Chapter 12: Bargain Between Two Worlds

Imperial Palace, Sadera, Falmart

The palace was silent, only echoed with the sounds of footsteps clattered against the stone floor.

The guards stood perfectly still, trained their entire lives for a battle that never came.

A lone figure walked across the massive hallway, decorated with dangling lanterns and imperial banners. She was clad in nothing but ragged cloth, barely covering her body. Tyuule, however, didn't think much of it, she had endured such humiliation for three years and nothing much had changed.

In her calloused hands, she grasped a silver tray with a loaf of stale bread. Tyuule remained mostly indifferent as she walked in the hallway, ignoring the glare she'd got from the guards.

After minutes of walking, the Bunny Warrior reached her destination. It was an entrance to the lower dungeon, guarded by two imperial soldiers armed with steel swords. They paid little attention to her, seeing her face was a daily occurrence for them, thus only a spare glance was given before Tyuule was allowed inside.

The Bunny Warrior used every willpower she could muster to suppress the trauma she had endured within these cells. The humiliation and atrocities Zolzal had done to her were unbearable, some of her memories were so traumatising that it was just a blur in her mind, flashes of nightmares that often wake her up at night.

The bunny demi-human eventually met her objective, there were three of them. A cyclops, a lamia and a dogfolk. Her focus, however, was mainly at the monoeye. She was pathetic, sobering and whimpering on the cold floor, both wrists wrapped in chains.

Tyuule regarded the girl. She didn't seem like a mage, this person seemed far from capable of conjuring spells but Tyuule supposed looks can be deceiving.

The Bunny Warrior settled the tray to the floor, gently pushing it towards them. "Eat," she commanded softly.

They didn't approach the food, only stared at it. Tyuule empathised with them but was forced to remain stoic, less she wanted to bristle the guards. The Bunny Warrior stood, regarded the monoeye one last time before she left.

Tyuule mentally noted herself regarding that girl. Now that Zolzal had managed to capture a magic user, she could use it to her advantage.

On her way out, she stumbled upon another prince of the Empire, Diabo. Known for his cowardly nature.

The man had dull brown hair reaching to his neck, sharp chin and a pair of amber eyes. He barely paid any attention to her, only cast a simple glance before moving on.

Tyuule, however, caught the disgust in his eyes, a thought that flickered in his mind, judging and scrutinising the former queen of her position. The Warrior Bunny remained silent of his gaze as they passed and internally scowled.

This humiliation, this degradation and suffering. It was not how she imagined her future would be.

Her dream for a prosperous kingdom, uniting all of the tribes together as a single and powerful force was shattered. Her dream to be a powerful queen ruling over a mighty nation had all become nothing more than fantasy.

Her people now fragmented and scattered, becoming slaves and criminals.

Her support had all but evaporated as she learnt that her own tribes now loathed her and wanted nothing more than her blood on their hands.

Tyuule traipsed to her cell, it reeks of sweat and pisses but it was her only place to slumber. She slumped to a slab that had become her bed.

"My Mistress," uttered a lecherous voice, from beneath her bed. It sounded more like a squeal of animals than the voice of a person. "I have a report."

Tyuule groaned, she had met the ratkin several years ago, during her time serving the prince. He claimed himself to be a leader of the Haryo Tribe and was here to assist her to topple the Empire from within.

Tyuule was no fool. She knew a trickster when she saw one and had contemplated killing him, but after further reconsideration, the Bunny Warrior deemed the ratkin to be important for future events.

Thus, here he was, hiding under the shadow like the rat he is. Tyuule wasn't sure herself if she truly regretted the decision, but at least the rat subhuman was useful.

Tyuule dangled one of her legs, a daily ritual she had done so many times, it had become numb to her, no longer showing any visible disgust over it. The ratkin skittered forward and licked her leg, savouring its taste. His fur latched onto her rag but Tyuule paid no attention to it. "Give me the report, Bouro."

"There had been rumours that the force of Alnus managed to defeat four vassal kingdoms in a week and cause disarray across the imperial land," Bouro replied. "There are also unrelated reports of the Fire Dragon's absence."

Tyuule sighed, all of the information was useless. She only knew half of the story and most of it was only from tales of oblivious citizens or misinformed guards. She needed more reliable sources. "They manage to defeat the Allied Kingdom?"

"It appears to be so," Bouro stated as his tongue massaged her calf, raising his face closer to her thigh. Tyuule pulled her limb before the degenerate would continue any further.

"I don't need you anymore," the Bunny Warrior muttered stoically. "Go back to your hole."

"But-"

"Go back," she hissed, the ratkin immediately crawled into the shadow and skittered into his makeshift hole he had burrowed years ago. Tyuule stared at the ceiling, the otherworlders' strength was unexpected, she had disregarded them to be a mere nuisance to the Empire but instead, they had caused far more trouble to Sadera.

Tyuule managed a smile, at least she got to see the Empire squirmed like children, even if it were for a fleeting moment.

Italica, Falmart

The golems had all been destroyed, what remained of their bodies returned into the earth.

The Pigeons flew and hovered over the airspace of Italica, scanning for any signs of resistance.

The surviving bandits were gathered into a massive crowd which they were monitored by the Hunters, armed with Light Piercer.

Lucas stood and observed the scene around him, it was a contrast from the usual battle he was involved in the past. There were no screaming civilians, no burning buildings or irradiated area.

This battle was relatively peaceful compared to the carnage of the galaxy. The Pigeon pilot he had conversed with before informed him that some of the bandits would be taken into their custody, that is if their negotiation with the town ruler was successful.

The magic users, however, were separated from the rest and kept within one location. Each was locked with astral nullification collars. Specialised neckwear that generates Void energy, subsequently nullifying their access to the Astral Realm.

Emily used her powers to attempt and rebuild the wall, it was imperfect but her action was enough to lift a month worth of workload. Rory appeared beside her, the girl's halberd glistened under the sun, the silver blade painted with thick crimson.

Emily ignored the apostle and continued her work, lifting and placing the stone into its place. She had learned a neat trick she saw from heating food. Once the rubbles were emplaced she vibrated the atoms, slightly melting the materials before re-solidified it.

It was sloppy and crude, but effective. The wall was slowly reconstructed, shaping it back to its former shape.

Lucas approached, the blood had yet to be washed away. His azure eyes admired her work, staring at the ethereal force as it morphed the stone structure under her will.

His gaze flickered at the flock of civilians witnessing the powers of Emily. Some in awe, others in curiosity and few in fear.

The melodic hum of the Pigeons was the only sound that reverberated between the flicker of flames and the whispers of people. "I think it's time to talk with the princess," Lucas muttered.

Emily remained focused, as her ears flicked. She lowered her arm and glanced at the apostle. Even after the carnage, the savagery and the bloodied mess, he remained to be a radiant golden sun amongst the dreaded darkness.

