Prophecy Approved Companion - Book 3 Chapter 87

“If you want to try and persuade him, then knock yourself out,” the Chosen One said to Definitely Bad Guy. “Which is an expression. I don’t actually mean knock yourself out,” he hurriedly explained.

Qube nodded, grateful for the clarification.

Once again the Chosen One waved his hand through the Save Point, and once again the party threw open the giant double doors that led to the throne room. Once again, Qube felt a strong compulsion to walk towards the throne. Although it felt like it wasn’t the throne itself. Somewhere behind it, perhaps?

Regardless, she was almost able to stop herself from taking that fateful step forward. Alas, her body betrayed her, and she found herself stepping forward, causing the purple lights to once again spring into existence, the room to once again illuminate the imposing figure on the throne, and his flock of gem-seeking chickens.

This time, however, it was the former advisor to the Evil Emperor who stepped forward.

“My liege,” Definitely Bad Guy said. Only the trembling of his long fingers betrayed his nervousness at facing down the man who’d cursed him. Depending on how one chose to interpret what had happened in the Time Temple, the Evil Emperor might have also been fated to kill Definitely Bad Guy.

The Devs, however, had clearly seen fit to resurrect Definitely Bad Guy. Why else would two strange versions of him spring into existence? While Qube didn’t claim to be an expert in storytelling, even she could tell that meant the Devs had wanted him around.

They hadn’t bothered reviving her though. No Evil and Good versions of Qube had greeted the Chosen One when he left the village, or shown up in any of the Temples. Oh, no. The Devs had been perfectly content to slay her, and leave her to rot in pieces. After all, that was tradition.

Not that she was bitter.

Much.

Her inner self surged at her totally-hypothetical bitterness, and Qube had to bite her lip to stop herself from crying out. Her inner self was strong, stronger than it had ever been before. It was almost a physical presence inside her, and for a moment it’d threatened to completely overwhelm her.

Only her hard-won experience in dealing with anger and sadness saved her, allowing her to hold against the wave of emotion, and stop it from drowning her.

“I come to you, my liege, not just as a formerly loyal subject, but as your Mage Advisor.” Definitely Bad Guy, bravely controlling whatever emotions were roiling within him at facing his once master, maybe murderer, gave a shallow bow to the throne.

“The world is not what we thought it to be. As you have sought to subjugate the world to your whims, and force it into a path of your choosing, so too have we all been subjugated to a higher power. Beings known only as the Devs have ruled over us from another realm, and have at their fingertips powers almost impossible to comprehend. Our entire existence was created by them, and can be snuffed out on a whim.”

The Mage took a few steps closer. More lights sprang into being, and the Evil Emperor continued to look straight ahead. It was impossible to tell if those black eyes were watching the red and blue man before him, or staring into nothingness.

Definitely Bad Guy was trembling. Only a little, and it wouldn’t have been noticeable to anyone not paying the closest attention to him. But Qube was watching him. She was watching him do something that only she knew the cost of: facing down your killer.

“Fortunately, certain members of our party have caught their attention, and we have been offered the opportunity to ascend to their realm, and exist amongst them. They expect us to defeat you, but I propose an alternative.”

Definitely Bad Guy extended a hand to the Evil Emperor.

“Join us. Ascend at our side, and together we can learn the secrets of the Devs, and discover how to harness their power. You sought to rule over a kingdom. But we could learn so much more. The knowledge of how to make worlds would be at our fingertips, sire.”

Qube had never heard the Mage sound so passionate before! He’d stopped shaking, and took another step forward, hand still outstretched towards the man who’d condemned him as a traitor.

A man he’d been made to serve by forces beyond his control.

Now the Mage was almost at the tyrant’s side.

“Leave this kingdom, sire, and we can grasp the power of the universe.”

The Evil Emperor stood up, disrupting the chickens roosting on him. Definitely Bad Guy kept his hand outstretched, so close he could almost touch the tyrant’s armour. The former master towered over the traitor.

“You aren’t her,” the ruler said, in the same, painfully gravelly voice as before.

“Run!” Qube screamed, seconds before a sword appeared in the Evil Emperor’s hand. Definitely Bad Guy turned to look at Qube, his hand still reaching towards the man about to slay him. The gems on the Evil Emperor’s gauntlet glowed, their brightness piercing in the purple-lit gloom.

“[Save Scum Attack]!” the Chosen One shouted, his cry drowning out the fatal whistling of the Evil Emperor’s sword swinging at Definitely Bad Guy.

—

Qube was still panting from fear when they appeared at the Save Point.

“You want to learn how to make new worlds?” she asked Definitely Bad Guy incredulously. “What do you mean you want to ‘grasp the power of the universe’?”

The Mage looked at her, slightly sheepishly.

“Ah,” he said stiffly. “It appears my plea to the Evil Emperor’s intellectual side was not successful.”

“What made you think the dude had an intellectual side?” the Chosen One asked curiously.

Definitely Bad Guy shrugged awkwardly. “He always encouraged my experiments,” he said.

“I… don’t think that’s cuz he was an intellectual, my man,” the Chosen One replied.

