Chapter 400: The Encounter
Sophia sat upon the obsidian throne, the desk before her immaculately clean.
Zero documents. Zero reports. A total absence of administrative variables.
She had waited an entire morning, and the only manifestation of activity was a
Skeleton Attendant entering to deliver a cup of tea.
Yes. Tea. Delivered to a skeleton.
Sophia stared at the rising steam, falling into a brief period of "System
Silence." She currently occupied a skeletal frame—no lips, no tongue, no
esophagus. There was zero logical reason to even lift the cup to audit its
scent.
Yet the attendant had performed the task as if it were a mandatory protocol,
setting it down and exiting without a word.
Logic Audit: Does Kaito actually ingest liquids? Or is a steaming cup of tea
simply a static prop for his aesthetic?
Regardless, the primary issue was that she was "Red-lining on Boredom."
She had cleared the entire backlog of files yesterday. Today, not a single new
document had manifested. Sophia initially assumed she had made a "Logic Error"
in her approvals, causing the bureaucracy to stall out of fear.
By noon, she finally summoned an attendant. "State the reason for the lack of
administrative flux today. Are there zero matters requiring my review?"
The attendant paused, his soul-fire flickering with surprise. "Reporting to the
Sovereign… all routine matters have been processed by the Secretary of State.
Files requiring your personal approval usually manifest in batches every three
to five cycles."
Sophia: "..."
Batches? Every three to five cycles? She had processed the entire stack
yesterday in one burst. It appeared she had accidentally performed a week's
worth of labor in a single afternoon.
Once the attendant exited, Sophia leaned back, her bony fingers tapping the
armrest. Clack. Clack.
A Detached Manager. The Sovereign of Evernight was a terminal "Hands-off
Sovereign."
Almost every facet of the Empire's governance was being hard-carried by a
Blood-kin named Greed. From fiscal budgets to personnel deployment, from
diplomatic missives to internal disputes—Greed handled the vast majority of the
processing load. The remaining variables were delegated to the other six
Generals. The only things that required Kaito's personal "Handshake" were
high-order strategic pivots.
Sophia recalled her activities over the last few days. She had narrowly avoided
a "Terminal Logic Error" yesterday. While signing a document, she had
instinctively written: "Forward to General Greed for processing." Her pen had
almost completed the final stroke when a memory-fragment surfaced.
Greed was not addressed as "General."
Though the populace referred to the Sins collectively as the "Seven Generals,"
Greed's formal designation was Secretary of State. He was the only Sin-unit who
did not utilize a military title in official correspondence.
She had found that detail buried in a corner-note of a personnel file and had
barely managed to shred the compromised document in time.
If she had sent that file out with the words "General Greed" on it... Logic
Check: Would an Emperor who ruled for years misidentify the title of his most
vital administrator? The probability of exposure would have hit 100%.
Sophia re-evaluated her status. She had assumed the primary hurdle was mimicking
Kaito's energy and physical frame. Now she realized the true minefield was
buried in these micro-details. A title. A habit. A piece of silent understanding
between Kaito and his inner circle.
Any one of them could liquidate her cover.
She required more data. But she couldn't initialize a "Query Protocol" without
looking suspicious. A Ruler suddenly asking basic questions about his
subordinates would be a massive Logic Error.
Sophia let out a sigh—or rather, her mandible clicked open and shut in a
soundless mimicry of one.
She decided to manifest outside the hall. Rather than sitting here waiting for a
system crash, she would observe the Empire's frequency in person. She needed to
audit the daily routines, the status of the Sins, and identify exactly who Kaito
synchronization with, and how.
She stood up, adjusted her black robes, and exited the chamber.
The corridors of Evernight Castle were expansive, wide enough for three units to
walk abreast. Mana-lamps lined the walls, emitting a soft, sterile white light.
Occasional Skeleton Attendants passed her, each stopping to execute a rigid
salute. Sophia offered a curt nod and maintained her gait, refusing to initiate
vocal output.
She was careful to maintain the "Recalibrated Stride-length" she had practiced.
Reaching a corner of the second-floor gallery, Sophia stopped.
A Skeleton was standing ahead of her.
He was towering—at least a full head taller than a standard skeleton. The
texture and hue of his bones were fundamentally different from other Undead,
possessing a faint, silver-grey metallic luster.
In place of his left arm was a shifting, translucent limb composed of pure blue
energy.
Skele-Pride.
Sophia's processors red-lined. The First of the Seven Sins. Commander of the
Punishment Legion. Tier-7 Skeleton King. The ultimate executor of the Empire's
military might.
And one of the variables she feared most.
Pride spotted her and immediately snapped into a perfect military salute. "My
Sovereign."
"Mhm."
Sophia walked past him, her peripheral vision auditing that blue energy arm. She
was genuinely curious. According to her data, Pride was a Tier-7 unit. At that
level, a skeleton's regenerative capacity is immense. Restoring a physical limb
should have been a rudimentary task.
Yet, he didn't. He chose to function with a prosthetic made of Od.
Reasoning? Unknown.
She wanted to query the logic, but her "Stealth Protocol" forbade it. If Kaito
knew the reason, asking would be a breach. If Kaito didn't know, the question
was irrelevant. Both branches led to a potential Logic Error.
She maintained her silence and continued her gait.
"My Sovereign," Pride's voice vibrated from behind her.
Sophia terminated her gait and turned around. "Status?"
Pride's soul-fire pulsed with a slow, heavy rhythm as he looked at her.
"Query… is my Son performing within nominal parameters?"
Sophia's cognitive processors hit a "System Null."
Son? Pride has a son?
She frantically swept her internal archives for any data on Pride's lineage.
Birth Log: First skeleton architected by Kaito. Evolutionary Roadmap: Baseline
Skeleton to Tier-7 King. Familial Relations: None.
The archive was absolute. Pride possessed zero biological or spectral offspring.
Logic Error Detected: Variable 'Son' has no match in database.
Sophia stared at the silver-boned King, her soul-fire frozen in the dark. Who...
the hell... is his son?