Nathan groaned as he awoke, opening his eyes slowly as he stared at the space above him. There were leaves. And a branch. A green branch. And there was a pleasant smell floating around.

"How are you feeling?" A gentle voice asked.

"What?" Nathan replied, still groggy as he tried to sit up.

A trickle of water fell on his head, slipping into his forehead as he blinked, moving his hand to wipe it away. But he just couldn't find the stregn…

The second time he awoke, he was more aware of his surroundings. The sky was darker this time. The leaves were still there. The pleasant smell had intensified. But he was still groggy. There seemed to be weights binding his appendages, holding them down as he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The third time, he awoke with a jolt. There was something in his toe, sending flashes of pain throughout his entire body. Nathan looked at it in a hurry, but could not find what was hurting him so much. The pain jumped to his other toe, making him yelp as he flailed around.

"Calm down." the voice that he recognized to be Pulsie's said. "Have this."

A bowl stretched down from one of the plant's branches, having some greenish liquid.

"Say ahh." the plant unceremoniously dumped the liquid down as he opened his mouth.

Nathan's eyes widened as the pain suddenly intensified, spreading up his legs and multiplying as if several knives were stabbing him. But it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, a soothing feeling filling him in its place.

The fourth, fifth and sixth times were similar. Nathan awoke to pain, starting at his toes and then moving upward. Pulsie would pour the strange liquid down his throat, and he would fall asleep.

The seventh time was different. Nathan awoke expecting some pain, and for a second he thought there was some. But there wasn't. For the first time in a while, he felt refreshed, like he had returned from a vacation.

"Are you feeling better?" Pulsie asked.

"Yes." he replied, looking up at the plant's leaves.

"What happened?"

"Do you remember what happened in the ancestral cave?"

Nathan could feel his expression darkening. As much as he wished he didn't remember that time, the experience was fresh in his memory. Another painful memory added to his list.

"Is the Countess-"

"Althea is fine." Pulsie said. "The amount of damage the tiger could do to her in that form was limited. The one who was injured is you."

Nathan sighed in relief. "The Emperor saved me, didn't he?"

Pulsie paused. Nathan knew that pause, it was the way Pulsie reacted when he didn't want to answer him.

"What is it, Pulsie?" Nathan asked. "Was it perhaps father that…"

Nathan felt hope blossom in his chest. Perhaps he had misunderstood. The direction of mana could give a wrong picture. There could be more about this that he didn't-

"No." Pulse interrupted his train of thought. "The Emperor and Marshal were both too slow to act, and they prioritized getting the princes' to safety before rescuing you. The one who saved you…was you."

"Oh." That was expected. There was no reason to be disappointed. The princes were the Emperor's children. Of course, he would want to make sure they were safe. As for his father…he probably liked them better too.

"That was quite a move you made." Pulsie interrupted.

Nathan looked up, wondering what the plant was talking about.

"What do you mean?"

"The tiger that you saw was the cave's guardian beast. A beast of Light and Mind that was older than the Empire. There are few that can claim to have faced such a beast and surprised."

Ten thousand years? What the heck?

"The beast was a Grandmaster?!"

"Just an Adept stage, I would say. If he had been a Grandmaster then even the cave's protections would not have been able to save you." Pulsie said.

"The cave's protections?" So that was what had saved him?

"When you staunchly stood against the beast, risking your life in the process, the manual acknowledged you as worthy. That made you fall under the cave's defensive systems, and thus saved you." Pulsie exclaimed.

"Oh." So the cave would only protect those that had cultivated the manual? As expected from a Solerian artifact, he supposed. There was no need to care about unrelated people like him. The family probably viewed it as saving mana.

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"Congratulations, by the way." Pulsie continued, his tone changing into the teasing tone Nathan was far more familiar with. "I hear the entire cave glowed for three whole seconds to acknowledge you. So bright, in fact, that the mana seared every blood vessel in your body. I had to spend the last few days fixing it."

Mana so strong that it seared his blood vessels? That was quite an acknowledgment. Nathan sensed at his core, wondering if it was still around. The tiger probably wanted to destroy it. But it was there. A rotating mixture of gold and black, far more powerful than before.

Journeyman. Journeyman 3. That was the feeling he got from it.

A jump so large that he had swept past even the Countess.

"How did I reach so far? I didn't have enough insight into the manual-"

"The Law manual swallowed the Poison manual. The two manuals can coexist, they're not really related, but you'll have to recultivate the Poison manual. Thankfully there isn't any layover between their flows of mana, or you'd be in much bigger trouble." Pulsie said.

"But at least now you'll have an easier time passing through the stages. The affinity you have for this manual is quite monstrous. Just look at how you directly jumped to Journeyman 3. That means you already had insight into the manual before even cultivating it.”

Nathan just sat there, taking in the changes. A monstrous affinity, huh. The manual had rejected him in the beginning. Now it suddenly thought he was some kind of super talent? How nice.

