CHAPTER 36: HEART ANSWERS

XENON WINGATE

PRESENT DAY - INTERROGATION

My breathing is softer than before. I have finally accustomed myself in this electric chair, and the hologram globe is not hurting my eyes anymore. My skin felt cool as the cold air mixed with my own sweat.

[Seeing your memories makes us understand your rivalry against the opposing empire. You pledged yourself to become stronger so that you can defeat Lothar Pendragon.] The interrogator said.

“That’s not it.” I sighed. “It doesn’t matter if I win my battles against him. All that matters to me is my revenge, and all the information he has given to me about Eldritch’s moves.”

[We saw from your memory that he is clearly siding with Emperor Michael Eldritch. Yet, he is friendly towards you, a well-known traitor of Elysia. How does a hero like him trust you with information that much?]

“A hero is defined by the choices he makes.” I murmured. “Kirina’s heartbeats tell Lothar what to do. It may seem like he’s a wacko, but he knew what he’s fighting for is right. I know that his intel can be trusted.”

[We knew that you never saw him again for a long time. How did you communicate with each other?]

“We used a private email site to trade information. We stay anonymous most of the time, but we use keywords to define ourselves from the rest. We have never been caught, even for once.”

[Conspiring with an enemy is an act of treason and espionage against the Empire of Alterra. You knew that you are committing a crime while talking to him. Yet, you still proceed.]

“You don’t understand.” I smiled. “It doesn’t matter to me which empire succeeds in the end. I don’t care if Elysia would end up winning the war as long as I get to bag Eldritch’s head.”

There was a long pause. I know that there’s a lot of secrets going on that would make me imprisoned for the rest of my life. I also think I can get a death sentence just by talking to an enemy from an empire. I’m openly telling them the truth, which makes me an enemy of Alterra and Elysia. But that doesn’t matter. They are using a memory-reading device anyway, so there’s no use in hiding these secrets.

[That doesn’t matter.] The interrogator said. [Betraying the empire of Alterra or Elysia is just a trivial matter. All we need to know is the location of the Psychic Amplifier.]

A chill went down to my spine. My betrayal on Alterra and Elysia doesn’t matter? Who the hell are these people holding me up?

“Ack!” A jolt entered my brain. Hearing the last word, the Psychic Amplifier, makes my brain ache. 

[It’s working.] The interrogator said. [You are recovering your lost memories. We have succeeded in recovering a fragment about the Psychic Amplifier.]

“Huff… puff…” I breathed hard to catch my breath. There’s a little spark inside my brain when the interrogator muttered the word Psychic Amplifier again. “My head… it hurts…”

[Do you remember the Psychic Amplifier?]

“I… don’t…” I tried hard to speak. It’s like my vocal cords are on fire, and my lungs are frozen. My body is trying hard to suppress the memories that are hidden inside me.

[Did you get information about the Psychic Amplifier from Lothar? Did Lothar mention about Psychic Amplifier on your private chat?]

“Yes,” I said. “But he left out other vital information. He is keeping me in the dark.”

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LOTHAR PENDRAGON

2 ½ YEARS AGO

I’ve sat beside a fireplace before, but it was never this cold. Here in Elysia, where snow falls two-thirds of the time, a fireplace is the best site of comfort. I should be in the most relaxing place in the whole world for the reason that I’m sitting on the couch of the Royal Castle of Elysia. It’s been ten minutes, and His Majesty is supposed to have a meeting with me here.

The wooden doors were slowly opened by the guards, and there were two persons. One is the fat square doctor named Doctor Cheng Du, the traitor of Alterra. I’ve never liked this guy in my entire life because he’s a well-known oppressor towards us dragonoids, and uses us to become a test subject.

The second man is a prince charming whom I pledged myself to honor with, Emperor Michael Eldritch. Even though he’s just eighteen, his mature looks and charisma already make him fit for a powerful leader. Our emperor is holding a newspaper on his hand.

I stood up, held my chest, and bowed to the emperor.

“Well, well. Lothar Pendragon, the hero of Elysia.” Doctor Cheng said with a disgusting smile on his face. “Glad to have you back in the military, even though we both know that you’re just a knightless dragon.”

My only reply to him is a cold glare. I swear to the goddess Vesryn, I’ll punch him in his whole teeth if he dared to bring up that I’m knightless again.

“I didn’t call you here to insult my finest warrior, Doctor.” Emperor Eldritch said.

“My apologies, your majesty.” The Doctor bowed.

Emperor Eldritch turned to me and gave me the newspaper he’s been holding. It’s a newspaper of general circulation on Alterra, and it contains all the updates about what is happening to that damned empire. The headline of the page is enough for me to understand what the Emperor wants to say.

