First Intergalactic Emperor: Starting With The Ancient Goddess-Chapter 404: Klatos

"What are you doing here?" Xavier asked.

Klatos fell into step beside them as the flow carried the inmates forward. He walked with an easy pace, wings tucked in, eyes drifting across the corridor like none of this demanded much effort from him.

"You weren’t there when things went bad on Earth," Klatos said. "After Dominic Hart died, everything fell apart."

Rin glanced at him. "Hart?"

"Chief cop of the Celestial Penitentiary," Klatos said. "He ran the place like a machine. Then Alexander Sterling killed him, and the machine broke."

Xavier listened without interrupting.

"The prison went into chaos," Klatos continued. "New management came in fast and panicked faster. Too many power struggles, too many eyes watching. Dominic Hart had everything under his control. He knew the strengths and weaknesses of everyone, and he used them to his benefit to keep the place under his control.‌"

Klatos added. "They moved most non-human inmates off Earth. The official reason was security and resource allocation. The real reason was fear. Anyone who wasn’t from Earth got shipped out, preferably to a facility tied to their place of origin."

Xavier glanced at him. "Jupiter."

"Yes," Klatos replied. "I’m from here."

Xavier frowned slightly. "You told me you sold your land on Jupiter."

Klatos stopped walking for half a second before catching up again. He looked genuinely surprised. "You remember that."

"You were sad about it," Xavier said.

Klatos let out a short, pleased sound. "Most people forget conversations the moment they leave the room." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

They passed into a wider section of the complex where the ceiling rose higher and light strips ran in long, clean lines. Groups peeled off toward different sections without argument. Nobody blocked them. Nobody crowded them either.

"This place runs on wards," Klatos said. "Not cells during movement periods. Each block has its own territory. Violence is allowed as long as it stabilizes things instead of breaking them. If staff have to step in, everyone loses privileges."

Rin frowned. "That sounds backwards."

"It works," Klatos replied. "People police themselves. The system just watches."

He looked at Xavier. "Which means what you did back there was useful. You set a line early."

"Come on, I was just introducing myself," Xavier shrugged.

Klatos tilted his head slightly. "What happened to your face?"

Xavier reached up and brushed his fingers lightly against the bandages. "Apparently they didn’t like how handsome I was, so they shot me in the face."

Rin snorted despite himself.

"We blew up a facility," Xavier added. "Got caught. Charged with destruction, casualties, the usual."

Klatos nodded slowly. "That explains the welcome."

They walked in silence for a moment. The sounds of the prison filled the space, different languages, different species, all moving under the same rules.

Klatos spoke again. "You’re in my ward," he said. "As long as you stay here, nobody will touch you without going through me first."

Xavier glanced at him. "You sure about that."

Klatos’s wings shifted slightly. "Yes," he said. "I sleep a lot. I eat more than I should. But people here know better than to ignore me."

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Good to know."

Xavier nodded once. "Appreciate it."

The line moved slower near the food distribution area. Trays slid out from recessed dispensers, each one identical, each one carrying the same dull smell that hung in the air no matter how many species stood in it. Inmates took their portions without comment and moved on, as if they were already used to it.

Xavier took one look at the tray handed to him and paused.

Rin leaned in slightly. "That’s bad."

Xavier sniffed it once. "It smells like someone gave up halfway through cooking."

Klatos glanced at the tray, then at Xavier’s face. "I told you back on Earth," he said. "You humans are spoiled. Earth food is better."

"This isn’t food," Xavier replied. "This is maintenance."

Klatos made a low amused sound and accepted his own tray without complaint. "It keeps you alive. Barely. That’s the standard here."

Xavier followed them a few steps away from the line, still holding the tray like he was deciding whether to drop it. "There’s no alternative."

"There is," Klatos said. "Just not for free."

"Oh? I don’t like free stuff either." Xavier looked at him. "Define expensive."

"Credits. Favors. Sometimes both," Klatos replied. "Better rooms with better meals. VIP treatment that fulfills all your needs."

Xavier didn’t hesitate. "I don’t care. I need better food, and I’m not sleeping in a room where half the block can hear me breathe."

Klatos nodded. "Then follow me."

They moved away from the common eating area and into a side corridor that wasn’t marked on the main routes. The lighting shifted slightly, brighter and more even. Fewer inmates passed through here, and the ones who did walked with purpose. No one blocked Klatos’s path.

"This is my ward," Klatos said as they walked. "We keep things quiet. No constant fighting. No pointless noise. If someone causes trouble, they don’t stay."

Rin looked around. "And the staff lets this happen?"

"They prefer it," Klatos replied. "Order without effort."

They stopped in front of a reinforced door set into the wall. There was no sign or identifier. Klatos tapped a code into the panel without looking at it.

"This one handles upgrades," he said. "Rooms. Food access. Privacy."

The door opened.

Inside was a small office-like space, cleaner than the rest of the prison, with screens lining one wall and a desk bolted to the floor. A man sat behind it, human, older, with tired eyes and a neutral expression that suggested he’d seen too much to be surprised anymore.

He looked up at Klatos. "You’re bringing me work already."

Klatos gestured toward Xavier. "He wants better living conditions."

The man’s eyes shifted to Xavier, lingering on the bandages. "That so."

The man leaned back slightly. "That can be arranged. Depends how much you’re willing to spend."

Xavier didn’t blink. "Name it."

The man studied him for a moment longer, then reached for one of the screens. "We’ll start with options."

Klatos folded his wings comfortably. "Told you there was a way."

Rin exhaled quietly. "I feel like we’re doing prison wrong."

Xavier didn’t look away from the screen. "I don’t plan on doing it long."