13 「Within」

Nemoi was, for a lack of words, happy for the fact that he and his father's men didn't desert. He had been ordered to retreat according to Coran. A man who had been friends with his own father. Imagine that, the Royal Advisor, assuring him. However that didn't conquer how he felt about being the only survivor. He had been locked in the command center of the Chimeras Castle, forced to follow a plan that would inevitably place him into the future by ten thousand years.

Now here he stood watching the Princess Allura of Altea, the last few Alteans well known, who hadn't completely rejected his existence.

"Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed..." As she said these words, Coran wore a conflicted and saddened expression. His arms quickly left the shoulders of Nemoi, and he focused upon the Princess. "Coran, father is gone. Our entire civilization... Zarkon." She cursed the name with an irate tone, her blue eyes shone even greater than before. The beauty in vengeance.

Shiro immediately cringed, a sudden gasp. It was his past traumatic stress acting up, a vision of the man who had held him captive. "Zarkon?" His eyes narrowed, his speech audible.

"He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy of all free people!" The way she spoke was of hatred and hurt. It was clear she had been affected by the same man who had assisted in tearing Shiro asunder.

"I remember now... I was his prisoner."

Nemoi simply looked over at Shiro as he spoke of his time under Zarkon. The shock that he was still alive only seemed to run through the minds of Coran and Allura.

"He was exposed to a concentrated amount of Quintessence, so It's likely that his lifespan had been exponentially increased," Nemoi pointed out in which also gave way to the answer to the Galra's change after his supposed Death ten thousand years ago. Zarkon himself had been poisoned by the over exposure, corrupted by the power it gave those whom possessed it.

"Quintessence?" Shiro asked, the only one who was really out of the loop.

"The Life Energy of the Universe, or Universes." Nemoi responded as he looked over at him with a slight smile across his lips. "It was is used to power the Armada of the Galra Empire. However their energy is refined and appear purple."

Nodding slightly as he somewhat understood, Shiro would scratch his chin slightly in thought. "Still, he's searching for a super weapon called Voltron." Shiro would pass on information pretty much everyone else knew in the room. Yet his voice was clear, magnificent. This was the reason why he had been chosen to be the Black Lion's Paladin. He was a leader that the others would follow, seemingly without question.

"He's searching for it because it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does." Allura said with her arms out to the side. She was very clear on this fact, and it was only partially true. There were always alternative ways to defeat people, no matter how monstrous they have become.

Nemoi's eyes were fixated on the console, almost blocking out everything that was going on. While he could hear the sound of bickering from Keith and Lance, he felt it subside as Shiro intervene.

The world seemed to feel like one giant fish bowl, he began to relax. That was until a few minutes later that Katie pinched his side. He didn't jump, he wasn't startled. His facial expression remained relaxed as his head neatly guided and tilted slightly to look at her as she grinned up at him.

"What are you thinking about in that big. pointy eared, head of yours?" Her tone was casual, her brown eyes were huge in the light of the castle.

He was immediately sucked in, caught of the river bank, he smiled slightly as he let out a short snicker through his nose. "We're going to have company soon."

For as long as Allura had known Nemoi through her father, what she watched was truly something she didn't comprehend. From what she remembered Nemoi always reacted negatively to being touched in general.

She remembered the one time when she touched his arm and was immediately shrugged off. When she had placed a crown of flowers in his hair and shoved it away. He wasn't the most physically sociable Altean and was often subject to the humor of adults. Their fathers had actually threatened to have him engaged to her when they were children. In turn, he threatened to run away to a primitive planet outside of the known universe.

That was roughly the end of that, they knew that when he made threats, they were usually promises. Considering the fact that he usually always kept his promises when he was younger, it was clear that it had been time to stop.

Allura was becoming rather curious now however of Katie Holt's relationship to her fellow Altean. Perhaps they had bonded? Interested in one another? The signals she was getting from just watching their close interactions weren't enough to figure out anything.

It was somewhere between comfort and teasing. Were they not together? From her initial sights, it didn't seem to be the case, they appeared just close. However, compared to the way Katie looks at Nemoi and how Nemoi looks at Katie. She could see Nemoi's interest as clear as day.

