Chapter 66: A Foretold Dread; Solus Council I

...

Silence had engulfed the room, laying stiffly on her bedding, Nizael was resting in silence, her hands interlocking as she had them resting upon her stomach.

The silence was... stifling.

The tension that had taken hold of the room's atmosphere would make it hard for anyone to try and rest in said room, but there she was, Nizael was resting in a seemingly peaceful rest; her breath gently escaping her slightly parted mouth - but it was not as gentle and soothing as she liked.

She was still unaware, but she had experienced this stifling air once before, it woke her from her slumber forcing upon her horrible nightmares, foretelling of a foreboding fate befalling someone she cared for.

It was then that she woke in a rush.

Snapping to her feet, NIzael was finally awake, aware of the air around her swirling in distaste. She felt as if she was awake, yet, where was she?

In all directions around her there remained null but pitch black, it was as if the ever-expanding void had swallowed her.

As her eyes peered in all directions she calmed her body which was riddled with tension, ignoring the assault on her senses that felt like thousands of needles pricking at her skin.

Looking in a singular direction, not knowing whether or not the path was forward, back, or to any sides, even so, she continued in her stride; the change in scenery not fettering her mind a single bit.

As she moved she began to slow her pace before coming to a halt a mere seconds later, her gaze rose above, finally taking note of something that she found hard to spot just moments before; even with how noticeable it was for her.

Clenching her eyes shut, Nizael grit her teeth as her frustrations began to take hold of her. She went to open her mouth but nothing came out, hesitating to speak, she continued to gaze out at what sat in this ever-expanding, ever-lasting void.

Shutting her eyes once more, she took a deep breath before letting it flow back out, she had calmed herself, nothing would come from letting her emotions take hold of her. Her eyes fluttered once more, revealing glowing orbs filled with stubbornness.

She knew what it was, she knew who it was.

"Why must you bother me, even in my dreams?"

Nizael breathed out her frustrations.

"Yuletti."

Clenching her fists, her bright eyes brought a glare above her in annoyance.

Drip.

In mere moments, everything blurred in front of her eyes as she was given a quick blast of whiplash that caused her to wince and cringe her eyes shut, remaining in place.

Once more lifting her eyelids her gaze was taken ahold of by the sight of a universe of stars, looking to the ground she was met with yet another universe of stars-no, a body of water that expanded infinitely out into the distance.

Looking to the sky once more, the sight that had previously evaded her was now much more visible as it bled into the stars.

A large pair of shut eyelids with beautiful lashes was blending into the galaxy of stars expanding out above her,

Drip.

Once more with the sound of dripping water, the eyelids began to slowly open, preparing to show themselves in all their glory to Nizael.

A pair of golden irises store down at her as they made the General feel as if her entire being was being seen through in the very moment.

This was an entirely new experience for her, Is this how it felt meeting face to face with a Lord? Is this what Lulu had to experience when meeting with Lord Tyvetta? Such an oppressive air, and eyes that were telling her how insignificant she was, no.

Taking a moment to calm herself, she sighed to herself, letting free the thoughts that were fettering in her mind, this situation required a calm mind, she could not risk earning the ire of a Lord, not at this moment and at no time in the forthcoming future.

"Nizael Bavel..."

A voice, that flowed like an enchanting river, and eased all tension, a voice that betrayed all feelings that were given off by the large pair of eyes, that type of voice spilled into Nizael's ears, almost causing her to let go of all of her frustrations.

Watching the General and her eyes that glew white with power, the pair of golden eyes squinted in seeming glee, the voice resounding in her ears once more.

"I find it... regrettable to have to speak to you like this."

Nizael merely scoffed at the Lord's attempt at feigning a true apology, doing her best to ignore the fact that her body nearly forced her to utter acceptance of the said apology.

The power a Lord seemed to have over her was truly frightening, she couldn't imagine how someone like Lulu who was lacking in willpower would behave; or perhaps- this is only something that Yuletti can do... maybe...

Snapping her attention back to the golden orbs while listening to the slight humming of her enchanting voice as it filtered out into the background.

