Brandon feels a wave of relaxation as the group enters the city of Mistwick. Dozens of people go about their daily routine, making small talk as they pass one another. He leads the group through the city effortlessly, showing them the best stores and places to eat. As they reach the southern side of the city, a castle sits atop a hill, towering over the city. With its elevated height, you could see the entire city from the castle above.

‘’That's where you live?" Nozomi asked in awe.

"Yup, well, it is when I'm around. As of late, I haven't been home much. I think it's been roughly three years since I was last here. But, no matter how long I'm gone, I can always count on this city being the same. The same friendly citizens, the same smell of freshly baked desserts, the same everything." Brandon said, giving a soft smile.

"I'm surprised you can stay away for so long. Don't you miss your family?" Kaito questioned.

The group makes it to a steel door with a stone stairway leading up to the castle sitting behind it. Brandon waves at the guards and they quickly open the gate and return a wave.

"I do miss them, but, change of any kind doesn't come without sacrifice. Besides, this place has a lot of bad history for my family. No matter how many times my mum changes the type of carpets or the color of the walls, it's still the same castle." Brandon said as they began climbing the stairs.

"Just don't sacrifice too much, when change makes you sacrifice everything, is it worth the change if you're not yourself anymore?" Nozomi questioned.

"You sound like one of the monks from mount Drakun. Those are some wise words there. However, I see it like this. If change for the greater good, requires one person to sacrifice everything, even their life, in any way, it is worth it. The task of replacing God is the biggest task in creation. We can't look at it like other situations, if I have to give up who I am, change my mind, change my body, it doesn't matter how I need to change or what pain I must suffer. My life could change everything for the better, our world could live in absolute peace." Brandon explained.

"How do you plan on doing better than the current God?" Kaito asked, looking back down at the city, enjoying the view.

Brandon and Nozomi stop and take in the view with Kaito.

"Well, for starters, I would rid our planet of diseases and other world problems, such as evil people," Brandon said.

"But, how are you going to decide who is evil? There are a lot of evil or bad people in this world, but the punishment they deserve varies. Should you punish a thief as if he was the same as a murderer? What about a thief that steals because they're trying to feed their family. Should they get the same treatment as a rapist or a child molester? You say rid the world of evil people, but in what way will you rid the world of them? Should murderers and rapists be smitten on the spot, condemned to Hell forever while you figure something out for the lesser evils of people?" Nozomi relentlessly questioned.

Brandon and Kaito were taken aback by her onslaught of questions.

"You've been thinking about this, huh?" Brandon asked.

"I'm not even sure if I should be condoning this or helping you if I'm being honest. If it wasn't for Kaito I might have already left because replacing God is just crazy. But, since I'm still here, I need to ask these questions because they're very valid questions that need to be thought about. You can't just achieve your goal and not have every little detail planned out ahead of time because this isn't like other things as you said before. This is life, our life, their life, everything is on the table to be changed. You could make things perfect, but only if you take the time to think about everything." Nozomi stated.

"I've been thinking about those things for more than two hundred years, so you don't have anything to worry about. Before I even started this adventure, I spent the first ten years in my room writing out probably millions of plans, ideas, possibilities, and outcomes. Not only that, I still have time before even attempting to replace God, I'm not going to walk in without a plan." Brandon explained.

"I'm sorry for all the questions, it's just, I'm not like Kaito. I'm not driven by power and revenge to kill something. I'm driven to make this world better by helping people with my magic and ideas. So, finding out that you're planning on changing the lives of everyone, I just want to make sure that when the time comes, it's done with pure intentions, and you make the world a better place." She explained.

"Ask all the questions you want, I don't expect you two to follow me without at least asking questions and challenging my view on things along the way," Brandon said, smiling at her.

They continue their way upwards to the castle. As they reach the top, the sun had begun its descent behind the horizon. Standing underneath a stone archway, a castle, surrounded by towering walls and covered in moss, stood before them. Before they could take another step, they were suddenly surrounded by seven women in maid outfits.

