“Mother, you’re going to strangle me! The cloak’s fine!”

Auslen was currently within his bedroom, standing in front of a large mirror with frustration written all over his small face as Amabella’s fussy hands flew around his body, repeatedly adjusting his already perfect clothing.

He was overly dressed in the elaborate, nonfunctional red robes that his mother loved to have him wear. Above the robes sat a long black and gold cloak, which, thanks to his loving mother, was nearly choking the life out of him.

Two silver earrings dangled from his earlobes, both looking quite different from the previous earring-type Mystic Artifact he typically wore. However, the dark-green ring that usually sat on his left ring finger was strangely nowhere to be seen.

Amabella ignored Auslen’s pleas and moved her hands to his head, making sure the dark red ribbon was secure and not a strand of hair was out of place.

Auslen just sighed as he subconsciously rubbed his stomach. Even though he knew his mother’s actions were ridiculous, he could only let her continue in silence. It would be a very long time before they would be able to see each other once more, and this seemed to be her way of dealing with the anxiety that the thought of their prolonged separation produced.

Cedrick, who was leaning against a nearby wall, used his leg to slightly propel himself forwards before he walked towards the duo.

He spoke, “Let Auslen alone, Amabella. We need to be leaving soon if we are to make it to the Sect Entrance Examination on time.”

At Cedrick’s words, Amabella’s eyes glistened and she wrapped Auslen in her arms tightly, seeming as if she had no intentions of letting him go within the near future.

Auslen’s muffled voice sounded within her embrace, “It’s okay, Mother. We can still talk to each other through our Voice Transmission Crystals. I’ll come back and visit! I promise.”

As if she had received what she really wanted to hear, Amabella pulled back with a beautiful smile on her face as she warned, “You had better contact me often, Auslen. Otherwise, don’t blame me for flying over to that Sect myself to embarrass you in front of all of your little friends!”

While Auslen was rolling his eyes in his heart, knocking sounds came from the closed oak door. Cedrick reached out to open the door, showing Vincent’s surprised face.

After bowing hastily, he quickly stepped aside to reveal Aiden.

“Grandfather and Uncle Jaime have arrived,” Aiden announced before rotating his head to smile at Auslen.

Cedrick nodded silently and glanced at Amabella, who reached down to grab Auslen’s hand. Soon, the four members of the Royal Family were exiting the small palace. Vincent’s gray-robed figure was following closely behind, lugging a large leather bag on his backside.

“Auslen!”

Once Auslen alighted from the final step of the entryway with his mother, he was nearly tackled from the side by his enthusiastic cousin.

Auslen smiled slightly at Nathaniel before focusing his gaze behind the boy to the two men walking behind.

Tobias laughed with a deep, warm tone at the two children as he walked towards the group. He reached down to place his hand on Auslen's hair, but was quickly slapped away by Amabella.

"Oww!"

Tobias stared resentfully at his smiling daughter as he rubbed his hand in efforts to clear the stinging pain.

Ignoring the hint of mocking in Auslen’s laughter, he turned his gaze to Cedrick as he asked, “Is everything prepared for departure?”

While the two were discussing, the man that was previously standing beside Tobias beckoned towards Nathaniel.

Apparently unwilling to let Auslen go, Nathaniel dragged Auslen over to greet the tall man, with Vincent following behind from a distance.

Nathaniel’s excitement was obvious as he exclaimed, “Dad, I’m going to leave with Auslen now!”

The handsome, young-looking man bent down slowly, allowing Auslen to get a clearer view of his uncle.

He was wearing a layered, deeply purple robe, with silver glasses framing his almond-colored eyes that matched his son's. His darker blonde hair was cut shoulder length, a style quite different to how it is normally worn in the Kingdom.

As Auslen was quietly observing the man, an incredibly gentle voice sounded from the man’s lips.

“I see. I’m glad that you both have grown much closer during these past few months. It puts my heart at ease.”

