33 Risen#re

Lirian sent several commands into his watch to read out some of the books he had been looking through, when heard a knock on the door, he smelled the scent of his mom and turned to face her.

Taliyah smiled at the sight of him diligently continuing with his studies despite, his problems, but soon she turned serious, "I have something to speak to you about," she said with a little hesitation.

He sank in his seat, he had an idea of what she would be speaking about but he didn't want to hear it, nothing would change his mind, "If this about Telamon mom, then just stop I don't want..."

Taliyah cut his words short, "I have arranged for us to have dinner with my master the week before you go on your expedition,"

"And you'll attend whether you like it or not," she quickly added before he could disrupt her.

"You'll speak with my master, then you'll learn that there is no way that he could possibly have..." she looked at Lirian with hopeful eyes as she tried to convince him that Telamon only had the best interest at heart for him.

"He tried to kill me mom," Lirian's voice got heated and he ripped the blind fold from his face to show her his eyes, ", this was the price I paid to learn that,"

"And now you want me sit down and talk to him like nothing ever happened and hear him make up some pathetic lie about the imagination of a child,"

"I am no child mom, and I will not sit down to be patronized by someone that tried to kill me," his face contorted in anger as he clenched his fists tightly.

"If you are no child then start acting like it, adults know when they have to make a compromise," Taliyah shouted back in her anger, she just wanted him to understand that her master was a good man he had no reason to harm him at all, and in doing so Telamon would harm her and she knew that he would never do that.

He gave up his role as an advisor the second she said that she wanted to raise her children herself and he helped her to ensure they had the best education possible and that they were safe.

Lirian was taken aback by her unreasonable words, "Adults must learn to compromise when it's important but I have no reason compromise on his account," he lashed out angrily.

Tears formed in Taliyah's eyes, "Am I not enough of a reason for you compromise?" she asked with trembling hands and shaky breath.

Lirian bit on his lip and turned away from her, taking quick breaths to calm himself before he said something he truly regrets.

"Very well, I'll do as you say, but I'm doing this only for you and I will do it only this once," he spoke reluctantly.

Taliyah turned away and walked out in a hurry, she didn't know what to do, she believed what Lirian said he'd do to Telamon as soon as he got sufficient power, and she didn't doubt his ability to do so she had seen some of the things Lirian was capable of and it broke her heart.

How could he want to kill the man she thought of like a second father, the even more painful thing was imagining that the man she viewed as a father wanting to kill her son, and one that was all but guaranteed to pass the candidates trial, what possible motive could he possibly have to do such a thing.

She sighed and comforted herself with the thought that with this dinner she could sort out all these problems.

---

Lirian paced around muttering to himself, trying to vent his anger, but his other selves didn't make things any easier, like always they seemed hell-bent on making him give up control and handing it over.

He picked up his watch and made a new command, "Forget all previous assignments, assign all resources to gather intel on Telamon Dao, from his first appearance in the public eye and any public records, scour the black market to gather anything as well and pay whatever price I can afford."

Lirian smacked his head as the voices grew louder, and sunk back into his thoughts, 'What could Telamons motive be for betraying my mom,' he could help but wonder.

He pondered in silence forming a chain of thoughts.

Think back to the first time his mother mentioned him, he remembered the system cautioning him against that man the second he heard his name.

The system would only waste resources to give him intel if it was something dire, but it couldn't tell him everything without affecting the cause and effect he had on the world, fate was always too complicated to play with lightly.

There was a big secret that Telamon held that pertained to his mother, one that was dangerous, he confirmed that during their first meeting.

The last thing he confirmed was that he was working with Efrideet, his mother's most hated enemy, he could barely find a motive though, it was none sensical.

'I need to find out the type of man he is to understand his reasoning,' he thought, when something suddenly occurred to him, he thought of his mother's wish to have a child that could survive the candidate's trial and how it chose him, the greatest being in all of creation.

His thoughts stopped there as he felt cold chills, "No, it can't be!" he exclaimed aloud, ", but if it is then, that means he's been against mom all this time,", and for the first time in what felt like ages the voices all went silent as they murmured in agreement.

"WE MUST KILL HIM, FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE TO MOTHER!" they roared together, Lirian grasped his head tightly as the sound of their roars threatened to blow his head open, but he was truly surprised by their reaction it was like the good old days when they'd just try to drive the throned crazy with their many different opinions, but when it came to things that mattered, they would work together.

"Now this is truly an interesting speculation," he muttered with an icy edge to his voice, ", and I think that I've found a direction to head towards," blood lust oozed out of his body in terrifying waves, he vaguely thought of his time as Arodil, in the days after he broke the limits of that plain and became an equal of the heaven.

He set on a great crusade throughout the universe's, it didn't matter whether it was the god, immortal or mortal realms, he left everything in ruin for what they did to him in that life, sparing only a single world and a single star.

But right now, his fury was even greater than at that time, for all of his mother's grief and pain was caused by Telamon Dao, and it was something he would never forgive.

---

The next day as he sat in the limo he faced Anya, "Have you heard about the dinner we are going to have with Telamon?" he asked.

"That's your excellency to you," she scolded him, for saying Telamons name so casually, his lack of respect was only getting worse as time went on, "And yes I've heard, her majesty has asked me to join in on the occasion."

"Oh, good then, but just a word of advice, I'd like to advise you to come prepared things might get very bloody during dinner," Lirian chuckled coldly.

Anya looked at him wide-eyed and felt her heart tremble, "What are you planning to do Lirian!" she exclaimed with a rare severity to her voice.

"Nothing much, just say a few truths, but what you really need to be careful of is to stop my mother, when she tries to ram her sword through Telamons skull, or throat, I don't want him dying too quickly,"

"You see he is an excellent source of information, and it would be better to make him suffer miserably as I pour my memories into him, then to give him a swift death," he spoke nonchalantly like it was a simple affair.

Anya could feel her heart thumping, she could feel her blood running a million times faster than a waterfall, "Do you realize what the hell you are saying?!" she cried out in shock.

"Yes, very much so, I told you and my mom from the beginning that he was not to be trusted, and soon his actions will stand as his executioner, he will not escape for the things he has done to my mother."

"Before you report all of this to my mother, could you tell me one thing, do you know when exactly Telamon decided that teaching was his passion, was it before or after my mother announced that she would be raising her children herself?" he asked curiously.

For the first time Anya could see some of the traces of the evil god within him appear, he spoke so casually about killing someone important to his mother, and seemed proud of himself, it scared even her, but as much as his words made her feel fear it fuelled her curiosity, just what did Telamon do to harm the empress and why was Lirian so certain he was right.