Emery and the others were currently making their way toward the place where the verdict would be announced.
Surprisingly it was decided much sooner than they expected.
It was as if there was really not much to be considered or such action by Nexus was something common within the Magus Alliance.
The announcement was held in an open area not far from the South Outpost. Upon arriving, the group could see dozens of Nexus representatives already present, including Minister Otto, Magus Wilf, and the Quatermain brothers.
Dozens of space knights were seen guarding and surrounding the area as everyone waited for the decision with bated breath.
After a while, a general of the Royal Imperium stepped up and began reading the decree from the Magus Alliance.
To Emery’s surprise and to the relief of the Nexus people, with the death of the supposed main culprit – the Headmaster – and how the ones who survived tried their best to stop the elves, the faction’s attempt at betrayal was disregarded.
However, there was still a price the faction needed to pay for its actions. The decree declared that the faction would be put under the direct supervision of the Magus Alliance for the next 100 years.
Not only that, the decree also stated that one life had to be sacrificed; named Magus Garnet.
Magus Alliance had deemed Nexus’s strongest magus and protector guilty and bestowed upon the man the death penalty as a recompense for what he had done.
“What say you.. will you accept the verdict?” Said the general toward the panel.
It turned out that many did not like the magus, so there was almost no one who objected to the sentence, and without much needed time, they accept
Moments after a ruckus was heard as one person being brought with cloth covered on his face.
It was magus Garnet who was apparently already apprehended by the Royal Imperium soldiers.
Everyone watched as Magus Garnet was brought to the center of the venue by a group of soldiers, where the sentences commenced immediately after.
“No!! I don’t accept this!! I am your god!! You can’t do this to me!!.. no… please”
That day, in front of everyone who came for the announcement, a powerful magus, a god among the locals, was seen screaming for his life before he was beheaded and burned to ashes, his spirit soul included.
This punishment served to remind all the top fighters how their strength was a mere speck compared to the Magus Alliance, no matter how strong and how much determination they had.
When the verdict was over, the Royal Imperium general directly continued with another decree from the Alliance.
The panel was hoping for a solution to their barren planet, unfortunately, the alliance had no interest in the condition of the land nor was there any interest in the welfare of the Nexus faction at all.
They had only two concerning interests;
The Replicator, a treasure left behind by an ancient civilization, and The Stargate, the large size, long-distance travel portal.
Both were valuable and dangerous assets to be held by a weak faction such as the Nexus, who only have a few magus and no grand magus among them to guard such items.
The Nexus faction was given two difficult choices, between demolishing the two items or submitting themselves to become a sub-faction of the Royal Imperium.
“You have 24 hours to decide,” said the general.
The available choices were both very difficult to choose, and with such a short time given, it was clear that making the decision was not an easy thing for the Nexus representatives. It was apparent from the expressions on the faces right now.
As the decision would highly impact the future of the faction, the panel decided to elect new formal leadership, a new principal.
In the next few hours, they chose the new Principal by a vote of the majority of the nobles, and a group of respected locals, and the final voting result appointed Otto Schrndefude as the new principal with Stildar Quartermain as the right hand. With that, the final decision lay on the two of them.
Emery and friends watched the whole process intently. It appeared that the crowd was in the middle of a discussion to choose which option was better than the other. This was where the new Principal stepped in, hearing their opinions and making a decision.
Some would rather destroy the Stargate and the Replicator as such action would allow them to live in peace. Meanwhile, others hoped for the further advancement of the Nexus, which arguably could not be achieved without the Replicator.
In the end, the latter’s opinion gained many supporters when someone expressed that the Stargate would be the door to the outside world, which simultaneously would bring in trades that would ease the difficulties they had with the planet’s wasteland.
With this, after quite a few debates, the Nexus had finally made its decision.
They chose to submit themselves to the Royal Imperium instead of demolishing the Stargate and the Replicator.
Now that the decision had been made, not long after, the huge Nexus station descended from the sky.
The 30 miles long construct landed next to the South Outpost and with this, the whole civilization settled on the barren planet, risking everything to build the new city next to the Stargate.
The event happening in the whole 24 hours was something that gave Emery and friends many to think about; the justice brought by the Alliance and how one came to a decision that determined the fate of an entire civilization.
It was quite an unexpected development that even an advanced civilization like Nexus, decided to trade their freedom – being other’s vassals, and following others’ rules in exchange for their future.
Thinking about this, Emery’s mind suddenly turned to a question that he later asked his friends.
“Given the same choices, will we do the same?” Emery asked everyone.
Hearing such a question, the group shifted their attention to Emery, and like always, Thrax was the first one to speak, “On the cost of freedom? Never!” he answered without any hesitation.
It was reasonable for Thrax to answer like that considering that he was once having experience as a gladiator slave. For Thrax, freedom was something he considered valuable, above everything even.
On the other hand, Julian had a different opinion about freedom as he said, “What is freedom really? In the end, we are imprisoned by our own limitations. Freedom is a luxury only for the strong, with how little their number and how barren their land, I think they made a good choice”
It was in stark contrast to what Thrax had said, but what Julian stated just now also made quite a bit of sense. Chumo, who apparently wished to say something after hearing both words, decided to stay quiet.
Silence enveloped the group for a couple of seconds until Emery turned his gaze to the only girl in the group.
“What about you, Klea? What do you think?” Emery asked curiously.
“Me? …I think Julian’s words are right, in the broad spectrum of things even if they are not Royal imperium vassals, the Nexus, all of us are still vassals of the Magus Alliance aren’t we?”
After saying the words, the girl’s serious face turned cheeky as she said,
“However…ultimately… If I am given the same choices, I will choose what you choose Emery”
“….”
“What will you choose Emery?”
Klea and the others were waiting but Emery honestly has no answer at the moment, he previously laid his decision on freedom, but both Klea and Julian’s answers rang in his mind. At the moment, Emery simply kept his friends’ answer.
Now that all the verdict was given and the Nexus had made their choices, the group was finally ready to return home.
As they prepared themselves in front of the Stargate, there were hundreds of people who came to see them off, most were the people that were fighting in the frontline against the orcs
“Immortal gladiator!”
“Thrax!!”
“Anhera! Anhera!”
The boisterous voices that greeted them were a cacophony. Nevertheless, it wasn’t Julian’s or Emery’s names being shouted, but instead, Thrax and Klea’s which was expected.
Following that, Minister Otto and the Quatermains came approached them and gave their appreciation.
“This dont worth much, but hopefully this will help for your future endeavors”
They hand over a box filled with five sets of solar suits, five solar riffles, and a large amount of solar stone to Emery and his friends as an appreciation for what they had done. The group gladly received the reward with gratitude.
“We the Nexus will be forever indebted to you all… Maybe someday when our paths cross once again, we could return the favor.”
Emery nodded politely and gratefully thanked them. With those last words, he and the others then walked into the Stargate.
———
Author’s note
This Arc was necessary for Emery and his mates to have their first experience seeing a rise and fall of civilization and their choices in relation to the alliance, something that will affect their future choices.