The moment Aldon entered the Audience Chamber, he was amazed by the regal grandeur of the room. Royal red drapes with tapered golden borders were hung all around the walls of the room. A small red drape inscribed with the Imperial Insignia, the golden crown, hung grandly in the middle of the Audience Chamber.

While Aldon was fascinated by the majesty of the Audience Chamber, the elves present inside were stunned by the little girl gripping Aldon’s hand tightly. Aside from some attendants, Taeral and the girl with whom they had received the Supreme Artifacts from the Black Sun were present in the Audience Chamber. All of them were dazed at the familiarity with which the little girl was interacting with Aldon.

Eventually, Aldon felt their stares and noticed Taeral and the girl. Relieved that he finally recognized some familiar faces, he smiled and walked towards them. Alyndra also walked with him, unwilling to let go of his hand.

Aldon reached them and greeted, “Hey! Long time no see, eh? What have you been up to?” Taeral couldn’t construct coherent sentences as he stuttered, “You... Princess?... How?” Taking a deep breath, he hollered, “Aldon!! How the hell are you acquainted with the Princess? Didn’t you tell me before that you didn’t know any faces or even names of the Royalty?” The girl also stared at Aldon with an inquisitive look which questioned the same.

Aldon suddenly remembered why Alyndra’s name had been kind of familiar to him! Taeral had mentioned her while talking in front of the Tower of Gods. Responding to Taeral’s question, Aldon narrated what had happened after he had entered the Castle.

Taeral looked at Aldon with an unbelievable expression after he finished his narration. Taeral smacked his head and chided, “Damn! Do you know how fortunate you are?! Barely escaping with your life in that situation could be considered extremely lucky! Your luck must be as high as the sky! Even making acquaintance with the Princess!”

The girl also agreed with Taeral’s words as she nodded slightly. Alyndra cutely interrupted Taeral, “Aldon is not my acquaintance. He’s my friend!” Both Taeral and the girl looked at Aldon with slight envy in their eyes.

The attendants quickly finished what they were doing and walked in front of Aldon. They started to neat his clothes and fix his hair. Aldon stood motionlessly as they did their work. Just then, Alyndra asked Aldon, pointing at Taeral and the girl, “Who are these people? How do you know them?”

Aldon smiled and answered, “These are my friends. I met them during my Coming of Age ceremony.” Alyndra, interrupting Aldon, spoke animatedly, “Then, they are also my friends! Any friend of Aldon is a friend of mine!”The attendants finished fixing Aldon’s hair and clothes and silently withdrew to a corner.

Now that he could move, Aldon gestured to Taeral and spoke, “This is Taeral. He is the first friend I made!” Continuing, he gestured towards the girl but couldn’t find words to introduce her as he knew basically nothing about her. Not even her name! He spoke to the girl embarrassedly, “I’m afraid I have yet to introduce myself. I’m Aldon Throm, son of Elrohir Throm. How may I address you?”

Just when the girl was about to reply, an attendant rushed inside the Audience Chamber and ushered them towards the Throne Hall. While they were being ushered out of the Audience Chamber, Alyndra once again gripped Aldon’s hands and followed him. They went through some corridors before appearing in front of a large, imposing door. The door was heavily and elegantly adorned with rare jewels. The attendant stood before the door and pushed. The door was well maintained as it opened without a squeak.

***

Compared to the grandeur of the door and the Audience Chamber, the Throne Hall was decorated scantily. But, somehow, this gave off a more elegant and refined vibe than the Audience Chamber. Though there was a large throne at the end of the Throne Hall, it was also scarcely adorned with jewels, upon which the Emperor sat majestically. A bit right to the Throne, a smaller throne was present, upon which Alyndra’s brother, Rydell, sat elegantly. He smiled at Aldon when their eyes met. Two rows of seating were present on either side of the path leading to the Throne, but only a few elves had occupied them. They were the court officials of the Elven Empire.

The attendant, after opening the door to the Throne Hall, stood aside and awaited the three elves’ entry. The girl took the initiative and entered the Hall. The attendant introduced her with a loud voice, “Welcome, Sylph Neige. The Young Lady of the Neige family has responded to the Emperor’s call and has arrived at the Throne Hall of our Elven Empire.” Aldon’s brain short-circuited after hearing the announcement, ‘She is the young lady of the Neige family? Doesn’t that mean that she is my fiance?’

Looking at the shocked and unresponsive Aldon, Taeral hesitated for a while but entered the Throne Hall next. The attendant introduced him, “Welcome, Taeral Lunos. The Youngest Lord of the Lunos family has responded to the Emperor’s call and has arrived at the Throne Hall of our Elven Empire.”

