Chapter 397: THE SHADOW GENERAL’S SACRIFICE

The subterranean chamber fell into a heavy, suffocating silence as the green emergency lanterns flickered weakly against the shattered granite columns.

Supreme Mandra Taziraka leaned his broad back against the stone pillar, coughing up a thick globule of black alchemical bile onto the flooded floor.

Sagiri knelt beside the imperial ruler, pressing his palm gently against the Mandra’s chest to channel a steady stream of soothing cellular warmth.

The silver currents of the Archive permeated the imperial meridians, stabilizing the bruised tissue around his spine where the needles had been torn out.

"Breathe slowly," Sagiri instructed in a quiet, steady voice, keeping his right hand grounded against the imperial ribcage.

"The alchemical venom has been purged from your blood, but your nerves will remain numb for several minutes."

Taziraka exhaled a long, ragged breath, his noble dark-brown eyes sweeping across the ruined cryogenic tanks and shattered Grey Enforcers.

He looked upon the seven young warriors standing in defensive formation around him, taking in their torn field cloaks and soot-covered faces.

"Squad 25 of Galka War Academy," Taziraka murmured in his deep, resonant baritone, his voice carrying the natural authority of an imperial sovereign.

"I remember your faces from the decennial examinations in the Outer Nonagon, though you have grown into formidable masters of war."

Kaka rested his broad war axe against his shoulder, giving the imperial master a respectful northern nod without lowering his guard.

"We follow our squad leader, Supreme Mandra," Kaka replied in his blunt northern rumble, "wherever his path takes us."

Taziraka nodded slowly, but as the fog of hypnotic slumber cleared completely from his mind, a sudden, sharp dread hardened his features.

He straightened his posture against the pillar, his dark eyes locking onto Sagiri with an intensity that cut through the cold air.

"How long was I sealed beneath those needles?" Taziraka demanded in a low, tight voice, his jaw clenching with sudden tension.

"Where is Shadow General Tsaka?" the sovereign asked, his voice wavering with a rare tremor of hidden terror.

"Did Tsaka manage to break through the rebel encirclement in Alika City to reach the southern border garrisons?"

Sagiri did not answer immediately, lowering his glowing crimson eyes as a profound, sorrowful weight settled into his chest.

Kiuga and Maita looked away toward the dark corridor, unable to meet the burning, desperate gaze of the imperial ruler.

Sagiri remembered the proud, unyielding warrior who had guarded the Supreme Mandra with absolute filial devotion for over four decades.

Shadow General Tsaka was a man who lived and breathed for a single purpose: the protection of the Supreme Mandra and the imperial seat.

He would have torn through an army with his bare hands before allowing anyone to lay a single finger on Taziraka while he drew breath.

For the Supreme Mandra to have been overpowered, bound in bio-neural chains, and dragged across the continent into this dark pit, only one truth remained.

Shadow General Tsaka had fought to his absolute last heartbeat, refusing to yield an inch of ground until his blood drenched the stones of Alika.

The silence in the chamber stretched on, heavier than any iron wall, answering the sovereign’s question with undeniable, brutal finality.

Taziraka closed his eyes, his massive shoulders trembling for a brief, heartbreaking second under the crushing weight of grief.

His large, calloused hand tightened against the granite floor with enough force to crack the solid rock beneath his knuckles.

’Tsaka...’ Taziraka thought in silent agony, feeling the phantom presence of the loyal brother who had watched his back since childhood.

When the Supreme Mandra opened his eyes once more, the sorrow had completely vanished, replaced by an aura of terrifying, cold imperial fury.

"Tsaka stood as my living shield for forty years," Taziraka said, his voice dropping into a low, terrifying growl that shook the chamber.

"He gave his life defending the honor of this realm, and I swear upon his blood that his death will not go unavenged."

Taziraka pushed himself up from the stone floor, rising to his full towering height despite the lingering numbness in his limbs.

"Tsaka had just come to me with intelligence," Taziraka revealed, looking toward the dark iron stairway leading to sub-level four.

"He warned me that the man sitting on my Inner Council was moving illicit funds and smuggling military grade weapons through the western borders."

"We were both heading to confront him in his private estate when an army of grey-coated assassins ambushed us in the inner city of Alika."

"The treason was planned for years," Taziraka added in a hardened tone, "and they waited until my guard was lowered to strike."

Sagiri stepped forward, his twin crimson eyes burning with cold, ancient fury as he looked at the imperial master.

