Aldon watched on curiously as Haldir spoke shakily, “The Plane of Ascension... In the past, it was a dimension where the Gods of this World usually resided in. When Mages of ancient times used to attempt to cross the Hurdle of Realization, the Gods used to pull the Mage into this dimension and give them advice on how to overcome the Hurdle.” He agitatedly asked Aldon, “Are you sure you only saw one Orb of light?” Aldon, though slightly confused, answered, “Yes, Grandpa! There was only one Orb of light!”

Haldir let out a sigh filled with grief and explained, “According to the legends, the Orbs of light are the manifestation of the Gods. It was said to be containing numerous Orbs of light floating around in the Plane of Ascension. But due to the God-killing War a thousand years ago, the Gods disappeared from the World. The circumstances of the War are unknown to most, and it is presumed that the majority of the Gods were exterminated in the War. Only one elf is alive today who participated in the God-killing War, but he refuses to disclose any information about the War even to the Emperor!”

Aldon questioned curiously, “Who is that elf, Grandpa? And, how can he refuse the Emperor himself?!” Haldir replied grimly, “He is the First Elder of the Elven Council. The Council consists of old elves and advises the Emperor regarding his duties. Even the Emperor can’t act impudently towards the Council. He is one mysterious old bastard!”

Aldon was surprised by the slight animosity in Haldir’s voice. Haldir continued, “No one has entered the Plane of Ascension in recent times. That’s why even the number of elves successfully crossing the Hurdle of Realization have dwindled. If you saw only one Orb, then it must be the manifestation of the Goddess who reincarnated you! That also means, there is only one God currently existing in this World, so it’s a matter of great importance! I must quickly report this to the Emperor!”

Just when Haldir was about to leave, a messenger elf arrived at the Throm family’s Mansion. The messenger had donned a green cloak and observed Aldon intently. He then asked for Aldon’s Medallion of Identity. Haldir noticed the Imperial insignia, a golden crown, sewn to the green cloak of the messenger and realized that he was an Imperial Messenger, here to convey a direct message from the Emperor! Haldir nudged Aldon to produce his Medallion of Identity. Though confused, Aldon produced his Medallion.

After confirming the identity of Aldon, the Imperial Messenger relayed the message from the Emperor, “Aldon, your presence has been requested by the Emperor. You are hereby commanded to travel to the Castle at your earliest convenience!” With no other words spoken, the Imperial Messenger took his leave and entered the adjacent mansion of the Neige family.

While Aldon wondered what the Emperor wanted with him, Haldir smiled mysteriously, seemingly knowing what awaited Aldon. Haldir advised him, “Go get dressed! You don’t want to meet the Emperor in your casual clothes, do you?” Aldon quickly went inside the mansion to get dressed.

Aldon quickly changed into an appropriate attire and donned his cloak. He then emerged from the mansion and approached Haldir. Haldir was yet again amazed by Aldon’s magnetic presence matching his attire in a perfect sense of harmony. Haldir spoke, “Even I should to go to the Castle to deliver the information regarding the Plane of Ascension. Come with me, let’s go together!” Aldon readily agreed to it.

Haldir whistled, and a gorgeous horse-drawn carriage quickly arrived in front of the mansion’s gates. The carriage was elegantly decorated and looked very comfortable. Aldon and Haldir boarded the carriage, and it began to advance quickly towards the Castle.

***

After some time, the carriage stopped, and the coachman[1] declared that they had arrived at their destination. Aldon quickly stepped out of the carriage and was greeted with an amazing sight! Elves flocked the gates of the Castle, trying to gain an audience with the Emperor. A towering Castle, though it was very distant, was easily visible from the gates. The Imperial Guards guarded the gates of the Castle very attentively.

Haldir also stepped out of the carriage and approached the Imperial Guards. Though the Imperial Guards recognized the commander-in-chief of the Elven Empire’s military, they still confirmed his identity through his Medallion and then let him in. Before heading inside, Haldir spoke to Aldon, “I’ll be waiting for you here after I convey the information to the Emperor. Don’t wander around! Follow the directions of the Imperial Guard!” Aldon replied, “Okay, Grandpa! See you later!”

Aldon waited in line to be let into the Castle. When his turn came, he showed his Medallion of Identity to the Imperial Guards, who cross-checked and verified it. Knowing that the Emperor had summoned him, the Imperial Guards gave directions to the audience chamber and warned him against wandering around. Acknowledging the directions and promising not to wander, Aldon stepped inside the Castle grounds.