That's when all of a sudden the alarms blared and a screen appeared on the console in a deep red hue. It was clear there was danger. A Galra cruiser had locked onto their position and was on their way.

This almost immediately triggered Keith and Lance, but Shiro was able to break them up quickly; pointing out they should be working as a team. He was right, otherwise the Paladins wouldn't survive.

"How long before they arrive?" Shiro asked, depending on Coran and Allura for the information, only for Nemoi to speak up and in the process cutting off Coran.

"You have at most several hours before they arrive. Probably less than a day." Was all he said which made Coran and Allura both look at him.

"Good, let them come!" The Princess exclaimed. "By the time they arrive, you five will have reformed Voltron!"

"Well in that case, I'm going to go get some fresh air." Nemoi said with a huff of air, waving an arm slightly. He wasn't leaving the planet, he had other plans. Except for the first two days awake on Earth, he hadn't gathered all that much EXP or Quintessence. He needed both if he was going to amount to anything.

"Lord Nemoi," Allura took a step forward as he was about to walk away from them. He paused and glanced over his shoulder towards her, she clearly looked distressed. "You're not leaving, are you? You could very well be a..."

Nemoi smiled at her, "Where ever cadet Pidge Gunderson is, I will defend." That was his only response to her plea, but it wasn't as if they needed him for the time being. "The Chimeras will be touching down shortly. I will just be taking a walk," he emphasized the Just.

He gave a glance toward Katie and winked, before continuing his way out of the castle. They didn't try to stop him, mainly because he seemed to be fine. A few minutes later he was scaling down the side of the land formation that the Castle of Lions was situated on.

His goal was to get to the forest and hunt, or in a sense, drain the quintessence from animals and plants. He wanted to be unseen as he did this, by both the Voltron team and the local Arusians. About half way there he watched as a shuttle and the blue lion left, flying off into the atmosphere and quickly disappearing from sight.

Nemoi chuckled quietly as he would place his hands behind his back, rather enjoying the stroll through nature. The forest was about an hour away, he had forty-five minutes left of a trek.

As those minutes passed as if they were seconds, he was within the forest, surrounded by foreign creatures and plant life. He could feel the life around him. As he walked along the trees, he brushed his hand along their trunks.

He continued deeper, consciously thinking of what he would be doing. If he were to drain the entirety of the forest, it was definitely noticeable. If he were to however drain a tree here and there, it wouldn't be too bad, right? The gains however of taking the entire forest of life, seemed to be appealing.

Caressing his chin as he continued to think, he stopped right before he could step into a primitive trap. Staring down at it, he looked around. His eyes narrowing on a bush which appeared to have eyes; watching him.

"I am an Envoy of the proclaimed Lion Goddess, show yourself." Nemoi proclaimed with a fist as he used his foot to swipe the trap to the side.

As soon as he said this, an Arusian female hunter popped out from the bush, immediately kowtowing before him. Bowing. "I am Zaizas, Best of its Hunters, from the Village over Gazrel Hill."

He stared down at the little creature as it spoke and nodded slightly. "You may Rise," he responded as he knelt down to its size. His pale blue eyes staring through her as she stared back, standing on her own.

"What is it you seek, Envoy of the Lion Goddess, have we her followers angered her in some way?" She avoided eye contact with the taller humanoid. Her eyes focused on his chest as she stood there, bow in one hand, arrows on her back.

"No, but this is a warning. The enemies of your goddess are coming, she seeks your safety. Tell your people, hide in the caves. Voltron, the Goddess's Robotic Guardian, will protect your people from above." He said as he placed a hand on the top of her head.

The Huntress looked up at him, she could tell he spoke in half truths. He was knowledgeable about their faith and looked to manipulate it. However the heartfelt concern of his warning could not be ignored. Violence and tribulation was coming to Arus.

"Go." Nemoi ordered as he spoke, standing up and watching as the small Arusian scurried towards the edge of the forest, in the direction of the village. After a few minutes, he returned to his thoughts and began strolling through the forest, a slight grin across his lips as he did so.

Once he was deep enough within the forest, he closed his eyes partially as he felt a presence. Turning his head slightly, he saw a wolf-like creature creeping up on him from behind. It was clear it had stalked him for some time now, or at least had been stalking the young Arusian from before.

