"That, Your Majesty, is still unknown. But know this—when the time comes, he will reveal himself, and when he does, the fate of this world will change forever."
The emperor sat in silence, absorbing her words, before finally leaning back into his throne, a ghost of a smirk appearing on his lips.
"Then let the show begin," he murmured.
The Seer stood still at her place, not moving, looking like she had something to say but was hesitating. Garrick, who observed her carefully, understood that she had something important to reveal but was reluctant to speak. Sensing the weight of the situation, he decided to help her voice her thoughts.
"Seer, if you have something to say, then speak. After all, it could be important," Garrick said in his rusty voice, urging her to break her silence.
Aldrion, the emperor, shifted his gaze toward the Seer and added, "Indeed, Seer, if there is something you must say, then say it now." His voice was as calm and cold as ever, carrying the weight of authority.
The Seer, having received permission from the emperor himself, took a deep breath and finally spoke. "Your Majesty, from the stars I have seen, I can tell you that the Dragon Star will be stronger than the Calamity Star. However, the difference in power between them will not be too great. Even so, he will still hold a significant advantage over the Calamity Star. In the future, when you go to war against the dragons, I advise you to capture Renan—the Dragon Star—rather than kill him outright. If, by chance, the Calamity Star grows to its full potential, we would have someone to stand against him. After all, both of them possess the power to change the entire course of the world. Since the Dragon Star has not yet reached his full strength, capturing him while he is still young would be the best course of action." She finished her words with a firm tone, making it clear that she was serious.
Aldrion leaned back into his throne, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest as he absorbed her words.
"Hmm," he hummed in thought.
After a few moments of contemplation, he finally spoke. "Indeed, you are correct, Seer. Having a backup plan is never a bad thing," Aldrion said, nodding slightly as he considered the possibilities.
"I agree as well, Your Majesty," Garrick added. "We should capture him instead of killing him. That way, we will always have a counter to the Calamity Star, should he become a threat."
With that, everyone was in agreement—Renan was to be captured, not killed.
Meanwhile, Renan, who was currently preparing for his journey, had no idea about the fate being decided for him in a distant empire. However, the future would eventually reveal everything to him. After all, it wouldn’t be long before the stars met and their inevitable clash began.
Renan was now on his way out of the empire, ready to embark on his journey. He had nothing in his hands to carry, only a golden ring on his middle finger—a simple yet powerful item that held all his necessary belongings. This made his travel much easier, but his mind was occupied with something else.
’Hah… I was barely able to get out of there,’ he thought, recalling his struggle to convince Nymeria to let him leave. She had refused to let him go when he went to see her and say goodbye.
’Good thing Grandma Belinda was there with me. If not, I don’t think I would’ve been able to leave at all,’ he thought, shaking his head slightly at the memory.
As he continued walking, he reached the city exit. The massive walls stretched endlessly, a testament to the empire’s strength and security.
’Hah… No matter how many times I see these walls, I will always be in awe of them,’ he thought as he admired their grand structure.
Soon, he arrived at the exit, where dragons in their human form stood as guards. Though they retained their humanoid appearances, their heads remained dragon-like, a constant reminder of their true forms. These guards were tasked with monitoring who entered and exited the empire.
However, as Renan approached, none of them stopped him. It was as if he were invisible to them. In reality, though, they had received orders not to interfere with the young master’s departure. They were to let him leave without any issues, and that’s exactly what they did.
Without a single interruption, Renan stepped beyond the city gates.
The moment he crossed the threshold, he took a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air of the outside world. He could already feel the difference—it was refreshing, liberating.
Just as he was savoring the moment, he saw two figures running toward him.
’Huh?’ He squinted slightly, recognizing them as they got closer.
A smile spread across his face as he raised his hand in greeting. "Sylveria! Elowyn! You’re finally back!"
Sylveria and Elowyn, who had just returned from patrolling the empire’s borders, slowed their pace as they neared him.
"Huh? What is he doing out here?" Sylveria muttered in confusion.
Elowyn, also puzzled, nodded in agreement.
In no time, they were standing right in front of him.
"What are you doing here, Renan?" Elowyn asked, tilting her head slightly.
"I’m going out," he answered casually.
"Huh? Where exactly are you going, and on whose permission?" Sylveria questioned, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Well, of course, with Grandpa’s permission," Renan replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"I see," they both said in unison, though a hint of surprise lingered in their expressions. It wasn’t that they were shocked by his departure—that was expected. However, they hadn’t anticipated that he would be leaving so soon.
"For how long?" Elowyn inquired.
"Two years," Renan responded.
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"I see," she said, nodding in understanding.
Renan then looked at both of them and suddenly asked, "Do you want to come with me?"
They both shook their heads, and Sylveria spoke up first. "We can’t."
"Why not?" Renan frowned.
"As you can see, Renan, we’re both only at the sixth stage. We’re not strong enough yet. We need to grow stronger before the war begins. If we go on some random adventure, we won’t be able to focus on our training. I would love to go, but I simply can’t," she explained sincerely.
"I see," Renan said, nodding in understanding. He couldn’t argue with their reasoning.
Just as he was about to say goodbye, both Sylveria and Elowyn suddenly stepped forward and embraced him in a warm hug from both sides.
Since Renan now stood at six feet tall, his face was level with Sylveria’s and slightly above Elowyn’s. The embrace was unexpected, and for a moment, Renan froze.
’Soft…’ he thought as he felt the warmth pressing against his chest. However, before anything else could arise, they both released him, stepping back.
Renan felt both relieved and slightly disappointed at the same time. If they had held on a second longer, he might have embarrassed himself. Sylveria, especially, would never let him live it down.
"Goodbye, Renan. We’ll miss you. Be careful out there," they said before turning around and walking back into the empire.
Renan, who had been momentarily lost in thought, snapped back to reality at their words. He lifted his hand and waved at them one last time before he disappeared from sight, stepping into the unknown world that awaited him.