Valeria Torres and the Midas Vault

Chapter 32: The Hard Truth

Valeria took a slow deep breath as they entered the Sovereign chambers, which remained mostly unchanged since her first visit two weeks ago.

"You came," Jada said, hands on her hips. "I wasn't sure if you would. But here we are again." She walked over to the liquor cabinet and poured herself a glass of wine. "Care for a glass of wine this time?"

Valeria shook her head. "Still underage, Sovereign."

Jada took a gulp from her glass and turned. "Alright, let's do the questions again. I can imagine you have more than three questions you want to ask this time. I can't promise to answer everything, but I will answer what I can."

Unlike the first time she entered this room, Valeria took a moment to think of her first question. While the urge to call Jada out on her lies was tempting, she knew there was a bigger question that needed answering. "Who was the Rogue that attacked us?"

Jada shook her head. "I'm not sure who he is, but I know he was no Rogue. That was a Shadow Knight."

Valeria raised an eyebrow. "What's that? Some kind of Faction?"

"Shadow Knights do not belong to any faction or group of people. They are lone wolves who feed off chaos, destruction, and death. Like us Rogues, they draw their power from the shadows and the dark, but unlike us, they seek to destroy the world, rather than remain hidden within it."

Valeria sat in silence, overwhelmed by this new information. She completely forgot about Jada's betrayal as she absorbed every word and was both fascinated and terrified to learn about this villainous figure. She took her time before asking her next question. "What are the Artifacts? Can they be used to stop him?"

Jada finished a sip from her glass and laughed with a hint of futility. "Oh Valeria, how I wish I knew those answers. No one knows exactly what the artifacts are, but we know they are ancient - as in BC – before Christ. No one knows all of their secrets. One thing I do know – holding an artifact while focusing on a certain goal, will show you future events that increase the likelihood of achieving that goal."

Valeria was about to ask for clarification, but Jada continued. "So, for example, when I touched the Rogue Artifact back when I was your age, I wanted, more than anything, to find a way for the Rogue and Celestial Factions to achieve peace. Back then, I was still close with my childhood friend Lawrence Tyrell, even though we had been whisked away to opposing groups. Uniting our factions to serve the common good has always been my goal, and every time I touched the artifact, It showed me future events leading toward what I always wanted; Lawrence and I fighting a common enemy...together."

Jada's voice cracked on the last word, and her hands trembled as she fumbled the wine glass in her hands. She turned away before the rest of her emotions seeped out. She cursed under her breath and slammed the wine glass down on the table. "I'm such an idiot," she grumbled.

"Well," Valeria replied with a hint of sarcasm, "I guess that's true, because your plan didn't work. Speaking of which - why didn't it work?"

"My nearly perfect plan had one flaw," Jada said with a sigh, "one I was unable to foresee. The Shadow Knight possessed an Artifact himself, and clearly anticipated our ambush. He already prepared a shadow double – a type of decoy – to fool us. Only now do I realize the problem with my plan. I desperately wanted a way for our factions to unite and work together – and wasn't able to use my artifact to see past that. The Shadow Knight wanted a second Artifact for himself, and this allowed him to foresee beyond our two factions simply working together. He and his devotee, Brigitte, used their artifact to envision a future where they could turn our trap against us. Now my dream of an alliance is dead, and my best friend might suffer a similar fate." She choked up again as she muttered, "It was all for nothing."