Chapter 1266: Thirteen’s First Spying Mission [Part 1] After hearing Thirteen’s request, Metatron rubbed his chin in contemplation. "Hmm..." If the location were Pangea or Solterra, he would’ve granted the young man’s request without thinking twice, since it would’ve been as simple as snapping a finger. However, doing the same thing in Artem was a little tricky since it was outside his jurisdiction. Thirteen knew this as well. He only asked since he reckoned asking cost nothing, and the slim chance of transporting the Queen’s Astral Clone to his side was worth the effort. Besides, if it was really possible, they’d earn a slight advantage in the planning phase of their invasion. "I’ll be honest, Zion. Your request is a bit hard," Metatron admitted. "But not impossible. Sacrifices will just have to be made." "What kind of sacrifice do you need?" Thirteen asked. "Well... It’s simple, yet complicated." Metatron smiled. "You must agree on one condition if you really want it." "I’m all ears." Thirteen remained calm on the surface, but deep inside, he was starting to worry. What if Metatron’s price was a condition he could not meet? Still, he waited for the God of the Apocalypse to tell him what he needed to pay to help Queen Miriamele’s Astral Clone cross to his side. "You will need to..." Metatron said slowly, while the sound of a drum roll echoed within the domain. "You will need to give me complete authority to name your firstborn child." Thirteen’s face turned solemn after hearing Metatron’s request. When a parent gave their children a name, those names would become their identities. But when a God named someone, it wouldn’t be an ordinary name. It would be a True Name. A name that holds power, and that power would shape their destinies in ways that a person couldn’t even imagine. Last but not least, since Metatron would be the one to name the child, that child would be unable to defy the orders of the God who holds their true name. "The price is too much," Thirteen replied after a few minutes of silence. Metatron nodded. "It is. So you should find other alternatives instead." The God of the Apocalypse may have a good relationship with Thirteen now, but no one knew what would happen in the future. Truth be told, Thirteen wasn’t even ready to be a father. He almost became one, but his first child with Kate had perished before it could even see the world. Even if he hadn’t regained his memories of her, he’d still feel an instinctual fear toward fatherhood, fearing that something similar might happen. Lastly, he feared his child would hate him when they grow up and realize that their life was under the whims of the God of the Apocalypse. "Thank you for the time, Metatron," Thirteen said as he stood up. "I’ll think of another way." "Good." Metatron patted Thirteen’s shoulder. "Sometimes, hard choices must be made. You of all people should know that." Thirteen nodded before opening a portal to return to Artem. Metatron had been very generous in helping him, so he didn’t feel that the God of Apocalypse had wanted to do him dirty. Equivalent exchange. That was the one thing that held value among the Gods of the Celestial Realm. After returning to their underground base, Thirteen went to look for the Artemian Head Researcher, Victor. "Have you finished making the first batch of communication devices?" Thirteen asked. "Yes," Victor replied. "I’m also working on the final optimization for the Receiver you requested. We can test it tonight if you want." "Good." Thirteen smiled. "Work hard, Victor. Your future depends on it." The Head Researcher smiled wryly because his future was now tied to the teenage boy in front of him. He felt complicated in his heart. Even if he wasn’t part of the frontlines, he was already indirectly fighting against his own people. And once his own research subjects came out, he’d cement his status as a traitor. However, Thirteen said that he was only doing this to prevent the Artemians from invading Pangea a second time. Sometimes, Victor would entertain thoughts of betraying his new Master. But whenever he thought of this, Metatron would pop up in his mind, which only made him feel depressed. His countrymen were going to fight against an Apostle of a God, and it was no ordinary God. It was the God of the Apocalypse. The End Bringer. Those who would defy him would find themselves in big trouble. Metatron even joked that if Victor betrayed Zion, he would capture the Researcher’s soul and barbecue him for a thousand years. No matter how joking the God’s tone was, Victor could only take it as a serious threat since the other could do it in a snap. A thousand years of suffering after his death was not worth it for anything! Still, he tried to negotiate with Thirteen. He promised to cooperate and build the things that the teenage boy would ask of him. In exchange, Zion must promise to spare the innocent as much as possible. Victor understood that since they were going to fight a war, the deaths of his people was inevitable. However, choosing who to die was important too. Thirteen also didn’t like senseless killing, so he promised Victor that he would not