Respect, admiration, terror, caution. Various expressions were etched on the faces of the Kings and Queens, yet surprise wasn't one of them.

For better or for worse, they were the people that knew the Emperor the best. As such, they knew better than anyone how infinite his limits truly were.

"Don't bother with absorbing the spiritual energy from the Titan's corpse." The Emperor ordered.

"It would be more useful in creating treasures."

"Glory to the Emperor!" The gathered powerhouses saluted with hands close to their chest.

'Glory to Mankind.' King Arthur thought inwardly.

Observing the gathered people, the Emperor's gaze settled on Seer.

"According to her words there has been a change, a shift… Something capable of altering the future." The Imperial Majesty exclaimed.

"Since something like this could pose a threat to our race if left unchecked, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask if any of you have an idea what might be causing it."

"..."

Silence followed, with nobody having an idea in mind. Only King Zaiden reacted differently, clearly displeased with the thought of believing the words of what he believed was nothing more than a delusional woman.

The quietness lasted for a while, until the Emperor abruptly moved, instantly appearing in front of King Arthur.

"Arthur." The Emperor remained calm. "Your heart… It's beating in irregular patterns."

Unsurprised that the irregularity in his heartbeat had been detected, Arthur bowed respectfully.

"Indeed it is, my liege."

Then came the question, carrying an edge rivaling a death guillotine.

"Does that mean you have an idea about the source of change?"

Under normal circumstances, Arthur would have denied the possibility. After all, fate was a fickle thing, and even if something capable of changing it did exist, proving so was nearly impossible.

However, some things aligned a little too perfectly, too synergistically, to be mere coincidence.

Victoria, one of his granddaughters and a carrier of his bloodline. A soldier who, while not disappointing, showed little promise.

At least that was the case… Before October 1.

The date when the base on which she had been stationed on Triton received new recruits.

From then until now, her growth was nothing short of miraculous, perhaps the first in humanity's history.

Not only her, but also the people she allied herself with exceeded all known limits, true monsters of the cultivation world who would undoubtedly dominate everything given enough time.

Their connection?

Not bloodlines, legacies, religions, businesses, factions, clans, or families.

But a single man.

One that Arthur had initially disregarded, then sent one of his Lords to act as a spy. Only for Arthur himself to meet him and extend an offer for their factions to collaborate, even though neither their faction's name nor their leader's was well known.

Michael.

The more Arthur thought, the stranger it all seemed. When they had met on Neptune, Michael had been the only one alive while the Lords, Overlords, and even the Monarch had perished. Even more bizarre, Arthur's own granddaughter, Victoria, the carrier of his blood, had lied to him straight to his face.

'It's ridiculous…' The King scoffed inwardly.

But there was a chance. What if the Lords and aliens hadn't killed each other? What if an irregularity… Like Michael had been the one to deal the final strike?

Truly an absurd theory. A person not yet at the Grandmaster realm achieving such a feat? A person with such an ordinary background, capable of altering fate itself and limiting the powers of Seer with their own hands?

The chances were virtually zero. But not completely zero, and that little, miniscule chance caused Arthur's heart to fluctuate.

Because he did in fact have an idea who could alter the future.

With an indifferent gaze, Arthur met the Emperor's stare.

'There should be no harm in revealing Michael's name.' Arthur reassured himself. After all, it was just an innocent theory, one that the Emperor would disregard when he learned that there was no real cause for concern.

Wordlessly King Arthur pointed at King Zaiden.

"I believe he could have a role to play."

… A lie.

Before Arthur could realize it himself, he had acted in Michael's best interest.

Not out of obligation, duty, or anything similar. But due to a faint flicker of hope residing deep in his ancient heart.

That perhaps… Change was finally in humanity's grasp.

"Ha!" King Zaiden erupted into laughter. "What makes you think that I am responsible?"

"Everybody here has seen that you disregard Seer's visions any chance you get. Almost as though you want us to look away while you meddle with matters you shouldn't." Arthur remarked coldly.

As for why he accused Zaiden? It was to mask the unease in his heart. If he said he didn't know, the Emperor would see through the lie. But if he made use of the bad blood between himself and Zaiden, he could disguise the lie well enough to pass.

With a scoff, the Emperor turned to Zaiden.

"Is it true?"

Shaking his head with a nervous smile, Zaiden replied. "I wouldn't dare, even in my wildest dreams."

"I see." Losing interest, the Emperor disappeared, dropping the matter entirely.

"This goes in the list of things you have done in an attempt to fuck me over, Arthur!" Zaiden proclaimed with a smile, clearly amused by the unexpected accusation.

Meanwhile, Arthur remained in one spot, his eyes piercing the vastness of the cosmos.

'What the hell am I doing?' He thought inwardly. 'Lying about something so idiotically insignificant, almost like a teenager rebelling against his parents.'

Heaving a sigh, Arthur decided to not think about it anymore.

What's done is done. Changing the past wasn't possible.

At the same time, Michael, who had been having his usual nightmares deep in slumber, felt something soft and fuzzy brush past his face, waking him up.

Before he even opened his eyes, he realized that he had sweated more than usual despite the AC that was running nonstop. Almost like there was a furnace close to him.

'When did she?'

The reason was made apparent, as once he opened his eyes, he saw Ruby, who had gently settled on his torso, resting deep in sleep, purring ever so quietly.

With a groan he got up, somehow managing to not wake her up, a testament to the fact that she had inherited the sleep patterns of a cat.

After throwing a quick glance at the time, he noticed that Richard was already up and nowhere to be seen. Sneaking out of the room, letting Ruby continue her rest, Michael exited the hotel.

The time to meet the city ruler had arrived.

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