THE CIRQUE DU MAGIQUE DEPARTS from the Arcanas Kingdom three days after the incident. Magenta thanked and bid farewell to Daisuke, his friends, the mages, and the Seekers, who all helped and took care of her, and hopes that she meets them again. Sundara and her troupe were rewarded by the royal family for helping the civilians during the attack.

Eduardo, his men, and Alicia were all already locked up and will be handed over to the Supreme Council, as Jack and Lanaya suggested. They finally learned that it is a group of treasure hunters called Eclipse Hunters who were behind the artificial powers experiments. Jack took a note of it in case he meets with Melody.

The fairies were all safe. The royal family took and let them live inside the castle premises. The glaizerocks were confiscated and the Fairy Dust bakery was closed for the time being.

The fragments have been returned to their respective shrines and were now protected by even more layers of sealing magic formulated by the Magic Assembly with the help of the Supreme Council mages.

The citizens and foreigners who watched the show were unharmed but were given compensation by the royal family for the troubles.

That evening, a ceremony was conducted at the Arcane Fountain Castle. The mage king, King Fuegora, awarded all of those who were involved in retaking the Star of Arianna. Even Daisuke and his friends received awards and rewards.

The mage king offered back Mirana her previous position as a Guardian Mage, but Mirana refused, much to everyone’s surprise. Instead, Mirana referred Lisa as the new Guardian Mage of the Northwest Shrine and asked for a leave of absence.

After the ceremony, Daisuke's group went back to their camp where the three Seekers unexpectedly arrived for an after-party.

* * * * *

The next day, Daisuke's group and the Seekers prepared for their respective departures.

“We will miss you, guys!” Said Lanatte. “We have to go back now to the island.”

“We hope to see you all again,” said Marcactas.

Musaoi could not speak a word and instead loudly cried to Riku.

“Hey Jack, greet my parents for me, will you? I really miss them a lot,” said Daisuke.

“Why me? I’m staying with you guys.”

“R-Really?!” said Riku. “How about your sister?”

“I’ll find her when I find her. But for now, I’m sticking with Daisuke.”

Daisuke then faced Raijin. “Oh, I almost forgot.”

Daisuke took a bag of arcani and handed it to Raijin.

“That’s twenty-five thousand arcani. I’m sure that would be enough to buy you a new fishing boat. Plus the hazard pay of being our guide.”

Raijin hesitated at first but accepted the money nonetheless.

“T-Thanks. I guess I can go back to Port Royale now.”

“Well, it’s time for us to leave now. Say hi to Boris for us, okay?”

“I, uhh…”

“We’re actually going this way, Raijin.” Said Lanatte. “You can travel with us if you want.”

“Sorry, Raijin. We couldn’t come back with you to Port Royale. Elysia’s the opposite way,” said Daisuke.

“Umm. I, uhh…”

“Guys!!!”

Everyone looked from where the shout came from and saw Mirana, Lanaya, and Leon riding on Sully.

“Leon! Where have you been?” asked Daisuke. “You missed a lot of fun.”

“It got pretty busy with the Magic Assembly and the upcoming crowning.”

“Crowning?”

“Right. We haven’t mentioned it yet.”

The group was surprised that Lanaya and Leon were engaged and will be the next king and queen of the Arcanas Kingdom in a few days.

While everyone was busy fighting Alicia and saving the Arcanas Kingdom, King Fuegora, Leon, and the members of the Magic Assembly gathered at the Aeternas Kingdom, the Supreme Council’s headquarters.

Lanaya and Leon explained that the coming of artificial power in the Arcanas Kingdom was a huge threat to the Supreme Council. The Supreme Council monitors the existence and emergence of new magic, weapons, and powers, which could threaten peace among nations.

With the artificial power now entering the continent of Aria, it has been apparent that the people behind it could have already perfected the artificial power and could be aiming to mass-produce an army of power users, monetize from it, or both.

The Arcanas Kingdom raised this concern to the Supreme Council and pledged their support in dealing with the group responsible.

“Well, it’s really great to see you guys before we leave,” said Riku.

“Umm, yeah. About that,” said Leon.

“My sister is actually here for something else. Right, Mirana?” Lanaya softly elbowed her sister.

Mirana faced the group. “I, umm, I came here to ask if I could tag along with you guys.”

“Wha…Why? What happened?” asked Brunnhilde.

“Well, the mage king asked if there’s anything I want. For the troubles. So I asked for an indefinite leave.”

“Why would you want to come with us though?” asked Daisuke.

