All eyes turned in their direction as a tall human entered, walking with steady steps. Cassandra’s eyes widened. The man was tall and incredibly handsome, to the point where she thought he looked better than any male model back on Earth. His short black hair shone with a lustrous hue, while his piercing blue eyes looked around as if they were looking for someone. The black armor he wore stuck tight to his body, revealing a figure that seemed to have been sculpted by God himself. His proportions were perfect, from his muscles to the very tips of his fingers. It was the most perfect body she had ever seen.

On top of all of that, even though Cassandra held no memory of ever meeting a man like this, she felt a distinct sense of familiarity. The man’s eyes locked into hers, and he flashed the brightest smile she had ever seen. Tears started streaming down her face. Of course. How could she not recognize that smile? Despite his changed appearance, he still had the same smile. The smile that had made her fall in love with him.

She didn’t care about anything else. She didn’t care about the King who stood up as she raced down the steps leading to the throne, nor about the princess who tried to stop her. She didn’t care about the Aura rushing out of the generals. All she wanted to do was to enter his arms and lay there forever.

Cassandra jumped into the smiling man’s arms, who eagerly welcomed her hug and hugged her back. She bawled her eyes out while burying her head in his chest, feeling slightly ashamed of her behavior but also very satisfied. A deep and comfortable voice entered her ears.

“I missed you too, Cass.”

In the end, it only made her cry even more. She couldn’t get the words out of her throat. She couldn’t tell him how much she had missed him or how much she loved him, but it didn’t matter. She knew that he knew. Taking a deep breath to calm down after some time, she looked up from his chest, not bothering to hide her face.

Liam smiled at her, kissing her forehead softly before looking at someone behind her. Cassandra turned her head, gazing at the King who stood proudly in front of his throne.

“Liam Allister, leader of humanity, greets Your Majesty the King.”

The King stared at him before slowly opening his maw.

“Nargan, King of the Drakkhan Empire, greets you, human.”

Cassandra felt Liam rub her back as she separated from him and went back to her place next to the King. Nargan continued to speak.

“I was going to introduce you to your species’ Seer, but I see that there is no need for that. She has proven to be incredibly accurate, with not a single wrong vision so far. It is commendable.”

Liam smiled, clearly proud of her, but his smile held a tinge of worry that he could not hide. Cassandra’s heart warmed.

“I am well aware of her capabilities, Your Majesty. She has helped me in the past.”

“I see. So, it was true. You really are as powerful as the reports state. That is commendable as well. Did you know? You are a man of many names.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. The King continued to speak.

“Liam Allister, The Immortal. King of Humanity. Divine Spearman. Hero. Scourge of Luweth. The War’s Hope. Your fame has spread far and wide among my troops. Stories of the rise of a human Commander have reached even my ears, as well as talks about the creation of a human Division.”

“Stories are often exaggerated. I am not much, Your Majest, that I can assure you. I have no intention to create a Division of my own.”

Liam’s smile had long since turned cold.

“That is true. Stories are often exaggerated, indeed. That is why….”

Nargan raised his hand. Liam’s eyes widened. What happened next was something Cassandra could not grasp with her limited perception. There was no sound or flash of light. There was no indication that anything had happened at all. However, mere instants afterwards, Liam was gone. Before she could even register his absence, he reappeared, naked and floating in the air with an expression brimming with hostility. The King rubbed his chin and nodded.

“Your energy hasn’t decreased at all. Your soul is completely independent of your body. It is a level that none of my Commanders have reached.”

“You are very wrong if you expect me to take this lying down, Nargan.”

At the mention of the King’s name alongside a threat, all the generals in the room frowned. Cassandra’s eyes widened as she clenched her fists. The atmosphere had turned sour in less than ten seconds due to Nargan’s own actions. What was that damnable old Drakkhan planning?

“You sound very confident.”

Liam smiled coldly.

“I am weak compared to you, but if you truly attempt to take my life… I will drag down this entire planet with me, you included. Don’t think that you’re invincible for even a second.”

This time, it was Nargan’s turn to smile.

“So you’re hiding quite a bit of power. What a frightening creature we have summoned.”

