Chapter 124 - Let's Claim our Identities

"Enough is enough. We must destroy that Dark Stone City before it's too late," said the 13th Landgrave. Like his brothers, he stood on an oversized obsidian throne, and as he smashed his chair's arm to stress his point, his doll-like face gave him a tantrum-throwing child's look. Of the original 27 thrones, only 18 remained. Following the Colossi's defeat, more delighted than Harun, the Sanguine Dolls promptly destroyed their elders' thrones. As far as they were concerned, Harun cleaned up their assembly of all its vermin and deserved a medal. Such brotherly bonds were indeed hard to come by. Soon, however, a pressing matter brought them back to seriousness.

Each of the Landgraves routinely created puppets to take care of invaders and explore the outside world. The Sanguine Dolls didn't believe that the invaders were worth their fists and played cat and mouse with the Soul Refining Hall's disciples. At the same time, they had to guard the Abyssal River and couldn't easily leave the mine. Hence, they used their dolls to see what their mother didn't deign share with them. The results didn't please them. 

"For once, we can all agree on this one thing. The more time passes, the more troublesome the situation becomes. Not only does that city's barrier suppress Mother's powers, but the area it covers also keeps expanding. For now, it's the Dark Stone City and its outskirts, but at this pace, it won't be long before other towns, villages, cities and the entire country become sheltered by the barrier," the 15th Landgrave followed.

Following his Spiritual Alchemy and incarnation breakthrough, Harun shifted the Dark Stone City's barrier into a self-expanding mechanism. The barrier now spread proportionally to the prayers Harun received, and while he couldn't predict how far it'd go, left unchecked, it wouldn't be long before it shrouded the country. As a grand nation of 1.6 billion citizens, the Dark Stone Country was a population hotspot and one of the Landgraves' primary targets. For the sake of their mother's recovery, they couldn't let it off the hook.

" Destroying the Dark Stone City to maintain mother's influence on the country is not a significant sacrifice. Still, the change in energy structure clearly tells us who set up that barrier. What's the point of sacrificing the Colossi to diffuse enmity if we're going to antagonize him all over again. At the very least, we should wait for Mother to have him in her grasp first."

"But by then, it might be too late." The 16th and 17th clashed. Those were the opinions splitting the Landgraves. Their mother's lack of action and communication didn't help the matter. It was almost as if she gave them free license to do as they pleased, and if such freedom was typically cause for celebration, on this occasion, it frustrated most of them. The argument went on no end, with the sub-20 numbers getting worked up while 21 and above stayed silent. But as some prepared to decide through bloodshed, the brilliant glow of 10 golden lightning bolts flashed from one of the obsidian thrones. "Enough," a baby-faced vampire doll with curly black hair ordered, and silence returned to the assembly.

Tremendous strength discrepancies might exist between the Landgraves, but only one—the 27th—could command the others. And whenever his voice echoed, even the 26th didn't dare contradict it. "You've all made salient points. But if mother hasn't made her position clear, it means that regardless of what we choose, her plans will not be disturbed. If Mother has such confidence in her plans, who are we to doubt them? Or have you all spent so much time in torpor that your brains are now as muddled as the colossi's? Do what you will. I will not interfere. However, 13th, I want you to clean up the remaining blind donkeys and bring mother their chief. We've had enough fun with the…hum…creatures," the 27th Landgrave declared, and instantly, the 13th crossed an invisible space portal to accomplish his task.

Though they would never challenge their leader, some Sanguine Dolls didn't believe their mother infallible. All sentient beings could commit mistakes, and as her closest kin, it was their duty to make sure that she didn't harm herself due to some flimsy infatuation. With that in mind, the 10th, 11th and 12th Landgrave left the assembly, heading straight for the Dark Stone Country.

The 14th and 17th vanished as well, rushing to an unknown location. Intrigued by his brothers' rash moves, the 26th fixed the 27th. "Was that wise? If you didn't want them to act, you just had to give them one order. But now they're all going to do as they please, and probably even try to kill that boy." The 26th probed in a mental message, unwittingly making his younger brother's lips curl up. "How else could I make them do the things I secretly want to? Unfortunately, I can't afford to be the one that got on mother's nerves. Meanwhile, we can use the time they buy us to ponder a serious question."

"What?" The 25th, who silently listened to the mental debate, chimed in. Granted, they lived in torpor for millions of years; the three shared a unique bond. The 25th and 26th aside, no Landgrave had the right to probe the baby boss' real thoughts. "Names, of course. I believe it's time we give ourselves…names."

The older two froze at the alien notion. Their faces twitched, and while the 25th struggled to accept those words, the 26th pursued: "Names? Isn't 27th enough for you? Why are you trying to mimic the outsiders?"

"27th is my position, the symbol of my dominion over every one of you. However, it is not my name. A name represents an identity. Without one, how can we claim true individuality? We must all pick meaningful names, and I've been thinking about one for a while. It starts with…Nakul."

…

Meanwhile, Reverend Weeping Soul was rushing into the deepest recesses of the mine, when the last of his hall's disciples' death smacked his soul. Knowing precisely what was to come, Weeping Soul let the blow overwhelm him, stumbled, and collapsed on the ground. The 13th Landgrave popped out of an adjacent wall, and with a mocking smile, stared at the Reverend, unaware that deep down, Weeping Soul sneered as well.

...

Immediately after her breakthrough, Jiyan dove into Mystery comprehension—focusing her efforts on the Mystery of Space. At her right, Harun acknowledged the damage he unintentionally caused innocents, accepted his part of the guilt and went beyond it. As far as he was concerned, Harun did the best he could given the circ.u.mstances, and though he wouldn't gloat at an innocent's death, he couldn't beat himself down for events beyond his control, either. As unfortunate as they might have been, he didn't owe them much. His enemies, though…merely got what they deserved.

Was that selfish? Perhaps, but since when did heroism become one of his qualities? At the same time, Harun believed that he should redouble his efforts and make sure that plans didn't ripple on unnecessary victims—so that at the very least—he didn't drag foul Karma around.

And while the plaguebringer crossed the last hurdles, the 10th, 11th and 12th Landgrave appeared above the Dark Stone City, fixing it with slasher smiles.