Bastards Ascension: A Playground of Gods-Chapter 123: Negotiation

"Are you sure this will work?" Jacob asked, a wry smile fighting the worry on his face as he listened to Karin’s proposal.

"It will work. Drex’s ability allows him to mimic someone else completely," Karin explained, her expression passive and unwavering.

’These people have no plans of leaving here without the boy. I might as well just give up on trying to convince them, and the idiot isn’t helping matters either,’ Jacob thought, frustrated, as he glanced toward Kieran. The young boy was picking his nose without a care in the world, the source of Jacob’s deepest faction headaches.

Jacob wished he could rewind time just to leave Kieran back at the academy. Remembering the exorbitant fee they had spent to recruit the troublemaker made the regret even sharper.

He ground his teeth, letting out a sharp breath. "Very well then. We’ll use your proposed idea. But let me make this clear: I will not take any responsibility for this. If the Faction President sees through the deception, Kieran Marcoth will be instantly expelled and hereby terminated from the AFO." Jacob’s voice was firm and final.

"What?" For the first time, Kieran reacted. His eyes went wide with shock. "Is the punishment so severe?"

Kieran knew expulsion from a major faction meant social and legal ruin. It came with an unimaginable amount of legal fees he was too poor to afford. Worse, he wouldn’t be allowed to join any other faction or family and would be sent to detainment in the Center for Dangerous Awakened. He couldn’t even fathom life in that hell.

Jacob let a smug grin spread across his face as he witnessed the panic. "You should know the consequences of your actions before doing them, Marcoth."

Kieran frowned. He saw exactly what Jacob was doing. ’This is his way of paying me back for the trouble I caused him... but isn’t this going too far!’ he thought, feeling genuinely dejected.

Seeing the fear on Kieran’s face, Jacob felt a profound sense of satisfaction. It was the perfect revenge for all the heart attacks the boy had caused him since his recruitment.

"Wai—" Kieran started.

"Very well then, we’ve agreed to the terms and conditions!" Galand declared firmly, cutting Kieran off mid-protest.

Kieran shot a bewildered glance at the Ravenspare captain. His eyes screamed, ’When did I accept any of this?’

But the three Ravenspare family members simply stared back blankly, as if they hadn’t just decided his entire fate without his consent. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

’Did I just join a family of mad people?’ Kieran thought, a look of shocked realization mixed with utter bewilderment washing over him.

"Wonderful! I’ll be glad to let Kieran go then. Since I’ve made the consequences clear to him." Jacob stood up, giving Kieran a final, oddly soft pat on the shoulder before ushering him and the others toward the door.

Anita followed quickly, stifling a muffled giggle. ’What sort of sorcery is this?’ Kieran thought, staring around in a daze. Moments ago, they were forcing his captains to free him; now, he was confused about how he was the one following the Ravenspare family. He actually felt like rewinding time just to refuse their offer.

"Come with us, we have to leave as soon as possible," Karin said in a commanding tone, already at the door.

"Go where?" Kieran asked, still dazed.

"You’ve already accepted the Princess’s offer. Do you want to back down now? So much relies on you joining us back to the ancestral land," Galand said firmly, walking toward the exit with Vesha quietly trailing him.

Kieran could only let out a long sigh. ’I can’t blame them now. I did accept to join her... Why the heck did I even do that!’

’So you finally woke up from your daze?’ Alexa’s voice echoed, laced with amusement, in his mind.

’Tch,’ he scoffed at his summon, fixing his gaze back on Karin.

"Are you sure about this Drex guy? I don’t want to be expelled," Kieran said, his tone heavy with defeat.

"I’m certain he’ll be able to mimic you perfectly. We have to get onto the Ravenspare ship for him to use his abilities on you," Karin confirmed firmly. She opened the door and stepped out, Galand and Vesha following right behind her.

Kieran looked around the now empty room. "Let’s just hope these people don’t destroy my future," he sighed, walking out of the room alongside them.

They were still deep within the Blue Fangs Ship. With no immediate assistance needed, Kieran quickly led them toward the main exit, where several escape pods lined the docking bay.

The four entered a moderately sized escape pod designed to fit them all comfortably.

As they sealed themselves inside, a mechanical voice chimed:

(Welcome to Pod 126.)

"Initiating departure from mothership in three seconds."

"Three... Two... One."

Poof!

A sharp sizzling sound echoed as the mothership’s exit hatch opened, and their pod was violently sucked into the vacuum of space.

Once clear of the massive carrier, Karin quickly inputted a set of coordinates into the pod’s navigation system. She then pulled out a bright white, palm-sized device and securely placed it onto the ship’s energy core center.

A faint white wave of light immediately spread, momentarily coating the entire body of the pod in a shimmering cloak.

With swift, silent movements, the pod accelerated, making its way toward the supposed location of the Ravenspare mothership.

But after traveling for what felt like several minutes, Kieran grew concerned. He had yet to see any large ship in sight. They had already passed the recognizable cruisers of other major factions and origin families, which struck him as odd. He knew the fleet was generally supposed to stay in close proximity.

"Where is the ship?" Kieran couldn’t help but ask, glancing toward the three members of the Ravenspare family. All three had their eyes closed, as though they were in some deep form of meditation. ’What the heck are they doing?’

Karin silently lifted her eyelids, peering at him from the side.

"We’re already here," she said calmly.

"Huh?" Kieran threw her a quizzical look. As far as his eyes could strain, there was nothing but the black expanse of space up ahead. Or so he thought, because the very next second, the fabric of space itself seemed to ripple before them.