“As a start. I want to find this secret academy of Merlin my sister was talking about. I haven’t really tried traveling outside the kingdom, so I thought coming with you guys could give me an experience.”

“I told my sister that I learned magic from Merlin’s academy. Entering the academy was a challenge though because those who wish to enter must discover the way on their own,” Lanaya revealed.

“Neat. This is my first time hearing that Merlin is also a teacher,” Riku took a book from her pouch. “Maybe this could help.”

Riku handed over the book authored by Merlin they found at the Fairy Dust bakery to Mirana.

“Woah. Where did you get this?” asked Mirana.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“We got that from the bakery. It contains information about forbidden magic and artifacts.”

“Well, Raijin’s actually leaving us since he’s going back to Port Royale, so yeah, come aboard!” said Daisuke.

“Awwww. We’ll miss you, Raijin.” Said Mirana.

“Yeah about that. I haven’t really decided yet. I mean you guys could still use a guide. So…” Raijin replied.

* * * * *

The Seekers left first. After gaining a lot of information about artificial power, the Seekers decided that informing the Council should be their top priority. Jack, however, decided to stay with Daisuke’s group.

After witnessing the power of the imperfect avatar, he couldn’t just let Daisuke roam freely. The United Alliance will surely want to get a hold of him.

“Take care of my sister for me Daisuke, okay?” said Lanaya. “She’s in your care now.”

“Don’t---”

“Don’t worry.” Raijin interrupted. “She’s in good hands.”

Everyone laughed.

The group was now far away from the Arcanas Kingdom riding on Geri and Freki when they saw familiar faces. One made Jack's soul almost leap out from his body, and another enough to make Daisuke cry.

End of Arcanas Kingdom Arc

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The Aeternas Kingdom was a peculiar place in Laniagaea. For one, it was on top of a giant magical sky whale called aevum. The aevum travels the world and is usually found in the southern hemisphere of the world.

The Aeternas Kingdom was said to be an ancient one. To save its citizens, the kingdom was taken from the ground and placed on top of an aevum. Since then, it has been a wandering country for thousands of years. Today, the kingdom served as the headquarters of an organization called the Supreme Council.

The founder of the Supreme Council, known as Yamato, was a great hero during his time. And when the people of Laniagaea abused their powers and magic for war, he was the one who took some of those powers and magic away.

The Supreme Council now monitors the existence and emergence of powers, magic, and weapon to prevent disastrous wars due to people abusing them. And with the occurrence of artificial powers, the Supreme Council has been busy investigating the source of it.

King Fuegora, Prince Leon, and the members of Arcanas Kingdom’s Magic Assembly raised this concern to the Supreme Council when they visited three days ago.

“Thank you for having us, Ra,” said King Fuegora.

Ra was the current leader of the Supreme Council. He actually lives in the country of Atem which was far from the Aeternas Kingdom, but with his people’s magic and technology, they could reach the kingdom in a matter of hours.

Despite his young age, Ra has been one of the world's most brilliant minds, being able to use magic and technology as one. He also became the leader of the Supreme Council after proving himself and for showing great leadership skills.

“It is my pleasure to have you here in Aeternas Kingdom, King Fuegora.” Ra replied. “And I was told that this is about the artificial power, correct?”

“Yes, indeed,” King Fuegora confirmed. “The artificial power has reached our kingdom. And of all people that could possess it, it is by hunters.”

“That is most certainly unfortunate. Many people would use power for their gain. Such is the downside of having power, it corrupts the mind of the user.”

“We have interrogated a hunter with such artificial power, and it seems they are victims of the experimentations. We also talked to a woman who said that she’s been part of human experimentation for the same,” Leon added.

“Correct. And if we analyze her story, with the information from the interrogations, it seems that most of this power originated from the continent of Montagna,” King Fuegora continued.

“That is a piece of valuable information for us, King Fuegora.”

The meeting lasted long enough for the delegates to spend the day in the Aeternas Kingdom. The next day, the delegates left for another long journey back to their kingdom.

* * * * *

As soon as the Arcanas Kingdom delegates left, six of the ten seats of the Supreme Council immediately convened.

“Ra, this is not the first time that artificial powers have been developed. Do you think it’s them?” asked one of the members.

“The last time an artificial power was developed, a whole country got annihilated.” Said another member. “We should not take this thing lightly, Ra.”

“I know.” Ra agreed. “Whether it is them or another entity, we could not let this propagate anymore further. We will make this our top priority, and end the artificial power from advancing.”

