“After all those years and you held a dagger to his throat? Hahahaha!” within the southern continent of Seleria, Myra, who looked no different than before, apart from a more mature look in her eyes, was laughing at Syrana who was seated with an expressionless look as she marked several locations on a map.

“This is the reason I didn’t tell you, this is no joke!” Syrana frowned as she squeezed the ink pen tightly, enough that it snapped in two. “Do you think he seemed to regret everything? From what you said it seems like he does, but we can’t be sure. After all, look what’s happened.” Myra carefully responded in a more serious tone.

“That is the same thought I have. I would prefer to avoid any catastrophes like this again. Many have suffered from the dragons, and now his race too.” Syrana failed to see any positives in this situation.

“That is true, but these supplies have really eased a lot of our concerns. I can safely say that at least some good has come of this, but I won’t force you to try and talk to him for the sake of everyone here. Your pride won’t allow it. Do as your heart wishes, sister.” Although the two were not related, to Myra they were as close as sisters.

“Mmm....” Syrana remained quiet, not wanting to reply. In her mind, she felt that not having anything to do with Avrin would be the proper course of action and the most beneficial, but in her heart, she couldn’t shake the feeling of regret. There were questions she wanted to be answered and many of them had nothing to do with the current catastrophe.

Within the Spectral city, Avrin had gathered all the current purebloods in the tower’s peak. He needed to properly discuss how to handle the current situation as well as the situation with Shaded Moon. Asura, Erebus, Kael, Tardiff, and Ailirion were all seated quietly around the table, listening to Avrin speak.

“And that’s why these crystals are not to be used anymore. Erebus, I want you to make sure the stockpiled crystals taken from people are placed in a vault, they are not to be touched. Although the negative outweighs the positive to absorb it, when we have a better understanding there may be a way to remove that negative and make them useful again. In the meantime, I do not want anyone using them.”

Avrin, who was sitting at the head of the table, looked at all of them as he spoke. “Later today, I will remove the absorbed dark matter crystals from the body of every Spectral that used the crystals, after that you can put it into a vault as well. Are there any questions?”

Erebus remained quiet and had a grateful look on his face, as he agreed with Avrin. Ailirion, Kael, and Asura were also quiet, but Tardiff had an idea. “Master, why don’t you let me absorb it. Maybe I can use it to progress my own crystals, hehe.” one could see the look of greed in Tardiff’s eyes. The others gave him odd looks, except for Eitri, who seemed to show signs of agreeing. “The big guy is right! I mean, if he is willing and manages to show no signs of side effects, then maybe we can extract a crystal from his back and use it for equipment!”

Tardiff’s face twitched a little. “Hey!” he frowned at the thought. Asura couldn’t help but speak. “I agree with this! I can sense the dark matter in those crystals, I’m certain that if he can absorb the negatives and cleanse it then we can use the ones growing on his back.”

Tardiff’s face darkened as he looked at Eitri, who looked as if he wanted to make him into a piece of equipment, then at Asura, who looked as if he wanted to steal from him. “You little morsels. If you touch any crystals on my back, I’ll be the one devouring!!” Tardiff was quite straightforward.

“I think Great One’s decision is the proper course of action, no ifs or buts.” Ailirion calmly spoke. “Master has always been right in his decisions so far, and has made us who we are,” Kael added.

“Erebus, what about you?” Avrin asked, and they all suddenly turned to look at him. “I am simply a caretaker of this city in the Lord Monarch’s stead, I will do as you wish, nothing more or less. If this is what you desire then by your word every speck of dark matter from those crystals will be locked away in a vault that no one shall be allowed into.”

“Good. Every bit of it on this planet will be gathered under this city. I don’t want to take any chances of someone finding it outside. That being said, I am leaving it underground for a good reason. I have faith in all of you. I believe I am not greedy or shortsighted. If any of you manage to find out a method as to purify or remove the addictive side effect from this crystal then you will merit a great deed for our race and I will be sure to reward that person greatly. I’ll leave that as some motivation. I will only allow the purebloods to use these crystals for the purpose of finding out how to remove the negatives, do not give in to the addiction and do not try to fool me. I will always know if you are trying to or not.”

Avrin’s words carried caution. He wanted to show them that although yes, he was gathering it all here, that he was completely confident in his detecting ability to see through their bodies to tell if they were absorbing quantities that warranted them being addicted to it or not.

They all looked at Avrin with a sort of fear as they remembered just how powerful he was. “Moving on. Ailirion, you will remain here for the remainder of the year to assist Erebus and help aid the southern continent.”