Aldon followed the directions of the Imperial Guards and crossed the moat surrounding the Castle’s battlement[2] through a drawbridge, after once again confirming that he was indeed Aldon for the Imperial Guards guarding the battlement.

After passing through some open corridors, Aldon became lost in the expanse of the Castle. Haldir’s and the Imperial Guard’s warning flew out of his mind as his curiosity triumphed over his cautiousness. He wandered around for a while and arrived at what appeared to be an expanse of a garden full of trees and flowering plants with no Imperial Guards in sight.

A burst of clear laughter rang from the garden. Curious, he entered the garden and saw a young girl around four years of age dressed in a cute red dress, frolicking alongside a dog among the flowering plants. Just when his sight fell on the girl, she stumbled on a stone and fell flat on her belly. Aldon quickly sprung towards the girl to help her up. He was not some cold monster who was indifferent to the sufferings of people in front of him. In fact, his helping nature was why he was so compatible with the title of ‘Hero’ during his previous life and was admired by many.

The dog looked curiously at Aldon as he gently helped the girl up. He quickly assessed the girl and found out that she had bruised her knee with that fall. Although she was trying very hard not to cry, tears were slowly forming in her dainty little eyes. With a soothing voice, he tried to pacify her, “Hey... Don’t cry... Don’t cry... You’re a brave little girl, aren’t you?! The bravest in the whole world!”

Though the girl was confused by Aldon’s unfamiliar voice and face, his soothing voice calmed her, and she nodded. Perceiving that the girl had calmed down, he asked in a mild voice, “Will you allow me to cast a Healing Spell on your bruise? The pain will go away in an instant!” The girl nodded her head animatedly, giving permission.

Aldon quickly cast a Realm 3 Healing Spell, ‘Area Heal’ on the girl. The Area Heal created a small area of healing around the girl’s bruise. The bruise quickly began to heal rapidly and was completely healed in a few seconds.

The girl quickly became overjoyed that her knee was no longer in pain and thanked Aldon cutely, “Thank you! You healed my knee! You’re my life’s savior!’ Aldon chuckled lightly at the girl’s exaggeration.

The girl then asked curiously, “What’s your name? I’m Alyndra!’ She gestured to the black dog and continued, “This is my dog, Pochi.” Aldon smiled tenderly and answered, “My name’s Aldon. Nice to meet you, Alyndra!” Though Aldon felt that the name Alyndra was somewhat familiar, he didn’t ponder much over it.

Alyndra spoke to the dog, “Pochi, come here! Shake hands with Aldon!” Pochi walked over to Aldon and gave him its paw. Seeing the intelligence behind the dog’s eyes, Aldon was surprised. He sat down and shook Pochi’s paw and began to pet its head. Pochi contently closed its eyes and enjoyed the caress.

Alyndra began to ask questions about Aldon curiously. Aldon patiently answered every question of hers. After a while, Alyndra took out a pen and some papers from her cute red handbag and started to draw the surrounding nature.

Aldon felt relaxed in this atmosphere, and taking a blank paper from her stockpile, folded a paper airplane and let it loose. The paper plane caught Alyndra’s attention, and she was completely enraptured by it. After it finished its flight, she asked Aldon agitatedly, “What was that?! How did you do that? Did you use Magic? Can I also do that?”

Aldon smiled and replied, “It is a paper airplane. Anyone can do it if they know how to fold paper. There is no Magic involved. I can teach you if you want.” Alyndra animatedly nodded her head, “Please! Teach me, Master!” Aldon was taken aback by the vocabulary of the girl and chuckled lightly. He began to teach Alyndra how to fold a paper airplane. She got it right after a few failed attempts and began to launch and play with it. She giggled happily as Pochi also chased after the paper plane.

Aldon lay on the ground and felt his soul slowly harmonize with the peaceful surrounding, and he felt content. He wondered how his life would be if it were always peaceful like this. His trance was broken when he noticed that the giggles of Alyndra had stopped. Worrying that she had hurt herself again, he stood up and saw her hopping under a tree. It appeared that the paper plane had gotten stuck on one of the tree’s branches, and she was trying to retrieve it.

