Inside the throne room, Sniper stared at the luscious mountain range outside of the massive window behind his throne. Mike entered by the front door and walked toward Sniper.
As he walked, he noticed how much more luxurious has the throne room gotten since his last visit. The shiny silver stairs were removed and replaced with steps made from pure gold. The statue of Atlas behind Sniper's throne was removed and replaced with a towering statue of Sniper himself dressed in a luxurious imperial robe. The inscription that used to be "pax est fortium" (peace is for the strong) on Sniper's throne was replaced with "imperium aeternum imperatori" (eternal power to the emperor).
Upon arriving in front of the staircase leading to the throne, Mike kneeled down and awaited Sniper's orders.
[Sniper] - "It's a resounding success, Mike. After 3 years of brutal conflict, we are finally one step closer to greatness. The world shall see my vision of a greater humanity. "
Said Sniper as his voice echoed across the throne room.
[Mike] - "Indeed, uncle, our success is... "
[Sniper] - "That is "my lord" to you, young man, but go on. "
Said Sniper as he returned to his throne.
[Mike] - "Of course, my lord. What I was saying was how quick our success was. "
[Sniper] - "Indeed, Grand Knight. We are about to bring an age of peace and prosperity never seen before to the world. You must realize how lucky you are to witness the birth of a utopia. "
[Mike] - "I do realize, my lord. "
Sniper signalled for Mike to rise up with a hand gesture.
[Sniper] - "So what brings you to visit me all of a sudden? "
Mike hesitated for a second before opening his mouth.
[Mike] - "Our empire, my lord. I happen to witness behaviours that soil the reputation of the imperial army go unpunished. I also saw the indecent and cowardly use of the godly power of the crystals by cyberknights. Unrestrained by the hands of the law or of nature, these cyberknights have brought dishonour and shame to the empire and you, yet they received no retribution for their actions. "
[Sniper] - "Hmm... I see. So what do you suggest, then? "
Said Sniper with a vindicating stare aimed at Mike.
[Mike] - "That we punish these delinquents with the appropriate sentence that corresponds to their crimes. "
[Sniper] - "So you are suggesting we must punish the entirety of the imperial forces? That we should purge the empire of all of its knights and officers? "
[Mike] - "Only those who have abused their power. "
Sniper chuckled at Mike's serious expression.
[Sniper] - "You see, Mike, no one is innocent in a war. Those who overstep their boundary will be dealt with accordingly. I'm not blind, Mike, I see everything! You accuse your comrades of immorality but how innocent are you? I know your little love affair despite how I prohibited you from engaging in any relationship. Yet, you not only defied my orders, but you also tainted our family blood by engaging romantically with a laboratory experiment. Does this mean I should cut off your head too? "
Said Sniper with authority.
Mike kept his head down and remained silent while Sniper stared at him with a vexing look in his eyes. Although Sniper remained seated with no action on his part, Mike suddenly felt a crushing weight on his back.
[Sniper] - "You should know your place, Mike. Who are you to judge others? You are a general, you command armies and organize strategy. You are the Grand Knight, you obey the orders from your superiors and serve your emperor. You are no judge, no jury, no executioner. I am the only one with the authority to judge or punish. "
Mike struggled to breathe as the echoes of Sniper's words pressed against his lungs like a massive bolder. The sheer power in his voice was enough to suffocate Mike's will to fight back.
[Sniper] - "This war and everything was already determined from the start. All my effort, all this diplomacy, all this rule, has taught me how miserable the world is. All I needed to do was a single punch for 10,000 years of civilization to end and yet, I chose restrain. When I offered people freedom, I was met with resistance. When I liberated countries from tyrannical rules, I was met with rebellions. When I offered a chance for people to join me, I became surrounded by disloyal goons. What's next, will my rule be put into question? "
Said Sniper as he stared directly at Mike.
[Mike] - "My loyalty lies with you, my lord. I shall give my life in your servitude. "
Said Mike as he immediately kneeled to the floor.
[Sniper] - "We might be Gods, but we can't change the rot that is seeded inside the human mind. We have the responsibility of keeping order in the current world, but this does not equate to wasting our time interfering in every single event. We keep the ant colony working. The individual is an insignificant atom inside the greater picture, thus making his life, invaluable. "
Mike, although deep down he was unconvinced by Sniper's arguments, still chose to show acknowledgement of Sniper's philosophy.
[Sniper] - "It takes a thousand years and several generations of ethics training to clear humanity of its primal urges. We, as Gods, must stay impartial when the animals engage in their savage instincts. As long as progress is not threatened by their actions, we shall let them be. If you are making the mother of all omelettes, you can't fret over every egg. "
[Mike] - "I understand my lord. "
Sniper stood up and walked back to the window which overlooked the green mountains.
