System Change

The king and everyone else on the opposite side of the table stared at Derek slack-jawed after he made such a declaration. “What?” he asked. “Don’t think I can’t do it. I want all this bullshit over and done with so my people can go back to living their normal lives. This stupid fighting has delayed their growth long enough. I don’t care about your petty feuds, but when they start affected me and mine, then we have a problem.”

“He’s right,” Alanah said. “And I’ll be happy to fight alongside him. It is best you take this chance to keep your country alive. It is more than you should receive after your cowardly attacks on my people.”

“And don’t think that we won’t be able to do it,” Derek said, then, with a quick telepathic message to both Alanah and Silvi, he asked them to fully release their auras. Soon, the entire chamber was filled with an aura so heavy that it felt almost physical.

Sabrina was too weak to even handle the aura of one of them, much less all three, and as soon as the aura fell over her, she fell unconscious. It was the same thing that happened with the young Torith noble, though. She was still stronger than Clay was. And, after waking Clay up, Derek knew that it would only take another shock to one’s system to wake up others affected the same way by aura.

He actually didn’t know if it was possible to straight up kill with an aura, but he did know that if someone was weak enough, it could prevent them from breathing, and it was possible for them to suffocate. Still, he focused most of his aura directly on the king, and the other two did the same.

“I… understand,” the king said hesitantly. “The two of… no… three of you are beyond our ability to defy. We have indeed kicked a hornet’s nest this time. Please… retract your aura. You’ve made your point.”

At that, Derek and Alanah retracted their auras. Silvi’s aura lingered on the king for a few moments longer before receding as well. With all of their auras in check, Derek surveyed the room—making sure to look over each individual.

Both the king’s nephew and son were doing their best to stay calm, but it wasn’t hard for Derek to see the shakiness in their hands. Olivar, the prince, was even clutching one hand tightly with the other to try to keep the shaking from showing. Both men had their heads down.

The king’s wife was still just as calm as ever. She had only widened her eyes initially when they had released their auras. It was more of an expression than she’d shown ever since they walked into the Throne Room uninvited.

Other than Sabrina, who was completely knocked out with her head on the table, the other elven man seemed to be having the hardest time. He was visibly shaking, and clearly almost passed out at the initial release of the aura. However, other than the king and his wife, the other woman—the one who had been silent the whole time—seemed to be taking it better than anyone.

She’s definitely a warrior, Derek thought. Then I would guess that the other weak guy has to be the adviser that Osian mentioned.

“So,” Edgar broke the silence once everyone calmed down enough to continue discussions. “I take it you have made your decision?”

“Yes,” Osian sighed. “I… we will sign your soul contracts and Indria will become a vassal kingdom to Cydaria.”

“Great!” Edgar clapped his hands, then looked at Derek. “Derek, if you don’t mind, would you bring my brother and the duke here?”

“Your brother? The duke?” the king asked, confused. “They are here? Where?”

“Just a second,” Derek said as he held his pointer finger up. “I need to remove some weight first.” With that, he stood from his seat and walked a good distance away from the table and everyone else before opening his Time Prison and tossing the three people they’d thrown in before out to the ground.

Derek still had the prison set where the time inside passed much slower than outside, so the two guards were still stunned from Alanah’s initial command, and the third seemed to just be coming out of his daze. Huh, Derek thought. That guy might actually be stronger than I thought. The man, who Sabrina had called Jerum, quickly got his bearings and jumped to his feet.

“Your Majesty!” The man was quick to take in his surroundings. “These people, they…”

“It’s okay, Jerum. You may stand down,” Osian said and put his hand up in a halting motion. “You may as well be here, too. Take a seat.” The king more commanded than asked, then, he turned back to Alanah. “Ms. Swan. If you would be so kind as to send my guards out.”

Alanah chuckled, but nodded. “Sure,” she faced the two stunned guards. “You two, get back to your stations and guard the entrance to the Throne Room.” Instantly, the two men jumped up and ran out of the room and closed the door behind themselves. They hadn’t even given Derek so much as a glance as they ran by him.

“Alright, since that’s over with, I guess it’s my turn.” Derek quickly closed the door to his prison, then pulled the space shut before channeling his energy into Void Travel. He looked over his shoulder at everyone. “This may feel a bit odd. Oh, and whatever you do, don’t get too close.” With that, he tore the space in front of him once again, but this time, it opened up into pitch black nothingness.

A couple of people behind him drew in deep breaths, and someone even let out a gasp. Derek quickly looked back again, and was surprised to see that the feeling from the tunnel had actually woken Sabrina up from her impromptu slumber. Huh. I guess that works. Without saying another word, Derek stepped inside the tunnel and quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Inside the tunnel, Derek instantly locked onto Edwin’s aura and moved to it before opening in and appearing back in the Great Hall of Cydaria’s palace. Everyone was still where he’d left them. When Derek stepped out of the tunnel, he looked around and said, “Negotiations went pretty well. They agreed to the contracts and to become a vassal kingdom.”

“Great!” King Edwin said.

“Are you ready to get on with it? The king over there seemed pretty hesitant, but I gave him a little nudge,” Derek said.