Ailirion nodded. He had become more fascinated by the structures of his kin here and was eager to learn more. “Of course, Great One.” Avrin then turned to Asura. “Asura, hmm… What to do with you..” Avrin carefully eyed Asura, who suddenly tensed up nervously. “M..Master, please, you have all these others, why not leave me be…?”

Avrin frowned a little then grinned somewhat. “Although you have strengthened yourself, I need a strong assistant you’re coming with me back to the other planet to assist with Shaded Moon.” hearing this, Asura gave a stubborn look and felt wronged. He enjoyed his life as he lived it at his own pace.

“This is not fair...” Asura groaned. Hearing this, Avrin carefully looked at him. “Oh really, not fair you say? If you would like, I could lower the quality of your blood and make someone else a pureblood, then you can do as you please. Are you ok with that?”

Asura’s heart clenched as he quickly raised his hands to refuse that. “Of course not, Master!! I shall follow you anywhere, hahaha!.....” he forced a smile but felt like crying inside.

“Good. Tardiff you’re going to remain here. Eitri, you’re coming with me. I’m sure you’re very eager to get your hands on new ore. Tardiff can teach how to make Sigil weapons and you can teach those on the other side how to forge while you get to play with more ores. When you return, your experience and knowledge will benefit this city greatly.”

Tardiff rubbed his hands greedily. He felt the Spectrals here were more intelligent and set up here while those on the other side seemed a bit more primitive. Eitri felt surprised and shocked at first, as he didn’t feel good about it. That was until Avrin said there would be new ores involved.

“Great! I agree with Master.” Tardiff replied. “Fine, fine. But you need to give me some good quality stuff and don’t be stingy!” Eitri responded too. “As for you Kael....hmmm.” Avrin looked at Kael, who raised his posture, as if he wanted to look more reliable “I can help master with anything! Will I be going to assist you on the other planet?”

Avrin knew Kael wanted to prove himself some more and it had been some years since he had assisted Avrin. Avrin was not dumb in spotting it, he would give the boy a chance. In fact, not just him, but others as well. “You will indeed be coming with me, but first I want you to work with Ailirion in setting up a not to large or small tournament for the north, east, south and western regions of the city. Those who come first in this tournament will also accompany us outside of this planet. They will assist in running Shaded Moon.”

“-As much as I would love to focus on my training, the situation with the dark matter crystals shows that right now I have to lead them all until they understand proper ways to treat other races. The sooner they know we aren’t a race meant to dominate others the better-” Avrin’s biggest worry for his people was that their egos would grow and it would attract dissatisfaction from the powers outside of Seleria, which would, in turn, bring catastrophe.

“Great One, I’ve just realized... to establish a tournament with such a populace, it will prove greatly troublesome.” Ailirion suddenly spoke out as the others left, leaving only Kael, who was also curious as to this new problem.

“It’s not a big deal. You will have plenty of time. I will be leaving Seleria tomorrow to return to the other planet. I’ll be back in about a month’s time depending on the situation, but it should be enough for you to settle the victors.”

Kael was stunned and quickly replied. “Master, you’re leaving early? Why not take me with you, I would love to see another world.” Avrin considered Kael’s suggestion it carefully.

“That would be a good course of action, but I would prefer you to help teach those who come in first place and train them to some degree. I would like you all to become used to each other. There is nothing much for you to do on the other side. As for sightseeing, that comes after.”

Avrin’s words disappointed Kael, but he knew this wasn’t a game, it was their livelihood, he had to do his part to make sure the machine full of cogs turns smoothly.

The next day, everything was set in place. The Spectral city was shaken at the announcement given by Erebus about the dark matter crystals and Ailirion in regards to the tournament. The reason both were spoken on the same day was the tournament’s announcement was also a tool to drown out negativity in regards to the dark matter crystals being banned and of course the positives it promised easily accomplished that.

On a large stone stage, Ailirion stood up and looked at the hundreds of thousands of Spectrals that had gathered, young and old, men, women, children. Although Ailirion was quite calm in most situations, he was a little nervous. Especially considering the fact that the Spectrals here were more open at the moment than those on the other planet.

“And so this city will be split into regional areas where officials shall hold tournaments. Since the city has many layers, this will keep things more organized. A month from this day the tournaments shall be held at the same time so losers of one tournament will not be able to move to another and cheat the system. Those who would like to enter please head over and form orderly lines at each region’s temporary registry which will be located within each market area. We expect a lot of applicants, so a reminder that those who try to push in line or cause trouble will be punished and not be given the chance to apply!”