The kitsune blushed and stifled her sigh, even after all these centuries, her feelings had yet to dissolve. "I'm glad you didn't use your gun," Emily stated, placing the last piece of rubbles onto the wall.

Lucas tilted his head, "I thought you're the one who told me to use the gun?"

"Yes, and I'm not happy with myself," Emily replied. She grabbed Lucas' arm and inspected for any signs of cellular degradation.

The mystic gun was ancient technology, way back during the Age of Ascension. A powerful weapon created by the precursor humans and enhanced by Pantheonic sorcery.

Emily detests whenever Lucas was forced to expend even a portion of Anarchius during battle. A bane power antithesis to Celestium, a corrupted force designed to deteriorate the essence of divinity.

It was a curse the Shepyr had embedded into his cells, a flawed but powerful affinity that the nekomata had to endure for almost two and a half centuries as his own powers clawed and ravaged his body.

The kitsune frowned as she caught the sight of a black network of veins under his skin, slowly pulsating and dissolved. She glanced at the neko, "you need a rest. You can't do that again."

Lucas gently pulled his arm and suspired. "If I'm lucky, I won't."

Formal Palace, Italica

The silence was the only thing permeating the room. The light illuminated from the window cast into the interior, refracted within Myui's glass of water.

She firmly grasped her glass, heart beating anxiously. The Countess wordlessly sat on her chair and let Pina converse with the otherworlders.

The nightmare of her father, during which she had trouble falling asleep, kept haunting her. Myui had heard rumours of the otherworlders prior to their meeting but disregarded it as nothing more than nonsensical hearsay. However, when she heard the panicked reports from the messengers of Italica's inevitable defeat, they were met with the arrival of the iron birds. The maids all gathered near the balcony to witness the power of the otherworlders, tagging their Countess along to see.

From the mansion, there was not much to observe other than flashes of light and thunderous roar.

It was much later when Flare's throne had fully risen from the horizon and hung above the sky, casting its radiant glow over the mortal plane that they had a clear sight over the eastern wall.

They saw massive columns of smoke and fire, heard the angry growl of the iron birds as they unleashed the wrath equivalent to a dragon. The citizens of Italica felt as the ground shook, even from a distance.

A hail of blue sparks rains down their enemy mercilessly, leaving no resistance against them.

What Myui witnessed in the morning was nothing compared to the tales she heard much later of the six otherworlders who faced off against an army of ninety thousand. None of them was even injured, only suffering from minor exhaustion.

Stories of the catfolk's strength were told across the city of Italica, how he fought with a fury of a thousand warriors, even matching the might of Rory.

Pina herself confirmed the rumours as she and her knight witnessed their might with their own eyes.

Myui now understood how her father's expedition was defeated. She and the rest of the maids in the room now knew the severity of this war and was rightfully terrified.

The catfolk didn't seem that much older than Pina, in fact, he was physically younger than her but now that they realised his true nature, Myui wondered how old he truly was.

As of currently, he was representing the otherworlders as their negotiator.

Myui glanced at the rest. An elf, a dogfolk, a harpy and two fox people. She had realised it before but now that she truly appraised every single one of them did she grasped something significant.

These otherworlders were the living manifestation of her father's wish, a dream to see a world of unified race, a world where different species harmoniously lived together. They were living proof that her father was not as insane and foolish as the other nobles had claimed.

Her father's dream was possible.

Amidst her deep brooding, Myui suddenly caught an interesting topic during their negotiation. The girl shifted her attention back to the conversation.

"We will only take a portion of your prisoners," Lucas announced. "Less than half if I may."

"O- of course," Pina stammered. Her heart still rattled after the battle, "what else do you want?"

"The right to trade with this city," answered the apostle. "With no tax imposed over us."

Their demands had been relatively reasonable thus far but Myui was not naive. They would eventually request something that would be too much for her city to bear, much like the Empire has before.

"The next demand would be your pledge to the Alliance," Lucas declared, his eyes focused solely towards Myui.

Pina was stunned, the catfolk had outright said to her face and demanded Italica to be under their boots. She had fought hard to obtain this city and in the end, it fell under their grasp.

Myui was not as shocked, but the weight of such a declaration sunk her heart. Her grips tightened on her chair, unable to do anything but sit and watched as her people would be under these demi-humans' subjugation, but then a deeper part of her spoke, silently whispered into the back of her head, 'what's so bad about that?'

Grey, the member of the Rose Order, was greatly infuriated. "I apologise, but I don't think that is possible."

Lucas glanced at him, his piercing azure glare shuddered the knight. "I think you misunderstood, I only ask this city to pledge under us but we won't do anything to impose over your citizens." He turned his head back at the girl, she tensed under his gaze.

There was no malevolence behind his eyes, but the radiant intensity was intimidating.

"What?" Muttered the princess, she held Grey back, she did not wish to anger the apostle, not after she had witnessed.

"I only ask for Italica's loyalty, I don't care if you want to continue your relationship with the Empire. I don't think it's unreasonable for our government to demand your loyalty is it?" Lucas stated. "We don't ask much other than your cooperation."

"What kind of cooperation?" Pina pressed, she felt uneasy with their proposal, there seem to be many ways this agreement would greatly inconvenience Italica.

Lucas sighed, "unfortunately that is not mine to decide. That is entirely up to our leader."

"Are you saying Italica will need to bow down to your kingdom?" Pina scowled.

The apostle was not daunted by her glare, he had faced enemies far more frightening than a mere princess. Lucas cringed as he was about to state the next word, "what other choice does this city have, than death?"

Pina stared directly into his eyes. She was stunned, not because of the boldness of his words but the grimace hidden behind his retina. He didn't say that out of malice but merely stating indisputable facts.

The Enforcer remained silent, only an observer of the conversation. Enigma examined the princess as her heartbeat elevated before she murmured something under her breath.

"But enough with the negotiation," Lucas changed the subject. "About Count Formal…"

The maids were the first to react, their ears flickered at the mentioning of the name. Myui's head perked, her face morphed to dreaded anticipation.

"He wanted to talk to you," Lucas said, directly toward the Countess. The girl blinked, unsure whether she heard it right.

Myui could only respond with one word. "What?"

"Your father wanted to talk to you," Lucas stated.

The Countess' eyes widened, tears trickled down her cheek. "My father? Is he…"

"He's fine, I can assure you that," the catfolk affirmed.

Clover District, New Yox, Terra

An ivory starship descended from the atmosphere, its arcane engine hummed silently. Unlike cargo or military ships, this one was designed to be aesthetically pleasing, sacrificing practicality.

It glided through the air and landed at the designated landing pad, where two Mannequin droids waited for the arrival of the starship.

