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“...yes, you’re right, you’re right.” Dekar mumbled to himself before slapping himself on the cheek, the former confidence of a competent minister returning to him. “Indeed, there is a passageway - but it is on the other side of the square.”

“Let’s backtrack and find a better place to cross.”

The hollers and chants of the protestors continued to echo through the tight alleyways as Dekar and Kyle moved quickly. Kyle himself was a bit surprised at the strength of the revolt. He had done his research before coming on the general political stability of the country, noting that the government had much goodwill. For this many people to come out in force against the state, the industrialists must be behind it. Paid protestors, most likely. none of this are actually angry citizens. No one flips that quickly unless for monetary gain.

As they snuck their way back to the sewers, Dekar spotted a military patrol, trying to fend off some protestors. “Quick, if we talk to them, maybe we can enlist their help.” Dekar was about to call out to them when Kyle suddenly grabbed him from behind.

“No, something’s wrong.” Kyle motioned towards the soldiers. “Look at their arm patch.”

“What do you mean? That patch signifies the Versia Armed For – oh…”

There was a clearly recognisable small skull logo in the middle of the patch: if Dekar were not looking carefully, he would have missed it entirely from the whole design. Shit, they are part of Nest too!

“This complicates things…” Dekar murmured to himself.

“Move first – we need to get back to the catacombs.” Kyle urged Dekar, who agreed and changed directions.

There was no meaning in heading back to the government headquarters now that the hitmen had also infiltrated the military forces.

Just as Dekar and Kyle were running between residential buildings, a window above them opened to reveal a young mother who spotted the two of them. “Hey, isn’t that Minister Dekar?! Minister Dekar!” She hollered down, attracting the attention of the protestors and the military squads nearby.

“Shit!” Dekar didn’t bother looking up to reply, picking up the pace as the thunderous vibration of multiple footsteps began to congregate around them.

“Where is he?”

“He was just there, running left!”

“Find him, cut him off!”

As soon as Dekar turned the corner, he nearly ran straight into a military soldier, who immediately brandished his handgun, aiming at Dekar. “Stop, don’t move or else I’ll –“

The remaining words never came out of his mouth as Kyle immediately killed him with a snap of his neck.

“Keep moving!” Kyle shoved Dekar, forcing him into a running sprint as they were chased by soldiers and angry protestors.

“The Minister is running for the exit; cut him off!”

“You, go to the right and block the streets!”

Dekar frantically turned multiple corners, his mind continuously routing the possible exit points. “This way, in here!” He stopped right at a nondescript door, barging in with Kyle before quickly closing it.

The soldiers and the protestors rushed past, the thuds echoing through the dark room that they were now hiding in. “There’s an alternate entrance to the catacombs here. We can’t go back to Zayin; lest they follow us, they would get implicated.” Dekar explained.

The room had been poorly maintained, clear signs of mould and degradation filling the woods with termites eating away at the wooden furniture that had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Dekar quickly pulled out a large rug, a loud plume of dust hitting Kyle right in the face as it unveiled yet another vertical shaft with a ladder that led straight down into the sewers.

The two were back in the sewers, Kyle slowly getting acclimatised to the smell. Dekar led him in a completely different direction away from where they met Zayin, navigating the multiple junctions to finally reach a small little chamber untouched for decades.

“We’ll be safe here – only a select few know of this place,” Dekar explained as he rummaged around the damp chamber for an arctech lantern and turned it on, the arcite ore not used just yet.

The chamber was surprisingly cosy – plenty of fabrics and mattresses strewn across the floor, while clear signs of animal bones left behind from the former occupant’s meals were stacked nicely in a side, cleaned by a swarm of maggots that squirmed under the light.

“And what if the select few are behind this?”

“No, that’s impossible – we are united in ideal.”

“Except your own government workers have been infiltrated or turned against you. I’m beginning to suspect the entire government has always been working behind your back. Did you even hold power back then, Minister? Or were you just a puppet?”

Dekar did not reply, his face grim as he tried to piece together the sequence of events. He could not refute Kyle – his entire understanding of the situation in the capital had been overturned by Zayin’s and the homeless people’s existence, coupled with the turning of the military and paid protestors against him. There was also the sudden appearance of advanced technology far beyond what the military had.

Kyle patted a mattress before plopping down, and taking a quick rest. Dekar scavenged for some water flasks, handing one to Kyle as they sat down in silence for a minute.

Kyle took a deep breath, clasping his hand together. “So, we seem to be at a crossroads.”

“Crossroads?” Dekar was a bit surprised. “If you mean the future of Versia – then yes, we are at a turn-“

“No. I meant you and I.”

Dekar’s eyes narrowed slightly, staring at Kyle. “I don’t understand.”

“You seem to have a misunderstanding that I am a Versian citizen who is affected by all of this madness and equally worried about the state as you.”

