Kalon

Chapter One-Hundred-Thirty-Five: T'Akor - Part Three

Galactic Quadrant: Darna Quadrant

Ruling Government: Talum Merchant Federation

Solar System: D-447

Planet: Ora

Location: Orarak City, above the planet's surface.

The hum of the pod zipping through the glass tubes barely registers on my mind, I try to focus on remembering the directions I travel, but I cannot. My mind feels frayed, why did I not try harder to take her hostage? I find myself caught in an internal strife. Did I do the right thing? Will others die because of me? Could I have saved my people? No, she is but a cog in the machine… I must cut off the head, not the hands.

"Sekat!" I curse, slamming my bloody hand against the pod's glass wall. The blood from my nails cutting into my flesh has begun to coagulate and dry, I can see the wounds closing slowly. Were I full-bodied, I think it would have already healed, if I had Netherium, it certainly would have. There is much that I do not understand about the way of Maka, the boundaries, what are they really? Where do they lead? What is beyond all of them? Why did Dargo say that one cannot step onto both paths? Did he mean you must relinquish one before finding the other, or that it is not possible once you begin walking one path? His words are always so cryptic.

My thoughts travel back to my people's predicament. Hope is not lost, my people are resilient. We will rise. My focus is pulled to a chime from my wrist.

"Attention Hunter – System Announcement – This is an official notice of an injunction filed relating to yourself – Originating within the Lower Counsel of the Talum Merchant Federation – In accordance with subsection 893.756-B9 – Your Sponsorship account has been frozen – End of message."

Lower Counsel? Injunction? That's what Adonius called her to his office for, an injunction. What does it even mean? So, it was about me, which will lead to scrutiny. I need to recover faster.

"Attention Hunter – System Announcement – This is an official notice of an injunction filed against an injunction relating to yourself – Originating within the Middle Counsel of the Talum Merchant Federation – In accordance with subsection 893.756-B486 – Your sponsorship account has been reopened – End of message."

Middle Counsel, how many are there? I swipe open my holopad's menu, and there are several notifications I had not seen, messages sent to me while I was in a coma for three days. Three days, surely the others have finished their challenge by now. A wave of worry grips me, refreshing my mind and pushing aside the internal conflict. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I hold it until my heart slows, exhaling slowly. The calm washes over me, and I scroll through the notifications again, analyzing anything useful. I notice there are new messages from the sponsor sent over the last few days.

Are you there?

Did you receive my gifts?

Are they treating you well?

Are they preventing you from speaking with me?

The message… are they treating you well… leaves a sour taste in my mouth as I swipe the messages away. They forced me to kill my people, and subjected us to these challenges. My people are in chains. Pulling up the messages again I am tempted to tell them my thoughts, to release the rage that rises once more. Calming myself with another breath I remember what Warden Adona said on our first day here regarding sponsors.

'There are many benefits to having them, I suggest you show them the utmost respect - as they may just save your life.'

Should I swallow my pride and be cordial with them? What are these gifts they speak of? A new notification overrides all the others, it's from her… Adona.

I left a gift for you, do with it what you will. What was spoken between us will remain between us. If you behave, perhaps I will gift you more. Do not test me.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

The message erases itself, leaving me wondering what her gift could be. Why does she not want anyone to know that she seeks the Cursed Edict? What are her motivations? I see in the corner there is a message icon on the Hunter communications tab. There are messages from Neeba under his hunter number.

Kalon, where have they taken you, I survived my wave, and they tell me you were taken a day ago?

Brother, my father and sister have returned… praise the gods, but my father returns injured.

Ira and others tell us of your miracle and that the gods healed you, there are many of us who need this blessing, can you ask your god to help us? I ask for my father, I fear with his injuries he will not survive the next wave. His health is taking a turn. He does not have a sponsor, me and my sister have tried to speak to ours, but they do not answer. If your god will not help, perhaps you can ask your sponsor.

Do you still live… or have they taken you from us as well? My brother, there is little hope here. Please do not be dead.

Brother… the thought twists in me. He and his family save Arrum have betrayed me many times over. There is so much bad blood between us… yet he calls me brother… my jaw is clenched, Nekam is injured. Despite the anger, my heart lifts a little to know they all live. I scroll down and see messages from Nevari under her hunter tag.

