“That’s definitely him, right?” Claud muttered to himself, looking at the slender man with a gold crown on his head. Nine-coloured robes adorned his body, with a similar colour motif being applied to the nine halos that floated behind him. Each halo gave off an imposing presence, but the weightiness that emanated outwards from that slender silhouette was the heaviest of all.

Two people stood behind him in silence, their stillness proof of their deference.

“Who?” Seven asked.

Thirteen, whose scythe was now spinning rapidly, turned to him at the same time. “Identity.”

“…On the condition that you guys point out your own too,” Claud replied.

“I’ll do that anyway, so don’t think too hard about it.” Seven waved away his words.

“Done.”

Claud glanced at Thirteen, whose one-word answer was a tiny bit more spirited than usual, and then nodded. “That man there…that’s Emperor Grandis. The ruler of the Grandis continent. Before the Trial of Aeons began, he was already a hexa-folder. One can only wonder if he is a septa-folder now.”

“…Now I see what you mean by ‘your own’,” Seven replied. “That’s the Emperor of your Empire? Not gonna lie, I think I’ll have to hold my tongue for a while.”

“Self-awareness. Intriguing.” Thirteen turned to look at Seven, regarding him with some interest, before turning back to look at Emperor Grandis. “There. That man. Supreme Saran.”

Claud followed her finger, and his brows furrowed. The man he was looking at had a sense of aesthetics that was essentially in stark contrast to Emperor Grandis’ overwhelming majesty. Supreme Saran was wearing black armour from head to toe; his torso, feet, face…every part of him was covered by black plate armour. Rotating around his forehead were six blobs of black light, each of them exuding an overpowering aura.

“That’s Supreme Saran?” Seven asked.

“Correct,” Thirteen replied. “Dangerous. Seven. Senate.”

“Ah, right. Uh…that’s the First Lady, Cecily.” Seven motioned at a woman, who was clad in a shimmering cloak of golden light. Her features were breath-taking, but the chill that lined her facial features turned her into probably the most unapproachable woman in the world. In fact, Claud had no desire to look at her any further; his eyes were stinging from the sheer amount of…whatever it was.

He had missed Lily ever since he stepped into this stupid place, and Claud now found himself missing her even more. Once he got back, he would hug her for three hours or something.

Definitely.

Turning away from First Lady Cecily, Claud rubbed his eyes. “My eyes hurt. It’s hard to look at her.”

“I know, right? But she at least doesn’t get any weird solicitations from perverts.” Seven chuckled. “Anyway, best not to get to close to her. First Lady Cecily was last recorded as a hexa-folder too.”

Claud grunted, before checking out the rest of the arrivals. He didn’t know most of them, other than a certain Association President, which he was naturally going to avoid for reasons. Unfortunately, he hadn’t expected that Phase 2 would summon ten people here for some inane reason, so he wasn’t exactly in disguise.

Turning away from them, Claud touched his face once. He had three masks on, and the last one was even an artefact, but someone who knew him well could potentially identify him through his habits.

Changing his voice subtly, Claud gestured at the bridge that had been formed. “I’m heading over first. Do whatever you li—”

“Harken to my words.” Those three words, though quiet, interrupted his next actions through the sheer will that backed them up. “I am Emperor Grandis. If you seek my aid, approach me. This seat will not turn anyone away. Together, we shall transcend this Trial of Aeons.”

The nine halos behind him emanated another pulse of power, one that was simultaneously tough and pliable. Claud watched on in silence — he had no intention of joining anyone else — but not everyone thought the same way. Some of the newcomers promptly joined up with Emperor Grandis, their spirit and will blazing brightly, and Claud narrowed his eyes.

Before anyone else could move, a heavy thump shook the platform, and Supreme Saran strode forwards. “Warriors of my Supremacy. Join my side. Or die.”

The last word shook the air itself, and Claud watched on as one of the Bearers of Destiny broke ranks and approached Supreme Saran. Claud glanced at Thirteen a moment later, and then raised an eyebrow. “Not joining?”

He wasn’t the only one either.

“Kemata.” The low, deadly voice of Supreme Saran shook the air. “Your place is by my side.”

