Arthur POV

Stepping outside of Cynthia's office I was met by the two custodians standing awkwardly just beside the door. The awkwardness was due to the fact that they were a bit too tall for this section of the flying castle and were forced to crane their necks at an uncomfortable angle.

"You know if you were uncomfortable you could have just-" I tried to say, but the left custodian, Hemera spoke.

"We custodians were created to serve the Emperor. And by extension now you. We shall gladly lay down our own lives for you, my lord." He said, his voice betraying any tone or change.

"Right." I replied. Dealing with these custodians was a chore to say the least. They were excellent, in both combat prowess and intellect. But how could you put it, it almost seemed as if they had all their free will ripped out of them and replaced with blind loyalty to their creator.

Which seemed to have been the purpose but it still gave me pause. To reduce these warriors worth their weight in dragon mana cores to mere slaves bound to someone seemed a waste if not completely unethical.

But it also made dealing with them frustrating. Bringing only five of them with me was a concession I had reached with Bellerophon. And even then at least two custodians were to be by my side at all times.

I wasn't really sure what they were guarding me from, I was confident enough in my current state to deal with multiple custodians at once. So if there was something I couldn't deal with I doubt two of them could do much. But I suppose it was just to give them a peace of mind. You don't really forget the shame of letting your one real purpose and mission fail.

I began to walk down the corridors. Still deep in thought as the two custodians followed me in unison. Their armored forms shimmered as they perfectly cloaked themselves to be invisible to outside observers. Even a trained mage wouldn't be able to detect them now. Have had their mana signatures dampened to almost unreadable levels, even with Realmheart fully activated it took me a couple seconds to see the imprint they left on the world.

But at least now I didn't look so unapproachable, having two giant bodyguards following me around. On that note.

I looked down at myself, my white shirt was still dyed red with blood and as the blood was now drying it was turning an undesirable brown.

'Might as well take a shower while I am here as well.' I thought as I began to make my way to my own personal chambers.

Luckily I didn't run into anybody on the way. Not that would have been much of a problem nor did I have to walk all the way here but still, I believe I still have to go through the motions of being human at the very least. Can't lose my sense of reality for the common people now can I?

And soon enough I reached the private wing of the castle. This place was originally reserved for the members of the Dicathen tri-union council and their servants. I suppose this place still fulfills a similar purpose with it serving as my quarters. Though I rarely stay in the Dicathen castle for long, staying only out of necessity with business.

I still have most of my dealings and belongings within my underground fortress in Darv. I figured having a base of operations underground would be easier to deal with and it helped hide away the device Neoth and I were working on. And I didn't have the need to project my power and authority with a flying castle.

And after having each royal family move back to their own respective homes this part of the castle was usually empty. I had insisted they could turn these rooms into useful space but none of my attendants refused to touch my room.

Rich red and gold carpet extended out from the door of my personal room. There were multiple doors, each equally decorated with expensive woodwork and gemstones.

'Those ought to be put to better use.' I muttered in my head as I opened the door to my room.

It was an expansive room. Easily dwarfing the small house I was born in in Ashber. It looked like what you would expect a rich king from a fantasy book to live in. Paintings of landscapes and Dicathen landmarks littered the walls, each surrounded by frames made of solid gold and silver. A long table made of glass had matching glass chairs, ten of them in total. Designed for the king's guest I would presume to hold private meetings and parties.

But the best feature I would reckon was the wall that faced the door. The entire section was entirely glass, with a hazy filter that dimmed the sunlight at just the right level to light the room but not blind you. The sun was long gone now but the sunsets here in this room were breathtaking.

Turning back to the custodians I ordered them to stay outside. They seemed reluctant at first but I told them I was going to take a shower and unless they wanted to be branded as perverts among their brothers to get out. They complied soon after that.

Indulging in the short lone time I had earned myself I quickly stripped my bloodstained clothes off of myself. Some garments were so caked in blood that I had to rip them off of my body. And even then most of my upper body was dyed reddish brown with blood. I was indeed a horrifying sight indeed.

