah’s single eye moved closer to William as his voice echoed in William’s mind.
"Even though I am thankful for your help and ready to repay you in some way, but to serve you is a completely different thing entirely, I want you to answer one question of mine before I make a decision," he said.
William simply nodded. "Go ahead."
"What is your purpose that you need an army for? Why are you talking like you are on some mission to kill someone??"
As Rah’s question landed, William shook his head with a faint smile. "My mission is not to kill someone, rather it is to erase the existence of an entire race," William said firmly.
"I am gathering power and preparing for my revenge against that race, and I believe you will be of great help," he continued.
"Wow," Rah spoke. "You are really ambitious. But even after you proposed so many benefits for me joining you, none of them feels personal enough. I do not want to lead a clan where most of the Vykers are poison-hearted and schemers who took my mother away from me. I do not need a lot of power since I have no thirst for revenge against these people, nor do I know how strong my ancestors really were. I also don’t like trouble."
William listened to Rah, and his eyes turned slightly colder than before. He tilted his head slightly.
"I remember your brother calling you a whore son in front of so many vykers. Listening to his words felt strange at first, even a brother of yours would never dare to call his own mother a whore, unless you are from a different mother who remained unaccepted in the eyes of other clan members, it feels like your mother had a difficult time while she was alive. Is that reason not enough to motivate you and have you thirst for revenge?? Are you really such a coward??"
William asked.
Rah’s voice turned cold.
"Do not bring my mother into this!!!"