Reaching inside his purple robes, he took out a densely carved, foot-long wooden box and held it out towards Auslen.

Auslen lifted an eyebrow, taking the unexpected gift while he continued listening to the smiling Uncle Jaime.

“This is a small gift for taking care of Nathaniel so well.”

As Auslen was beginning to open his mouth in thanks, a voice transmission caused him to still.

‘Do not open that box in public, nephew. Otherwise, you’ll end up causing quite the stir. Wait until you have isolated yourself within your residence at the Sect. Take it as my and your aunt’s thanks, as we truly appreciate your help in taking care of our son.’

After listening to his uncle’s voice transmission, Auslen didn't think on it anymore and cautiously put away the long box with a grateful smile on his face. Meanwhile, Nathaniel’s eyes began to water as his face reddened with obvious envy.

While throwing himself into his father’s arms, he whined, “Why did you only give Auslen a present? I want one too!”

Auslen stood back while watching as his uncle calmly comforted Nathaniel, internally shaking his head in slight disapproval.

Jaime was Amabella’s younger brother, and they shared some common traits. However, the gentleness that his uncle constantly exuded, a trait of which his mother was often found lacking, was far beyond the normal standard, at least when it comes to properly raising a child. It was no wonder Nathaniel turned out as spoiled and bratty as he was.

However, Auslen did not blame Jaime, nor his wife, for their horrid parenting skills.

As he considered his grandfather’s words, he postulated that his uncle’s actions perhaps had something to do with his cultivation path. However, even if that were the case, it did not make Auslen’s upcoming babysitting duty any simpler.

He just hoped that his uncle’s gift was worth all of this extra effort.

Suddenly, Auslen heard heels clacking on the stone path beside him, dragging him from his thoughts.

“Would my handsome little nephew like a gift from his Auntie?”

Amabella had also kneeled herself down, holding out a silver bracelet in her fair fingertips.

Auslen immediately noticed that the bracelet was a Mystic Artifact.

When he was learning about the various professions that cultivators typically pursued, he had come to understand that his mother was quite the accomplished Mystic Artisan. She was capable of creating all types of Mystic Artifacts, but jewelry seemed to be a particular favorite of hers.

Nathaniel quickly turned himself from his father’s embrace, eyes sparkling as his gaze centered on the beautiful bracelet.

His brown hair whipped wildly as he hurried over to his Aunt, sticking his arm out in excited impatience.

Amabella giggled before sliding the oversized bracelet onto his small arm. As soon as it touched his skin, the silver bracelet quickly began to shrink until it fit Nathaniel’s arm size perfectly.

While Nathaniel was waving his arm around in the air excitedly, Cedrick and Tobias walked over to join their small group.

Tobias looked at the two children and turned his head to Cedrick in question. “It’s about time, isn’t it?”

Cedrick nodded his head and announced, “It’s time.”

As soon as he spoke, the sunlight had dimmed considerably all of a sudden, causing everyone to look up towards the sky.

Auslen’s eyebrows raised as he took in their mode of transportation.

It was a large, 20-meter-long ship, floating silently above the treetops. Its wooden finish was a shade of green so dark, it appeared nearly black. Its entire body was streamlined, seemingly bearing no sails nor upper deck, and silver embellishments generously decorated the exterior.

Another boat? Somehow, it seems that flying boats are the trend around here. I cannot, for the life of me, understand the appeal…

Seeing that they were about to depart, Amabella reached out to hug Auslen one last time as she spoke.

“When you settle down at the Sect, make sure that you take care of yourself and your cousin well. If you need anything, please contact me or your father promptly…”

“I will, Mother!”

“Make sure to keep in contact, Auslen! I’ll come and visit you at your sect one day!”

Auslen turned his towards his brother with a laugh.

“I promise, Aiden!”

