”I think I heard some rumors about you, Michael,” Frederik mentioned on the side.
His comment started a series of comments from the other Untamed Awakened, including Rebecca and Hiraku.
“Oh, right. There were some comments about you. I was wondering where they come from because they said that Michael is a playboy and that he’s out there seducing countless women,” One of the Human Awakened recalled.
“The rumors that Michael betrayed his race circulate as well,” Rebecca nodded slowly, “Obviously, that’s nonsense, but more and more people seem to believe the rumors at this point. Their source is quite reliable, after all.”
Hiraku frowned deeply, “It hasn’t been long since I heard such rumors about him as well, but I think the rumors spread faster these days.
Michael listened intently and gestured toward Rebecca, “What’s their source?”
“The rumors emerged first in the companies affiliated with the Blaze family, but the source is from the families progressing rapidly in the last few months. If you’re asking me, the families are trying to remove you from the Tritan Alliance. Or rather from mankind,” Rebecca sighed.
There were more rumors about Michael and other big families. Still, the biggest problems were the accusations of his betrayal and the comments others started to make about the infectious disease. Most said that every Awakened who continued trading and talking to the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs didn’t care about their race. That they intentionally endangered everyone.
Even though they ‘knew’ that the infectious disease was sourced from the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs, the Awakened stayed around. Slowly but steadily, the rumors and comments reached the public. At first, they didn’t believe them, but more and more powerhouses got sick. The public’s opinion flipped within a few days, fear fueling the rumors that spread like wildfire.
If the strongest Lords of mankind weren’t strong enough to overcome the infectious disease, how were they supposed to make it through once it reached them? They would die within minutes. The fear infected them much worse than any disease could do, and they began to distance themselves from the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs. Their opinion of their ‘allies’ changed, and their comments all over Skynet grew worse by the day.
The gap between mankind and the remaining members of the Tritan Alliance widened. A crack had formed and expanded, transforming into a massive fissure that was immensely hard to cross.
“The Supreme Human Alliance started separating mankind,” Hiraku pointed out the obvious.
“Once High Society has been overthrown, it is only a matter of time before the situation worsens. The economy will suffer, and those Lords who’ve been around other races a lot will be exiled. They will be canceled and loathed for being around those who are at fault for everything. These Lords, including Michael and everyone else here, will become mankind’s public enemy. No one will accept us once High Society is controlled by the fanatics who believe that the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs infected the powerhouses and other Awakened with some disease,” Rebecca declared quietly.
“What a mess… I really hate the Supreme Human Alliance. Can’t they leave everyone alone?” Michael cursed not-so-quietly.
“But what exactly is this disease we’re talking about? Alice’s parents are infected, if I’m not mistaken, but they’re quite powerful as far as I remember. Where is this disease fro–…” Michael couldn’t even finish his sentence when Thaor and Lokai brushed past the Human Awakened to appear before Michael.
“Some of our researchers, yes we also have researchers – even if there aren’t many –, examined the blood samples Alice managed to hand over to the Chieftain before everything went down the drain. They found out that the disease was not contagious at all. The problem with that is that the virus must have been found in the resource deposits imported by the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs,” Thaor explained first before Loaki added.
“We examined our resource deposits and warehouses several times, and we can confidently say that we aren’t the source of the disease. The human researchers said everyone in contact with weapons and armaments created with the ores and other resources provided by the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs is in danger. But if that were the case, everyone in your territory would be sick. Well, the humans, to be precise. The disease affects only your kind, after all.”
Almost every weapon and armor piece in his territory was created with the ores provided by the Warlock Centaurs and Berserkers. If heat activated the virus, Michael’s territory would be on the verge of destruction. The human Awakened would be infected as well. However, nobody was sick as far as Michael could tell.
“The Supreme Human Alliance is cunny. Fucking bastards,” Michael cursed, “They are already powerful, but they have to turn to such dirty tricks to divide mankind from other races.”
It was quite obvious that the Supreme Human Alliance concerned little about others. The only ones they cared about were the purity of their kin and the death of everyone who endangered it. It didn’t matter whether other humans or foreign races were the sources of ‘danger.’ If it was necessary to kill trillions of innocent lives to ensure that the purity of their race could be maintained, so be it.
Michael ruffled through his hair. He couldn’t help but feel distressed about the news that came his way.
He figured that Alice was still on his side and that Olivia Blaze was watching her. That would explain a lot, though there were still some uncertain factors Michael had yet to discover.
After talking to the Untamed Awakened for a while, Michael found out that the remaining members of the Zenovia family and the Zeus household were seen around the Blaze family more often these days. It started less than six weeks ago when the first tabloids announced that the Zeus and Zenovia family were closer to the Blaze than ever.
Some tabloids and bloggers speculated that the Blaze family progressed faster because of their tightened friendship with Zeus and Zenovia. Still, Michael figured that the Supreme Human Alliance members encountered some members of the Blaze family in the Origin Expanse. That was the most likely scenario.
Frederik was still actively chatting with Kaleb, but Kaleb was not as active as he used to be. His responses were also different, and they didn’t spar often. Frederik complained a lot about that, even to Kaleb, but the youngest member of the Zenovia family could only apologize. Kaleb was not like himself. It was almost like someone forced him to do something.
Michael couldn’t imagine that anyone could control Kaleb, but the same could be stated about Alice. It was impossible to tame Alice and Kaleb. They would never do something they hated.
“What if the Blaze family has medicine against Lepodya?” Hiraku pointed out.
Lepodya, the disease that had been affecting the strongest powerhouse of the human race, was lethal. Too many Awakened died upon falling sick, yet the Matriarch of the Zenovia family was still alive despite being one of the first to fall ill.
“The Supreme Human Alliance wouldn’t spread a disease that affects only humans if they didn’t have an antidote, ” Michael nodded, understanding slowly what was happening,
“The Blaze family controls the Zeus and Zenovia family…”