Embrace the Ether 12 Direfell's Illustrious Captain

"Sire, a report from the Spire!" The black armored soldier paused for a moment as he received the message, mimicking it in return, "Hostile force detected in the Onyx District."

"Onyx?" The cloaked captain, Roch, murmured to himself as every one present held their breath. "Fine, you lot get going, go kill some damn crows, will you?"

"Aye Sir!" "Roger!" "Sir yes, sir!" Several different soldiers shouted in unison as they stood in a respectful, straight posture.

"What are you all still standing around for? Get going!" Roch shouted in disdain, glaring across the room as the soldiers around him stumbled out, heading toward the Onyx District.

Only Roch and another single soldier remained in the room as he gave a few quick glances around, staring at each and every person present, their gazes not daring to meet his.

His eyes stopped on Deus as he slowly approached, drawing everyone's attention. It had been so quiet one would say they could hear even the faintest of sounds, down from the creaking of the metal beneath their feet, to the grunts of the few nervous men who stood around.

"You there," Roch hissed out with a cold stare, "...Androma? but how? No, that's not right..."

Deus practically fell over his own two feet as he slowly backed away into the corner of the room, his back stung from the cold metal of the wall as the back of his hand caressed it, "I'm afraid you're mistaken, captain...sir."

Silence bled its way through the air, weighing down everyone present as captain Roch raised an eyebrow.

"A mistake?" Roch repeated, a look of confusion showing on his face. "Wait, you... who are you?"

"Heh… mister… captain sir, my name is Deus…"

"...Deus?" Roch stood there for a moment as his gaze met Deus's, a slight smile began to form on the tip of his lips, "I see… good, very good. Quite promising in fact." Roch paused for a moment as he stared, only after several seconds passed did he begin to speak. "Well Deus, you're an interesting one... aren't you? Let me guess, you believe there's more to your story than just wandering the streets for eternity? Yes? Hmm. There's plenty I'd tell you now, but you're not ready... no. Once you've realized this for yourself, the better. Hmm… in fact, come to my Spire once you've figured out who you are, and what's to come... Yes, yes. Only then will I welcome you to my ranks... hmm."

As time passed in even more silence, Droh faintly lifted his head toward Deus. He stared blankly at him for a moment as Roch's words seeped into his and everyone else's mind, crashing down on them like cement. 'Wait, what? Did he just offer me a job?'

"I appreciate the offer… sir captain... but I…"

"No, don't answer now. Wait, think things through first and figure out what you want from this place, and what you can give in return. Only then will I welcome you…" Roch finally turned his gaze away from Deus, "Enough of that. I have things to do, people to see. Remember my offer, and don't disappoint me."

With that, the military captain, Roch, turned away and left, walking past the crowd of people as they cleared out of his path.

Everyone stared at Deus in both shock, awe, and fear. Someone worthy of the captain's recognition and personal recruitment was someone whom they couldn't dare offend. Or so they believed. But who was he? How had they never heard of anyone with such a curious name before?

"Deus… what's going on?" Droh asked through several grunts, surprise, and confusion apparent on his face as his tail practically snapped against the floor like a whip.

"Oh, Droh, right. Let's get going first, maybe we can sneak past everyone now."

"Sneak? You're kidding, right?" With a quick glance around, both Droh and Deus found everyone staring at them, trying to listen to their conversation while not making it overtly obvious. "You see? There's no sneaking around this…"

With a whisper, Deus replied, "Hmm, I see. If we can't sneak past, then why not just charge forward? Use this to our advantage… just look, no one is going to stop us, not even any of the soldiers."

Across the room, Deus nodded his head toward a lone soldier, the only soldier left after Roch had ordered the rest of them to move out. The man had turned his entire body to face away from them as if to announce that he had no intention of intervening in whatever happened. "Hah, see? Simply being talked to by that guy was worth all this…"

The young Faun's ears slanted upward as his eyes followed along, a faint smile finally erupting from his mouth. "Heh, fine let's do it."

The two lifted themselves back up straight and confidently walked further inside. As they did, several humanoid looking men who stood in their path cleared away, creating an opening for them. 'I can't believe this is working…' Deus mentally spoke, trying his best not to let a smile show off his face. He had to hold a perfect poker face, otherwise, they may get discovered. At that moment, everyone around them believed they held some connection to the city's most dangerous soldier, a man who had made a name for himself through the acts of both massacre and death. None of them wished to cross such a being who could call him a friend, and so they simply moved out of his way as their gazes dodged his own.

'I just have to confidently walk past… no weakness. Hell, the more obnoxious and threatening, the better.' As Deus thought this, his eyes dashed around the crowd, landing on a few intimidating looking men, scavengers most like. He glared at them through gritted teeth as they simply pushed their attention downward, as if the floor was the most interesting thing in the world.

'Hah!'

As they approached the final door leading up to the upper levels, Droh confidently spoke up to the older woman who blocked their path. She stood behind a kiosk as the one soldier remaining turned away and directed his attention outward.

"We need a room, preferably one high up with a good view."

"Yes sirs… one moment please." The older woman looked down at an old monitor, "Room H23 is available, would that work for you both?"

They both nodded.

"Very well. Here's your access pass, please confirm here." She lifted up an old electronic device as Droh grabbed it, pressing down on a thin touchpad, he handed it back to her. "Done. The room is yours, please head up through those doors."

Room H23, seven floors above ground, the twenty-third room on the floor. Droh and Deus stood side by side as they entered. A large room opened up before them as they slammed the door closed behind.

"What. The. Hell!" Droh shouted out as he finally sunk to the floor, letting himself be enveloped by stress and nerves.

Chapter end