The name Jason spoke was the last person Queen Bethsha expected! Queen Bethsha leaned back in her chair slowly, like she was trying to process what she had just been told, and it took a few long seconds before she finally put her hands over her face and sighed.
"What a mess. I can’t believe he would do this to me. I... I trusted him. I allowed him to carry my child, and he turns around and tries to kidnap him?"
Jason just sat back and allowed Bethsha to come to terms with what she had heard, and it wasn’t until he saw her coming down from the shock that he finally spoke.
"You don’t need to worry about him harming Kai again. I already put some of my subordinates on him, so if he does anything, then I’ll be the first to know. And I’m sending some other subordinates to see who was trying to buy Kai. Do you know anything about a world called Yortsed?"
Queen Bethsha was surprised to hear Jason say that he was already looking into the real reason behind all this, and she felt a surge of gratitude for Jason as she realised he was going all out to protect his brother. But when Jason spoke about Yortsed, Bethsha’s brow furrowed as she went into thought for a moment, and she finally snapped her finger and spoke.
"Oh, Yortsed. I’ve heard about them in passing. They’re a small world about five-dimensional leaps away from us. I think they’re currently going through a succession race between the three sons of the king, and there’s a chance that there might be a civil war soon. They rely on imports for most of their food and produce, so we’ve been keeping tabs on them so we can sell our produce to them if a war ever breaks out."
Jason nodded in understanding. It was silly to think that a war was always a bad thing. Even if the people fighting the war would see the war as something bad, those who sold weapons and food would see the war as a good thing since they could sell their produce to the armies. If you played your cards right in war, then you could become extremely rich. Jason spoke up calmly.
"I think someone from Yortsed is involved in the kidnapping as well. I don’t have enough information right now, but I’ll let you know anything I find out. I won’t let them get away with this. I promise."
Jason frowned as he said this with a strong conviction, and for a long moment, Betsha just stared at him with a faraway look. The meeting room went silent at that time, and Jason wondered what had gotten into his stepmother. Jason was about to ask if everything was alright, but Betsha just rested her chin on her raised arm and smiled kindly at Jason.
"You’re really just like him, you know. Your father used to talk with the exact same look in his eyes whenever it concerned his family. It was the first thing I truly loved about him."
Jason blinked in mild surprise, and he eventually smiled at the compliment. It was always nice to hear about his father.
"Thank you. That means a lot to me. And actually, I don’t know if it’s possible, but I wanted to ask you about my father. Do you know what exactly happened between him and the Primordials?"
The moment Jason said the word ’Primordials’, he could see Betsha’s eyes constrict in fury! Bethsha grit her teeth and looked down at the table with a deep frown, and Jason knew that he had poked a very sensitive topic! Jason didn’t know if Queen Bethsha was going to say anything at all since she had been silent for so long, but he simply stayed silent and waited. Jason couldn’t miss any opportunity to learn more about his father, so if he had to impose on Betsha a little bit just to get information, then he would do just that.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Queen Bethsha finally let out a small sigh, and she leaned back. She stared up at the ceiling and drummed her hand on the table as she spoke with a distant look in her eyes.
"The Primordials have been a thorn in Richard’s side for more than a thousand years. It all started when the king of one of the Primordial Races attempted to subjugate the Avarans and bring them under his rule. The Avarans were once known as the strongest race of warriors in the Primordial Expanse, so it was obvious that any army would benefit from having them. But Richard refused and fought back against the Primordials, and that was what sealed the fate of the Avarans. The Primordials are made up of various races who are all vying for power, but even though they are not on good terms, there is an unspoken rule among them that they will never stand for an outsider rising against them. The Primordial races immediately joined forces and attacked the Avarans, and even with the Avarans’ superior fighting abilities and the help of their allies, they were no match for the combined might of all the Primordials.
"That day, the Avarans were nearly eradicated, and all the survivors were forced to flee from their world and go into hiding. I... I thought Richard had also been killed since I didn’t hear anything from him in so long, but I eventually learned that Richard ran to find refuge on Earth, and he was lying low for a while. You should know the rest of what happened on Earth, but the one thing I am sure of is that even now, the Primordials are still hunting Richard. The Primordials are a vindictive race of monsters that would do anything to gain more power, and the only thing preventing them from destroying your world is the fact that they are focusing all their attention on Richard."
Jason let out a calm sigh once he was done hearing everything his stepmother had to say. To say he was surprised would be a lie since he had already expected something like this. But hearing the real scale of the Primordials’ crimes against his world was enough to light a renewed fire of hatred inside him. But Jason was still confused about something, and he asked Betsha a question curiously.
"You say the Primordials are trying to subjugate worlds, but a lot of the worlds in this Domain haven’t been subjugated yet. I don’t think I’ve seen even one world that’s under the Primordials’ rule in my travels."
Queen Bethsha shook her head. Jason was mistaken about what she meant when she said ’subjugate’. Bethsha reached down into her drawers, and she brought out a piece of paper with a strange runic sequence drawn on it. The rune looked like a circle with many intricate lines stretching across the internal walls of the circle. And the moment Jason touched it, his system immediately kicked in.
[Rune Analysis] has been activated.
——
Rune Analysis
Rune Name: Primordial Shackles
Rune Grade: Second Grade
Class Required: Green Class Rune Crafter or Higher
MP Required: 500,000 MP
Description: An extremely complicated Runic Sequence created by the master Rune Crafter Ryon’El of the Primordial house of El. It was initially crafted as a means of keeping slaves in check and ensuring they never go against the will of their master, but after seeing the hidden potential that the rune possessed, the rest of the Primordials began to utilize the Rune as a mark that signifies the people that they have conquered. The system believes there are hidden features within the rune that allows the Rune Caster to impose severe punishment on those bearing the mark if they ever tried to revolt against their masters.
——
Jason’s eyes immediately narrowed.
"A slave mark?"