The room was white. The eight chairs were white, surrounding a white round table that trembled at the power that surrounded it.

Eight half-step Grandmasters, the peak of humanity in the Northern Continent, sat around, ready to decide the future of the continent.

Nerusia looked at the representatives.

Empress Elara of the Elara Empire. The newest among their ranks, both as an Empire and a half-step Grandmaster.

Emperor Zun of the Zun Empire. The oldest here, perhaps the oldest and most powerful half-step Grandmaster on the continent. Even Nerusia couldn't peek into his depths. Perhaps only the old ancestor sleeping in the Solerian Citadel could compete.

Grand Emperor Elmar Sofret of the Sel Empire. A self-proclaimed heir to the Sofret clan, he led the most powerful Empire on the continent with an iron hand.

Grand Emperor Mestra of Norin sat beside him, belying the alliance the two of them had. The representatives of 'old powers' in this war. Nerusia knew that they wanted the Solerian Empire to join them, lending them both credibility and power. Even Keron wasn’t foolish even to actually do that.

The General of Solmer Confederacy stood on the other side, glaring at Grand Emperor Sofret as if blaming him for the recent losses he had suffered. The other members of the new powers sat beside him, separated from the new powers by her on one side, and the Emperor Zun and Empress Elara on the other.

A deliberate seating arrangement. There had been…incidents when it had not been followed.

"I am sure you are aware of the first order of business." Grand Emperor Sofret began, once again presuming the position of host.

"The dishonorable actions of the Sel Empire?" the General countered.

Nerusia shook her head. At least this way, her delay was being ignored. Althea’s revelation…the thought sat uneasy in her mind. Even protected as it was, she feared it would be pried from her mind. The girl did not understand what it was she was talking about. The First Empire had ruled the world in all but name.

The Fae royals that Vader had seated still ruled the Fae continent.

The Elven royal bloodlines might have reduced, but they still depended on Vader’s teachings.

The Human clans were still chasing after the First Empire’s glory.

Just the revelation that Vader had descendant’s would throw the world into chaos. The descendant being Althea would just make it worse. A number of clans would swear royalty from the get go. The Sel and Ge Empires would team up to kill her. What the Warrior would do was unknown. The Warrior Clan’s legend about the First Emperor was unverified and testy to begin with. Heck, it went against the Northern Continent’s established history of that time. Nerusia turned her attention back to the matter at hand. Thinking about this wouldn’t do any good, and was risky in present company.

The Confederacy was not in any position to speak against the Sel Empire. The loss of fifty Adepts had left them weak, perhaps even weaker than the Elara Empire. But the General was a conscious choice on the new powers side.

For one, he was impulsive. And this weakness made his words easily denied. More than that, him speaking back to the Sofret would hurt the Grand Emperor's pride. A sure way to make a conversation descend into an argument and stop any talks from happening.

"The candidates for the Human cup, you fool. And if we are speaking of dishonorable tactics, then perhaps we should pursue your actions? The blood of many young ones was spilled by the so-called 'new powers'." the Grand Emperor retorted.

Nerusia cut in before the General had any chance to make things worse.

"I think the Counter Guarding Diery should be made leader of our candidates."

A minute of silence followed her suggestion.

"The Crown Prince of Zun Empire has a greater pedigree. The previous cups were led by-" Grand Emperor Mestra began, but was interrupted.

"The Zun Empire agrees." the gravelly voice of the Zun Emperor cut through the protests.

Nerusia looked at him in surprise. Mestra wanted to sow discord between the already hostile Solerian and Zun Empires. That was what they did in every conference. A necessary tactic given how much of a threat they were together.

But now the Zun Emperor had suddenly agreed. A clear hand of friendship, after centuries of conflict.

Did the Emperor want to make peace? Why? And why now? Or was she just reading too much? Althea was clearly the most powerful, and it was clear that she should be leader. The Zun Emperor could simply want to avoid a stupid argument.

Nerusia did not express her confusion, keeping it off her face as she merely nodded.

A silence filled the hall as the others tried to figure out what was happening.

"As for the other members, I would say that we allow anyone at least in the middle journeyman stage to participate." the Zun Empire said. "If I am not wrong, there is a lack of those."

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Nerusia did a quick count. "Excluding the Countess Guarding Diery, the Viscountess Isa and the Viscountess Vanessa are the only two from the Solerian Empire that qualify."

"The only one from the Zun Empire that can qualify is my son and his valet." the Emperor said.

Nerusia realized what was going on. That meant five candidates were from their Empires alone. And when rewards were decided by how well their candidates performed...this was a golden chance.

"The three from the Elemental Sect also qualify." she said. The Sel Empire should agree if she gave three other spots to them. If the Sel agreed, Norin, the loyal dog, would follow. With Elara not having any candidates, Empress Elara would likely agree. That was five votes, enough to pass this team composition.

"Gerard is the only one that can participate. The other two are...not welcome in the Southern Empire." Sofret said.

Nerusia suppressed a groan. That was problematic.

"The Elara Empire does not have any that match the criteria." Empress Elara interrupted. "But we agree with this segregation. The more power the candidates have, the better."

A bunch of frowns appeared around the room. A silent alliance had been forged. An alliance of three Empires, a total of four half-step Grandmasters. A third force equivalent to the two warring parties. A third force that hadn't been troubled by the war till now.