[Sniper] - "Remember who your allegiance lies with. A knife does not discriminate between blood if it's forged in the fire of betrayal. "
Mike's hands started to tremble uncontrollably as Sniper's words echoed inside his mind. As soon as the throne room doors closed behind him, Mike breathed a heavy sigh of relief. The oppressive atmosphere around Sniper forced every single fibre of his body to lose the will to resist. He was nothing but a stone statue back there, devoid of freedom or movement.
[Mike] - "God fucking damn it... why am I trembling so much? "
Whispered Mike in frustration while his fingers kept shaking.
After banging his fists repetitively against the wall, Mike finally managed to regain control over his body. It was a fear he couldn't understand but a fear so powerful, that its source was beyond the confines of this reality. Despite Mike's virtuous nature, this experience convinced Mike to temporarily hold his investigation into imperial corruption. If he wishes to do so in the future, it would require him to adopt a different approach.
Meanwhile, in the Mount Everest base, Kadyn walked freely in the hallways while attracting curious stares from her surroundings. Suddenly, a girl with long blonde hair stopped Kadyn in her tracks.
[KD-551] - "Why aren't you in your barrack room, KD-555? "
Said KD-551 with a murderous look in her eyes.
[Kadyn] - "Oh, don't need to. I have been set free. "
Said Kadyn with an innocent smile.
However, KD-551 didn't seem to share Kadyn's enthusiasm as she extended her wrist blades and aimed their tips at Kadyn's throat.
[KD-551] - "Cut the nonsense, you will return to your station immediately without delay! "
Said KD-551 without a hint of emotion in her voice.
[Kadyn] - "I'm being serious, KD-551, just check the records. "
Without hesitation, KD-551 stabbed forward but Kadyn immediately blocked her strikes with her own blades. After a few back-and-forth stabs, the two girls ended up in a blade lock while their green eyes stared intensely into each other.
[Mike] - "Hmm... I wonder which one of you is Kadyn. "
The two of them turned their heads to see Mike standing in front of them.
[Kadyn] - "Are you serious? "
Said Kadyn with a baffled expression on her face.
[KD-551] - "Greeting, Admiral-General Mike. "
Said KD-551 as she immediately broke off the fight and kneeled in front of Mike.
[Mike] - "I was joking. Did you miss me? "
Said Mike as he gently hugged Kadyn from behind.
[Kadyn] - "Don't do this in public, you are going to get caught. "
Whispered Kadyn while trying to push Mike off her.
[Mike] - "Sniper knows already. I suppose we weren't as sneaky as we think. "
[Kadyn] - "You don't want the entirety of the empire to know you are banging me. Imagine how degrading would this be for your image. "
[Mike] - "Oh, is that so? "
Said Mike in a smug voice.
Mike suddenly called out to all the personnel and soldiers that roamed the hangar.
[Kadyn] - "What are you doing? "
Whispered Kadyn as she tried to shut Mike up.
After making sure that he got most of the people's attention, Mike abruptly grabbed Kadyn and kissed her on the mouth. Although Kadyn was shocked by Mike's action, she made almost no effort to struggle out of his grip since she knew it was useless. After a few seconds, Kadyn closed her eyes and simply accepted the fact as it was. During this time, KD-551 remained frozen in shock at the scene that played in front of her.
Mike was commonly known across the empire as a celebrity and well-liked by the men he served with. Many in the crowd who personally knew Mike cheered for him while those who only heard of him showed an expression of shock at what they just witnessed. By the time Mike pulled away from Kadyn, she was already red like a cherry.
Like a pair of newlyweds, Mike moved with Kadyn across rows of cheering personnel and soldiers. While Kadyn covered her face in Mike's coat, Mike saluted the people he recognized amongst the crowd. After exiting the hangar and moving to a place without people, Kadyn immediately stopped Mike and stood in front of him in anger.
[Kadyn] - "What has gotten into you? Do... do you know what kind of consequence this could bring? "
[Mike] - "Oh please, my little fox, without my armour or my helmet, most only know me as General Mike. Most don't even know I'm the Grand Knight. "
[Kadyn] - "That's beside the point! I want to know why did you do that. "
[Mike] - "Look, sooner or later, if we were to be official, secrecy won't last forever. So instead of being scared, why not go out with a bang? "
Kadyn's expression quickly changed from anger to mischief. With a smug grin on her face, Kadyn quickly dragged Mike into a busy hallway while sticking her body against him and resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. The passing men and women quickly started to whisper amongst themselves upon seeing the two of them walking in such an intimate way.
After a while, they arrived inside the KD-assassins' barracks where Kadyn approached her bunkbed and kissed Mike in front of her fellow assassins.
[KD-551] - "See? I told you people I wasn't crazy! "
Said KD-551 to the rest of her sisters.
