BOOM! POW!! CRASH!!!
On the sixth floor of the Void Heaven Tower was a cacophony of sounds that echoed throughout the floor. Danari Ula'ree was in a very bad mood, he arrived at the planet twenty years ago when he was stuck at the golden core bottleneck and was told that a change could bring new inspirations to breakthrough and it was a chance to try his hands at the family business.
The Ula'ree family, after establishing themselves in this sector of the galaxy chose to exploit smaller planets and systems in the sector by using their influence, inserting themselves into the VHTs of different systems forming an empire through nepotism.
As his grand uncle remains the tower master of the Thanen planet and has been in seclusion to try breaking into the saint realm to no avail, he had been acting as the interim tower master to no one's pleasure.
Today had been a bad day for him.
First, he had been kicked around by the projection of an old man he knows not and for a reason, he still is unsure of.
Secondly, it had been recorded by the mongrels he was supposed to fleece, and one of them even dared to start a Q&A on the recording to his absolute anger.
Lastly, the assassin from the clan who had been following him since young had been swatted by a cat paw like a mosquito dying an extremely miserable death as it was being streamed by millions of people online.
Kicking down his whole office, he was hopping mad!!
"I told that BASTARD to kill HER in front of her whole AUDIENCE not die like an ANT in front of MILLIONS?!?!." He was screaming right now, his only recourse is that the whole floor had been insulated, being the only one on the floor.
A tower executive is not allowed to interfere with the lives of the people they manage, if this atrocity reached the ears of people higher than him or the Ula'rees' rivals, this would be the perfect opportunity to overthrow part of the Ula'rees' influence in the sector.
This was an absolute misdoing and it had to be handled very carefully but here is Danari, doing anything but careful.
This was what, Naj'aree had been watching as she looks at her dolt of a cousin misbehaving. Of course, she had already sent her shadow to investigate the matter and respond when necessary, she would and won't allow her family to lose their standing because of an idiot who keeps misbehaving.
Cough! Cough!!
Startled, Danari turned to look at Naj'aree who coughed to draw his attention. Embarrassed at the scene he'd shown and angry at his cousin who just excused herself without any courtesy, he snorts at her.
"What are you here for?"
"To handle the family business of course and maybe sort out your mess in passing as you seem too angry to forget that you just breached tower protocols and even admitted to doing that." Looking at Danari who seem to want to transfer his aggression onto her, she became pissed too, coldly looking at her cousin. "Have you ever thought of anybody bugging you to leak what you just said now?"
"And who told you, you could talk to me like that?"
"Are you courting death?"
Naj'aree barraged him with threats that made him flinch and he visibly deflated but he still tried to act tough.
"Why can't I talk to you like mates? We are bo-"
BAM!!!
"We aren't mates even if you become a Nascent Soul."
Danari was hit without even knowing how it happened, sending him flying across the room.
"What an idiot! You couldn't even discover me sitting next to you and you think I can't kill you with a slap?" She scoffed as she sat on his sit, waiting on him to compose himself.
Dazed, Danari stood up like a drunk, having thought he should be able to put up a fight. He wasn't able to see her move, but he was not angry or ashamed at this point. He was just numb to the whole abuse he endured today and he seem to want it to end.
"Speak! What happened?"
Narrating the whole ordeal he went through today, Naj'aree felt pity for him a bit but immediately squashed that sentiment.
"Being public shamed does not mean you put our family's interest in jeopardy."
"I was told to investigate the Roc and determine his power level and react accordingly. What do you think of his ability?"
"Is he a Roc? Shouldn't Rocs be born as a Nascent Divinity? and become saints before their next evolution?" Danari, despite being an idiot was capable of knowing common knowledge like that. This was another reason he felt the locals were just making about an inferior creature.
"This one was laid prematurely, that's why it was banished here. It's a disgrace. An esteemed one needs the blood essence of a Roc." Naj'aree said with a rarely seen look of disdain on her face.
Having always felt inferior to saint beasts, she felt like bullying one even if it's a premature one is a blessing.
"So we have an opportunity to kill a Roc? What about the kittens with him? They don't seem ordinary."
"That's why we are in a system filled with peak mortals even if they are sub-par. They make excellent pawns." Said Naj'aree with a smile, seemingly proud of herself.
"We would be highly rewarded if we perform well and we might even bag ourselves some Roc blood." (Naj'aree)
"We need to meet the leaders of this system, help me bring them together for a meeting. The sooner the better." (Naj'aree)
"No need, there will be representative from all the top powers here at Thanen next month which will be the awakening of the Thanen princess. She was born a month after the void hour." (Danari)
"Void hour?"
...
The plotting and planning between the two cousins were being watched by the ones they were plotting against.
"Interesting. My siblings didn't send them." Orion said, holding the dark kitten purring angrily looking at the recording as if it wants to go slash at them.
"It seems like someone is aiming at me." Orion was interested in this case as he was almost unknown outside his family. Standing up Orion moved underground towards the laboratory in the manor with the kittens following him.
Upon entering, the view brightened, and a light shone everywhere in the main theatre but was not too intense feeling just right. On the main bench was a woman, with red hair which had been shaved, garbed in white garments normally used for patients.
Beside the bench, several cylinders stand. One was filled with flame-like gas, one filled with blood that seems to be burning, and one filled with water?
The most spectacular ones were the flaming wings in one of the cylinders.
"Ah... It seems like only Nautilus remained loyal. Huh?" Looking at the pitiful woman without an ounce of it, Orion said.
"Begin the infusion." Orion stands beside the bench and commands.
Apathe starts by making an incision on her chest just below her ribs and exposing her, then he continued by cutting an artery with quick precision and two tubes were ready. One directed a blood-like fluid into her heart and another retrieved murky blood from her.
Orion watched with an impassive face as the two kittens flush the woman's bodily system and meridians with precision. Pride surged in his heart as he smiled which quickly turned chilly as he looked at the woman on the bench.
Diana Thanen, though not her main body, it seems someone has been targeting Orion from different directions. Most of his vassals had turncoats.
"I don't know who you are, I just hope you're not a phoenix. It would end too soon for you."