Ailirion’s eyes gazed coldly at the thousands who silently watched him. “That is all. Thank you for your time, I hope you all make the Lord Monarch proud!”

With that said, Ailirion turned around and walked off while the guards at the base of the stage glanced around carefully for precaution. When Ailirion finished, the crowd erupted in conversation of shock and awe.

“A tournament with a chance to visit another planet with Grand Prince Kael and the Lord Monarch!!! I’m in!!” a young man shouted to his companion.

“Who do you think will win? There are quite a few young talents who progress very quickly.” one person spoke out.

“Young talent? Hahaha, no one compares to Grand Prince Kael, but I guess you’re right, there are a few good ones. I heard there’s this one young kid who spent a whole year improving his particle strength through meditation, that’s crazy if you ask me. Maybe he has a chance.”

“The young lady of the Heylian clan is very adept at melee combat with dark matter weaponry, she is also one of the best students within Crafting King Eitri’s forge. She will surely do well!” said a skinny youth to his group of friends.

“Her? Yeah yeah, she’s good and all but she isn’t the best. I think Grand Prince Eitri’s personal disciple Lovonik will blow the eastern regional tournament away, he is incredibly proficient with dark matter hammers and shields, like a walking fortress!”

Many arguments, debates and friendly conversations broke out, and with so many people gathered in one place even those tasked with guarding became a little nervous despite there having not been any conflict within the city before. It was only when the crowds began to scatter to prepare themselves or spread the word that the guards began to relax.

“I don’t understand the Great One at all. You were with him for quite some time Kael? What was he like all those years back.” Ailirion was walking side by side with Kael as they headed back to the center of the city.

Kael looked at Ailirion a little confused. To him, Avrin hadn’t really changed. He had always been closed off to a degree as well as unreadable. “How was Master all those years back? Well, I’m not really sure how to explain it, but he seems a bit strange as if he doesn’t really know what he is seeking. Sometimes it feels like he treats all of us as simply strays that he picked up.”

Ailirion was a little stunned as Kael spoke these words. He didn’t think at all that Avrin would think such a thing. “I think you must be mistaken Grand Prince, surely the Great One doesn’t think of us all as something so close to a nuisance. After all, he voluntarily converted me, why would he if he felt we were bothersome?”

Kael remained quiet for a moment as he thought. “Well, I do know that Erebus was the first to convert such a massive amount of people, maybe Master felt it was too late to turn back and showed less care. Then again, we aren’t allowed to convert anymore due to issues. As I said, he is very unreadable. I don’t even know what goals he has set or what our purpose is, I simply do my best to increase my strength and not fall behind. He has given me a chance and that is all I need to stay loyal to him.”

Ailirion felt Kael’s last response was appropriate. He himself was in the same situation, he had also been given a chance at a new life with great possibilities, he would not turn his back on Avrin.

Within the southern continent, Avrin was walking beside Izanami in his human form as she led him excitedly towards the Sylph region of the settlement. He had kept to his word and come to visit her. He had asked if she could lead him to Myra, he felt that Izanami would make the meeting less aggressive.

“Are you that nervous that you need me to guide you? Mm, that is cute, Avrin.” Izanami gave a side glance towards him, shooting him a soft look that although wasn’t seductive still held warm reverence.

Avrin glanced back at her and replied. “Cute? I simply think that with you around the chance of her wanting to attack me is much lower than me going alone. After all, both Syrana and her were right...in the past, they saw me as a harbinger of death, all these events really were a result of a chain reaction starting with me. To think they hit the nail on the head with such precision, it makes me feel quite dumb.”

Izanami frowned a little as she could see the look of regret on Avrin’s face after he had spoken. She felt that he wanted to make things right immediately, but that he was afraid of doing more bad than good. “Rest assured with me around, I will do my best to help you and her at the very least reconcile. Don’t give such a sad look, I believe you are much more handsome with a smile.”

With that, Izanami gave a wide smile to Avrin, who couldn’t help but feel his lips twitch into a small smile. Izanami had changed, she was significantly less lewd and more refined. He liked the current her much more than her previous self. It was a little odd for him. Previously, out of all the women on Seleria, he didn’t want to meet her again, but currently, she was the only woman he was most at ease around. Of course, that wasn’t counting Ilisia, who was still a young girl, and Calomia, who was aged like a century old prune.

“Stop that. This matter is serious and I don’t want her to see a smile of satisfaction on my face.” Avrin refuted. The two conversed quietly as they passed into the area. The Sylphs were carefully patrolling, each of them looked incredibly busy and also held a look of dissatisfaction as if they wanted to go back to the forest.

