Chapter 540: Funerary Threat: Rhea, Calla, and Aster Interlude Part 1

Elsewhere, back in Vraizon, on the Umbra Wolf home world...

"I hope that crazy woman is feeling lenient..." Though she was taking advantage of a bad situation, Rhea was undeniably in need of a new home right now. She and Calla, after the international, had heard some rather unsavoury rumours about Major's ongoings after Rhea left that suggested he'd done something truly unforgivable this time. They both went their separate ways, agreeing to investigate the matter on their own ends before reconvening later, AKA now, to discuss it. Calla went around to the other matriarchs and did some digging around various planets in Vraizon where rumours of Major's secret toy had been sighted. Rhea herself went back home and began her investigation quietly but initially made absolutely no progress whatsoever. While she was away for the tournament, Major took measures to solidify and consolidate his loyal forces in positions Rhea couldn't touch any longer without breaking all ties and launching a small civil war.

The state of the Legion's clan's leadership was atrocious, Major was creating a faction with intentions that almost definitely didn't adhere to traditional clan values in the slightest, but it didn't warrant death and wanton destruction to fix. Rhea really didn't want to split the clan down the middle and cause such mayhem with a sporadic divide. Things were volatile, on a knife's edge, and her continued probing would have devastated the clan in the long run, beyond this mess she was sure it could overcome eventually, and she wasn't even sure she needed to act rashly anyway. She didn't walk away completely empty handed, though it took much effort, and the pieces of information she scavenged here and there were enough to form a picture she didn't much like the look of. Anywho, by the end of her stay back on the Legion home world, she was effectively banished by Major. There was no official statement or verdict but it wasn't hard for even the most ignorant observer to realise what had happened to her and everyone basically knew it after she was escorted off the planet by armed guards. She wasn't necessarily restricted from re-entering the planet but supervision would be tight and she might as well be a shackled prisoner, prevented from roaming where she pleased and when. Constant surveillance, prohibited from entering places she was once in charge of even, meant there was nothing left for her back there and she would only be troubling the peeple that were still under her and held any respect for her old position.

Major, for his million and one faults, wouldn't arbitrarily fight, injure, torture, or lock up Legion members who weren't in direct opposition to his goals and obstructing him. He was still Legion, although that statement grew murky with every passing day, and abhorred such things. Even if Major was willing to bend the Legion rules a little if he felt it was needed with revenants, he wouldn't pick senseless fights with harmless Legion members who were merely unhappy. So long as Rhea stayed away, didn't give those clan members any commands or orders that involved digging deeper than they should, they would be allowed to disagree with his actions from the sidelines and keep doing whatever they were doing prior to his semi-takeover. It was in everyone's best interest if Rhea just left peacefully, and waited for this whole mess to die out on its own, and so whatever fragile strings of a relationship still remained between her and Major were now severed beyond repair.

And, thus, in addition to sharing her findings with Calla, Rhea was looking for a new home. She could have gone to Serene or Margaret, searching for a home amongst the Umbras was entirely unnecessary, but there was something else she wanted here that she could very well have now that things had played out this way. Aster. Under the guise of relaying secrets to Calla she was hoping to find a place to stay on this planet and sneak closer to the main family to get back in with him. Calla would know this, obviously, she wasn't an idiot, but she was in a fantastic mood in recent times thanks to finding Ares and might just not care. She couldn't stop going on and on about how he was a 'big' and 'fluffy' boy, and how much hot chocolate she'd need to shove inside his tummy before he was full of it, and she did so with a broad smile and a merrily wagging tail each and every time. If there was ever a time for Rhea to ingratiate herself with the family now was her best bet bar none. Ares had been a major thorn in Calla's side and was arguably the main reason she was so stubbornly adamant about refusing Rhea, Legion, this whole time. Now that it was resolved, and Rhea had effectively firmly cut ties with Major, this would be a perfect chance to deal a heavy blow to the Legion patriarch. His ex ran off to her old flame and archnemesis the second she was free of him and Calla might honestly let Rhea into their world just off the back of the emotional damage it would deal to Major alone as payback.