"Young lord, you're back!" One of them exclaimed with excitement.

"Welcome home, my lord." One said, keeping her excitement down.

The sound of metal hitting the cold stone fills the air.

"Show some respect, he is a prince after all!" A man's voice called out from behind the maids.

The maids quickly step back and bow to Brandon before forming a line, looking at the man behind them.

"Long time no see, Gerald," Brandon said, letting out a chuckle.

"It's been too long, my lord, we've missed you here," Gerald said, kneeling before Brandon.

"Come on now, stand up, you know I'm not a fan of the kneeling.

Brandon tugs Gerald's armored arm to make him stand up. Gerald had grown a modest beard since the last time Brandon had seen him. His head was fully bold, and a scar ran upwards across his left cheek. The bit of his chocolate skin could be seen as rough, worn down from the many years of service. They shake hands in respect for each other, and Brandon returns the smile.

"If you're here for your mothers, they're not here currently," Gerald explained.

"Both of them are out? That's unusual, is everything alright?" Brandon questioned.

"Let's discuss this matter inside, I'm sure you're tired from your travels. The sisters can whip some food up, and we'll talk about it over dinner." Gerald stated, pushing the main castle door open.

Everyone follows Gerald inside, Kaito and Nozomi were awestruck with their first time inside a royal castle. The carpet beneath their feet looked as soft as a sheep's wool. It was dark red with gold trim along the edges. Pictures of not just Brandon and his mothers decorated the walls. There were pictures of Gerald, the maids, and a young boy who was standing with Mirabelle and Syllia.

Gerald leads them to the dining hall and seats everyone, they place their weapons against their chairs. The dim evening sunlight was barely visible from the skylight above. A giant fireplace sits against the back wall in the center, the crackling of its flames filled the air. Brandon sat at the head of the table, Gerald was to his right and Kaito and Nozomi were to his left. The table had a smooth marble slab as its top, with dark old wooden legs holding it up. Their seats had cushions attached to them that matched the carpet in color.

"Now, then, the reason for both of their absences. A couple of months ago, we lost most of our army to a monster. To give an estimate, we lost about ten thousand soldiers that day. Your mothers were summoned by the council for one of the many meetings as of late to discuss what's to be done about the monster." Gerald explained.

"I-it killed ten thousand people?" Nozomi hesitated to ask.

"What the Hell was it? I understand we don't have the strongest of militaries, but what could've killed that many soldiers?" Brandon questioned.

"Well, we can't be sure given that there were no survivors for miles where everything happened. However, the council seems to think it was a dragon, but no one can explain how that is even possible." Gerald explained.

They sit there in silence as Gerald's words haunt their ears.

"A dragon? Like, a created by Lucifer to destroy all life dragon?" Brandon asked.

"The one and only, these meetings, have been trying to gather all major cities to support searching for the beast. Then, when the time is right, the council wants one of two things to happen. All major armies to come together and combine forces, or they will fire the Oracle. Seeing how all armies coming together is pretty much impossible due to a few of the cities being at war with each other. Once they locate the dragon, they're going to kill it with the Oracle." Gerald said.

"Wait, what is the Oracle?" Kaito asked.

"Remember the magic cannon that was fired to kill that behemoth? Imagine that, but about fifty thousand times stronger and with no barriers to contain the excess power. So it will not only destroy its target, it will take out all life for miles on end." Brandon stated.

"They can't do that, they'll kill anyone and anything within the blast radius!" Nozomi exclaimed.

"If they're even mentioning the Oracle, it means that they're viewing this threat as life-ending for more than a few cities. To them, it's better to sacrifice some to same a majority." Brandon explained, rubbing his temples.