"Are the Zun and Solerian Empires entering into an alliance?" Sofret asked, narrowing his eyes.

The Zun Emperor looked at her, making his intention clear. Nerusia spoke for both of them.

"Perhaps." she said, keeping it vague. Even if this alliance was to happen, much would have to be negotiated. But even its suggestions made a massive difference on the continental scale.

"What happened to the King of Merlen's inheritance?" the General suddenly asked. Nerusia knew an attempt at pressuring her when she saw it. The inheritance of an Adept that had killed fifty of his kind and fought a half-step Grandmaster before dying was very valuable.

"Did the Confederacy not get it?" Sofret asked, clearly knowing that the Confederacy had only gained a ruined port for their efforts.

"There seems to be no inheritance." Nerusia revealed. "I paid a visit to the Diery fleet that evacuated Merlen, and it would appear that the King did not cultivate a manual at all."

The revelation was the distraction she needed. The Empires' focus shifted.

"A rogue cultivator? How did he remain secret for so long?" Sofret asked.

"As I understand it, the king's condition wasn't much of a secret." she said. "There were reports of the rumors from as far as decades ago, we just didn't believe it."

"A rogue cultivator reaching the peak of Adept...that does explain the prowess." the General muttered.

"Did he not make a manual?" Sofret asked, as she felt the attention of every person in the room shift towards her.

"Not as far as I am aware." she said. "The art of making manuals has been lost."

A sigh escaped the General. "A pity. That king was an honorable one."

Nerusia had to admit, she was surprised by the General's statement. The King was honorable? The General cared for honor? This was...not within their calculations. But a half-step Grandmaster was a random quantity. The age that they lived made it hard for anyone to be sure how they would act. There were just too many things crammed into their brains.

"A pity, to be sure." Empress Elara said. "Even with every mid-journeyman as a candidate, there is still one seat left. Is there anyone that wants to put forth their candidates?"

"I am sure one of the brats will breakthrough soon enough." Sofret waved his hand. "I see no reason to dwell on it. I am much more interested in who exactly was responsible for the deaths of those supposed to participate in this competition. There were techniques employed that should not have been possible."

"Just like, there was mana used on the spacial island that should not have been there." Nerusia mentioned.

Sofret's eyes narrowed as he stared at the General. "Yes, exactly like that. Perhaps those responsible would like to disclose some information?"

“Why are you looking at me?” the General asked. Nerusia groaned, unable to suppress it this time. Another ploy. Now the General would blame her, the Sel Empire would defend her, and just generally act like a helpful friend.

Then there would be minor aggression, broken trade agreements, fleets too close to the Solerian Empire’s waters, just little stuff that would make her more likely to declare war.

Then the Sel Empire would orchestrate an assassination, or some other event that would point to one of the new powers as the culprit. Perhaps Althea would be the target. Duke Zerolian had already informed her that numerous assassins had left the Sel Empire to scope out the Diery palace’s defenses.

After all, she was a threat. And the Sel Empire had a standing policy to kill those.

“Please, gentlemen, there is no need to fight.” Empress Elara interrupted. “In fact, I have encountered this strange mana before.”

Nerusia looked up at her in surprise. This was unexpected. To be honest, she had expected the Elara Empire to sit quiet in the entire conference, their position was weak enough to merit it. Now they were talking. And in a military alliance with the Solerian Empire. Perhaps she should have talked to Empress Elara about things.

“I encountered this strange mana several times before while squashing the rebellion on my lands. In fact, my own husband was corrupted by it.” Elara stated.

“Please, your husband was an opportunistic whore from the beginning.” the General scoffed.

“Yes, but he was an opportunistic whore with neither talent nor power. Then suddenly, he was beating Adepts like they were made of cheesecake.” Elara laughed at her own horrible joke, putting her fingers on her lips like a coquettish lady.

“How did you deal with it?” Sofret asked. “The mana was quite difficult to deal with.”

“Didn’t our dear Countess deal with it quite easily, though?” Elara blinked innocently at the Grand Emperor of Sel, while simultaneously winking in her direction.

Nerusia narrowed her eyes. That was a social cue. A queue to disclose something that she didn’t want to. Elara was doing the same thing she had done when she dropped in on Althea’s birthday. Forced her to make moves that she would not have otherwise, and generally mess with her plans.

“Althea did note that her mana seemed to be a counter to the attacker’s strange mana.” Nerusia said, forcing a smile on her face. “Perhaps that is worth an investigation.”

“Of course it is. But if a Druid’s mana is required to counter the strange mana, then how did-” Sofret’s brows crumpled as he turned his head, pausing when he faced Elara. And the bright pink umbrella that she was suddenly sporting. Or maybe it was the massive smile on her face. Nerusia knew it unnerved her. That woman was a menace.

“I used a relic from the First Empire.” the smile on Elara’s face seemed to defy reality to stretch even further, a shocking display of emotion that was far too real for this conference.

Nerusia realized something now. The lot of them had been dealing with each other for decades, and had long gotten used to each other’s tactics. Elara though, Elara was new. And that meant she was an unpredictable, and thus powerful, hand on the table. A powerful card that had been playing this game since Althea suddenly changed.

The uneasy feeling she had in her stomach intensified even more. As an Empress, she had a very healthy dislike for new and unpredictable things.

That meant more work for her.