"Do you know what a Monarch Dragonix is?" It ended the question with a whisper.

"No," she said. Her midnight blue irises shimmered through her scarlet bangs. "But what does that have to do with me being summoned here?"

It smiled at her, content with her curiosity, and stretched its body as if it had muscles to flex. Instead, its condensed body of thousands of ball-like halos flickered and a shot of energy in red diffused into the surroundings. In an inertial effect, the spirit shot up in the air. Its bright red hair defied gravity, standing tall in the ceiling's face. It had projected a tanned skin tone, and the eyes gleamed golden. In actuality, the spirit had no appearance. It presented itself in the humanoid form of the Emperor it had killed years ago.

She was unfazed by the majestic engravings on the walls and the ceiling. Her eyes roamed around, watching the playful spirit, for she needed answers, but the spirit seemed too busy goofing around for that. "Throne, we had a deal. If you have second thoughts, it's too late to regret. Don't you dare waste my time fooling around!"

Throne, the spirit's name, the one forever bound to the throne. It stopped mid-air and glared at her from the corner of its eye. "I don't regret. And if you had thought otherwise, blame yourself. You showed me the ray of hope a thousand years ago, and now you need to fulfil it."

Dragneel furrowed her brows. "You say I have to fulfil it, but how shall I when I don't know about Monarch Dragonix's? Why have you summoned me?"

Throne raised its arm, snapped its fingers and tapped the floor. The tiles underneath their feet detached themselves from the ground and flew up into the air. The bricks and slabs dissociated from the walls and joined the tiles in a slow dance. They circled the duo and arranged themselves in chronological order.

"This is the first Monarch Dragonix. Guess what makes him different from the Emperors?"

Dragneel rolled her eyes. It still wouldn't answer her directly. She sighed and instead, followed the bricks with her eyes as their colours finally made some sense. The dazzle of the courtroom was puzzle pieces. Those were stories hidden from the public.

The tiles clicked into one another, into a portrait. She realised a face, an open crown over its head with tips flaring up like fire, eyes sharp as of eagles, a nose proud and straight. The aura of the portrait itself made it easy for someone like her to figure out what differed from the normal Emperors. The words were on her tongue, but she pondered what to say. After a few long minutes, she said, "They're special."

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Throne nodded in agreement. "Yes, these are Monarch Dragonixes, or they were. As the Paramount of Dragonix, I set the bar that the Emperor must comply with to fulfil his duty for Dragonix. But sometimes miracles happen. Sometimes the Emperors are overqualified for the bar I have set and end up ruling over me too. They are the reason Dragonix makes significant progress under their rule."

"So, there's someone over you too." Dragneel rubbed her jaw, her mind trying to figure out the stuff. "It's the highest rank ever?"

"Highest rank ever."

Dragneel clicked her tongue at Throne's half-hearted answers. Yet she cooled down her brain and asked again for the last time. "Still, what do I have to do with that?"

It laughed and answered, "You're one of those, Dragneel. You're not a candidate for the Emperor's position. You're the candidate for the Monarch Dragonix."

"Does that mean you'll dump every problem on my face? Oh, so it's my fault for trying to open those blind dumb-asses' eyes! The era of good deeds—gone!" She threw her hands up in the air.

Throne closed its eyes. "You're not a noble person, Dragneel. Don't exaggerate. You can do this one too."

The woman folded her arms. "Argh!... Fine! But how do you know that a person has the potential to become a Monarch Dragonix?"

"Good question." Throne clapped its hands, and the bricks rushed to prepare another slide. "They're accompanied by some special happenings."

"Special happenings?"

"Yes, the first Monarch Dragonix laid the vision to unite Dragonix. The second brought the spurt in Magic Arts, the third—you are acquainted with her—Elena Dragneel's birth marked the beginning of the golden generation."

A smile stretched on Dragneel's lips, but it didn't reach her eyes. "So, what special is gonna happen that I'm being picked up to become the Monarch Dragonix?"

Throne adopted a crafty smile and said, "War."

"The uprising of a rebellion,

Or a unification of lost companions.

Who will succeed in leading this wind?

Who will be the ultimate champion?

A trillion minds woven into this mess,

Finding the real culprit is worth the stress.

How are you going to operate, Bloom?

Can you find the perpetrator with a single caress?

The problem runs beyond any memory,

Even before The Legend Unrecorded's story.

Could the Universe unite like it used to be?

Could it shine again, in full glory?"