Kanji spends the rest of the day, revisiting places in Kyushu, knowing it may or may not be the last time he is going to be here.

During this trip, he assumes AN to be asking him a lot of things about Kyushu, but AN is unexpectedly keen on just enjoying the moment.

He ultimately ends up sleeping on a tree in Saikai National Park around midnight underneath a vast and open starry night sky, viewing upward to the very place he is destined to be.

On Caverrin, another page unfolds.

On the highest floor of Incaris Palace, lies a gigantic two-sided door made of gold.

A newly promoted general awaits his call.

?? "I, GENERAL KARNAT KARLAC, AM THE GREATEST!"

The slightly below-average height general yelled in the loudest and most obnoxious tone possible.

This particular Castastrian wears a long red cape, a black tunic with gold lines, and black leggings. His left arm seems to be armored with some kind of black metal.

His scalp formation consists of most of his kerahairs striding to the left, and talon-like spikes clamming onto his forehead like an animal biting on a chunk of raw meat.

A miniature tin robot rolls up behind him.

?? "Yes, you are! My great master!"

KARNAT "SILEEEENNCE!!! Tin Tin. AS TODAY I'LL TAKE UP MY GLORIOUS POSITION AMONG THE GENERALS OF OUR GREAT EMPIRE!"

He coughs and dramatically turns toward the door.

KARNAT "NOW! IT IS TIME TO MAKE MY PRESENCE KNOWN IN FRONT OF HER IMPERIAL HIGHNESS."

Karnat knows what lies beyond this is the throne room. No one on the whole planet is allowed to enter this place except The Empress, her royal guard, and her generals.

On top of that, The Empress and The Royal Guard rarely leave this room, meaning not many Castastrians know what they look like.

Karnat pushes on the door and takes a look around.

This room is ridiculously huge, it has a ceiling so far above him that it is clouded in complete darkness.

There seems to be a red carpet stretching from the entrance to what Karnat assumes to be the throne. Marble pillars lined both sides of the carpet leading there.

Karnat focuses his eyes on the dark walls of the room.

KARNAT "Oh. My. God."

Karnat stares in horror, the walls are decorated with rows of mutilated heads that appear to be recently dug up.

What scares him more is that he recognized all of them, they are all the previous monarchs.

"Enjoying the view... General Karlac."

A condescending voice echoes from the direction of the throne.

The room lights up, but just enough for him to see the throne and a silhouette resting on it.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

The Empress's body is not humanoid at all. In fact, she looks like a giant ant except for the ten long arachnid-like limbs, each having 4 opposable pincers instead of claws.

She also seems to be wearing a 12-pointed crown and has large narrow spines along her back.

The throne she sits on is huge and made mostly of polished marble.

The seat of which assemblies that of a bird's nest, made of a chaotic assortment of scales and feathers. Behind the throne lies an enormous tooth of an unknown creature.

Karnat quickly bows down.

KARNAT "Sorry for my ru-rudeness,"

He sweats, his body shaking from the Empress's silent response.

She chuckles and chugs down a viscous red liquid from a skull-shaped cup.

Karnat then ponders on what she said before and realizes she called him by his reverse name.

KARNAT "Oh, please forgive my mistake! Oh, Great Blood Empress!"

He slams his head on the red carpet, leaking a small amount of green blood onto the carpet.

__________________________________________________

In Castastrian society, there are tiers/classes of people, the higher classes call lower classes by their reverse name as a show of power. While the lower classes aren't even allowed to know or even call the higher classes by their name. They are only allowed to call and respond to them by their titles.

The Empress is an exception, no one gets to know her real name. Every Castrastrian must call her by her title or address her the way you address monarchs, especially when greeting her. Only if you are close enough with The Empress, then you can actually get to know her real name.

__________________________________________________

"I don't know. Should I forgive him, my generals?"

?? "I. Believe. Loyalty. He. Trustful. Loyal."

A rough voice grunted from the left of her highness.

Karnat stares over and sees a towering behemoth of a monster.