"The council needs a majority vote on two levels, the council itself, and the leading cities. This is why your mothers are hoping they can pull some favors to lean the majority in their favor to prevent this from happening. Currently, the council's vote is eight for firing, which is the entire council. The votes for the cities are split, twenty to twenty. This is why every day for the last week, they've been keeping every king and queen at the council's chambers until the stalemate is broken. If they find the beast even remotely close to where it was before, all we can do is pray. Our entire city would be wiped on the map." Gerald said in defeat.

The group sits in silence as everyone takes in the grim news. Suddenly, the maids bring in several dishes from the kitchen. A banquet of varying foods fit for a king sat before them. However, they hardly touched the food, their minds too distracted to eat.

"If they decide to fire the Oracle, how long will it take to get it ready?" Brandon asked.

"Twenty-four hours from the moment they start building the magic power. To make things worse, we can't even evacuate everyone. We don't have an army to protect everyone if we all left now. There are too many dangers on the roads these days with the rising number of smaller monsters. We'd lose more than half the city if we tried to leave, not only that, if the monster is near us, it would take too long to move an entire city population out of the blast zone. And that's only if we're in the blast zone, we could leave now and end up walking to the blast zone instead of leaving it. There are just too many variables, they don't even know where it is and are already making plans to destroy it and anything nearby." Gerald explained.

Adam begins glowing brightly and appears at the table, seated with everyone.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I can confirm that it is a dragon. I've been sensing the different types of magic auras in the air and was able to detect the aura of a battle of massive scale nearby. Its aura is something else, if I could experience fear I would be trembling to say the least." Adam explained.

Gerald stands from his chair, flipping it over, and readies his sword.

"Who are you and how did you get in?!" Gerald barked, demanding answers.

"Whoa Gerald, relax, he's with us. This is Adam, he's actually inside my sword here. He's part of a soul-infused into a gemstone, he's helping me with my adventures and is one of the artifacts I told you about before." Brandon explained.

Gerald sheathes his blade and sits his chair back up.

"My apologies," Gerald said, sitting back down.

"No worries, but let's return to the topic of the dragon. The dragon is roughly two hundred miles to the East from here. Is that within the blast radius of this Oracle thing?" Adam questioned.

"Yes, the radius can reach upwards to five hundred miles or more," Gerald said with sorrow.

"Wait, if Adam can sense it, then all that means is we need to kill it before the council finds it and kills us all," Brandon said with confidence.

Everyone stares at him with confusion.

"Surely you're jesting?" Gerald questioned, nearly at a loss for words.

"You can't be serious, you expect us here to kill something ten thousand trained and armed soldiers couldn't?" Kaito asked, baffled by Brandon's words.

Nozomi just sat there in silence.

"What other choice do we have? Gerald said so himself, we can't evacuate, the armies aren't going to join forces, and it's only a matter of time before the council fires their weapon. Our only hope would be to kill the dragon before they discover it." Brandon explained.

"Well, I can't speak for Gerald here, but I and Kaito don't have that kind of power. We can barely even fight you with training, let alone fight some dragon. Could you even defeat something that powerful?" Nozomi asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm not going to just sit here and let my city be wiped off the map. Adam, what is the dragon doing currently?" Brandon asked.

"It appears to be in a deep slumber, which is probably why the council couldn't find it. Its magic is at an all-time low currently, so it's hard to detect." Adam explained.

"Good, then you and I shall leave first thing in the morning to fight it," Brandon said, filled with confidence.

"My lord, you can't be serious. I understand the gravity of the situation, but how do you expect to kill such a monster? We have no army to support you, your mothers won't be back until the voting is over. We have no one and nothing in terms of extreme power to support you. And I can't leave the castle myself, I'm using what power I have to keep a barrier around the city until Galward sends us a replica of their barrier system." Gerald explained.

"I understand that perfectly fine, Gerald, but we have no other options," Brandon stated.

