CLEAVER OF SIN Chapter 652: Favor-2

Azaron, poised to slaughter both Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor and Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor simultaneously as if they were lowly peasants rather than Emperors, suddenly froze in place. A heavy scowl contorted his face while he stood motionless, the intense killing intent surging from him brought to a temporary stop by a constraint far stronger than raw power.

He felt torn on what action to take; he'd issued the command to eradicate the entire Imperial family, knowing it would require days since Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor was only a youth among the genuine defenders of the Imperial lineage. He had anticipated their intervention after he slew Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor, intending to demonstrate to all why he—Azaron, the Primarch and a father—possessed a rage that no one could ignite without facing dire repercussions.

Yet now... the ex-Emperor had invoked a debt from nearly two decades prior, an unbreakable vow that pressed down harder than any sword or edict.

One side urged him to honor his late wife's final desire, while the other, bound by his honor as a man of his word, refused to ignore the immense debt he owed, particularly one rooted in such profound origins.

Ender, the soul-bound spear that thrived on combat and devastation, ceased its eager hum of murderous aura, recognizing the situation and the reason behind Azaron's obligation to the Emperor, even with his unimaginable strength surpassing the Crownstar Life Rank.

Beside them, Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor remained utterly dumbfounded, his thoughts reeling to comprehend the revelation; he'd never heard of any such debt that Azaron owed his father.

'What could have happened to make Azaron owe a favor like that?' he pondered inwardly, his dark eyes darting between his father and Azaron, who now locked gazes in heavy silence, as if only they grasped the hidden truths simmering beneath this charged standoff.

Azaron shut his eyes briefly, seemingly deep in reflection with turmoil brewing under his composed facade; moments later, he reopened them and declared, "I acknowledge this favor," his typically monotone and detached tone laced with an uncommon weight, evident fury at being unable to eliminate the idiot who had tried to mentally dominate his son.

Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor reeled even more from Azaron's declaration, barely able to accept the scene unfolding... Azaron, who had appeared completely resolute without yielding an inch, had surprisingly yielded—a development that shattered every assumption he held about the Primarch.

'I must uncover the details of this favor,' Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor resolved silently; though battered and aching, his intellect remained keen, pushing aside the torment racking his frame as intrigue overrode all else.

To understand the favor linking Azaron Wargrave and Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor, one must journey back in time... precisely eighteen years earlier.

The arrival of the Tenth Sun, Asher Wargrave, proved far more tumultuous than most realized or comprehended; Lily Of The Abyss teetered on death's edge even before Asher emerged from her womb, her form worn out from birthing countless offspring—monstrous entities disguised as humans.

Thus, a key question arises: if Azaron's wife was already fading before Asher's birth, how did she manage to cradle her son and convey a last wish to her husband, Azaron, in her dying breaths?

Enter Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor.

As Crownstar Life Rankers, Lily Of The Abyss and Azaron had foreseen her demise prior to delivery; they detected her swiftly waning life force, a fatal downturn beyond remedy by ordinary methods. Desperate, they covertly sought aid from the then-Emperor, Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor, pinning their hopes on a might verging on the impossible.

Much like how Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor wielded a power beyond his Bloodline ability, so did Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor possess one outside the royal Bloodline.

However, differing from his son's mind-control gift, Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor held sway over Time.

Though not without limits, he could bend it somewhat, constrained by rigid, merciless laws inherent to such a gift—for Time defied casual mortal command, and even brushing against it carried perils few would risk.

Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor received the invitation, employing his time manipulation power to warp the temporal flow surrounding Lily Of The Abyss for mere brief instants, permitting her to deliver Asher, cradle her newborn boy in her arms, and convey a final plea to her spouse—precious seconds that would have been utterly wiped from reality otherwise.

Had Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor not intervened, those vital moments of bonding between mother and infant, spouse and partner, would have never occurred; Azaron and his offspring would have lost any opportunity to bid farewell to their cherished woman, abandoned instead with just her cold corpse, obliged to slash her belly open to pull out a lifeless babe from within, a horror worse than death by far.

Therefore, absent Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor, not even Asher Wargrave, the Tenth Sun, would have ever come to be, doomed to perish unseen by the world.

Afterward, Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor—a shrewd former sovereign once familiar with the prior Primarch—promptly rejected every offer of recompense, well knowing the formidable strength of each Wargrave Primarch, and chose instead a personal favor from Azaron, one he could claim whenever needed, provided it caused no direct damage to the Wargrave household.

This formed the root of that favor; it explained Azaron's earlier reluctance to strike, since without Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor, this very scene would never have unfolded, for the Tenth Sun himself would be absent to kindle this conflict from the start.

Naturally, knowledge of this favor stayed confined to Azaron and Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor alone, as Azaron had assured the Elders and Great Elders of a straightforward payment to the ex-Emperor for his temporal service, masking the agreement's true essence.

At Azaron's admission of the favor, Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor couldn't suppress a headshake; though he had preserved his son's life, the sensation lingered that he'd emerged the loser in this deal, yielding something irreplaceably precious.

Azaron's gaze moved to Emperor Zolthemir Lux Vanthelmor, who returned the stare steadily, a profound silence stretching between them anew, burdened with tacit comprehension, while Emperor Cyrvexis Lux Vanthelmor held his tongue, fully convinced Azaron would avoid any further rash actions.

After a pause, Azaron declared, "Thank your father for your life, and remember, this was his one and only favor, another does not exist. If this happens again, I will not just wipe out the Imperial family, I will obliterate the Empire itself," his voice shifting to a frigid edge at the idea of sparing the Emperor due to that obligation.

"Also, the Wargrave Ducal family will not be paying any taxes to the Royal family for the next century," he concluded resolutely, then spun around and strode off with steady, deliberate paces, Ender drifting alongside with a faint humming noise, as if it too grasped the colossal gravity of the moment just passed.