As soon as they got out of the lands of Darkness, the group immediately noticed that something was off.

They made their way to the nearby kingdom of Andarmat where they would take the portal back to Hedonia, but the mood in the kingdom was very weird.

There was nobody around. No people on the roads, no shops that were open. There weren’t even any farmers out in the fields.

For a minute there, they thought that life had vanished from this kingdom. Until they finally reached the city.

They finally saw signs of life. But this wasn’t the lively, colorful city they used to know. Instead, a suffocating silence seemed to envelop the city as legions of soldiers and mages were running around, setting up various defensive formations.

“There are so many soldiers yelling and marching, and yet it’s as silent as a quaint little village.” James observed. “How is that possible?”

“It’s called ‘Fog of War’.” Lunaris informed him. “It’s a spell that covers a large area, used to obfuscate enemy attempts at spying. That way their movements are harder to track.”

“I take it the war isn’t going well if they’re so on edge now?” James asked as he looked at the grim faces of the soldiers.

“Regardless of how the war is going, their worries are justified. Even if they could defeat any foe that came their way, there is bound to be a lot of collateral damage.” Lunaris sighed. “Just think about what you did to the Stygian cities. Now imagine the dark side sending someone half as strong as you after this city! Even if they stopped him, half the city would be rubble in seconds.”

“Oh, now I understand why Cadmus was so desperate to send Hedonia into a pocket dimension.” James was suddenly even happier that he now had all this mana at his disposal. He didn’t want his home to end up with the same fate as the dozens of cities he destroyed in the blink of an eye.

“I’m sure father is hiding it from us, but the cost and complexity of executing such a feat must’ve been enormous, and exhausting. The mana is probably just the last piece of the puzzle. Let’s hurry and deliver it.” Helios said as they rushed towards the portal.

Within minutes, they were smelling the sweet, unmistakable air of their hometown.

But just like Andarmat, the mood was entirely different.

The once calm and idyllic institute, always full of rainbows and sunshine, now looked like a joyless military base. The people that used to leisurely stroll around the colorful streets were now running frantically, carrying as many supplies as their bodies could possibly handle.

“Wow, our guys are panicked too?” James had never seen Hedonia this chaotic before. It always seemed like a relaxed, tranquil place.

“It’s not panic, it’s work.” Lunaris answered. “Your mana is just the fuel, but to prepare the pocket dimension, countless resources and spells must be cast and sacrificed.”

Before James could ask any more questions, an out of breath guard shouted at them.

“Quickly, master Cadmus has summoned you! He’s waiting for you in his office!” The poor guard had sprinted so fast that he was nearly fainting.

The gang immediately made their way to Cadmus’s office.

But instead of finding him at his desk, they found a shriveled old man collapsed on his floor, casting spells while half-asleep.

“Father, what are you doing?!” Helios quickly helped him up.

As soon as he saw them, Cadmus seemed to regain some energy and life in his eyes, but he couldn’t stop himself from yawning, clearly terribly exhausted.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Cadmus said in-between yawns. “All the preparations for the pocket dimension have been made, I’m just putting the finishing touches.”

Cadmus had been yawning too much to notice right away, but then his eyes opened wide when he saw James. All the exhaustion seemed to melt away from him instantly. He even looked a bit scared.

“W-what happened? How is this possible?” Cadmus turned as white as a ghost, even whiter than Emilia usually turned.

“See, we’re not the only ones who get surprised by you!” Denmac felt a bit vindicated, since he always chastised himself for gasping and turning white.

Cadmus didn’t seem to hear any of them. He looked lost in his own world as his mind tried to digest what he was seeing. But he couldn’t believe it.

“How is this possible?” He kept repeating as he pinched James, as if he couldn’t believe that he was real. “You were gone for much longer than you were supposed to, but I wasn’t all that worried. I figured you guys would be all right, no matter what. You’re strong, and you’d probably even come home with a pleasant surprise. But this ... no one could have ever predicted this!”

“Ah, it’s nothing.” James blushed. “The others are just as impressive, they worked hard too!”

But nobody reacted to his compliment. As Cadmus inspected him, the rest of the gang also began to feel the full extent of his powers. As if Cadmus was peeling an onion, James’s aura was shining through more and more as he was looking at him. Within seconds, it became downright blinding.

His compliments fell on deaf years as his friends were all stunned, mesmerized by the amount of power betrayed by his aura.

Cadmus’s hands trembled as he finally finished his examination.

“This... this... what have you done?” Cadmus nearly fainted as he collapsed on a nearby chair.

“Nothing much, just pillaged a few dozen of their cities, no biggie.” James chuckled.

“Were you followed?” Cadmus was barely able to get the words out.

“Well, we did kill a whole bunch of agents that were after us. But ... yeah, they know where we’re from. So we should probably get this whole pocket dimension thing going.” James smiled awkwardly.