Published at 3rd of August 2022 9:18 am

Chapter 1156 The Second Step

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Jonah’s return was met by much cheer and celebration. The man was speechless, for the most part, like someone sent back to live after being run over by life, and the others didn’t speak much, either. There would have been so much more if they weren’t looking down death’s throat, but still, they made him feel welcome. He was hugged by each and every person present, and when he met the emperor, some chuckled when he bit his lips and couldn’t even get a few words out properly.

He had been accustomed to dealing with an old man who seldom knew who he was, so Daneel could tell that it must have been bewildering to meet such a changed man. The Emperor had thanked Jonah for his contributions, and the hug had left his master with ruddy cheeks.

It was all well and good, but Daneel could still feel the stares that were being directed at him due to what he had done just now. Shaking his head and knowing that they had to be handled, he called over those who seemed to have taken it the hardest.

Unsurprisingly, all of the sovereigns except the commanders were soon in front of him, and joining them were Arafell, the assassins, and the elves.

Before anyone could speak, the assassins shouted, "What authority do you have to promise –"

He cut Husare off before she could get another word out.

"I’ll handle that with Alistair. Don’t bother yourself with such things."

As he flicked his fingers, the three found themselves flung back to where they had been standing before. Ignoring their expressions of embarrassment, he turned to the rest.

Xuan was the first to make her disapproval known.

"How can you trust her, Daneel? What if she tells everything to the Saints when she sends the message? And she... she killed Eloise! How can you..."

The sadness that she had been hiding in her heart finally burst out. She began to cry, and at once, Daneel took her into his arms.

The others gave them space, but when he spoke, they all stepped forward again.

"She’s not dead. And neither is Kellor. I’ll elaborate later, so for now, this is all you need to know. Anything else?"

Except for Faxul and Elanev, the rest were too stymied to speak. The latter winked at him, and the former said, "When we saw you, itself, we knew that you must be hiding something like this up your sleeve. But still... is it wise to trust her? Is it-"

Instead of answering them using words, Daneel decided that a demonstration was most suited to the situation. He raised his hand, and in the next moment, Faxul fell silent. None of his barriers were disturbed, and when the others turned to him to see what was wrong, they witnessed something they made them raise their eyebrows and instantly understand his confidence.

The world, itself, was chocking Faxul. The air that he had breathed in had clogged his airways, stopping him from saying anything. The elementary particles looked like they were moving on their own, with no influence from a Mageroot, and when Daneel flicked his fingers, Faxul staggered back, coughing.

"The moment she says even a word that veers off what I tell her to say, she will die. I was able to pull power from the depths of the earth to grant the people the ability to defend their home... did you think that it would be hard for me to handle a single, beaten member of the Church?"

This was the third reason behind his decision. He was prepared to bet on the Bishop... but not without a backup plan. She couldn’t be tortured to follow his wishes, but with the World at his beck and call, it was the simplest thing to stop her if she was going to head them down a path of ruin.

There were no more questions to be asked, so he nodded to those in front of him and walked to the throne.

After that moment when his plan had clicked, he had already made a step-by-step process using which he could bring it to life. What he was going to do next... was the hardest step.

It was necessary, but he wasn’t looking forward to it, at all. Master Jonah was still in surprise due to the fact that he had been saved. He, along with the rest had been convinced that his death was a foregone end to his story... but subverting all these expectations, he had come back to them. The emotions that had filled Daneel during that hug were still present in his mind...but just the thought about what he was going to do next made them all flee.

Standing on the throne, he looked down at the people of Angaria. They were muttering among themselves, their minds filled with fear about the future, and uncertainty about how much more they could do. Many were exhausted. It was no simple thing to work together, and each and every one of them had given it their all.

He wished that he could ask more of them. He wished that he could trust them to do exactly what he needed, but the risk was too great. Hence, he had realized grudgingly that he had no choice in the matter, so with a heavy heart and the knowledge that he might soon be shattered, again, he spoke.

"People of Angaria!"

The system magnified his voice so that it was heard by each and every one on the continent. For those who were in places from where they couldn’t see him, his image was projected using the Godnet, so in a second, millions got to their feet and looked forward to getting the answers to the questions on their minds.

He turned his head from side to side, looking at them all. He saw hope, fear, optimism, depression, and all emotions in between, but with a single sentence, he wiped them all away.

"Victory...is ours!"

That was it. They didn’t care about what had been leaked from Queen Arafell. They didn’t care about how the sovereigns hadn’t acted to disprove what she had said. They didn’t care about anything except their Godking’s word... so as soon as they heard him say that they had won, all other thoughts left their mind.

A cheer much, much louder than the one that had swept the continent before sprang to life in mere seconds. Daneel smiled as it was expected of him, but everyone close by could tell that it was empty. Still, the veil of immense respite that covered the eyes of the Angarians prevented them from seeing that this was so, along with the distance between them that was now filled with the sound of celebration. Angarians all around could be seen screaming themselves hoarse. Some even burst out crying and collapsed to the ground, as after all, the feeling of having a burden removed so abruptly was hard to handle.

He suffered through it all with silence. If everything had gone well...he would have joined their celebration. Instead, now, all he could do was watch as the sounds that echoed his failure washed over him, making him curse his weakness repeatedly in his mind.

His only source of strength was the chance he had been given. He clung to it desperately, and again and again, he told himself that one day, one day...this celebration would happen again, with good reason.

But that day was not today.

"Do it."

[Command received. Activating Godnet with backup resources. Initiating spell. Spell shall take effect in T-minus 5, 4...]

As the countdown began, he couldn’t stop himself anymore. His eyes filled with tears, and raising both his hands, he roared, "FOR ANGARIA!"

"For Angaria! For Angaria! For Angaria!"

They took up the chant proudly. It looked like it would go on for a long, long time...but a second later, it abruptly stopped.

It was followed by the sound of millions of bodies crumpling to the ground. As the last echoes of the chant faded away, Daneel fell down, too, and it was all he could do to keep the tears at bay while he wrestled with the sensation of feeling like a cheat, a coward, and a fraud.

It was followed by the sound of millions of bodies crumpling to the ground. As the last echoes of the chant faded away, Daneel fell down, too, and it was all he could do to keep the tears at bay while he wrestled with the sensation of feeling like a cheat, a coward, and a fraud.

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