Chuckling, Aldon proposed a solution, “Alyndra, how about I retrieve it since I’m taller than you?” But Alyndra stubbornly replied, “No. I can’t always depend on Aldon. I have to get it back myself!” She tried a couple of times to retrieve the paper plane but failed every time as her arm wasn’t long enough to reach it. She stopped her futile attempts and started to seriously contemplate her options. Though her serious-at-thought face was cute, Aldon feared that she would hurt herself if she tried climbing the tree and tried to, once again convince her to let him retrieve it. After some back and forth, Aldon settled for Alyndra using his shoulders to retrieve the paper plane.

Aldon squatted and bent forward as Alyndra climbed upon his shoulders. She spoke nervously, “Grip me tightly, Aldon. I’m scared of falling!” Aldon securely held Alyndra and replied, “It’s okay. You’ll not fall. I’ve held on to you firmly.” Alyndra, assured by Aldon’s words, stretched her hands and quickly retrieved the paper plane.

The instant Alyndra retrieved the paper plane, a sharp spear appeared out of thin air and flew towards Aldon’s back with immense power behind it, absolutely intending to kill him. Aldon noticed this quickly and projected his Mana Armor almost instantly. Though the Mana Armor materialized in time and blocked the lethal attack, it was not deployed quick enough to completely block the brunt behind it. The remaining force of the attack sent Aldon flying through the air. The little girl atop Aldon’s shoulders quickly found herself falling backward and started screaming.

A figure quickly arrived and caught her before she fell to the ground. The figure was one of the Imperial Guards and was also the elf who had thrown his spear at Aldon. The Imperial Guard gently placed Alyndra down and bellowed, “How dare you lay a hand on our Princess! You must be a lackey of that brat! You’re dead meat now, boy!” He quickly sprinted towards Aldon, recovered the spear, and thrust it at Aldon’s head.

Aldon had quickly summoned Alastair in its staff form and discarded his cloak the moment he was blown by the spear’s force. Hence, he easily parried the spear thrust and retaliated with a powerful swing of his staff at the Imperial Guard’s chest. The power behind Aldon’s attack was in no way weak, but it was blocked by the Imperial Guard’s Mana Armor. The Imperial Guard stumbled back a few steps due to the force of the blow. Though the Imperial Guard’s Mana Armor was thinner than Haldir’s, it was certainly a lot thicker than Aldon’s.

Aldon quickly deduced that the Imperial Guard was, at the least, a Realm 5 Mage. Knowing that he didn’t stand a chance against a Realm 5 Mage, Aldon used the opening to put some distance and tried to reason with him, “Princess? I really didn’t know Alyndra was a Princess! And, I surely meant no harm! Please stay your hand. It’s all a big misunderstanding!” The Imperial Guard flared up hearing Aldon call their Princess without any honorifics and advanced towards Aldon.

Alyndra snapped from her stupor and screamed, “Don’t, Agis! Aldon’s not an enemy! He saved me!” Hearing the Princess’s words, the Imperial Guard, Agis’s face turned dark, as he spoke grimly to Aldon, “You lowly scum! You even dared to bewitch the Princess? You won’t get away with this!”

Aldon, helpless that Alyndra’s words made the situation worse, prepared himself to defend against Agis, who was approaching him very quickly. Just as Agis was about to swing his spear at Aldon, Pochi sprung with unbelievable speed from beside Alyndra towards Aldon. He stood before Aldon instantly and started growling at Agis, with its hackles raised. It now looked more like a ferocious beast rather than a dog.

Agis was confused as to why the pet of the Princess was protecting Aldon and stopped his attack mid-air.

Suddenly, a vibrant and magnetic male voice was heard, “Agis, you should really trust my sister’s words! She’s the only Princess of this Empire! Do you really think it’s that easy to bewitch her? You, of all people, should know that she has various artifacts that resist bewitching! Though, I doubt she herself knows they are artifacts!”

Alyndra recognized the voice and excitedly exclaimed, “Big Brother Rydell! You’re here!” A sturdy figure slowly appeared in their sights. The figure was a boy around the same age as Aldon. His royal red and gold attire made it hard not to notice his royalty. The Imperial Guard, Agis bowed deeply when this figure appeared. Rydell lightly tousled Alyndra’s hair and spoke to Agis, “This elf here is Aldon, one of the elves who have been summoned by Father. He has an audience with Father in a while, and you’ve gone and attacked him! Ask for his forgiveness at once!”

