Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

It was understandable that upon listening to this unknown man with mixed colored hair and dark green eyes, Cirk's eyes brightened at the thought of glory and the possibility that he could still have all he wanted.

After all, the hardest part of his ambition at this moment was to become patriarch now that he had fallen out of grace from his father.

Once he accomplished this nigh-impossible task, everything else should simply fall into place.

The rational part of his mind(you know, the one that vaguely noted that this was more like an unachievable dream) brought him back to reality and turned his newfound hope into skepticism.

Surely, he could not simply trust this stranger, could he?

"You... Can actually make that happen?" Had asked skeptically.

The stranger's eyes widened,

"Me? No no, I can't do anything. I'm only a messenger. But the one who sent me here? He absolutely can. I assure you"

There was such confidence in the messenger's tone. Confidence that went much further and looked to be edging close to absolute devotion.

"How?" Cirk asked and his pose loosened to one where he was not being so defensive.

It might look foolish that Cirk was so quick to even consider what this stranger was offering but it should be noted that right now he was without support in his family. And if he was not going to put his trust, life, and ambitions in the hands of a complete stranger who was actually showing an intention of helping him, then he might as well give up on those dreams.

Even the elders who were based at the Fiery lotus sect would much rather back Hugh as the much more probable option.

After all, if they could actually succeed with a coup, they would have done it already.

This was his one chance.

The stranger looked at Cirk for a while after he asked 'How' and then chuckled,

"The schematics while important are not available to you right now. First, you have to show that you are indeed ready to embrace this new opportunity." He said and chuckled once more to show how naive he thought Cirk was being.

Cirk narrowed his eyes,

"How do I show it?" He asked yo which the stranger spread his arms,

"Simple. You just have to break out." He said.

Cirk's eyes narrowed even further,

"Break out? I'm not a prisoner" he said with an indignant tone.

The stranger looked at him for about half a second before roaring into laughter,

"Oh my goodness, you could have fooled me. You have lost all privileges that make you who you used to be and after the latest incident involving the return of your cousin who has shown that she outmatches you, you are even in more sure straits than before.

You are right, you are not a prisoner as most prisoners only have to be behind bars for the rest of their lives, you are much worse off my man...

... you are much like like a man on death row.

Escape this... Large, beautiful but ultimately an entrapment of a residence and meet me at this location..." He touched Cirk's forehead and passed the information on where they were to meet.

When his fingers touched Cirk's head, the dishonored Dane shivered and seemed to finally understand why this stranger said they could not hurt each other.

That contact with his forehead was cool and seemed to be constantly changing in state. Going from solid to gas...

This was not a real body!

It was a phantom that was created solely fur the purpose of infiltration.

It had no substance and would most likely vanish after a fairly powerful attack, whoever was dealing the attack between the phantom and its opponent was not important as the result would be the same.

It explained how it could infiltrate the Dane territory which was not an easy thing to do without causing a ruckus and drawing out a powerhouse who would put an end to the infiltration.

Once the transfer of information was complete, the phantom stranger leaned back and looked Cirk in the eye as he noted the comprehension in the young Dane's eyes.

He smiled lightly but ultimately declined to comment.

Instead, he got back to what was actually pressing at the moment,

"I will be dispersing now that I have delivered the message. You should know that the invitation is not without end regardless of what you do. If you are not at the meeting point by nightfall, then you can forget it."

Looking out his window, Cirk could see, he did not have much time left, and just as he was realizing that, the phantom dispersed.

Immediately, he stood up from his bed and took a deep breath.

Now that he thought of it, was there even a future for him if he stayed with his family?

No.

He decided there wasn't.

It was time he ventured out of the home and location that used to be a constant rock for him to rest on.

As he put on his clothes, he found that there was no one he was particularly going to miss in this family.

Except for his mother.

This last Five years after Melinda was exiled, all relationships he had formed with his kinsmen had now been reduced to next to nothing.

The only one that remained strong was his relationship with his mother who remained constantly on his side.

He considered going over and telling her goodbye before setting off but he eventually decided he did not have that much time and considering he had no idea what would happen to him upon leaving this rock of a family he had, then he might as well avoid the painful parting which was assured, should they meet.

Then he thought of Melinda and how she was most likely spending time with the scary Hal who the very thought of still caused him to feel fear,

"As it turns out, there might still be hope for you and me. I will have you, Melinda. I promise you that" he said in a quiet voice and a nasty smile.

This ambition of his was clearly not born of any actual feelings but instead of the thought of finally succeeding where he had once failed.

Outside of his residence was free from unnecessary guards who were for 'his protection' and while Melinda was almost completely certain to seek his life eventually, it did not change the fact that he was not currently a prisoner.

Leaving the Dane territory was not exactly prohibited and he would only really be known as a traitor when he was known to have allied with another party that had no ties to the Dane family.

He knew what he needed to do which was to get to the closest teleportation circle and make use of the few blue gems he still had in his possession to leave the territory in its entirety.

The only time he found any other living being apart from the occasional servants going about to see to the bidding of their masters was when he was completely away from his residence and at the location of the teleportation circle.

There, the required number of guards were present and speaking of how their job was a tad bit unnecessary since no one would actually dare to infiltrate the Dane family through the private teleportation circles.

This was actually only one of the few teleportation circles that were being guarded in the Dane territory and only because they are used for exiting and arriving into the territory.

The others which were much more in capacity were only to make journeys within the territory easier and shorter.

"Who goes... Oh, it's young master Cirk" one of the guards began his demands before realizing who it was and changing his tone.

Cirk hardly spared him a glance and there was no reason for him to do so since him taking a trip outside of the territory was nothing that warrants the raising of brows.

He walked stoically past them and stood on the teleportation circle, slotted in the required number of gems, and was on his way out...