Masteria Online: Shattering the Dark God's Grand Scheme-Chapter 44 - Afton questions life

Lumi gave a menacing smile, taking a few steps forward as he approached the suppression circle.

Afton looked away, and growled. He then faced Lumi again. "Fuck you." Despite his harsh language, Afton’s eyes tracked Lumi’s movement with the wariness of a cornered animal.

"Comfortable?" Lumi asked. "I imagine this is quite different from your usual accommodations."

"What do you want?" Afton’s voice cracked, then he quickly shook his head. "This show you’re putting on, it’s meaningless." He did his best to steel his voice. "If you’ve come to torture me, just get on with it. I won’t break."

"Really?" Lumi raised an eyebrow, forming a mocking smile on his face. "You won’t break? Are you sure? When was the last time you experienced intense pain? You aren’t a frontline fighter, you don’t physically train, no, you spend all day in your labs. Do you really think you can endure being skinned alive with salt poured on your bare flesh?"

Afton’s eyes went wide, his face paling, his hands trembling. "No, you... you wouldn’t... be allowed to do that."

Lumi made an exaggerated sigh as he shook his head. "Me? Oh dear, you seem to be under a misconception. Something similar to what I described is certainly what would have happened to you if I wasn’t here. I’m here to save you from such a fate. All you have to do is talk."

After a moment of contemplative silence, Afton uttered. "I won’t betray-"

"Lady Twilight?" Lumi finished softly, watching as Afton’s entire body went rigid. Behind him, he sensed Divan shift slightly, interest piqued by the immediate reaction.

The puppeteer’s face cycled through emotions. There was shock, fear, and anger. His mouth opened and closed soundlessly several times before he managed to speak. "How do you- no. No! You know nothing about her. Nothing!" 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"I know more than you think." Lumi said, leaning back on a stool with an air of casualness. "For instance, I know that your report on this mission’s failure has already been filed. The Wings of Darkness are nothing if not efficient in their intelligence gathering."

Afton’s face paled. He shivered for a second, then averted his eyes.

"I also know." Lumi continued, voice taking on a sympathetic tone. "That Lady Twilight has been informed of your capture. Personally informed."

"You’re lying." But the words held no conviction. Afton’s breathing had quickened, pupils dilated with a mixture of hope and terror. "She wouldn’t. That makes no sense. I’m not important enough for her to..."

"Oh, but you are important enough." Lumi said, letting a small smile play at his lips. "If you weren’t important, you wouldn’t be here, now would you? Tell me, Afton, how does it feel knowing that the woman you’ve devoted your entire existence to now knows your name solely in the context of failure?"

Afton flinched at the words. "I. I don’t. Shut up, shut up!"

"She must be so disappointed." Lumi continued, each word carefully chosen for maximum impact. He knew exactly what made Afton tick. He wasn’t exactly the most complicated of men. "Here you were entrusted with searching for Will Stones, given resources, authority, the chance to prove yourself worthy of her attention. And what did you do? You got captured by a group of adventurers at a First Rank class. Children, really."

As he said that last part, Lumi put on a smile and pointed directly to his own face, aged sixteen.

"Shut up!" Afton snarled, straining against the invisible bonds. The suppression circle flared brighter, forcing him back into the chair. "You don’t understand! The Will Stones are for- actually you would know already! It’s basically public knowledge. They’re for the Dark One! For the great unsealing! I was serving the cause!"

Lumi allowed silence to stretch between them, counting heartbeats. One. Two. Three. Then, very quietly. "Were you?"

The question hung in the air for a couple seconds. As Afton processed the words, his anger faltered, replaced by confusion. "What... what do you mean?"

"I mean," Lumi said, leaning forward slightly, "that you’re not stupid, Afton. Obsessed, perhaps. Delusional in some ways. But not stupid. You’ve been searching for Will Stones for how long? Months? Years? And before you, how long have they been searched for? And in all that time, did you never wonder why Lady Twilight herself was so invested in their recovery? Why she herself cared more than anyone else?"

Behind him, Divan may seem like his expression didn’t change, but his attention was very, very focused. Unlike Afton, this "Lady Twilight" was a much more important figure.