A moment after it landed, the flat surface of the vessel folded itself into a ramp, in which multiple individuals exited.

Amongst those who walked out of the ship was a particular minotaur, personally sent by Eren Winter to be the corporate's representative.

Vilo grunted, inhaling Terran air. It was not like what was promised from the advertisements, the atmosphere reek of artificial oxygen. Not a single natural tree could be seen anywhere on the surface of Terra.

The buildings were magnificent but weren't something he hadn't seen before. The sound of heavy footsteps distracted his mind. Vilo darted, caught a glance of an Asgardian apostle.

The minotaur scowled, he did not expect the presence of a Sub-Pantheon here.

"What forces summoned thou foul company here?" Thor boomed irritatedly.

"Money," Vilo boldly answered. If this was a different demi-god, he dared not to anger them, especially of the Asgardian faction. However, he had met Thor before and knew what kind of person he is.

Thor grunted, "as expected of gold suckling ague."

"What are yer doin' here then?" Vilo countered.

"My presence is by the All-Father's will. Asgard had never felt such a mystical frore since the death of the Old Gods," replied Thor indifferently.

The minotaur scoffed, "yeah right… 'god' my ass."

"Spout whatever you want mortal, but our kin had mastered the stars before your ancestors even discovered fire," Thor stated. "Without our guidance, you would be nothing but a cave-dwelling bovine till the end of times."

"Till the end of time? Fuck off. We don't even need yer so-called 'guidance' ya cock sucking ax wanker," Vilo spat. "Da humie did it fine without ya help, neither shall us."

"But thou art not humans," Thor muttered. "And shalt never be one."

"Gentlemen, you can all bicker later," a voice disrupted their argument.

Vilo turned to face a high elf. Her beauty was common amongst her kind, naturally shaped without any assistance of genetic reconstruction or cellular modification.

"Vilo Urdos," the elf muttered stoically as she glared at the minotaur. She seemed unimpressed.

"You know me?" Vilo questioned, regarding the woman before him. She had brown hair reaching to her back, floating diamond earrings dangled on her ears. Her eyes were the colour of the sun, bright golden. And her ivory skin contrasted the darkness of her attire.

"The 'greatest mercenaries alive'? Yes, I've heard of you," stated the woman.

Vilo grunted, "what do you want?"

"The colonel wanted to speak with you," said the elf, her eyes solely focused on her tablet.

"Show me da place," the minotaur stated. "I'll go talk to ya boss."

The elf silently led the minotaur to meet her colonel. The entire Clover District had been reformed into a military base, with a light presence of military vehicles and armed personnel. Vilo also noticed a bulk number of researchers and scholar magi studying the nature of the Gate, hidden inside an adamantine dome.

Vilo was led into a building, what was once a motel had now transformed into a military base. The plain cuboid structure was an odd sight amongst the graceful skyscrapers around them. He took note of the material used to construct the base, a simple plasteel transfused with dlarun metal.

He was mildly perplexed that they had access to halfling's metallurgy, dlarun development was pretty rare near the Orion sector. However, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised considering that Terra was the nexus of Alliance's wealthy ecumenopolis planet, where multitudes of different races flocked to live a perfect life.

Vilo huffed at the thought. His eyes darted toward the crystalline skyscrapers, few of which reached kilometres in height. Compared to half the worlds in the galaxy, Terra was like paradise. A world without ceaseless churning of industrial smog, claustrophobic throng city or the boring life of agri-world. It was no mystery why most species in the Alliance would want to raise a family here.

He silently chuckled at the thought. Although Terra was probably one of the few planets in the galaxy where people regardless of background, history, culture and family could live a prosperous life, it was not the perfect paradise as it made itself to be.

There's a reason why Terra's suicide rate was higher than 15%. Not everyone was fit with such a wealthy but stressful lifestyle.

Once they've entered the building, Vilo assessed all of the military personnel within the structure. To see so many different species in a single planet was an odd sight, he couldn't experience this back in his homeworld. The moderated presence of automated machines in the facility was not something he expected. He had assumed they would utilise more robots since Terra was an ecumenopolis.

Eventually, they arrived at the administrative office. The room was far warmer than the rest of the base, a regulated thermal system rarely integrated within a military base.

The interior was small, with a long rectangular levi-table occupying the majority of the space. A floating ring wielding six glowing crystals affixed on the ceiling illuminated the room.

Vilo saw a female gorgon clad in standard Enforcer uniform. Her green serpentine hair slithered and animated whilst both her eyes remained focused on the minotaur. The mercenary found her species' biology to be confusing.

Each strand of her hair had its own circulatory system, fully developed muscle tissue and nervous system that was entirely separated from the gorgon's own bodily system. If any of the snake-like hair were harmed, the gorgons themselves were not afflicted in spite of the fact that the 'hair' itself displayed a reaction commonly associated with pain.

She held out her hand and gestured to the minotaur to take a seat. "Mr Urdos, my name is Colonel Lena Tezen. Please, take a seat."

"I must say, Colonel," Vilo uttered as he sat. "I'm impressed by how fast yer Enforcers terraformed Clover. I almost don't recognise this place."

"You've been here before?" Lena said as she sat adjacent to him.

"Just in VR," Vilo answered. "Now, before we got sidetracked, let's talk business."

"There is a part of the Omega Region, near the north pole of the planet, a large landmass that fits your Corpos' demand," the Gorgon stated as she activated a holographic projection of the planet they had dubbed as the 'Omega Region'.

Vilo arched his eyebrow, "Omega Region? Is that da best ya science folk could come up with?"

"The name is temporary, but that's not important," Lena stated. "What I want here is simple. Transparency."

Vilo quietly tilted his head, waiting for her to continue before he would interject.

"I know your corporate types and I don't want any shady deals or some twisted technicalities, are we clear?" Lena glared at the minotaur. Her serpentine hair hissed as a dose of neural receptor leaked from her hypothalamus into her hair's primitive reptilian brain.

"We will bring 250,000 infantry, 1500 vehicles and 3000 automatons for da first division an' that's it. No games, no tricks," Vilo phrased.

"I doubt that," exhaled Lena. She tapped the hologram. It flickered before shimmering into another image, displaying the structure of Lodestone Base. "The Corpos will be occupying the east wing of the base for now. Until we can set up a proper reconnaissance near the planet's northern region, you'll have to stay with us."

"I'm fine with that," Vilo uttered.

"Remember this; no funny business. Got it?" The gorgon scowled.

"Clear as a crystal."

Formal Mansion, Italica, Falmart

The otherworlders had yet again another surprise for her. This time in the form of strange illusion magic, floating indefinitely at the centre of the room.

The ethereal glow of the spell was fascinating to watch. She could see as the light flickered and wavered.

"What do you call this again…?" Myui murmured, just loud enough that it broke the silence.

