Chapter 26: Requiem

Omega woke up in the comfort of his room in his cabin. He lay on the bed, looking directly at the lantern hanging on the wooden ceiling.

He had rested comfortably from a deep sleep that night; he no longer felt dizzy. He felt somewhat energized compared to when he woke up somewhere in the Spawn Castle.

The simulation must've ended by now. He thought. I should get to Leader Splodger.

Despite how important these things were to him, it took him an hour and a half to move his legs off of his bed by an inch. He reached out for the cap on his nightstand and put it on his head. 

He went to a nearby stream to take a bath, then went straight to his changing room to wear a fresh, new set of clothes and apply a faint, yet sweet-smelling exotic perfume on.

After getting dressed, he picked up a vintage bottle of red wine from his cellar and placed it inside an ornate gift box. He then wrapped it with red grainy paper and sealed it with a yellow ribbon.

"Hmm, that'll do." said Omega, before taking the box and carrying it under his left arm. He extinguished the already dim campfire and checked for stuff he might bring.

…

Omega had arrived at the Spawn Castle and was immediately greeted by a scurrying MailBot at the entrance.

"Welcome, Omega! Allow me to escort you inside the castle."

The robot halted and waved its left arm at Omega in a stiff manner.

Omega declined its offer. "No need. I can go there myself."

“Affirmative.” The robot spun around, and speeded in front of Omega's way, causing it to lose balance and swing back and forth as it hurried. "Though I highly suggest letting me tour you around, as recruits and Marigold Order personnel need to familiarize themselves with the castle layout.

"As what now-?" he got cut off, in the middle of thinking to himself aloud.

"You have one new message from Leader Splodger." The robot took some time to decode the message, then began to read it out with its monotonous, digitized voice.

Omega leaned in closer to listen to whatever the MailBot said.

"To: Omega. You have been officially selected as one of the new moderating helpers, Congratulations! You must accept your new duty and take part in keeping the district safe, as well as aiding its citizens. See you in three days from now for the Accolade."

"Well, that's a surprise." Omega commented.

"Please sign this form." The MailBot handed Omega a pen and dispensed a piece of paper from a slot underneath its screen. 

"A contract? Alright." Omega carefully scanned through the paper, ensuring that he'll never miss anything. When he got done reading, he signed on the paper's bottom right, just above his printed name.

"Allow me to perform a quick scan to record your biometrics. This will be used to identify you whenever you need to access the backdoor. The door behind the throne, if you haven't had an idea what it is. Let me know if you confirm this request."

"Confirm." Omega didn't hesitate, allowing the MailBot to scan him.

It flashed some sort of holographic light blue line that went through Omega's body, from his head to his feet.

"Scan complete, welcome to the Marigold Order, Moderator Omega." the MailBot extended its hand as if it was asking for a handshake. Omega shook its hand in return, and it started heading for the door behind the throne. He followed the MailBot as it slowly moved toward the door.

"I've always figured what's behind this door," commented Omega, thinking out loudly to himself. "I honestly don't get why some people are obsessed with finding out what's behind this thing."

"Please stand in front of the door," instructed the MailBot.

Omega positioned himself in front of the door, while a scanning device took its time scanning him.

"Your first scan will take a little longer than expected, please be patient!"

The device made a ding, confirming the validity of Omega's entry.

"Enjoy your stay!"

The MailBot waved goodbye at Omega, as he went further within the room.

The dark oak door opened slowly with a creak. Behind it revealed a rather spacious, grandiose foyer with an equally grandiose circular staircase inlaid with gold carvings;  the hall itself was large enough that the dark oak door behind the throne pales far beyond in comparison.

The walls were mostly out of quartz blocks, with some chiseled ones featuring bas reliefs of knights— possibly depicting helpers and moderators from much older times— donning more archaic-looking armor, enacting some sort of heroic tale.

There were also avian-themed golden candelabras sticking out of the walls, just like in some rooms of the Spawn Castle.

The floor was out of checkered spruce and oak wood, while the ceiling was out of carved and polished stone, complete with a chandelier out of glimmering yellow crystal hung from the center.

From the grounds of the foyer, you could already see dozens of rooms labeled for different purposes.