Agis sweated profusely as he begged for forgiveness from Aldon. Rydell looked at Aldon with a twinkle in his eyes as he observed Aldon’s reaction. Aldon, not noticing this, easily forgave Agis and brushed off the fight as he hadn’t been seriously injured, and it was all a big misunderstanding in the first place. He even praised Agis for his loyalty and commitment to the Empire. Agis was filled with gratitude since if Aldon had pressed the matter, and it reached his superior’s ears, he would have been heavily punished for his blunder.

Aldon wiped some blood from his mouth, which was the resultant of Agis’s first strike. Noticing this, Rydell chuckled and teased Agis, “If you don’t heal Aldon, Father will probably ask what happened when He sees Aldon at this state!” Agis quickly cast a Realm 4 Healing Spell, ‘Bubble Heal’, and started to heal Aldon. The Bubble Heal Spell created numerous bubbles with Healing Mana, and it burst against Aldon and provided healing. In a short while, Aldon was completely healed.

Curious, Alyndra asked Aldon, “Why didn’t you heal yourself, Aldon?” Aldon reflexively replied, “Well, that’s because, unlike the other Attributed Magic Spells, one can’t cast a Healing Spell on themselves. Even I don’t know the specifics of why, but just know that it doesn’t work.” After realizing that he was talking to the Princess of the Elven Empire, he added stiffly, “... Princess.” and scratched his chin awkwardly.

Alyndra pouted after hearing the last bit. Rydell noticed this and laughed, “It seems that my sister likes it when you don’t address her formally!’ Alyndra added animatedly, with her little fists flying energetically, “Yes! I like it when Aldon speaks with me normally! Please don’t talk formally with me, Aldon!” Aldon smiled wryly and complied.

Aldon turned to Rydell, and thanked him, “Thank you, Prince! For clearing the misunderstanding and resolving the situation peacefully.” Rydell simply laughed and brushed it off, “No problem!” He then continued, “I witnessed how you interacted with my sister from the moment you entered the garden. Do excuse me since I didn’t intervene earlier as I was curious about your combat prowess!” Aldon was embarrassed since he didn’t know he had been watched over and brushed off the apology as it hadn’t been a serious problem for him.

Admiring his open mindset, Rydell spoke, “I admire your honesty! If it had been any other elf, they would’ve tried to curry favor and started flattering me. I can see that you don’t want anything from me! You really do wear your heart at your sleeve!”

Aldon scratched his chin, embarrassed by the Prince’s praise. Rydell continued, “Come on, let’s go! I’ll lead you to the Audience Chamber. It would be bad to let Father wait, won’t it?!” Agreeing with the Prince, Aldon picked up his cloak, dusted it, and hung it over his shoulders. He thanked the Prince, “Thank you, Prince. For taking the time to guide me!”

Rydell laughed as he spoke, “No problem, no problem! I like your mindset, so don’t use formalities with me!” Aldon smiled slightly as he too felt favorable regarding the Prince’s attitude.

Alyndra asked them curiously, “Are you two going to meet Father? If so, I’d like to accompany you two! I have something to tell him!” Rydell tried to dissuade Alyndra, “Alyndra, we’re going to meet with Father for an important issue, not for some casual talk.” But, Alyndra was stubborn and refused to listen to her big brother.

Smiling wryly, Rydell took her hand and led the way to Aldon. The mischievous Alyndra grabbed Aldon’s left hand with her empty hand and started swinging between Rydell and Aldon. Both of them looked at each other and burst into laughter. They indulged in the Princess’s wishes as they played with her and departed to the Audience Chamber.

***

Aldon arrived in front of the Audience Chamber with Alyndra and Rydell. Rydell tried to pry Alyndra from Aldon, but she held on to Aldon tightly with her little hands. Giving up, Rydell spoke to Aldon, “Well, it seems my little sister has taken a liking to you! Go inside the Audience Chamber and get ready. I’ll enter in a while.”

Turning to Alyndra, he spoke seriously, “Don’t trouble Aldon inside the Audience Chamber, okay?” The playful little elf stuck out her tongue mischievously. Smiling wryly, Rydell nodded to Aldon and went in a different direction.

Aldon took in the regal view of the Audience Chamber and entered it, holding Alyndra’s dainty little hands gently.

***(Footnote)***

[1] Coachman: A driver of a horse-drawn carriage.

[2] Battlement: A battlement is a defensive architectural structure of castles, which comprises a parapet, in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defenses.