Quickly hopping into the bath I turned on the water, letting the cool water wash over my body as I sat in the bath.

I stayed like that for a couple of minutes as the tub filled up. I could feel my muscles relaxing as I let my head go empty. Too many thoughts, memories, and plans. Too many worries to deal with.

I still sometimes earned for the careless days I would spend as a student at Xyrus. I had gained much since then but it also felt as if I had lost something in the process. Something I could never truly get back, no matter how powerful I became.

I looked down at my hands, perfectly clean and milky pale complexion. The aether within my body constantly restoring myself to my physical prime left no scars or hardened skin that I used to wear as a visual indication of my training and efforts. All washed away forever.

"And this is why I don't like being left alone with my thoughts." I muttered under my breath. Never a moment of peace in this noggin of mine. I have lived too many lifetimes for such things.

Washing the rest of my body I got out of the bath. Seeing the water now a pink color with blood. Trying not to think too hard about it I quickly drained the water and began to dry off my body with a towel.

Standing in front of the mirror and looking back at myself I saw what others saw. The aether within me had accelerated my body to grow to its prime. I no longer had the appearance of a tall teenager, instead what stared back at me could have passed as a healthy twenty-something year old.

I still had elements of this body's parents within my face. But there was an underlying Indrath quality to all of my features. My hair has grown quite a bit now as well. Reaching all the way to the middle of my back.

It kind of made sense why the people of Dicathen accepted me as their king so easily despite my young age. Even I could feel it by just looking at me. The piercing gold eyes that matches Sylvies gave me an uneasy quality. But there was something else as well. Some strange air around me that gave off a domineering feeling.

Ignoring that for now I quickly dried my hair with the help of some wind attribute magic as I dressed myself. It was nothing fancy, just a simple black suit that gave me freedom of movement.

'Don't you think you have spent enough time admiring yourself? Or have you now become a full-blown narcissist.' I could hear Regis laughing in my head.

And through our mental bond I could sense Sylvie deliver a quick clobber to Regis' head.

'Don't be an ass.' She replied.

'Sylvie! Who taught you such words!' I exclaimed.

In the resulting silence I could feel the tension in Regis as he stayed quiet. It was a mistake leaving him with her. He was a terrible influence.

'Hey now, I would say the one being called a demon by the Alacryans is the worse influence.' Regis shot back.

'Yeah, but at least I don't teach her such words. Just wait until I get my hands on you.' I said as I finished dressing myself.

'On that subject weren't you going to check up on Lucas at the Wall?' Regis asked, I could sense his intention to change the subject but I allowed it.

'I was planning on it but don't you think a custodian is enough to deal with him and the beasts at the Wall?'

'By deal with, you don’t mean killing right? Cause knowing custodians they don't seem to have a filter.' Sylvie raised her concerns, which weren't unwarranted.

Thinking about it for a moment I deemed it better safe than sorry. And having their own king fight alongside them on the battlefield would do numbers on morale.

'Very well, I will be with you two shortly.' I said as I finished dressing and opened the door to leave.

As I began to walk to the main teleportation gate within the castle I could vaguely sense the two custodians following silently with their cloak of invisibility.

Regis and Sylvie were still in Vilodrial, and I have kept myself from sending any custodians there for now. I didn't particularly want any unknown noses poking around Neoth and I's work. At least until I have a firm grasp on the limits of the custodians and their true loyalty. As well as the fact that my bond still was a dragon, and of the royal Indrath lineage no less.

I didn't want to see what would happen if I were to leave any custodian alone with her for any duration of time.

I seem to have been so deep in my thoughts that I barely had the time to evade myself around the approaching figure. We didn't collide but in the resulting shock the young woman I barely evaded fell on the ground.

Without a second thought I apologized as I offered her a hand to take. She took it without complaint, then seemed to freeze in her tracks as she raised her head to look up at me.

