She takes a step closer to the glass window of the octagonal reception center and continues to speak in the same tone.
"First of all... I thank you for saving me and everyone else that was captured by these horrible men. However, my eyes are sharper than anyone here. I'm not agreeing to any terms before you explain to me what kind of unique powers you're using and what you're really after in this city. Why did you save us?"
I stare back at her as she confidently makes her way toward the table.
Her tan skin and dark hair, cut short at the shoulders, contrast with the empty guild hall and white flooring.
"You want the honest truth? I can answer your last question much more easily than the first. I saved you all purely by chance. I needed a resource-dense and highly secluded place to call my home base, and with the recent disappearance of this Sector's leader, his old hideout and production town seemed to be the perfect place to take over. There just happened to be a gang of thieves and slave drivers inhabiting this town, and you all are lucky enough to have the option of working for me now, or going off back to your old lives."
I pause for a moment but continue while activating my All-Seeing Eye's ability to scan her energy flow up close, while imbuing a small amount of Qi around my eyes to see even further.
"My abilities that you ask of on the other hand, I'm afraid I can't go into details about them to strangers."
As I finish my sentence, I also finish my scan, and find that the same odd sensation of something more than mana in a light shade of bluish-white circulating throughout her body. It's most dense around her eyes and brain.
She puts out a hand to shake in front of me by the gap in the glass.
"Well then, my name's Luna! We're not strangers anymore, are we? Your power looks just like my old village leader's. I haven't seen anyone wield it since then..."
I don't shake her hand, because there's no deal being made here. And on top of that, there is no silent notification that rings when someone new has joined my Rising Emperor's Domain.
She doesn't trust me...
I ponder how familiar her name sounds while giving a response.
"Nice to meet you too, but my terms are mandatory. Pledge your loyalty to me as your leader if you'd like to stay in my city, or reject my offer and I'll bring you back to Solara to start a new life. It doesn't matter who you are or what powers you have, trust and loyalty is the only thing I care about. So, Luna was it? Wait- Luna..."
Once I say her name out loud, a story Arie told me earlier before his Demonic Energy training comes to mind, and her weird Soul Energy-like power starts to make sense to me.
My eyes widen and I pose the only question I can think of.
"Arie. You know Arie, don't you? The archer with spirit arrows..."
Another memory from the grunts' conversation earlier when I was doing my surveillance of this town comes flashing back to me. They said that this woman was captured fleeing from a small village that was overrun by the Abyss in Sector 4.
That sounds exactly like Arie's hometown backstory, and this woman's ability, name, and circumstances line up too perfectly to be a mere coincidence.
She responds with widened eyes too.
"I- How- How do you know Arie?"
Her face turns pale, and the life seems to drain out of her.
"What-What have you done to Arie? Who are you people?"
Even now, Abby standing next to me begins to get a bit confused, but keeps herself from asking questions.
The expression on Luna's face twists to anger and fear now, and I can tell she's nearing her breaking point.
All of the stressors from whatever hardships she's been through the last few months are starting to take their toll, so I don't blame her for acting this way. My mention of Arie flicked some switch inside her, and whatever that may be, I'm not capable of dealing with it right now.
I turn to Abby and whisper to her to bring Luna downstairs to meet Arie. It's been well over an hour, so the initial stages of their Qi base development is already complete. It may still be a lot to throw on him right now, but he's the most capable and knowledgeable one to handle this situation. I don't know the intricacies of their relationship in the past, but I'm sure he'll be happy to find someone from his village alive.
"Understood."
As Abby walks out of the center room and easily escorts Luna inside with a tight grip, I switch open the hatch and they walk down the spiral stairs. She resists slightly, but is in more of a dazed state, glaring at me while Abby guides her movements.
I feel a bit sorry for not easing her into all of this, but she'll probably forgive me for the scare once she gets downstairs.
A dense wave of Qi flows out from the underground bunker, letting me know the others are hard at work. The two women dive into the dense white mist.
Soon after, Abby returns to the surface without the young woman by her side.
I shut the hatch and smile while seeing an image of Luna and Arie hugging each other tight in my mind's eye thanks to my enemy detection perk.
"Good, thank you."
Abby responds.
"Seems like they really do know each other... I sensed an interesting aura coming off her too, maybe she will be an asset to us in the future."
I shrug.