If Rhea couldn't worm her way into Aster's life now, with all the advantages she had in terms of perfect timing, then she was doomed to fail for all eternity and might as well just deem herself a colossal failure. It should be easy... Though whether or not Calla would make it hard was impossible to guess. Maybe she'd make Rhea's life hell, and have her jump through countless hoops, or maybe she'd simply shrug, let it happen, and focus on other matters as though none of this mattered. Her whims were impossible to decipher ahead of time so Rhea could only sigh and head towards the Calla household's farmland with fingers crossed. Even if she was denied she willing to be a bit more stubborn than usual and push her luck so there wasn't anything else for it but to go be a persistent and unyielding pest... And hand over the information she'd come across too, that was also important! Hell it was supposed to be the reason she was even here to begin with...

Rhea eventually found Aster working the fields, as per usual, and Calla was beside him talking his ear off about something or other. Aster didn't yet know about Ares, none of the children had returned as of yet after the international and Calla probably want him to hear it directly from her so she put a gag order on the elders to stop them discussing the international with him. Though Aster was outwardly a calm, lackadaisical guy, and might not have seemed too bothered by what happened to Ares, he had been on the verge of all out war with the Legions during the original incident. Cooler heads prevailed but he was close to doing much worse than Calla ever did. He'd be glad to hear Ares was doing well for himself and probably wind up proud too once the specifics finally reached him. Despite setbacks galore his son rose to the top on his own and looked to be comfortable staying there; he'd be overjoyed to hear about his numerous successes and the fact he was making a name for himself... Though probably more than anything he wanted to see Ares in person so he could both beat him up and go gambling with him, maybe even both at the same time.

Gambling and sparring, an invitation to either was Aster's own silly way of showing affection. He liked gambling and therefore liked to bring others along with him in the hopes they'd like it too. It was idiotic to think that way but he was a very simple and one-track-mind kind of man in that sense as he just wanted to share his enjoyment of things with others. Revenant men had a way of being disarming and childlike with very innocent and genuine smiles and gestures of affection around people they liked. Most of them were stupid mutts, vicious as can be if provoked, but their friendliness was unmatched even if incoherent and illogical in the way they expressed it. That only made it clearer they were trying than anything subtle, though, and it was endearing in its own asinine way.

Rhea had never laughed as hard as she did back when Aster first sheepishly asked her if she wanted to go on a gambling date. It was the dumbest thing she'd ever heard and, had she been any other woman, would have walked away. Still, some alcohol and gambling wasn't necessarily not up her alley so she ended up having a lot of fun watching revenants transform into their wolven forms and race on all fours across the planet while excitedly Aster talked about the competitors. It was hardly a conventional 'date' but she wound up lying amongst the wheat with him once all was said and done, dead drunk, and having a wonderful time under the setting sun. It was a better time than any she remembered spending with Major anyway. That night was special but then Calla refused to play ball from that point onward and Rhea had to appreciate having loved and lost instead of never having loved at all.

Aster wasn't a perfect man by any stretch of the imagination but he had a lot going for him if his prospective partners didn't mind an incredibly simple life. He was good looking, well built, kind and caring, honest, hard-working, and earnest in the most pure ways you could think of. Even now, for no reason other than seeing his wife return after her relatively shot absence, he was giddy and smiling like there was no tomorrow. Of course he was being berated by Calla but that was just how things went between them on a regular basis. It wasn't ever serious, they had actual arguments extremely infrequently, somehow, but seeing Aster getting dragged around by the ear, or having his body melted by poison in more severe cases, was a common enough sight that nobody else on the farm was bothered by it. Also, for what it was worth, Aster had probably deserved it. The only 'unreasonable' punishments he received were those related to Rhea showing up on the planet as that was hardly something he could control!