As for me I saw the familiar red ruby-like eyes staring back at me with flowing dark navy blue hair that fell over her shoulders.

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"Your majesty!" Caera exclaimed, deeply bowing as she let go of my hand.

I couldn't see her face now but I could see her ears turning a light hue of red. Yes, I do suppose it has been quite a while since we have met face to face. But I have kept her supposed family stationed on the flying castle to keep a close eye on her. As well as giving her a source of information to rely back to Alacrya.

And I must say she has been pretty passive for a while. I know she must have been sent to Dicathen to act as a sleeper agent but still, with the war under way you would have expected her to do something big by now.

"Raise her head Caera. I don't think you need to be so formal, at least when we are alone, school president." I said with a light chuckle.

Caera did as I said, her face still cast in a red hue that was slowly matching her eyes. She was dressed in simple battle garments, the only thing that would give away her status as a noble was the quality in which her garments were made from. But other than that nothing really stood out except for her natural looks.

'Boy am I glad Regis isn't here right now.' I mentally sighed.

In these few short years she seemed to have matured to a fine young lady. And I could tell she was keeping herself fit and busy with training. Although compared to fighting for your life in the Relictombs I doubt it was in the same realm of exertion. And she won't be able to fully make use of her Vritra mana arts here. It would seem I wasn't the only one hiding many cards yet to play.

Still I don't know why Agrona or Seris would send her here. At least to Seris she would seem too valuable of a pupil to send away. Was it perhaps some ploy by Agrona? Has he caught wind of Seris' true motives already? Or was it some little game he was playing with me, trying to have a fail-safe and backup for a potential vessel for the legacy.

"Please don't call me that. We aren't even in school any more. And look at you." She said as she playfully punched me in the arm.

I could sense the two custodians behind me tense up as they began to draw their weapons, only a small mental prob from me halted them in their tracks.

"Mister boy wonder here has become king. How did you do that?" She asked with a nervous laugh.

'She plays it well. If it weren't for the hundreds of lifetimes that littered my brain I would have fallen for her so easily.' And I do suppose I did fall for her a couple of times in those multiple lifetimes. Oh and how those memories of lives long gone plagued me now.

"Well I can't just go around telling people how to do that now can I?" I said with a coy smile.

Caera only laughed lightly in return. "Hey, don't let me keep you. Go along and do your king business." She said as she turned to leave.

But before she could leave I called out to her. "Caera?"

"Yes?" She asked, surprised I stopped her from leaving. She had an expecting look on her face that was well trained, I could imagine most young males falling for her right there.

"Why don't we spar when we have the time? I have never truly seen the former student president of the esteemed Xyrus academy going all out." I said it almost as a joke.

To which Caera seemed to be a bit disappointed, doing a purposefully shoddy job at trying to hide it. She flashed a small smile. "Yeah? I won't go easy on you just because you’re the king you know."

"I know." I said, returning her smile.

"Well, you know where to find me." She said as she finally turned to leave. Her footsteps seemed hurried, as if she was trying to get away from me as soon as she could. I could sense her well hidden nervousness. But she did well in trying to come off as a friendly girl. Maybe a little bit too friendly when compared to how I remembered her. It must be tiring to put on such a facade for so long.

Seris has trained her well. But I am not what you would call ordinary, even by asuran standards. But that should at least give her and Agrona something to chew on for now.

Soon I continued my way through the castle and the teleportation gate as I replayed the many lives out of the countless where I had fallen for that Alacryan girl.

Demeptah POV

I felt Erurda go limp in my hands. Peering into her I could see her core was basically useless now, and without the mana acting as a trigger all of her runes were harmless. But she was still alive, and her soul was intact.

I gently floated back down to the ground. Her family's castle was in ruins as the surrounding structure continued to decay and fall. I handed her limp body to Boraka.

"Keep her alive." I instructed as I looked over the destruction our fight had caused. A castle full of our own people's history was gone. Another piece of our history we will never have again. If that is the price that I must pay to keep our race going then so be it.