She was one of the commanders under the Dark One.

The casual mention of one of the Wings’ highest leaders being personally involved in what seemed like a side project had clearly caught his attention.

"The Dark One requires them." Afton said, but uncertainty had crept into his voice. "For the unsealing ritual. Everyone knows that. Everyone-"

"Everyone knows what they’re told." Lumi interrupted. "But you’ve seen her, haven’t you? In those rare moments when she thinks no one is watching. The way she looks at her brother."

Afton grew pale, ghost white. His heart even stopped, nearly causing the guards to mobilize. After two dozen seconds, his heart began once more, as he began to rapidly hyperventilate.

Lumi gave him time to sort himself out, seeing Afton undergo his own miniature panic attack.

When Afton spoke, the words were barely a whisper. "You... you know about Lord Dawn?"

Divan’s pen, which had been moving across a document, stopped mid-stroke. This was new information to him. Twilight had a brother? One deserving of the title of ’Lord’? But who...? Say, hasn’t he heard Dawn before? Somewhere, he’s heard of someone with that name.

Divan suddenly had a realization. He was now sure he knew who it was. Yet, he’s only heard of him in history books, not as an active participant in current events.

"I know many things." Lumi said, allowing a note of sympathy to enter his voice. "I know about the attack centuries ago. I know who was responsible. And I know why your Lady Twilight does everything she does. The question is... do you?"

Afton’s eyes darted around the room as he fought not the words spoken but his own mind and his realizations. He was seeking escape from truths he’d perhaps always suspected but never dared acknowledge. "Lord Dawn is... he serves alongside Lady Twilight. They lead the Wings together."

"Does he?" Lumi asked softly. "When was the last time anyone saw Lord Dawn? When was the last time he issued a direct order, appeared at a gathering, or did anything that couldn’t have been accomplished through Lady Twilight acting as intermediary?"

The puppeteer’s breathing threatened to stop once more.

"Tell me, Afton," Lumi continued, voice gentle as an angel. "in all your devotion, in all your desperate attempts to prove yourself worthy, did you never wonder why the Will Stones were so important? Why Lady Twilight herself oversaw their collection when surely she had more pressing matters?"

"You, no! You speak nonsense!" Afton furiously shook his head. "What could be more important than unsealing the Dark One!?"

"Hah!" Lumi made an exaggerated movement and sighed into his hand. "We both know that finding all the Will Stones is nothing more than a joke. And just a few would never be enough to fully unseal him."

"But we could make progre-" Afton attempted to argue but got shut down.

Lumi snapped. "So what’s the real reason?"

"I... I just followed orders. I wanted to please her, to show her I was worthy-"

"Of course you did." Lumi’s voice held no mockery, only understanding. "Because you love her. So, so much, that you would do anything. You love her with the devotion of a believer to their goddess. And what believer questions their deity’s motives?"

Tears had begun to form in Afton’s eyes. He was fighting himself, his own ’heretical’ thoughts.

"But here’s what I find interesting," Lumi said, shifting his argument. "If the Will Stones were truly for the Dark One’s unsealing, why hasn’t their collection been given to Lead Scientist Beryllium? He’s the one handling the technical aspects of the unsealing ritual, after all. He is the magical theorist, the genius inventor."

Afton’s tears stopped as suddenly as they’d started. A different kind of fear entered his eyes. "Beryllium is... he’s brilliant, yes. But Lady Twilight handles the mystical components-"

"Beryllium, who has access to everything." Lumi interrupted smoothly. "Every resource, every artifact, every piece of ancient knowledge the Wings possess. Everything except the Will Stones. Curious, isn’t it?"

Afton focused for a moment, deep in thought. He finally responded. "Beryllium may be in charge of the project, but he isn’t entirely trusted. He’s been shown to have his own plots and ideas before."

He regained a hint of confidence and defiance. "You already knew that. What exactly are you accusing my glorious Twilight of? I’ll let you know that even if you torture me, I won’t let you slander her!"

Lumi scoffed. "She’s already a Dark One Commander. What could I possibly slander her of, given that she already has the most evil position imaginable?"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Afton blinked. Then his anger returned. "No! That’s not how it works, you tricky bastard!"