Ren heard it, and he said..."Yes. Alright, let's go to Arkenhall."

Then a magic circle appeared below the three of them. That magic circle was cast by Elara. That circle was golden in colour. There were many signs inside that circle. After that the three of them disappeared from the broken battlefield. Elara had created that circle with her thoughts only. She had not spoken a single word.

While they were leaving, a golden coloured light surrounded their bodies and then they disappeared. After they left, there was only silence and particles of golden light scattered in the air.

Then in a huge building surrounded by quiet mountains. There was a light and with that light the three of them appeared in a room of Arkenhall.

That room was Seroi's. The familiar room where he lived. The same room where he used to sit and look at the mountains from the window. After all of them arrived, Seroi turned on the light of the room. He did not press any switch. Today's Qiyun had developed a lot after mana research. Now all these switches had become old. AI had also become old. Now they could do everything by their own thinking. But that old modernity was still there. Not all people were magicians.

Only a few people were magicians. Those people had a lot of respect and honour in the society. In these 10 years, scientists made many discoveries. One of them was that they made a device or say they made a chip. Which was fitted in the human brain.

After that it was connected to the body. With its help, humans could do anything. But not everything. They could only control machines with their mind. But maicians already had those powers. And not everyone could get this chip installed because it was also very expensive.

The process of installing it was still very difficult. Scientists were still working on it. Their dream was to give mana power and power like that to everyone.

Scientists want to make robots like humans that can help them in many things. After Seroi turns on the light, he raises his hand. He raises his hand to ask Ren and Elara to sit.

"Ren, Elara, it will be better to sit comfortably first and then we can talk." Seroi says. There was no sparkle in his eyes. Maybe that sparkle had gone because of this war, or maybe because of old age.

Then Elara and Ren both sit on a nearby sofa. They both were not sitting together. A table was kept in between those three sofas for showpiece. A glass slab was kept on that table. Many papers and a pen were scattered on that slab. Ren and Elara knew that people of higher level have a lot of work. Seroi was also looking at these papers. There was no expression in his mind, eyes, or on his face. Elara understood this situation. A vision came to her mind. A big house. Like a palace but modern.

The mansion stood at the crest of a sloping hill, its sleek glass walls catching the sunset like a sheet of molten gold. Wide terraces wrapped around the upper floors, guarded by steel-and-stone railings polished to a mirror sheen. A fountain dominated the front courtyard, its cascading water glinting under soft garden lights.

Tall, arched windows rose from the ground to the roofline, framed by dark timber that contrasted against smooth white stone. The main entrance boasted double oak doors carved with abstract patterns, opening into a marble-floored hall big enough to echo a single footstep.

Inside, light spilled across open spaces, where minimalist furniture sat beneath chandeliers that dripped crystal like frozen rain. A grand staircase swept upward in a gentle curve, leading to balconies that overlooked the living area below. Behind the mansion stretched a private garden, dotted with trimmed hedges, flowering trees, and a rectangular pool that shimmered under hidden lighting.

It was not just a home it was a statement of power, wealth, and permanence. A castle reborn in steel, glass, and stone.

The west wing of the Seroi estate was quiet that afternoon, sunlight spilling through the tall arched windows in ribbons of gold. Dust motes drifted lazily in the warm beams, glinting against the polished blackwood floors. The walls here were lined with glass shelves of ancient tomes and ornaments collected from distant places a painted mask from the deserts of Kharum, a crystal sphere humming faintly with trapped starlight, a dagger of ice-metal that never melted.

Behind one half-open door, however, the peace was broken.

Little Elara, barely seven, sat cross-legged in the center of her room or what used to be her room. The vast space, easily large enough for three normal bedrooms, looked as though a storm had passed through. Books lay scattered across the floor in uneven stacks, plush toys formed a crooked wall around her, and a trail of glittering beads from an opened jewelry box wound across the carpet like a river of tiny stars. Her bed covers were on the floor, and one of her miniature training swords was sticking out from under a pile of skirts.

Outside, two maids hovered uncertainly in the hallway, holding baskets of freshly laundered linens. They were dressed in the deep green and silver uniform of House Seroi, their aprons pressed to perfection. One of them, a young woman with auburn hair, whispered to the other, "She's done it again… the master won't be pleased."

The sound of footsteps echoed down the marble corridor steady, unhurried, but carrying a weight that made both maids straighten.

Seroi appeared at the doorway. He was much younger then, his hair still a deep black without the streaks of silver that time would later give him. He was dressed simply in a dark tunic, though the silver clasp at his shoulder bore the crest of his house: a rising sun split by a sword. His gaze swept over the disaster of a room, and for a moment, his stern features softened.

"Elara," he said, his voice calm but firm.

She froze, holding one of her dolls in midair as though caught in the act of a crime. Her wide green eyes blinked up at him, half-defiant, half-guilty.

"You cannot treat your room like a battlefield," he continued, stepping inside. His boots crunched on a scattered pile of glass beads. "Every item in this house has a place. Every place has a purpose. If you leave things in chaos, you will live in chaos. Do you understand?"

Elara's lips curved into a small pout. "But I was playing… the princess was under attack, and the knights had to"

"Order first," Seroi interrupted gently, kneeling to her height. "Play after. When you respect your space, you respect yourself."

He began picking up the fallen books, setting them neatly onto the shelf. The maids, relieved by his measured tone, entered and began helping one smoothing the bedcovers back in place, the other gathering toys into their carved oak chest.

Elara watched him work for a moment, then sighed and started helping, dragging her dollhouse back into its corner.

When the room was finally restored, Seroi stood and brushed his hands together. He looked down at her, his expression softer now. "Someday, you will live in a place far greater than this house. But if you cannot keep a small room in order, you will not be able to rule a greater one."

She nodded, though she barely understood. But later, she would remember that moment the sunlight, the quiet authority in his voice, and the way even the maids moved with respect when he was near.

Outside the window, the gardens of House Seroi stretched to the horizon endless rows of trimmed hedges, fountains shaped like rearing griffins, and marble statues that seemed to watch over the estate. Beyond them, the spires of the city rose in the distance, a reminder that the world outside was vast… and one day, it would be hers to face.

★★★

After a long silence, Ren finally spoke. His voice was steady, but his eyes searched their faces.

"Then, tell me. What are the plans for the future? What are we going to do now? Only then will I give you my answer."

Both Elara and Seroi turned their gaze toward him. The room seemed to still. A faint draft moved the long curtains hanging by the tall window, carrying with it the scent of the evening sir outside. Ren shifted slightly in his seat, feeling the weight of their stares.

For a few moments, they simply looked at him. Ren's brow furrowed, unsure why neither of them spoke. In the corner, the faint ticking of an ornate clock echoed in the silence.

At last, both seemed to return to themselves. Elara blinked, her lips parting as if pulling herself back from a distant thought.

"Sorry," she said, her tone soft but distracted. "I was thinking about something."

Ren leaned back slightly, his hands resting on his knees. "It's okay," he replied.

Elara straightened her posture, her golden eyes focusing entirely on him now.

"Okay," she began, her voice firming, "now I will tell you how we can enter the planet level."

As she spoke, Seroi crossed his arms, his gaze drifting toward the grand shelves along the wall, where old books and weapons gleamed under the warm light of the fluorescent lamp.

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