Crown’s City. Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace was perhaps the most heavily defended place in the Empire of the Sun. Groups of twelve Empress Guards patrolled across the property. Unlike common foot soldiers, these Empress Guards had armors that were a blend of gold and red. They carried the same weapons as normal soldiers, but the runes on their weapons were much superior.

More importantly, they were the most loyal members of the Empire. If the Empress ordered them to commit suicide, they would do it without raising a single question.

At a portion of the castle walls, a group of Empress Guards was about to move on when one of them suddenly paused. She heard a light sound from the other side of the wall. It was lighter than the breath of the wind, but the highly trained Empress Guard detected it easily.

The entire group stopped and formed a tiny but powerful Formation. A layer of barrier in gold and red covered them from all fronts as they closed in toward the source of the sound.

One of them peeked over the wall. Nothing.

“It might just be a rat.” One of them commented.

“The entire palace is covered by a Matrix. No rat can get in.” The captain of the squad glared at that man. He turned to the first guard. “Are you sure it’s not the wind?”

“No. I think we should do a full scan of the palace, just in case.”

“Wow wow.” The second guard frowned. He was the one that suggested it might be a rat. “I think we are overreacting. If we notify everyone and it turns out to be a false alarm...”

The guard captain snapped. “We are protecting the Empress! We can never be too safe with the life of her grace! You two, go tell...”

Suddenly, the second guard’s eyes turned black. The next second all eleven other guards collapsed. Their runes were generating energy on a shield around the entire squad. When a member of the squad suddenly turned against the others, the runes were useless, and the shield was broken from the inside.

The dead guards didn't have a single wound on them because they weren’t physically attacked.

The traitor turned to an area of empty space next to him.

“You should’ve been more careful.”

“I didn't know they would be this sensitive.” A figure appeared over there. It was Adam. “I just stepped on one wrong place and they wanted to wake the whole palace.”

“Well, I just hope you won’t step on the wrong place again.” The guard frowned. His frustration was obvious as he sent all eleven bodies into his watch. Destroying the evidence was one thing. Looting their weapons and armors was another. “You’re lucky I was here to cover for you. Still, you have wasted my cover. I hope you can get your mission done or this will be a disaster.”

Hendrick was one of the Voyagers sent to Crown’s City to infiltrate the central command of the Empire. He chose the Empress Guards. Thanks to the uniqueness of his power, he managed to find his way in. When Adam told Lucas he was willing to make a go at the Empress, Hendrick offered to provide him with some support. At first, all Hendrick wanted was to provide Adam the map of the Palace and leave the rest up to fate. Just in case, he told Adam to come in at a part of the wall where he was patrolling. This precaution turned out to be quite useful. If he wasn’t there to silence the other guards, Adam, just by himself, would have no chance of eliminating the entire patrol squad quietly. As long as one Empress Guard got out, the entire mission would be lost.

At this point, Hendrick’s cover was blown anyway. Whether Adam was successful or not, by tomorrow, the Empress Guards would realize a squad was missing. If Hendrick returned, how would he explain what happened? If he had to get out either way, then he might as well escort Adam closer to the Empress and try to cover him if anything goes wrong again.

“How did you infiltrate the guards anyways?” Adam whispered in his cloaked mode.

“Silence!” Hendrick was much more careful. Even though Adam was cloaked, the sound he made could still be heard. The infiltrator used his psychic power to project his voice into Adam’s head. “We are at the heart of the Empire of the Sun! If we are discovered, none of us can get out!” How did Adam even get to this phase with this type of carelessness?

The two passed three more squads of patrols. This time, Hendrick’s sound as he moved masked that of Adam. Some of the squads stopped Hendrick and asked where he was going, but everytime Hendrick answered correctly. It was as if he was a real Empress Guard.

Finally, as the two were alone, Hendrick decided that perhaps he should tell Adam some information about himself. If Adam knew nothing about him and they reach a point where they had to work together to survive, things would get really messy.

“I have the power to manipulate souls. When I infiltrated the Empress Guards, I devoured the original soul of this body and inserted my soul in his place. I got all his memory in the process. In terms of attacking, I can attack the souls of my enemies directly, regardless of their physical strength or endurance. The runes of this world can deflect me, but as long as the runes are down, I can massacre hundreds with the snap of a finger.”

This was a power that was deadly and fragile at the same time. If Hendrick was facing someone that relies on external forces, like Iron Man, he could avoid the armor on the outside and just take out the enemies themselves. It wouldn’t matter if you have fifty layers of armor on. A single strike and the armor would be untouched, but the man inside would be dead.

On the other hand, when facing enemies without souls, like Wardens or Purifiers, Hendrick would be forced to fight with his Voyager set. It was still powerful, but the unique power of the Voyager would be neglected.

Adam nodded, still cloaked.

Finally, Hendrick stopped.

“I can’t go further. You have to get in by yourself. The Empress should be somewhere in the proximity, but beware, it will be heavily guarded.”

Hendrick was willing to help Adam, but there was no way he would risk his own life at the attempt. All he wanted to do now was leave, find another Empress Guard, devour his soul and replace him, and then find a way to survive the chaos that would follow the assassination/assassination attempt.