Some people say you came back to life, like in the stories we were told as children. I do not believe them, I know you have never worshiped any gods, there must be an explanation. My father is injured, please, however you can… you must help him.

You still have not returned, I can only assume the worst.

They have beaten Henek daily since he came here. Even his cousin has felt their anger. They do not fight back either, my father tried to stop the crowd once, but he is… not the same as he once was. Hope is fading among us.

My eyes grow wide, Henek is among my grouping now with his cousin? Was this the gift that Adona gave me? The chance to slay him again…

Henek is their protector and they beat him? He is the one who carved T'Akor deep into the stone, passing knowledge to the next waves. There is an anger that is rising in me again. Mixing with frustration creating a bile in me. The pod hums slowly along its path, if only it could go faster. I hear a chime on my holopad, there is a new message from my sponsor.

I have been informed via an intermediary that you have not answered my messages by choice, and have not accepted any of my gifts, also by choice. My legal team is currently working to file an injunction to allow us to meet face-to-face. In the meantime, if you are in fact not responding by choice, please reconsider as I only have your best interest in mind.

U'ton Ukar Nemi

My eyes squint at the last part, whoever this is clearly knows some of the words of my people, but has no idea how to use them. Their sentence is mixed apart and does not make sense. Translated roughly U'ton Ukar Nemi – My honor return my embrace. It is similar to another phrase we use, I think perhaps they have mistaken it. There is no one that comes to mind who owes me a debt, no one with substantial means. Before I can think about it further I see a single message from my Keeper tab.

When you return, seek me out.

I can only imagine what the man who whispers riddles will have in store for me. Nothing good I am sure. My sore body groans at the proposition of his training regime. Another notification shows up, this one from the system.

Attention Hunter, you have been scheduled for your second challenge.

A timer appears where the old one was on the hub.

3 weeks; 3 days; 12 hours; 31 minutes.

Tension rises in my weary body; the only relief is that I will have so much time between them. Why so long? Have the other waves not finished? They couldn't have. The Interim Governor said there are a million of us. Perhaps it will take a long time for all the waves to go through. Doing the math, there were a thousand of us in the first wave, it would actually take much longer than a month to cycle a million of us through, even if they did multiple waves each day. How does it work? Am I being front-loaded because my sponsor paid so much? There is too much I don't know.

My attention shifts to the pod now as it begins to slow. The door opens and I see the assembly hall, its large black walls rising up to its silver domed ceiling, the white marble floor matches the walls in the rest of the facility. The pedestal is lowered, and I see Keeper Dargo upon it meditating deeply. There are some that sit before him in the center, focusing as he does. To my left I see a circle of people, I cannot see what is happening in the center but my gut tells me nothing good. There are fewer people than before, some must not have finished their challenges yet… or they perished. Before I can reach the circle, I hear my name called from my right.

"Kalon! You live!" Neeba yells rushing towards me, I see a bipki and a medibot start to hover slowly towards me now.

"As do you. It is good to see you," I reach out my arm after some hesitation, and he meets it in an embrace.

"What have they done to you?" he asks, I do not answer his question as my eyes are drawn to the group of people encircling something or someone.

"What is happening over there?" I question, pointing to the group of people.

"My brother, do not concern yourself with it, it is how they vent their frustrations," he says not meeting my eyes, I can tell from a glance he is bothered, but too timid to do anything.

There it is again… brother.

"Brother, I don't think it's a good idea," he says.

When I arrive at the group, I hear the pounding of flesh upon flesh, there is no whimper or complaint for it to end, there is only silence from the ones being beaten. My jaw tenses, and the crowd whispers insults as they punch and kick.

"Ulima," I hear one say, he says it to the ones being beaten. Ulima – The Forsaken.

"Move aside," I say, but no one listens, they continue their mocking and beatings.

Neeba grabs my shoulder lightly.

"Brother, I told you it is not a good idea."

"Move aside!" I yell loudly, pulling people forcibly out of my way.

The crowd turns now to me, eyes growing wider as they take me in, with a fierce glow in my eyes. I hear them whispering things, and my eyes glow brighter still as I see whom they beat. The rage begins to rise and I do not stop it.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.