“--I didn’t think this situation would affect the Sylphs greatly, does it have something to do with the three dragons located at their home?--” Avrin used his Divine Sense to communicate with Izanami as he referred to what he noticed with his Divine Sense when he felt around the southern continent.

“--Their home was half destroyed by a rampant dragon which attracted other dragons and now their home is a den of the remaining beasts, so I figure that is definitely the reason--” when Izanami replied she turned to see Avrin give a soft grin, as if he had found a solution to a problem.

“--Ehh? Are you going to promise her to remove the dragons in exchange for forgiveness, Avrin?--” Izanami seemed to be quite good at picking up things. Avrin, of course, didn’t hide it. “--Well it wouldn’t be fair of me to kill them since they are trying to survive. I’ll simply kick them out. That is if she accepts and wants me to. Otherwise, there is really no point. I wouldn’t mind having a few pets at my disposal, definitely not purebloods, though. They would be good protectors for not only my people but also the southern settlement--”

Avrin felt that maybe he could properly coerce these dragons, but he would not allow them to be pure blooded Spectrals. It was a sort of win-win situation. If Myra didn’t accept, he felt it was ok to still go talk to the beasts and see if they would accept his proposal, but if she did accept he would still go and give his proposal, and if they refused he could simply kick them out regardless.

“--I’m not very fond of dragons. I don’t think converting them is a good idea. I was told about the Orochi debacle, a dragon that strong is never a good idea. Don’t these creatures start off already powerful? If you convert one, let alone three, their strength and rate of improvement will skyrocket--” Izanami gave a careful response to Avrin’s idea. Avrin, though, didn’t see any of it as a real problem.

“--They could be several levels above me and I would have no issue killing them in an instant. As long as I am the Progenitor they shouldn’t even dream of causing trouble after conversion. Don’t forget they won’t be purebloods, so their improvement won’t be so quick. Besides, dragons are lazy by nature, or at least most of them from what I gather--”

Izanami still felt it was a bad idea but didn’t want to go on. She knew how strong Avrin was and how terrifying his improvement was. She didn’t think a dragon would be able to match him at all.

“What’s your business here?” a tall guard clad in green leathered armor stepped in front of Avrin and Izanami as they walked up a set of steps heading towards one of four main buildings.

“I’m here to see Lady Myra. Tell her Izanami of the White Dragon clan requests an audience.” the man blinked and looked at Izanami more carefully. He knew who she was and also that she was a Spectral. He controlled his hatred for the species as his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Wait here,” he spoke. As much as he would like to chase her off, if it was found out it would cause difficulties later on. “--Even the Sylph seem to hate us greatly--” Avrin looked around as he noticed the sidelong glances of fire and hatred from those Sylphs who were less busy. Of course, they were directed to Izanami and not him since he appeared human.

“--I’m used to it. Life is hard here but there are rules in place that no one would break. I hope when you fix things it will all change--” Izanami gave a hopeful look towards Avrin, who wasn’t sure what to think in regards to her words.

“--Things will be better. It’s an obligation as I need to fix my mistake. I won’t act without confirming things and receiving this sides approval, though. Or at least for several cases. Regardless, I will be converting Seleria back to a planet of mana, not just for the people but also for my own race’s protection. I don’t want outsiders using this planet for no good reasons--”

With that said, the guard returned with a disappointed look from the second building. “She welcomes Izanami, granddaughter of Shimaru, and her guest inside.” the guard spoke as if he had been reprimanded somewhat. Of course, Avrin nor Izanami heard that he complained to Myra and got scolded.

They made their way towards the second building. Avrin followed Izanami, and as they walked up another set of steps and to the path that led to the large building, Avrin couldn’t help but expand his Divine Sense to encompass the other three buildings. He spotted many other Sylph of importance, including Surven, discussing things, all this in the first building. The third building was filled with children and young Sylph babies who were being tended to by their parents, needless to say this building seemed to focus on care for young children.

The fourth building was where Avrin stopped walking for a moment. The building was an armory and held an assortment of weaponry, but within the second level, looking over the weapons and examining them, Avrin spotted Syrana. His heart skipped a beat and he quickly retracted his Divine Sense. Seeing her without an arm and with such a feeling of showing no more care and not wanting to do with him anymore had left him very bitter, but determined to fix things and show her that he isnt evil.

“Are you ok?” Izanami stopped for a moment as she turned to look back at Avrin who suddenly appeared very uncomfortable. “I’m fine.” Avrin shut his eyes for a moment before opening them and following Izanami towards the large wooden door of the second building.