I sat there beside Lurza'Far for who knows how long. The longer I sat there, the deeper I felt like sinking down the bed. She's probably thinking about a lot of things right now, and I can't bring myself to open up a conversation. Fortunately for me, she turned to look at me. Her face wears a slight smile.
"With the Attractors, the Zakana have become wild on the sands" She said. I nodded. "And the Arkula and your warriors are both fighting them off" She then turns back to look at the planet. "The surge of the aliens must be scary for the Arkula" She giggled slightly. "But you know what's more scarier...?" She paused for a second before looking at me with a smile.
"...Is that I saw my friend talk to the enemy" I gulped in anxiousness. She stared directly at me. "Asking for help, setting herself low before the Arkulans" She fixes her position. "However, you were not desperate. The Attractors you pulled off definitely was part of your plan, so you knew our outposts will eventually be hit" She raised a brow. "So, there's only one thing I can think of. It has something to do with the Arkula" Her expression went serious. "Is this why you took the mission for yourself from the fifth Loyalist?" She asked. She's waiting for my answer.
I gathered my strength and relax myself. I readied myself to answer her question. "I'm afraid, I'd say yes" I nodded nervously. "I see" She nodded in acknowledgement. "You did all that for whatever reason you want with the Arkula, correct?" She asked and I nodded. "Would you like to explain?" She wants me to explain why I wanted to reach out to the Arkula. How do I tell her properly? That I wanted to test them of their pacifism? "It's a... long story" I told her.
"Long story? So it occurred to you for a long while now?" She looked and sounded real curious. I nodded. "Kirin Solana... She said something to me that made me ridiculously curious" Lurza'Far gasped slightly. "And what would that be?" She asked.
I can still recall everything that happened back then. It was so surreal. "She... told me that... there's something more in life than... what we're doing" Lurza'Far's brows furled. She's still trying to figure out those words. "Something more in life than what we're doing?" She asked and I nodded. "Yes. She's hinting our endless slaughter and our own belief" Lurza'Far scoffed at me. "Arkula say that a lot my ears would bleed everytime! How did that get into you?" She found it ridiculous that I would fall for their words.
"Lurza'Far, it was during the my failed expansion to Gammalorna" Gammalorna, before my utter defeat against the Arkulans, was an unnamed, inhabited planet that had untouched resources. It has all the precious materials for the empire and I volunteered myself to build a base to replenish our resources with the planet's. However, the Arkulans and Krygstek has found it first. We fought for the control of the planet, and my warriors were heavily overpowered due to the Krygstek's aid. I lost a good amount of warriors in that day.
"Gammalorna?" She repeated the name as she tries to recall the past. "Yes. The Arkulans on that planet were led by Kirin Solana herself. When almost all of my warriors fell, I came down to see them. They lie lifeless on the ground... And there she approached me all alone" I paused for a second, Lurza'Far was glued to listening. "Her look wasn't like of a victor, Lurza'Far. Her expression was grim, pretty much just like mine. That's why I knew, she really meant the words she said. Everything she said, came from the bottom of her heart" I wonder if Lurza'Far is understanding everything I said.
"At first, I was able to ignore it. But as days come, I succumbed to the thought of... wanting to find out more... about what she said. Eventually, I have come to what happened right now. I saw the opportunity to get into Kirin Solana's home planet and grasped it. Without the empire's knowledge, I conducted a mission to reach my goals. You weren't part of the plan, but you kept pushing yourself to me, and here you are" I finished talking. She was silent and had no reply to say, she was shocked. She remained her stare.
"Did you think... I betrayed the empire?" I asked. My question surprised her. This question has been forming in my head this whole time, and I thought... it's time to get rid of them. "Do you believe you have betrayed us?" She asked and I shook my head. "I did this to merely get my answers, Lurza'Far. I remain loyal to Her name and would never think of even going against her orders" I answer with what I believe. "The Lord and the other Loyalists will definitely think of my plans absurd, and they would have never let me set my feet on the planet, I had to do it" I sighed.
"You definitely didn't betray the Lord, well, directly" She chuckled a bit. "But you did something behind her. You know that's not a tolerable thing to do, and it will come with significantly harsh consequences" I have nothing to say about that, it is true that I didn't do anything to display harm to the Lord nor stain Her name, but I did something that she was not aware of. We felt silent for a few moments.
"So... will you tell the Lord about this?" I asked and she hesitated. "I think I had my answers already, I'm ready to face whatever comes next, Lurza'Far" I told her I'm ready for my punishment for acting without the Lord's orders. Her silence already tells me her answer. "Lurza'Far...?" I called her and she looked away. She looks through the glasses at the planet. I was partly glad that she didn't answer my question right away. There was hesitation in her, I really felt grateful.
She remained silent. "...You won't tell?" I asked again and she still didn't give any response. I was trying to figure out why won't she tell anyone. Then the word 'friend' and 'trust' came into my mind. "Is that because... you treat me as a friend?" I asked her and I immediately got her attention. She quickly turned to look at me. Her face indicates she looked bothered.