I will gladly burn away the past if it secures a future for my people. I could feel the stinging burning sensation on the side of my face but I ignored it, I'll have it dealt with later.

Still, it seemed wrong. Erurda was one of the Highlords who sat upon the council. As well as having assassinated two other Highlords and having taken over their own realms I would have expected a bigger fight.

I will have to cull many of the higher ups within her ranks but the transfer will go without too much of a cost. Luckily Erurda bought into my trap, she knew her forces were just outmatched by my sheer numbers and thinking she could hold somewhat of a chance against me in single combat allowed me to not waste any of my own troops.

Staring up into the sky I could see plumes of fire as Erurda's battleships began to die one by one. Still, I could have sworn she still had that prized capital ship that was passed down from her family for centuries. Why hadn't she deployed it?

Was she perhaps trying to buy time to escape aboard her flagship? From the schematics I held that was the only ship within her arsenal that could give my fleet a good fight. And it had ample shielding to weather through the worst of our weapons until it could safely teleport out.

Boraka returned by my side, his heavy footsteps lightly shaking the ground as he came close.

"We have captured many of the officers, my lord." He announced, in his hands was the greatsword that pulsed with energy. He knew what I was about to say and he seemed eager to draw blood once more.

"Have them dealt with." I said as I nodded.

"As you wish." Boraka complied as he walked away to execute Erurda's officers. I had no use for them when they had failed so completely in this battle.

Still it didn't sit right with me that Erurda was so short-minded. Her strategy was what? Suicide? With the hope that she would take me out with herself.

I walked deeper into the ruins of her castle. Fire crackled as they ate away at the foundation of her family. I could see the remnants of riches that she oh so loved to display.

Lush fancy carpets and paintings decorated the floor and walls, all of it now destroyed either completely or partially.

'If Neoth was here to see this he would weep.' I thought to myself as I saw the traces of our history dying before my very eyes.

Eventually I reached the long staircase that led down to the lower depths of her castle. It was still intact for the most part. It would seem our battle had only destroyed most of what laid on the surface.

I descended the steps, stepping deeper into the underground as darkness soon swallowed me whole. With a click of my lance what appeared to be an entire underground laboratory was illuminated.

Most of the laboratory was the same mess as the rest of the castle. Large holes littered the ceiling that allowed cold air to flow freely through. Still, the raging snowstorm didn't provided enough natural illumination.

As I reached the center of the room I saw several dead bodies, their skin pulled tight around their bones as if malnourished. They wore rich robes of exotic fabric and furs with aetheric runes etched onto their robes and skin.

And just beneath them was a large circular rune with many crystalline structures that lined the perimeter. A large spell ritual it would seem, to draw as much aether and mana from the surrounding atmosphere and to store it to be channeled elsewhere. The only problem being the lengthy time it would take to overcome my ship's teleportation interference field.

And it would seem she has exchanged all of that time and effort, as well as these spellcaster's lives to go head to head with me. Yet still, this was a long shot. She should have known I wouldn't have given her enough time to let such a plan work.

I investigated further, walking deeper and deeper into the underground portion of the castle. Until a glowing light caught my eye.

With a small gesture a cocoon of protective aether surrounded my body as I walked towards the glowing light. Until I saw it for what it truly was.

Erurda's flagship, the massive battle cruiser that was the prized heirloom of her family laid before me. Its thick protective hull was cut open, many of its inner components now littering the space around the grounded battleship.

And the glowing light was the main core generator of the battleship. The main source of power for the shields and weapons of any flying ship created by the Djinn. It still sat at the heart of the ship, but was fully revealed to the outside world and connected by cable and surrounded by runes.

"Ah, so this was your last gambit? Using your own ship's core to power your escape." I muttered. What a shame it was, even in its partially dismantled form I could tell this ship was of great design and power. It would have made a formidable asset for me if I could somehow salvage it.

