(Vorthas, Central District, Streets Near Sector 3)
"Umm, excuse me? Can you redirect me to where the Twelfth Elder lives?" Leo asked, his voice low but clear as he stopped a passing middle-aged man by the side of the street.
The man blinked, startled at first, before his eyes widened in shock as he took in Leo’s face.
"Lord Shadow Dragon!" he exclaimed, practically stumbling as he bowed at the waist, eyes shimmering with pride. "It would be my honor to show you the way!"
Before Leo could reply or object, the man spun on his heel and gestured eagerly. "Please, this way! It’s a bit of a walk, but I’ll take you directly. It’s not every day I get to help such an important figure."
Leo gave a faint, tired nod and followed in silence, his hands tucked loosely in his robe pockets as the two of them merged into the flow of foot traffic.
The streets of Vorthas were alive, filled with angry chatter and banners of the Cult hanging high from the windows above, rippling lightly in the breeze.
"I heard the Twelfth Elder’s residence has tighter security than the Ixtal vault," the man said as they turned onto a narrower street, clearly trying to make conversation. "And rightly so. With that bastard Dupravel still lurking somewhere out there, we can’t afford to let our guard down!"
He spat on the ground, disgusted, before glancing sideways at Leo. "The attack yesterday... unforgivable, wasn’t it? All those brave officers, slaughtered like pigs. The Dragon attacked on our home planet before our very eyes..... And for what? One man’s madness?"
Leo didn’t answer. He just stared straight ahead, jaw clenched as his boots struck the stone path in rhythm with the man’s rambling.
Every word was a reminder of the knife he was about to twist into the Elder’s plans.
Every sentence spoken in faith was a weight added to the guilt he carried.
Because not only had he decided to not turn in Dupravel to the authorities... he had also allied with him as his master.
Leo could already imagine the Twelfth Elder’s expression. The twitch in his eye. The clenched jaw. The storm he’d barely suppressed the last time they met, when Leo had spat on the Dragon title and walked away from the responsibility he was meant to claim.
And now, he was about to deliver an even worse piece of news.
The irony was almost poetic.
This time, Leo wasn’t coming to make empty promises.
This time... he had already committed the crime, and was coming to ask for an apology.
"I don’t know what the Elder will do when he hears this..." Leo muttered under his breath, his gaze falling to the ground for a moment.
"But it’s too late to change anything now."
He had already made his bed.
And now he had to sleep in it.
"Here, Lord Shadow Dragon, that building at the end of this street is the Elder’s residence—" the middle-aged man said, pointing toward a high-walled estate layered with metal barricades, fortified gates, and Cult banners hanging from every arch.
Leo’s eyes narrowed slightly at the overwhelming display of security, which felt more like a public theater performance than actual protection.
"Thank you for helping me, kind sir..." he replied, offering a half-smile before making his way toward the front gate.
The moment he approached, one of the perimeter guards stepped forward and raised a hand.
"Halt. State your—" the man began, only to freeze mid-sentence as he got a proper look at Leo’s face. His posture straightened immediately, then dropped into a deep bow.
"My apologies, Lord Shadow Dragon. Please, this way—"
Another guard had already tapped his communicator, speaking hastily into the earpiece to announce Leo’s arrival.
Leo exhaled, slow and tired, as he crossed the barricade and was escorted inside.
’Buffoons,’ he thought to himself. ’What if I wasn’t me? What if I was Dupravel pretending to be me using a simple [Shapeshift] skill? Would they still roll out the red carpet?’
He said nothing aloud, of course.
It wasn’t the time to pick a fight with the Cult’s security forces, no matter how laughably incompetent they were.
Still, the ease with which he’d passed through all those layers of defense left a sour taste in his mouth.
If Vorthas really was on high alert, then this display was nothing but a farce.
He followed the guards in silence, winding through long, polished hallways and waiting rooms too extravagant for their purpose, until they stopped before a set of double doors.
"Please wait here, sir. The Twelfth Elder is being informed of your arrival," one of the guards said before stepping inside, leaving Leo to pass the time by inspecting the shine on his shoes.
A few minutes later, an assistant stepped out and gave a respectful nod.
"The Twelfth Elder will see you now, Lord Shadow Dragon."
Leo walked in slowly, head slightly lowered, already dreading the conversation ahead.
"Skyshard, if you’re here to talk about training, don’t waste my time," the Twelfth Elder said sharply the moment Leo stepped through the door. "I’ve already arranged a hovercraft to take you and Veyr to the training facility tomorrow morning. So if that’s all, save it. I’m dealing with more pressing matters right now."
Leo blinked, mildly caught off guard, before glancing around the room, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the sight of nearly a dozen uniformed officials crammed into the Elder’s office.
Local police captains, elite unit commanders, special division heads. All seated. All tense.
"Err... no, I’m not here about that," Leo said cautiously. "I’m actually here to talk about Dupravel—"
The moment the name left his lips, the temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop by a couple degrees.
All conversation ceased.
Every head in the room turned toward him.
"I know his current location.... He has relayed through me the terms of his surrender....." Leo said, as he saw the expression on the face of the Twelfth Elder turn from one of extreme excitement to mild surprise.
"Surrender? What surrender? Bastard killed my sworn brother Noah in cold blood.
The only mercy he’s going to receive in the Cult is the mercy of death!" The Elder retorted, as Leo clicked his tongue in disagreement.
"Yeah.... About that..."