Speaking of... Now that Rhea was here, everyone was expecting to see a good sight of Aster getting scolded and told to go stand in a corner somewhere with his rake like a dunce. Normally they took his side and felt pity but he'd just cleaned the pockets of his workers by beating them in a bet earlier and so they wanted to see him get his just deserts! Strangely, though, upon seeing Rhea's arrival, Calla just up and left without so much as a fuss! This was extremely unusual behaviour. She said something about needing to prepare poisoned tea for her guest, Rhea in this case, and it wouldn't be the first time she'd done such a thing as her foul moods were often highly dangerous for those around her, but things felt different this time. There was a lack of determination in her usual sing-song voice and, better yet, running away while leaving Rhea and Aster together was unheard of. Plus there was no forced smile, no evil intentions lurking behind her twitchy lips, no hiding the glint in her eyes by keeping them shut, she was entirely normal for once and that was arguably scarier than anything else they'd seen! But it also meant something. It seemed a new chapter in the three's relationship was getting underway and there was much gossip to be had about this so the workers all took their lunch break early and ran away to speak safely without fear of being overheard by the expert cultivators. They were shocked, understandably, but nobody was more shocked by this development than Aster himself who was still blinking in the direction his wife had taken off.

A tiny sliver of expectation crept into his disbelieving eyes as he hadn't talked with Rhea in ages. Never mind their own history, they had a child together at one point! He had no idea what that child was up to as he'd only heard brief rundowns from Calla and even those were mostly unsubstantial. Being glad to see Rhea was one thing, he definitely wasn't going to squander this opportunity to speak with her as revenant men had a tendency to be possessive around women even if their track record with them was only a one time fling, debatably more so in such a case, but more than anything he really wanted to know about his daughter he'd never spoken to. Seeing her from afar at certain events and peace talks, the few she and her other siblings attended with a bored expression, was one thing but that was ages ago and she must have grown plenty since then. Also, he'd like to have a chat with her face to face one day too if possible. Aster had no idea what to talk to her about, Bellona's hobbies were probably vastly different from his and most kids these days weren't as into gambling as he was, but a child of his was a child of his no matter what! Just like how he didn't pursue the Ares matter, he didn't pursue Bellona either because of his duties, and the situation was too complicated to unravel at the time anyway, but that didn't mean he was uninterested in seeing them, not at all. He wanted his child and his partner back in his life even if they'd only been there for a fraction of a second.

Of course, all these thoughts were jumbled in his head so, when Rhea walked over to him, his messy brain couldn't quite piece together anything meaningful. "Um. Hello?"

Rhea snorted in response. She could have sworn she saw Aster and the form of Ares, in her memory of him, overlap for a brief second. Their dumbness was uncanny and it reaffirmed her suspicions that Ares was the most similar in nature, and looks too, to Aster out of the litter. It was almost a cruel joke Aster didn't get to see it, he wouldn't comment on it but he would notice it and be happy, but he would see Ares soon so that wrong would be righted in due time.

"'Um hello' to you to, idiot. I see you're still tilling and hoeing under that woman's thumb?"

"Aww c'mon." Aster chuckled, put aside his tools, and scratched the back of his head. "I enjoy working out here, Calla doesn't make me. The cool breeze is refreshing and my body feels alive. If I sit around and do nothing for too long I feel more tired than when I'm throwing myself at whatever task I see left incomplete."

Rhea crossed her arms and glared. "So you say but I don't think anything regarding us was ever resolved properly? Calla definitely made you do as she wished back then and so I don't know how to describe things between us as anything other than 'incomplete'."

"... Sorry..." Aster didn't even disagree or fight the point because he knew she was technically right. His disappointed frown was directed more at himself than anything and he looked rather pitiful, like a dog caught chewing the sofa. Rhea wanted to scold him more, she'd put up with the result of his obedience to Calla for many years now and had a lot of pent up resentment, but it wasn't necessarily exclusively his fault and he wasn't in an easy situation either. Calla was his wife, she'd been in the picture long before Rhea, and she was the mother of his children. Was he supposed to abandon the woman he loved because, what exactly? She was asking him not to go and cheat on her? He had her permission once, due to complicated circumstances and a muddled head, but after that it was different. If anything, it was Rhea being completely unreasonable here and yet Aster still felt guilty about it and that just made her feel apologetic in turn. She scratched her own head this time and kissed her teeth. "Ah whatever. Just make it up to me later with some local beverages. I haven't had any revenant-brewed beer in forever and I recall it being pretty damn great. More intoxicating than anything coming out of the fancy shmancy Starlight clan anyway. All their posh drinks couldn't get me drunk even if I fell into and drowned in a river of the stuff."

