In the 4th Tower, Edward and Amelia met Nicolas Flamel and his wife, who were the Tower Masters. The two led Edward to a floor that had an enormous city with powerful mana emanating from it.

Many people could be seen working on the city as it was unfinished. Strange machines controlled by wizards could be seen engraving small letters on the ground, the buildings, or the towers in the city. Wizards used their staff to directly enchant some places.

"As you can see, your majesty, Project Uranus is nowhere near close to being finished."

"I know how difficult it would be to create the Floating City with all the requirements that I asked for. So, I'm just here to check the progress," said Edward to reassure the couple.

Nicolas nodded, then he explained the progress.

"The Anti-Gravity Enchantments needed for the city to float is not a big deal, but the fact that you require it to serve as a spaceship that can survive in the void is a big deal.

"The entire city is made of magicium, so it will not be corroded by void energy, but the same cannot be said for the enchantments. As such, a powerful shield is needed to surround the city and protect it. This is one of the problems we are currently facing."

As the group, they were led to a specific room deep inside the city. Inside was a giant blue stone the size of a football stadium; it was a philosopher's stone.

"With this Philosopher's Stone, we do not have any issue with energy to power the Floating City, however, we do have some problems with the core enchantments."

Edward reviewed the data. The reason that there was a problem with the core enchantments was that they were the same as his World Gate. He wanted the Floating City to have the ability to travel to other universes and serve as a base and weapons of mass destruction.

That way, he would be capable of dealing with any trouble he encountered in the void. Unfortunately, as a result of this, the difficulty of creating the city drastically increased.

"Let's see, the shield has problems, the Void Cannon is absorbing too much energy, all the different enchantments are having a hard time connecting," muttered Edward.

"The majority of these problems is because our Alchemy system is based on writing runes or words for enchantments. This system is fine for small objects, but when it comes to larger ones, things become more problematic," commented Perevelle.

"The Link Enchantments Method that your majesty created allows us to engrave many runes or words together, thus forming a larger and more powerful enchantment, but this method is more effective for Homogeneous Enchantments. When it comes to Heterogeneous Enchantments or Amalgam Enchantments, the problem becomes greater.

"At this rate, we might need another 50 years before even beginning the testing phase of the Floating City, let alone make it operational. And that's just our best estimate."

(AN: For a reminder of these enchantments, read chapter 40 again.)

Edward nodded his head, then proposed some suggestions on how to move forward.

"Edward," said Nicolas Flamel. "I understand your need to explore the unknown, but, wouldn't it be better to wait until the Floating City to finish before going to explore the Void? That way, your safety will be more guaranteed."

Edward paused for a moment after hearing this, then he said: "At first, I created the Empire just to find people to help me develop magic. But as time passed, as I watched the Empire rapidly develop under my care, I've grown to care about it more than I expected.

"However, with this new attachment came the fear of losing everything that I created. You have no idea how many times I've woken up in the middle of the night because I had a dream that Herpo left the Afterlife and destroyed the Empire.

"Or that some other powerful civilization discovered us and annihilated us."

After hearing this, the three of them immediately realized that the man in front of them was the ruler of more than 50 billion people. And as a ruler, it was his duty to protect his people.

"Alright, there is no need for the mood to become somber. It's not like my trip this time will be like the last time. I've prepared plenty beforehand. The Floating City is just a reassurance."

A few days later, Planet Jupiter:

Edward and the council delegates used the Warp Portal to teleport there. As soon as they arrived, Amelia--who noticed Edward's absentmindedness--asked: "What's wrong?"

"Just feeling a little nostalgic. I remember a few decades ago when I led more than 10,000 wizards to terraform this planet. It took us more than a month. But now, the Empire has the technology to terraform any planet in just a few hours."

"Isn't that a perfect example of the Empire's motto of 'In pursuing the truth, we will never stop progressing?"

"True," replied Edward. "Alright, let's witness this momentous event that will go in the Empire's history books."

Soon, they arrived at a building where two people led another group, waiting for them.

"Arthur, how have you been?" asked Edward.

"Excellent, your majesty," replied Arthus Weasley. "I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for Fred not participating in his Tower Master Inspection."

"I'm used to their mischievous temperaments by now. As long as they do not forget to finish their tasks, it's fine."

"Don't worry, my wife and I will ensure that."

"That's good. So, how is Molly?"

"She's also fine, writing a new book."

"Oh, I enjoyed her last book. All the little spells that help with housework were very interesting and unique. Hopefully, this new one will be as popular as the last one."

After chatting with Arthur, Edward then looked at the other person standing next. The person immediately got on one knee and said: "Commander Sherperd of the 101st Space Fleet salutes your majesty."

"At ease, commander. The next operation will depend on you."

The group was then led inside the building where a large screen was displayed. The screen showed a bunch of spaceships floating in space.

Some of them were as large as a few hundred kilometers, while some of them were a few hundred meters.

A special seat was created for Edward and the council members. After taking his position, he ordered: "Begin the live broadcast."

Immediately afterward, all the citizens of the Empire from different planets started watching. They first saw Edward's face appear on their screens.

With a smile on his face, he said: "Hello, citizens of the Arcane Empire. Today is a great day for our civilization as we take our first step into the stars, traveling beyond our Solar System for the first time in search of other planets with life, of other civilizations, and new knowledge.

"Many great men have chosen to risk their lives in this journey that may prove perilous. In honor of their spirit, let us take a few moments to offer them a blessing."

Edward along with the council members stood up, and with a wave of his hand, a beautiful long staff with a blue stone on top appeared in his hand. He looked in the direction of the camera and said:

"May the Arcane Truth Guide them in their journey.."

Immediately afterward, all the people of the Empire said the same thing at the same time:

"May the Arcane Truth guide them in their journey."

After that, the broadcast showed the space fleet that was about to leave on this expedition. Arthur Weasley--that had already made sure that everything functioned properly on the spaceships--gave the alright signal to commander Shepard.

The commander then connected to the Captain of the Fleet: "Activate the Void Drive."