"Hologram, holo-screen or holo-projector. Those names are interchangeable," the dark-clad dogfolk answered stoically. Her attitude reminded Myui of Mamina, one of the Bunny Warrior maids her father had recruited.

The dogfolk tapped the 'hologram', strange shapes and images manifested.

The maids couldn't help but stare at the magical display, the way it shifted and warped. None of them ever saw such magic before, even less to see a demi-human perform magic themselves.

"Be ready," the dogfolk voiced.

Myui tensed, she was unsure how this would help her converse with her father but hope wasn't something she wanted to abandon now. For days and nights had she locked herself in her room after the news of her father's defeat and his apparent death. She had lost hope once and dared to not succumb to it again.

The maids mourned, but she was the most affected. When her sisters came, she expected condolence and support from them but instead, they fought each other over the right to be her guardian.

After everything she had done to pray to the gods, rituals after rituals were done. Multiple deeds were conducted to summon her father back, but none of her prayers was answered. She was met with cold silence.

The image distorted before taking a form. Myui and the maids' eyes widened at the sight.

"M- Myui?" A voice muttered, a voice she had so longed to hear. An intangible body materialised, revealing Count Formal.

Tears threatened to be spilt, her body shuddered and her hands raised to her unhinged jaw. Myui stared unbelievingly, her thoughts were like the whirlwind of an endless storm. Her response was delayed before the tide of emotions came crashing down, Myui leapt from her seat and approached the incorporeal form of her father.

"Father? Father, is that really you?" She didn't even try to hide her emotions, tears trickled to her cheek. "Please tell me-"

Count Colt Formal wasn't known to be an emotional man, always kept his emotions in check. However, this was an exceptional occasion. He cried, like his daughter, a gentle chuckle escaped his lips. "Yes, it is me. We have so much to talk about."

"We will leave this matter to your hands," Lucas said as he urged the rest to head towards the door.

Pina observed the magic being displayed. While she was happy for the girl to meet her father, she couldn't help but focus on the sorcery being presented. To be able to talk at such a long distance instantaneously was without a doubt a massive advantage in terms of logistical point of view.

A garrison could easily summon reinforcement without a messenger, a commander could easily mobilise an entire army from his tent and a king could easily summon his knights from his castle.

Grey also seemed to realise it, being a veteran in combat meant that he had the eye of a warrior. He imagined that a single soldier of theirs could summon the same iron bird quickly before the Empire could even muster a proper garrison.

The aged knight shuddered at the thought, the imperial military was at a severe disadvantage.

"Myui, are you well?" Colt asked, his voice was gentle, unlike the mighty warrior Grey had known him to be.

The girl feverishly nodded, her bobbing head looked almost comical. "How about your father? Are you hurt?"

Colt chuckled, he didn't seem like a prisoner of war at all. "I am fine Dear, they treat me well."

"They do?" Pina questioned curiously.

"Perhaps it was a difference in culture or simply because they are not as arrogant and cruel as we humans are," Colt's gaze flickered at the maids with a warm smile.

Grey bristled at the statement, that was not true at all. Demi-humans were far more savage and barbaric than humans, one could easily see proof of the old tribe of the Bunny Warrior, the collective clan of the catfolk and the medusas of the southern savannah.

"Colt Formal," Pina stated, her glare hardened. "Tell me, what happened to the imperial expeditionary force?"

Colt stared for a moment before he frowned. Images flooded into his mind, the explosion, the fire bolt and steel beast were all but a blur. Then he remembered why they're dead in the first place and his scowl deepened, an accusatory glare was directed at the princess. "They are all dead, and it is all because of your father's will."

The princess gasped before she stammered. "W- what?"

"I've warned the Emperor. I've warned your father about this," Colt muttered.

Grey stepped forward. "Watch your tongue Count Formal."

However, the moment he uttered those words, the maids tensed and glared. Colt remained unconcerned as he glared directly at Grey. "It is the truth."

"Father, where are you currently?" Myui interjected before her father would further agitate the knight.

"I'm inside their large prison camp," Colt answered. "This place is far larger than even the imperial capital."

"They built a prison the size of an entire state?" Hamilton murmured in disbelief.

"Not just that, you should've seen their city. It was magnificent," Colt said.

"Enough with petty talk," Pina interrupted. "I need to know more about their military force. What can you tell me about them?"

Staring at the eye of an intangible construct was strange. This entire conversation felt alien to her. The ability to converse with another person from a world away instantaneously was ridiculous, any sane man would've called her mad if she were to tell them that.

Colt shifted his position, his eyes seemed to be focused toward somewhere else before he glanced back at the princess. "They are undefeatable."

"Yes, I've seen their iron birds and their elite warriors. I just want you to tell me about the rest of their military strength," Pina dismissed.

"Elite warriors? You mean the apostle?"

"Yes, and his entourage of steel wielding combat mages. I just want to know about their ordinary soldiers and how they fought," Pina replied, desperate for answers.

Colt was momentarily confused before his mind clicked, the old man stared before he chuckled. Insulted, the princess raised her voice, "Count Formal I would appreciate for you to tell me what you know-"

"They're not elite warriors," Colt answered, which stunned his daughter by his sudden hardened demeanour. "Whatever you see in Italica, those are just ordinary soldiers of theirs."

"WHAT?!" Pina, Hamilton, Grey and even his daughter exclaimed simultaneously.

Pina felt her legs wobbled, she felt as her knees collapsed. Myriads of thoughts filtered into her head as she realised every single person in their army wields the same weapon, every single soldier had the strength of a hundred men, every warrior had the ability to kill as much as an apostle.

She refused to accept such a reality, she denied such a notion. It was unthinkable, it was nonsensical, that even a mad man would find it laughable. "This can't be true. You must be mistaken."

Colt sighed in defeat, he had accepted the truth the moment he laid eyes on the beautiful city of New Yox. "I'm afraid it is what it is, Your Highness."

"Father…?" Myui expressed, her meek voice breaking the conversation. She nervously uttered her next sentence, "what will happen to Italica now?"

Colt leaned forward, instinctively trying to comfort his daughter before realising such action was unfeasible. The man smiled, assuring her daughter with his fatherly presence. "I can promise you this, my daughter. Italica is in good hands, better in fact than the Empire-"

"Excuse me!?" Pina exclaimed, greatly insulted by his words.

"The Empire had imposed ridiculous taxes on Italica and demanded more crops than I can feed my people," Colt remarked. "I am done dealing with Sadera."

Pina felt as if a heavy clay poured into her heart and dropped into her stomach. The princess only stared, unable to give a proper reaction to such a profound statement. There was not even anger on her face, just shock.

In the end, she could only muster, "why?"