This time, after he had finished speaking, Auslen felt the air around him suddenly transform, as if it were condensing or hardening into a sort of protective barrier or shell. Soon after, Auslen, Vincent, and Nathaniel’s bodies floated up in the air, rotating slightly around Cedrick somewhat comically.

Without any more words, Cedrick shot towards the sky, bringing the three boys along as they disappeared into a hatch that had opened on the side of the airship.

…

“Wow!”

Auslen calmly walked beside Vincent and Cedrick while watching his cousin’s restless figure running around the wide corridor, his head swinging around as he looked into every open room he could find.

Even Vincent looked starry-eyed as he peeked through the large porthole windows in wonder.

Auslen chuckled silently at the two before glancing through the porthole himself.

Surprisingly, Auslen couldn’t help but stop in place as he gazed outside.

At some point during the mere moments they had arrived inside the airship, they had already bolted far away into the distance. In fact, Auslen could just barely see the outline of the Royal Palace before it instantly disappeared into the innumerable buildings that made up the Capital City.

He walked closer to the window to look downwards. The terrain below was not even clearly visible, only looking like the biggest and most vibrant abstract oil painting he had ever seen, colors constantly blending and bending in his perception due to their incredible speed.

I didn’t even feel us taking off! Where’s the inertia? Or the sound generated from the massive amounts of air resistance that was surely affecting the airship?

After forcing himself to stopping thinking of questions he couldn’t answer, Auslen rubbed his right hand across the wooden walls in appreciation of the remarkable engineering that went into constructing such a flying machine.

Abruptly, Vincent’s concerned voice interrupted his thoughts, “Is your stomach feeling alright, Your Highness?”

Auslen's golden eyes widened slightly as he lowered his head to notice his other hand subconsciously rubbing his stomach in soothing motions.

Oh.

Auslen placed his arm down by his side, smiling as he spoke in reassurance, “I’m fine, Vincent. I guess I ate a bit too much during breakfast.”

“Is it indigestion? I have some med—”

“He’ll be fine, Vincent.”

Before Vincent could pull anything out of his leather bag, he was interrupted by Cedrick, who had already turned his eyes to face Auslen’s slightly accusing gaze.

Ignoring his son’s expression, Cedrick said, “We should catch up to your cousin before he gets himself lost. It won’t be long before we reach our destination.”

No way. We just left minutes prior, and we still have to cross hundreds of thousands of miles before we leave the…

Auslen’s thoughts stilled as he glanced outside once more, nearly gasping aloud at the sight.

The buildings, people, and even the land were suddenly gone, replaced by sparse, blurry clouds and an endless expanse of a mystifying body of water.

Its water, while remarkably clear, did not carry the usual shades of blue, but rather, a crystalline yellow! At their unbelievable speeds, the body of water vaguely resembled an incomprehensibly large sheet of expensive yellow silk that glistened under the brilliant rays of the morning sun.

The Amber Sea? We’ve traveled such an exaggerated distance already?

While Auslen wondered why his own silver boat wasn’t nearly as travel-efficient, the group made it to an open area located at the bow of the ship, where they saw Nathaniel staring captivated in front of a huge window.

Auslen chuckled at his cousin's entranced expression, which drew Nathaniel’s attention towards him.

“Auslen! Come look!”

Auslen slowly walked next to the boy to gaze out the window, squinting slightly as he observed the scenery. After another moment, he understood what Nathaniel had been screaming about.

Through the clouds, he could see a humongous land mass in the rapidly approaching distance.

As they arrived above the land mass, Auslen could see majestic, sweeping hills of vegetation, presenting colors of bright reds, oranges, and yellows that continued to grow denser as every second passed. Continuous stretches of towering mountains loomed in every direction, quite unlike the flat lands of the Western Empyrean Continent.

Cedrick walked from behind to stand beside the two children and spoke in brief introduction.

“Welcome to the Eastern Empyrean Continent, the land of the Heaven-Reaching Mountains.”