Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

Imperial City, Imperial Palace,

Princess Tanya's Residence,

Tanya lounged on her sofa with a contemplative look on her face.

It had been seven days, (going on eight) since Hal went to Dreg Duchy to charm his way to the next piece of the puzzle that was the map to the Nexus stone.

As events within the Silver moon sect were not for her to view or know due to the closed-off nature of the Sect, there was no actual way for her to know how things were going.

She could only hope that it was taking Hal much longer to succeed and not that he had angered the Silver moon sect head.

After all, while she would admit he had a way with women, Makena was a Cosmic saint and surely much too experienced to fall for his usually overconfident manly wiles.

Then she received news that the Silver moon sect was under attack having been contacted by one of her informants in the Dreg Duchy capital.

The details of the attack, as much as her informant could get, were straight to the point and not exaggerated for effect.

The Silver Moon sect territory had been shrouded with a Royal blue Dome of Astral energy.

That saw Tanya raise a brow because, from many of her investigations into Hal's dealings, she knew what color his Astral energy manipulation took, and while it was certainly not uncommon for Runemasters to share common colors, she wondered if Hal could have had a hand in that battle.

If he had, it meant;

One, she could rest easy as the mission was still on track and very likely to succeed.

Two, Hal's talents with the ladies was still being underestimated by her and finally, -the most important observation-

Three, he was hiding much more than she could have ever thought as the amount of Astral energy required for such large-scale coverage should not be possible for the Rank Five Runemaster that he was.

It would even be difficult for a Rank Seven Runemaster like her.

Very possible... But difficult.

The informant continued but the tale ended quickly,

The Silver moon sect head won with an impressive show of dominance that saw her reputation and the reputation of her Sect soar.

Thus ended the report.

Tanya had not been alone when she was given the report.

Her attendant, Lena was with her and being privy to almost every piece of information Tanya got, she knew what the Princess was thinking about and decided it was as good a time as any to reiterate what she had said many times since Hal had left the place for Dreg Duchy,

"He can't be trusted"

Tanya looked up at her face with a smile,

"You sound a lot like Ehrlich right now. He also seems to believe Hal should not be trusted" she said.

Lena shrugged, 

"Well, in this matter, the oaf is correct. Your highness, the matter in the Kirsten Barony has only gotten more extensive with time" She said and as though to showcase the urgency of her words, she took one step closer.

Tanya pursed her lips but said nothing which Lena took as permission to continue.

"There is a new religion, A Cult taking root in the Barony. It's all the rage right now. A cult dedicated to some god called the 'Sapphirine Prince'" she said.

Tanya nodded, 

"I am aware" she said.

"This cult is said to originate from Sapphire city, the city that was once named after a Salmon and happens to be where Hal comes from. Of course, I do not believe for one second that this 'Sapphirine Prince' is a true god.

It's merely propaganda cooked up by Hal and his allies to take the Empire by storm." Lena said.

Tanya shook her head in mocking shame, 

"Never took you for a Bigot, Lena" she said.

"It's not bigotry if it's true" Lena retorted.

Tanya sighed, 

"And who says it's not. For all we know, someone in Sapphire City found a way to contact one of the many gods who reside in Paradise. Honestly, it's not our place to say if it's bogus or not.

After all, other than the influence religion has on minds of people and their wish to follow the wishes of their gods of which I am no exception to this and neither are you, there is nothing evidently harmful about the cult"

Lena looked down at her feet,

"But there is evidence" she said in a low voice.

"I assume you are referring to the missing Beasts in Tretch forest?" Tanya said.

Lena nodded.

"Well, that is clearly suspicious..."

"Ah-ha" Lena rejoiced but Tanya was not yet done, 

"... And falls under the job descriptions of the hunters. So far, they have not found any evidence the disappearance has anything to do with the denizens of Sapphire City." She said.

Lena opened her mouth then paused and closed it as she furrowed her brows, 

"You're rationalizing. You sound like you are looking for any and all ways to not see Hal as a conniving bastard working towards the downfall of the Empire" she said.

"Conniving bastard?" Tanya said with a raised brow.

"I told you I don't like him" Lena said in her defense.

Tanya took a deep breath and then said, 

"Lena, you know of my ambitions. You know what I wish to accomplish?" 

Lena made to reply but Tanya simply interrupted, 

"I want to rule the Continent. I want to be Empress. Everything I do is towards achieving this aim. To that end, Hal is useful. 

He has made it clear already that he is not loyal to me and is only working to be paid so I know to be cautious.

That said, I know I can make him an asset.

Lena... I know what I'm doing" 

Lena bowed.

"Of course, Princess, I know you do"

The tone Tanya had used at the end of her sentence was one thick with her authority as a Haron Princess and it brought Lena back down to earth.

It was quite easy for her to sometimes forget that while Tanya was jovial and familiar with her, she (Lena) was serving her and should limit the level of her disrespect.

Tanya nodded in satisfaction before smiling, 

"Don't worry too much. Hal is capable and that will be proven when he returns with what I asked him to retrieve" she said but then added in her mind,

'Except if his situation is not as favorable as I had thought'

...

The Silver Moon sect...

At the moment Tanya had that thought of hers...

"Mmnghhh" Makena moaned.

She was at the edge of the pool, bracing herself with her hands stretched behind her, having been lifted there by Hal who had part of his body still submerged in the hot pool water while he grabbed the Cosmic Saint's thighs and exposed her pussy to his lustful gaze.

Just the touch of Hal's hand on her thighs was bringing Makena incredible pleasure but of course, that was nothing compared to when he actually delved in to take a long sensual lick of her slick pussy lips and cause the Sect head to shiver with pleasure.

"Mmngghh... oh yessss" Makena moaned and thrust her hips towards Hal's face for better traction.

Hal found the little erect nub at the top of her pussy and grabbed it into his mouth before sucking on it hard.

"Ahnnnn" 

While Makena moaned, Hal released one of her thighs to stretch his hand towards her large and perky breast and knead it simultaneously with his sensual licks of her delicious tasting pussy.