The title of the headlines is “Heroes of Alterra: The people who saved the empire from the terrorist group of Arcadia.” It contains lots of names of dragon knights who fought against the terrorists such as General Kyle Leviticus and the now promoted Major General Kevin Valesmith. It also has a roll of honorable lower rank dragon knights that looked nobodies to me such as Alphonse Faradeiss and Danielle Keine. What makes this unsurprisingly interesting is that a man who’s supposed to be dead is there, making his name on the other side of the world. Xenon Wingate.

“That cockroach refused death.” Emperor Eldritch made a plastic smile. “And now he’s a war hero on the other side.”

There are two photos sandwiched in the newspaper. One of the photo consists of a woman in golden blonde hair, white angelic wings, and white skin-like bodysuit. She has long sharp ears like those of an elf, and a red V mark on her chest. 

However, the other photo is also a woman with long black hair and she’s wearing a cute pink pop-star dress. I have seen her on TV and magazines before. In fact, I have met her a few weeks ago, back when I had my vacation on the Alterran Beach. She’s Serena Maizono, Xenon Wingate’s dragonoid.

“Believe it or not, those two women in the pictures are the same person.” Emperor Eldritch said. “Serena Maizono is a completely peculiar dragonoid, having almost all of the ancient royal bloodlines running through her veins. What’s weirder is that she’s a human before, and now she has those crimson eyes. She is certainly out of this world.”

“What of her?” I asked.

“Let me explain because Emperor Eldritch is not good at talking in bad words.” Doctor Cheng adjusted his eyeglasses, making it shine. “Serena Maizono is capable of using Elform, a power of the ancient dragon that was lost during the First Dragonoid War. She is an endangered species, to be precise. The reason why his majesty scheduled a meeting for you here is to do one thing: We want you to capture her, fully alive and healthy. Her mystical powers would help us and our plan to world domination.”

“What are you planning on doing with her, exactly?” I asked even though I already know the answer deep inside my mind.

“Of course, we will breed her with other dragonoids.” Doctor Cheng smiled like a killer clown. “An endangered species like her should procreate fast so that her bloodline powers will be preserved for future generations. I know you already know the answer because you’re a product of dragonoid breeding program too.”

I clenched my fist. He’s talking as if we dragonoids are just livestock or pets. He’s right about me being a product of such inhumane program. Dragonoids like me are nothing but slaves and weapons after all, so it’s perfectly moral for humans to breed us like house cats. 

“Is Serena Maizono necessary for your world domination schemes?” I asked.

“No, not her.” Emperor Eldritch said. “Dragonoid breeding will take years, and it will take decades for the little dragonoids to grow up until they’re battle-ready. By the time I have my army of ancient dragonoids, I’ll be having white hair and wrinkly face.”

“We are already commencing the world domination plan.” Doctor Cheng said. “The Psychic Amplifier Prototype is set to be tested a year from now. Serena Maizono is not necessary for world domination, but she’s insurance so that we can keep the future intact.”

“So she’s not that needed in your plan.” I crossed my arms. “One last question. Who gave you the intel about Serena Maizono?”

“Arcadia.” Emperor Eldritch answered. “We have tentacles all over Alterran dragonoids, and they are under our direct influence.”

“Then we’re done here,” I said. “I can do any mission His Majesty provides, but I will never do anything that involves the help of Arcadia.”

Emperor Eldritch laughed. “I knew you wouldn’t accept the mission because of the nature of the intel. Fine. I’ll respect your decision.” 

Suddenly, the Emperor drew a set of new files from his jacket. 

“How about kidnapping the children of the Prime Minister of Fleija, will you accept? There are no Arcadia or dragonoid breedings involved.”

“You should have offered this thing sooner, your majesty.” I accepted the files without a second thought.

The emperor smiled, but the doctor frowned as they went out of the scene. Cheng Du must be disappointed that he won’t be able to get the ancient dragonoid as soon as he thought. They should have realized that I’ll reject their first offer as soon as they knew that the intel came from Arcadia itself.

Now that I am left in this royal fireplace, I sat on the comfortable sofa and threw the documents on my side table. I stared at the flames for ten seconds until I felt a sonar-like pulse from my chest. 

I withdrew a titanium box from my jacket and opened it. There, I saw the beautiful heart of my deceased loved one pumping out nothing but air.

“Kirina… what are you telling me?” I asked.

The heart answered, but only I can decipher what it means. My wife’s heart only replied with the same set of heartbeats, but I can fully understand what she wants just by feeling its pulses.

“Psychic Amplifier Prototype, set for testing in one year,” I muttered. “Kirina, should I tell Xenon?”

The heart answered again.

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