"Why allow him onto your Inner Council in the first place," Sagiri asked sharply, "knowing he slaughtered my people in the South sixteen years ago?"

Taziraka sighed heavily, a shadow of deep regret passing across his weathered imperial face.

"I had just become Supreme Mandra back then," Taziraka admitted, "and the Council urged me to consider his past military merits before sending him into exile."

"I stripped him of his battalions and placed him under heavy surveillance, believing a broken commander could be monitored within the capital."

"Allowing a snake back into your tent just because it lost its fangs is stupid," Kaka stated bluntly, crossing his massive arms over his chest.

Kiuga gasped aloud, shooting Kaka a frantic, wide-eyed glare for daring to insult the supreme ruler of Tagayia to his face.

Taziraka did not take offense, looking at Kaka with a somber, self-deprecating nod of agreement.

"The northern boy speaks the truth," Taziraka said quietly, "my mercy was my greatest mistake, and it cost Tsaka his life."

"Wait," Kiuga intervened, his sharp eyes widening as the pieces fell into place, "General Senraki is the one sitting on the Inner Council?"

"Is he related to our principal at Galka?" Ulekai asked nervously from the rear line, trying to break the tension with a small chuckle.

"They both carry the Senraki tribe name, but surely it is just an uncomfortable coincidence?"

The Supreme Mandra looked at Ulekai with grim solemnity, shaking his head slowly in the dim red emergency light.

"It is no coincidence," Taziraka confirmed in a heavy voice, "General Senraki is the biological father of Grand Marshal Senraki."

The entire squad gasped in stunned silence, their eyes darting between each other in sheer disbelief at the revelation.

Maita cracked his knuckles with a slow, dangerous smirk, his initial shock dissolving into cold warrior anticipation.

"Well," Maita said, resting his hand against the hilt of his short-sword, "this has just gotten interesting."

"General Senraki orchestrated the entire rebellion," Taziraka explained, "He intend to declare martial law and claim that the South has assassinated me."

"He sold our intelligence to Sir Black, using this facility to manufacture an army of Soulless to seize absolute control of the continent."

"Which is why I must return to the imperial capital immediately," Taziraka declared, adjusting his torn ceremonial robes with imperial resolve.

"I will rally the loyal imperial legions, purge the traitors from the Convergence Hall, and crush General Senraki’s rebellion before the realm burns."

The Supreme Mandra turned back to Sagiri, placing a heavy, warm hand upon the young Keeper’s shoulder.

"Down on the fourth sub-level lies the primary extraction sanctum," Taziraka warned, pointing toward the lower blast doors.

"Sir Black has bound your aunt Rika to the receptor pillar, preparing to activate the extraction array the moment you step onto the floor."

"He covets the Living Memory above all else, believing that stolen power can conquer both North and South."

Sagiri met the sovereign’s gaze without a trace of fear, his right eye burning with the eternal golden light of the ancient Keepers.

"He will find only his own ruin down there," Sagiri replied, his voice calm, steady, and filled with unwavering conviction.

Taziraka smiled faintly, a look of profound respect and fraternal kinship passing between the two sovereign rulers.

"Go, Supreme Chief of the South," Taziraka said, giving Sagiri’s shoulder a firm squeeze before stepping toward the stairwell.

"Save your people and finish this phantom once and for all; I will take Alika City back from the traitors in Tsaka’s name."

"Bukata and Ulekai hold the extraction lines at the canyon rim," Sagiri informed him, "they will guide you safely through the mountain pass."

Taziraka gave a crisp imperial nod, ascending the upper iron stairs with the purposeful, unstoppable stride of an awakened emperor.

Sagiri watched the sovereign disappear into the shadows before turning back to face the six warriors of Squad 25.

Kaka kicked away the shattered pieces of his bent shield, drawing both heavy war axes from his back with a menacing grin.

Maita and Zolinka checked the edges of their blades, while Kiuga drew his twin throwing daggers with cold, lethal focus.

"The Supreme Mandra is heading for Alika," Kiuga said, a sharp, dangerous smirk playing at the corners of his lips.

"Which means we have only one task left before this mountain falls."

Sagiri raised Nokai, pointing the dark blade directly at the reinforced iron gate leading to the final extraction sanctum.

"Breach the doors," Sagiri commanded in a voice of pure iron. "It is time to settle the score with Sir Black. Then I am gonna curve his master inside out."