[On the Planet of Xinoc.]
The small planet of Xinoc was a vibrant tapestry of green, teeming with an array of wide, unknown animals.
_
Within a secluded settlement, the largest tent hummed with tension.
BAM!
A thunderous slap echoed as a man slammed his palm onto the central table, his face contorted in a mask of pure fury.
"I told you we shouldn't send her!" he roared, his gaze fixed on the two other figures in the room—a man and a woman, the woman was adorned with impressive dragon's wings.
The duo exchanged a weary glance before exhaling in unison.
"Are you still insecure?" the dragoness asked, her brow furrowed in a frown.
The man spun towards her, his own frown deepening. "Yes, I am! We sent her to rob the commander's vault, a job that should have taken a day! Now it's been two, and she still hasn't returned!" he bellowed.
"Perhaps something delayed her! Just be patient!" the woman retorted, her voice edged with ice.
"Enough, you two." The leader, a man with piercing blue eyes, cut them off. He turned to the man. "Sit down."
"But—"
"--I said, sit down," the leader reiterated, his voice chillingly cold, his blue eyes momentarily flashing red.
The man gritted his teeth, a muscle twitching in his jaw, but he sank back into his seat. The leader then began, his voice a low, steady rumble.
"We are bandits. We've operated successfully for so long because we use our brains. Jinx is the sharpest among us, and the most accomplished beast shapeshifter in the entire galaxy! She has a gift!" He turned his gaze back to the furious man.
"There's no danger she can't escape from. You know this, don't you, Xin?"
Xin sighed, looking away, his shoulders slumping. The leader shook his head almost imperceptibly before turning to the lady. "So, what's the plan? That is, if she fails?"
"No plan," Xin interjected, still avoiding eye contact. "I said it from the start, we shouldn't have sent her alone."
The leader nodded slowly, then turned back to Dragoness: "What about you, Bethany?"
"Easy," she said, her voice calm and measured. "We wait. Give her another day."
WHOOSH!!!!
A distant sound cut through the air, drawing the attention of all three. They turned towards the entrance just as a man in common class black leather armor strode in.
"What happened?!" the leader demanded, his voice laced with urgency.
"Boss! Fourth leader is back!" The armored man announced, a wide smile spreading across his face.
The trio exchanged wide-eyed glances. The next moment, Jinx entered the tent, still cloaked and in Matilda's appearance. The armored man bowed respectfully to her before quickly exiting, leaving the four alone.
"How did it go?" the leader asked, his tone surprisingly calm now.
Jinx pulled back the hood concealing her face, revealing her features. She walked towards the fourth seat and settled into it:
"Well... there's been a change in the plan," she began.
"Change?"
The three frowned in unison. Jinx nodded. "The commander is dead. So I couldn't use his appearance. If I took his appearance, they would know immediately, so I had to use someone else." she explained.
"Someone else?! Who did you use?" Bethany asked, a hint of confusion in her voice.
"The Empress."
A stunned, horrified silence descended upon the tent.
"...?!!!"
"...?!!"
".....?!!!!!!!!"
The three were utterly flabbergasted.
"FUCK!!! I told you she would screw up!!!" Xin exploded, leaping to his feet in shock.
Bethany and the leader turned to him, but neither said a word. The Empress was a force they simply couldn't contend with. She alone possessed the power to wipe them out, not to mention her formidable troops. Their very survival hinged on avoiding such powerful figures.
"Okay..." The leader slowly nodded, his voice surprisingly steady.
"You're alive, so you succeeded, right?" he added.
"Yep!" Jinx chirped, nodding with a triumphant smile, seemingly unfazed by Xin's outburst.
Their curiosity instantly piqued, the three watched as Jinx reached into her spatial storage. She withdrew a small box and placed it on the table.
"This was in the Empress's vault. Out of all the treasures in there, this was prominently displayed in the light. I'm thinking it's worth more than anything we could ever imagine," she said.
"So, out of all the treasures you saw, you only felt compelled to grab a box?" Bethany asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jinx pouted playfully. "Look! That Empress of the Star Empire has a tiger! That mythic beast almost killed me, and it was also protecting this box, which means it must be valuable."
"Is that so?"
Bethany turned her attention to the box, then nodded at the leader. He pulled the box closer, his fingers slowly working to open it. The three leaned in, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of its contents.
"...?!!!"
Jinx and the others were utterly flabbergasted, staring at the dried heart resting within.
"What the fuck?!"
That was the only coherent thought that ran through their minds.
"You! You! You brought back a heart?! What are we going to do with it?! Eat it?!" Xin, perpetually annoyed, instantly blew up.
"Calm down!" the leader yelled, his voice cutting through Xin's rant. He observed the heart for a few seconds, then slowly nodded his head. "This heart belongs to a Celestial-ranked warrior, at least stage five upward... And not just any Celestial. The owner must have had a bloodline related to the darkness element."
"Now that you mention it," Bethany agreed, nodding, "If anyone consumed it, their powers would receive a great boost, but that person would also have a high chance of falling into the abyss."
"Huh? Then why would the Empress have such a thing? And why was it so highly guarded?" Jinx asked, a hint of mild shock in her voice.
"Do you think?!!!"
All four sets of eyes widened in mild horror, and Xin slumped back into his seat.
"Now I get it... The Empress must have killed the commander and taken his heart."
"How did the commander die?" the leader asked, turning his gaze to Jinx.
"Well... According to the Empress, the commander tried to assassinate her, so she killed him. And one of the senators asked about the heart! If I think about it, she killed him for this." Jinx pointed at the heart.
"We are so dead! If the Empress could kill such a powerful ally just for his heart, what will she do to us who stole it?!" Xin demanded, his voice laced with panic.
"Be quiet! We are well hidden; no one will suspect we are on this planet," Bethany said, turning to Jinx. "Hope you didn't leave any trace?"
"You know me. I move like a shadow and disappear like the wind... There's no way I can be tracked... Unless, there's a tracker I don't know of—"
She froze. Their eyes subconsciously drifted to the box, where the red gems on its surface were now ominously beeping.
"FUCK!"