-Four months after Light Fall, Yarno-
Two heavy wooden doors swung open, allowing the autumn air to flow through the barriers. Warriors dawning purple and red march inside, weapons tucked away in their sheathes.
A Feral laughs, his toxic grin polluting the air around him as he moved his face. Across from the Feral, a female Zegus sits with her legs crossed on a chair.
Pleased smile covered her face, tucking away the lingering triumph from the sudden disappearance of the Light Legion. She watched a leader stride into the room, fists closed.
"Hitirus, glad you made it," she clasped her hands together. "How was your celebration?"
The leader stops in place, hiding his hands behind his back. "We do not celebrate their fall, Niro."
"But of course!" the Feral jumped in, cackling with glee. "You are too serious for that."
Niro crossed her arms, nodding as if she was approving something. The gold tipped-silver hair of hers flowed like water as her head moved.
One of Hitirus' warriors took a chair, then brought it over to him. He stared down at it for a brief moment before turning his attention to the Feral.
"Acidic goo... through the process of elimination, I can conclude you had something to do with this, Valiant. Have you tried closing your mouth?" Hitirus sounded bothered.
Valiant chirped while turning his head up to the roof. He was unbothered by the sunlight pouring through the glass ceiling.
Silence settled in the room. No one spoke, not even Niro. Who sat away from her allies with great curiosity in her mind. She wondered what would be next in their lives.
"This silence is unnecessary, why did you two call me?" Hitirus' powerful voice cut through the room's emptiness.
Niro dragged her finger across the table, like if she was drawing something only she could see. "That reminds me... Yarno is free from our enemy's grasp. However, I heard many of them sought to join our ranks. Did you let them join the Conqueror Legion?"
Hitirus scoffed. "Of course not."
"Why did you reject them? Yarno is theirs as well, even if we were defending against their banner!" Niro shot back.
Valiant knocked on the table, catching everyone's attention. "I talked to some of them. They seemed threatened to see my melting cheeks! What a kick, eh?"
Niro shot up from her seat. "Did you find out why they stopped attacking?"
"Oh I did, alright. I may be a Feral but at least I'm not Hitirus," Valiant joked while cocking his head towards the distant leader. "They said Light Fall, which means..!"
"What?" Niro asked in disbelief. "Who could have taken them down? We had difficulties taking them on in our own territory... it means there is another Legion in Imbushko willing to bite back harder."
Hitirus loudly yawned, stretching his arms as if he got out of bed. "What a shame - what a shame, indeed. Perhaps we can... invade Imbushko?"
Niro frowned at the suggestion. "No! Yarno and Imbushko must come together. We should not participate in needless bloodshed. Let's instead grow together, Hitirus."
"You surely preach a lot about peace for begging me for my intervention during Furmire's Siege. Remember that one? How I had to get involved personally?" Hitirus said with a grin.
"We had to push them back. Furmire's creation was a monumental achievement in this region's history. Without it, we would have lost the biggest technology manufacturer in this part of Koroth!" Niro replied.
Valiant got out of his seat, pacing the room slowly until he reached the center. Sunlight turned his forest-green hair a little blonde.
"My dear Zegus and my dear... whatever you are, let's settle down. Let's focus on turning the page, yes?" Valiant pretended like he was reading a book, turning to the next page and pointing at the center. "Right here!"
Niro sighed, she knew what was going to happen. Despite this, she continued to watch Valiant perform.
"Whoever that other Legion is, we should send some diplomats over there. Maybe they will be kinder, who knows?" Valiant suggested.
One of Hitirus warriors shakes their head. Sounding displeased by what Valiant was saying. Both regions were so vastly different, achieving peace between the two could be a more daunting task.
But Niro did not see it this way, she saw it differently. Whoever it was that struck down the Light Legion had a common enemy with them, perhaps they could unite.
"How about we leave Imbushko alone?" Hitirus replied with a tight rasp in his throat. "We don't need them, anyway."
"We don't, correct. But we can be so much more than just experiments, we could be a unified nation. Our kids won't have to deal with the horrors of losing their parents in a war. Paradise, I call it," Niro answered.
Valiant took two steps closer to Hitirus. "He has a point. If we don't need them, then we should not bother them. After all, these Variants are mysterious, eh? Wouldn't we want them to show themselves first?"
Seeing it would be difficult to get it through Niro's head, Hitirus turned to face the open door. His footsteps echoed throughout the enclosed meeting area.
His warriors followed behind, leaving Niro and Valiant alone again.
"What a shame, he left without saying 'goodbye!' No, but seriously," Valiant's tone dropped considerably. "I am not sure what to think of him."
Niro rested her head in her open palm. "He is Hitirus, Self-made Siege. At least that's how he prides himself. In all honesty, it is a well-deserved title."
"Just because he saved Furmire doesn't mean he is a legend," Valiant replied in a whisper. "Shouldn't I be considered a legend for rising up the ranks so fast?"
"You don't get it," Niro shook her head. "You don't realize this, but he is very powerful. Maybe a bit too powerful. I have taken the time to look at his history and... Uvurim, I will never go there."
Valiant noticed the sudden dip in her confidence, tempting him to stare her down. He couldn't understand why. But at the same time, he did not want to either.
So he made his way into the shadows where she sat. Slowly bowing his head as he approached his equal.
"Well, I don't want to face off against him... if you can even call him a him. That's why I have been so nervous since the Conqueror Legion fled from Imbushko. Because of him," Valiant quickly said.
Niro bit her bottom lip. "I see your concern. But for now, he is not a threat. Let's treat him like an ally and hope for the best."