Cassian, having abandoned his spider form, was making his way through the dim and narrow streets of Veythral.

His steps echoed on the stone paths illuminated by the moonlight.

His destination was clear: Fredrinn's castle.

On the way, his mind was a complex labyrinth of thoughts.

Prince Charles the Second...

This name triggered memories from a former life, deep within his mind.

"Child of the Dawn: Call of the Sun"...

In that game, Prince Charles was one of the most influential and dangerous characters, playing a major role in the fate of the world.

Prince Charles the Second... The shining new sun of the Holy Luminara Empire.

The future of the Empire.

The legendary figure who had made a pact with the Golden Dragon, one of the three primordial dragons.

The Avatar of Zeus...

And the sacred blood that flowed through his veins...

According to the game's story, by this time, Charles should have already made his pact with Zeus, awakened a portion of his holy power, and be in the process of harmonizing with the legendary Golden Dragon.

Even now, the majority of the Empire's most powerful dynasties supported him as the future Emperor.

His older brother, not being as talented or charismatic as Charles, was constantly looked down upon by the Imperial nobility, even perceived as pathetic.

For those of noble blood, an older brother weaker than his younger was an unforgivable shame.

When Charles joined the academy, he initially looked down on and oppressed the game's main character for being a commoner.

Later, upon seeing potential in him, he tried to win him over to his side, intending to use him as a pawn.

But things didn't quite go as he wished.

Yes, the events at the academy were host to some rather strange things.

On one side, ordinary students trying to better themselves; on the other, characters chosen by fate, leagues more powerful than them...

It was a rather unbalanced environment.

And for Prince Charles, this environment was a garden full of potential allies to be gathered.

But in general, Charles would have gathered a host of loyal, powerful allies from the academy.

Upon graduation, his first act would be to eliminate his older brother under the guise of an "accident" and force his younger sister into a political marriage to form alliances with other kingdoms.

When no rivals remained before him, he would overthrow his father at a young age and become the absolute ruler of the Empire.

The people had great expectations of him.

But Charles would begin to pursue not the well-being of his people, but his own bottomless ambition and lust for power.

This was known as the beginning of the apocalypse in the game world.

And now, this dangerous player had set his sights on Veythral, this small, insignificant city...

...because of me.

It was late in the night.

Fredrinn had just gotten into his bed, trying to sleep after a weary day.

His mind was occupied with the colossal trouble he had gotten into because of Cassian.

He was facing an entire Empire.

Yes, he had expected to cross the Empire sooner or later, but not this soon.

As far as he knew, the Empire did not yet have valid reasons to openly declare war on Veythral or cause greater incidents.

Such a move would severely damage the image of the Second Prince, who was trying to paint himself as "just and wise" in the eyes of the people.

For now, this was his only assurance.

Fredrinn was about to drift off with these anxious thoughts when his door was knocked on harshly.

From outside the door came a panicked voice.

It was Rod's.

"Lord Fredrinn! Lord Fredrinn, wake up! Cassian... is gone!"

These words alone were enough for Fredrinn to forget his fatigue, leap out of bed, and fling his door open with a fury.

That fool!

I already stepped on the Empire's toes today. If Cassian goes and causes something else now, I don't even want to think about the consequences!

"Tell me what happened!" Fredrinn roared as soon as he opened the door, gesturing for Rod to enter.

After Rod entered, Fredrinn closed the door behind him.

"My lord, Kael and I were watching Cassian. We didn't take our eyes off him for a moment."

"But in the evening, when I went to the lavatory, Kael was watching him alone."

"When I returned to the room... Kael was standing there alone with the pixie girl. Cassian was nowhere to be found."

"Kael didn't even realize when he had disappeared."

"He left the pixie girl behind, though..." Rod added, worriedly.

That idiot! I told him so many times to stay in the room! How hard can it be for him to do something so simple? Fredrinn thought to himself.

"We have to find him!" said Rod.

"How do you think you'll find him?"

"He doesn't even have a true form! Who knows what form he's wandering around in now!"

Fredrinn began to pace the room.

"Inform the guards! Increase the protection on those who came from the Empire!"

"If Cassian harms them, the consequences will be dire!"

"Yes, my lord!" Rod said and headed for the door to leave.

Just then, a calm voice was heard from the corner of the room, by the bed.

"There's no need for you to go anywhere."

"I'm here."

When they looked in the direction of the voice, they were left in shock.

Cassian was lying comfortably on Fredrinn's bed, his arms crossed under his head.

He was as relaxed as if he had been there from the very beginning.

Fredrinn's face turned purple with rage.

He shot up from his spot, grabbed Cassian by the collar, and pulled him to his feet in a single motion.

"You fool!"

"Where did you disappear to? What the hell were you up to again?"

"I ordered you to stay in your room! How hard can that be?"

Cassian calmly pushed Fredrinn's hand away.

"I don't take orders from you. And I'm not your man."

"Anyway, stop being angry with me. I have news for you."

"I think you'll want to hear it."

"The kind of information that will save some lives."

Fredrinn paused for a moment.

"I'm listening then. It had better be worth you disregarding my request."

"Of course, partner. Trust me."

Cassian sat on the edge of the bed.

"Until a little while ago, I was in the room of your 'precious' guests from the Empire."

Hearing this, Fredrinn's nerves shot up again.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Cassian stopped him.

"Let me finish."

"Don't worry, they didn't notice me. I don't think I need to tell you how good I am at stealth."

"Anyway... your guests from the Empire were talking to Prince Charles."

"They reported that 'unpleasant' conversation you had today to him, word for word."

"Charles wasn't too pleased with what he heard."

"As a result of your attitude and decisions towards him, he wants to take a little revenge on you."

"He knows very well that he won't be able to find the pixie girl, my new sister Nivelle."

"He also took your offer of the mana stone as an insult and mockery."

"As a result, they want to leave tomorrow."

"But not in a way that their honor is tarnished."

"Before they leave, they plan to kill a few people from your inner circle, people you value."

"And he has decided that all the dynasties in the Empire loyal to him will cut off all commercial and military communications with Veythral."

"Yes, you can think about that embargo issue with the other dynasties later."

"For now, you'd better start protecting your men."

"They could do something at any moment."

Fredrinn was processing all this information.

The anger on his face had given way to serious concern.

The same worried expression was on Rod's face.

Fredrinn knew very well what he had to do.

He called out to Rod.

"Gather everyone here! Tell the guards to never walk alone and to stay away from secluded, out-of-sight places!"

Then he turned to Cassian.

"And you, Cassian... you're coming with me."

"We will keep an eye on our 'guests' until they leave our territory."

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