This individual is huge beyond the normal sense, elephants would be puny in comparison to his size.

With further inspection, Karnat sees that his body resembles that of golems in stories and folklore, and what's more is that every part of him is covered with glossy black armor.

It is so well integrated that Karnat is unsure if it's his armor or his body.

Both of his arms are unconnected and levitate on the sides of his body like floating obelisks. His head is like a large gemstone, adored with three blank eyes on each side and two large scythe-shaped mandibles sticking out.

Karnat doesn't know who this is, but his gut tells him that this person might be...

KARNAT "Sir Royal Guard! My apologies! I didn't see you."

?? "Apology. Accepted."

For a split second, the vastness of space replaces the royal guard's mass in Karnat's vision.

He swore he saw a fucking sun.

KARNAT "What was-

?? "His posture could need some work, your majesty."

Another voice appears, a more stern and profound voice.

Karnat looks around the room and sees nothing.

Then one of the pillars begins to slowly move. Karnat quickly stares upward.

KARNAT "Wtf! How tall is this guy?"

Karnat yelled in his head with envy.

This person's long-gated arms lift upward.

Karnat can barely see the top, all he can see are two glowing red eyes staring down at him.

He has never seen this guy in person, but his appearance definitely fits the description of The First General or by his given title "The General Lord", for he is the greatest strategist that the empire has ever known.

Karnat looks back to her highness.

The tone in the room shifts, it seems she is about to announce something.

"My dear generals, we seem to have a traitorous little rat that escaped the palace."

"This rat fucking stole the ancient red dice."

This startles both the generals and the royal guard.

"I know. I know. But we can't do anything to stop the awakening of the aspects now. This bastard hid inside "The Morality Grotto"."

KARNAT "What is that? May I ask your highness?"

"Oh right, you're new here. It is the place where you awake the aspect wielders and only those with the heart of gold could ever enter it. So I told at least a thousand soldiers to keep watch, in case the rat ever comes out."

"However we can't rely on that."

She ~sighs ~

"So instead I'm assigning you, General Karlac, to a planet called "Earth" to kill all the aspect candidates. Let's call it a test for your worth as my new general."

KARNAT "Ummm, couldn't we just completely nuke their planet?"

"WHAT!!!!"

The Empress shouted, her body glows red with anger.

A wave of pressure covers the whole room, Karnat can feel his whole body being crushed against the carpet.

KARNAT "This is it, This is over for me."

His mind was filled with despair and fear. He awaits his doom... but nothing happens.

The Empress realizes again that this guy is new and doesn't know jack shit, so she calms down.

"Think... before you say anything. I'll forgive you since you're new."

Karnat is stunned and confused, he lays flat on his butt.

The Empress then starts explaining in response.

"In short, We fucking love humans!"

Her tone shifts into a fan-girlish tone.

At this point, Karnat's mind had already flown out the palace window and all that is left was pure mental bewilderment.

"Sure. they are extremely inferior in terms of technological and physical progression, but they have one thing that we don't."

KARNAT "Wha-What is it?"

"Culture, memes, anime, movies, traditions, games, and a lot more shit. Their food even tastes way better than the crap we eat."

"For some god damn reason, our species only enjoys inventing and progresses our technology as our so-called "fun" ever since the dawn of time. All my subjects on this planet are like fucking machines, husks with no flavor or passion. Heck! Everyone brushes arguments like it's nothing. Come on have some drama or something! You might say that the stuff happening with the rebels right now is drama, but no it's not! It is War! War is different."

She pauses her rant and facepalms with 4 of her limbs.

"Six fucking years ago. I tried using my power as Empress to control people to be more cultured. And in the end, they just made scuffed versions of things from Earth instead of making something original. I even killed hundreds as an example for those who don't try hard enough and it didn't change a damn thing. It is almost as if our species are programmed to only invent technology!"

She shifts her arms down a little.

"Well at least, I was able to make everyone subconsciously talk English instead of our language."

KARNAT "Wait-Wha..." "Why am I speaking English?!".

