When we got back to the bridge, Nirani took the opportunity to look around.
Rastair approached with a worried look on her face.
"Hey...uh...captain? I don't wanna alarm you, but the ship is surrounded by a lot of these weird...really sturdy-looking golems. Orders?" She said.
"Don't worry about it. They're hers," I said as I pointed to Nirani.
"Okay...'hers'? And who is this, anyway? She kinda feels like Aldaril..."
"Ah...to be compared to the spurned Avatar of Death...such an insult! Hnn..." Nirani said.
"Oooooh. I get it. She's another weirdo, right? Did you do that to her?" Rastair said.
I just slumped my shoulders.
I truly couldn't win. My crew had such a low opinion of me...
"No, Rastair... I didn't do that to her. Yes, she's another weirdo, but it isn't my fault. Listen...I implanted myself as someone important to her. If I didn't, we might have all died. That's how powerful she is," I said.
"Cool. But why does she seem so kinky?"
Isabella stepped forward.
"Rastair, I believe she harbors fantasies of being publicly degraded. That's why she's acting this way. It seems that she feels comfortable expressing her innermost desires to this...'person of great importance' that Mizik made himself to be in her eyes. Does that make sense?" She said.
"Hm. Makes sense. Okay...well, I'll be here if you need me. Have fun! Or whatever..."
Rastair turned and sat back in her chair...then pulled a bottle of booze from her inventory.
I felt like repremanding her for drinking behind the control console, but I didn't care enough to say anything at the moment. Partly because she would hit on me again if I did...
"Isabella, Cassandra, and Nirani. Let's go to our room before we head to the interrogation chamber. I need to check on Masina. Aldaril and Nasuria will be waiting in there for us later."
They nodded and we made our way to our room. When we got there, I didn't see Masina. All I could do was assume she had rested enough and went to alert the gods of Tanavol to our presence.
In the meantime, Nirani began taking her clothes off.
"What are you doing!?" I said suddenly.
"Huh? You didn't want to claim me as yours?" She said.
"No. Why would I do that to a woman I've only just met? Besides, you probably get around, don't you?" I said.
"Such insulting and insolent words...ahh! But to give you an answer, I've never loved anyone before as to maintain my image as a pure-hearted Idol to the people of the Peace realm. That, and I never had the time for it, either."
"You must have some serious self-control to keep that weird side of yours hidden for so long..." I said.
"Indeed! But I no longer need to wait as long as Master Mizik is-"
"Please stop. We don't have time for this!"
"Eh? But it doesn't have to take long..."
"Put your clothes back on. We have to interrogate you."
"Yes sir! I will...oh...what if I was forced to be interrogated while completely n-"
"How dare you disobey his Majesty?! You call him Master, yes? If you mean to serve him, act like it! If my darling says to put your clothes on, you will do so immediately. If he says to strip, you will follow his orders. Is that clear?" Cassandra said.
Thank you, Cassandra... Kind of...
"Y-yes! I will obey, Lady Isabella! Ah...wait...were there always two of you...?" Nirani said.
"No. I am Cassandra Iratus. Her younger sister and second wife to Mizik. Just as you obey Isabella, you will also obey me. Now get dressed, you lewd woman. Mizik prefers modest girls and you should act according to his tastes!" Cassandra said.
YOU ARE ONE TO TALK ABOUT BEING MODEST! YOU'RE THE QUEEN OF CRAZY!!! GODS DAMN IT ALL!!! WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE CRAZY ONES!?!?
Cassandra smiled innocently at me and I did my best to simply ignore it. The hypocrisy was maddening.
Regardless, Nirani got dressed and we made our way to the interrogation chamber.
* * *
I sat down with Isabella and Aldaril. Cassandra and Nasuria waited outside to ensure that no one would disturb us.
Not because anyone on the ship would presume to do such a thing, but mostly because we didn't have enough chairs.
I didn't feel like bothering a certain someone to bring more chairs and invite another crazy womn to sit with me at the moment. Even if said crazy woman was my second wife...
"Ahem...hello, Nirani. We are the crew of the Cursebreaker. We exist for the sole purpose of purging the Corruption that is attacking creation. That very Corruption is currently infesting a part of Tanavol and we need your help to destroy it," I said.
"We technically don't need her help to do that..." Aldaril said.
"Aldaril, I think she knows this. I mean that we need her help to destroy ALL of the Corruption..." I said.
"Be more specific, please..." Aldaril said.
"Hmm... What is it that I can help you with, Master Mizik?" Nirani said.
"Where is Kestel?" I asked.