"Well... I'm grateful, as a friend" I couldn't say that to her while I look at her, I had to look away. We fell silent for a few moments. "...Didn't I say I would do what's right?" She asked as she looked back to the planet. "So, you think what I did wasn't wrong?" I asked. "It wasn't wrong, but it wasn't right either. But I'm willing to look over this" That concludes everything. She directly told me that she won't tell anyone about what happened. With that out of the way, I can tell her anything else.
"I went down there to ask if they're willing to help my warriors against the aliens. They were irritated and hesitant, but they agreed. The young warriors I was sure were happy to help" I smiled at Lurza'Far. "Their youth definitely does not want any more trouble with us!" Despite my energy, Lurza'Far wasn't convinced. "How can you be so sure?" She was right not to fall for it right away. But back when the first Arkula, even their little children would curse our name. They hated us so much that they would teach their own children to despise us. "You still know how the previous Arkulans were, before Lonara Hamarya took the title as the leader, right?" She thinks of my words.
"Every Arkulans hated us, not even a child would forgive us" I and Lurza'Far laughed a bit. "But... now, they just seem so different, don't you think so?" I asked her and she has no response. "You can't just fall for them like that. The moment we lay our weapons down, they will definitely come for our throats" She said. This is why I should go down there again. I can't just start trusting them right away like this. "Do you at least believe that they have changed?" That's my last question for her before I head out back on the planet. She took a while to answer me.
"That they have, Karuga. I won't lie" That satisfied me already. It's like a spark to start up a whole fire. Once she accepts that the Arkulans have changed, it's up to the Arkulans to change her mind completely and have her believe what they wanted to prove to the Narukh'za. For a while there, I was pushing the thought of peace without realizing it. Did I truly want peace? Or did I just got caught in the Arkulan's tricks?
"Hey... do you think I was brainwashed?" She looked at me curiously because of my question. "You were still the Karuga I know, besides the fact that you are heavily burdened by these thoughts. You should ask yourself that question and find out yourself. Everything you've said was too complicated for me anyways" That's right, a mind of a killer won't be able to comprehend such sensitive topics. Does that mean I have developed so much? Just how much did Kirin Solana change me this whole time?
"Also, you were always the curious one, Karuga" I was surprised at that comment. "You would always put your nose into something to satisfy your curiosity. I'm no longer surprised you went this far" She giggled, hilarious to the thought. "You're like the brain of the empire, thinking about it. You were always the one solving any sort of bouts, like a peacekeeper the Arkulans would call it" She smiled at me. "The brain? You talk like the empire is an entire living body" She suddenly laughed out loud at my response.
"Come on, Karuga! Don't say dumb things right after I told you that!" She took a while to calm herself. She then wipes the tears from her eyes. Good grief, laughing at me like that in times like this. "What I'm saying is, you're the most intelligent one among the Narukh'za. I believe you can even surpass the Lord when it comes to testing your intelligence" Did she really just say that? "That sounds strange coming from the first Loyalist, should you be really saying that" I raised a brow in surprise. She just shrugs.
After that, I just sat with her in silence. I was very relieved after talking to Lurza'Far. I thought that I will have to convince her not to tell the Lord. I don't think I could make up any good reason right away, and I would just fail to convince her. Just now, she proves to me how much she considers me as a friend. Despite her in the highest position in the ranks of the Loyalists, she was willing to put away her duty as the Lord's right hand and look over my actions and forgive as a friend. How insane it must be when the others hear of this. Such a ridiculous thing to do, friends this and trust that... It would make any Narukh'za's ears sore.
"Since I overlooked your actions, we both now have secrets" She put up a finger to her mouth. "I trust that you will also keep this from anyone?" Gladly, my friend. "Of course, I will, Lurza'Far. We're... friends now, right?" That last part made her flush. "That we are" She sighed with a smile. Silence is upon us once more, I quickly broke it up. "This bond of ours... is something to think about, Lurza'Far" I said to her and she looked questioned. "Our bond as of now is far more than the bond of the fifth and third Loyalist's. We have both put off aside our duties as the Lord's Loyalists to protect each other's little secrets. That is not a normal bond between Loyalists" I told her.
Lurza'Far was amused. "You're right, Karuga. I'm not the first Loyalist whenever I'm with you. Surely you'd believe that the moment I say so?" She asked and I nodded. "Ever since I stopped taking away your position, you have been pushing yourself to me. You made me regret my decisions" We both laughed. "Friends, huh... I wonder if most of the Arkulans have their most trusted friends to keep their secrets with...?" My thoughts got her attention. "Another question to find out on the enemy's planet?" She smiled. "Perhaps" I shook my head.
"Well...? How about that power transfer you promised?" Oh, that's right. I still had to give her my powers. Thinking about it, she seemed fine. We were able to conversate just fine, had she given me any sign of weakness to her body, I would have remembered. Still, I'm going to give her my energy. "Sure, let's do it" My eyes and mouth emitted bright lights. It is the preparation for the energy transfer. Yes, they come from the eyes and mouth. We had no idea why but that's how it works.
After I was ready, the energy I wanted to provide has accumulated to my head. The transfer begins immediately. A flow of energies traveled towards Lurza'Far's like a stream of water from a river. Like that, my energy is drained to provide Lurza'Far's body. It lasted only for five seconds, but I felt like I came from a battle right after the transfer. With that finished, we both relaxed on the bed, watching the purple planet.