Ch 15- Naked Artifact
"Good. Okay, let's start from the beginning," she said as she stared at me. "What do you want to ask?"
"First. Who are you?" I asked in a serious tone.
She sighed.
"Didn't I tell you who I am?" she reminded me.
"You did. But I have no idea what Moonstar Empire is. I don't know if it exists or not. And I don't know if you're lying or not," I explained. Well, judging from the border guards' reaction, I didn't think she was lying. But I needed confirmation.
"Moonstar Empire is a real empire!" she half yelled in displeasure. Her emotion was real from her expression. But then she pressed her lips as the glint in her eyes dimmed. "It's just that... because of something, all of its people have to escape from there," she said in a much lower voice. I could catch the sadness in her tone.
"Why?" I asked.
"It's because a strong dark cosmic swallowed our territory..." She bent her head a bit and looked at the other side in bitterness.
"All of it... There's nothing left," she added.
"Is it the reason why you don't have bodyguards and only have limited resources of money?" I asked again. I knew I should feel sorry for her, but I needed as much information as I could get.
"Yeah. Since we lost our territory, we have had a lot of limitations on everything. Most guards are busy looking after the refugees and not everyone is happy with us. So I can only rely on myself," she said sadly. "Also, that is the reason why I tried to free the dark lord."
"Because you want to ask for his help to counter the dark cosmic?" I made my guess. Everything was clear now
She nodded.
"We are desperate. My people will not be able to continue like this. We can't live a nomadic life all the time. We have to claim back our territory."
I frowned.
"Why the dark lord?" I asked in curiosity. History should have written about his cruelty.
"Because we've tried various ways to repel that dark cosmic power. But we didn't succeed. So I tried to analyze that power and found that no one can repel it, only the dark lord could control it. That's why I sneaked out from the refugee ship and searched for the dark lord," she explained. She paused a while. "He is my only hope."
That 'sneak out' part had added more explanation about why she didn't have a guard with her.
"So does that mean you've failed?" I asked again.
She looked me in the eyes.
"I thought yeah. But you can also use the same power as him. Maybe we can try it," she said hopefully.
"Have you tried trying to find the source and eliminate it from there? " I suggested.
"We did and have tried a lot of things to eliminate it, but none of them worked. To make it worse, the source is from the core of the planet. Destroying it is the same as destroying the planet," she explained sadly.
'That's one hell of a dilemma...' I thought.
"When we were in cyborgs' territory you said you wouldn't let me be their source of power again. What does it mean?" I asked another question. I bet this had something to do with the reason why the cyborgs called me dark lord crystal.
She smiled dryly. A clear hesitation was on her face.
"Axl, you have become an important resource of power from country to country at least for more than a century. We called you the dark lord crystal. There are even times when two countries are fighting over you."
I couldn't cover the shock from my face.
"You mean... I was kind of unlimited gas for them?" I clarified.
She cringed.
"Uh... actually it's more like unlimited nuclear power without dangerous radiation."
My jaw dropped. I couldn't shake off the anger and irritation in me.
"You mean they use me as a weapon?" I exploded. "To destroy someone else? "
She nodded. "Uh, yeah. Something like that."
I clicked my tongue and diverted my gaze elsewhere to cover my anger.
'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' I cursed internally. That was enough to explain why the mothership used the dark lord energy core. That was because all of it came from me!
"Don't be too angry, Axl. It was unavoidable. After all, your last exhibition opened all countries' eyes that you were not only a mere artifact," Shea tried to soothe me.
I knew she was trying to calm me down, but her statement raised my curiosity.
"Exhibition?" I repeated, shifting my gaze to her.
"Yes. You are the greatest discovery in history. An important artifact. So around one hundred and fifty years ago you were the main artifact of the global exhibition. It was held for three months and everyone could see you up close," she explained with a smile. I bet she tried to cheer me up.
My jaw dropped again.
"You mean they put the crystal containing my naked body in a huge hall where everyone could see it?" I confirmed. "For three months?" My voice sounded like a whine. I could imagine how many people had seen me when I froze like a mummy in the crystal, naked. That was so humiliating!
She pressed her lips and tried to hold her cringe due to my reaction.
"Uh... Don't worry. Everyone thought you were just an artifact," she tried to cheer me up again.
But this time, it didn't work.
"My dignity has gone..." I muttered. "I don't deserve this... I don't deserve this." My shocked expression was still on my face. Never mind wealth or even glory, my victory was rewarded with the worst humiliation I've ever felt in my life, even though I knew it was not their fault and all of this was a misunderstanding.
"Axl?" Shea called me due to my shock and waved her hand in front of my face. But I didn't respond to her. I was only silent with my jaw dropped.
After a while, she cringed again as she lowered her hand.
"Uh... I think he's broke..."