My eyes remained fixed on the glowing core as I asked quietly,
"How is the island floating?"
Azalea replied, "It’s a combination of different laws working together. The core plays a major role, of course."
I followed up with another question.
"Why didn’t you just move the realm sowhere else?"
She let out a soft sigh.
"I did. But moving a realm isn’t easy—it takes a lot of Essence to operate the core. I was injured and running from the Phantom. So I picked a direction at random and pushed the realm with whatever Essence I could still control."
She turned to look at .
"And it just so happened... it ended up near your ho planet."
My eyes widened slightly.
"That... was a coincidence?"
She nodded.
"Every small realm like this needs a larger world to anchor itself. It can’t just float around in space on its own. And sohow, this one latched onto yours."
Her tone shifted, becoming sharper.
"But what’s strange is that the Ferans were able to find it again."
That pulled both of us into silence for a few seconds.
We stood there, thinking.
Eventually, Azalea shook her head.
"Anyway, once they did, they created stable portals to travel back and forth."
I frowned.
"I saw them using so kind of portable teleportation device. How do I get rid of those?"
She responded calmly.
"There are three ways. First, destroy the devices themselves. Second, destroy the anchor point those devices use to open the portal into this realm. And third, just shift the realm slightly—even a small shift would change the coordinates and make their portals useless."
I nodded slowly, absorbing the information.
"So this place is like a bubble?"
"Exactly," she said. "And if a few powerful Grandmasters know where the bubble is floating... and they attack hard enough—they can break in. That’s how the Ferans breached it the first ti, years ago."
She floated a little higher, gesturing toward the orb.
"To stop that from happening again, you’ll need to strengthen the realm’s outer boundaries. That ans improving your comprehension of space—and using that to reinforce the shell of the realm."
I stood there quietly, letting it all sink in.
Azalea’s voice cut through the silence.
"All right. Are you ready to take ownership of the realm? Once you do, you’ll be able to access everything I ntioned before—and return here from your world anyti you want."
I gave a silent nod.
"Place your hand on the core," she instructed.
I stepped forward and did as she said. The mont my fingers touched the floating orb, I felt a strange sensation—like touching clouds. It was soft, loose, almost spongy... but when I pressed harder, it turned solid beneath my palm.
Azalea floated beside and gently placed her hand over mine.
The core trembled once, then glowed bright white.
I flinched slightly as a burning sensation etched across the back of my hand, like sothing was being engraved into my skin. Then the light faded, and I felt sothing click—like a switch flipping inside .
A connection snapped into place.
Suddenly, I could feel the realm. Six entry points lit up in my mind, glowing like beacons. I realized they were the portals the Holts had created—all of them inside that underground base where I’d been held prisoner.
I could sense the shape of the realm now, like I was inside a sphere suspended in a sea of threads. I even felt where the boundary was thinner—especially toward the east. That had to be where the Ferans broke in during the invasion.
But more than anything else, it was the space itself that drew my attention.
It was like diving headfirst into a sea of particles, each thread of space bending and shifting around . I could feel its flow, its texture—its rhythm.
Azalea glanced at , her tone light.
"You like that? It’ll do wonders for your space comprehension."
I nodded, still lost in the sensation.
Azalea’s voice pulled out of it.
"Billion, I promised you the realm, and I’ve kept that promise. But I also recall your conversation with Lily—from her mories. You wanted to hold off that Grandmaster, right?"
I turned toward her.
"Well, my initial plan was to have Lily or Dahlia stall the Grandmaster while I handled other matters," I said. "But... what do you suggest?"
She narrowed her eyes.
"What are these ’other matters’ you want to deal with?"
I fell silent, thinking it through again.
Originally, we ca here to free the Ferans—at least, that was the mission. But things had shifted. The Ferans weren’t victims. They were working with the Holts. Planning sothing against our world. And whatever they were doing... it wasn’t small.
There were traitors back in the Empire.
I already had control of the realm, and that gave a new idea. I looked at Azalea and asked,
"Can I just throw them all out using the core?"
She shook her head imdiately.
"No. It doesn’t work like that."
I sighed and rubbed my forehead.
"Of course it didn’t."
I took a deep breath, steadying my thoughts as I laid out the plan forming in my head.
"Can I return to my world directly from here?" I asked.
Azalea nodded.
"Yes. Now that you’re the realm’s holder, you can cross its boundary whenever you want."
That was all I needed to hear.
"Alright," I said, exhaling.
"Then here’s what I’m thinking. You said the Holts are planning an investigation of the realm tonight, right? That’s when I strike. I’ll hit them hard—chaos, death, disruption—whatever I can manage. Then I slip out and link up with my forces waiting on the outside. Once I’m with them, we hit back together and take down everything in one coordinated sweep."
Azalea tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing with interest.
"You know they’ll detect it imdiately if you bring too many people inside. Even opening that many portals could set off alarms."
I nodded.
"Then I co back alone. Quietly. And that’s where I’ll need you."
She folded her arms.
"Let guess—you want to keep their Grandmaster occupied?"
"Exactly," I said. "You hold off Hugh. I’ll free the prisoners, destroy every last portal device they have, and stir the nest while they’re distracted. In that chaos, I’ll bring in my people—clean, surgical. We end this."
Azalea nodded slowly.
"That could work. But what about the Ferans?"
I shrugged, letting a grin creep across my face.
"I’m just a kid. If the Emperor can’t deal with them, maybe it’s ti I take his job."
Azalea laughed, the sound echoing in the quiet stone chamber. But then her expression shifted. The light in her eyes dimd a little.
"I can help, Billion. But you have two days."
I blinked.
"What?"
"I won’t be able to remain here after that. Sothing... will happen. I need to leave before it does."
Her voice was soft, but final. There was sothing behind it—sothing heavy.
"What do you an, sothing will happen?"
She smiled faintly and shook her head.
"It’s a secret. But if you co find in my world, I’ll tell you everything."
I stared at her for a mont, then nodded.
"Alright. Where is your planet? And how do I reach it?"
"My world is called Oroshka," she said.
"There are many large worlds with portals leading there. Maybe even your own world has one—ask the right people."
I nodded again, slower this ti, tasting the na on my tongue.
"Oroshka."
Azalea looked at , her expression calm.
"I think we’re done here."
I nodded once more and reached out with my mind, linking with the core. I willed us to teleport out. Essence surged through my channels, flooding them for a mont—then vanished. The next instant, both of us stood outside, just in front of the castle.
Azalea glanced around, then smiled faintly.
"Well, you picked it up fast."
"It costs a lot of Essence," I muttered.
She nodded in agreent.
I looked up at the sky and said, "Why don’t you stay here? I’ll head to the mountain range and wait for the Holts... or maybe I’ll just storm their base directly."
She gave a warm look, her voice soft.
"Take care, Billion. You’re a strong kid. Keep aiming higher."
I nodded once, then stepped back. Crimson mist erupted behind as my wings unfurled with a sharp hiss. With one powerful flap, my body shot off the ground, soaring upward.
Wind tore past as I climbed higher and higher, then I folded my wings mid-air and dropped into a sharp dive—rushing down toward one of the distant peaks. Behind , the floating ruins of the castle slowly shrank, swallowed by the clouds.
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