Noticing that it was their turn to enter the Throne Hall, Alyndra pulled Aldon along as she entered excitedly. Though the attendant was surprised by the presence of the Princess, he announced their entry without a snag, “Welcome, Princess! The pride and joy of our Elven Empire! And Welcome, Aldon Throm. The Young Lord of the Throm family has responded to the Emperor’s call and has arrived at the Throne Hall of our Elven Empire.” After completing his duty, the attendant withdrew from the Throne Hall and closed the door behind him.

Aldon had come back to his senses when he was introduced by the attendant. Putting aside his thoughts on Sylph for a while, he noticed the stares of the Emperor, the Prince, and the court officials inside the Throne Hall upon the three of them and wondered why they were summoned here.

As if reading his mind, the Emperor spoke to them, “You must be wondering why I’ve summoned you all here. I’ll get straight to the point. The Kingdom of Anae, which is a part of our Elven Empire, has requested aid to deal with the sudden increase of the appearances of the entities known as ‘Dungeons’ in their territory. We have confirmed the authenticity of the matter and have decided to send reinforcements to help the Kingdom of Anae. As most of the Commanding Officers of our Empire’s military have their hands busy with other, equally important matters, we’ve decided to deploy three units of our army with you three as their in-charge as reinforcements to the Kingdom of Anae.” He stopped for a while, and noticing Taeral’s confused expression, continued, “Before I delve deep into the specifics of your mission, you may ask any questions you have.”

Taking the hint, Taeral tried to clarify his confusion, “Your Majesty, do pardon my lack of knowledge. I am ashamed to reveal that I have no knowledge regarding the entities known as ‘Dungeons’. I humbly implore Your Majesty to enlighten me.”

The Emperor smiled, and kindly explained, “A few centuries ago, a strange phenomenon started to occur throughout the whole Elven Empire. Due to reasons still unknown, various ancient-looking doors started appearing out of thin air throughout the Empire. When it was investigated, it was found that each door led to a different and enormous Dimension that had its own ecosystem. Mysteriously, no organisms present inside the Dimensions were capable of communicating with us. Another fascinating thing was the lack of humanoid creatures inside the dimensions. Every creature inside the dimensions had its form derived from either animals or plants. We explored further into the Dimensions and found out that the strength of the creatures depended on where they resided within them. The farther away from the entrance you get, the more strong creatures you encounter. After some years, we found out the hard way that if left unattended, the Dimensions would collapse, unleashing the creatures inside them onto our world. Losing their familiar surroundings would drive the creatures into an incredible frenzy, and they would lose what little intelligence they had and go on a rampage. The enormous population of the creatures going wild at the same time was disastrous. We fought back the first outbreak with great difficulty and investigated the dimensions further to seek the solution for this problem. Through sheer luck, we discovered that regularly reducing the number of creatures inside the Dimensions kept them from collapsing. Though it is unfortunate for the creatures living inside the dimensions, with no other way to prevent the collapse of the dimensions, we still continue to do the same even today. But, killing the creatures inside their own dimension is very difficult and life-threatening. Hence, we started calling the Dimensions ‘Dungeons’ and the creatures inside them ‘Dungeon Beasts’. Many took responsibility and volunteered to hunt the Beasts. They came to be known as ‘Adventurers’ as only with an adventurous spirit could one take on the extremely dangerous job. Eventually, people discovered the value of the remains of the Beasts, and a market for it soon began. But, let’s not talk about that! I’ve told you everything I know about the Dungeons. I take it that you now understand it?”

Though Taeral was horrified by the revelation, he still replied, “Yes, Your Majesty! I wholeheartedly thank Your Highness for enlightening me!” Satisfied by Taeral’s answer, the Emperor spoke, “Good. Now, does anybody else have any doubts? Don’t be afraid. Speak your heart!”

Aldon, knowing about the dangers of the Dungeons from his previous life, slowly asked the question, which was gnawing at the back of his head for a while, “There should be many others who are more capable and powerful than us. So, why us?” Remembering that he was talking to the Emperor, he added, “Your Majesty.” The Emperor smiled slightly in response and spoke with His eyes shining, “Well, I was also curious about the capabilities of the wielders of the Supreme Artifacts. I know that the wielder of any Supreme Artifact would never be weak. This way, it’s killing two birds with one stone.”

All three of them were flabbergasted as to how the Emperor knew about them possessing the Supreme Artifacts. Looking at their shocked expressions, the Emperor laughed lightly and continued, “Since all of your doubts have been cleared, I’ll now delve into the particulars of your mission.”