Now that Aster wasn't being blamed anymore, he had a warm smile on his face that could melt any heart. Rhea couldn't help but wonder if it was that same damn smile that did in Enyo and Bellona too with regards to Ares. Stupid revenant charm... Although that was only really half of it. As pets, revenant men were great and all but that inner wolf, the one that infrequently bared its fangs but did so with calculated precision, timing, and cunning, was a dangerous thrill that made up the other half of what made Legion women feel weak in the knees around them. That little spark of unfamiliar disorder in their lives was something that, once tasted, would cause them to chase it until it was theirs forever. Despite Aster's passivity in this conversation so far, Rhea knew he had it in him too. There was a fire burning deep within all revenant men and generally speaking it was incredibly passionate. If Calla left the planet for a while, and Rhea got aggressive with Aster, it would come out and one thing would definitely lead to another. Another time, maybe, but now there was an important conversation to be had. Calla left Rhea here because she knew Rhea would only use this time to settle the old debt rather than try to reignite anything at this particular moment. Just clearing the air, nice and quick, and then back to work for now.

"Take a break from the farm, there's a bunch of important stuff to talk about." Rhea nodded at the house and started walking over to it with Aster in tow.

"I figured, Calla's in an unusual mood." Aster had seen his wife in many different lights but today's was a strange mix. There was excitement bubbling under the surface but also something restraining it and that was a rather interesting combination. Calla was always the type to unrestrainedly celebrate whenever she was in a good mood, she didn't hide it like this basically ever. Or, rather, she wasn't capable of it. She was a blabber mouth when things went her way so perhaps the bad news she was holding onto was pretty concerning.

The two entered the house, Rhea opened a new path by breaking one of the walls again, and took a seat on the couch they were both familiar with. It didn't matter who Calla brought into this specific room, she always sat opposite this exact couch while her guests and conversation partners were forced into this seat every time. Rhea tried messing with her once, by sitting in her seat, but Calla hissed at her and nearly poisoned her to death as a result. A lesson learned the hard way, that was... Although really Rhea should have seen it coming, such behaviour was very like Calla. 

Rhea considered nudging Aster, who was deep in thought regarding his wife's behaviour, but Calla walked into the room and shot her a quick, narrow eyed glance. Rhea couldn't tell if Calla was accepting of any kind of intimacy or not, her mood might even flip flop from moment to moment, but there wasn't anything Rhea could do other than suck it up for now. Eventually Calla's resentment would slip fully and she'd make a decision she couldn't take back, Rhea could tell that was in the works. The road in to Aster's life was paved and ready for traversal, it was just a matter of how long it would take Calla to become unburdened by the past fully and and remove the last few roadblocks of her own volition. For now, there was more important conversation to be had.

"So, what did you find?" Rea felt her information was juicier than Calla's so she opted to go second by encouraging the droopy tailed calla to get her thoughts out in the open. That and Calla looked about ready to burst so Rhea took a backseat and let Calla vent.

"Our people are disappearing. Not as in they're dying and being reborn elsewhere, that's normal and something that can be ignored. I mean they're vanishing, permanently, at an unprecedented rate. They aren't dead, we can't be killed, but something else has been happening to them as of late that can't be explained. Revenants stationed off-world have gracelessly gone MIA for multiple months now and it's becoming concerning. Even our scouts, those who regularly search for reborn revenants, have been having less and less luck recently and the number of rescues has dwindled extremely far from the margin of error we tolerate. It's not like we're running out of personnel or soldiers or anything, we're fine in terms of numbers, but people are starting to get worried about their missing family members not returning. Plus if this keeps up then, in due time, we really will have an issue on our hands that can't be resolved properly. The number of disappearances is only growing day by day and the only lead we have is that it's somewhat related to Major's toy.