"What has been brought upon you to where you assault my dreams?"

Breathing out once again, Nizael bit her bottom lip, keeping her mind and body rooted as she tried her best to ignore the attempts to charm her.

"Assault?... Those are harsh words, my dear."

Flowing out once more, the voice instead sounded out from behind her.

"Just tell me why you have called me."

Turning around, Nizael was face to face with a figure that was formed out of the water below her feet reflecting the stars above, it had no features on its face while maintaining a feminine figure as it stood there the voice flowed from it - the eyes in the sky softening for but a mere moment.

"I... only wished to speak with you."

Her enchanting voice paused for a moment, as the figure's movements were shrouded in slight hesitance before she spoke up once more.

"I have been watching... and am perplexed. Your actions. I wish to pick your brain, Nizail Bavel."

"Just."

Pausing for a moment, Nizael took a moment thinking over whether she would regret her next words, but nevertheless.

"Speak, I have little patience for this."

Following Nizael's voice there was a soothing silence as the eyes in the sky continued to stare down at her with a strange sense of endearment.

"Very well, my dear."

Hearing her being talked to in such a matter surprised her but Nizael remained steadfast.

"It has been more than... fifty cycles since we last spoke, Nizael. I had spoken with you because you have intrigued me, you always have, so I gave my assistance..."

The soothing and charming voice paused for a moment, and as it did the body made of water began to take a more vivid form, clothing forming over it as the feminine figure was clothed in ceremonial garbs, along with short golden hair going down to her chin that shone with the same brilliance as the golden eyes peering down from the skies; a hairpiece with the symbol of an hourglass and an eye going down the figure's neck.

The figure raised a hand to the sky.

"The future."

With these words, the stars in the skies began to morph, images that Nizail had seen once before, images that haunted her dreams, images that she hoped to never see again.

Above them were depictions of a particular blue-haired girl with pointy ears sprawled out on some type of metal, her neck machine was destroyed, her prosthetic arm was in tatters; there was a chunk of flesh torn out her side - blood seeping out of her mouth and slipping out of the corner of her eyes, her eyes... her eyes flickering with its last wisps of life.

"This was the future that has been foretold, you were confused at first, yes?"

Seeing how there was no answer to her question, Yuletti continued.

"Now, now you know who this future belongs to. I simply wish to... ask - why do you and your people struggle to try and prevent this fate? It will remain the inevitable result. I... do not understand your purpose."

Tightly shutting her eyes, Nizael felt a stab in her gut. It was unnatural. Even before she knew who exactly this envisioned future foretold the demise of, there was always this feeling in her chest, as if her entire being was telling her something: meanwhile. she was deaf to its musings.

That feeling grew over the cycles, it grew when she married Sol and it grew when she had her beloved Lalia, and then once her precious granddaughter was born, the feeling flooded out like a bursting damn, it attacked her chest all at once. Her body felt as if there was a war being fought in her body.

It was the reason she needed to prepare Lulu, there were no other options.

Opening her eyes once more, her gaze, even with all the confidence it held, the somberness held in it staining her voice, ultimately betraying her still image.

"That's the point, Lord Yuletti. We... must struggle to bring about a happy end for that girl, it is all I hope for. So all that is left to us is to prepare her the best we can so that she is prepared for the worst; that is all that matters."

"I see..."

....

***

Bang. Clank. Clank.

Waking to the sound of things clattering in the hall, Nizael rose, this time she awoke in her room, standing still at the edge of her bed before catching a glimpse of the all too familiar incident taking place in and on her arms.

Rubbing the back of her neck she made her way to her room's restroom, eyes not moving from the situation happening with her arms.

She ignored the noises assaulting her from the hall, chalking it up to her granddaughter and her friend causing a fuss, a conclusion that she was most certainly correct about - It wouldn't be the first time that the two caused a fuss in the morning in the first place.

The only reason Nizael was in the bathroom at the current moment, not striding out of the house to her ship to take charge of the duties and responsibilities she had placed upon her shoulders; was because she was given an even more important duty which she was to partake in, all due to the Everion's insistence of course.