“Of course,” Edwin said. “We mustn’t wait. Edward, are you prepared?”

“Yes, father,” the one armed crown prince replied.

“Good… good,” the king said. “Mr. Hunt—”

“Call me Derek,” Derek said.

“Derek, I’m afraid we’re going to have to trouble you to take Edward, then come back and get Callum. He is our contractor, and will be here any moment. He wasn’t in the city before, but he’s just arrived through the teleporter.”

“Sure…” Derek said. “You ready?” he asked Edward.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” the crown prince said.

“Alright, try not to move.”

After those words, Derek picked Edward up by the back and side—just how he had carried Alanah through—and moved back into the void tunnel. He had kept the previous access point open, so, when he entered the tunnel once again, it hadn’t taken him any time to move back to Indria with Edward. He also didn’t have to break any of his concentration by having to open another portal.

Soon, Derek stood beside Edward next to the opening of his void tunnel. This time, however, they were in Osian’s Throne Room instead of Edwin’s. All the Indrians stared wide-eyed at Derek and Edward’s arrival. Derek smiled to himself, as he knew that they were realizing the ramifications of his ability to travel seemingly anywhere almost instantly.

“I have a drop off,” Derek said, then he turned back to his portal. “Got another pick up.” He took a step and entered the tunnel. But behind him, before he was out of audible range, he heard Osian speak.

“He can only bring one at a time?”

Before he heard anyone answer the king’s question, he freely moved back through the void and soon appeared in the other palace. This palace hopping is tiring. Of course, it wasn’t tiring, but it had been a long day. They had gotten out of the raid dungeon that morning. Then, a few hours later, he’d left Savannah to go help out Edgar and Alanah.

That fight hadn’t taken too long, so, a few hours after that, and he was in the palace discussing what to do with the pair of dukes. After that, he’d waited a couple hours for Alanah to recover, and finally, they’d arrived in Indria late that evening. Now, it was the middle of the night, and he was moving back and forth between two palaces of warring kingdoms. Good thing I’m strong, he thought. Otherwise, I’d end up as a glorified taxi.

When he stepped out of the tunnel this time, the man who he was waiting for still wasn’t there. Shrugging, he went and took the seat Alanah had been sitting in across the small from Natalie. Without saying a word, the petite woman poured Derek a cup of tea, which he didn’t really enjoy, but appreciated the sentiment, and they sat in silence while waiting. Luckily, it was only a bit over ten minutes later that a frazzled-looking, middle-aged man arrived.

The man was skinny, not Bones skinny, but he definitely looked like he could use a meal or two. He had very messy light brown hair—it looked like he’d just gotten up and hadn’t taken the time to brush or even pat it down. Over his eyes, he sported a pair of thick, round glasses, and he wore a black and gray robe. Derek couldn’t tell if this was his sleeping attire or something he normally wore, but he didn’t really care.

“Your…” the man kneeled and began to speak, but yawned deeply after just one word. “Your Majesty. You have need of me?”

“Yes, Callum. Thank you for coming on such short notice. There is a situation, and we are in need of a soul contract—or multiple—urgently. You needn’t worry, as you will be compensated quite well for your time and inconvenience.”

“Yes, my king,” the man said as he continued on one knee. “But multiple soul contracts in a row… that may be… difficult.”

“I know of the strain a soul contract put on you, and I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t of utmost importance. Trust me when I say, I will owe you a great favor once this is all over and done. We are on the brink of ending this war that had dragged on far too long.”

Derek noticed that Edwin made sure to say that he’d owe the man, and not the kingdom. And since he’d be giving up his seat as king very soon, having the former king owing you a favor wasn’t as good as the current king. That sly old man, Derek thought.

“You may stand,” Edwin finally said, and after he stood, he continued. “Do you accept this request?”

“To have a role in ending this war?” he asked, wide-eyed, and Edwin nodded. “Of course, I accept. I will do my best.”

“Good!” Edwin chuckled. “Now, I’m sure you are wondering about that dreadful portal in the room.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but…”

“Well, I’m sure you’ve heard of Derek Hunt,” he is the man sitting with Natalie Savannah over there. Edwin pointed to their little table off to the side.

“Nat…” Callum shot a look over and stuttered when he saw the two of them sitting there. He hadn’t noticed them when he came in. He had been very fixated on the portal, then on the king.

“Well, this portal was made by Mr. Hunt. He will take you through it, then, you need only follow the instructions of Edward, who is already on the other side.”

“But… a portal…”

“Don’t worry,” Derek Active Void Shifted and appeared next to the man instantly. It was a poor use of the skill, but it made for good theatrics. “It’s not that kind of portal. This is the kind that you die instantly when you go in if I’m not with you. It’s not one of the bad ones that summons Void Beasts.”

“T-that…”

“Let’s go.” Derek grabbed the man by the back of his neck and steadied him with his other hand. Soon, a thick armor made of void appeared around him. “Be careful not to move. We wouldn’t want you disappearing on us.” Finally, he lifted the now stiffened man and took a step inside.

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