A little figure, one that looked a bit familiar to Aziz, was standing beside the divine shadow. The latter remembered him of the radiant shadows the great gods had sent down, but this particular one seemed like a mix of various gods. It was probably a creation of the great gods, meant to help people like them advance into Knights.

Other theories about this figure were also popular, with the most popular one in recent times saying that the tall figure was something left behind by the true Orb. The Phantom Blade’s revelation about the original world, which everyone had heard of but knew little about, had sparked a writing renaissance, along with a revision of many current theories.

All of that was nice and all, but what was with the little fellow at the side? There were absolutely no records of a child’s figure at all, and Aziz couldn’t help but rub his eyes, despite his instincts telling him that he was in the form of his soul right now.

Oddly enough, the little figure seemed far more mysterious than the tall one by its side. Aziz himself didn’t know why he came up with such a comparison; both of them were the same shade of black, there was no differences between both figures beyond size and height…

It was just that something seemed to draw his eyes over to the little figure, for some reason. In fact, now that he was paying attention to it, the little figure seemed to harbour a huge void within, and Aziz shivered at that. Tearing his eyes away from the little figure, Aziz calmed his mind and let the words shouting in his head inundate every fibre of his being.

Speak your desire.

A sentence echoed in his head, and a moment later, Aziz realised that this statement came from the very core of his self. It was a question he could only answer with truth; even if one could lie to the world and even the great gods, lying to one’s own subconscious was a near-impossible feat. Aziz knew full well that even if he managed to fool his conscious mind, the subconscious would not be.

“I want power. Power enough to protect my subordinates, my peers, my friends,” said Aziz, the words gushing out of his mouth without pause. “I will move for them, and for them only. Not for glory nor reputation, but for their well-being alone.”

Bells began to ring in his head, creating pleasant chimes. From within the depths of his soul, his mind, Aziz could feel something gush out, crossing through the fog and into the void beyond. A sudden awareness that his mind was being altered hit him, but the colonel no longer paid it any heed.

After all, a nebulous energy was now surrounding him. His current form seemed sturdier, more vibrant.

“This…is a Knight?” The power welling around him wasn’t qi. It was the stuff that Fiefs and Dominions were made of, an area where he had complete control over.

This was why Knights were so much stronger than Squires. Even a proto-Fief granted its owner precise control of the people and items within, which, for Aziz, would be his physical body, once he returned. He would have near-perfect control over every muscle and every movement, a holistic increase in fighting ability.

Aziz shivered. The him now was probably unmatched amongst other Knights, unless they had the same combat sense as him. But people with such ability were few and far between. For all intents and purposes, he could challenge any other Knight and have an absurdly high chance of winning.

But there was no point in doing that, unless it was in a war.

The colonel clenched his fist. The demon invasion four or so years from now wasn’t going to kill anyone from Thunderbolt easily now, with this newfound power.

Shaking himself, he looked around at the area. From what he knew, he should be returning to his body anytime now. But for some reason, he was still here.

The place shook, a tremor that shook the depths of his soul, and to his horror, a black tendril snaked out of the fog and charged at him. On instinct, Aziz attempted to call forth qi, but what flared was the nebulous power around him. The tendril stopped for a moment, shivering with what looked like excitement, and then stabbed at him at an incredible speed.

Before Aziz could even retreat, however, a sudden movement caught his eye, and the tendril turned into drifting ashes that merged into the fog. A moment later, the foggy realm came apart, and the next thing he knew, he was staring at Marie once more, who was staring at him with wide eyes, her hands supporting his back in some kind of odd hug.

Aziz hung there for a moment, and then straightened out his body. “I—”

“You broke through?” Marie asked, disbelief written all over her face. “Shaking people can make them Knights?”

Her words sent a ripple through the other delegates from the Republic, who immediately exchanged looks of surprise. Some of them even whipped out notebooks and began to write on them.

Aziz glanced at them helplessly, before getting up properly. “I nearly failed to make it back.”

“Failed to make it back?” Marie asked. “Why would…wait, did that happen to you?”

He nodded. “There was lots of fog. A tendril tried to kill me. Fortunately, the small figure killed it with a snap of its fingers, or else I’d probably have turned into a monster or something.”

“Good, good. Good that you’re safe.” Marie relaxed. “What did you mean by ‘small figure’, though?”

“Oh, there was a little shadow beside the big one everyone normally sees,” Aziz said. “They reminded me of those radiant shadows that the great gods sent down, except that they clearly aren’t the great gods.”

“A little shadow, eh?” Marie rubbed her nose. “Well, the world’s been changing greatly in the past three decades. Maybe we’ll see a pet there or something too.”

Aziz glanced at his commanding officer, but when he thought through those words again…was anyone actually capable of telling her that she was wrong? No one could, just as no one expected the great gods to descend upon the world in the past year or so.

Keeping his words to himself, he straightened his back. Reassuring the others that he was perfectly fine, and that he would need an Engine soon, he followed everyone else out. A banquet now awaited them, one that promised to be the finest of meals for the past hundred thousand years.

After all, even the great gods were going to join in.