Interlude 16
#52 of Among Stars
Part of: Among Stars (Prequel to 'The Golden Month')
The story of how a crew of misfits shattered the dominance of the Empire's tyranny.
Their victories, their losses, and their ultimate fate. An odyssey across the endless frontier that is space!
Las Lindas Web Comic Spin-Off, OC-Insert
The characters in this story (Except the OC-Insert) are © chalodillo
Interlude 16
Beta-Reader: Ant0nius
Pandora had found herself occupied with a difficult dilemma.
Normally, any confusing thoughts she possessed would easily be dismantled and scrutinized in fine detail but... now she was having a bit of a conundrum integrating a new theory with what she knew about Chaos. Theo had brought to her attention something that she hadn't expected him to figure out- actually, that was why he sought her as he too was uncertain what happened in a previous situation. Chaos and Order- both shouldn't be stable enough to use at the same time. But not at the... 'same time'. It was one matter to use one hand for a spell, and a different scenario to use both, but to mix the properties of both Chaos and Order within the casting of a single spell was...
Well, that has always been a recipe for destruction. 'Self-Destruction' at that.
She had tried to accomplish that same feat many times in the past, but... she hadn't been able to achieve any result other than failure. And yet this showed she had missed accounting for a variable in her spell-casting . Humans could potentially be what could mend that divide, the sort of connection that could bring Narakhans and Primes back together as a single united tribe. It was so odd to imagine this outcome occurring naturally, and yet reality stated otherwise. Mankind hadn't been spawned by the Dragon Gods, they were not blessed with years of advances and an enforced divide by any potential deity they may have, they were not created with a clear purpose. They existed with one, but they didn't have the ever-so nagging presence of a superior being or more forcing them to do their bidding. And that was... a promising start.
There was no doubt that a victory against the Empire would bring a larger change than anyone could predict. Did the Gods account for this possibility? Maybe or... maybe they were too busy. Why risk so much in trying to replace a successful pawn? And that's where Pandora's real dilemma came in. What was she to do once this was all over. Theo was proving himself a worthy champion of chaos and, at the same time, someone she wanted to keep away from it. She didn't want him ruined by it, she didn't want to risk him to the taint.
And she realized that, once this was all over, he would be betrayed by the very entities that brought him here. To them, he was a man they had 'graced' with a task, nothing more. His reward for accomplishing such a feat ? Being honored as a hero. That's it. It wasn't a novelty and... Pandora was tempted to risk her existence by informing him of what was to come . He was in more peril each day the end approached. To think that the Emperor would have merely been a secondary threat to his survival... How ironic. Still, what should she do about this? There was little she could attempt without getting outright destroyed by the Dragons, but that wouldn't stop her from implementing a 'contingency' if she so wanted.
Theo was now someone she wanted to see prosper and she wanted him to be part of the family. If Adela wasn't going to get him and seal the deal, then things were going to get quite troublesome for the fools. Patience may be the virtue of the strong, but cruelty was the virtue of someone that stopped caring for common sense. And if push came to shove, then Pandora wouldn't hold back from ending their pathetic plans for good.
Plotting bad things was nothing new for her, but this would be one of the few times she planned to do so for the sake of legitimate concerns. It would take so little, it would just be all about creating an organization to follow her command before focusing on sabotaging their own peace. Just enough to force their hands, not to the point of hurting innocents. Angry she may be, but Pandora was above endangering civilians for something like that. It was between her and those that would go against her whims. She was soon going to be the Goddess of Chaos the moment the Emperor perished and... she couldn't afford to be weak.
No more, not when those were going to abuse their position again to undermine her legitimate might. A grin formed on her face at the thought of supporting a Queen of Prism more than what the Dragons could manage. It was going to be a change for sure, but the effects of it were not within reach for her to judge. Only time would tell her if this was a great idea or not, but for now...
_ Let's help her Champion some more~. _
d-d-d-d
AN
Blep