The air between the Thirteenth Bearer of Destiny and the tyrant of the Lacheln continent grew heavy as the two locked eyes. Claud, who was in close proximity to the confrontation, frowned once.

“Negative,” Thirteen replied. “I have left.”

“No one leaves my service, even in death,” Supreme Saran enunciated slowly.

The scythe spun furiously in response, and Claud prepared to make a move. Supreme Saran was what Lily would call an unstable explosive, one of her earliest products. Of course, in this case, it referred to an unpredictable, volatile element…which described Supreme Saran perfectly.

Black light burst out of Supreme Saran’s mace, and the scythe whirled. Seven took a stance, unsheathing his rapier against the unpredictable factor, and Claud touched the hilt of his sword.

“Supreme Saran.” A cold voice that chilled Claud down to the bone spoke, and First Lady Cecily rematerialized in the middle of Saran and Thirteen’s ocular showdown. “Still that same old brutish act as ever, I see.”

“Cecily. If you are not here to join my harem, step away.”

“I do not think so,” the First Lady of the Nihal Senate replied. “I have long heard of Lady Kemata’s exploits in that place you besmirch the word ‘Academy’ with. Her distaste to you and your ilk is very, very understandable, just above facts like water being essential to life.”

“Woman. You insist on protecting a criminal?”

“A criminal now, hm? Wow. What, then, is she guilty of? Turning down a brute? If that’s a crime, then I’m afraid my senate is equally guilty.” The air around First Lady Cecily shimmered, turning into crystals of ice that reflected the light of her golden clothes. “Would you like to settle this in the most archaic trial? My battleaxe is waiting for you.”

“Supreme Saran. First Lady Cecily.” Emperor Grandis took a step forward. “This is no place for squabbles, petty or otherwise.”

First Lady Cecily chuckled. “Grandis, you old stick in the mud. Let’s just get rid of Saran here, and then compete fairly. I promise not to touch the Lacheln continent.”

“Your twentieth term ends in three months. This seat would be a fool to work with you while you enter the election period, where all promises made by you are non-binding,” Emperor Grandis replied. “Now, if this foolishness is over, let us resume our task. Time is not our ally.”

He turned to the Aeon Bridge. “This is the thing we need to protect, not someone’s meaningless pride. So unless you do not want to complete the Trial of Aeons, let us move on.”

Claud raised an eyebrow. His first meeting with Emperor Grandis was…when Duke Istrel became Ruler Istrel, but again, the impression of the man back then was based upon a few lines of dialogue. The Emperor Grandis right here, right now, was a lot more authentic in form and behaviour, like a painting given life.

“Emperor Grandis is quite interesting,” Seven muttered.

“Your First Lady too,” Claud replied, before looking at Thirteen. The scythe behind her continued to spin furiously, as if it was cleaving down an endless pile of wheat, and Claud felt a little bad for her.

Thirteen looked at them. “Thanks.”

Claud bobbed his head at her, and then turned to Seven. “You’re an interesting one. Despite your very, very annoying tongue, you chose to draw your weapon earlier. Why?”

“I can’t control my tongue,” Seven replied. “It’s not like I hate you two, okay? I like making friends, but my words just spill out without going through my brain. I also didn’t want to taunt Kemata back then…but it’s hard when your mouth moves on its own.”

Claud caught himself right before he was about to laugh, and then frowned. Over the past week, the three of them had gotten a bit closer, but he couldn’t have that. After all, Claud was planning on annihilating every single Bearer of Destiny at the right time. If he made friends with these two people…

“Curse. Possible.” Thirteen muttered. “Checked yet?”

“A curse?” Seven asked.

As the two of them went back and forth about the possibility of Seven being cursed, Claud let out a small sigh of relief. None of them had noticed his abnormality yet, but this was indeed a warning for him.

He wasn’t here to make friends. He was here to complete the Trial of Aeons, to avert a future and to get rid of as many Bearers of Destiny as possible.

That was his goal here.

As everyone began to move towards the newly constructed Aeon Bridge, Claud glanced at Supreme Saran once more. The latter’s gaze was fixed on Thirteen, a cold, unrelenting gaze that promised a bloody vengeance.

Claud, who was also on the receiving end of it, had to restrain himself from striking.