Pausing in front of the mirror that took hold of a large portion of one side of the restroom's walls her gaze crawled across her body, scouring every nook and cranny in an attempt to search for any more subtle issues wrong with her body.

Starting from the tips of her fingers going up both of her forearms was an image that showed the state she was in, a state which displayed her to be in a much worse condition compared to what happened after her battle with the Avatar.

Pulling up her pants, they were in the same condition, from the tips of her toes, going up her calf; red and blue veins were bulging through her skin as if they were entrapped in prison and were digging at the walls, trying to break out.

Something that most certainly sent torturous pain throughout the woman's body, yet her eyes did not waver, no. She merely sighed at the seriousness of the situation.

Dragging her legs that felt like deadweight, along with her, Nizael made it back to her bed before slipping onto it and pulling up her bag which resided on the floor in one swift motion.

Pulling out three different syringes, all with different labeling, she examined each before stabbing them into her chest, over her heart - injecting the liquid into herself, emptying them before harshly tossing them off to the side.

Sighing in relief she laid her back down against the soft and comforting mattress that was under her.

The veins were yet to subside.

In a short bout of time though, they would, as did the pain that was no longer bothering her. Over the many many cycles of using her abilities, she had grown quite numb to reacting to their drawbacks, no matter the fact that they remained as painful as always.

At a moment's notice, her thoughts shifted. She was now thinking about where she and Lulu were to go, a meeting of some seeming importance, at least to the rest of their vast universe.

The Solus Council.

A meeting of various Universal powers, spending multiples of galaxies, and so on. Annual meetings that were held between the powers, hosted and led by the largest and most powerful force, the Solitul Galactic Empire; despite their large empire stretching across the vast and ever-expanding universe they stayed strong and held tightly together under their Emperor and his Council.

Normally these were meeting she went to on occasion due to the simple reason of her being busy with military and familial duties, but this time she had to go. The Everion said: "It was imperative that she come along.".

Being told she had to come this time, Nizael thought, 'Why not bring Lulu along'. She was going along the lines that the Solus council meeting would be a much-needed experience for the girl so that she could see how the world was much bigger than their planet. So that she could meet beings that were different from those here, so that she could learn with her own eyes that there was so much more out there for her to do.

Yuletti-be-damned if she didn't give her precious blue-haired granddaughter such a chance, especially when meeting the leaders of different places. Having the chance to learn from those leaders' examples was something to be thankful for.

Although neither of them was to speak much when there, only watch as they escort the Everion and watch as he sits through the Council meeting - speaking was not necessary on the path of learning, merely the eyes, experiencing it first-hand was always the best in such cases.

Rising from her mattress once more Nizael at a pace of ease dressed herself up in her military garb, making sure all her medals were in the correct place as she grabbed her bag and proceeded out of the drab room.

She had to make sure her granddaughter looked presentable and when they went, she did not want Lulu to be mocked or embarrass herself.

She walked down the hall, noticing how all the noise from earlier had gone silent before stopping at the front of Lulu's room door, she slid the door open, opening her mouth only to remain silent as she watched the scene playing out in front of her.

Paint buckets, brushes, and slight amounts of water were thrown onto the ground in what looked to be the aftermath of a tantrum.

Huddled in a bundle of covers on top of the bed was an obscured figure which she only understood to be Lulu from the blue locks spilling out.

Sat on the bed with the girl was Lalia, her arms wrapping around her daughter's shivering figure as muffled sobs escaped the young girl's quivering lips.

Making eye contact with Lalia, Nizael gently laid her bag down near the door, approaching the pair slowly, careful to not frighten the girl. As she approached, Lulu raised her hands out the covers, taking in handfuls of hair in an attempt to grasp onto her scalp as she began repeatedly muttering in a muted tone, her sobs growing louder.

"No-no-no... Why... again, I don't want to... I don't - please, stop..."

Arriving next to her, Nizael's ears were left to hear Lulu's mutterings, she placed joined the two in their embrace, her hand rubbing in circles on the small child's back, cooing soothingly.

Getting her ready can wait for another time.