The three elves put aside their worries and listened to the Emperor attentively. The Emperor spoke while gesturing to one of the elves seated in the Throne Hall, “This here, is the envoy of the Kingdom of Anae. Follow him, and gain an audience with the King of Anae. He will give you the necessary information and help you would require to complete the mission.”

The three of them, having different thoughts in their mind, accepted the mission from the Emperor. Satisfied by their acceptance, the Emperor spoke authoritatively, “Now to make it official. I, Conall Vitae the third, Emperor of the Elven Empire, hereby approve the request for assistance by the Kingdom of Anae. Therefore, I hereby order the three elves, Aldon Throm, Sylph Neige, and Taeral Lunos, to join the three units already dispatched to the Kingdom of Anae with the utmost haste, take command of them, and assist the Kingdom of Anae in dealing with the increased number of Dungeons. I wish you success in this mission. You are hereby dismissed.”

After being dismissed, the three of them started walking towards the door of the Throne Hall, intending to exit the premises. While Aldon was walking towards the door, the little elf gripping his hands, Alyndra, who was well-behaved until now, started to tug his hand. At the same moment, the Emperor also spoke, “Wait, Aldon. I still have some things to discuss with you.” He ordered the Throne Hall with a loud voice, “Everyone is dismissed.”

All the court officials inside the Throne Hall stood up and took their leave. Soon, only the Emperor, the Prince, the Princess, and Aldon were present inside the Throne Hall. Noticing this, Alyndra quickly left Aldon’s hands, rushed, and hugged the Emperor. The Emperor, with a soft look on his face, slowly caressed his daughter’s head. Alyndra started to animatedly narrate what had happened in the garden. The Emperor listened attentively to Alyndra with a doting look. After narrating the incident, Alyndra slowly began drifting to sleep. It appeared that she was exhausted by the day’s events. The Emperor slowly began to rock Alyndra as she fell asleep.

The Emperor turned to Aldon and thanked him, “Thank you, Aldon. For making friends with my daughter. She’s a bit sheltered, and as a result, doesn’t have many friends!” The Emperor didn’t expand on why she was sheltered, and Aldon also didn’t pry.

With a serious expression, the Emperor continued, “I’ll get straight to the crux of the matter. After some discussion, we believe that the sudden increase in the Dungeons may be linked to the terrorist guild known as the ‘Eye of Eclipse’.” He gestured to Rydell and continued, “Rydell here is also entering the Kingdom Anae, entrusted with the mission of finding out whether our concerns are valid. When he was given an option to bring along assistance, he named you as his primary choice. The mission is only about confirming the involvement of the Eye of Eclipse guild. Even if you agree to help out with his mission, you both are not tasked with confronting the guild. They are extremely dangerous. You only need to find out whether or not they are involved. Our military’s Night Fang troops will move accordingly.” The Night Fang troops in the Elven Empire’s military were the most elite in assassinations and head-on combats. The Emperor looked at Rydell, wanting him to continue.

Rydell took the initiative and spoke, “Aldon, I’ve witnessed your prowess during your spar with Agis. You’re an amazing guy, and I’m sure you’ll progress even further in the Kingdom of Anae. I require your assistance in this mission in order to succeed in it. Do think hard before you give your answer.”

After deliberating over the matter, Aldon smiled and replied, “I’d be honored to assist your Royal Highness in your mission. Since I’m already departing for the Kingdom of Anae, I can’t think of any reason not to assist your Royal Highness! It’d be my pleasure!” Though Rydell had permitted Aldon to call him by his name, Aldon thought it was inappropriate to call Rydell without honorifics in front of the Emperor.

Smiling at Aldon’s thoughtfulness and delighted by his answer, Rydell spoke, “Thank you for your assistance, Aldon! Once we arrive at the Kingdom of Anae, we should meet up with Rhanis, one of the Generals in the Elven Empire military, for the briefing. And another thing, this mission, and me taking it up is confidential information. For the public eyes, it would appear that I have engaged myself with other matters inside the Castle. Do keep this confidential, and only reveal it on a need-to-know basis.”

Aldon agreed to it and took his leave, as he had to prepare for the upcoming missions. Watching Aldon exit the Throne Hall, the Emperor smiled and spoke, “Rydell, it seems that you too possess a keen eye. That boy will surely be a cornerstone of this Empire in the future. It’s wise to form an early friendship with him.” Rydell smiled as he nodded in affirmation.