involve the innocent commoners in the war. The other researchers were also told about this promise, so they decided to cooperate as well. The Receiver the young man asked Victor to make was a device that would allow them to intercept any kind of messages that was coming from the communication devices that the Artemians used. In Pangea, they called it Communicators. In Artem they called it, Aether Links. Aether Links were crystal-based conduits that transmitted both voice and mana frequencies over long distances. Unlike the Communicators in Pangea, which relied on magi-tech circuits, Aether Links were an inheritance from the First Astral Era of Artem. Each crystal used in an Ather Links contained a special fragment allowing the device to carry sound over great distances. That was its limit. The Aether Links could only send and receive sounds at most, while a communicator could show images and connect to the internet. This was the reason why the Artemians were very fascinated with the communicators when they first arrived in Pangea. A few hours later, Thirteen sat in front of the Receiver, watching Victor fine-tune it. There were many types of Aether Channels, and the one that they were looking for was the exclusive channel that was used by the Artemian Army. After half an hour of fine-tuning, the device gave a faint hum and the crystal core began to flicker like a heartbeat. Victor’s eyes widened. "We’ve locked on to an active Aether Channel!" Thirteen leaned forward. "Finally. Let’s hear what the great Artemian generals are plotting." Victor pushed a few buttons in the machine, so they could lock onto the Aether Channel that they had managed to receive. A minute later, the sound of a woman reached their ears. "How dare you lie to me, Stephan? I saw it! I saw her hair on your dress. Who else has red hair in the barracks? Do you think of me as a fool?! Do you think of me as blind? Do you think of me as stupid?!" Thirteen and Victor blinked at the same time after hearing the woman’s dialogue. Clearly, they seemed to have hooked up with something else. On the other end of the Aether Channel, the male soldier’s panicked voice echoed. "C-Calm down, Mira! It’s not what you think!" "Oh, really? What is it then?" the lady named Mira snapped. "I’d love to hear your explanation!" At the start, only Thirteen and Victor were listening to the conversation. Before he knew it, other Researchers, as well as a few Jinns, had already gathered behind them. Clearly, they wanted to know what was coming next. On the other end, Stephan hesitated. The silence stretched long enough, making the machine’s faint hum sound so deafening. Finally, Stephan spoke once more. "I truly didn’t lie. That’s not the hair of a... woman." "Then whose was it, Stephan?" Mira demanded. "I swear, if you tell me it’s from a Red-Haired Saber Tiger, I’m going to castrate you!" "...It’s the hair of Lieutenant Cael. You know... That guy who has recently transferred to our barracks." The entire room went silent. Even the Jinns stopped breathing. Thirteen looked mildly amused, while Victor wished that he were holding some popcorn. "Lieutenant... Cael?" Mira repeated, her tone dropping dangerously low. "The red-haired Cael? The same guy who goes around without a shirt on and flexes his muscles at every reflective surface he sees?" "Yes," Stephan said weakly. "But it’s not like that! We were drinking last night after patrol. He was drunk, I was drunk. It just sort of... happened." The Receiver crackled faintly. No one dared to move. Those who were eavesdropping on the lover’s spat seemed to know that things are about to take a turn for the worse. "It just happened?" Mira’s voice trembled. "Stephan, you swore you’d never lie to me again. Do you even realize how it feels to hear this?" "Mira, I swear! There was no meaning behind it!" Stephan said, desperation creeping into his voice. "He leaned in, I didn’t push him away, and then..." "Then what?!" one of the researchers asked, his voice a little too high, making everyone look in his direction. The researcher blushed, averting his gaze, but he perked up his ears to listen to what was going to happen next. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 "...Then I realized I didn’t hate it." Stephan’s voice crackled weakly. A collective gasp erupted from the room. "By the Abyss..." Victor muttered under his breath. Thirteen pushed the off button before they could hear what was coming next. Disappointed looks appeared on everyone’s faces, including the Jinns who muttered something along the lines of... "It was getting good. What a let down!" The teenage boy then glanced at Victor before coughing lightly. "Um, is this a normal thing among your military?" Thirteen asked. "Maybe?" Victor replied, half tempted to push the on button so they could hear the rest of the conversation. "Should we test other frequencies?" "Let’s wait for five minutes," Thirteen answered. Five minutes later, they turned the Receiver back on, only to hear Stephan’s horrified scream as if he was being chased by Mira, who was about to chop off both of his heads. ------ A/N: Only one Chapter tonight.