SUMMIT - 8

A FEW HOURS AGO~

Emberlynn entered the room of the Colosseum where the injured Heskel was resting on the bed. The fight had taken a toll on him. He opened his eyes and greeted the princess with a smile. Emberlynn teared up within an instant and ran upto him.

"What trickery did that bastard use? How dare he insult a renowned Prince like that in the public?" She gritted her teeth and held Heskel's hand.

"Hey hey, don't let it get to your head. It was my fault. I underestimated him even though Severn warned me." Heskel said in his tired voice.

"What are you saying? Why would Lord Severn warn you about some stray?"

"He's not a stray. At least not an ordinary one."

"Why are you praising him like that? What did Lord Severn tell you?"

"Well, not much. He told me that Tristan is no ordinary Voçhter and that I needed to be careful and at my guard throughout the whole match. Also, he told me to tell Tristan about the blood smuggling case and provoke him during match."

"Why did he do that?"

"I asked him the same thing. I asked him what was the point of doing this to Tristan. He replied that he wanted to see if Tristan can hold out emotionally during a fight."

Emberlynn was astounded by the information. She still seemed confused and tears hadn't stopped. Heskel noticed her uneasiness and held her other hand.

"Sit down." He said and she sat down on the side of the bed.

"What is it?" Emberlynn asked.

"Listen carefully, Ember. This may not be the right time to tell you but I'm still letting you know. There is going to be a big war in the near future. I'm not saying this on a whim, this is actually highly likely to happen. Severn and I have discussed about this already."

"W-war? With whom"

"Almost all of the Zourdna, the whole land of Voçhters."

"What!!!" Emberlynn was genuinely concerned over the prospect of war.

"Yes. It will be the Noctis clan, that is Lume and Nyxis Kingdoms, My kingdom and yours. Your father has agreed to ally with us."

"But he didn't tell me about this."

"I told him not to. I wanted to talk to you personally. That is why this summit was called on such an urgent note."

"So, Tristan is also going to be on our side during war?"

"Yes. This why Severn wanted to test him out. He will be a crucial part of the forces. I don't know how but he has an unimaginable strength that defies logic itself. In fact I'm glad somehow, that he was able to defeat me. Someone like him can be our ace in the hole."

Emberlynn sat by his side quietly for some more moments before leaving.

TRISTAN~

The word was still fresh in my mind.

'War'.

In my previous world, this wasn't a pleasant word to hear. I hadn't seen it with my own eyes but I had seen many documentaries about it. War was something really horrible not only for the leaders but also the common people of the nation. It led to dire and fatal consequences for humanity.

"W-war?" A senator's quivering voice escaped his mouth.

Maybe this was the thing that Severn was discussing about with the imposter Obsoluk.

"Yes. A war is incoming and there are little to no chances that blood will not be shed. We had our knights disguised as locales in the Halbrai kingdom and not only Crovault town but many of the other parts of the kingdom are filled with these illegal sites. Royalties and many known faces have been visiting them more frequently than usual."

"So, what do you think we should do?" I asked. I couldn't keep myself shut anymore. Irene had already been silenced but I wasn't going to keep quiet over such a threatening matter.

"It's simple Tristan. We will stay alert and ready. We won't be the ones to attack first but if the attack comes, we won't just defend."

The things were getting out of hands. First the traitor and then the war. Suddenly, there were too many things going on. I wanted to go the Nyxis Kingdom with the evidence of the traitor and set things straight for Irene's sake. But after hearing about the war, my mind was puzzled with many other factors. I knew that Severn had planned things out and wanted me to take his side during the war. But I didn't want to kill people, I just wanted to keep one person safe.

"Brother. Is there any other way? A way through which we can prevent the war from happening? Have you talked with our enemies even once to come to an understanding?"

"We did. But before we could convince the small Voçhter kingdoms, they were swayed by Begnac's malicious and xenophobic ideologies. He has provided them with a forbidden fruit and now they are addicted to it. On top of that, after you rejected his proposal, the head of the Remorette Clan visited him. One of knights told us that Begnac has developed quite a strong bond with them. This means that we can't do anything else but wait for the first attack."

The room went silent after that. After seeing the response, Severn continued.

"I request all the senators to stay on alert. There might be assassination attempts also in the near future. I will make sure to provide you all with additional guards from now on. With this, I shall announce this summit as concluded."

