Interstellar Age

Chapter 299 A Path of Self-Destruction

It did not take long for S'aleth to return to the Silber Enclave, and when she did, Erich was waiting for her. He was not dressed in his usual "imperial regalia" but rather, he was wearing civilian attire. The Dvrakian beauty exited the shuttle and found that her lover was waiting for her with a wide smile on his face and open arms. 

"S'aleth, come here!" 

S'aleth, of course, jumped into Erich's arms and nuzzled her head in his chest. To her, it had only been a few days since they had been apart, but to Erich, it had been twenty long years. Thus, he couldn't help but hold the woman in his arms while processing his many complicated emotions in silence. 

For a decade, Erich was led to believe that his first love was dead, and that there was nothing that could possibly bring her back. He wanted more than anything to apologize to her, for never telling her the truth about what the Empire intended to do to her or her people. But had never been able to do so. 

And though she did not remember the fight, they had been shortly before her death. Erich did, and thus, the first words he said to the woman after his long silence were a formal apology. 

"S'aleth... I'm sorry.... Sorry for everything...." 

Naturally, the beautiful succubus had no idea what her lover was talking about, but she also knew there was an enormous gap in her memories from when she was reborn, and from when she first died. Thus, she did not even question why Erich was apologizing, nor did she want to know. Instead, she smiled and accepted the man's apology with her the words he had always wanted to hear. 

"You are forgiven..."

This piqued Erich's curiosity, as he raised his silver brow, before asking if S'aleth remembered. 

"Wait... Do you actually remember?" 

However, the young Dvrakian beauty quickly shut Alex up as she shook her head and revealed to him the truth. 

"I don't.... But I get the feeling from the heavy tone in your voice that this is something that has bothered you for a very long time. I don't want to know why you are apologizing to me. It doesn't matter. You just need to know that you are forgiven for whatever you did to make you wear such a painful expression...." 

Erich honestly did not know what to say. He had been imagining this scenario for ten whole years. Ever since, Emrys first revealed that S'aleth was still alive. Everyday Erich would imagine how he would apologize to the woman, and earn her forgiveness for what he had to this day perceived to be his greatest sin. 

Yet now that the day had finally come, she forgave him so easily... Perhaps in his youth, Erich would have broken out into tears. But he was no longer that little boy longing for companionship. Instead, he had been hardened through years of constant struggle. Now he could only nod his head, with a slight smile on his otherwise stoic face, before taking hold of his woman's hand and leading her inside his palace. 

"Come... Let me show you all that I have built, and what is only a glimpse into the future of our people...."

S'aleth looked up at Erich with a confused expression before asking about what he meant by such a statement. 

"Our people?" 

Erich was happy that S'aleth asked about this, and had begun to explain his plans for the Dvrakian Enclave. 

"What my people did the Dvrakains is simply unforgiveable. As you are probably aware by now, we conquered the Consortium for a single purpose. To use the Dvrakian race as a meatshield against the Hive Fleet Terminus. Your people are scattered across the galaxy with few worlds to call their own.

However, once the world of Dvrakia is in my hands, I intend to give your people five systems to call your own. No Germanic citizen will be allowed to step foot on the Dvrakian worlds without the expressed permission of the local Dvrakian government. Your people will forever be protected by the Germanic military, and will be able to run their own society. 

But it will not be Germanic troops stationed on your worlds, but rather my LEGIONs. I am sure you have already become acquainted with my new combat droids? They are completely under my control, and shall not harm your people in any way.

Policing will be left up to the Dvrakians, the LEGIONs will just be garrisoned on your worlds in small numbers to protect them from external threats. Come have a look around to see what I have built here. Once you witness it for yourself, you will see the future that your people will have."

Despite the fact that the armistice continued. And the Enclave's war machine was churning out new robots with each passing second to replace the losses they had suffered in the invasion of the eighteen worlds which were now added to Enclave space. Erich seemed to not care in the slightest about this, as he took S'aleth on a tour of the five habited worlds that were composed of the Silber Enclave. 

S'aleth witnessed the truly automated society, and the satisfactory lives that the citizens of the Enclave enjoyed. Without being forced to work as cogs in the machine of production, the Germanic citizens were able to pursue their true passions. 

Most men chose to fight in the military as that was the only life they had really known in the Empire, but even then, they still primarily fulfilled either the roles of support or special operations. For even the Germanic Military was primarily run by artificial intelligence and robotic personnel. 

The tour only lasted a few hours, and yet S'aleth had witnessed the utopia Erich had built in such a small timeframe. The Enclave citizens had no needs that were left unfulfilled, and their days were spent pursuing their passions. 

When S'aleth realized her people would be free to prosper, and repopulate on their own worlds, run and maintained by whatever miraculous system kept the Enclave running. She could not help but be relieved. 

After all, since she was resurrected, and first learned about the fate of her people. S'aleth felt that a part of her was missing. But now, they could slowly but surely rebuild, and it would be all thanks to Erich's efforts. 

When the Dvrakian beauty realized this, she hugged her lover once more and thanked him for the hopeful future he provided to her and her people. 

"Erich... Thank you... You didn't have to do this, but you did so anyway... I was worried that you had changed into something I couldn't recognize after all these years. And though I only know a little bit about the difficulties you were forced to endure over the years, I am glad to see that you still have a good heart!" 

A good heart? Those were words that had not been spoken to Erich in a very long time, nor did they hold any meaning to him now. He was not the man S'aleth believed him to be. In fact, he was no longer a man at all. He was a monster. From the moment he was forced to join the Terminus Hive, Erich had shed what humanity remained within him. 

The wars he would wage, and the corpses he would leave behind. When the day came that the Galaxy bent the knee to his banner, would S'aleth still say that he has a good heart then? Erich found the very notion to be laughable. But he did not say a word. Because, while he was with S'aleth, the woman reminded him of when he was still human, and not some freak. 

Thus, rather than mock the woman for being naïve, he kissed her head, and whispered his thoughts in a voice so low that even S'aleth could not hear them. 

"Thank you..."

---

While Erich was welcoming home an old flame. Terminus could see and hear everything the man experienced, and she could even read his thoughts. She was not surprised that he still hated himself, and what he had become. But she was surprised that the man had not lashed out at his former lover for saying that he had a good heart. 

Though Erich might consider himself a monster, a freak, a mutant, and any other names he could condemn himself with. Terminus knew that wasn't the case. It is not like his biology changed at all. He was still human, albeit a genetically enhanced superhuman, but still human nonetheless.

The only thing that changed was he was also now a part of the hive mind, and that meant he could not harm the hive no matter how much he wanted to. Thus, it was of Terminus's opinion that S'aleth was not the naïve, or the foolish one, but rather Erich, who refused to admit that very little about himself had changed the moment he joined Terminus. It was simply his own xenophobic tendencies that compelled him to despise what he had become. 

With this in mind, Terminus sighed, and shook her head, before lecturing Erich on his own self-hatred. 

"Stubborn bastard... Perhaps I was wrong to have chosen a Germanic mate. They are genetically superior to most life forms, yes, but the hatred they have for all other lives is deeply engrained in their bones. It will not be easy for Erich to accept who he now is, and perhaps his rejection of his new identity is what will ultimately lead him down a path of self-destruction.... But we will see what becomes of our King... Isn't that right my children?" 

The hive which stretched across Midgard's crust echoed with chittering, as countless insectoids agreed with their Queen's sentiment towards their King. If an outsider were to have witnessed this sight, perhaps they would have been frightened to the point of death. But Erich was no stranger of the Hive, and thus even if he witnessed just how many Naraku he and Terminus had spawned, he would not feel fear. Only disgust...