Cassandra cursed under her breath. Shit! Nargan had acted that way to know if Liam was hiding something and if he would try to resist an attack that no Commander would be able to survive. If not, then he wanted to know how Liam would react. The youth had fallen right into the old lizard’s trap, Cassandra also being none the wiser. They had been tricked. She started to grow desperate. What were they going to do now that Nargan had figured out Liam’s power level?

‘Fuck! Liam! Don’t say anything else!’

Contrary to her expectations, Liam seemed awfully calm.

“Maybe I am, maybe I am not. I will warn you, as a courtesy towards our alliance. Do not push me any further.”

“A warning, is it? We’ve left you alone for too long. To think you would feel capable of killing me even after seeing me personally and feeling my Aura. It is a shame.”

Cassandra eyed prince Varlian, who looked like he had just swallowed a bug. The royal stared at Liam with a rotten expression. She identified it to be worry and fear. The prince responsible for humanity being dragged into the Convergence before their time was afraid. Terribly so.

Liam said nothing. The King’s voice continued to echo in the hall.

“Do you know why I have called you here?”

“…No.”

All traces of deference and respect were gone from Liam’s voice after he was attacked. He spoke plainly.

“I will assign you a mission. You must go to the planet of Uduna and conquer it single-handedly. It is a planet that your Seer has deemed that we will never conquer. We will test your abilities to change fate with this.”

Liam’s eyes locked into Cassandra’s for a split second before he turned to the King once more.

“Alone? I will do it, but I want something in exchange.”

“Ha! Ridiculous! Who are you to bargain with His Majesty!”

A voice of a general cut through the room after Liam spoke, all the other generals nodding and sneering. Neither the King nor Liam himself paid them any heed.

“Your reward will be your species’ continued survival. You seem confident in your ability to kill me, but I wonder if you’re equally as confident in protecting every single human spread across my planets and warships.”

The hall trembled. A black Aura with traces of gold dominated the space. A furious expression had made its way to Liam’s face.

“Believe me when I say that you are in no position to threaten me right now, Nargan.”

It was then.

Darkness, even darker than Liam’s black Aura, spread from his figure. It brought golden light with it, also brighter than the gold traces in Liam’s Aura. As Cassandra looked at these two opposites, she felt as if she were being drawn to them. It was something indescribable. A sense of boundlessness and infinity radiated from Liam’s very being as of this moment. It was as if he had become something that transcended everyone else around him entirely.

Nargan’s golden Aura rose, but it could not outshine the golden light radiating from Liam. The moment Cassandra felt as if the throne room was about to implode into a black hole, both men retracted their… Power? She didn’t know what exactly Liam had just used, except that it had made her wholeheartedly believe that it would be able to slay the Drakkhan King, even though she had witnessed his might.

“…What are you?”

An incredulous voice rang out from the mouth of the King.

“It does not matter. I will be your species’ end if you continue to threaten me, however.”

“…Very well. What do you want in exchange for going to Uduna and proving your ability to change fate?”

“I want all of humanity to be gathered on a single planet. This is an alliance, yet humanity has no base or headquarters. We are spread out among countless warships, completely at your mercy. I ask that you gather up all humans in one place.”

“Just so you can go and break them out?”

“We are not your servants. I repeat, this is an alliance. We are helping you deal with the war against the much more powerful Kingdom of Luweth. That is what we agreed on. I will not be ‘breaking anyone out’ because we were never imprisoned in the first place. Or… We should never have been.”

Liam’s gaze was firm, as were his words. Nargan remained silent as he sat down back on the throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

“…Very well. I will gather up all humans and place them on one of our planets. You have my word. In exchange, you will face and conquer the planet of Uduna alone. If you really are capable of changing fate, the Empire will support you in full in this war. Help us, and we will withdraw any and all influence over your species.”

Liam nodded. Cassandra observed as the two unspeakably powerful beings reached an agreement, not being able to get a single word in. The implications of this agreement were huge. As long as Liam succeeded and helped the Empire in the war against the Kingdom of Luweth, humanity would have their freedom and be allowed to stand on their own in the Convergence. They would be free of the Drakkhan Empire, the most immediate threat to their existence.

