Nioh stepped into the starship's hall, a vast space that could easily accommodate a grand banquet. His gaze swept over the meticulously arranged seats until it landed on Sunny, perched on a bar stool. A curious expression on his face, Nioh walked towards him, stopping three feet behind.
"My king?" he inquired.
"Sit," Sunny commanded.
Nioh nodded, taking the seat beside Sunny, who then picked up a bottle and poured him a full glass of wine. The action deepened Nioh's confusion.
"Now, tell me the origin of the... Artifact you stole."
"No... I didn't steal it, but took it," Nioh quickly corrected.
"You took something that doesn't belong to you, isn't that the same thing as stealing it?" Sunny countered.
"It doesn't belong to me," Nioh admitted, his gaze drifting to the glass of wine. "But my parents sacrificed their lives for it."
Sunny stared at him, a mixture of surprise and confusion on his face. Nioh sighed and continued:
"When I was just a kid, 10 years old... The Wendigos went on a warpath with my nation. No one knew why, until they discovered that Artifact in the deepest cave in the Three-Eyed Mountain." He took a long drink before resuming his story.
"No one knows how it appeared there or what it is... The leaders only discovered that Artifact has an immense amount of celestial energy. Hmph!"
He scoffed, a small, mirthless smile playing on his lips. "Some even said it has the power to destroy suns and planets." He took another drink.
'Well... It does,' Sunny thought to himself, silently listening.
"Because of its dense amount of energy, the leaders decided to guard it, far from the city people... When the Wendigos discovered this, they went on a rampage! Attacking the hidden base. None of my people knew how they got the coordinates, and they were outmatched!" He gripped the glass with both hands, his knuckles white.
"My father, who was the commander then, and my mother, his vice... Led the defensive, and tried their best to push the Wendigos back!"
He turned to Sunny. "You saw that woman who wanted me to hand over the artifact?"
Sunny nodded.
"Her name is Jade, and she is a close friend to my parents, alas... My mom's best friend..." He turned his head back to the half-filled glass. "When my parents were fighting the Wendigos, she cold-heartedly took all the remaining troops with her, leaving all the exits open for the Wendigos... She took the artifact with the troops and ran away! Leaving my parents alone in the midst of Wendigos!" He chuckled with disdain. "You know what she told me; 'The artifact was more important'." He shook his head, a small, forced smile on his face. "That artifact was more important than the lives of my parents." He added coldly, and gulped the whole wine down.
"I so wanted to kill her... But, she came back with the Artifact and troops; and became the new Commander... I was out of her reach." He sighed.
"How do you know all these? You were just 10 then," Sunny asked with a frown.
"Let's say the man who trained me isn't as lovely and parental as you will wish... He not only told me everything, he showed me the CCTV camera, and I stood there and watched as the Wendigos tore my parents apart."
"....?!" Sunny was stunned. "What type of guardian will show a ten-year-old that?" he asked.
"The type who is a bounty hunter," Nioh chuckled.
"Bounty hunter? Your parents died as martyrs, shouldn't you have gained something?"
"Gain?? Being their son made me a target... I don't want to admit it, but I also hated my parents... How could both of them leave their ten-year-old child and enter such a battle?! Isn't that crazy!" He exhaled deeply, calming his emotions. "When they died, my uncle came in and took everything away, and almost killed me if that bounty hunter hadn't saved my... He took me in, trained me, and turned me into who I am today." He looked at his palms. "I might be a rogue, a deceiver, or whatever bad names are out there... But I have done a lot of things that I am not proud of... All to get stronger, so I can have my revenge on these people."
"Are you close to that goal?" Sunny asked.
"Thanks to you, I can have my revenge on my uncle... I will act when I know I am free, not when I am needed here," he said, turning to Sunny with a grateful expression.
Sunny stared at him for a few seconds before asking again: "Why did you steal the artifact?"
"That? I wanted to destroy it... The Wendigos have no clue the artifact was still standing; everyone thought it was destroyed. Only the leaders knew that, and well, my guardian, he helped me secure the artifact, and I ran away with it."
"Ran away? You were caught."
"Yes, and I have to thank you for saving my life," he said with a smile.
"How do you plan to destroy it?" Sunny asked, while Nioh shrugged. "I don't know."
".....?" Sunny was stunned.
"That Artifact has immense power! I don't even know if a high grand weapon can destroy it," he added.
Sunny nodded again, but he wasn't done. "When I gave you your first salary, what were you intending to do with it?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.
"To buy the pirates, and then the mercenaries."
That caught Sunny's attention. "Mercenaries?" he asked, confused. There was nothing like a mercenary faction in any of the memories he had received.
"Yes..." Nioh smiled and turned to him. "Yes. The elves discovered them." He paused, then added: "Not all races knew about these soldiers... Only the chosen ones."
'As the former empire of the Star Empire, the strongest empire in the galaxy, I am not a chosen? No! That can't be possible. I think Matilda knows about this and hid it from me,' he thought, and then asked:
"What are these mercenaries, and how can I buy them?"