บท 404: Message
"You become the Arcane Empire's business partner, or you can become our subordinate plane," explained Hermione. "The first choice is obvious: our exchange is purely a business: you pay for something, and we provide the product and vice versa. However, compared to being our territory, there are some things we will not sell you.
"And if you are invaded by another plane, you have to pay us to protect you, and we have the right to refuse. But we will defend against any civilization if you are our territory."
"I'm surprised we have a choice."
"Marcus!" said Elaine with a raised voice. "Your majesty–"
"It's fine. Our Empire is trying something new regarding planar warfare by the suggestion of the Emperor, hence the reason for the choice."
"Emperor?"
"Yes, my husband. He's the creator of the Arcane Empire. He raised our home from a Tier 5 Civilization to Tier 10 in less than a hundred years."
"Impossible," said Marcus, who could not believe this. And he was not the only one. The three knew some ancient history of their world. This plane used to be only Tier 7. But Ancient Knights had a brilliant civilization and even invented Planar Travel. Through Planar Warfare, they plunder the World Source of other Plane to raise the ceiling of the Eques Plane and update the Knight Power System to Tier 9.
However, they knew how long that era was and how long it took. Less than a hundred years to skip five levels as a civilization? Impossible.
"Our plane is a natural Tier 10 Plane with many different civilizations and races. So, we did not have to evolve the Plane Tier."
"Even then, less than a hundred years?"
"That's my husband; he's a remarkable man." Technically speaking, Edward spent over 600 years if you consider the time in other worlds and Time Acceleration Room. But that's still impressive. But the Arcane Empire is not yet a hundred years old, so she's not lying.
"You said you would not sell certain things. Can you give an example?" asked Marcus.
"An example would be our Planar Navigation Technology; we would never sell these things. Well, I should not say never, but I doubt this plane has something that valuable."
"Your majesty, I have to admit I still have some reservations," said Fury.
"Are you worried about your race's treatment?"
"Yes, our relationship with humans has not been the best."
Hermione nodded before taking ten massive, thick books that looked like five dictionaries stacked on each other. "These are the Empire's Anti-Xenophobia Laws to protect different races and species. Read them."
Fury took one book and activated his senses to the limit. Then, with godly speed, he read through the entire thing in a few minutes. So, he picked another one and repeated the same thing until he read everything.
He closed his eyes as he analyzed what he read. The thing was comprehensive, considering a race's customs, history, culture, and traditions and trying to accommodate them.
"One of the reasons for racism and discrimination is ignorance," said Hermione. "So, every time a new race joins the Empire, every citizen must take an online course on the race's customs and traditions. The species itself will design the course in cooperation with the Empire to ensure accuracy and appropriate accommodations.
"With Virtual Reality Technology, any race can spend time as another as a way to understand each other."
"Virtual Reality?"
Hermione explained the concept to him in a simple matter.
"How fascinating," commented Elaine.
"What is your stance on God and religion?" asked Marcus.
"That's a tricky question," replied Hermione. "Religion is not banned, but it has become less popular. Gods run our plane, and since we are currently in a war with a powerful Death God, they are not very popular in the Empire."
"So, Gods do exist," commented Marcus. The Holy Papal State believes in the Supreme Light, worshipping it as a god. When he was young, he was also a believer until he reached the pinnacle of the world and realized god was not real, almost driving him mad. Ever since then, he's been obsessed with godhood.
"To quote my husband: 'Gods are nothing but a parasitic species that rely on faith for their power and immortality,'" said Hermione. "They are powerful but nothing to awe or admire."
Marcus smiled wryly and did not comment.
"You can take some time to ponder and give me an answer. Meanwhile, I will be surveying this plane and learning more about it."
—Scene Break—
Cosmic Faith Plane, Planet Earth, Arcane Palace:
Edward watched Luna floating in the air while sitting cross-legged. He had many screens before him monitoring her vitals. He hid the worry deep in his eyes as he focused on the task at hand.
'The murmurs stopped a few days ago, which is a good sign. But why isn't she waking up?' He scrolled down on the holographic screen, but his hand trembled.
'Calm down, Edward: it's not time to be panicking yet.' He continued scrolling, but he could not find anything wrong. Her soul, body, and mana appeared completely fine.
"Someone better not be responsible for this. Otherwise, they'll know what I can do once I'm mad."
For a moment, the universe trembled as Cronai sensed a disturbance; she perceived a brief catastrophe that could destroy the entire plane but could not pinpoint its origin.
A powerful fluctuation emanated from Luna's body before she opened her eyes.
"Are you alright?" asked Edward as he held her.
"I'm fine," she replied with her ethereal smile. "I know what these murmurs were."
"Oh, what are they?"
"It's from the Oracle Tower."
"Oracle Tower? Isn't that the place in the Central Region known for their divination?" Edward remembered that place was one of the news he acquired from the central region.