"Time will tell. I trust Arie to explain things to her and fill in the picture. If he trusts her, then she's alright in my book. I'm interested in her power as well, but i don't have time to spend on her at the moment."
The front door opens again after I say this, and three elder women come walking through.
The moment their eyes hit mine, all of them drop down to their knees and begin praying in mumbles and rhythmic hums.
Once a few seconds pass, I get a silent notification on my Rising Emperor's Domain interface alerting me that I now have 11 members under my leadership.
The women's statuses and geopoints immediately show up in my mind's eye as well.
My heart races with excitement, and I whisper only loud enough for myself and Abby to hear, "Now this is more like it.".
I speak up, reading their names from my interface at the top of each of their status screens.
"Rise, Isabelle, Charlotte, and Harper. Your praises have been heard, I accept you into my settlement and would love to hear more about you."
They all hold their heads down to the floor for a moment longer then look up at me with stars in their eyes, overjoyed that I knew their names before even asking.
The women walk over and I interview them quickly with Abby and begin to explain their potential futures.
I give each of them enough food, water, and sanitary supplies to last far longer than a week. Along with this, they each get 2 silver and 10 bronze coins with the Flame Emperor's markings on them.
"You will receive care like this every week from now on until the town is thriving and self sufficient. In a few months, I will reassess the situation and continue aid if needed. Please, do seek comfort in the temporary housing I've provided you yesterday, and know larger residences will be built in the near future."
They gladly accept my gifts and treat the coins as if they're prized possessions.
"I welcome you to The Crimson City. I promise to protect you as long as your loyalty to me as your leader remains."
The women walk out of the opposite side of the building with starry eyes and religious-like bliss.
This is what I'd expect from some people that are saved from the depths of despair by a man with absolute power, but I'm relieved to see not everyone is so far out in a delusional trance like them.
The next man and woman that enter through the front door are holding hands tightly, looking at me with skeptical stares.
The man speaks up as they approach the glass window.
"Sir, I thank you for saving all of us from a terrible fate, but I do not wish to stay here. My wife and I have friends and family we were ripped away from back in Sector 4. You said you have a way to get back to Solara? If we could get back to our old life and community, we would be forever in your debt."
I nod, and Abby helps me hand them supplies while I dig through the unmarked coins that I decided not to turn into The Flame Emperor's currency.
We hand them their packages of supplies and enough money for a few inns and entertainment for about a month, then I respond.
"Of course, take these as a parting gift. Stay behind in the square. Once the crowds die down and I've interviewed everyone, I'll make sure to arrange your travel plans."
The man gives me a kind smile, hiding his tiredness and built up mental pain, then his wife gives me a thankful look as well, and they leave through the back door and wait in the square.
Over the next hour and a half, more and more people come through the front doors and meet with me to confess their loyalty or tell their story and ask for some way to get back home.
Many were ripped away from their family and friends, kidnapped or swindled into taking the Elixir, and subjected to torture and forced labor for months. Over half of the crowd wants a ride home, which was expected.
Some are from Sector 1, and others even from Sector 3, but I only have easily accessible dungeon walker points in the dungeon hub of Solara in Sector 4, so my plan is to bring them all there and have them walk out pretending to be rogue adventurers.
Letting a few dozen through at rush hour tonight separated throughout all of the dungeons will be perfect. Solara is the largest city in the Dark Continent population-wise, so it's the best place for all of them to go anyway.
The other half either worship me like a god-like savior, or are level-headed hunters, business-minded young men and woman, or hard workers that have been ripped from their old lives, but have no money or connections worth going back to. So, many of them see living here as an adventure and an opportunity to start over and grow in a community of people that all share a common past.
I hand out more and more of the Flame Emperor's coins, flooding the townspeople with silver and bronze.
They have nothing to buy right now, as I'm giving away everything for free, but I assume they'll begin trading or gambling amongst themselves with the coins, and get used to their value as I continue to flood the economy with more every week.
As the crowd begins nearing its end, and only 50 or so people are left standing outside to meet with me, a notification pops up after another man pledges his loyalty to me and walks off with his care package.
[Congratulations! Rising Emperor's Domain Milestone Reached]
[100/100 New Party Members Added]
[New Perk Unlocked: Power Holder]
A new rush of information hits my subconscious, and I can't believe my eyes once I realize what the perks of this new milestone allow me to do.
"This... Will make me unstoppable..."
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Author's Note:
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