Never in their wildest dreams had Senna and Garran imagined that people from other worlds existed, much less that they could come to their world without anyone knowing.

And judging by Nova's ease in talking about it, this wasn't even a secret but common knowledge to many.

Then, how had they never heard anything about it until now?

Was what this young man said false?

The two took a moment to regain their senses.

Garran was about to speak when Senna glared at him.

The emperor saw it and reluctantly closed his mouth, leaning back in his chair with a defeated look.

Pleased with this, Senna nodded and turned to Nova.

"I have many questions."

He took a deep breath and said, "How did you come here? Are there others like you in this world? How can we also travel to other worlds?"

Soon, a back-and-forth exchange of questions and answers took place between Nova and Senna, which eventually turned into Nova giving a brief explanation about what had happened to his world and what had probably happened to theirs to make it turn out like this.

As the emperor and the commander listened to a story that seemed to have come straight out of a fantasy book, their faces went through a rollercoaster of expressions as their emotions rapidly shifted.

They heard how the previous civilizations Nova had visited knew their own history and were aware of what had transpired in the past.

That made the two question why they knew nothing. No record in the royal library spoke of such events ever taking place, there wasn't even a hint of it, as if their ancestors had decided to bury that part of history along with themselves.

If they did, then why?

Shouldn't they be allowed to know the events of the past and be prepared for the future?

What brought them the deepest sadness was hearing that their civilization had probably been defeated by another, and that they had been confined to this place, possibly without any chance of leaving. At least, none that Nova knew of.

A crucial point that made them realize Nova wasn't lying was the strangeness of their world.

As much as they could travel across it, once they crossed a certain border, it didn't matter how long they walked, there was just plain grass ahead, and a single step back would bring them to the starting point.

They had always found this strange, but, just as their ancestors had done before them, they chalked it up to simply being how the world worked, something they could neither explain nor change.

To them it had always existed, so why would they question it?

Now, however, they knew it wasn't natural, but artificial?

It was a dilemma. Was something made by the Universe for a purpose natural or artificial?

At this point they had no idea anymore.

Two heavy breaths echoed through the otherwise silent hall.

As strong as Senna and Garran's mental fortitude was, honed through years upon years of decisions and rulership, what they had just heard challenged the very foundation of their understanding of the world, and of their lives.

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'Hmm, it's already good they aren't having a mental breakdown. Worthy of their titles, I guess,' Nova thought. If he were in their position, with seemingly no way out, he wasn't sure how he would have taken it.

It took the two several minutes to pull themselves together, though their faces seemed to have aged a few years.

There was still something they needed to ask.

Senna said tiredly, "From what you said, when a person enters a world such as ours, they are given a mission." His voice trailed slightly. "What is yours?"

Nova flashed Garran a grin that made the latter uncomfortable.

"My mission is to unify this world under Lotra."

The two had heard so many outrageous things by now that hearing this only made Senna's breathing grow slightly more ragged.

Garran, however, being the emperor and the most affected here, felt cold sweat running down his back.

Why Lotra?

Why not Vireah?

Did he have to die for Vireah to become part of Lotra, or could he simply abdicate?

And before that… was he even willing to?

Questions he never thought he would have now popped in his mind one after the other.

As if reading his thoughts, Nova continued, "The mission only states to use Lotra to take over everything else. It doesn't mention that I need to kill the rulers."

Senna nodded slowly while Garran's expression eased a little.

"But—"

Garran tensed.

"I've already arranged for someone I trust to take rulership of this world and, if you plan to take it back once you're no longer emperor, it might end badly for you."

Garran's hands unconsciously clenched and his jaw set. If he gave up his throne now he would never sit on it again. But if he didn't give it up, he would most likely die.

Life or death. The choice between the two seemed easy from an outsider's perspective, obvious to say the least. But for someone born royal and used to ruling their whole life, it was another matter altogether.

The throne wasn't just part of his identity, it was everything.

Senna noticed the struggle inside Garran. Feeling sad for him he turned to Nova and asked, "Is there no other way?"

"There is a way to let him keep the throne," Nova said, locking gazes with the commander, "although he would become a vassal. But I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Garran hastily spoke up this time. Vassal or not, it was better to take orders from a person and rule everyone else than to have no power whatsoever.

Senna nodded, signalling Nova to proceed.

"I want you to bring the whole army under your command and serve Lotra from now on. Also," he pointed at Garran, "if he tries to harm the future emperor, he will be sentenced to death and you will personally carry it out. Do you agree?"

Garran and Senna looked at each other in silence, and soon the former nodded.

"Are you sure?" Senna asked solemnly.

The emperor simply said, "Yes. Go to Lotra."

Senna took a deep breath and said, "Alright. I agree to move the army and serve Lotra."

He'd served in Vireah's army since he was a young man and didn't feel right about switching his loyalty, much less so suddenly. But this was an order from the current emperor and, despite how annoying he found him, he didn't dare disobey.

In his mind he couldn't help but think about his granddaughter, who was also in Lotra, I'll see you sooner than expected.

Nova clapped his hands and said, "Very well. You have one month to smoothly prepare for the abdication while the army transitions over to Lotra."

"Now that that's out of the way…" He stopped smiling. "Tell me where to find light elemental mana."

Nova couldn't, and didn't want to, mess around with this matter. Anything that could make him stronger he had to have it and, a basic element such as light, was too important to miss. What if Earth didn't support light mana? When would he be able to absorb it then? Was he supposed to keep entering portals and hope to stumble upon another world that had it?

Although Garran was confused by such a request, he slowly answered, "There's an area in the Magic Tower that's filled with light elemental mana. In this world, that's the only place known to have it, though there's no clue as to why."

'The Magic Tower again, huh? I intended to go there next anyway, so this will only make the trip even more worthwhile,' Nova thought.

"Quickly arrange for someone to show me around the Magic Tower. I need full access to everything inside." Nova waved his hand. "We're done here."

Neither Garran nor Senna could understand why Nova was so obsessed with light elemental mana, or mana in general. From what they had seen, he was a knight with a body as tough as the hardest of materials, even surviving a direct hit from a rank nine mage without a scratch.

So, what was this obsession with mana?

But at this point, they stopped asking questions. Instead, they nodded quietly and left the hall.

Tap, tap, tap.

Nova sat alone, eyes closed, tapping his fingers on the armrest as he waited for the person arranged by the two to arrive. In his mind, he was going through everything he needed to do once he reached the tower.

Lost in his thoughts he didn't know how much time had passed, but soon he heard a knock at the door.

Opening his eyes, he turned toward it and said, "Come in."

The door slowly opened, and Nova muttered, "Oh?"

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