Lux Locus: Fractured Family

The vessel took Zenith on what could be comparable to a pleasure cruise as he was given the opportunity to see the bright and 'clean' city in its grand entirety with proper accuracy rather than a awkward view from the sky whilst descending as a broiling ball of metal. The buildings were indeed tall, but one caught his eye, and it was situated to the north-east of the city: It was a main temple of the Magus Imperators as evidenced by the half opened eye made with the help of stained glass leering down upon those approaching the walls. The building itself was made of gradually rising wings of stone and metal and did so for six 'steps'. Each one of these was topped with a ventilation unit of a short, but wide, stature and a large, rectangular opening.

The roads and paths felt cramped and without air, with buildings towering high above the lands below. It was almost like seeing the homes of the gods of old. So many buildings had been crammed together due to the titanic efforts undertaken to take up as little room as possible on the planet, but one of the several reasons the spires had been built and replaced the wide metropolis layout was, partly, due to the pollution being undertaken. Zenith could hear his filters working overtime to expel the toxic chemicals in the air being belched out by chimney and vehicle alike. A veritable orchestra of toxic fumes.

"Spires would have air filtering units everywhere on the floors and walls to keep this smog from killing everyone," Zenith thought. "Eugh. Such cities...One would think the Magus Imperators would uphold our ideals better and promote the newer technology, but no. They would rather be able to promote their majesty with the tithes they receive from the willing all over the Expanse." The prosecutors rubbed his forehead. "Still, with an image like this, people will have more confidence in us. Psychology." Zenith chuckled and watched a few run past him and around the corner a few turns further away. "Hello, what's this?" Zenith wondered aloud.

The prosecutor followed after the law enforcers with his own guards and climbed some white steps to witness a large, terrified crowd gathered around a commotion.

"What is this?" Zenith's guard spoke in shock.

She knelt down to inspect a man leaning against hand rails, his chest blown open and sweating red. She closed his eyes and looked onward to see another body behind the crowd, its arm outstretched.

"They were trying to run," she exhaled.

She tightened her grip around her rifle and was intent on finding the one responsible, but Zenith blocked her.

"Let me go, prosecutor! I must--"

She stopped speaking immediately when she saw the prosecutor lift a finger to his mouth. He calmly moved through the crowd, annoying some people, but when they witnessed who it was, they immediately fumbled back in terror.

The voice of whoever was in the middle became louder and louder, allowing Zenith Canka to better hear the one responsible for this disturbance.

"Like your friends, you tried to flee."

"P-Please! I don't know what you're talking about! We just got these from--"

The sound of a gun firing and ricocheting off the ground was soon followed by a loud yell.

"Enough of your lies, fool! Your friends tried to flee and, by the laws decreed to me by the Magus Imperators, on our holy land, they were condemned to death for fleeing judgement and defying a prosecutor. Furthermore-"

Zenith Canka broke through the crowd to the back of the younger, lower rank member of his order. Like him, this young man wore a black trench coat, boots, and gloves, but it seemed he had a preference for a green shirt and golden shoulder trims. The boy was of a rather thin build with short, orange hair charred black on one section of the back of his head where a metal plate visibly rested.

"Now then, you will pay for your treason and this slandering towards Mana Magis!"

"But I never spoke anything against Mana Magis!"

"You didn't need to," the young prosecutor calmly answered. "Your ownership of this...corrupting talisman is more than enough. Now, you will--"

The young man screamed in horror as a hand grabbed his left shoulder and started to crush it with little difficulty. He fell to one knee, then the next, and dropped his pistol.

"What's going on here?" Zenith asked calmly.

The young boy struggled to turn his head to see that the hand on his shoulder was robotic, and his pupils shrunk when he saw what it was attached to.

"Z-Z-Z--"

"Out with it,"

"Mmmmy greatest prosecutor," he struggled to say between his grunts. "I-I was just delivering justice for h-him slandering--"

"Mana Magis? We are not an inquisition, fool! We only make sure the gods who reveal themselves do not have foul intentions, and those who promote these ones must die." He approached the boy's face, his mechanical body allowing such a contortion. "You are bringing shame to our organization."

"B-but, my prosecutor. Th-they were found with trinkets belonging to the god of marrow."

Zenith let go of the boy, allowing him to finally recover from his pain and gasp as the pain spikes shuddered throughout his arm. The prosecutor marched to the cowering man and lifted him up by his shirt.

"Is this true?" he growled.

"I-I-I didn't know! I swear! We purchased these from a priestess of a new god in the city who was supposed to help us when we worked."

"Show me this talisman," Zenith ordered.

The terrified man reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a talisman made from small bones and handed it to Canka. He was promptly let go in response.

"You," Zenith pointed to the terrified boy. "Take this man to the nearest holding chambers. If I don't find proof substantiating his claims, you are free to interrogate him at your leisure, but do not kill him. Am I understood?"

"But he should be--"

"I'm sorry?" Zenith said. "That doesn't sound like a confirmation to my question."

"Yes sir! I'll take him right away!"

The alleged Blumarak worshiper told the prosecutor where he had purchased the item then was taken way in a hurry, but still had time to thank Zenith for his mercy.

"Disperse. There is nothing left to see here. Return to your assigned tasks," he commanded.

The people quickly did as told and disappeared into the light tunnels of the city. As for the talisman, Canka couldn't make heads or tails of it. The base was round, sure, but the bones were placed in such a random position that he just couldn't distinguish any shapes.

"Hm," he hummed. "Looks like I'll be seeing this person first."

He signaled his own guards to return to him, briefed them, and went off into the city.

"Where are we going?" his guide asked.

"To the lower level where the buildings were built into the wall edges. The person we're looking for is there."

"Shouldn't we verify the claims of this new god first?"

Zenith shook his head in disappointment. "No. Of course not. There have been no incidents concerning this man, making him a secondary objective. Whether this priestess is giving actual talismans of Blumarak or if it is just a coincidence is important to know." He stomped forward, tosses his trench coat upwards with the sudden upheaval of air. "I won't have that filthy abomination laying a hand on a world of the Magus Imperators."