"You know why," Colt replied simply with no further clarification. His tone was nowhere near the voice of disdain, in fact, he was speaking rather courteously, but the disparity between his collected attitude and harsh words was off-putting for the princess.

"And you think those beastmen would treat you better?" Grey questioned as he ignored the glare he got from the maids.

"They treat prisoners with respect. Who else can I trust than those who respect their enemy?" Colt countered.

Grey strongly disagreed with such ideology, the reason the Empire was so feared in the first place was that they did not show weakness. The aged knight frowned, even with incredible powers, those beastfolk still had the mind of a weakling.

That compassion could be easily exploited.

The knight brooded, he had been a warrior for more than thirty years and combat was something of a daily basis for him, he had seen such weakness before and had seen those exact compassion exploited in the past.

"Just you know this Myui, Italica will now be under the jurisdiction of the Alliance," Colt continued to talk with his daughter. "I can assure you they will not take advantage of Italica."

"Wait, how can you be so sure!?" Pina tried to reason. "How about the Empire? How about-"

"I've already pledged to their empire, nothing will change that," Colt stated boldly.

"An empire?" Hamilton muttered. "They are an empire?"

"That's ridiculous," Pina voiced her opinion.

Myui scowled at the princess and her grip tightened on her glass, "my father is anything but a liar, Your Highness."

"It is true, Your Highness. The Alliance wield authority over multiple continents, or if I were to be bold, the entire world," replied Colt.

"Are you saying they had conquered their own world?" Pina voiced her horror. The Empire had always boasted themselves to be the largest faction in the world, even dwarfing the combined power of all the Allied Kingdoms.

Lucas and the rest stood outside, waiting for their discussion to be over. His inhuman ears were able to pick up some of what was said behind the doors, but he filtered most of it from his conscious mind.

His eyes darted at the arched windows, watched the looming presence of the Pigeon roaming the calm, azure sky.

He could see crowds below throwing flowers, erecting banners and performing dances for the fighter craft. Lucas smiled at the scene, it was chaotic yet paradoxically serene all the same.

Their joyful laughter was a contrast to the horrified expression of the battle.

These were the little moments that he enjoyed in life, to see the innocent joy of others. So untainted, uncorrupted and pure. Their laughter and joy was a reminder to the purpose of his life.

Of course, he was not naive. No single sapient entity in existence was wholly innocent, everyone had their own flaws. But those imperfections were one of the few things he appreciated, an enigmatic aspect of the universe that gave life some semblance of meaning.

His ears flicked at the presence of another apostle approached him from behind. He averted his attention, only to stare at the lustful gaze of the black-haired demi-goddess.

"How old are you?" Rory suddenly asked, her voice had a heavy tone of flirtatious. "You fought with the skill of a thousand years."

Lucas ignored her attempt to gain his reaction and answered, "I'm two hundred and sixty, why?"

"You're less than half a millennia?" Rory questioned, genuinely surprised. "Wait, so that means you're younger than me?"

"How old do you think I am?"

"It took me nine centuries for me to achieve this level of combat skill but you manage to match my skill for only two and a half centuries?" Rory took a step back, appraised the neko in much finer details.

"If you're asking me 'how', the answer is not pretty," Lucas absentmindedly answered.

Rory was about to question when she felt a light grip on her shoulder, Emily gently pulled her away from Lucas. Her expression was stoic, she cast Rory a glance the apostle would easily understand, the demi-goddess glanced back at Lucas whose eyes remained at the window.

"There is some secret that must be kept to be hidden," Emily whispered to Rory as she was dragged.

The apostle blinked, surprised by the statement before she cast a final glance at the silver-haired catfolk. She could only imagine the circumstances he lived to achieve such a feat and from Emily's expression, she could easily deduct it to be something unpleasant.

Rory quelled her curiosity for now, despite her often abrasive personality, she was respectable enough to not pry with other's private matters. She decided to ask regarding another matter, "Emily…"

The kitsune tilted her head, both ears perked upward.

"About this 'psychic'. I still find its concept odd. You claim it is not magic?" Rory inquired.

"No, it's not."

The apostle stared directly to her eyes, the confusion apparent in her eyes. "Then what is it?"

As they paced away from the rest, Emily halted. It was the same question as one of her students asked her; 'what is psychic?' The Grandmaster of Psychon smiled at the memory before she answered, "well do you know what magic is at least?"

Rory arched her eyebrow before answering, as an apostle and representative of gods, magic was not something she was willfully ignorant of. "It is a primordial force that permeates around us, a will of the gods capable of bending the foundation of existence and warping the pillar of elements. A mage is capable of exerting magic from the air and alter existing elements by manipulating with the tether that binds all things."

Emily nodded, what Rory said was more or less the basic principles of thaumaturgy in its crudest description. No wonder why they barely were able to utilise magic to its full potential when their understanding of it was grossly simplified. "You are… kinda right about that."

"Kinda?"

Emily paused and tapped her lens-bracelet, hoping that she was in enough range for the quasi-tether to reach the astranet. The kitsune groaned at the lack of reception and closed her device. "I suppose I should explain to you with my mouth so bear with me."

Rory decided to take a seat on one of the benches in the mansion, settling her halberd beside her.

"Magic, or we like to call it; thaumaturgy, is a term used regarding the study or relation of the Astral Realm. A sub-dimension existed in a different plane of space and time," Emily exclaimed. "To keep it simple, it is the study of everything related to a plane of reality known as the Astral Realm, in which magic originated."

Rory remained silent as she absorbed the information. That statement resembled so much to the theory of a Rondel scholar, Aqeullia Bendt, who proposed a hypothetical statement that stated magic derived from an existence of a higher dimension and all magic users draw its powers from said dimension.

Although that theory wasn't entirely rejected, it was so loosely based that the proposal was regarded as nonsense. However, few scholars deemed to expand Aqeullia's theory, thus sprouted into a more intricate branch of ideas based upon Aqeullia's original theory.

"The 'Astral Realm'?" Rory muttered, it was the first she had heard the so-called magical dimension was given an actual name instead of a vague description. "I still don't understand how this correlated with psychic."

"To understand the principles of psychic, you need to know the concept of magic and the difference between the two," Emily declared. "Besides, it doesn't hurt to learn something new now does it?"

"Go on then," murmured Rory.

"Everything involved sorcery is the result of Astral Realm, a reality that is filled with esoteric matter, energy and entirely different laws of physi- laws of the universe," Emily glimpsed at Rory, hoping that the psionic translator would've converted the word 'universe' into something comprehensible.

She could go on and clarify the four fundamental forces of the universe but decided to not confuse the demi-goddess and instead went with a simpler explanation.

"While magic is the manipulation of reality through the Astral Realm, psionic is the manipulation of reality through realspace," Emily emphasised the last word.

"Realspace?"