Omega noted remarkable differences between the rooms from the second floor and the ground floor, with the doors from the ground floor being made out of iron and glass, while the ones from the second door were also made out of dark oak.

The first floor contained mostly public places for the members of the Marigold Order to use, like meeting rooms and a cafeteria full of rounded, wooden tables, while the second floor had offices intended for more specific and private uses. Omega didn't bother to check which rooms are which, though, as there are already signs right above each door that labeled what kind of room it was going to be.

He went straight for the stairs and climbed up to the second floor in search of the leader's office, finding himself in yellow and violet wallpapered hallways between rooms, all closed behind dark oak doors. Most of those rooms were personal offices of each moderator and other higher-ranking officials.

Above those doors were labels of names of the moderators whose workplaces were assigned to the rooms behind those doors. Omega recognized a few names, namely Kaiurii, being a previous participant of the Circle Trial and frequent patron at a local tavern, Ralius and Xyturial for being known as dedicated workers, and Azzer, who previously was one of the commanders from Lifeboat.

Eventually, he reached the end of the hallway. In front of him was the Leader's Office, behind two dark oak doors with golden floral engravings.

Knock knock!

Omega knocked on the door's elegant surface. A muffled voice from the inside was heard, saying "Wait for a moment, I will get to you sooner.".

He recognized that voice, it was none other than Leader Splodger himself.

Both of the doors were fully flung open from the inside, revealing Splodger in between, who just pulled the doors to the side.

"You must be Omega?" he asked.

"I am," replied Omega.

He did a low bow and reached out his right hand to Splodger.

"Greetings, Leader Splodger. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Greetings," Splodger held Omega's outstretched hand with both of his and shook them firmly. "Let's get inside, and have a seat."

The room's interior was quite small, although spacious enough to have room for a few people, likely Splodger and others who would come to his office.

The room had similar wallpaper and aesthetic as the others within the headquarters, although the pattern of the flooring and the materials used for the office was different, it was out of glazed terracotta, showing sky-related motifs such as suns, clouds, rain, and snow, and the four winds.

Landscape paintings featuring the Hive's landscape were hung on the wall, such as a view of the main island, panoramic paintings featuring the plains of Gaillardia; including the ruins, the Cliff of Moments Past, the cherry blossoms of Jay Blossom, and the huge gaping crater of Mourner's Nest.

Six large oak bookshelves that reached the ceiling could be found on the room's left and right sides, with three bookshelves on each side. Despite how grand they seemed, it was only filled with a few books. Omega tried to count each book on each shelf, and those he counted didn't even manage to use up all of his fingers, to say the least.

Further back and in the center was the Leader's desk. As the name implies, it is the leader's workplace where they usually do paperwork and arrange private meetings.

It consisted of a long, dark oak table with carvings of the district's coat of arms, three chairs; two smaller ones with purple cushions, and one that looked like a smaller version of the Spawn Castle's throne, where the leaders sat.

Behind the desk was a stained glass window featuring floral and natural designs; with the colors yellow, orange, and purple being the most prominent.

Omega took a seat on one of the small, cushioned chairs in front of Splodger's desk. Splodger followed, sitting on his miniature throne as well.

"This is for you."

Omega placed his presents on top of the table, beside the mountain of paperwork Splodger was dealing with recently.

"Ah, thank you, Omega."

Splodger smiled in approval, showing a liking to the gifts.

"No, it was worth the trouble." jested Omega.

"Anyways, you know why you're here." claimed Splodger.

"Not really," replied Omega. "I mean, I know I somehow became an Honorary Moderator, and I wasn't even a Helper at first to begin with."

"Well, you were already getting there," assured Splodger. "It's more of your dedication to the district and to everyone around you."

"Heh, can't really blame me on this one,"

Omega breathed a laugh and shrugged.

"I can't really afford to lose someone or something else again, it would be a shame if the district turns up really badly." Omega sighed.

He peered through the stained window, admiring the district's stony mountains and the lush plains peeking from outside.

"It's just nicer to be here, although I believe it could always be better."

"You don't really need to exhaust yourself, everyone here thinks it's the best." replied Splodger.