“And you’re saying you don’t give a shit when people’s livelihoods are at stake.”

“I am a businessman, Mr Dekar.”

“We had a deal.”

“The deal was made when you still had the position of Minister. I don’t believe in sunk cost fallacy, Dekar.”

The lack of titles irked Dekar slightly, but he couldn’t disagree – how could he still be a minister when his own forces had turned against him? “No, the deal is still valid.”

“I believe the amount of effort that I have to put in in order to make the deal succeed has increased dramatically, such that I am very much inclined to leave Versia altogether.”

“You’re joking. All of this shit happening, and the only thing you care about is money?!” Dekar was infuriated. “Have you no morals? No shame? What about the people?”

Kyle barely reacted to the insult at first, sipping slowly from the water flask before letting out a sigh. The idealistic drivel that Dekar was spouting grated on his nerves, angering him.

“One. I am not a Versian citizen. Two, I sell weapons. Weapons that can kill people by the dozens. Hundreds.” Kyle stood up, walking slowly to Dekar. “Thousands. Millions. Billions. Trillions. I have sold weapons that could annihilate populations untold over great distances that your idealistic brain can hardly register, faster than even your eyes can see! Do you think these ‘morals’ matter to me?”

Dekar instinctively gulped, with the searing glare of Kyle burning through his face till he couldn’t bear to hold his gaze any longer.

“And from what I’ve seen, your ‘morals’ have only led you to this exact situation. Only money, power and everything else that helps me hold onto them matter – nothing else. Not your half-baked ideals that fell so easily to corruption.”

“Look at how your ideal has served the people – the very same people that were swayed so easily by the trinkets given to them by the industrialists to protest and execute your best friend on the spot in a public show of blood and gore. The hitmen that are after your life. They are not ready for your ideal, they never were, and they never will. Not unless you have enough force to protect it.”

“Do you really believe in serving the people anymore when they hardly serve you? Do you truly want to listen to the people who can hardly think for themselves, only knowing how to whine and beg when things go south? How much was the head of your friend worth, hmm? Three Versian coins per protestor?”

Dekar steeled himself with resolve, unwilling to take the one-sided beating any longer. “Ideals are ideals for a reason – I believe with enough effort, we can create a culture around this that will foster unity among the Versian people-“

“Enough. Save your spiel for later. I don’t want to hear rambles of a former minister: I want to know how you intend to honour our deal.”

At this juncture, there was no clear path for Dekar to even fulfil it. However, he had witnessed Kyle’s impressive combat prowess, able to fight off dozens of soldiers on his own given the right opportunity. He could not let him go at any cost, otherwise, the fight to take back his position would be extremely perilous.

His mind raced back to the past, recalling how he used to be a revolutionary, living for months on end at a time in the catacombs just like this. “We need to gather people, like-minded folks who are aware of the hostile takeover by the industrialists. If we can talk to a few of my former colleagues across the country, we can organise a strong enough force to take down those in power.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“It is, which is why we need to act fast and –“

“I’m out.”

Dekar was stunned. “What?!”

“The amount of effort I have to put in doesn’t seem worth it. How long will the revolution take? Two years? Three years?”

“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe a year or so… we need time to build up weapons and troops to fight back…”

“And that’s exactly why I am out. I am not going to be your bodyguard for a year.”

Dekar was about to retort before realising Kyle hadn’t actually stormed out of the chamber nor left yet. If he was truly serious about leaving, he would have done so the moment he heard me criminalised by the crowd. “What do you want?”

“The state only owns 10% of our joint weapons factory venture, two unlimited mining licenses and a national pardon for me, regardless of any crime.”

Dekar’s eyes nearly bulged at the idea. “Ridiculous!”

“Is it now? In exchange, I can appoint you back into power – or even have you become the president if you so wish. Discounted weapons for the military, all the more to secure your government’s stronghold against these industrialists and others who seek to topple you. Are you really willing to let the industrialists stay in power just because of a paltry 90% share and two mining licenses? Think carefully. And also, if you agree to the deal, we do this my way.”

The former minister fell silent for a moment, contemplating whether it was worth the cost. It felt like he was making a deal with the devil, something that he would regret deeply in the future.

The industrialists being in sole power was a far greater evil than him and Kyle together, where he could still potentially keep an eye on what Kyle was doing to ensure the state’s interest. As it is right now, he is completely powerless, and he has no bargaining power with Kyle.

In fact, what truly frightened him was if Kyle left him behind and went to negotiate with the industrialists. No, I must keep him with me at all costs!

“You have my word. But you need to explain how you’re going to solve all of this first. I don’t believe you can do it faster than a year.”

“In two months or less, I will have you back on your small throne,” Kyle promised, confident in his plan.

“What?! That’s impossible?”

“Of course, we will need to get help first. Have you heard of the goddess Nona?”