"The reality that you currently exist now. That is realspace," Emily imparted. As a demonstration, she raised her hand and displayed as dust particles swirled above her palm. "If you could feel it. I am using no mana whatsoever."

"Interesting," Lelei suddenly appeared, surprising the kitsune.

"Why are you here? I thought you're supposed to trade those scales?" Emily inquired.

Lelei, whose gaze was still glued to the display of psychic powers answered. "I already did."

"How did you get here?"

"The maids let us in," Tuka answered behind Lelei. Her specially designed Adruin Primaxis clothing matched the girl perfectly, as it was tailored to suit her elven nature. Since elves were more innately theurgic sensitive regardless of their sorcerous capability, each nano-constructed thread had a trace of heavily impure Arcanium to bathe her skin with a calm wave of mystical energy only her kind could feel.

In a nutshell, it was designed to be comfortable for her species.

"Please continue your explanation about psychics," Lelei muttered, greatly interested in the topic. She had spent most of her time with magic and only knew of its existence. Never had she heard the concept of 'psychic' before and its mysterious influence over physical objects fascinates her.

"Lelei, you're a mage. Tell me more about magic," Emily tried to discern the sorcerer's level of comprehension. With how basic and crude their spellcraft were, she could only guess the extent of their knowledge.

"It is the manipulation of a higher dimension, pulling the strings of reality. By bending the axis of dimensions of the eter, seter-"

"-keter and feiter. The four axes of the Astral Realm," Emily interjected with a smile. "So you do understand the basics of magic."

Lelei puzzled at the term 'Astral Realm' but remained quiet. She had accepted all the strange phrases and words used by these 'Alliance' as a part of their culture.

"Unlike magic, psychic is a force originated from one's mind, not from an external source. While magic is the manipulation and bending of the immaterial, psychic is the manipulation and bending of the material," Emily concluded.

"What source of power does psychic draw from?" Lelei asked. "I understand that magic drew its powers from the manipulation of mana but what energy fuels psychics?"

"Esper," Emily provided. "Although unlike 'mana', it is simply a form of a vibrational wave, affecting the physical space-time fabric via the power of the mind."

"But isn't magic also the results of the mind?" Lelei asked, confused.

"Yes, but spells are shaped by imagination and knowledge of mages. Psionic force is powered purely by sheer willpower and cognitive ability."

"What's the difference between magic and psychic then?" Tuka interjected, leaning forward to observe the floating particles dancing on Emily's palm. "The way I see it, it just seems to be powerful wind magic."

Before Emily could answer, Lelei provided an explanation based upon her understanding. "It is not wind manipulation, that is something else entirely."

The kitsune admired the girl's intelligence and noted herself to converse with the mage more in the future. "That is correct. It is the bending of space and time."

The natives blinked in confusion. Lelei was the first to question, "how can space and time be bent?" The statement was Illogical in all sense.

Space is everywhere, it encompasses things that existed, the very concept that it could be 'fold' was equivalent to claim that a person could 'walk back into yesterday' it was nonsensical, to say the least.

Emily scratched her head, it was difficult to explain the concept of gravity to people who hadn't even known the existence of another world. She decided with a simple but effective explanation as she grabbed a sheet of paper with her mind.

Using her telekinesis, the kitsune concentrates fine dust into different sizes of balls. "Space, as we experience, is a three-dimensional axis; up-down, left-right and front-back, or X, Y, Z axes."

Her powers rippled through the surface of the paper, testing her mastery over it.

"The surface of this paper only had two axes," Emily demonstrates by mentally moving the ball across the surface of the paper. "As you can see here-" she released some control over the spheres and it descended lower into the paper. "If I pull the fabric of the paper like this-" she pulled the surface from below, and the ball followed, rolled into the descended part of the surface. "-you can see the ball rolled into the bent area. That is how psychic works in a three-dimensional space."

Whilst Tuka and Rory had a hard time comprehending the concept behind Emily's explanation, Lelei found it very digestible. Yet there were still a few things amiss for the magic-user, "but you also said space and time. I understand the distortion of space could manipulate movements of objects but… I find it confusing that it has any relation to time at all."

Emily beamed, it had been such a long time she ever taught someone. This was such a nostalgic moment for her. "Oh, space and time are intertwined and inseparable, if you mess with one you mess with the other."

The kitsune explained gravity the best she could, it had the same application as psychic, except it was caused by the mass of objects. She told the natives that when space was bent, time around it slowed down, thus those who were under the effect of gravity felt the movements of time slower than those who didn't.

Lelei was so fascinated with the concept and effects of gravity before her mind clicked. "You said that the larger the mass, the stronger this… 'gravity' is correct?"

"Yes."

The mage glanced, her eyes widened in realisation. The Theory of Pascol's Downward Force. He was the first mage scholar who claimed the world was spherical and had angered massive religious mobs who view such theory as unlikely. In the end, the man was forced to create a lie in order to appease their anger.

A lie stated by Pascol himself that the centre of the world was considered to be a 'downward force' originated, thus everything fell at the centre. His statement was met with ridicule from some sages of those times but it was yet to be disputed or proven.

However, with the knowledge of this 'gravity', Lelei could easily connect the dots. The mage glared at the kitsune, beneath her stoic face was an excited and anticipated mind, if what she speculated to be true then Lelei had uncovered the secret behind Pascol's Theory. "Does this apply to the world too?"

Emily grinned, she was overjoyed to see a rare prodigy. The girl was so young and lacked the basic prior knowledge to standardise galactic education yet she was far more intelligent than even half the adult Emily had met throughout her life.

"Yes obviously, since the entire world is a celestial sized mass, it generates its own gravity. Thus you get the force that pulls everything downward," Emily explained.

"Oh, that makes so much sense!" Tuka exclaimed in excitement. She was the few who had heard the world was round and was confused with the ideology, it seems so ludicrous but this clarified so many questions that had clouded philosophers for millennia.

Rory didn't react much. She was used to the conflicting and confusing ideas of philosophers and thinkers. Added with the fact that Lucas had revealed far greater knowledge than even the gods didn't know off, there's not much knowledge out there that could surprise her any more than what Lucas revealed to her.

Lucas stood idly and listened to their conversation, amused by Lelei's thirst for knowledge. He considered revealing her the astranet, it would be interesting to see what the girl could produce from such knowledge.

Then suddenly, the door slammed open. It surprised the girls and the Enforcers, but both Lucas and Emily elicited only the barest of reaction.

Pina stood, one could see she was shaking. Her eyes darted at the Enforcers, staring at their marvellous armours, the way each piece interlocked between each other. Her heart still drummed, sweat trickled down her forehead.

"T- take me to your leader," Pina stammered, cursing herself.