"Not really, I've yet to address some problems," Omega sighed. "Thankfully this meeting was arranged, I was about to tell you how inadequate our candidate’s experiences are and incompetent the order-”

"Sigh, as expected of you. You can stop right there for now," interrupted Splodger. "I personally chose you to become our Honorary Moderator as you have the experience and the dedication for the role."

"I'll accept that."

"You were a distinguished commander from Lifeboat, dubbed as the 'Hero of Eventide', even,"

"Okay, hold on," Omega interrupted, "That's great and all, but where did you get that?"

"I have my sources," answered Splodger. "As the deputy of ConCraft, you've brought a positive impact to the town and its citizens."

"Mhm, sure, I guess."

"You've also raised concern for the district, and that you've taken actions to keep everyone safe. I may have a lot more reasons but generally, those are why I personally chose you."

"I see where you're coming from, thank you for the kind words."

"You've known that the district had never had a win before, let alone previous experience from a win,"

Omega nodded.

"and that the Circle Trial is fast approaching. We don't have enough people to train our chosen candidates."

Splodger placed his hand over Omega's shoulder.

"I believe in you. So please, help us. Go out there, and help Conhadda and Enchanted to the best of your abilities. Life has so much to offer to them, and I know how much you value life."

Life has so much to offer to them, and I know how much you value life.

What Splodger said echoed throughout Omega's mind.

From now on, I will do everything I can to protect you, Diamond.

He remembered the oath that he swore by. Omega felt his chest tighten for a while, his face showing an expression of guilt. He felt regretful.

He saw a vision of Diamond slowly sinking underwater to her demise, on that day in a certain cold lake. His thoughts suddenly drifted and flashed to that moment Mandrake had Diamond pinned down to the ground.

It felt like time stopped around him again, just like on that unfortunate day. For such a simple request, he sure did think of a lot of things.

But Diamond died! There are rules against that! Your own rules! Surely you'll do the right thing?!

He remembered what he said after that incident, as clearly as the waters of Songbird Wisteria's three lakes.

Honorary Moderator,

Omega thought.

Yes, I now have the power to change the district the way I see fit. I am now my own rules. I will do the right thing.

Perhaps he knew the responsibility that came with becoming a Moderator of the Marigold Order.

After that, a rather grim vision appeared in his head. He saw Conhadda bleeding on the ground of the Global Games, dying from the ruthless hands of another district's candidate.

Enchanted wasn't spared either. Not long after the game started, he was already bloodied and unrecognizable, merely reduced to a pile of gore.

You won't let that happen again, would you? He asked himself.

"I will try," Omega answered. "From now on, I'll help the district to the best of my abilities."

"Then I expect good things from you, Omega,"

Splodger stood up and went to a spacious area within the room. He then took a sheathed ceremonial sword of some sort.

"Come here, I shall knight you."

Omega stood in front of Splodger, knelt, and bowed. Splodger then unsheathed the ornate ceremonial sword, and gently tapped it on both of Omega's shoulders.

"You have proven yourself to be an exceptional citizen of the Hive district. I bestow upon you the responsibilities of a Moderator. Welcome to the Marigold Order."

As Omega stood up, Splodger sheathed his sword again and handed it over to Omega.

"I'll give this to you."

"Thank you, Leader Splodger," said Omega. “You gave me an opportunity to turn things around, as well as this fine blade that will mark the start of my journey.”

Omega took the sword from Splodger and unsheathed it. The basket handle had a floral design— It looked as if golden flowering vines had crawled in such a way that covered the wielder's hand.

The sword itself had a slim, yet sharp, and polished golden blade, with floral markings. The sword seemed good as new, still giving off a bright glint under the sunlight.

“I shall call it ‘Requiem’,”

Omega examined the blade and looked at his own reflection on its golden surface.

“For this sword shall weave a new story; a song, that of remembrance, and new beginnings.”

He quietly slipped the golden sword inside the sheathe and hung it on his belt.

“It was an honor to meet you. Goodbye for now, I have other things to attend to.”

“My pleasure,” replied Splodger. “I too am glad to have met you. Good luck on your future endeavors, may you succeed in doing your part.”

“Until next time.”

Omega walked his way outside the office, closing the doors behind him as he exited the room.