"Kestel...? Why on Tanavol would you want anything to do with that guy...?" Nirani said.
"Nirani, please answer him," Isabella said.
"Yes, Lady Isabella. I am sorry, Master. I do not currently know where Lord Kestel is. He hasn't had contact with us ever since the Order realm incident concluded."
"Tch..." Aldaril scoffed.
"Aldaril, please..." I said.
"You call that disaster a mere 'incident'? The War and Chaos realms invaded one of four light realms. Hundreds of thousands of people died!"
"My apologies... I only spoke what I was supposed to say. I'm really quite tired of playing the part that the people see me in..." Nirani said sadly.
This seemed to take Aldaril off-guard.
"Wha...huh!?"
"Princess...celebrity...idol...actress.. Even musician... I've done it all. I'm sworn to protect the people of my realm, but all I ever seem to do is partake in show business. Nothing bad ever happens here. It's dreadfully boring... I have all of this power and nowhere to use it. Nothing to do but sing, dance, act, and show the people my hollow promises. Don't worry, I'll protect everyone! I'll keep everyone's smiling faces in my heart! You can count on me to defeat the bad guys! Is it wrong for me to want some excitement...?" Nirani said.
"I think that's the first time you've ever appeared human to me," Aldaril said.
"Normally, I would say something like: 'what would you know about being human, undead?' But that would be ignorant of me. You were human once. One of the people I promised to protect and care for. But as soon as you were cursed with the Eye of Death, I turned my back on you to save face... I understand why you hate me, Aldaril..."
"Is she acting normal...?" I said.
Nirani looked at me and smiled while narrowing her eyes.
"Your mind control isn't as powerful as you'd like to be. My power is too much so allow simple mental tampering. But I like my new position. I willingly accept my new life as your slave. After all, I already tried to give myself to you~!" Nirani said with a wink.
Oh...that doesn't bode well...
"Are you self aware!?" I said.
"Completely. I'm smarter than I look. But now...I'm finally away from prying eyes. Your mind attack worked perfectly. It's just that you were able to accomplish so very little. In fact, once I began to question who you were to me, it fell apart easily. That, and you weren't very concerned with speaking about these things in front of me. Ah...I'm definitely in love, though! Someone like you is absolutely worth degrading myself over! No...degrading myself for you is the best part!"
"Okay. All that aside, can you be trusted? You Avatars are dangerous. More so than I care to admit. We need your help and I can't afford to get killed again," I said.
"That's quite the question, isn't it? Can I be trusted...? Anyway, I think we'll be great friends."
She leaned forward and placed her hands under her chin while staring at me.
"Stop trying to act cute. And in the future, don't dodge my questions. It makes you look suspicious. I already dismantled your magic, so I could actually fight you if need be."
"Haaaah...so brutal! I'm in love! Of course you can trust me, Master! But only if you give me plenty of love! I'll do whatever you ask, no matter how crude or-"
I held up a hand.
"Enough. Don't forget that this is an interrogation," I said.
"Tch...you don't know how lucky you are, Mizik. How many people do you think would kill to be in your position right now?" Aldaril said.
"I've met people who would kill just to be able to do the most mundane things you can imagine. Sex isn't my priority and neither is amassing a harem of women. But here we are..."
"Indeed. We have more pressing matters. Are you sure you don't know where Kestel is, Nirani?" Isabella said.
She straightened up and sighed.
"No, I don't. We haven't heard from him in a long time. I've been busy here, so I haven't left my realm in a while. Ranis has been checking up on things in the meantime. He couldn't find anything that would help...even going to the Creation realm. All he found was a perfectly functional city full of very confused people," Nirani said.
"Ranis...?" I said.
"The Avatar of Life," Aldaril growled.
"Your...opposing force? How does that work again?" I said.
"Yeah... Each Avatar has an opposing force. Chaos and Order, War and Peace, Death and Life, Destruction and Creation. There are four realms of light and four realms of darkness. Also called true realms and false realms formerly...but that started a war. So we don't say that anymore," Aldaril said.
"Ah, I never knew how smart you were. It's wonderful that we get to know each other finally! I hear that you were quite the fan of mine a long time ago, Aldaril~!" Nirani said.
"I was. And where did you hear that? My family?"
"Mhm. I saw your room, too. Lots of posters...even a few figures. And you had the cutest little sister! But that was over two hundred years ago. They loved you to the very end. I left them alone, don't worry. They passed peacefully of old age."
"I fucking hate you," Aldaril growled.
"Yes...I know. It's partially my fault, isn't it? We sought to stop the Avatar of Death from becoming a problem. Unfortunately, you acquired that power by accident. In our paranoia, we turned a perfectly kind and wonderful man into someone who would have no trouble doing exactly what we feared."
