The Other Half

It surprised Yuki to see that none of his friends actually jumped out of their seats upon hearing the verdict. He wasn’t sure how much of it was due to having guards on them or the fact that it was so easy to read. It gave them all time to prepare and accept before it even happened. It wasn’t a surprise when you expected the outcome, painful as it was.

They could do nothing for them. Fumiko and Haruo along with the others were escorted back to their cells. The trial, if it could even be called that, ended. Most of the crowd already started to move out. Yuki and his friends stayed behind for a while.

Saki and Yori were the first to leave with Rheia in tow. Yuki watched them leave. He could see it in Saki’s eyes. She wasn’t finished. He felt the same, but they needed a better plan other than just raising hell in the Palace and making everyone open enemies of them.

Once Chiharu decided to leave along with Nereus, Yuki quickly made a move. He walked up along her side. His finger tapped her arm, keeping it subtle out of notice of Nereus. Yuki never made any eye contact with her and he felt that she could read him well enough. She gave him a tap back before they separated.

Appearing behind him, Demosthenes didn’t leave his side empty for long. “You ready for the truth?”

“It’s about damn time,” he answered without even looking at him.

Chapter 281 – The Other Half

While they walked out to one of the countless courtyards that made up the massive Palace grounds, Yuki caught sight of Saki and Yori again. ‘She’s with that woman, Rheia. But she’s not chasing. Did they come to terms?’ He didn’t have much time to consider it before they disappeared around a corner. His mind quickly shifted gears to the more pressing topic.

The truth.

He thought he knew it all, thanks to Eudokia’s revelations. However, Demosthenes made it clear that he still didn’t know everything. Clearly Eudokia left out a lot of details during their fight. She was very focused on the immediate issues of being King and her plan. So there weren’t really any openings for further questions. Though she also didn’t really introduce answers that led around to expanded questions.

It wasn’t until the fallout of Eudokia’s rebellion that Yuki started to learn there was more truth to the lies that she originally fed him months ago. Now he didn’t know which was the truth or lies. He hated the man, but he trusted him to be honest to him. It seemed the only thing he was good for.

Eventually, they arrived in one of the courtyards. To Yuki’s eyes, it looked just like any of the others that he had seen in passing. Like them, the space filled densely with flowers and trees. It was a beautiful garden and likely a wonderful place to rest during the busy days in the Palace. However, he couldn’t enjoy their soothing serenity that they brought. “Aside from the unnecessary trip outside to have a discussion that could happen anywhere, what do you have to tell me?”

Demosthenes surprisingly took a seat over by one of the wooden benches that sat under the protection of a tree’s shadow. He invited Yuki over. The look on his face actually seemed to change from the constant unbreakable stoicism. It seemed softer and gentler as though the garden actually worked on even him. “The King, your father, would come here many times. Whether it was just to sleep while slacking off from work or to think. This was his favorite place. He said that it calmed him.”

He took a long measured look at the old man. During his fight with him and his time as his shadow, each time that Yuki looked at him he never actually looked his age. He seemed to completely resist the weight of time against him. He could live forever. It made him easily appear twenty years younger. Yet, when Yuki saw him on that bench it all came rushing back.

Yuki found himself fond of calling him an old man, but it wasn’t until he saw him now that it actually fit. He looked like a man tired and exhausted from endless years of service. Unwavering and unquestioning loyalty left unrewarded and unnoticed.

‘Damn, he’s actually making me feel bad for him now…’ It was hard to see it. It was easier to hate him when he didn’t seem to have emotions. Now he just looked pathetic, vulnerable, weak, not the man that he fought tooth and nail to defeat.

Uncertain but curious, Yuki took the bench. Regardless of the appearance, he needed to know what Demosthenes knew. “So what’s the story with my father and the Council? What up with all of this bad blood? Why’s Eudokia so dead set against them?”

“This requires a bit of a history lesson on Atlantis, since without it the Council’s behavior would seem to have no reason, however unjustified. They have their reasons that are hard set into their nature.”

“Alright then, start there. I need to know what the situation is or else I can’t make any plans.”

“As you’ve been told, the Throne of Atlantis keeps Atlantis alive. The device known as the Throne of Atlantis is a type of convertor. When a MP is linked with it, it forcibly channels the power out of them to maintain the Field that holds Atlantis in this appearance. After the first King of Atlantis died, all this that they created would have gone away, but the second King, their brother, figured out a way to keep it going.

“Thus began the system known today for the Rite of Succession. The power required to maintain such an enormous Field is massive and only the most gifted can do it. Typically, it is passed to the most powerful heir of the King.

“Keep in mind that neither Eudokia nor myself are qualified. We may be powerful in your eyes, but that’s only due to our Folding potential, not our raw power. It is raw power that is required not just skill, as such one does not actually have to be skilled to become King. They only need to have a large reserve power.”

Yuki nodded, finally understanding one of the questions that had plagued him for a while upon learning about the truth of the King. “That explains why Eudokia didn’t just try to take control for herself. That never made sense to me.”

“Correct, however there are times when the heir is not powerful enough or there is no heir. So an alternate ruling of the Rite of Succession takes place. Typically, it is just a public display of power and assurance. But when it is lacking, it becomes a search. The device actually hunts out one worthy to be linked with it, forcibly drawing out their potential for all to display. Given that their power is often rudely awakened and massive, they are usually easy to locate.”

It sounded very familiar to Yuki. He couldn’t remember how many times his power accidently turned on and took out their whole neighborhood. Yuki didn’t know how many people he freaked out every time it happened. “This is heading somewhere soon, right?”

