This was infuriating.
Mori sat bound to a chair, the thin red chains encircling him tightening steadily, their cold, snaking grip sending an incessant crawling sensation across his skin. It felt as though tiny, invisible creatures burrowed into his flesh, taunting him with every passing second.
Yet, it wasn't the chains that perturbed him most. His vision—or the lack thereof—was far worse.
Again, darkness consumed his sight, oppressive and endless. He could sense shadowy shapes hovering just beyond his awareness, their indistinct forms flitting in and out of reach like mocking phantoms. They moved around him, whispering in hushed tones, their words dissolving into incoherence before he could grasp their meaning.
Mori blinked deliberately, forcing his eyelids to close and open again, but the effort was futile. The black void before him remained absolute. If anything, it felt as though the darkness had deepened, compressing around him like an unseen shroud.
This was beyond frustrating, but it was far from his worst concern.
He had made a mess—an unforgivable, irreversible mess. That truth bore down on him like a weight too heavy to bear. Regret clawed at the edges of his thoughts, but it was too late for remorse now. He could only grit his teeth and let events unravel.
'Watch? Sorry, I meant…'
The irony struck him bitterly. Watch? How could he watch anything when he couldn't even see? Thinking about his newfound blindness was excruciating. To imagine that a being like him—no, a god—could be reduced to this state of helplessness was unbearable.
Wait.
His thoughts screeched to a halt. Had he just called himself a god?
The realization unsettled him, sending a ripple of confusion through his mind. Something was deeply wrong here. His memories, fragmented and elusive, offered no clarity. Instead, his mind jumped from topic to topic, each strand of thought incomplete and inconclusive.
Mori clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. He glanced instinctively down at his hands, only to remember, with a pang of frustration, that he couldn't see them.
'That old man…he'll pay for this!'
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a voice, low and resonant, breaking into the silence like a blade slicing through still water. The sound sent a shiver down his spine. Beneath its calm monotone lay a subtle hint of depravity, a dark undercurrent masked by a veneer of benevolence.
Mori turned sharply toward the voice, a move he immediately regretted. A sharp, electric jolt of energy stabbed into his dormant ocular nerves, forcing light back into them with brutal intensity.
For a fleeting moment, he saw.
A tall, slender man stood before him, his silver pupils gleaming like molten mercury. His lips curled into a smile—one that radiated malice despite its apparent calmness.
Then the vision vanished. Darkness reclaimed its dominion, leaving Mori gasping as he clutched his head. His temples throbbed with pain, but he found himself strangely grateful for the brief glimpse, even if it left him with more questions.
Who was that man?
Why had he been smiling like that?
Before he could ponder further, the red chains around his neck shifted, their metallic coils brushing against his skin with unnerving precision. Though they allowed him just enough space to breathe, their ominous presence was impossible to ignore.
Around him, chairs scraped against the floor as others entered the room. Their movements were deliberate, their footsteps echoing ominously in the space. Mori tensed. He hadn't been able to make out the room's layout during his fleeting glimpse earlier, so he had no idea what they were planning.
'Dangerous,' he thought. 'But what choice do I have? I'm operating on outdated instincts—instincts from six thousand years ago.'
That revelation unsettled him further. Somehow, in the recesses of his fragmented memory, he knew he had existed millennia ago. Yet he recalled nothing of his purpose, nothing of who—or what—he had been.
A calm, authoritative voice broke through his spiraling thoughts. It sounded close, yet Mori couldn't pinpoint its source. The voice carried a commanding edge, a tone that demanded obedience without resorting to overt aggression.
"Before we proceed any further, my esteemed greetings to an unexpected guest here." The speaker paused, his voice tinged with reverence. "All hail the Seventh Lord of the Achlys Noble Bloodline."
Chairs scraped again as the others stood, offering their respects. Mori's confusion deepened.
"So, what do we have here?" a gruff voice asked once the formalities ended.
"General Zang reported the awakening of the Slumbering Sentinel of the Invasion," someone replied.
Whispers of relief filled the room. Mori frowned. Who was this "Slumbering Sentinel"? And why was everyone so relieved about his return?
The answer came swiftly.
'It's me,' he realized. The nickname grated on his nerves.
A new voice, rich and measured, sliced through the murmurs.
"Lux Mortis, you have been summoned before the Feudal Lords of Nova Chaldea, accused of murdering law enforcement officers tasked with your capture. Your crime warrants—"
Murmurs of discontent rippled through the crowd. Mori didn't need to see their faces to sense their unease. If he was strong enough to be branded a "Slumbering Sentinel," losing him would be a strategic mistake.
"Lux Mortis," the speaker continued, addressing him directly. "Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Mori blinked. He hadn't realized they were talking to him.
That name...meant something really cryptic in latin, something he could not readily place his hands on.
"Nothing," he said finally. "Not that I remember anything, anyway."
His words sparked curiosity rather than anger, to his greatest relief.
"You don't remember?"
"Care to enlighten me?"
Before anyone could respond, a soothing yet sinister voice interjected.
"I'll take it from here."
Mori tensed.
"Lord Erebus!" someone gasped.
The voice grew dangerously calm. "He's coming with me."
"H – he hasn't been acquitted of the charges leveled against him yet, my Lord..."
"Then I'll cancel it. I'll offer a substantial condolence fee, for the families of the deceased and ensure successive payments. Is that enough?"
The whole occupants of the room exchanged mystified glances. Again, no one dared to speak.
"Using my nobility veto power, I absolve Lux Mortis of all his crimes, and here by declare him a free citizen of Nova Chaldea."
A hand landed lightly on Mori's shoulder, sending a jolt through him. Then, without warning, a surge of wind and energy engulfed him, sweeping him into an unknown fate.