[Kadyn] - "Goodbye forever, losers! "
Said Kadyn while flipping off her fellow assassins.
All five assassin sisters simply stood in confusion as they couldn't comprehend why Kadyn decided to leave or how Kadyn managed to seduce an officer of such high rank.
As the two returned in the hallway, Mike finally broke the silence after so long.
[Mike] - "Can I know why- "
[Kadyn] - "It's payback for what you did to me in the hangar earlier. Who said I can't do it back to you? "
Said Kadyn with a satisfied smile on her face.
[Mike] - "Fair enough. "
Once inside Mike's room, Kadyn threw her suitcase onto the side before jumping onto Mike's bed. After snuggling herself with the blanket, Kadyn allowed her camouflaged fox ears to pop up from her golden hair.
[Kadyn] - "Hmm... How can you sleep on such a stiff bed? "
[Mike] - "Well, how about this? "
The crystals on Mike's arms suddenly began to glow with a gentle blue light before Kadyn levitated into the air. As if gravity had disappeared only for the two of them, Mike quickly swam forward to lay beside Kadyn. With a snap of his finger, the room's lighting quickly switched to an ocean blue light which gave the impression that they were floating inside the sea.
[Mike] - "Is this good enough for you? "
[Kadyn] - "It's like a dream. "
Said Kadyn with a giggle as she turned around to face Mike.
The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Kadyn spoke.
[Kadyn] - "So what now? Are we officially a thing? "
Said Kadyn as she took off her shirt.
[Mike] - "I suppose so. The war is nearing its end, so I even got more free time than before. "
Said Mike as he took off his military grey coat.
[Kadyn] - "Then I'm in your care. Make sure to spoil your wife well. "
Said Kadyn with an excited smile on her face while she took off her stockings.
[Mike] - "Wife? I thought you said I was your fiance. "
Said Mike with a grin as he took off his jacket.
[Kadyn] - "Did I? Oh my, I suppose I'm quite impatient. "
Said Kadyn in a playful voice while placing her finger against her lips.
With a lustful expression on her face, Kadyn allowed her bra to slip off her body while covering her breasts with her arm.
[Kadyn] - "Was it too rushed? Don't you want to make me your wife right now? "
Said Kadyn with a playful expression.
Slowly, she guided her hands down toward her lower body before spreading her "lips" apart with two of her fingers. It didn't take long before Kadyn pressed her hand against the wall while holding her breasts in place with the other. After staying in this position for a while, she turned around and leg-locked Mike against her as they kept going at it without pause.
Amidst their passion-filled session, Kadyn's eyes met Mike's before she slowly spoke.
[Kadyn] - "Do you think we can build a family one day? "
Said Kadyn as sweat trickled down from her forehead.
[Mike] - "If we get the opportunity. "
Mike focused his mind on making Kadyn squirm in his grasp.
[Kadyn] - "Then promise me. Promise me, Mike, that you'll grant me this wish. Even if none of my other... Mphm... dreams can be accomplished, this is the one I will insist on... "
Said Kadyn before letting out a series of muffled moans while covering her mouth.
Slowly, Kadyn pressed her hand against Mike's chest and stopped him from moving.
[Kadyn] - "You know how much it matters to me. Giving life a chance would be the apex of my tainted existence so far. "
Mike gently grabbed Kadyn's hand and moved it out of his way.
[Mike] - "I promise to realize every single element on your bucket list. Whatever it may be, you just have to say it. "
Said Mike with a confident grin.
Kadyn's eyes shined brightly before she jumped against Mike and caused the two of them to spin a full turn in the air.
[Kadyn] - "Mike... Why would you go crazy for someone like me? I was just joking to myself all this time but you somehow went along with everything I wanted. Is all this even real? "
Whispered Kadyn as tears of joy gathered at the edge of her eyes.
[Mike] - "You are such a confused girl sometimes. Why do you ask yourself these dumb questions if you already know the answer? "
Said Mike in a gentle voice while caressing Kadyn's cheek.
[Kadyn] - "*Giggle* I suppose I'm just a bit silly sometimes. "
Finally, after a few hours, the pair lay exhausted on the bed with Kadyn sleeping on top of Mike's chest.
[Kadyn] - "Say, Mike, can you call me something else than "Little fox"? "
Whispered Kadyn while her eyes remained closed.
[Mike] - "Sure, what do you want me to call you? "
[Kadyn] - "Well, call me "Lemon". "
[Mike] - "Because of your blonde hair? "
[Kadyn] - "No, because when life gave you a bitter lemon, you took care of her and turned her into a sweet lemon. "
Said Kadyn with a joyful smile.
Mike smiled back accordingly upon understanding the meaning behind Kadyn's words.
To be continued...