“Yes. As explained, it takes up a lot of power. You’re aware that it essentially drains away the life from the one connected to it. It isn’t literally feeding on life, but the constant strain of having your power activated isn’t done without a cost. Those that are powerful enough, but just barely are the worst to be affected.

“Atlantis usually goes through its cycles of powerful and weak Kings. Until your father took control, we were in a weak cycle. The last five Kings before him had all been very weak all coming from the same line. Due to how weak they were, they only lasted between five to ten years. Worst was the last who became King at a younger age than you and died before even reaching twenty.”

The weight of such words made him swallow a little roughly. He understood from Yumi how bad it was, but this put it into a completely new perspective. A system that stole the youth from children seemed hard to justify. Even as he wrestled with the idea, the opposite weight pulled on him, the millions of lives living here.

“It was the last line of Kings that brought Atlantis to the current state it is in. Since the Kings were nearly impotent from their crowning, it was left to the Council to do the ruling. A King that couldn’t even leave their bed wasn’t fit to be a leader of a nation. Until your father came in, the position as King was seen more as a figurehead role rather than one as a leader. Most citizens never saw the King after the Rite of Succession.”

Yuki could see where things were finally headed now with the history lesson. It was far too classic of a setup not to see. “So the Council got used to being in charge and running things that they did not want to give up their power.”

“Right, during the weak cycles the Council ruled for the King, but during the strong cycles the King ruled and the Council was merely an advisory position. However, they had grown used to their position as the weak series of Kings strengthened their position. Though the previous line before was stronger, the Council still had a strong position even then. For more than a century they were power in Atlantis.”

“Then my father steps in and shakes things up.”

“Correct. Since he was a new line, he was not bound by old traditions, nor was he indoctrinated by a lifestyle in the Palace of how things worked. He did things his own way and because he was so powerful he had the right and authority to do so. He and the Council clashed repeatedly.”

“Just so I know, how powerful was my father?”

“We haven’t seen someone as powerful as your father in centuries. Because it’s been so long we don’t really have another King to really compare him against. And since that was the case, many saw him as a figure that might revive the old glory days from a millennia ago.”

“That’s pretty big shoes for anyone to fill.”

“The best gauge I can give you is that the previous Kings were bedridden, but a strong King was known to be able to walk around the Capital. They would become easily fatigued and tired from going so far away from the Throne, but that allowed the public to see the Kings. Your father however was able to go to every corner of Atlantis without even a shortness of breath.”

“How long did he rule for?”

“More than thirty years.”

“So even someone as powerful as him could only make it thirty years…”

“There were other circumstances involved, but that’s getting ahead of things.”

Demosthenes’ quick dodge of the complete answer only had Yuki wondering more. He planned on getting an answer out of him even if he didn’t volunteer it. But there was something more important to get clear at the moment. “As I journeyed through the countryside, I remember hearing that the King was not very popular with the citizens. If he started out so well liked what happened to change everyone’s opinion?”

“A number of factors led to the King’s image crumbling. The first was the death of his wife, the Queen. They were married just after he was made King, as the mourning process for the last King delayed their wedding. So they had no children yet. While it’s never been proven, your father strongly believes that it was the Council’s hand to ensure his rule ended with him. They wouldn’t kill your father, but they would be sure to get a new replacement, one that ideally was weak.”

As if he needed anymore reasons to hate the Council, their corruption knew no limits. Yuki wanted to punch each of them for their selfishness. Though, he still didn’t know the reason for all of the infighting between them. “I can see how things weren’t ideal for them, but what did my father do that was so bad?”

“Under the Council rule, they pressed their agenda. The biggest was the segregation of the MPs from the normal humans. While we’ve always been seen as saviors of our people. There are always going to be those that abuse our gifts. So we also are greatly feared. Even without the Council doing anything there’s a divide between us. The Council only made it easier by passing laws. They put the mandatory conscription in place, though it wasn’t well enforced until a certain incident.”

“You’re talking about the rebellion.” He had heard about it mentioned from Eudokia, but no real details. “What happened?”

“Twenty years, things reached a head between a group of MPs unhappy with their treatment. A single charismatic force united them. Their leader was powerful and exceptionally gifted. If she was still around she’d very easily challenge Eudokia or myself. It started out small, but grew quickly. There were so many unhappy with their treatment that they jumped in with the rebels. Nearly twenty percent of all MPs were part of it.

“The rebellion never made it very far as their leader mysteriously disappeared on them. They lost a lot of their support without the leader and it fell apart. But not before an entire village was wiped out and significant parts of the Capital were damaged.

“While it wasn’t the King’s fault, after his wife died he lost his focus. And the Council very easily manipulated things. They pinned the cause of the uprising on the King’s new policies that tried to grant more freedoms to the MPs. It gave them everything they needed to pass even harsher laws. Conscription was enforced and the Omega Division was formed.”

“And my father did nothing to stop it? What the hell was he doing? I know his wife died, but if he felt so passionately about equality why did he stop? Did he become disillusioned?”

“Quite the opposite actually, but the problem was that he stopped focusing on the immediate problems that Atlantis faced. He became even more determined to fix the system, but he changed his focus.” “Changed it to what? Wasn’t equality what he wanted?”

“Yes, but he believed that they wouldn’t be able to achieve such a world if the current system still was in place. So he sought to destroy the system that forced us to sacrifice someone for the benefit of millions. He wanted to break the cycle of servitude that bound all Kings and MPs to a fate of death. That’s how he came up with this plan. The plan that involves Eudokia and you.”