'Chapter 9: The Talk
A faint hum from the hold's walls filled the quiet as Arbus stood before the Sentinel's desk. His gaze wandering over the shelves, taking in the thousands of books lining the room's walls.
Bastian simply watched him, a faint smile on his face.
"I don't remember all this being here the last time you brought me to this room," Arbus said, breaking the silence. "I guess you've been busy."
Bastian chuckled, rising from his seat. "I'll be honest with you, Arbus. I haven't had the time to read even half of these. I just have a very bad habit of collecting things I find interesting. I don't even have enough time to dig into the older ones." He said as his hand traced the spine of a worn-out book while he paced along the shelf. "Quite unfortunate, really."
He turned, his gaze meeting Arbus's. "So, Arbus, how have you been?"
"Terrible" Arbus said simply, his tone flat.
Bastian tilted his head, waiting for him to continue, but Arbus simply looked away as he paced around the room.
"I can't remember when, but at some point, I began hating you for pushing me to become a Renegade," Arbus continued.
"Things only got worse for me when I joined. My training batch despised me. The outpost I was sent to as a sentry hated me even more. They had to see me every day, and they made sure I knew how much they hated that."
"I got the worst missions, the worst chores," Arbus said, his voice rising. "Commander Mitz was the only reason I didn't simply quit. He wasn't like the others. He treated me like I was an actual Renegade, at least somewhat."
"Hmm... Sounds like Mitz was a good man" Bastian said quietly, his gaze steady.
Arbus nodded, then fell silent. "Every day, I wondered if any of it meant anything. I wasn't getting closer to my goal. I wasn't closer to killing a Reincarnator, and I wasn't closer to killing the Primordial."
Bastian's smile faded as he sighed. "I did warn you it'd be rough at first, didn't I?"
Arbus stopped pacing, his jaw tight. "Rough doesn't begin to cover it."
...
"So... how do you feel now?" Bastian asked finally.
For a moment, Arbus didn't answer. His gaze dropped to his hands, and he clenched them, his knuckles whitening. "Like my hatred's alive again. It never really left. It's why I kept going. But Ronan… he brought it back in full force."
"He made me remember why I despise Reincarnators" Arbus said through gritted teeth as he remembered all the citizens of Terytl-b.
It was a planet filled with different races and cultures, that blended together to create a place that felt like paradise for most. Thanks to Ronan, that was all gone.
Arbus had always been asked to wear a helmet, whenever he was sent out on a field mission to avoid civilians panicking at the sight of him.
He remembered the little Mornan children who would run up to him during a fee of his missions and give him presents as thanks for protecting them. He remembered the families that would invite him and the other Renegades to eat with them.
"I saw Terytl-b die, all those people, they're gone because of him." He looked up, his emerald eyes burning. "When I killed him, I felt nothing but satisfaction. I only wish I could've made him suffer more."
He paused, his breath uneven. "But I couldn't give him even a second to think. If I did, he would have likely found a way to escape my grip, and all those deaths would've been for nothing."
Bastian nodded slowly, his expression unreadable.
"So, yeah," Arbus concluded, his tone steady. "I don't regret becoming a Renegade anymore."
"But I won't accept remaining a sentry. I won't accept being sent to another pointless station position. I've done enough to move past that. I'm done with that for good."
Bastian's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
"The Council will no longer hold you back. This is your reward for eliminating Ronan. you'll be promoted to a knight."
Arbus blinked, momentarily stunned by news. A small smile broke through.
"Just like that? After how much they've fought against me?"
"I had plans to extract you from Terytl-b regardless, but this made things easier." Bastian leaned back, fingers steepled. "Last time I pushed your appointment through as Sentry, I made compromises, allowing them to suppress you these past few years. I'm sorry about that. I couldn't force their hand twice without consequences, so your actions saved us both considerable trouble."
"So it's really over." Arbus sighed, relief etched on his expression.
Another minute of silence descended upon the room.
"There's something else I need to ask" Arbus said, his voice losing its confidence slightly.
"Of course, anything" Bastian said, pulling a bottle of Old Mornan made liquor from his desk drawer and pouring himself a small glass.
"... How are my parents doing?" Arbus asked, his tone hesitant.
Despite how much Arbus had changed after all these years, he still couldn't bring himself to despise his mom for falling in love with a Reincarnator. In the same sense, he couldn't bring himself to despise his dad either.
Bastian paused, the glass halfway to his lips, then set it down carefully. "Your mother, well, I suppose she's doing fine. She's still locked up on Tarok as punishment for her deeds. You should be thankful to your grandfather for that. He had thrown away his pride, begging the emperor for weeks with his head bowed, asking for his daughter to be spared so he could keep her in prison for life."
"That would usually mean nothing to the emperor," Bastian continued. "Anyone who willingly colluded with a Reincarnator is put to death, without exception. But for some reason, he felt lenient enough to let her live."
Arbus let out the breath he'd been holding, his shoulders easing slightly.
"As for your father," Bastian said, his expression growing distant. "no one knows for sure. Usually, any Reincarnator caught would be interrogated and killed."
"But Joren Kaelen cannot be killed."
"Most high-ranking Renegades believe he's being held in the Emperor's Base as its only prisoner."
He took a slow sip from his glass. "We're not sure why. The emperor himself isn't needed for such a task, not when the Pinnacles exist. Still, he's likely fine, I suppose."
Arbus stood still, his gaze growing distant. His love for his father was his most contradictory feeling, especially after everything he had seen other Humans do. He hated them so much, yet at the same time, wanted his father back.
Bastian studied Arbus for a moment, his gaze steady. Then he sighed, leaning back in his chair.
"This isn't going to be easy for you, Arbus. The higher you climb, the worse things will get."
...
"I'm sure you've heard about Adam at least once," Bastian said, his tone growing somber.
"The only half-breed besides me to officially join the Renegades?" Arbus asked. "I've heard his name mentioned around me a few times. All I know is that he ended up betraying the Renegades."
Bastian's lips curved in a faint smile. "Well, not exactly betraying, but I can't tell you more for now."
"I knew him personally. He was a good mentor to me once."
Bastian fixed his gaze on Arbus. "He's also one of the reasons I'm putting my faith in you. As I told you years ago, you're different from me. Different from every other Renegade in this Universe."
His expression darkened.
"For the last twenty thousand years, the Renegades have been fighting a losing battle," he continued, his voice heavy. "It's sad, but it's the truth. We fight and fight and fight until we die. A new generation takes over, and the fight begins anew. The Primordial, on the other hand, brings in an endless stream of souls from other worlds to fight us. So far, its power seems limitless."
"I don't want this, Arbus. I don't want the status quo. Eventually, we will lose. There's no other way this ends if we continue down this path."
He leaned forward slightly. "Which is why I began putting my faith in you when we first met. I believe you're like me, tired of the endless fighting, the constant death and chaos the Reincarnators cause. Unlike me, though, you are semi-immortal."
"Just like your father."
"You won't die, at least, not if you grow stronger — strong enough that no one can counter your immortality."
"And like I told you all those years ago... I want you to be the final weapon against the Primordial."