A few days had passed since my arrival on the sky palace and my time here was beyond lovely.

Everyone was so kind and helpful.

They were willing to learn as much as they were willing to teach.

Sidus and his fellow golden knights were always the most enthusiastic.

They sometimes even ordered that I be awoken early just so that I could spend a few minutes with them.

I didn’t mind, especially since I didn’t need as much sleep as before.

I wiped my brow as it had gotten unreasonably hot.

I had been asked to sweep the grand staircase and even though I didn’t particularly mind, the heat was getting to me a little.

I then heard the sound of heavy footsteps and clanging armour approaching.

I looked up and saw Sidus, as I expected, but his eyes were wide and his lips trembled.

“The Golden Prince has awoken.” He said.

I dropped my little broom and covered my lips as I gasped.

“I’ll call Kuda right away-“

“Wait! He is looking for you.” Sidus said with trembling eyes.

“Me? Why?” I asked, but Sidus shook his head before offering me his large hand.

“Just come.” He said.

I nervously nodded before accepting Sidus’s hand.

He then led me to the Palace’s entrance with a gentleness I would not have expected from man clad head to toe in armour.

We eventually arrived at the front door where a third knight stood.

With their helmet on, they looked almost identical to Sidus.

The knight removed their helmet revealing the head of a woman with short fuzzy white hair and golden eyes.

She glared at me before looking at Sidus.

“This is her.” Sidus said and it almost sounded like he wanted to cry.

I lowered my head as the woman glared at me again.

“Follow me.” She said. Her voice low and soft.

I did as she instructed and followed her as Sidus opened the gigantic dark doors.

I then bore witness to what I could only describe as a glimpse of heaven.

The door closed behind us and the knight led me up a grand staircase that was Bathed with pure white light from a gigantic window above.

Falling gracefully from both sides of the staircase were enormous white curtains and behind them were walls of Gold.

We eventually arrived the top of the stairs to find ourselves in front of a crystalline door which was partially open.

The knight took a deep, seemingly nervous breath before opening the door, revealing a chamber which was bathed in so much light, it was almost blinding.

The room was surprisingly cool and we made our way past countless silky curtains before eventually arriving at a sight that made me gasp aloud.

Sitting on a gigantic silky bed, was a gigantic man with white hair that was so long it fell over the bed and nearly touched a pool of what looked like blood. His body was covered in burn marks, but they failed to tarnish his handsomeness and the intensity behind his gaze. His body was covered in well toned muscles which added to his already intimidating aura.

Sitting all around the man were ten boys who all were thin white gowns that were partially covered in blood.

The man looked at me and I almost fell to my knees as the faint glow of his eyes made my very soul shake.

The knight next to me deeply bowed before gesturing at me.

“This is her, Ca- your highness.” She said prompting the ten boys to look at me.

I saw Adia among them and just as our eyes met, he jumped out off the pool of blood and ran towards me before wrapping his little arms around my legs.

“Zuri!” He cried as I wrapped my arms around him.

He too had been shaved bald and had no eyebrows.

“I thought I was never going to see you again.” He cried as all the other boys gathered around us.

“Shh.” I gently sounded as the gigantic man approached. He too wore a thin silky white gown.

“Ah… thou must be Zuri.” The man said with a weak, almost raspy voice.

“Adia is fortunate enough to have his mother. Many of his friends lost theirs or were abandoned.” He said, but Adia lifted his head before messily wiping his face.

“Zuri isn’t my mom. She just takes care of me.” He said.

“Isn’t that what a mom does?”

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“Yeah. You’re still pretty lucky.”

Some of the boys said while the man and I locked gazes.

He must have realized my predicament because he gently smiled before letting out a fake cough.

“Come now, children. Wouldst thee kindly allow us the room?” He asked, prompting all the boys to walk towards a hidden door behind the bed.

Adia waved me goodbye before walking into the door which was hidden behind one of the tall white curtains.

The room fell silent as the man looked at me.

“Adia often spoke of thee. He described thee as an unstoppable force, although his words were slightly less elegant.” The man said, but I didn’t know how to respond.

“He also said that thou art from another world. Is it true or are those simply the words of an imaginative child?” He asked with narrowed eyes.

“I-its true, your highness.”

“Please… call me Caligo. Oh and all this standing must be tiring. Please, come sit.” He said before leading me onto the bed while the knight from before watched over us closely.

“Father would absolutely love to meet thee… well, if I assured him that thou posed no threat to him.” Caligo said with a weak smile.

I tried my best to smile in response, but I couldn’t.

I was sitting mere centimetres away from the Golden Prince and vessel of Summus’s Will so I forced myself into a more composed state.

“Aww… please try to be more relaxed. My only desire is to learn more about thee before I return to my duties.” Caligo said with what looked like a pout.

“W-what would you like me to tell you?” I asked.

“Anything thou pleases.”

I nodded before telling him about various things from my time on earth. I kept my story light on gruesome details and made sure to only tell him what I thought he’d be interested. Some of earth’s history and some other things.

.

..

“Fascinating!” Caligo gasped.

I nodded while tightly squeezing my sweaty hands.

“So tell me, what-“

A knock interrupted Caligo’s words.

This infuriated the knight next to us and so she walked towards the door before opening it slightly.

“What?” She hissed.

“Err… everyone is here.”

A voice said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean everyone. The High Priests and the Grandmaster.”