"W-wait, Lord Severn. What about our allies?"

"Oh, that. We have only two. The kingdoms that have sent there successors here at the summit are the only ones we have on our side."

Severn said and left the room. The quiet whispers echoed in the room.

"Only two?"

"We are against Remorette clan and 16 smaller kingdoms."

"I don't know what'll happen."

The senators discussed in a low tone as they all left the room.

Irene sat quietly on her chair.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. It's just, he didn't tell me such an important detail. It reminded me of my powerlessness. How I'm so weak for a Noctis, not only physically but also mentally, that I'm kept away from such significant decisions."

I couldn't say anything to relieve her. She stood up and said.

"Let's go." We both left the room at last.

Severn was standing in the great hall, waiting for us to come out. All the other people had already disappeared.

"I'm sorry Irene. I didn't tell you this earlier." He said.

She didn't reply.

"What about the evidence?" I asked him.

"Pardon?"

"She knows about the traitor. I told her. What I want is an evidence of your brother. So that we can show it to your father and your brother." I told him.

"And what after that?"

"I'm planning to ask him why did he do that?" Irene said. "I want to give him another chance."

Severn was dumbfounded. Suddenly, he started laughing. It was the first time I had seen him laugh.

"Are you kidding Irene? This is why I keep you away from the affairs of the kingdom."

"Hey, what did you say to her? Just because she is kind enough to-" I revolted but he interrupted me.

"That's precisely it. She is too kind to make the hard decisions. Do you know what's the other thing that message said from the Nyxis Kingdom?"

"..." We didn't answer him.

"There's no need to find evidences anymore. The traitor, our brother, has already left the Kingdom."

"What?" Irene shouted.

"He came to father and said that he is not a Noctis anymore. He has left and has not been seen since. Some of the knights in the Halbrai Kingdom reported that they have seen someone similar to Bryce. So, he has allied himself with the enemies. Tell me Irene, do you still want to give him that second chance?"

Irene didn't say anything. Tears ran down her cheeks. She ran out of the hall quickly.

"Irene!" I called out but that didn't stop her.

"Stop that, Tristan. It's pathetic." Severn said.

That was enough to make me lose it but I kept it inside.

"Why the hell are you so condescending to her? Is it only because she is not as powerful of a Voçhter as you people are? Isn't that the same thing as Begnac looking down on humans?" I let it out with a loud voice.

"It's not because she is less powerful. What she lacks is the callousness. She is too empathetic and kind-hearted for her own good. She won't be able to take care of the Kingdom like that. If she becomes the Empress in the future, this will pose her big problem." He replied with a calm tone.

"Why is it always about kingdom this kingdom that? Don't you people think about other person's emotions?"

"It's because we have the responsibility to take care of not only our people but also humans. They are fragile beings and can be easily killed by the other two species. But that doesn't mean they need to become the food. This is why people like me are here. We are here to make the tough decisions when they need to be made. And yes, I want her to become more like me because that is only how you can keep the peace and fight for it, if necessary."

"What if she doesn't want to become a ruler? Why should she carry the burden?"

"Then who is going to do this if not her? You, Tristan? Can you do it?"

"..."

"Ofcourse you can't. You have all the powers but inside, you're just a coward. I can see through you easily Tristan. A man like you, who doesn't have a purpose, what can you actually do?"

"You're wrong. I do have a purpose."

"And what's that? Protecting Irene?"

He said those words so lightly like they meant nothing. Surprisingly, I found myself staring at him blankly, like he had stated a fact.

"And what's bad about that?"

"You are delusional. You are not protecting her. You're just making her weaker by agreeing to her childish ideals. And not just her, you're also making yourself weaker. Eventually you'll become dependent on her. What will happen if something happens to her? What will you do then? Will you be able to keep yourself from destroying everything?"

"I won't let anything happen to her."

"Hah. You're the King, Tristan, not the god. Remember my words, someday, you'll have to think about it."

"You might think that you're taking the right route but you're wrong, fighting a war in the name of peace. It's ironic. But I don't need to be a part of it. I finally have the strength to protect someone I love. This war means nothing to me but if she says that we can do anything to stop it, I'll do it for sure." I said and left. I knew there had to be a better option than spewing blood of innocent people. A way to prevent the bloodshed and stop the inhumane activities going on in the Halbrai Kingdom. I believed in Irene's ideals and I had to make sure to prove them right.