Everyone was at a loss for words and remained quiet as they slowly ate their meal. Once dinner was over, Gerald lead Kaito and Nozomi to a guest bedroom with two beds. The room had a sizeable window looking over the city below. Night had already fallen, shrouding the land in darkness. Small orange lights emitting from torches could be seen down in the city. Their room had two dark oak dressers, each accompanied by a standing mirror beside them. A single door in the corner of the room leads to a small bathroom. They sit down on their beds, trying to take in Brandon's decision.

"He's serious, ain't he?" Nozomi asked in a low tone.

"Seems like it, do you think he expects us to go with him?" Kaito asked, looking down at the floor.

"I don't know, would you want to go with him?" She questioned.

"I'm not sure, getting to see him fight would be amazing. But, if we went, we'd probably just be in the way and get ourselves and him, killed." He explained.

They sit in silence, scared for the morning to arrive, as they slowly began to fall into a slumber.

Brandon sits on the edge of his bed, resting Adam against the edge of the bed's frame. The room was dimly lit by a few candles and the soft moonlight coming through the nearby window.

"I've been comparing the magic levels of the dragon to yours. You're not stronger than it, at least not in your current state." Adam bluntly explained as he appeared from the sword.

"So just like that, huh, no sugarcoating?" Brandon jokingly asked.

"You need to be aware of what you're walking into. This will be nothing like you've faced before, you've never encountered something this strong." Adman said.

"How do you know that? I mean, I have killed a God of war in the past." Brandon said.

"It's a power of mine, bestowed upon me by God. I can sense all the magic auras and the trails they leave. When a magical aura comes in contact with another, it leaves a part of itself on the other aura. My ability allows me to see all auras that you've come in contact with. I can sense your wife, your brother, and even Zion from all those years ago. I can even find the exact location of someone if they're not masking their magic. I can even tell their power from back then, and I'm well aware that Zion was merely a fraction of his power and let you kill him." Adam explained.

"So, what do you suggest I do about the power difference? I can't just simply wait around here, something has to be done." Brandon said.

"Simply, we make you stronger," Adam said, giving a grin.

"I'm all for getting stronger, but we leave in the morning. How could I possibly get strong enough to close the gap by morning?" Brandon asked.

Adam points his right hand at the center of the room, and the floor begins to glow bright white. A white oval rises from the floor, emitting a soft humming sound.

"It's a portal, let's go," Adam said.

Brandon grab's Adam and walks through the portal. He was blinded by the light as he entered. Slowly, his vision comes back, and he was in awe at where he was. They were standing inside a massive library. Bookcases towering further than the eye could see above. Ancient scrolls in nearby display cases. Dark wooden panels cover the floor beneath them, each panel polished to perfection. Besides the bookcases, there was nothing inside the room, not even a table to sit at.

"Welcome to the divine library, every book in existence is stored here. That includes both divinity books and mortal books." Adam said.

"Holy Hell, it's taken me years to find some books. You're telling me a copy of them all is here, no matter the book?" Brandon questioned, walking towards one of the bookcases.

"More or less, as I said, only books or divinity or mortal origin reside here. Demonic books will have to be found elsewhere. However, the books will have to come later. Time works differently here, it passes much slower than what you're used to. You could spend thirty days here and only a single hour would pass on Earth. We're going to stay here for three hours, or ninety days, to train you. Once our time is up, we shall return to your room and rest till morning to fight the dragon." Adam explained.

"Where are we going to train? There's not much room in here." Brandon said.

Adam opens a nearby wooden door and Brandon looks through it. The cool breeze hits his face as an endless grassy field was laid out in front of him.

"This is the never-ending field, originally God had planned on building Heaven here. However, he quickly became bored with this area, and it was abandoned. The library was built here a few eons ago, but it too has been forgotten by most." Adam explained.

"How do you know about this place?" Brandon asked.

"Being the first human to die has its perks. I sat here with God for many years before others began to pass, so I've got some insider information from the big man himself sometimes. All of which I plan on giving you to help you along your journey. Come, let's begin your training." Adam said, walking into the field.

Brandon follows behind him, eager to start his training.