Playing the Scenario

The clinging creature. Its name was Koro.

Miguel looked at Koro, the little creature too was something special to be able to survive in that chaotic environment.

Unknown to Miguel the loading screen, which had stopped, started again in that instant. The texts structured themselves to form a string that were connected to each other in a locking pattern.

[Playing Mission Scenario.]

With that Message, the bubble floating in the darkness, started rumbling. Kha'zix and Miguel were both startled, and started looking around the bubble that was shaking, a terrifying gravity tugged at the bubble taking it somewhere.

"What is happening?" Kha'zix asked Miguel for an understanding of the situation.

"I don't know." As he said that, Miguel came to understand the reason for the movement. His eyes paused at the screen that had changed from the previous text. But even when he knew the mission scenario was being played, he was still clueless about what would happen next.

The speed of the bubble accelerated with each passing moment. And along with it, the force of transfer was so strong that Miguel and Kha'zix were face flat on the side of the bubble. They both pleaded for the bubble to not break. But even in that pressure, Koro the clinging-creature seemed to have no effect of speed upon itself as it enjoyed its ride around the bubble.

'Truly a rare creature' Miguel thought, watching through his side eyes. With that thought the bubble stopped moving. Even when the rumbling stopped its inertia tossed Miguel and Kha'zix face plastered to the other end of the bubble.

They slid down. To look at their environment. It almost looked surreal to Miguel at that moment. He had thought that he would see another creepy and desolate land. But here it was, this land, lively with people. Though there was something strange, the duo's eyes only seemed to follow one person. That person had a huge smile plastered on his face.

The person stood with a scroll in his hands, his haggard eyes looked at the scroll with extreme glee on his face. There was another person standing outside looking at him.

"So the king has finally summoned me." His hands trembled as he looked at the guard outside the door.

"Scholar Sottic Handsmen, do you have any doubt on the degree?" With a grim expression the guard asked the Scolar.

"No doubts at all, I will present myself at the royal council, at earliest." The Scholar said with a solemn expression.

The guard left, and Sottic closed the door to his own house. The inside was littered with papers, and instruments everywhere. There were many cuttings, many quills that were splatter at certain corners of the house. Sottic was a peasant turned Scholar. His shabby dressing was proof of that.

Sottic approached his two assistants working, and told them how they should present themselves for the meeting tomorrow.

"We are going to meet the King Nurak, wear your best possible outfit." Sottic instructed as he busied himself at his own work.

Time turned rapid at that moment, almost wavy, and both Miguel and Kha'zix found themselves inside the King's council.

Miguel gasped looking at the inside of the building. Everything around him was just gold or jewels, shining, the councilmen were lined up below the king's throne. On the two sides facing each other.

The scene showed Scholar Sottic and his two assistants entering the council. Sottic was nervous, in front of all the glamor. Despite his best efforts to make himself presentable, the recent haggardness and the sleepless night was still visible through his eyes.

The two assistants were slow to approach. They looked around at those councilmen, whose belly was proof of their comfort and luxury. But they quickly retracted their vision not to offend them. All of them just looked at the trio of them in disgust.

King Nurak was sitting on the throne. Surrounded by two royal maidservants. The maidservants were responsible for the King's comfort. As such both of them were now rotating the fans, made of clothes.

King Nurak was observing a scroll in his hands, when Scholar reached a certain distance away from the king's throne. Where the councilmen were sitting, he bowed on his knees to look at the king. His two assistants followed behind him with a clumsy mannerism.

"Your Majesty, Scholar Peasant Sottic Handsmen, is present on your summons." The Scholar said with a deep resounding voice. He didn't want to lessen his impressions of the king.

"Hmm" King Nurak, moved his eyes away from the scroll to look at the kneeling figures. For an instant a deep disgust filled his eyes toward the trio of peasants. His expression changed to that of a poker face again. His graying-beard long left to grow, trembled as he spoke.

"Rise, Scholar Sottic."

The trio stood up. Sottic had already instructed his two assistants on how to behave in the king's council. He was pretty much satisfied with their performance. He just needed to gain the king's approval for now and everything he had tried, spending his countless nights will be finally justified.

"Your liege." Scholar Sottic said and the scene paced up agian.

Miguel and Kha'zix couldn't hear what was happening between those two. But could see the shifting of expression in Scholar's eye and the anger of King's face as time went on. It slowed down again after a few minutes.

"Scholar, you must know, you have already touched upon the line of heresy. I could have made you prisoned for your transgression. But I am holding myself. There are many others who don't even want your presence inside the council. You should be grateful that you are here." King Naruk said, calming his posture.

"Your majesty, if you have read my work, you must know how important it is for us to take on measures upon what is coming next." Scholar Sottic said, his nervousness visible on his face. This wasn't going like he wanted.

"Insolent, how dare you talk to our king like that. If you allow me my king, I will kill this dirt born right this instant." A councilman said, taking out a sword, and pointing it toward the Scholar.

Scholar Sottic eyes revealed a huge fear at the sword being pointed toward him. "Pardon me. My liege." He kneeled with his head touching the ground. He didn't dare to look at anyone. Fear ate at him. His fear of sharp weapons was visible on his face.

King Naruk looked disinterested with everything. He ordered the councilmen to take the seat and allowed Scholar Sottic to meet his eyes again.

"I am giving you another chance. Take your work and use it as fire fuel. " King Naruk said, his eyes bore straight into Scholar Sottic eyes. His eyes tracing every bit of movement of the scholar.

Scholar Sottic stood deep in concentration. It was his whole work, everything he had gathered. Every bit of information he had gathered, had pointed in this direction. The thesis was based on it. After his wife was gone in that disaster, this was his only way to alert others. But the King seems to not want to see the truth.

His eyes looked again at the king. There was no hesitation on his face. He was determined before even coming to this council. As a scholar he will always be true to his work.

"Your Majesty, I am afraid I can't do that." Scholar Sottic Handsmen said as his eyes showed fear toward the king and the councilmen. He knew the huge risk he took.

The instant the Scholar said that, the whole council erupted in a commotion. Every councilman ordered their guard to kill the peasant.

Yes, a peasant he was. But he will not wait for the fools, to kill the innocents in order to save their hides. Those dirty nobles. He had faced them his whole life. The scorn they threw toward him. The hatred he faced when he was even better than those nobles in the academy

He still remembered the night his wife died. He wasn't going to leave it half way. He must do it, he must find a way to deliver his thesis among all the people. So they know the reality of the situation they are facing right now.

"Silence!!!" The king's anger resounded throughout the council. But the anger wasn't directed at those council men. He was looking at the Scholar with anger in his eyes.

"Peasant Sottic Handsmen," Sottic could feel that the judgment was coming soon.

"You have betrayed your kingdom. The act of heresy and to dare to even think of something like this, is a crime in itself." The liveliness of the scholar left Sottic eyes. He had expected the king to be wiser, more like a legend. Praise, all the citizens, even the peasants sang the praises for the king. But it was only now he understood it. The king was just like other nobles. Greedy, Afraid, and conceited.

"Sottic Handsmen, you are stripped of your scholar title." The peasant was shown his rightful place.

"Sottic Handsmen is to be thrown into the prison. His works, his house everything will be set alight in fire." The councilmen nodded in their king's judgment. At the end of the day, they were able to get what they wanted the most.