"So you traded targets? More of a meal..." Nemoi shook his head as he held out his arms to his sides. The Wolf didn't seem interested in his gesture, but all the same, began to close in as it circled him. "For me that is..."

As the man didn't seem to be at all afraid or trying to run, the wolf began to get even closer. It was cautious of him however, it was something it had never seen before. Growling, just as it was within several feet of him, it suddenly charged. Leaping from the ground with its hind legs outstretched, its mouth wide open, its target was his neck.

"Incorrect move," Nemoi muttered as the blades of his Shotos or Tonfas abruptly spurred out from his wrists. Grabbing the creature by the snout and lower jaw with his hands, he threw it at a tree while it was still mid-air.

Quickly springing back to its feet, the creature snarled and charged him again. This time going for his ankles. It wanted to limit his mobility, again he moved down to its level.

A pained howl emanated throughout the forest as he had slashed its front right shoulder. The wolf would limp slightly away, making a distance between the humanoid and itself.

"Hm... You're not dumb enough to try and run." Nemoi stated as he knelt down, put out his hand. A white energy appearing in his palm. It was like an untamed flame, restrained and pure.

The creature could feel the energy as well as see it. Its eyes were as wide as possible. The energy felt good to be around. It felt so good, it wanted to be closer. This humanoid, it had wounded it, but it offered this? The creature closed in on him again, this time distracted by the white flickering flame.

Just as it was within arms reach, Nemoi clamped his hands around its snout without warning, causing the wolf to yelp and whimper. It tried to pull away, only for it to suddenly begin feeling weak. Its fiery eyes locked on that of Nemoi's expressionless gaze as he was draining it of life energy. Within moments the wolf itself had been completely exhausted of its energies. Its fur becoming patchy, freely falling from its body, before it fell to the side and disintegrated into a pile of ash.

「2,500+ QP」

「You have absorbed your first true life. You have now gained 250+ EXP.」

「Congratulations Nemoi Vargon, you have a total of 500 EXP. You may level up one of your occupations. Which would you like to level up? <Noble> <Alchemist> <Agent of the Throne>」

Nemoi spaced out slightly seeing this notifications after having killed the wolf. He knew what the Alchemist could do, it was essentially allowing one to transmute one thing into another, energy into matter, matter into energy and matter into matter.

He had a feeling that the noble ability was used for political means. He wasn't necessarily a politician, but he was interested in using his power of noble blood. The question was, what would he get for upgrading it?

For the time being he chose to Upgrade the Alchemist, and without having to say a thing, the occupation leveled up on its own.

「You have leveled up an occupation for the first time and used up all of your EXP. You have gained an additional 2,500+ QP. For leveling up the Alchemist Occupation, your ability to absorb and manipulate Quintessence has an additional 25% boost of effectiveness.」

Nodding slightly to himself as he saw the additional notifications. With this he knew he had around ten thousand Quintessence Points. He just needed twenty thousand more and he would get his hands on a mech of his own. Something just as powerful as one of those lines, or even as powerful as Voltron.

With that he could protect what he wanted. Destroy what he wanted. He closed his eyes as he kept his thoughts to himself. The quickest way for one's plans to crumble, was to boast them out loud for the world to hear. Yet at the same time, it was quite the opposite. Telling no one will lead to suspicion, excommunication and eventual self-destruction.

He opened his eyes and placed a hand on a nearby tree. It had to be over a hundred years old, plenty of quintessence flowing through it and its roots. White energy began to be pulled and torn from it.

The bark of the tree began to turn grey, losing its lush brown earthy hues. Within minutes it collapsed, its leaves were nothing but ash. It appeared to be burnt out and rapidly deteriorating.

「2,500+ QP」

With that he had over twelve thousand Quintessence Points, it made him grin slightly. Now he just needed less than fifteen of these trees. That would be easy for him to hide, easy for him to forget. As long as no other animals attacked him, he didn't have to kill an organic meatbag.

He began moving deeper into the forest; the ground shook as the Chimeras Castle came in for a landing within the forest, crushing trees and animals that couldn't move out of the way.