"As long as you understand that I blame you and I'll never forgive you for it, that's fine. Evil bitch..."
"Ahn! Insult me more, please! I love it!" Nirani said.
I held up my hand.
"Shut up. What is the current situation on Tanavol?" I said.
"Hnnn...so brutal... Telling me to shut up like I'm some kind of unruly mutt...so amazing...! Ahem...our situation is sketchy at best. I have not had any contact with the dark realms...that is normal. But the Order realm still lies in ruins. The Creation realm is missing its Avatar and the gods have gone silent. What's more...is that two Demons have taken up residence in both the Order realm and the Death realm. A Queen and a King, respectively."
"And what about Eris? What's she been doing?" Aldaril said.
"Curious about your boss? Nothing has changed as far as I know. The Avatar of Destruction remains sealed in her realm for everyone's safety. She's a hazard to even Kestel, her opposing force."
"Good...we really don't need her to get involved. That would be bad for everyone..." Aldaril said.
"I have a personal goddess residing on this ship. Her name is Masina, the goddess of moons. She's an envoy for the Cursebreaker. She should be able to find out why the gods have gone silent. Now...how many of these Avatars can we trust? What sort of dangers do they present?" I asked.
Nirani smiled.
"Kestel is an ally to the light realms. But getting him to cooperate with Aldaril will be nearly impossible. I'll do what I can. Ranis only cares about protecting his realm, opposing the Death realm...and...me... Once again, he'll be hard to manage... Triglavikk the Unbroken is the Avatar of War. He loves to fight and his realm remains in a constant state of well...war, of course. If you best him in battle, he might be willing to help you. Castra, the Avatar of Chaos will be of no help at all, I'm sure... He is completely insane and his realm is absolute chaos. Quite useless, since all he seems to do is create messes for others to clean up. He gets a kick out of it."
"What sort of danger does Castra pose?" I asked.
"Well, you know that all of us can summon armies of entities to our aid, right?" Nirani said.
"All of you are summoners like Aldaril...?" I said.
"Mhm. Each of us is a literal threat to all of creation. As long as the Elder Core remains nearby, our powers are improved exponentially. But to answer your question, Castra can cause mass confusion and insanity. On top of summoning chaos entities, manipulating time, and being kind of an asshole. You're lucky that Aldaril is an ally."
Even time manipulation!?
"So it would seem... Now lastly...tell me about Eris."
Nirani laughed.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
Aldaril seemed uncomfortable.
Once Nirani finally finished laughing, she spoke.
"The power to destroy anything you touch... The power to unmake the things the Creator placed in his creation. To summon armies of creatures capable of the same...Eris is dangerous. She is a calamity waiting to happen. Her personality is volatile, just like her power and her realm remains in a permanent state of self-inflicted ruin."
"Hm. Sounds like she'll be fun to deal with..." I said.
Nirani looked me directly in the eyes with concern.
"Master...no...Mizik. You have to understand that Eris is not to be messed with. She will likely take your existence as a personal challenge. Why wouldn't the Avatar of Destruction want to prove herself against someone called 'Destroyer'?"
"She's not lying, Mizik. In the short time I knew Eris, she terrified me like nothing else. She's intense...pure evil and as chaotic as a nuclear bomb. Stay away from the Destruction realm, Mizik," Aldaril said.
"No promises. I'll see what I can do. But if we have to go there, I won't hesitate to do so," I said.
"Ah...no...my Master Mizik will be in danger... That simply won't do! You haven't even claimed me, yet!" Nirani said.
"ANYWAY! I think that's all we need from you right now. I believe we should get settled in with this realm as a base camp," I said.
"Aww...I hate this realm... Can we go somewhere more fun? The Order realm has a Demon Queen! If we dealt with her, then-"
"Shut up, Nirani. I know that Demon Queen personally. I'm not going to kill her," I said.
"Ahn...amazing...!"
"Mizik? You know that Demon Queen?" Isabella said.
"I do. Her name is Estelyn, the Crystal Queen of the Succubi. A few Miziks ago, one of my former selves came here and married her. The rival King killed me. His name was something stupid...I can't quite remember him very well."
"I see. Will you be taking her again?" Isabella said.
"Preferably not. I would at least like to recruit her to the ship. She's reasonable and strong. If not, I'll leave her alone."
Nirani leaned forward with her head on her hands. She narrowed her eyes at and smiled.
"Well...if we're quite finished, please allow me to formally welcome you to Tanavol!"