Location: Solar System; Earth; Near Africa; Somewhere in the Indian Ocean

It took us longer than expected to find a way into the underwater facility that Clara detected, but we're here now. Unfortunately, it's almost Sunday now, and we're basically just waiting for Prince Kai's message to arrive.

That doesn't stop us from taking a look around, though, and so we're all wearing some fancy underwater suits that keep the water out while magically turning a bit of water into breathable air. That means we don't have to use bulky oxygen tanks or other equipment that people used in the past. Magitech can be really convenient!

Anyway, as for why we need those things at all? Well, time wasn't really kind to the underwater facility… According to Nick, it was the salt water that contributed a lot to the degradation of all the metal and composite materials down here. That's why most of the buildings are completely flooded. Surprisingly, though, there are some rooms that somehow stayed dry with the seals at the doors still intact. The challenge for us now is finding those rooms.

So far, we've only discovered one of them, and thanks to a Magitech Shield that we calibrated to keep the water out, we managed to keep it that way. That's also where we set up our camp for now.

Actually, that's where I'm heading right now, too, as I've just received a ping from Lisa that it's almost time. Apparently, the Prince wants to do a video call with us before we all meet up to discuss Challenge Sunday things, and there's no way I'm doing a video call while wearing this underwater suit. Sure, it's comfy as hell, but also very form-fitting.

I wonder if he wants to apologize…

I arrive at the Shield device a few minutes later and slowly move forward through it and out of the water. Thanks to past and very embarrassing experiences, I now know to angle my feet downward so that I land on my feet instead of my face… It's a weird feeling, almost the same as when gravity gets turned back on aboard a starship. Not that I still have to deactivate gravity on starships to do stuff, but the memory comes to mind every time I cross the threshold down here.

Anyway, everyone else is still out exploring the facility, so I quickly take off the wetsuit and change into something dry. Then I cast a Disguise spell over myself to look like Sara Green and send out a Video Call spell to Lisa.

She laughs upon seeing me. "Oh, you're devious!"

I chuckle back at her and speak out loud. No one is here to hear it, and it simply feels more real to talk out loud instead of thinking the words. Especially on video, where others can see my mouth moving. "Oh, absolutely! We deserve to see his reaction in person."

"Hah, true enough! Want me to add him, or do you need a moment?"

"Nah, I'm fine, go ahead."

Lisa nods, and I release the hold on my spell. She quickly takes over before it destabilizes, and seconds later, I feel a third presence entering the spell. A video showing Prince Kai follows soon after.

"Greetings," he says, sounding a little less confident than before. "I believe I owe you an apology…"

Now that is unexpected! He really wants to apologize? Why now?

Both Lisa and I stay silent, prompting him to continue. He sighs and looks at me. "I've been searching for a peer for so long and now that I believe I've found one, it clouded my judgement… I overstepped… By a lot when I learned that you were close to Venus instead of where you said you would be."

"We weren't…" I interrupt him, his earlier words about looking for a peer almost forgotten.

He sighs again, his lofty façade cracking even more. I've never expected to see that man so… Vulnerable?

"I know now, but back then all I felt was betrayal. It's not an excuse, I know that, but you deserve to know. Hell, we haven't talked about the rules for our challenge yet, and here I was, acting as if you declared war on my nation. I'm sorry for what it's worth…"

Wow, did he switch with a body double? He doesn't sound like himself at all! I look at Lisa and see the conflicted expression on her face. It's literally screaming what should I do now?

Hell, I'm still pissed at the Prince for what he did to my friends, but I'm also kinda relieved? Can I say that? I don't think I would have had the guts to reveal my identity that early otherwise… And technically, what he did wasn't against the rules… We're allowed to fight other teams after all. Still don't like it, but what can I do?

I give a slight nod at Lisa, and she suddenly looks relieved. "Thank you for your apology, Prince Kai. We will accept it this once, but if something like this happens again, outside of the boundaries we'll decide later on, expect a prompt and appropriate retaliation!"

Prince Kai looks relieved, and his cracked façade literally mends before my eyes. His voice is back in this I'm better than you tone, and he nods once. "Thank you, Lady Song, Miss Green. I'm looking forward to meeting you again this afternoon. I'll send the location shortly."

After that, he leaves the call, leaving both Lisa and me stupefied. Did we just see his real self, or was this another trick of his? The switch happened so fast.

"What just happened?" Lisa asks with wide eyes.

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"He apologized," I reply, shaking my head.

"True, but everything else? Who was he and what did he do to Prince Kai?"

"So you noticed too? Well, I mean, it was obvious, right? Damn, I'm not sure what to think of him anymore… He still feels like an ass, but man is it hard to hate him. His apology felt real, but with his rapid switches, I don't know what to think of him anymore. And he's searching for a peer? What's that all about?"

Lisa starts laughing. "I know, right? This man is a mystery for sure! A hot mystery nonetheless."

What the hell? "Lisa!"

"Sorry, sorry, just citing the truth. Anyway, I think our best bet is to continue observing him. Not much more we can do. He's a lot stronger than me, magically speaking. Probably even stronger than you. But we've got one card to play that will definitely pull the rug under him, and I'm absolutely looking forward to it."

I chuckle in reply. "Yep, he won't be expecting that at all."

We wrap up our call after that, with Lisa telling me that she'll inform me about the meeting location as soon as Prince Kai sends it. Once we're disconnected, I call my friends back to our camp, and then we wait.

Lisa calls me faster than I expected and shares a location and a meeting time that's about three hours from now. That immediately kicks me into gear, as I've got a lot to do until then.

