Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor - Chapter 856: Turn.

Following the destruction that Sassy wrought on the Palace, many of the secluded experts began to make an appearance but Hal did not direct Sassy to stay. She glowed green once again and let out a massive cloud of toxic gas that spread all over the Imperial Palace skies after which she used the gas to shroud herself and make an escape.

However, as Sassy left, Hal left behind four words,

“YOUR END IS NEAR!!!”

Nothing more needed to be said and the four words boomed in the ears of every Haron in the Imperial Palace for they were the last bunch left to be subdued.

The four words were taken as a declaration of war and they shook the hearts of all who heard them but even then, they all worked fast to rid the skies of the toxic gases, and they succeeded in seconds.

It was at that point that the Portal opened and Tanya fell through it to behold the destruction of the Imperial Palace.

When Tanya stood to her feet, she had to tear her eyes away from the destruction as well as tear herself away from the urge to inquire as she felt she needed to hurriedly return to the Silver Moon Sect to support the Harons she had left behind.

However, the moment she opened a portal into the Monument of Ordinances, she received feedback that all Harons she had taken to the Silver Moon sect and met their end.

“Damn it!” Tanya said. The most annoying detail about it all was the fact that she also had it relayed to her that there had hardly been any success in their attack on the Silver Moon sect.

They had been unsuccessful in killing anyone. The most they had been able to do was cause injuries that were all sure to heal.

All the imbuement she had granted the Haron forces all returned to her and Tanya took a deep breath and turned her attention to her father to inquire on what had caused the current state of the Imperial Palace although she could easily put forth a guess.

In the quarter of an hour, Tanya was filled in on all that had happened and every Haron higher-up was called for the war meeting needed for the declaration of war they had just received.

Harlyn Haron, the Empress of the Empire was absent having received permission from the Emperor to remain at her office in the Royal Academy which she claimed was her place as Principal. Harlyn’s whole point was that, should there be an attack on the Academy, the Nexus of the best of the young generation in the Haron Empire, it would be prudent that she was there to defend the Academy.

All the proceedings would be relayed to her of course but when it reached Tanya’s ears, she could not help but think of Melinda’s message from her mother which had spoken against fighting for the Haron Family.

The message was supported by the flickering that Tanya could note in regards to her mother’s faith in the Haron Empire… In her mother’s faith in her.

Anyway, the war meeting was ongoing and it did not appear as though Harlyn’s absence was a hindrance in any way.

“Whether or not this war is meant to be defining, we shall make it so,” said a man with a full head of white hair and an aged face but through it all, his Haron green eyes glittered with the vibrancy of a youth who was eager for his first battle. He had clearly not lost his vigor.

The man was the grand Elder of the Haron Family and very close in lineage to the main Ruling branch of the Haron family.

The hall being used for the meeting was a massive underground one with seats to occupy all main members of the Haron family as well as the fifty Elders of the family all of whom had been called to arms.

Usually, these Elders were attempting to break through bottlenecks or were at least away from the Palace but had all been alerted ever since the Imperial Palace was attacked by Dystopians.

Creten Haron, the first Prince, was present for the meeting and he shivered at the sight of such a large gathering of powerhouses the sort of which he had never seen before. Just being close to the so-far subtle pressures of all the Elders in the hall intimidated him to the point of just watching quietly and not speaking unless spoken to.

Tanya was not the same though. She was closest to her father as his heir and she had her legs crossed and her eyes closed while she delved more into the secrets of the Monument through the gem on her head. That said she still heard all that was being said in the hall especially the mention of her name by her father.

“Tanya will handle taking the battle to the base of the Cult. She has proven herself enough,” Amador said.

“What allies could we call to?” asked an Elder indeed not knowing the family’s support system on account of how long he had been away.

As soon as the Elder asked his question, the Harons in the hall began to make lists but before any could speak,

“None,” Tanya announced with her eyes still closed.

“None?” asked the Elder who had put forth the question in the first place.

“None,” Tanya repeated.

“So we’re alone? Everyone is against us?”

“Not exactly. Their faith flickers and is no longer as strong as it used to be. They are not dependable. Absolutely none of them…” Tanya said and of course, her words caused murmurs among all in the hall though there was a bit of dignity to the murmurs and it was not totally rowdy.

The Harons are the most powerful family in the Haron Continent with resources they had yet to reveal but they feared that might not be enough to face an Army of every single family coming at them. Unlikely as that scenario seemed to them, they still felt it was one to be prepared for.

They especially felt they should be prepared for Dystopian involvement on account of the Sapphirine Cult who clearly had business with them.

Tanya was not done though and she let the murmurs continue for a good while before she interjected,

“However, we will be facing a couple of unknowns and we have to be at our best so we cannot rule them out but we will have to make sure their loyalty lies with us, even if that means their minds will be reduced to the very base that is solely reliant on instincts. Incapable of making any rational thought or actual decisions besides blindly following orders,”

As Tanya spoke, she opened her eyes and there was a wickedness glinting within as she flicked her wrist and retrieved a scroll from her spatial ring.

“Care to be clearer with your words?” asked the Haron Grand Elder and Tanya faced him,

“I shall handle the task of getting us the support that we need. If the enemy has secret plans in place, then we will have ours as well,” Tanya said with a grin and she cradled the scroll in her hand in a manner that no one could clearly see what it was or what its origin could be.

However, as Amador, the Haron Emperor had already said, Tanya had proven herself many times already so no one had any doubt that she had the family’s best interest at heart or that she had the means she so happily claimed to have.

“Father, I must leave now and prepare,” Tanya said and stood to her feet after which Amador raised a hand to signify that she was excused.

As Tanya left the hall, conversations and plans continued and a good bit of all plans involved her as she would be spearheading the Haron family’s attempt to strike into the heart of the Cult.

As Tanya walked out of the hall, she made to leave towards her residence and then considered working on her plan within the Monument and with the assistance of a few Alchemists when her mind went to her mother.

Maybe it was because her mother was on her mind and her faith in the family and Tanya was already in question but Tanya’s whole attention became pulled into the Nexus stone where she focused on the sliver/dot that marked her mother’s faith.

It had been flickering for a while but Tanya watched as it became close to getting totally snuffed out. She pulled her mind out of the stone and headed to the Royal Academy which was the last place she could sense her mother’s signature had been at.

To arrive faster, Tanya used her access to the Monument of Ordinances and in seconds, she was pushing through the door and faced with the emptiness of her mother’s office.

It still contained shelves of books and scrolls and scripts that she treasured but all those were not substitutes for her absence.

“She was here just a moment ago,” Tanya mumbled and those words had just left her lips that the small sliver/dot of her mother’s faith was extinguished to mark her turn to the enemy’s side…

… Her turn to Hal’s side.