What did the Law manual do anyway? The virus manual had been very clear about what it wanted. And Nathan liked that. The law manual did not seem the simple kind at all. The whimsical kind, more like.

"Oh, by the way, do you remember that thing about the Solerian family's inheritance?" Pulsie asked.

What? Oh, wait, his father had asked the Countess for it when they met for the first time. To make sure he wasn't in the line of inheritance.

"I fainted before I could hear anything of importance."

"Oh right." Pulsie replied. "Try not to faint so much, you miss all the fun parts. But anyway, apparently the throne goes to whoever has the most affinity for the Law manual among the inheriting generation. And since you left the Second Prince far behind…you're now the Crown Prince of the Empire. Congratulations, your majesty.”

Nathan felt like fainting again.

sc

Nathan

Nathan sat against the window, staring down at the city. The second floor wasn't really that high, but the city's topography gave him a nice view. The city was built around a hill, after all. And the palace was at the hill’s peak. A rather ugly-flower like shape that had towered over the city for over ten thousand years. The city had been destroyed in the burning, but for some reason the invaders had been unable to destroy the city walls or enter the palace.

"The Emperor wants to meet you, sir." A servant said, bowing towards him.

"Please send him in." he answered. The servants had always been respectful to him, but now it had reached another level entirely. The fact that he was the Crown Prince hadn't spread, but there was a rumor he was somehow related to the Emperor among the servants. How could there not be, when the Emperor had routinely called to ask about his health?

The Marshal hadn’t called once.

Perhaps it was because the Emperor was the one with the orb that his father hadn’t contacted him, but frankly, Nathan didn't hold out much hope anymore.

"I greet his majesty, the Emperor of Soleria." he said, turning towards the Emperor as he entered. The bow he gave was shallow, something he wouldn't have dared to present to the Emperor just a few days before. But now, he just didn't care anymore.

"There is no need for that, please, just call me Uncle." the Emperor said.

"As you wish." Nathan replied, feeling the dryness of his own words. But for the life of him, he couldn't build up the energy to make them happier.

"I hope the Countess has told you why I am here." the Emperor said, seating himself in one of the many sofas around. The palace rooms had the tendency to be…palatial. So wide that one would think they were houses.

"Yes, the treaty is making trouble for you now. And you need me to forgive you so that you can get your cultivation back."

"That…is true." The Emperor said. Nathan got the feeling that he wanted to portray it as something less selfish, but Nathan just wasn't in the mood for that.

"Tell me what you want, I shall do my best to give it to you." the Emperor said.

Nathan returned to looking out of the palace, watching the city. Even from here, he could imagine it bustling. The Diery market was much smaller than it should be, but it was probably a sight to see. Perhaps he should visit.

"The Countess is going to launch an immigration program," he said.

"Yes, I am aware." the Emperor's tone was strange, as if asking why he was talking about that program all of a sudden. Or perhaps worried that his task was related to it.

"A program that gives hybrids the same rights as a normal human." Nathan said." What a wonder it is, isn't it. There are probably thousands of hybrids right now, eager to come to Diery just so they can enjoy the same rights every human is born with.”

"I do think that it is quite a barbaric practice." the Emperor said, his tone softening. "I know what the beast said was offensive-"

"The Empire will have to make provisions for the restriction the human treaty places on hybrids now that I am Crown Prince. A hybrid cannot be nobility, after all." Nathan turned to face the Emperor.

"I want you to go further. I want you to allow hybrids to be full citizens of the country. To be born with the same rights as humans. If you promise to do that, I will forgive you."

The Emperor hesitated. "That…"

"Is an excessive request, I know," he continued. "That is why I am only asking for a promise. If it is not possible, then just don’t do it. But I trust you. I trust that you will try your best to keep your promise. I trust that you will at least try to bring justice to a discriminated part of your Empire."

Nathan stared into the Emperor's eyes, hoping that he would find the confidence that he wanted there. The discrimination had gone on for a long time. And it wouldn't disappear just because the laws did. But if there weren't any laws, then at least in places like Diery, his kind could prosper. Or simply, not be killed for something someone of another species did. If that was the only thing he was able to do in life then so be it.

"I accept." the Emperor said.

"I, Loran Solerian, Emperor of Soleria, hereby vow on my honor, the honor of my family, and that of my Empire, to return justice and equality to this land. To right the wrongs of my ancestors, and to make sure that they are never repeated. This vow I make of my own will, and shall accomplish, even at the cost of my own life."

Nathan stared at the Emperor, and felt a smile stretch across his face.

"Thank you."

The Emperor stood up to leave. "This does not need to happen now, but you will have to begin classes soon. Now that you are the Crown Prince, you will have to receive training for that position. And training to use and control your powers."

"Of course." Nathan replied, sighing as he got up from his seat. "The training can take place when I used to meet the Marshal. There is no need to continue that formality."