Beyond the ceiling-high wall of transparent glass, a planet burned.
Even from space, grooves of lava and clouds of fire and ash were visible, as though the planet were bleeding, its entire body covered in blackish-red bruises.
Orbital fire crossed the atmosphere in measured intervals.
Billions… dead.
Unbothered by this scene, on this side of the glassy wall, Darth Vader stood, his deep, mechanical breaths filling the space.
Even from here, he could hear it.
The screams.
The dying shouts of every single being on the planet brushed past his mind before slowly fading away.
And, with those whispers of the Force, he remembered his World… before it had been burned to ashes and disintegrated to smithereens… what felt like ages ago.
It happened every time.
He never became used to it.
No desire of retaliation remained anymore.
Retaliation implied purpose, and he had long since abandoned the illusion that purpose mattered.
Darth Vader knew what he was — what price he had paid — what he had become.
A cycle — a full cycle — of serving the Emperor, stealing his destiny, becoming the Pillar of his world, and then failing… ultimately failing.
"Lost in your depressed thoughts again, Lord Vader?"
Darth Vader's meditation broke.
Taking another deep breath, he spun around to eye the eyesore, his black cloak billowing.
"You presume too much, Aizen," Vader said.
Sousuke Aizen, wearing plain white clothes and square glasses, smiled at that, his hands clasped together behind his back.
His gaze landed on the dying planet beyond Vader.
"Amusing, isn't it?" Aizen quipped. "The way they are pleading for mercy now… for their children… for their husbands… for their… wives."
Darth Vader continued to look at the fellow Inquisitor.
Unbothered by the gaze hidden behind the metallic mask, just as the Sith was unbothered by the merciless sight, Aizen continued to hold the small smile on his lips.
"That must make you angry sometimes, Lord Vader," he said. "Not the matter of wives, of course, but… the hypocrisy."
For a moment, the massive chamber within the Star Destroyer echoed with Darth Vader's breath.
Then, he stepped closer to Aizen, coming right up to his face.
Slowly, even the echoes faded, drowning the hall in utter silence.
"You… presume too much," Vader repeated, walking past the man, "Aizen."
As the Sith's black cloak brushed against Aizen's shoulder, the small smile on his face broadened slightly.
Then, he turned around and walked toward the triangular table situated in the middle of the chamber, with a high-back chair placed at each vertex.
In the middle of the table, a hologram hovered, rotating and bobbing up and down.
Spherical, with two halves in two different colors — red and blue.
The red half of the spherical hologram displayed hundreds of weapons, some tiny, some huge, all seemingly drenched in blood, their blades embedded deep into the red earth.
The blue half had a complete, pristine surface, with only a spear protruding from the ground in its middle, the sharp point aimed at all and everything.
Each half of this hologram was part of an insignia.
Insignias… of the two Empires of the Primordial Tower — R'lyeh and Stormborn!
And, together, the hologram represented not strength, but the almighty, unchallenged authority of the Joint Council of Celestials in the Multiverse at large.
The Empires' Inquisition!
Lord Vader stormed past the empty chair at one of the triangle's points and assumed his throne brusquely.
Aizen didn't go to his throne, though.
Instead, he went to the third one.
"What do you have to comment on this, Vlad?" Aizen asked, coming to a stop a step behind the occupied throne. "Do you agree?"
Sousuke had asked Vader many questions.
He masterfully left it unsaid which question he wanted the fellow Inquisitor to agree with.
Vlad Dracula Tepes's head rested on the back of his hand, his elbow making a deep impression on the arm of the high-back chair.
Slowly, as if waking up from an over-thousand-year-long dream, he opened his eyes.
His ancient gaze fell upon Darth Vader, the bloody pupils reflecting nothing but darkness.
"An Immortal cannot die," Dracula said, his commanding tone striking against the walls like swings of swords. "The Immortality? It can. It happens… when the Immortal starts contemplating matters from a mortal's perspective."
Darth Vader clenched his fingers into fists.
Behind Dracula's chair, Aizen's smile flickered before disappearing altogether.
Slowly, asking no more questions, he went to his throne and sat, drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair.
Suddenly, the hologram hovering in the middle of the triangular table churned.
Three blurs shot out of it and became a set of documents in front of each Inquisitor.
Over the documents hovered a Wanted Poster, displaying a demon with two swords.
Red.
Bounty — $ 2,300,000,000!
Silently, the Inquisitors went through the case.
Then, almost simultaneously, they dismissed the holographic documents, the Wanted Poster still suspended against their eyes.
"Tricky," Aizen commented.
Darth Vader scoffed out a breath.
That was the word Aizen used for all cases.
"I agree," Dracula said, not mentioning if he agreed with Aizen's comment or with Vader's scoff.
"Shall we locate his Verse Fusion and destroy it first?" Aizen asked, offering an opinion. "That should make it easy to get answers out of him later."
"Inefficient," Vader said, displeased by that opinion. "And slow."
"Immediate force creates martyrs," Aizen replied mildly, his fingers still tapping against the arm of the throne. "Desperation tends to sharpen resistance."
"And delay grants resistance time to consolidate," Vader said.
"I see…" Aizen let out a small smile. "Time… better spent on reflections, Lord Vader?"
"I agree… with Vader," Dracula added before his fellow Inquisitors started another squabble. "The Banished remains an Emperor, whether the Celestials deny Him or not. Cornered sovereigns are dangerous creatures. We should know… better. I recommend a direct summon first."
Aizen tapped his finger on the chair's arm.
Then, looking at the Wanted Poster, he nodded.
Vader had already left his throne as if he had agreed with Dracula's recommendation even before the Inquisitor had said it aloud.
Aizen slowly left his chair, too.
Instead of going to pester Vader again, he began walking out of the chamber.
"Where are you going?" Dracula asked.
"Found something… interesting," Aizen replied, clasping his hands behind his back. "No harm in inquiring a touch more…"
Dracula narrowed his eyes as Aizen disappeared behind the doors.
Then, taking a deep breath, he straightened his spine, gently resting his palm on the triangular table.
Instantly, the entire ship stirred.
In the next moment, the Star Destroyer jumped into Hyperspace, advancing toward its next destination —
— Harry Potter Bubble!
*********************
Note: Original, Cinematic Image of the three Inquisitors talking to each other is available
Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my webnovel profile to access all options]
You can even subscribe Trial Tier for just 1.99 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month, along with all the Exclusive Images. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones/day: +1 Bonus Chapter next day