The master of that tower called herself the Oracle Master and is the only Tier 10 Seer in the universe. All the gods or Tier 10 entities in the universe would ask her for help once they had a problem, granting the Oracle Tower a semi-detached status in this plane.
"So, what's the connection with you?"
"It's a message from the Oracle Tower asking for help."
"Help?"
"Yes. The message was brief, but it said something along the line that the current Oracle Master is a fake and the real one is being imprisoned for some reason."
Edward grunted as he felt this news was nothing but trouble. "Why is she communicating with you?"
"Apparently, only people with high enough Seer Bloodline can hear her message. However, I was too weak and could not previously properly hear it."
"Okay, don't worry about these things. We'll save her when we're strong enough if she is not lying or scheming."
Luna agreed with that sentence. "There is something else."
"What is it?"
"She told us the 7 Pillar Patheon will be the first calamity of the Arcane Empire."
"Calamity?"
"Calamity, obstacle, etc."
"Oh. Then?"
"She advised us to disintegrate them from the inside. Apparently, they are not as united as they appeared. The exact advice was the Goddess of Magic and the God of Dwarves is their biggest weakness."
"That's good to know, but I'm more concerned that an imprisoned Seer from so far away can clearly know our situation."
"Yes, she seems good," replied Luna.
"Did she suggest taking you as a student?"
Luna nodded.
"Are you tempted?"
"I am. Until now, I had to develop my powers alone, and it became more difficult after reaching Tier 5." To become Tier 5, Luna absorbed a perfect Aether Core like Edward and the rest, resulting in a talent like Hermione's summon. However, her talent was a boost to her Divination ability, which should have been a good thing. Unfortunately, it also made things more challenging to train and discover the limit of her powers.
"You should understand the danger?" explained Edward.
"I do."
"How about this: travel to other universes with Divination and learn their system. Then, decide whether you want to become her student." Edward knew a few animes and television with talented Seers; they could greatly help Luna.
"That's not a bad idea." Luna never had the opportunity to travel the Omniverse. But after the war, once everything is stable, it's a good idea to open her horizon.
The couple then decided to take this rare opportunity of alone time to spend it together. They left a few days later when they received news that Hermione had returned.
บท 405: Short Voyage?
Edward walked to the dining room, where everybody waited, "Where is my daughter?"
"Charmy went to hang out with the Black Bull Members."
"She abandoned me. How sad," he said, pouting before sitting down. Then, he looked at Hermione. "How was your voyage?"
"Now you remember me?"
"Don't be jealous of a kid."
"You mean don't eat the vinegar of a kid," said Susan while giggling.
"I should have said that," responded Edward with regret.
"You two, stop playing around," chimed Amelia before looking at Luna. "How are you feeling? Is everything alright?"
"Yes, don't worry. I'll tell you what happens later. Let's focus on Hermione's trip. Tell us what happened."
Hermione then explained everything that had occurred since her arrival. She told them how the group voted to become the Empire's subordinate, so she built a Planar Gate connecting to the Eques Plane. She explained the knight power systems and the resources available on the plane.
"The knight system must be hidden due to the possible political ramification," said Olivier. "Until we can remove the Soul Limit and create ways for Magical Arcanist to reach Tier 9, this thing must never see the light of day."
"I had the same idea," commented Hermione. "However, someone should study this system and update the Aura Master Profession, creating a perfect system from Tier 1 to 9."
"This research is perfect for me, but I'm busy. So, it has to wait," added Olivier. She has long decided to focus more on Aura Master as a primary class, while magic would be a subclass since she has a natural talent for it. However, before, Aura Master was not a perfect or complete class.
"Do you think a plane actively controls the resources it evolves?" asked Wiz.
"What do you mean?"
"I glance at the resources in this new plane and realize most served to help train the body and the knight system in general. So, is it possible the Planar Will would evolve the resources of a plane based on its power system?"
"That's an interesting conjecture. It would not make sense for a plane only to have magical resources when its main power system is Psychic Energy based. So, you're probably correct," commented Rowena.
"You should study this subject," suggested Fleur.
"I will, but I'm also busy." Wiz had to ensure the successful integration of undead into the Empire. The mere fact that one of the Empress is also an undead did help the situation, but many citizens are having a hard time accepting living with skeletons, ghouls, zombies, and a bunch of other dark creatures. Nevertheless, things are heading in a positive way since most of the undead were turned against their will, and they contributed significantly to the current war.
"Ollie, do you want to hire some knights to participate in the war?" asked Hermione.
"No need. It's best to hide the existence of planes from the public until after the war. And we don't need the military aid."
"How about other planar exposition? Do we need to prepare for another one?"
"We have the coordinate of the Abyss and Dream Plane. However, these are Tier 10 Planes, so we are not touching them," commented Rowena. "The only other choice is the Starkin race's plane."
"To conquer a Tier 9 plane would require Edward's Floating City, but it cannot leave for now," stated Olivier.