Ostensibly, it's still the same autonomous robo weapon it always was, the sabotaging droid that assassinates people of interest, but reports of it acting different have begun to surface. Before we could reliably gather bits of data about its whereabouts, methodology of accomplishing goals, and what tasks it was up to. Now, though, very few survive encounters with it, or can even track it to begin with, and none that have fallen at its hands have been reborn and resurfaced anywhere in this domain as of yet. We even checked Sheryashka. I know we weren't supposed to have a presence down there, to let the future generation cultivate in peace, but this strange situation called for an investigation because we couldn't ignore the problem. Again, we couldn't find any of the deceased so it's almost as if Major has found a way to destroy revenant souls. It would be pretty unforgivable if he has but I wouldn't be so concerned if that was the extent of it. My issue is that revenant souls can't be destroyed, we know this, so something else must be happening instead. Death is not necessarily worse than some forms of cruelty so I'd almost prefer it if he could destroy our souls. At least we would know what's happening and that would be the end of it. One informant managed to catch a glimpse of the Legion robo without being spotted and he swears up and down it was screeching in multiple cadences all at once. It was only for a split second, and the robot calmed down immediately after as if silencing itself, but this sighting, combined with other rumours we're all aware of, is telling me Major has really crossed some manner of unethical line this time. This isn't just war anymore, it's not even eradication of our kind, it's resentment on an evil scale. Vargaraad's wife and kid are amongst those who haven't returned to us as of yet so even he went out searching and you know how rare it is for him to leave his home."

"Vargaraad, huh..." Rhea muttered. He wasn't a revenant but he did marry one a long while ago. Originally, he was unaware his family were a bunch of immortal revenants so went berserk after 'losing' them in Sheryashka. When he learned they were alive again he settled down here on the Umbra planet in secrecy and pretended to be dead. He was yet another reason all out war with the Umbras just wasn't possible, he was strong, and if he was investigating this matter then it must be more serious than it appeared to be on the surface. Of course he also wanted his family back but it's no like he didn't trust the revenants to search and rescue them without his own personal interference. If he was moving then perhaps he knew something about the severity of this matter. "Well, my information is limited in scope but also very important. Major's toy was scheduled for an upgrade a while back and most people working on the project haven't been since. They were given a level of clearance even I could do nothing about so something really has changed with that robot. I don't know much but they gave it a new codename, apparently, and that's valuable intel given Major's personality. He isn't one for aesthetics, and being artsy is a fundamental incompatible approach with his innate pursuit of efficiency, so the name itself will unsurprisingly be straight to the point. He's military, so it's not like he'll spell it out in children's language or anything, but the intent is clear enough that I think it's worth mentioning.

Major's robot is now referred to as 'Coffin'.

A name change that I'm sure you'll agree raises eyebrows given what's happening with the revenants, right? Death is one thing, but if they're being stored inside the 'Coffin' then Major isn't destroying their souls, he's restraining them. I shudder to think how he's accomplished it, revenant souls shouldn't be so easy to keep trapped. The most likely possibility is that he's merging them together and forcing the condensed soul amalgamation to stick to the 'Coffin'. Essentially, the revenant souls are twisted into a single large fuel source for the Coffin. It enhances the robo, making it stronger via the suffering of revenants. Normal souls couldn't handle such pressure, they would shatter, but because revenants are different this becomes a weapon tailor made to put them through endless misery and torment... I would suggest retreating all revenants from the field for now to spare them this fate as the Coffin is likely currently tasked with hunting them all down and killing them on sight. Major's mask has slipped, well and truly, and his deranged anger towards the revenant has reached its boiling point. This is no longer about ancient history, this is him exploiting the Legion clan for all its worth to settle a personal grudge. As there are many in the clan who also have grudges, he's amassed a considerable force under him and isn't easy to deal with... Put simply, he's a problem." A pervasive silence hung in the air as an uncomfortable truth about Major's descent into rage-fuelled madness, and the plan born of it, revealed itself. There was a lot to consider but most important of all was getting the revenant souls back. Messing with a revenant was fine but doing this? This meant war. And not like the kiddy glove kind of farce up until now. Real war.