“Irrespective of my rationale, it seems he was not to be reasoned with,” Definitely Bad Guy said, firmly closing the subject. After a brief hesitation, however, he asked in a quiet voice: “… was I slain?”

“No,” Qube said. “The Chosen One managed to travel back to the Save Point before he could hurt you.”

“We have tried seduction, and appeals to reason,” Sencha Bard said, dusting himself off. He hadn’t even had any dust on him, but he seemed happy with the result, preening himself a little more before stepping forward. “Perhaps it is time to invoke a baser instinct still.”

“Based than lust and ego?” the Chosen One asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought that was about as base as it got.”

“If he is shaped by the narrative, then the rule of three shall be on my side,” the Bard said with unearned confidence (considering he didn’t even remember the other two attempts).

“This’ll be interesting, at least,” the Chosen One said lightly, only the gleam in his eyes betraying his more than casual interest. “Round three!”

Before his hand even finished passing through the Save Point Sencha Bard pushed open the double doors and strode in.

“Ruler of our esteemed kingdom,” Sencha Bard boomed, his voice echoing off the walls. The purple lights sprang on as walked, almost as if he’d orchestrated them. “I have come to tell you of a great deception.”

The Evil Emperor sat, only his watch-chickens moving.

“You may believe you rule over this place, but in reality you are naught but a puppet.” The Bard practically spat out the last word. “You have been made a fool of by powers greater than yourself, and they have woven your fate into a fabric of their making.”

Unlike the others, he didn’t approach any closer to the Evil Emperor, seemingly content to stand in the middle of the room and orate.

“These Devs fashion themselves into gods, and demand not only our bodies but our minds.” He pivoted and dramatically pointed at Qube. “Only she has the power to break us free of their tyranny over thought itself, and only she has stood against them and commanded their respect. And their fear.”

Qube, battling the urge to move into the throne room, smiled weakly at the Evil Emperor. She didn’t wave.

The Evil Emperor’s head followed the Bard’s dramatic flourish. As soon as he tracked over to where Qube was deliberately not politely waving at him, he stopped moving.

Although she couldn’t see his eyes properly, she could feel all his attention focus on her.

“You call yourself an emperor, but what power do you truly have, if it can be snatched from you in an instant? What control can you claim, when every step you’ve taken has been dictated to you? You rule this realm not because of your own strength, but because it was gifted to you by the very beings who set you up to fall to the Chosen One.”

Now Sencha Bard stepped forward, his voice dropping until it was almost a growl.

“Every wrong in your life was designed to push you further down a path of their choosing. Every doubt you suppressed was on their command. Everything you thought was you, everything that you are, has been nothing but an unwitting performance for those who don’t even see you as human.”

Another step, and then the Bard was within reach. The Evil Emperor ignored him, continuing to stare at Qube. There was the sound of metal grinding against metal as his gauntlets curled into fists.

But Sencha Bard wasn’t done yet.

“You have before you the one person capable of defying the gods’ plans. The one person who can rip the reins from their hands and force them to dance to our tune. Follow her, and you will have your revenge on those who made you into the twisted creature you are. Allow her to walk before you, and she will cleave a path of carnage through their notions of power.”

Sencha Bard reached out, not in supplication or an urge for acceptance, but rather his hand reaching to grasp the jewelled gauntlet.

“Throw away their tokens, kneel to her, and know what it is to watch gods tremble in fear.”

The Evil Emperor abruptly stood up, snatching his gauntleted fist out of reach of the Bard.

Qube didn’t know what to say. Part of her wanted to interrupt Sencha Bard, and point out that she wasn’t going to be cleaving a path through anything, and all that stuff about revenge was … well, she wanted revenge against the Evil Emperor, she wasn’t about to go around getting revenge for him!

But she saw how Sencha Bard’s hand tracked the moving gauntlet, and she realised that all this had to have been a ploy to get close enough to the Evil Emperor for the Rogue to try and steal the gems.

But he was too slow. The sword had already appeared in the Evil Emperor’s hand. The gems, only just out of reach, glowed.

The Evil Emperor started to speak.

“You’re not —”

The Chosen One instantly acted. “[Save Scum Attack]!” he cast, and the world once again rolled back time.

—

Qube was silent as they reappeared by the Save Point. The Chosen One, however, immediately reached out and grabbed Sencha Bard, seconds before the man could throw open the doors.

“Easy, Sing-Song,” he said. “It didn’t work.”

“What?” Sencha Bard looked utterly shocked. “But he’s a tyrant! How could a call to his rage not drive him into a frenzy? Or was he so consumed by anger that he lashed out at us?”

“Just didn’t work,” the Hero said shortly.

He hadn’t told any of them what the Evil Emperor had said, just before attempting to slay her friends.

Qube bit her lip. Hard.

“It’s me,” she said in a quiet voice. “I need to talk to him. I don’t know why, but he keeps getting mad that he’s not talking to me.”

She glanced at the Chosen One, who looked like he wanted to protest. But instead of saying anything, he once again flicked his hand through the Save Point, then silently nodded at her.

“Round four,” he said quietly.

Taking a deep breath, Qube stepped forward, and pushed open the throne room doors.