"Speaking of which, why are you so quiet?" asked Susan, who always finds these family dinners fascinating since she always learned the oddest secrets.
"He's only this quiet once his mind concocts some crazy idea," said his mother.
"You're right, as always, mother," he replied before feeding her some of his food, and she accepted joyfully.
"Do you guys remember the Otsutsuki's Divine Tree?"
"From the Naruto World you told us about?"
"Yes. I've been thinking if it's possible to modify the tree to condense Mana Fruit instead of Chakra Fruit."
"You want to plant this tree into other planes to condense Mana Fruit to gather mana rapidly?" said Rowena.
"Exactly. And it does not only need to be mana. We could modify the tree to contain time power, and they can gather the knowledge of a plane and condense it in the shape of a fruit."
"A fruit of knowledge that grants its owner all the knowledge of the past of that plane," summarized Fleur, making everyone's eyes light up.
"There are many other possibilities with this fruit," added Olivier. "We could feed it blood and energy to condense a Fruit of Lifespan. Or better yet, feed the tree souls for a Soul Fruit and effectively deal with the Soul Limitation issue. However, creating a natural way to remove the limitation would be best."
"These plans are good and all. But planting the God Tree on a planet and planting it on an entire plane is not the same thing," said the quiet Bellatrix. "It won't be as easy as you guys said."
"That's not an issue. Vengeance from the Golden Dawn used World Tree Magic with space attribute and is perfectly suitable to take root in a place's source. I can fuse them to achieve my purpose. The biggest issue is how to make the tree condense Knowledge Fruit."
Edward was confident in modifying the tree to condense Mana, Blood, Soul, or other types of fruits. However, he was not optimistic about quickly overcoming the technical difficulty of condensing the Knowledge Fruit. He has to be precise and have the tree scan the plane's past, gather all the knowledge ever written, and condense it into a fruit.
"Are you already planning on traveling again?" asked his mother, Joanna.
"Yes. I was thinking of a short voyage: I go in and get what I want before quickly returning."
: Is it wise to leave in a situation like this?" asked Olivier.
"I won't take long," replied Edward. "Plus, I would leave my floating city with you."
"You must attend the Starskin Race's surrender ceremony before you leave," said Amelia. They delayed the announcement because of Luna's situation. But she was okay now.
"Plus, you have to be quick," added Olivier. "Guzznad will not stay still and watch us become more powerful. We are now in the war's end game, and we need you to act as a hero before we can unite the Milky Way."
"Fine," replied Edward. "Does anyone want to go with me?"
Unfortunately, no one wanted to go with him since they were all busy with their own things. Even Susan was working on this secret project, making the family happy that the little girl finally decided to place her talent to use. Although there is nothing wrong with being a painter, many people felt she was wasting her talent.
"Whatever, I'll go alone."
The next few days, Edward focused on dealing with the things he needed to do. And as expected, the news of the Starskin race did cause turbulence in the galaxy, bringing pressure to the surviving factions–especially the elves.
"We need to begin naming these floating cities," muttered Edward before using one of the two created during his absence. He had Morgana get everything prepared before entering the void.
"Activating Void Traveling," said the little elf. Edward saw he entered a world of gray, feeling as if he was traveling at an incalculable distance. Suddenly, everything began to shake.
"What's going on?"
"An anomaly has been detected," said Morgana with a worried face. Her eyes seemed to glow with wisdom. "Master, we have to use the emergency procedure."
"What?"
"No time to explain."
A grey shield suddenly manifested around Edward. Then, he felt an explosion before everything went dark. Despite not seeing anything, he felt he was traveling a long distance, and there were many disturbances in the process. Unfortunately, his consciousness was coming in and out, so he could not observe what had occurred.
"Where…Where am I?" Edward asked softly as he looked at his surrounding. He saw two people, making him on guard. However, his vision was still blurred.
"You really survived such injuries," asked a voice with great surprise. "Are you even human?"
Edward took a moment to clear his mind, blurry vision, and the ringing sound in his ear. He first dealt with his auditory issue and recognized the person who spoke was a woman.
"Give me a moment," he said in a rasping voice.
"You can even speak? I thought your vocal chord was destroyed," replied the voice. Edward grunted as he closed his eyes to recuperate. When he opened his eyes, he finally saw his surrounding.
"What a beautiful woman," he declared. "And well-endowed too."
"Brat, what did you say?" said the woman.
"Sorry, I'm a little groggy, making me lose my filter," Edward said with difficulty. "But Lady Tsunade, don't call me a brat."
"I'll call you brat since you're a brat."
"With my age, I can be your great-great-great-great-great grandfather, if not more."
Tsunade wanted to sneer at these words, but she remembered this person's inhumane healing ability, indicating he might not be normal or even human.
"Wait, how do you know my name? Are you a spy from another village?"
[AN: The naruto arc will not be long. Edward is only here to get a few things.]
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