Chapter 386

386 [Bonus chapter] War Council

“It will all make sense in a moment. You can rest now and I’ll let your mind wander to the past... To a time before the rogue king existed... and let you see how he came to be. I’m hoping this will help you see some reason behind my request,” the goddess sounded sure of her demands.

“That’s one selfish demand. I guess death is just too much of a release for him though. I’ll see what you want me to see. It’s not like I have a choice in the matter,” Katie responded, allowing her eyes to finally close. The goddess sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, but kept her thoughts to herself.

Asclepius waved his caduceus over the Luna’s body. Almost instantly, Katie’s body and mind went still all at once, sent into a deep state of stasis with her mind operating at minimum brain function. In this state, she was unable to dream on her own. Without the goddess’s intervention, her mind would be completely blank.

In this kind of slumber he’d sent her into, she could even be considered more dead than alive, “Isn’t that taking it a little too far, Ace?” the goddess asked.

“No, it’s not. I am eager to see what this human is like in her peak condition. You’ve commanded quite the audience among the gods. Many of the minor gods are watching to see what will happen next. It’s like watching a tale of the heroes of the past, but in the present,” the young god responded with amusement filling his voice. Now that the goddess thought of it, Asclepius was probably helping her to keep this ‘show’ going on longer.

The Moon Goddess only sighed, thankful that he was at least taking his role seriously, “Very well... I’ll just take her mind delving through the past in this state of deep sleep. It makes no difference... except that the memories will be rooted deep within her mind. She’ll know it all by heart.”

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The journey to the past was not at all expected. In this deepened state of sleep, consciousness was difficult to determine initially. It felt like watching a movie in high definition while not being aware that one was a mere spectre watching the events of the past. Feeling as though one was a part of the story and yet not expecting themselves to participate in these events.

“If we attack different small towns and bolster our forces with more humans, we’ll be more powerful. The hunters won’t stand a chance against us one bit and we can finally wipe them out once and for all. Don’t forget that they cannot easily multiply the way we can,” a man slammed his hand on the long table, commanding others to listen to him. His searing red eyes burned with a hatred for mankind. One that Katie had never had the chance to witness.

.....

She took a moment to recognize where she was but was soon able to distinguish this as the Lycaon palace’s throne room they were seated in. Many alphas were seated at a table with maps strewn across the table, discussing war plans with the king who was seated on his throne watching and listening. The king of Lycaon looked young, but his eyes told a different story and the aura about him was scarier than the royals that Katie had met in her own time.

“Your majesty, this is preposterous. Continuing to create rogues is going to make it impossible to control the empire. Not to mention it takes time to train them into werewolves worth a grain to the empire. Our purpose is to put an end to humanity. I say we attack the humans where they are weak and wipe them all out while we still have the chance.

Using well-calculated attacks, we can throw the hunters off their balance and get them off guard. We have the advantage in this war. We must take it,” another alpha stood up, challenging the one that had just spoken.

“No, that’s counterproductive. Without numbers, it will take longer to rebuild once the war is over and that’s something none of us wants to be put through,” another growled.

“We might take a long to rebuild after that, but we won’t have so many to worry about. Fewer mouths to feed. Have you ever tried rebuilding with an over-bloated population? It’s like starting a quest with no end in sight,”

“Silence,” the king’s voice boomed through the halls, “Watching you bicker like children gives me a headache worse than what I get from arguing with Jeanie... which is quite impressive in its own way.”

The king’s beta alpha chuckled beside him, “They have the empire’s best interests at heart, your majesty. We all do.”

“This much I know, Davion, but with the way things stand at the moment, I’m not even sure what the empire’s best interests are,” the king rubbed his temples in disappointment. The room went silent, the bickering alphas turning their concerns to their king.

“What’s that supposed to mean, your Majesty?” one of the alphas asked.

“I’ve been having dreams lately. The goddess commands an audience with the two Emperors. Sirius and I will be leaving our kingdoms to speak to her at the Origin later today,” the king replied with a sigh, “Something won’t stop turning in my stomach if you know what I mean.”

“It’s the goddess. She would never wish anything bad to happen to the empire, would she?” a man’s voice rumbled through the throne room. At the entrance of the throne room, a man with striking blue eyes leaned against the large doorframe with his hands folded across his chest.

“It’s been a while, brother. I trust you had fruitful travels,” the king raised his voice rising from his seat and walking to meet his brother. “The rest of you are dismissed. Until I return from the Origin, there will be no further discussions on the war. Use the time to recuperate and prepare your troops for what’s to come.”

“This is new, even for you, brother. To dismiss the War council with an order to relax when going on a trip to the Origin. Normally, you’d tell them to wreak havoc. What’s with the sudden change?” the man asked. The king’s brother appeared younger than him, with shorter hair and curious blue eyes. While the king looked wizened, this man looked ambitious and eager to get back into action.

“Cirrus, walk with me,” the king sighed, walking past his brother and out of the throne room. The other royal followed diligently, suddenly concerned for his older brother.