The Assassin's Seven Principles of Manipulation

Chapter 349: Chapter 344 — Choice

”Haha! That face says everything.” Horus looked unbearably pleased with himself. ”Of course you don’t know. My master gave it to me, after all.”

”Frost.”

Horus’ expression immediately twisted, and he spat on the ground as though even the thought disgusted him.

’There it is.’

It had been bait, meant to confirm one of Zephyrion’s suspicions. His master could have been one of the dynasty heads, someone from an enemy empire, or perhaps Frost himself.

Frost was still an enigmatic figure within the world, with very few even knowing of his existence, so the fact that Horus had reacted to the name at all revealed quite a lot.

More importantly, the disgust seemed genuine.

Still, Zephyrion remained cautious. Horus had somehow managed to slip beneath his notice all this time, and then there was that relic, something Zephyrion had only managed to sense because of the Metal Trance.

Even if his master wasn’t Frost, there was no doubt whoever stood behind Horus was anything but ordinary.

”Don’t fucking insult me!” Horus snapped, looking genuinely offended. ”Me? Serve that vile bastard? I’d rather chew off my own balls. My master is good. Merciful. Bountiful. We’re all still alive because he allows us to be.”

The reverence on Horus’ face was so intense that Zephyrion couldn’t help but feel as though he were speaking about some sort of god.

After a moment, Zephyrion asked, ”Then who is he?”

”Hm, no. Too easy.” Horus’ smile immediately returned. ”Come on, Prime. Guess.”

”....”

”Seriously? Aren’t you supposed to be, like, divinely intelligent or something?” Horus shook his head in disappointment. ”Think. Frost can wipe out a Calamity with a single strike, yet someone that powerful spends his time skulking around in the shadows instead of simply taking over the entire world. Why?”

Zephyrion’s grip tightened around his blade.

”Another hand...”

”Ding ding ding! We have a winner!” Horus clapped excitedly. ”My exalted master has many names, but since we’re talking elements, you can call him Void.” His smile widened. ”Master Void, to be exact.”

’Void...’

Another hand entirely, possibly on par with Frost, or perhaps even greater.

’Of course. That explains it.’

It would explain all the secrecy, why Frost chose to operate from the shadows rather than simply revealing himself to the world. There was another hand, another ancient one powerful enough that even Frost had reason to remain hidden.

And even more alarming was the name.

Void.

It perfectly matched the strange energy he’d sensed around the relic.

An entirely new element, separate from the original twelve.

’...Demorian. Did you know?’

’...no.’

Demorian’s voice was unusually quiet, and it was clear even he had been caught completely off guard.

’But, protege—’

’I know.’

Though this... Void was apparently Frost’s enemy, that didn’t make him Zephyrion’s friend. He was still an ancient one, an absolute being whose intentions Zephyrion knew nothing about. There was no chance he was letting his guard down.

A moment later, Zephyrion slowly straightened, staring at Horus with a strange calmness that completely belied the gravity of everything he’d just learned.

It was certainly not how someone who had just discovered something so significant should react.

Horus was already grinning by the time Zephyrion finally spoke.

”...what do you want from me?”

”Finally! Straight to business. That’s the Prime I know.” Horus looked pleased. ”Honestly, my original orders were pretty simple. Watch you, figure out whether you’re working with Frost, then report back. You spent seven years with that evil bastard, so obviously we had to make sure he hadn’t gotten his claws into you.”

”And if he had?”

Horus smiled and casually dragged a finger across his throat.

”Then we kill you. Obviously. You’re a Runeborn, Prime. We can’t exactly take chances.”

So he knew about his status as a Runeborn.

What didn’t they know?

”You would kill me, yet you call your master merciful.”

”That is merciful.” Horus looked at him as though the answer were obvious. ”Better you die as yourself than let that bastard use you to slaughter billions of people.”

’Use me?’

The way Horus phrased it sounded a little... strange.

”Anyways!”

Horus suddenly clapped his hands, his face brightening once again.

”That was the original plan. But honestly, after spending the past few months around you, I started liking you. You’re cold, calculating, efficient as hell, and every time I thought I’d figured you out, you did something even crazier. Especially that shit with Malach.”

Horus shook his head, looking almost impressed all over again.

”I was watching the whole thing thinking, what the fuck is wrong with this guy?”

”So, straight to the point, you’re exactly the kind of bastard we need. You’d be incredibly useful to the cause, and honestly, I was pretty damn happy when I finally confirmed you weren’t working for Frost. Then... you had to go and ruin it.”

Horus’ face scrunched up as though he’d just tasted something foul.

”First it was the little mute, then you went and said that embarrassing shit to the other head cadets. ’We’ll all meet again.’ Urgh. Prime, please. I nearly died from the cringe.”

Horus spat on the ground before looking back at him, his expression turning serious.

”You don’t need them, Prime. Any of them. All they’ll do is hold you back. They become people you have to protect, people you worry about, people your enemies can use to control you, and eventually you’ll hate yourself for ever getting attached.”

”Trust me. I’ve been there. My master was the one who finally made me understand, and ever since I let all that shit go... I’ve never felt freer. Happier.”

A fond smile appeared on Horus’ face, as though he were remembering something genuinely precious.

”Besides, keeping people you love around is just asking Frost to put a knife to their throats someday. And, well... we can’t have that.”

Horus paused, then slowly stretched out his hand with a smile.

”So, what do you say, Prime? Leave them behind and join us.”

”And if I refuse?”

”Then nothing changes. Better you die now than let Frost use you. I report everything to Master, and he’ll probably send someone to kill you.”

”....”