“Anyway, what are the other agenda of our meeting?” asked one of the members.

“I'd like to raise again my concern regarding the Prophecy of Twelve,” said one of the members.

Everyone expressed their annoyance.

“Seriously, Merlin? Again?”

“I know everyone thinks that the prophecy is regarding the twelve avatars and, in extension, the Ishvaras. But I have a reason to believe that that is not the case.”

“We already talked about this, Merlin,” Ra sighed. “The sudden appearance of Ariyani's avatar proves that the prophecy is about the avatars. We need to protect them as they will be the ones that will certainly save us from the catastrophe the prophecy could be talking about.”

“Can we talk about something else? What about Nobunaga's whereabouts?”

“Nobunaga's whereabouts are not our priority. Our people will focus on cleansing the valley and helping the affected nearby kingdoms, especially the injured civilians.”

“But he could be anywhere right now, still looking for yet another avatar. Another member of the Monarchs perhaps.”

“Nobunaga already has the mana of three Ishvaras: Vishendu the Ishvara of Space who's one of the Monarchs; Saravati, the Ishvara of Knowledge; and Pashapura, the Ishvara of Beast. Having a fourth Ishvaran mana—and another one from the Monarchs for that matter—will be devastating.”

Ra sighed. “I just want to get this over with.”

* * * * *

Lanaya was walking in the castle's hallway when a glowing, circular portal appeared behind her. As she looked behind her, she saw the glowing portal open and Merlin came out from it.

Lanaya bowed. “To what do I owe your presence, Headmaster Merlin?”

“I'm just here to make sure that your sister is with the avatar.”

“Yes. I told her about your academy and that she should be with the avatar to prove herself that she is worthy of your guidance.”

Lanaya looked at Merlin, noticing his expression.

“Did the Seat Occupants refuse to discuss your theory again?”

“It doesn't matter. As long as she is with the avatar then everything's fine by me. And Lanaya, I'm sorry if I had to make you do it. Whether the Prophecy of Twelve is about the twelve Ishvaras or the twelve individuals I saw in my visions, we must be ready for anything.”

Lanaya shook her head. “It's alright. In fact, she is happy and determined. All I'm asking is that you give her a fair judgment. She works really hard, so accept her in your academy when she has indeed proven herself worthy.”

“Now who am I do disagree with my top student? And please, visit the academy once in a while. I know you are busy and all, but we sure miss your company, especially the ice mages that looks up to you.”

Lanaya smiled. “Of course.”

* * * * *

On a certain cabin on a tropical island in the continent of Aria.

“How did it go?” asked a man.

“All in here,” a woman handed over an orb that could record events.

The man chanted a spell and a recorded incident in the Arcanas Kingdom was played.

“Well done, Ventro. Who would know that we will get such footage, huh?” the man started to watch the recorded events.

“With that, the people will know just how significant certain abilities are.”

“Tell me. How much do you think people would pay to gain power?” asked the man while watching the clip. He witnessed not only the strength of Pancho and Magenta, but also the capability of the Star of Arianna.

“I guess it'll reach six, seven figures a piece? Not to mention the treasure hunters and the U.A. who will do anything to gain the upper hand.” Ventro replied.

“But let's not forget about the Supreme Council, no? They are already onto us, man.” Another man joined the conversation. “They'll stop at nothing to hinder our plans, man.”

“You worry too much, Gustave. We got the roots backing us!” the man responded. “Besides, the Supreme Council is old news. They are no longer relevant! The scale of power is now tipping to either United Alliance or Hunters' Horde. And we will capitalize on both of them!”

Ventro started tinkering with her adult-size puppet. “What about the crusaders? They're gaining more and more attention for the past eighteen years.”

“Geez, Urie-man. We all gonna die because of your greed, no?”

“The world is ending...and all you can think about is making cold hard cash,” Ventro added.

“Hey, hey! This ain't all about money, okay? Okay, maybe a bit of the reason is money. But remember:” Urie opened his arms wide. “He who rules Junoeia, rules Laniagaea, baby! Huh? Huh?”

Urie shouldered Gustave and Ventro and the three of them went outside where dozens of men were carrying crates. Some of the crates were labeled "ink ore", others were labeled "blood samples." Some men were also forcing chained people to walk and go inside a certain cabin.

“But Junoeia is still a loooong way to go. First, we go back to Montagna.”

As the trio walks away from the cabin where they came from, a flag can be seen raised on top of the cabin's roof depicting a solar eclipse.