Terry the [Royal Gardener] was going about his nightly rounds around the palace's exterior. Accompanying him was his granddaughter. Mein was barely 14 years old and hadn't chosen to take a class yet, unlike many other eager youths. Once a class was accepted, there was no getting rid of it. Mein benefited from more time to choose since her parents were well-off and didn't need her to help out once she finished Wednesday Schooling. She'd been spending time studying with various professionals ever since her graduation.

Tailors. Blacksmiths. Dancers and Singers. Teachers. Woodworkers. Warriors and Hunters. Soldiers and Administrators. Even a grumpy Mage.

Mein practically blew through most occupations. She had enough talent to excel almost anywhere, but choosing a class was about passion. Terry said those words to her around her 8th birthday.

When Mein said she decided to be a [Gardener] like her grandfather, Terry nearly cried. It was a dream come true. Getting permission for her to visit was more difficult than he would have liked, considering Terry was in charge of the entire palace garden. Everything worked out in the end, even if they needed to come at dusk.

"Is it okay that you brought me here so late? Won't father be angry?"

Terry smiled lovingly at his only granddaughter. Terry wasn't as protective as his son but was cautious enough to keep her away from crazy individuals like the Champions or anyone else who might be wandering around the palace. They were all terrible influences.

"Let me worry about your father. You wanted to see the hedge maze, right? It's a whole new world when the fireflies come out."

"What if they don't come out?"

"Well then, I suppose I will have to use a Skill."

"You have a Skill to make fireflies come out?"

Mein turned her head. She appeared amazed and incredulous that there was such a skill. Terry beamed at the chance to show off.

"I gained the passive skill [Night Life] a decade ago. It makes the entire garden come alive. It can even make the fireflies come out if they don't want to."

"That sounds cruel, grandpa."

Terry clutched his heart. Such hurtful words from such a precious child. He held out a hesitant hand to his granddaughter.

"It's not like that at all, Mein. The skill only makes the flowers tastier and suggests that the fireflies congregate here rather than somewhere else."

"But what if they want to taste other flowers? Wouldn't the fireflies enjoy roaming elsewhere?"

"That's..."

His words were interrupted by a high-pitched whistle followed by a small impact as something landed a few feet away. The old [Gardener] jumped out of his skin. Young Mein hopped over and gazed quizically at the minuscule smoking divet in the ground.

=

"He is off his rocker."

"Totally unhinged."

"The definition of insane."

"Strangely attractive."

"A self-righteous buffoon with a god complex."

"Wait. Who said that?"

"Moving forward... What do we do?"

Willaim sat down in a plush chair, exhausted. The others all mirrored his mood. Lionel was the only one absent. Someone needed to make sure everything was still running smoothly.

Reiss was the largest wildcard they had ever seen. Capable of literally anything. How could they control him and keep him in check? The man had an ego large enough to encompass all of Wern.

"We have no reason to disbelieve what we have seen, your majesty."

"There's still time before all the Gates open. Since they open periodically, we can enact several plans to keep them at bay. However, what is most worrying is the state of our internal affairs. If we don't review and solidify our foundation, I am afraid that the introduction of so many new variables will tear the Empire apart."

The others looked to the Emperor for reprisal or reaction. Instead, William interlocked his fingers, hiding his mouth.

"Go on."

=

Mein examined the hole in the ground; wisps of smoke still rose from it. Terry clutched at his heart for a different reason.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"Was that a shooting star?"

Terry chuckled nervously.

"Haha, no, of course not. Someone probably littered off the tower again."

Moving closer to his granddaughter, he glanced up when he heard more whistling. He paled.

Terry sprang forward to shield Mein from more projectiles. It was unneeded, however, as the smoking pastries landed harmlessly around Mein. She looked up at the colossal castle tower, gasping at what she saw.

=

A commotion broke out in the meeting room as two pieces of paper popped into existence.

Gideon was stupified. As one of the only magic users present, he also knew the Message spell. It was a nifty spell that most mages knew. To send a message, a caster needed to know the recipient's location down to a few meters. The amount of expertise required to transmit the physical message instead of leaving a magical signature that needed to be interpreted...

Not to mention getting past the world's best-layered wards and spell shields to land directly in the center of the meeting table.

"That is the single most terrifying piece of paper in existence."

Marcine gave him a side-eye.

"No. Scratch that. There are two of them. Stars help us."

"It's just paper. The words hold truth. There aren't any non-humans among the court or in high positions."

Quinnerva nodded. She fought a few champions among the beastkin race that could give her a run for her money. Things would be much easier if they could get a beastkin [Axe Champion] to join their ranks.

Unfortunately, the beastkin kept themselves separated and didn't mingle outside their own groups. Conversely, the same could be said for humans.

"What about these Harpies? Is there any evidence of them being in the Lyle Mountain Range?"

Lima reported.

"There are some cases of sheep disappearing occasionally or large bird sightings. We've always attributed it to Roc's or Wyverns. The Lyle Mountain Range is a dangerous location to settle, so we don't investigate the higher regions and stick our mining operations to the outer sections. There may be colonies up higher."