***

Exiting the Throne Hall, Aldon found Sylph and Taeral talking with each other. Taeral had initiated the conversation with Sylph after exiting the Throne Hall, remembering Aldon’s expression when the attendant had introduced her.

Seeing Aldon come out of the Throne Hall, Taeral teased him, “Ah! Here comes the guy who tried to introduce himself to his fiance! How the hell didn’t you know that Sylph was your fiance, Aldon?”

Aldon wanted to cry as he replied, “How the hell would I know that? My family didn’t even disclose the name of my fiance! They only informed me that she was the daughter of the Neige family! I’m definitely going to complain when I go back!” Aldon fumed, imagining the amused faces his family members would make when he revealed what had happened.

Sylph acted innocently as she chimed in cheekily, “Oh, Aldon! You didn’t even bother to ask your family about your fiance? How cruel!” Aldon became speechless hearing Sylph’s words and scratched his cheeks awkwardly, wanting the ground to swallow him up. Seeing Aldon in such an awkward position, a burst of clear and euphonious[1] laughter escaped Sylph’s lips. Aldon became enchanted with her laughing face as he stared at her unconsciously.

Clearing his throat, Taeral brought Aldon back to his senses. Laughing, Taeral asked Aldon curiously, “Putting aside your awkward situation, did your Supreme Artifact undergo any change when you followed the Black Sun’s instructions?” Grinning sheepishly, Aldon replied, “Yeah, it did. Did your Rock also undergo some changes?”

Aldon seemed to have struck a nerve as Taeral exploded, “AS IF! It’s still the same, plain, dumb-ass rock! Both Sylph’s and your Supreme Artifacts underwent changes but my rock stayed the same! I’ll fucking kill that Black Sun for categorizing it on the same level as the Supreme Artifacts!”

Aldon patted his friend to calm him down. When Taeral finally calmed down, he spoke, “Ah! Leave it! It’s no use thinking too much about it.” He continued, with a noticeable tremor in his voice, “Instead, what do you think about the mission of the Emperor? It seems really dangerous!” Aldon replied seriously, “It’ll certainly be dangerous. But with proper preparations, it’ll be less taxing on us.” He continued, looking at Sylph, “If you’re not doing anything later, how about we all go shopping for supplies and necessary items?”

Sylph apologized, “Sorry, I can’t go today. In a short while, I have training lessons with Grandpa.” Taeral spoke simultaneously, “I have nothing to do. Let’s go now!” Aldon, prioritizing alleviate Taeral’s fear, spoke apologetically to Sylph, “No problem, Sylph. We’ll be going without you, then! See you later!”

Aldon and Taeral bid farewell to Sylph and proceeded towards the gates of the Castle. Sylph also bid farewell to them.

When they were no longer within her sight, a voice spoke within Sylph’s mind, “That Aldon lad seems to be interesting! What do you think of him?” Sylph replied with a low voice, “He appears to be likable, but I literally don’t know anything about him. I look forward to getting to know him on this mission. I’ll decide on whether to be engaged to him after that.” She continued inquisitively, “You rarely take an interest in others! How did Aldon pique your interest?” The voice responded, “That lad has an interesting aura around him. One that I haven’t seen in a while.” Sylph replied, “Let that be. I have a training session with Grandpa now! Be careful not to speak around him. That one time was really close, and you were almost discovered by him. I honestly don’t know how he’d react to you. Hence, be careful.” The voice groaned as it responded, “Girl, you won’t let me live it down, eh? Okay, okay, I’ll be careful.”

The voice became quiet as Sylph started walking towards the direction of the gates of the Castle.

***

After finishing his work, Haldir entered the Throne Hall, intending to inform the Emperor about the situation of the Plane of Ascension. Inside, he found the Prince talking with the Emperor. The Emperor saw Haldir’s grave face and quickly excused Rydell.

Rydell didn’t take this to his heart as he had also seen the grave expression of Haldir and exited the Throne Hall.

As soon as they were the only ones inside the Throne Hall, Haldir quickly informed what his grandson had experienced and the grave situation of the Plane of Ascension. The Emperor was promptly horrified by the implications that the information contained.

Just when the Emperor was about to speak, a loud, raspy voice resounded in the Throne Hall, “Oh?! That boy entered the Plane of Ascension? Interesting...“ The source of the voice: a frail, hunchback figure walked beside the Throne and appeared in front of them.

Haldir’s face darkened as he recognized the figure. The Emperor also recognized the figure as he rose from the Throne and exclaimed, “Esteemed First Elder! What are you doing here?”

***(Footnote)***

[1] Euphonious: Pleasing to the ears. (Usually a sound. Here, laughter.)