Adam nodded and rested his hand on the watch. Hendrick turned around, ready to leave.

“I wish you good luck…”

Hendrick suddenly paused...and looked down…

...at the tip of the double-edged sword that went through his chest.

Adam was holding the sword. He was no longer cloaked.

A thousand things flew through Hendrick’s head. The physical pain was unbearable, but as a master of manipulating souls, Hendrick has already severed the feeling of pain in his current body from his soul. But the damage was already done. There was no way he could neglect the fact that there was a sword in his chest.

Immediately, Hendrick tried to extract his soul from the dying body and flee. He didn't know what Adam was thinking, not that it mattered. He wanted him dead.

Hendrick’s essence was in his soul. His body was just a suit. If he could get out now, he wouldn’t even be wounded.

But just before his soul could escape, a wave of light suddenly exploded from the double-edged sword. At the exact moment, Hendrick suddenly felt so warm and comfortable. His soul relaxed. He completely forgot about the danger in the moment.

He gave up resistance.

Everything was just so good…what was there to resist?

Unknown to Hendrick, his soul was melting as soon as the light hit him. Within moments, thanks to the lack of resistance, the Voyager was gone.

As he faded away, he was still smiling.

It a real fight, Hendrick would be more than a match for Adam. His ability to manipulate souls was mysterious and deadly. The moment Adam takes off his Voyager armor, he would be dead. But this wasn’t a fair fight. For the sake of secrecy, Hendrick didn't have any piece of the Voyager set on. His power wasn’t activated. He didn't have any guard up against Adam. While Voyagers have a tendency to stab others in the back, only fools would do that in the middle of the Royal Palace. Even if the backstab was successful, the attacker would be taken out by the Empress Guards as well.

Adam, on the other hand, had it all planned out.

At the caliber of the two Voyagers, a single advantage could make the battle end very quickly.

Adam quietly picked up Hendrick’s watch. While locals couldn’t see the Voyager watches, other Voyagers could take the watches off their comrades and loot them of their properties.

Hearing the chaos, squads and squads of Empress guards swarmed in. Formations were formed and merged to a point where there was nothing Adam could do to break it.

A man in all gold armor walked through the formations. He was General Flores, the commander of the Empress Guards.

Adam dropped his weapon and put his hands in the air.

“Bring me to see the Empress. I have matters that regard the survival of this world to discuss with her.”

In the end, Adam gained an opportunity to see the Empress. At first, the Empress Guards smirked at the request. Did he think anyone could see the Empress? Plus, as far as the Guards could see, Adam was an assassin who slew one of them. It was lucky for him that his head was still above his shoulder.

But when Adam started yelling how he could help with all the recent conflicts, things changed. The common Empress Guards didn't think much of it, but General Flores keenly sensed this wasn’t just a normal assassination. He decided to notify the Empress about it and see what she wanted. It could never hurt.

The Empress agreed for a meeting. Of course, Adam had to do so under heavy security.

The Voyager’s double edged sword was taken away, obviously. The Empress Guards couldn’t do anything about his watch, but it’s not like Adam had any ill intention in mind.

The entire Empress Guard was assembled in the throne room. 3,000 of the Empire’s best worked together to form a formation that was practically impenetrable.

That was when the Empress finally stepped in.

Adam watched as a young woman in her twenties stepped in. She wore delicate clothing and had a golden crown on her head. Two swords were strapped to her side. One was longer than the other. She had an ice cold expression. She sat down and immediately went straight to the point.

“Identify yourself.”

Adam lowered his head.

“Voyager Adam of the Voyager Corps.”

The Empress frowned.

“Voyager Corps? I don’t believe I have ever heard that name.” And as the Empress, she knew a lot of secrets. For a moment she almost thought Adam was toying with her.

Adam took a deep breath.

“Well, let me explain…”

In a shocking turn of events, the Voyager went on to explain everything to the Empress, going from the City of the Voyagers to his identity to his reason here. He told her how there were 80 powerful individuals ready to light this world on fire, and how he has just terminated one of them.

When he was finally done, the throne room was silent. Even the Empress Guards were exchanging shocked looks.

The Empress tapped her forehead.

“You said you have been sent by the...Guardians because we resisted against them?”

“Protectors, and yes. When they descended, your people denied them entry by building a barrier around your world.”

To most people, that would sound like a far fetched story coming from a madman, but the Empress didn't think so.

When she was just a child, the Empress enjoyed going through the royal family’s library. She enjoyed reading, and not only on math and history, but also odd stories that could only be found in the ancient books. These stories were so old that not only those involved in them were ashes, those who wrote them and told them were gone as well.

In one of the stories, the Empress read of how a man in full white armor descended from the skies and announced how this world was under the protection of some sort of legion. Seeing this as an invasion, the ancestors united all the available forces on the planet and banished the man. It came at a heavy cost. Almost no one survived the battle. Those who came after saw the story as nothing more than a mere story.

That was what the Empress thought as well...until now.