Slalgulathon's new quarters were fairly spacious. Located within that same section of New Ithaca as the meeting room, it was sleek and advanced. A tablet and accompanying holographic display all to himself, as well as a pod for sleeping.
There was even a small table and two chairs, both currently occupied. Frankly, for the standards of this hollowed out moon, it was nothing to scoff at.
Retelling his experience had been taxing, but at the same time it had allowed him to truly understand the magnitude of the events he had just undergone. So much in such a short time, he hadn't had a moment to step back and take a second to observe. He understood, instinctually, but to realise consciously is another matter entirely.
"We stand at the precipice."
Kuhto Frend's hissed out lowly, seeming to read Slalgulathon's thoughts.
"Not quite...your face betrays what lies within. It is not hard for me to guess..."
He admitted that he had allowed his constant mental defenses a brief respite since meeting the Zahto, though it was at Axilis' furious insistence to 'take a chill pill'.
"Regardless, you and I both understand," Kuhto Frend continued. "No doubt the Zahto and Axilis are having the same conversation as we speak...we stand at the precipice of the era."
Slalgulathon rubbed his tired brow.
"Enough of this heavy talk. Tell me, what has changed since I left?"
The scaled reptilian shrugged a shoulder.
"New Ithaca is what New Ithaca is. A few strange things cropping up here and there...but such is to be expected. Silence Reunion, Black Moon sneaking around...like rats...and a new player. A red sun. Other than that...I have heard that the Duke has a new prospect...a Champion candidate..."
Slalgulathon raised an eyebrow at that final piece of news. The rest was fairly normal for the standards of such a hive of criminal activity, but the last time there had been a Champion candidate...
"Must have been more than a decade," Slalgulathon mused. "Before my time. They scrubbed the holovids though, I suppose it makes sense considering."
Kuhto Frend nodded slowly.
"A majestic warrior...but he fell to the Duke's right hand man...before ever reaching his spear...This new one...though, is different. Less man...more...machine. I would think him automaton if not for what I saw..."
He paused, shuddering as he recalled the memory.
"The fire of his soul burned so, so bright. Like a caged sun."
Slalgulathon found his interest peaked. For even Kuhto Frend, with his characteristic cold-blooded nature, to have this reaction called for a truly great figure.
"Maybe this time the Duke will find that he stepped too close to the edge, and fell into the Abyss," Slalgulathon jested.
Kuhto Frend, shook his head without hesitation.
"You would not understand...for you have not seen him...that thing...there is a reason New Ithaca stands proud, and that reason is him alone. A single man...guarding an empire."
Perhaps it had simply been too long since the galaxy had been reminded. Such a thing usually indicated that it would not be long until their memory would be gratefully refreshed, thanks to some witless, overconfident fool.
The times are changing, though. The galaxy is approaching a tipping point, and no power is everlasting. Maybe, just maybe, this time may be different.
Shaking off those ponderous thoughts, their conversation drifted into the lighter topics and, upon noticing the time, Kuhto Frend retired to his own quarters, leaving Slalgulathon to rest. Entering his sleeping pod, enveloped in its soft, warm darkness, he surrendered himself willingly to the embrace of a well needed slumber.
***
Elsewhere in that chaotic moon, a false sun shone from a false sky.
It appeared to still be early in the day, but the sandy arena was already soaked in beautiful red. Ripped apart carcasses littered the ground, torn in a brutal frenzy. Only a single monster remained standing, a chitinous monstrosity, armed with limbs that ended in deadly scythes.
Before it stood a small figure, in comparison. His visage could hardly be made out, covered head to toe in the gore of his fallen enemies. With a flash, the chitinous monster lunged forward, segmented legs carving grooves in the sand. Slashing downwards with both scythes towards its motionless opponent.
At the last moment, however, he disappeared. The scythes collided with the ground instead, sending out a plume of red sand. The monster screeched in frustration at having lost its prey.
The screech was cut short, ending in a gurgle before fading to silence.
On the monster's armour-plated back stood that blood-soaked figure, holding in his hands its keratinous head. Its mandibles still open in that final scream. He held it upwards to a deafening roar from the crowds.
"INVICTUS WINS!"
The announcer's voice echoed boomingly throughout the Colosseum, along with the bloodlusted cheer of almost a million onlookers. No-one in the history of the Colosseum had survived this level, succumbing to the sheer numbers of the enemies.
Until today. Within just a few hours, his foes lay torn asunder at his glorious feet.
The Duke watched this new champion with an unreadable gaze hidden behind his helmet. Seated in the royal box upon a single throne, looking as though it was carved directly from a single boulder. Unlike the lighter grey stone of the Colosseum itself, the royal box and the throne was a darker grey. Etched all over with strange and harsh runes of the colour of faded rust, or perhaps dried blood.
"Invictus..."
The Duke muttered softly with an unknown emotion.
"Could he lead us to it?"
He was interrupted from his musings by the displacement of air in the shadow behind his throne. Without moving, he addressed the newly arrived individual. The air hazed as the sound barrier activated and the roars of the crowd grew distant.
"Mallikus. Report."
The shadowed figure, not moving from his position hidden from view, bowed his head and replied.
"Nothing, my Lord. Not even the faintest of rumours. It is as though he appeared from thin air."
The Duke was silent, letting the muted roars of the crowd wash over him, studying that enigmatic figure bask in the glory of his victory down in the arena below.
"And what of the Crimson Eye?"
"We have...a few leads, my Lord. A few contacts have reached out, we shall see yet what they have to say."
The Duke nodded glacially, and when he spoke, it was with the roiling heat of an active volcano.
"My instincts burn, Mallikus, that the turn of the age is approaching. The time for Igni to rise up is nigh. See to the rest of your tasks, and do not fail."
"Yes, my Lord."
Mallikus presence disappeared, the sound barrier with him, with just a slight shift in the air evidence that he had ever been there in the first place. The Duke slowly rose from his seated position. As he stood, the cheers slowly faded into a bated silence, the holocams switched their feed to display the royal box.
Stepping forward, emerging from the cover into the light of the false sky, the Duke raised up his hands. His illustrious armour was obsidian, swallowing all light into a depthless abyss. Molten rivulets of magma pulsed through it in intricate patterns, like veins of living fire etched into rock. Those molten lines twisted into arcane shapes, glyphs that flickered with an ominous intent.
An oppressive aura spilled out, blanketing the entire Colosseum. A chill pervaded the arena, at odds with the bright false sun. A bloodlust dwarfing that of the gladiators polluted the air, as though their brutal battles had been little more than child's play. When he spoke, his voice commanded the words into existence with the dignity of a conqueror.
"FOR BLOOD...AND GLORIOUS DEATH!"
The crowd erupted into a frenzied chorus, feverish with unrestrained fervour. They echoed his chant savagely, the stone of the Colosseum vibrating with the crescendo in noise.
Alone, at the centre of the arena, Invictus still stood, drenched in the lifeblood of his enemies. The Duke's invisible gaze passed over the lone gladiator, though his thoughts remained his alone.