"Princess!" Hamilton exclaimed behind her, trotting to her royalty. "Princess please take a seat-"

Pina was defiant, she stood and faced her enemies even with a wavering heart. "Take me to your leader."

"Why?" Enigma voiced, she was unperturbed with the redhead. "What business do you have with him."

Pina steeled herself, she straightened her spine and repeated her word. "I demand you to take me to your leader."

Before Enigma could inquire, Lucas tapped the kobold's shoulder. Enigma startled before she relaxed, her void energy wavered under his immense celestial energy.

"What matter do you want to discuss?" Lucas asked calmly.

His demeanour at least calmed the princess. "I- I wanted a peace treaty with your people."

Lucas expected much, the Enforcers had purposely displayed a show of force specifically for intimidation and it was unsurprisingly effective. "I need to inform my commanders first."

Bozes and the Rose Order of Knights had all gathered at the Jade Palace and headed toward Italica by the command of Panache, who received a distressed message from their princess.

She knew little of the city's predicament, only aware that Pina needed assistance. Bozes had been trained by the imperial princess since childhood and was amongst the few who believed the princess' vision.

Her brown steed galloped tirelessly, bred solely for travelling at a long distance. Beefeater and Panache escorted beside her, armed with sharpened steel gladius of the highest quality.

"Bozes!" Panache alerted, her eyes widened at the scene from afar.

They could see smoke rising to the sky, but that was not what incites the knight's reaction, it was the littered bodies strewn across the green field. Bozes halted her steed, followed by the rest.

They're unable to tear their gaze away at the carnage, none of the bodies suffered any sword or arrow wounds but instead they were dismembered across the ground.

"W- what is the meaning of this?" Nikolasha Le Mon, the twin ponytail girl muttered.

"Look!" Panache exclaimed yet again.

They saw a creature with a flat body, both wings wide and curved backward. It resembled the hunting boomerang of the southern catfolk tribe. Bozes grabbed her sword, wielding it in her hand.

"Identify yourself," the creature boomed. Its voice deep and imposing, shaking the hearts of the knights.

"What kind of wyvern is that!?" Beefeater questioned, unsure whether their sword would be effective against its seemingly metallic hide.

Bozes glared at the ground as she saw few armoured individuals approach them. The knight scowled and raised their shield, "Rose Knights, in arms!"

The iron bird once again spoke, "drop your weapon and identify yourself."

"We are the Rose Order of the Knight, beast! What have you done to this city!?" Panache demanded.

"Lieutenant Jaeldebor, we've got a couple of armoured individuals claiming themselves to be 'Rose Order of Knight', can you confirm it to the imperial royalty?" The Pigeon pilot spoke through the communicator.

Hendrick, who was listening to the exchange between the princess and the Null Apostle was informed of the situation and alerted Lucas of the commotion, in which the apostle addressed it toward the princess.

"I'm sorry, I've got a few knights outside the city claiming to be the 'Rose Order' or something like that. Do you know them?" Lucas inquired.

Pina's eyes widened, she had forgotten about them. "They're here!"

"So you know them?"

"Y- yes, they're my personal royal knights. They're with me," Pina exclaimed.

Lucas pressed his communicator, it was barely visible, just a strip of silver implanted near the tip of his feline ear. "They're not hostile, let them through."

The knight warily urged their horses to trot forward, eyeing the scenery around them. Whoever these beastfolks were, it seems there had been a correlation between their appearance and the dead bodies.

Bozes was confused, she regarded the armoured demi-humans to be harmless. Perhaps they're hired mercenaries paid to guard Italica. Although seeing the carnage outside the wall made her doubt that it was their work.

As they entered into the streets of Italica, the knights could grasp a few snippets of hearsay from various commoners and guards. Panache pulled the rein and kicked her boots, her mount subsequently trotted forward and was at an equal pace with Bozes.

"There's something amiss," Panache whispered, loud enough that it could be heard by the rest of the knights.

"It is obvious those bodies belonged to the assailants but who defended this city?" Beefeater questioned, she glanced warily at the large steel avian creatures hovered above Italica, their wings stayed motionless despite being several feet above the ground.

Bozes glared at the armoured demi-humans outside the city, their presence was an enigma. She hadn't heard of any beastmen tribe clad in white, black armour nor had she heard of a large flying creature clad in iron.

She was unsure what to make of them, those beasts must've been incredibly mighty. Bozes couldn't see an opening for an arrow to pierce, whatever blacksmith that forged their armour was a talented one to be sure.

"It doesn't matter," Bozes replied. "Our task is to ensure Her Highness' safety."

Eventually, they arrived at the Formal House, where they were greeted by the maids. Bozes considered for a moment that those armoured demi-humans might've been Colt's secret knights, that man had an obsession with multiracial equality, so it was not farfetch to think so.

However, she wondered how a count like him could access such a heavy arsenal to clad them in mighty armour.

In the end, they reached the war room where she wanted to report to Pina but halted once they saw a ragtag group of strangers conversing with her.

"Princess…?" Bozes muttered, eyeing the strangers. They were all demi-humans, save for the human mage and what seems to be Rory Mercury herself.

The knights regarded the strangers, three of which were clad in pristine white armour similar to the rest outside whilst the other three were in a different set of attire entirely.

"Princess, are we interrupting something?" Panache asked as she appraised the demi-humans.

"Your Holiness, we will discuss this later," Pina replied before she addressed one of the maids. "Can you guide our… honoured visitors to their room please?"

"Right away, Your Highness," replied the demi-human maid.

The knights observed as the maids led the rest to their quarters, being more perplexed than ever. Once they were out of sight, Bozes was the first to voice.

"Princess, who was that? Why is the apostle of Emroy here?"

Pina stood, unresponsive as her eyes glazed to nothingness. In the end, she slumped, grunted for a moment before she exhaled.

The knights were surprised to see their fiery princess reduced to a dishevelled mess she was currently.

"Seat down and I will answer all your questions," Pina muttered weakly, too tired to even properly present herself as royalty.

The knights exchanged bewildered glances but they ultimately heed her command.

Bozes sunk into her seat, the soft surface descended as her weight pressed against it. The blondie studied her princess, her naturally pristine and ornate dress was currently equally unkempt as her hair.

"Who were they?" Beefeater questioned, her concern for her princess was apparent from her expression.

"Saviour of this city," Pina answered half-heartedly. She was shaking, her hands fidgeting out of anxiety.

The knights were even more confused. Hamilton decided to clarify the princess' statement, "they're the one who had successfully defeated the invaders."

The girls' eyes widened. Instantly, a flurry of questions was thrown toward the princess. Overwhelmed, Pina pressed her temple, in which Bozes immediately realised and urged the rest to silence themselves.

A few seconds afterwards were followed by deafening silence before Pina finally answered. "Italica was attacked by bandits, most of which were a disbanded coalition of the Allied Kingdom. When our forces were cut short and our bulwark slowly crumbled… they arrived."