Willaim rubbed his brow. Could he really he been ignorant of an entire race so close to home?

His dreams only foretold problems and danger. It is possible he never dreamed of them simply because of how isolated and hermitic they are. They also could have been mixed up with the many shadows he's been seeing of other worlds, only to get lost in the background.

His Skill [Danger Sense: Dreams] wasn't omnipotent. It was a passive skill where the difficulty in interpreting the dream scaled with the level of threat. None of the dreams ever included anything that wasn't actively endangering him or the Empire. His other Skills needed prior knowledge for him to glimpse anything of note.

William was starting to realize his complacency.

"Why work with Vampires? They are evil. They drink blood and convert our citizens."

Charles spat the words.

"According to this paper from Reiss, excuse me, these are his words, not mine..."

Nelson cleared his throat.

"...Vampires are not evil; you buffoons. They are forced to hide since they are persecuted. You eat meat. Vegetarians believe you're evil. Stop being such nincompoops and learn to coexist."

Cray smirked. Nelson continued.

"According to Reiss: The vampires are the only race that can identify Shifters. They will also feel threatened by the Demons' conversion. Many vampires will abhor the idea of being compared to Demons and will fight them purely on principle. Use them. Set up blood banks and donation centers. Pay them in blood."

Nelson squirmed a little bit. Just a little.

"...It is a good idea."

Gideon weathered a glare from Charles.

"It is. I don't know why we haven't thought of it. There are criminals among humans and beastkin, but Cray over here hunts Vampires almost exclusively because they drink blood? Why don't we just use it to pay them?"

Cray smacked the back of his head. Gideon had been a little crude with his words. William spoke, putting any other opinions to rest.

"We'll figure out a system to take blood. If we set up a center, we will have to guard it against protestors."

The meeting continued like that. They discussed more races, integration, the collision of worlds, how they would survive, and what they could do about Reiss.

=

Terry must have passed out from worry and shock. He still stood on his feet but missed something important.

Mein hadn't shut her eyes.

The sight of seeing an angelic figure float down, illuminated by the last rays of light. What she thought were wings were actually long strands of white hair. She watched, her lips parted in awe as Reiss landed softly on the ground a few feet away.

Mein was unresponsive for the few moments Reiss took to examine the small craters in the grass. The smoldering pastries, the gaping teenage girl, and the elderly gardener still momentarily unconscious.

The world resumed with Reiss' words.

"Terry? I haven't seen you in ages. How've you been? Is this your granddaughter?"

Terry came back to himself and babbled a little bit. He saw the golden aura surrounding Reiss, a sign of the Emperor. It shone brighter than the sun and was practically equal to the [Emperor] himself. How had he never heard of a man of such magnitude before?

Quickly, he ran over to Mein and tried to get her to bow low.

"My sincerest apologies. I don't believe I have had the honor of meeting one such as you."

Reiss scoffed.

"Don't be like that, Terry. I respect your work. You keep this place healthy. Oh. The aura. One moment, I just have to scroll..."

Reiss smacked himself as he remembered. It didn't hurt his image in Mein's eyes at all. She continued to stare, entranced by the shining figure in her vision. Then the golden aura disappeared.

"Are you an angel?"

"What? No, no, I'm not. I'm just a [Florist]."

Tremors ran through Terry's old bones. There was a [Florist] among the palace he didn't know about. Mein was giddy as she asked.

"Really? How is that different from a [Gardener]?"

Reiss smiled warmly.

"Your Grandpa is a [Royal Gardener], so you should know that he manages everything within the garden. I'm a [Florist]. I only work with flowers. Like this..."

Reiss used [Reform Memory] and [Colorful Pairing]. The skills worked in tandem. A golden sunflower printed into existence next to a more subdued Grasvin, a subspecies of sunflower that grew underground. It absorbed ambient light from cave crystals, glowing a soft blue. The Grasvin was smaller than its cousin but no less beautiful. Together they made an excellent combination.

Separating the two, he handed the golden sunflower to Mein. Agog, she took it. Reiss enjoyed the look of wonder and childish glee before handing the Grasvin to Terry.

"I hope this is enough apology for interrupting your evening."

Terry's emotions were in disarray. He examined the Grasvin in detail, noticing it was entirely real and still living. Adding it to the garden might gain him a level. However, neither the potential level gain nor the extreme rarity of holding a Grasvin in his hand is what boggled his mind.

He can create life?

Reiss squared his shoulders and nodded.

"Well. I'll be off then. Stay away from Winter Sprites. And I'd appreciate it if you kept our meeting secret. Thanks!"

So he said before strolling off.

Only three minutes after he left did their synchronized stupefaction shatter. Mein was the first to speak.

"Grandpa?"

"Hm."

Terry tore his gaze away from the Grasvin to peer down at his granddaughter. Mein looked up at him with the most determined gaze he'd ever seen.

"I changed my mind. I want to be a [Florist]."

Thus the world changed.