Kali twirled the vial in her hand that the old Sage had given her. She was seriously debating about whether or not she should drink the substance. After all, although the sage had bested her at a game of cards which she was cheating at. She did not know if that was simple luck, or if he could really see the future.

She had long since heard of the Elven races’ ability to produce so-called sages, and that they had both led to the monumental powerhouses which the two distinct races had created over the eons. But she never truly believed in their words.

Then again, when she thought about it, there was truly nothing to worry about. Her body was immune to most, if not all, forms of poison, and even if the vial turned out to be a joke, she could always decide that the payment she had received was not sufficient enough to beat Brahma’s contract with the Alfheim Empress.

Thus, the Asuran beauty downed the contents of the vial and immediately found herself enter a trancelike state. Her vision clearly showed the past, present, and future of her life. It also showed several very real potential outcomes that would happen that would ultimately lead to her death.

Perhaps because this liquid was the essence of fate itself, but unlike the Sages, she could very clearly see its Sages, and how they interacted with her own destiny. One thing became abundantly clear as she drank from the vial. There was one certain path of death, and if she followed it, she would be dead within the next seventy-two hours.

Thus, when Kali finally came to, she found herself sprawled out on the ground, where she realized that she had been played by the Sages. She did not know why the Sages would trade her the vial, when it clearly showed her what would cause her untimely demise. But she knew the bastards had set her up.

What she didn’t know was that the Sages could not drink the substance themselves. To do so would cause them to enter a trance that they would never wake up from. And that was the same as being dead to them.

Thus, they could never know that this vial, which was created by extracting the grey matter of a Sage’s mind via ritualistic sacrifice and processing it with modern chemistry, was actually the key to outplaying the Dark Sage.

Only two of these vials had ever existed. The first was used by the previous Grand Sage of the Svartalfheim Federation, and because of this, they knew about the consequences of using such a drug. The second had just been consumed by Kali, and she now knew that the Sages were setting her up.

Sure, she could kill Erich on their behalf, but if she were to do so, she would start a war with the Alfheim Dominion, one that would result in her assassination within seventy-two hours. There was simply no avoiding it. Each Archon was a powerful tool to be wielded by the Alfheim Empress. And she would send them all to avenge her lover.

Although Kali knew that all the Archons would chase her across the galaxy, she did not know why the Alfheim Empress would react that way, and could only theorize that she deeply cared for each of the operatives she had chosen to represent her will. An attack on one of them was an attack on all of them, and thus no matter what, an Archon must be avenged.

Knowing now that she was as a good as dead if she made a move on Erich, Kali suddenly decided to abide by Brahma’s will, and not instigate a war that would result in her untimely demise. Thus, she had decided to invite Erich to speak with her, especially after she heard that had indeed entered Asuran Space.

—

Eventually Erich landed on the Asura homeworld. Unlike the rest of Asuran space, weapons and armor were not permitted to be carried here. They were only allowed to be worn by the personal guards of each Deva. 𝚘𝑽𝑙xt.𝔠𝑜𝑀

The world was different than any other that Erich had ever stepped foot upon. It was impossible to know how many Devas there were, who were considered being the peak of the hierarchy of the Asura civilization, but each one had a large and gilded tower that protruded beyond the atmosphere of the planet.

These were the palaces of the Devas, and after some guidance from Tia, they located the one that belonged to Kali. The landing pad for the palace was surprisingly large enough to accommodate a frigate, and thus Erich expertly landed his ship on the platform before exiting the vessel while dressed in his Archon uniform.

The uniform of an Archon was slick. Unlike those worn by the soldiers of the Germanic Star-Empire, it was not adorned with fancy medals and ribbons. Instead, it was a black uniform with golden embroidery and a single badge. The Badge of the Archon, which was pinned directly over the heart.

Meanwhile, Mirage and Sinaria were dressed in summer dresses. After all, the Asuran homeworld was a tropical world, and because of this, they did not want to wear anything that soaked up the heat.

Erich stepped forward along with the two members of the landing party, where he was greeted by a group of four armed men, heavily clad in what appeared to be golden armor. These men had advanced weapons, similar to those wielded by the other major galactic powers, and were quick to scan Erich and his crew for any contraband.

Once they were cleared for entry, the guards brought Erich and his comrades into the main tower, where they found themselves standing before a large gilded throne room. If Erich was being honest, he did not know how much such a luxurious and outright decadent tower cost to build, but it was surely an impeccable sum. Perhaps even the Alfheim Palace was not this superfluous.

In the flash of an eye, Kali appeared out of thin air, where she was seated upon her thrown. Her dainty chin was resting on the palm of one of her four hands. As she gazed upon Erich, searching for any hidden secrets he might have on his body. And yet her advanced sensors could not even pick up his NeuroLink.

After all, the nanites in his blood stream were designed to conceal themselves as active cells when picked up by censors. It was unlikely that the technology to detect them existed outside of the Germanic Star-Empire, who had created the devices.

Once Kali had gotten a feel for Erich, she was quick to voice her impression of him.

“So you are the mighty Dark Sage, who those old bastards tried to get me to kill on their behalf… I must say, aside from your physique and handsome face, you are not really much now, are you? Sure, you have some rather advanced cybernetic implants, and your genetics are damn near perfection, but that is fairly common for more advanced races in the galaxy. What makes you so special that those old fools who proclaim to see the future are so afraid of you that they have gone into hiding?”

Erich and Mirage were both surprised that the Sages had asked a Devi to assassinate him, and instantly became on high alert. This simply caused Kali to scoff as she reminded them that they would not stand a chance against her guards.

“Your race might be born and bred for war, and sure you might be able to kill a score of my Guards, but do you really think if you were to resist that you would make it back to your ship without dying? Do you even believe for a moment that if I wanted you dead, that I would even permit your ship to take off? It would be blown up before you could even reach it! And you and your companions would be dead before you could even witness such a thing.

Give up on your ideas of resistance, and simply bargain with me the same way every other being in this galaxy does. You came to Asuran space for a reason, did you not? So tell me, how can little old me help you in your fight against the Sages?”

Upon realizing that there was no escape now that he had entered the proverbial lion’s den. Erich had no choice but to negotiate with this ancient and powerful being. One who could very easily end his life if he did anything foolish….