The King reached into the air, his hand disappearing as if it were never there. Both Cassandra’s and Liam’s eyes widened. When the King’s hand reappeared, it was carrying a small black pyramid.

“Take this Commander-class armor since I have destroyed yours. I apologize.”

The pyramid floated to Liam, wrapping around his body when he touched it.

“I will depart in two weeks. I also need a new spear. Where can I stay?”

The King’s eyes narrowed as he heard Liam’s words, which determined the time of the human’s departure without consultation or leeway for negotiation. The youth also demanded a new weapon.

“…Feel free to stay in your Seer’s quarters. I feel like you two have much to talk about. One of my generals will lead you there. By the time of your departure, your weapon will be ready.”

Nargan looked at one of his generals, who bowed with a frown and walked towards the doors.

Even though his face was covered by a helmet, Cassandra felt Liam throw one last glance at her before he turned back, opened the doors, and left the room with the general in tow.

“Father.”

Right after Liam left, Varlian spoke, sounding too hurried to refer to Nargan in a formal way. The King didn’t seem to mind as he looked at his son.

“What is it?”

“I am highly against sending him to Uduna, especially alone. We don’t know how much XP he has obtained in Zancorix and how much he will obtain in Uduna. He will spiral out of control in less than a year. I plead you to reconsider your decision.”

“It might already be too late for that.”

“…”

“That power he used. I had never seen it before, but he spoke the truth. It is capable of killing me. Right now, the priority is discovering whether he can truly change fate. If so, then he will be our greatest… helper.”

Shock was clear in Varlian’s eyes, but it soon disappeared. Cassandra took Liam’s power as a matter of course, but it seemed that the prince still hadn’t expected it.

The first meeting between the King of the Drakkhan Empire and the leader of humanity had come to an end.

The King had been forced to face the possibility of his death.

…

Liam’s soul trembled. His Will desperately held on as the cracks in the sky of his Inner World threatened to spread at any moment. He held on until he reached Cassandra’s room, where he entered without uttering a single word to the accompanying general, closing the door behind him. He looked around the luxurious bedroom until he felt the general leave the range of his perception. It was only then that he collapsed to the floor.

“Fuck! Huff… Huff…”

He gritted his teeth. 1.4 seconds. It was the amount of time he had used Chaos and Order for in order to threaten Nargan and seem much stronger than he actually was. The result was that his lifespan had almost been consumed once more, his body being drained of all energy. Thankfully, the King had decided to withdraw his energy just before Liam’s lifespan started to be consumed. It was a stroke of luck. Had they continued in their face-off, Liam’s life force would have started to burn in real-time. Nargan would have noticed that something was off then.

He remembered what he felt when he first lay his eyes on the planet of Inrillon. A shining golden planet, bigger than Jupiter and completely covered in the Aura of the King, which provided sustenance and power to all beings on the celestial body. It was power that was drastically above anything he was capable of without resorting to Chaos and Order.

‘I’m still too weak.’

He hadn’t seen it. He hadn’t seen Nargan move when the Drakkhan moved and turned his body to nothingness. It was an attack that had surpassed his perception. He didn’t let himself be destroyed; he simply had been unable to react to it. It wasn’t just a matter of “speed.” Nargan’s attack held much more mysterious workings that were unlike anything Liam had ever seen.

Liam realized he was much weaker than Nargan. Indescribably so. The gap between them was bigger than the gap between a Commander and an ordinary soldier. He clenched his fists. Fortunately, he had managed to convince the King that he was something much greater. He would be sent to a new planet, somewhere he’d be able to develop and grow. He needed to become as powerful as Nargan before he left.

Liam raised his body and remained sitting on the room’s pristine floor, waiting for Cassandra to arrive. He wanted to enjoy every bit of the two weeks he had with her, but his mind was still consumed by the worries regarding his and humanity’s future.

It was time, then.

It was time to conquer the ocean planet of Uduna, which had remained without a ruler since ancient times.

He would conquer the unconquerable planet and rule over the kingless world. For himself, for Cassandra, who he’d just seen and would spend the next two weeks with, for all of humanity, which would be put together if he succeeded.

It was time to face new challenges and force himself to his very limits.

The scale of his undertaking was starting to surpass the scope of his imagination.

…

End of Book 3

…