Zane stiffened like a board as the Grand Master looked at him with a welcoming smile. He racked his brain and tried to remember if he had ever seen him before, until he was sure he had never seen him. "How do you know me!?" Zane barked. The Grand Master chuckled in response, "The Sacred Order captured you. Of course I'd know you from the reports!"
"Oh.. the reports..." Zane murmured, still on guard. "Well," the Grand Master spoke after a moment of silence, "You're here for something right?" He glared at Zane. Feeling the air thicken, Zane spoke through gritted teeth, "First I want to know. What'll happen to us now?" He looked down towards Slem, who was hiding behind him, still holding onto the end of his shirt.
"Bastard! You're in no position to question-" Anson chimed in but he was stopped by the Grand Master with a glare. "Hmm.. You should already know, you'll be handed over to the Union." The Grand Master replied as he turned back towards Zane.
"I know, but what'll the Union do to us?"
The Grand Master fell into thought before answering with a laugh. "You'll either be publicly executed, experimented on, or be branded and slave away! Which one would you prefer?" Zane widened his eyes. 'Experimented on? Be branded as a slave?' He clenched his fist and grit his teeth. He had already completed his past life experiencing both, and he was put to work like a slave at the Cult of Mayhem too. 'I'm never doing that again!' He glared at the Grand Master.
"So?" The Grand Master raised his eyebrow. "You're not here to ask that are you?"
Zane calmed down. "No." He met the Grand Master's eyes. "I want to strike a deal with you."
The room fell into an eerie silence, only to be shattered moments later by the eruption of angry shouts.
"Is this bastard serious!?" "Impudent!" "Crazy Bastard!" "Is he out of his mind!?" Everyone except the Grand Master cursed at Zane.
"Let's not hear anymore Grand Master! I'll have him locked up and away from your sight right away!" Thorn approached Zane with the intention of dragging him away to the cells. He grabbed Zane by the collar and tried to drag him away.
"Wait." The Grand Master spoke calmly. "Let's hear it." His reply made them drop their jaws to the floor.
"Grand Master! You can't be serious!" Anson cried out. Nodding his head, Buck added. "He is a rogue seeker. We are to never compromise with them!" Vine took some steps forward. "It'll be better to hand him over to the Union as soon as possible. I feel that this one is dangerous." He glared at Zane with hostility. "Yes! Hearing out a rogue seeker!? That's just wrong!" Anson stressed. Among them, only Thorn kept quiet, his face filled with mixed emotions.
The atmosphere suddenly turned heavy with immense pressure coming down on everyone. They all struggled to even stand straight as they dropped down, kneeling on the floor. They turned their heads up to look at the Grand Master, only to find Zane and Slem still standing freely.
"You dare lecture me about the rights and wrongs of this world!?" He glared down on them, dropping more pressure on them, until the wooden flooring caved in. "Ugh!" They cried out while clenching their teeth.
"Haah..." A sigh rang out and the pressure disappeared. They all looked up at the Grand Master, who signaled them to get up. Slowly getting up, they unanimously decided to keep their mouth shut and let the Grand Master talk with Zane.
"Speak, child." He prompted Zane, who looked at him for a second before opening his mouth. "I need to know who I'm making a deal with first." Zane asked him for an introduction. Widening their eyes, the Commanders and one Marshall clenched their fists, but decided to keep quiet.
"Hahahaha!" The Grand Master let out a hearty laugh. He looked at Zane in amusement. "I haven't seen a rogue seeker this bold in a long time! Hahahaha!" He kept laughing while Zane looked at him making a weird face.
Finally stopping, he looked at Zane with a grin. "I am called Astrophel Lane, the Grand Master of Arcturus! What about you child?"
"I'm Zane." He introduced himself.
"Ohh.. Zane... A graceful name!" Astrophel nodded. "So, white haired Zane. What proposal do you have for me?"
'Graceful?' Zane shook his head. "Right. You guys will probably be searching for that Saint from the Cult of Mayhem right?"
"Saint?" Astrophel raised his eyebrow and looked towards Thorn and the rest. Looking back at him, Thorn stepped forward. "There was a Quasi-Saint leading the cult. We nearly killed him with the Waxed Finger... but he fell into lunacy and escaped."
Astrophel clenched his fists, but he didn't let any emotion show. "Oh right... The Quasi-Saint." He looked at Zane again. "We will be looking for him, so what?"
Zane let out a sigh and pointed at himself. "I can track him for you!" Astrophel was intrigued. "Oh? And how will you do that?"
"I used my
Feeling uneasy, Zane nervously replied "Yes.. So I'll track him. After I track him, you need to free us two!"
"Hmm... Alright." Astrophel agreed, making the others step forward and open their mouth. Raising his hand at them, he stopped them from speaking.
"You agree?" Zane laughed. 'I can't believe that worked!' He looked at Slem and smiled. 'He seems to be a pushover huh. Should I also ask to see my sister? But doing that could put her in danger...' He was lost in thought.
"That's alright but..." Astrophel's sudden words broke Zane out of his deep thoughts, "An Initiate Seeker using his
Cold sweat dripped down Zane's back. "I-I'm telling the truth!" He managed to blurt out. "Right." The Grand Master smirked. "Tell me child! What's your motive!" The intense pressure weighed down on Zane, his vision started to blur and his mind went blank.
"I...." He started speaking unconsciously. "I need to get-"
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"AAAAAGGHH" Zane started hearing the familiar screeching noise inside his head again, which brought his consciousness back, but only for a moment before he passed out from the pain. "Brother Zane!" Slem hurriedly dropped beside Zane and started examining him.
"What happened?" The commanders and Marshall looked at Zane and Astrophel in confusion, while Astrophel stared at Zane for some time before giving his orders. "Take them to the cells for now. Keep them there until he wakes up." He looked at them. "We'll be going monster hunting after he wakes up, be prepared." He looked at Vine. "Vine, you stay here."
"Yes sir!" They quickly picked Zane and Slem up, dragging them to the cells. Soon, the room was silent again, with only two people inside.
"Grand Master.. You seemed to know that boy. How? We haven't sent any reports to you." Vine was the one who broke the silence. Shaking his head, Astrophel replied. "That's not important." He looked at Vine, his gaze slowly dropping down towards his arms, which was hidden behind his back. "Vine... Tell me what happened."