“Oh…”

“Is everything alright, Astír?” Caligo asked.

“Y-yes, my lord. Sidus just informed me that the High Priests and Grandmaster are here. W-would you like to speak to them?” Astír asked. She looked both nervous and angry.

“Mmm.” Caligo droned as he placed his hand on his chin. I saw that the burns that covered his body were in the process of healing, but I couldn’t help but wince every time he moved. Maybe this is what was making Astír so nervous.

I’d learnt that Caligo had bested the Dragon King and Prince in battle during the Great War.

Maybe the burn marks were the scars he got during that battle.

“I suppose allowing them to see that I have indeed awoken will erase some of their concerns.” Caligo said as he stood up.

He then offered me his hand and I nervously accepted it.

“Lead the way.”

Astír nodded before leading us out of the chamber.

We then returned to the staircase which was guarded by six Golden Knights, one of the being Sidus.

They all lined the way to the bottom of the stairs where four people awaited.

One of them was a tall and beautiful woman who had long white hair and blue eyes which contrasted quite well with her back dress. It was a matte dress that covered her entire body from her wrists to her feet. I couldn’t tell how old she was just by looking at her, but she looked a little over thirty. She also had a beautiful golden headpiece on her head that looked like two upward facing horns.

The two men standing next to her were rather old. One had a head full of grey hair while the other was bald. The one with hair wore a dark robe with intricate silver markings covering it. At its centre was the crest of the Moon King, the full moon. The bald man wore an equally dark robe only in had golden details and the crest of the Golden Prince, the sun.

The last person at the bottom of the stairs was a middle aged man who wore a white uniform that had gold and silver trimmings.

He had a head full of thick grey hair and had piercing grey eyes.

He was the first to walk forward as Caligo and I descended the staircase.

“By the light… you’re awake.” He said with widened eyes.

“Indeed, uncle. Tell me, for how long didst I sleep?” Caligo asked before stopping just in front of the man.

“Close to four hundred years.” The man said.

“I see… what of the mud crawlers? What became of our conquest to the south?” Caligo asked prompting the man to glare at the three people behind him.

“After news of your slumber got out, the High Priests decided it would be best if we halted the conquest until you awoke.”

“I… struggle to comprehend why such action was necessary.” Caligo said with a feint frown.

“After word of your slumber became widely known, many things happened. Several legions turned traitor after seeing that Lanceberg was left without its rulers. One of those legions was the Yilon and they caused devastating amounts of damage to Middlen. On top of that, morale within the Liland Corps dropped significantly and we began suffering heavy casualties in the south. We made the decision to pull our forces back to deal with the traitorous knights all while keeping a close eye on the north, just in case the dragons made a resurgence.” The woman said.

“Oh? And did they ever return?” Caligo asked with a raised brow.

“N-no.”

“I see. So four hundred years have passed. I assume the traitorous knights were all dealt with. Tell me thou achieved something in all the time between then and now. Didst thee exterminate or at least reduce the Dragon population to the point that they are no longer a threat? What of the Araena Mountains? Didst thee conquer that territory as per father’s wishes?” Caligo asked and all four people lowered their heads.

“No.” The man in uniform said.

“Why not?”

“We wanted to conquer Edenton with you leading our vanguard, your highness. Shortly after you fell asleep, coordination between the legions fell apart. Not to mention the casualties we suffered during your battle with the dragons.” The woman said.

“What say thee, Uncle Farram?” Caligo asked.

“It is as Kulea says. We had to fight battles on multiple fronts and so we've spent the last few centuries trying to stabilize things.”

“Is that so? Well, given that thou had four hundred years, I assume everything has been sorted out.” Caligo said as he lightly squeezed my hand.

Farram and the others all lowered their eyes.

“What… this is unacceptable. I can tolerate incompetence from these two, but… Uncle… Priestess Kulea…” Caligo said.

None of them spoke as he looked down at them with eyes that burnt brightly, but even thought he seemed enraged, he did not raise his voice and he didn’t squeeze my hand too hard.

“Return to thine offices. Get thine provinces in order and have thine men ready for the resumption of the Moon King’s conquest of Edenton. I will consult father and I swear that all of thee will face the consequences of allowing his kingdom to fall as far as it has. Leave.” Caligo said.

Farram opened his mouth to speak, he quickly closed it before following Kulea and the others out of the palace.

Astír walked up to Caligo before deeply bowing.

“Is there anything you would like, my lord?” She asked.

“Yes. All those years ago I brought back with me a certain sword. Bring it me.”

Astír bowed before entering a room next to the staircase which was hidden behind the tall white curtains.

Caligo sighed before sitting on one of the large steps.

I sat next to him as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Tell me, what state is Lanceberg in? I beg thee… be as honest with me as possible.” He asked with a pained expression.

I told him everything that I had experienced since Adia and I arrived and this only made his golden eyes glow even brighter.

“I see.” He muttered as Astír returned with a large black sword in hand.

Caligo accepted it before holding it up with his left arm.

“Father and I always dreamed for the day when we would again meet people from our home world. I… I am sorry that thou had to go through all that.”

“No, please don’t apologize.” I said, but Caligo frowned deeply before lowering the dark sword.

“No, Zuri. I owe it to you and the citizens of Lanceberg. I vow, on this day, to restore the kingdom to a state that should have been waiting for thee when thou arrived. I will also finish that which my father began. I will conquer all of Edenton.”