The core of the ship still seemed intact as it glowed and pulse with energy akin to a natural heart of a massive creature. I suppose it isn't too far off from the truth of these ships.

I hailed for my legions to prepare for excavation. Leaving this here to eventually die would be a waste.

I took a step further, trying to get a better look at the core. If I couldn't salvage the rest of the ship then at least the core could be put to good use.

Put as I was about ten meters from the core the entire castle seemed to shudder. As dust fell down from the ceiling. The core's pulse began to quicken as its light brightened to a light purple ominous dark pink. Even from here I could feel the raw energy it was giving off like the heat of an open furnace.

Then the entire ship seemed to wail in pain, as if it was still fully conscious. The runes that adorned the ground and the hull of the ship began to glow until it was blinding. Then the entire ship exploded.

The blazing heat surrounded me as I was momentarily blinded. I could feel the skin tissue of my skin burn and melt even through the protective layer of aether. My armor's automatic defenses dialed up the protective aether to a hundred percent as I weathered through the worst of the explosion.

'Self detonation as soon as someone got close. So this was your last card.' While it wasn't the dumbest idea Erurda had it was the height of dishonor. And I shall have her wish she had died when she awakes again.

Soon enough the worst of the explosion died down as the dust and smoke was blown away by the blizzard winds. Slowly my sight returned as my eyes regenerated. It was just as painful as when they were melted away but bearable enough.

Flying out of the crater I returned to my troops. A sizable portion of it was missing, but more than enough had retreated far enough down the mountain.

I gently floated down as Boraka rushed towards me. "My lord, are you alright? Is it an enemy attack?"

"Just a self-destruct system our lady Highlord had prepared for us." I answered.

"My lord, are you alright? I have failed in protecting you." Boraka fell to his knees and brought a ceremonial blade to his neck. "I shall atone for such failure." he stated as he pressed the blade up to his neck, drawing blood.

But I waved him away. "I am fine Bor, how did our troops fare?" I asked.

"We lost six legions in the resulting blast, with many more damaged." He reported.

‘Six entire legions?' I could feel my hands tighten into fists. It would seem Erurda has managed to leave a scar on my sides. And to think that a Djinn Highlord would result in dishonorable tactics. It would seem I will have to sharpen my blade against my fellow brethren.

Many things have changed since I last commanded. And it would seem my race is no exception. Time has done the thing it does best, molding us through thousands of years that even we don't notice until we look back.

Very well, a Highlord's realm was still gained. And the resources she has will be more than enough for now. Now the largest opposition to my own realms were the throneworld and its loyal lackeys.

Every simulation I had ran against the throneworld had me either losing or winning with too many losses to deal with the tyrants of Ephetous. Many of my own advisors and seers didn't like our chances against a full on brawl with the Imperial throne.

They have been leaving us alone for the most part for now. Most likely due to the change in leadership but the Emperor didn't rule alone. And he currently has his attention on the material world. Which would mean Vago was the one handling most of the daily affairs.

If I were to make a slow incursion into the material world or unleash a force directly onto Ephetous the throneworld won't react too kindly. They were always controlling our race's troops and technology. They would deem my actions too risky, with the biggest threat being more of our own technology being destroyed or falling into asuran hands. And knowing Vago he won't budge no matter how I try to reason with him.

Our clash seemed inevitable at this point. But for now I will need to keep a lower profile to replenish my lost legions as well as heal my body.

Was this another ploy by Vago perhaps? Using Erurda as bait to cripple me for some time. It seemed far-fetched but for the master chronomancer nothing really seemed impossible.

Still, I was never one to back down from a battle. Even against those so-called gods of the heavens I stood my ground. Slaying hundreds of them as I did so.

And with the Imperial throne now taken by one with dragon blood in their veins it would be a great pleasure in fighting them. If they want to challenge me I more than welcome it.

I'd rather die fighting against an empire that was now just as rotten as their dead leader than stand fighting as their slave.