Location: Solar System; Earth; New York City; UNE Headquarters

The UNE. The heart of Earth's governing body. The place where Project Exodus was issued from. The institution to which even the Big Five paid heed. The one thing that brought almost 200 individual nations together.

Now that I stand before the UNE's main building here in the ruins of a city that was once called New York City, it's rather underwhelming…

Sure, it was built to last, apparently, as it's one of the few buildings still standing, but man, is it ugly! Just a simple skyscraper, nothing else. No decorations, no fancy stuff, nothing. Just a bog-standard skyscraper… And it's not even that high. Barely 250 meters, if not less. And that's supposed to be the place where the most important people on the planet came together?

I shake my head in disappointment and look at Lisa. She's the only one accompanying me and looks just as disappointed as I do. She sighs. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this…"

"Should we just go in?" I ask in reply, and Lisa agrees. According to Prince Kai, there is a conference room on the third floor that's still quite usable, and so he wants to meet us there.

We're a little early, and so we're probably the first ones here, but that shouldn't be a problem. Lisa and I enter the building through the front door. Similar to the Song Medical research facility, there's a security booth to the side where people were checked for weapons or other forbidden things. We obviously don't care about that stuff and walk straight through the broken-down glass doors. Yeah, while the building itself is in better condition than everything else here, that doesn't mean that it's perfectly fine. Most of the windows are broken, and I haven't seen any intact pieces of furniture so far.

Therefore, we ignore the lobby and immediately head for the big stairway in the center of the open ground floor. It leads straight up toward the back of the tower and ends at a mezzanine overlooking the ground floor. We ascend the stairs, and once we've arrived at the top, we turn around at the sound of crushed glass.

Lisa smiles broadly and starts waving when she recognizes the two people walking through the ground-floor lobby. "Bernd, Victor! We're up here!"

The two men in question return the wave and quickly ascend the stairs as well. We exchange greetings, and Bernd points toward the back wall of the building where a bank of elevators and another staircase is located. "Shall we? Oh, and are you excited for what the Prince has planned? We just met him briefly, but he sure is something."

Lisa shrugs. "Not really… He already ran in our team once, and let's just say it wasn't pleasant."

Victor's gaze snaps to me. He had a whole year to come to terms with the fact that my Space magic is stronger than his. "You couldn't escape?" He asks in disbelief.

I shake my head. "I wasn't there… He went after Lisa and the archaeologists."

"Damn… That's not good. Is everyone okay?"

Yep, the slimy Victor Valterion is actually a very decent person. Ever since I cleared the misunderstanding he had about me when we first met, he's only ever been nice to me. So nice, in fact, that I feel a little bad about suddenly dropping the bomb about my real identity on him and the others later.

"Yeah, everyone's fine, but he really trashed them. Our Peacekeeper support saved our location in the end when they took out his ship when he was away."

Victor raises an eyebrow. "Oh? So you're not only on Earth? Interesting."

Dammit! Well, it doesn't matter now as I'll soon make absolutely sure that the shipyard is off-limits.

While Victor and I were talking, we ascended another two sets of stairs and are now standing on the third floor. Bernd and Lisa lead us back toward the front of the building and finally through an open door.

Turns out we're really the first ones here. Not even the Prince has arrived yet. The room itself is what I expected after seeing the exterior of the UNE building: A boring conference room with a table in the middle. There probably once was a wooden plate up top, but now only the metal substructure is left. At least it's still a solid deck, I guess.

Anyway, the chairs are gone and so we stand around the table and wait for the others. Luckily, I can use the telekinetic bench if I want to sit down later. More and more people arrive over the next thirty minutes. I know most of them from the History of The Empire course, but there are also a few complete strangers. In total, there are now about forty people in the room, but luckily, there's still space for more. I hate crowded spaces.

Most of the others stay in their own groups, but the Axtendus twins quickly move over and start chatting with Lisa, Bernd, and Victor. And me, apparently. Our small group is later joined by a dude with a distinguished surfer look, and I have to do a double-take. There is a faint resemblance to Grandpa John! Could it be that this is Chad Benson? The one guy that everyone talked about. The one guy who managed to play hooky for the whole year and somehow still managed a passing grade.

When he starts speaking, I immediately feel disgusted. "What's up bitches?" He high-fives Alex and Andre Axtendus, who both grin at him. Damn it hurts to be related to him! Luckily, I manage to tune him out and continue to talk with Victor.

The room goes silent a few minutes later, and everyone turns toward the entrance. A small group of people stands there, and they all look different than what I am used to. Nothing strange, of course, it's just their clothes… They look more… Traditional? Yeah, that's the word.

Clara seems to read my thoughts and gives some input in my ear. "What they are wearing is called a kimono. It's the national dress of the nation of Japan here on Earth. As you can see, it wasn't forgotten, and I'm guessing our newcomers are honoring their ancestors with it."

That explains a lot. That means this is the group from the Kenjin Alliance. I wonder which one of them is Tamiko Nakamoto.

Looks like I have to wait a bit until I can answer that question, as my senses pick up a large dose of Space magic. It is as if he has waited for this exact moment, which he probably has, knowing him…

As expected, Prince Kai appears soon after, right next to the Kenjin Alliance group, close to the entrance. He's accompanied by his butler and a petite brown-haired woman. She fits the description of the second Mage who was in the shipyard with the Prince.

The already silent room somehow gets even more silent, and every gaze rests on the Prince who wears his trademark sly smile. He seems to revel in the attention and waits for a minute. Then he claps his hands, and the door closes behind him.

"Now that everyone is here, let's get started, shall we?"

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