"You, if the next thing coming from your mouth isn't what I want to hear... Hmm." Manisa let the words hang.

She was still fuming. Abdin stepped back and sat down on a chair. He took a cup and fetched her some water.

She glared at the cup and looked away, but she sat after a while.

"I made a mistake in not explaining it to you. I was forced to leave, I can't tell you what happened... to protect you."

The young woman stood up and made to leave, still fuming. He had the guts to say he couldn't tell her after he had left her for so long.

Abdin snatched her hand, and before she could free herself, he forced her back to her chair.

"Your life is in danger. The war between Shurein and Ura isn't going to stop here. I want you to pack your things and be ready."

She frowned, her countenance changing drastically. The anger on her face was slowly being replaced by a surprised look. "So it's true?" She said with narrowed eyes.

"What is?" Abdin asked. He loved Manisa, but that wasn't the reason he sought her out today.

He couldn't get any news from the papers. The young woman was a princess that had access to the emperor's palace, she could easily get news that couldn't be found in the papers.

She frowned. "You don't know? They are saying Yusta'Diyum has fallen."

Abdin tried but failed to conceal his surprise. "Yusta'Diyum has fallen?"

There was a moment of silence in the room. He wanted to get information from her but he didn't expect to get this information.

What would become of the remaining empires now? "Yusta'Diyum is a level 6 empire, how can a level 6 palace fall?"

"How would I know?" She paused before saying, "You asked me to be prepared... why?"

Abdin opened his mouth but couldn't make out any words. He only wanted to scout for information, and honestly, there hadn't been any plan of taking Manisa along.

"We will go South whenever this place becomes dangerous." He nodded. If Yusta'Diyum had truly fallen - something he was still struggling to believe - then the South, which had been home to notable cultivation sects, would be the most peaceful.

Manisa glared at him. "South? Don't you know what happened? The cultivation sects are the ones who brought down Yusta'Diyum. It is said that, despite their victory, the whole of the South is now filled with the stench of war."

What?

Abdin couldn't wrap his head around the possibility of cultivation sects overthrowing the level 6 empire. Among all the three powers, Yusta'Diyum had been the strongest and had the most number of cultivators.

Backing the level 6 empire were five level 5 empires. Each level 5 empire owned a specific element. The emperor leading such an empire had reached a certain level in cultivating his elemental ability to the extent that he owned the element and could contract it to other cultivators in exchange for lifespan and loyalty. It was a very effective way for creating an army.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The first of the five level 5 empires owned flame. More than ninety percent of flame cultivators originated from there.

The second empire owned lightning element. It was where Abdin mastered most of his lightning skills.

The third and fourth empires could manipulate the earth and water respectively.

And the fifth empire ruled the winds. Their emperor was said to have control over the air people breathed.

How could Yusta'Diyum fall when it had all these monsters protecting it?

"We go West then." He nodded weakly. "Many powerful clerics live there. We shall live peacefully over there."

For the umpteenth time, Manisa glared at him. "Even you don't know what happened. After they were done with Yusta'Diyum, the sects marched West and attacked the clerics. One palace guard told me this is the safest place in the world at the moment."

That didn't make any sense. The distance between Yusta'Diyum and the Southern domain wasn't something that could be covered in a few months even by the fastest bird.

Abdin had a sudden headache. Something else was at work here. The cultivation sects never had the power to defeat Yusta'Diyum. Many viewed the sects as the weakest power among the three.

And how could all these things happen in quick succession?

The East, the South, and the West were all gone. The only place left was the North...

"Where will you flee to this time? Why did you leave? You... You were never in love with me..."

Abdin looked down at his feet. At a time when all the signs of an apocalypse were manifesting, this young lady was only concerned about her husband's adventures from years past.

He could never go North even with an apocalypse.

Yusta'Diyum. Cultivation sects. Clerics. These had been the three pillars upholding the world order. Every tribe had to be under their watch.

How could all three pillars fall in a span of a few months?

Abdin found himself deeply immersed in thought.

He had once stayed at a cultivation sect over in the South. The sect cultivates using stone statues. The biggest statue was called Tsibi. A scholar there had told Abdin that Tsibi was the name of a 'hidden planet'. It was meant to be a figure of speech, or at least he thought so. But it was not.

Countless years later, he was now in this part of the world. Silver Mask and king Biyakin believed he came from another world because of the scent of his body. This confirmed the existence of other worlds.

And with all the three powers in the world falling in quick succession and within a short period, Abdin felt that it was a well-calculated attack from an unimaginably powerful enemy.

Maybe someone from another world...

Abdin's breathing slowed down to a halt. If he was met with failure on this continent, where would he escape when the whole world was on fire? He couldn't go North, of course.

"Abdin!" Manisa shouted his name to wake him up. She had been one of the few that had the opportunity to know his name.

He rubbed his temple and sighed. He said, "I never thought it was this bad. What would you do now? I will support you whatever you do." He beat his chest in a dramatic way to ease the tension.

"Player," Manisa grunted under her breath and glared at him.

Abdin smiled wanly, his head bowed slightly. It was only Manisa who could get away with such comments toward him. He abandoned her and most of the information he had gotten about Juwaira had been from her.

He sighed before shifting his chair closer to her. He stretched out a hand towards her. She didn't flinch away immediately and Abdin was getting excited that he was being given a second chance.

But just then, they heard a blast from outside. It sounded like an explosion, though it wasn't very clear because of the distance.

The old maid they had left outside barged into the room. She gave them a hasty curtsey and said, "Princess, we ought to leave."

"What happened?" Abdin asked, standing up with a frown.

Another blast came again. This one was louder. It was the same explosion but it seemed to have gotten closer.

Another came.

The third time it happened, the room vibrated. The old maid launched her cultivation. The pressure generated from a thousand years of pol filled the room and stabilized the situation a little.

Abdin ran to the window and peeped through. Some large jet-like objects had filled the sky.

The old maid pulled Manisa and ran toward the exit. The princess was being dragged, it was obvious she would rather stay but the maid wasn't having any of it.

Abdin appeared before them and blocked their way.

"What are you doing? Do you think you can get to the palace like this?"