No. Why is everyone speaking English, a language of inferior species?

Then one word comes to his mind, "Pheromone Wave".

__________________________________________________

Castastrian society is a semi-eusocial society in which everyone has the will to do whatever they want except when the monarch commands a certain order. When a monarch is chosen, they are granted this spectacular power, allowing them to control their subjects. The power of said control has two levels.

Subliminal control is where an idea, action, or behavior that the monarch wants their subjects to do is applied to the entire species. However, It happens over a long period and it's permanent.

Complete control where it only happens within the monarch's presence. It is instant, and you can't get out of it unless the monarch permits it. Also, the control can range from doing anything to the subjects, including applying pressure to the entire body.

Some Castastrians however manage to escape the monarch's influence entirely.

__________________________________________________

"One last thing...There is a little project, I put into a play called "Red Web" last year."

She stares toward Karnat who is focusing on remaining silent to not interrupt her.

"Are you interested?"

KARNAT "Ye-Yes."

She grins.

"For decades, the previous monarchs..."

She lifts one arm out and points at the walls.

"...have been trolling humans with crop circles and abducting live stocks. This sparks an interest in the human community and created a type of group called "Alien enthusiasts"."

She continues.

"These people are the precursor to the project. Oh, I also like to thank the previous monarchs for making this SO MUCH EASIER."

She raises her cup and chugs another gulp of the red liquid.

"You see I'm planning that in a few decades, we will migrate the entirety of our nation and live on earth, and MAYBE living humans can finally nail some culture in our people."

She raises one of her pincers.

"But I don't want to rule through fear, I want the humans to love and respect me and all Castastrians. So I fed the "Alien Enthusiasts" with juicy hints and mysteries to the point that they would do anything to see that aliens are real."

"Last year, I revealed my beautiful form to one of these guys and he broke down with joyful tears. I told him that we will visit Earth if he does one thing."

KARNAT "What is it?"

"Create a cult and convert everyone on Earth to worship me. He who saw me as an all-powerful being of course listened. He created "The Eusocial Cult" and has converted about 4 million people as of today and the numbers keep rising."

She is filled with excitement, her limbs are shaking.

"Soon, I will be able to meet all of my favorite celebrities and visit the many wonderful places on Earth!"

The Empress grabs out a photo. It is a picture of some blonde British chef.

"Soon...Soon...Soon. I will meet you. A man so admirable, so good at what he does that he earns the right to insult anyone who would sully his art."

She glares at Karnat.

"I truly hope you too can achieve the same level, General Karlac."

Karnat finds determination listening to her words. He stands up and salutes.

KARNAT "I will! Your Majesty!"

"Then go forth! I prepared a little surprise for you outside the palace."

Karnat turns and walks toward the entrance. While he is getting closer, his mind fills up with joy and a sense of accomplishment.

This feeling however doesn't last long, as he exits the room- a hand lands on his shoulder.

?? "Good luck ya'shrimp."

A scruffy voice whispered sarcastically in his ear.

KARNAT "WHO THE FU-

Karnat stares at a tall Castastrian who's giving him a sinister grin.

His body is hunched over like a wild predator preparing to pounce on its prey. He has golden tiger-like eyes, razor-sharp teeth, and two large fangs. He wears a dragon skull on his head and a large furry yellow mane covers his upper back and shoulders. He wears no shirt and has rough orange fur shorts overlapped by a tethered white cloth.

A large necklace made from eyeballs and multicolored feathers can be seen around his neck. There are also a pair of gauntlets and a scythe, all bandaged up on his back.

Karnat knew who this is, and the man's many titles instill fear in all those who mention it.

The Fauna Slayer, God of Carnage, Blood Flare, The One Drone Army, and his most referred title of all "The Savage King", The Second General of the Incarus Empire.

He lets go of Karnat's shoulders and heads into the throne room.

Karnat ignores the general's hostility and continues exiting the palace.

In the throne room, the second general greets her majesty.

General2 "Yo, ya majesty!"