"They manage to defeat former members of the Allied Kingdom?" Panache asked, surprised to hear such a notion. "But why would they?"

"I don't know," Pina mumbled, still questioning the motives behind their action. The way they fought was not out of half-assed attempt either, she could see their passion during the battle. They were fully committed to protecting Italica even without any prior association with it.

"You still didn't answer our question, who are they?" Beefeater probed, impatient for the answer.

Pina braced herself, clutching the armrest till her knuckles turned white. "T- they're from Alnus Hill-"

Their reaction was to varying degrees of a similar word; "what!?"

Bozes stood, ready for action. "Princess allow me to capture them now!"

"Bozes sit down. They would already be swarmed with guards if they're uninvited," Pina proclaimed.

"Why are they here?" Panache questioned again, one could see the unease from the knight.

"As I said, they saved Italica," Pina muttered dejectedly. She had planned for battle against the otherworlders since the Emperor first announced their existence. However, now that she truly grasps the scope of their powers, Pina's resolve was shaken. "And as a courtesy, I cannot act aggressively against them. Besides, the countess wouldn't wish so anyway."

"But Your Highness, they're the enemy!" Panache countered passionately.

"Yes and that is why I am doing everything I can to not provoke them," Pina replied.

The knights were baffled by their princess' action, they had known her to be the bravest amongst them. To see her in such a state was worrying, there are only a few things she truly feared; divine beings and the elder dragons. The only few things in the world that were truly undefeatable.

"Your Highness, what did you see…?" Nikolasha decided to finally ask. There must be some correlation between the bodies and their presence over Italica.

Pina hesitated, terrifying images flickered inside her mind. "Fire, death and destruction. They only sent six people against nearly a hundred thousand, yet a single of their ordinary soldiers were able to slaughter a hundred in an instant."

The knights were baffled, some displayed disbelief on their face.

"They wield iron staff that shoots blue fire capable of penetrating armour and shield with ease," Hamilton chimed in. "Those iron birds capable of raining down lightning and explosive fireballs of ultimate destruction."

Nikolasha glanced nervously at Grey, who just stood silently. The aged man sighed, even he was shaken by what he saw. "It is true, I saw it too."

"This can't be…" Bozes mumbled. "Maybe it is a trick? An illusion of sorts?"

"Tomorrow I will be heading towards Alnus," Pina declared. "You can escort me and see it for yourself."

"Y- you're going to Alnus?!" The four knights exclaimed in horror. "You're going straight into the enemy's den?"

"I know what it sounds like, but I have no choice. We need to secure ties with them immediately, at least for the moment," Pina exclaimed.

"You want to surrender?"

"No," Pina denied. "Of course not. This is merely a temporary truce so that we can exploit their weakness."

"Do you think this is wise Princess?" Grey questioned. "You are a royalty, going into enemy's territory…"

"If they wanted to capture me, they would've done so from the beginning, Grey," the princess replied.

"But still…"

"I know how it sounds like Grey, but tell me, do we really have a choice after what we've witnessed today?" Pina stared into his eyes.

Grey hesitated before he sighed, the numbness of the prior battle yet to cease from his body. "I suppose not, Your Highness."

-(End of Chapter Twelve)-

Chronal Scriptum

Universal History

Before the manifestation of realspace, hyperspace and slip-space, existed the Astral Realm. An eternal and unchanged aspect of reality that has no beginning nor an ending.

During the incalculable timespan within the Astral Realm, a result of random arcane reactions suddenly sparked. A strange interaction between multiple mystical forces that had consequently caused the formation of exotic force. These forces slowly collected into a concentrated point of space and time before it eventually burst into a violent explosion, manifesting itself into physical matter and strange quantum energy.

This pocket existence would soon be known as the 'universe', or at least an aspect of it. The violent explosion soon birthed the creation of stars, planets and galaxies.

The unpredictable nature of reality and the lack of unified laws of physics across different planes of existence would soon create a four dimensional reality known to be the hyperspace, a 'higher' sub-dimension in which the laws of relativity were completely ignored and the nature of causality were distorted. It is an entire dimension of non Euclidean space.

Due to the conflicting nature of space-time between realspace and hyperspace, the two contrasting dimensions formed a strange interaction, a thin 'layer' of existence in-between both shaped into a tangible dimensional presence. This presence was a sliver of reality that would soon be referred to as the slip-space.

During the formation and manifestation of various dimensions and realities, some part of the Astral Realm were affected by the constant expansion of realspace and create a ripple across the infinite reality - these ripples would soon formed their own pseudo-dimensions known as the Over Space, a multitude of tiny bubbles of realities connected like complex webway resides 'above' realspace.

Over Space

(Higher Realm/God Domain/Heaven/White Void/Endless World)

The formation of Over Space soon birth the first ever sentient lifeforms known themselves to be the Ethereals. An inorganic, immaterial being of incorporeal energy who roamed the desolate and empty realm of Over Space, sometimes even traversing through the chaotic mess of the Astral Realm.

Through their godlike powers, they began to shape their reality into magnificent constructs of impossible geometry. Forming civilisation of peaceful but unremarkable existence.

An eternity of stagnant serenity, with no change or alteration on their perfect yet boring utopia, the Ethereals grew bored.

It was not long before the Ethereals discovered realspace and began tinkering with it. Fascinated with the concept of physical matter, they began experimenting and ultimately manufactured life across billions of worlds to further their research.

Although they were incapable of directly influencing realspace, through the ripple effect of Astral Realm into the mortal realm, the Ethereals managed to manipulate random matter into protein structures that slowly yet surely formed into DNA. With their near infinite power, the Ethereals preserved the genetic codes and watched as it grew across billions of worlds.

Almost the majority of them ended up as a failure, and a few that succeeded never evolved further from simple multicellular organisms. It was not until the planet nitro-argo-oxy, or later known to be 'Earth' developed into a complex habitat and ecosystem.

The first sapient species, humans, a bipedal apes began to sprout and evolved from the surface of the lush world - existed after the Great Extinction of the prehistoric wingless dragons.

The death of the reptiles provides room for the Ethereals to further their manipulation over newly developed species, most notably a subset group of apes. By expanding their frontal lobe and altered their spinal cord formation, these multiple races of apes began to evolve into different species of humans, including the homo sapien, homo erectus, homo neanderthalensis and many others.

After many millenia, homo sapiens began to slowly expand and pushed away all other human subspecies to become the dominant race in the planet and eventually advanced into a sophisticated progenitor race of over millions of Fae species.

A/N: Holy shit, thank you Crescentation. It's kinda bizarre to see something as shameless as this. To be honest I think I've read TheDrkKnight12's story before but it kinda was forgotten until I've reread it.