General1 "Watch your damn tone mongrel!"

?? "Yeah. Watch. it."

"Now. Now. Boys, you know he is like this. Anyway, why are you here?"

General2 "I'm just paying ya folks a visit."

They stare at him with doubt.

General2 "Ok. Ok. I'll be clear y'all. WHY is HE the new yapping general?"

"Because he is is completely loyal to the crown and The Empire."

General2 "Oh Come on! That doesn't make sense! Plus even I have more loyalty than him."

"HAHAHHAHAHHHA"

The Empress and the first general laughed in sheer disbelief.

The second general ignores the mockery and argues.

General2 "He doesn't even have any special powers!"

The others pause for a moment.

"Are you trying to say his "luck ability" is just normal luck?"

General2 "Yes, dang absolutely it is!"

"Then you are telling me that luck carried him through all the dangerous missions he faced before."

General2 "Yes and soon he may...."

The general gives everyone an devilish smile.

General2 "....run out."

He spreads his arms.

General2 "What ya'all do when he does?!"

The Empress looks at him with a similar grin.

"We will just have to find out. Now, won't we."

They both laugh maniacally. The echoing laughter is just out of reach from Karnat's antennae as he leaves the palace.

There he sees three groups of soldiers, their numbers reach the thousands, lined up in squares. The Imperial soldiers all wear red suits in appearance similar to plate armor and each segment is connected by lines of green mechanical tubing that all interconnects to a large stained glass canister on their backs, all filled with green liquid.

Karnat walks slowly and glances at one of the soldiers, the soldier's body shows no signs of fear nor hesitation, unlike the soldiers that he is used to. He then looks down and notices something interesting.

On the sides of their waist are two small boxes made of mysterious and dull grey metal. One labeled "Mk12-Seplar Blade" and the other labeled "Mk19-Orbital Rifle". These boxes have a handle similar to suitcases and are attached to the soldier's armor.

Karnat looks at the soldier's helm.

It has a transparent v-shaped visor and a metallic ring around its forehead that looks like a crown of thorns, the very shape that represents the Empire's great symbol.

Karnat sees nothing else besides the antennae sticking out from two holes on top of the helmet.

With that, he leans closer.

KARNAT "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SCALE FOUNDATION, SOLDIER?!"

"IT WAS CUT OFF, SIR!"

KARNAT "EXACTLY! BUT IF YOU ALL SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH, YOU TOO CAN GROW THEM BACK. SO GET OUT THERE AND MAKE ME PROUD! ALL UNITS PREPARE TO BOARD!!"

"SIR! YES! SIR!"

The crowd of imperial soldiers yelled at the top of their lungs? and begin boarding.

Karnat approaches one of the many imperial space ships.

Most humans would think that alien spaceships would look like giant flying boats, rockets, space planes, or flying saucers like in sci-fi movies.

These ships however are different.

They resemble large metallic meteors covered with thrusters that can be swapped in and out with high-powered plasma cannons.

The ship's way of navigating through space is using a special device called a Gravitational Attractor. This device allows the ships to gravitate towards any planet, star, or celestial object in the known universe through the input of their gravitational code, meaning their gravitational force.

The thrusters help with general space maneuverability or warp speed by activating thrusters following the same direction of where the ship's pulling towards. Other features of the vessels include a force field, advanced camouflage, an advance AI operating system, special spyware and tracking devices, geological records and maps of millions of planets, and third-person viewing of the entire vessel from the command deck.

Karnat enters a class-two ship which is the size of an asteroid. He goes through a long maze-like hallway similar to the tunnels in anthills. Eventually, he reaches the command deck and turns on the ship's operating system.

|ACCESS GRANTED. What will be your command?|

KARNAT "TELL EVERYONE TO SET THE CODE TO 9.807!"

A holographic panel pops up in front of Karnat.

KARNAT "NEXT STOP EARTH!"

That day several ships left the skies of Cavarrin as many did before.

Who knows maybe what you thought to be just meteors could be something else entirely.