The four rode in the carriage through the streets of Cargidan to a special tempus warp set up near the center of the city just for this very occasion. For the most part everyone stayed silent due to everyone feeling nervous.

"If anything goes wrong," Arthur said, breaking the silence while staring out the window, "focus on escaping. I'll draw everyone's attention to me."

"Are you insane?!" Caera questioned. "Not only will all of the sovereigns be there, but no doubt at least a hundred wraiths."

"Don't worry about that, that's my job. I'm willing to bet they can't identify any of you, so getting back and reporting our failure is top priority. Caera, that goes for you too. I don't care what orders Seris gave you, the three of you might be able to handle a single wraith, but a Vritra is out of the question."

"Art!" Tess shouted grabbing his arm. "Don't underestimate us! We won't leave you!"

But before Arthur could respond Elijah spoke up. "No, Arthur's right. Wraiths work in teams of at least five to take down a single Asura. Like Arthur said, Tess and I may be strong enough to handle one each, but most it's unlikely to face just one. Running will be our best bet to notify the council and prepare for Alacrya's inevitable counter offensive."

Tess looked to Caera, hoping she would say something, anything to contradict what they were saying. But she just looked at her with sad eyes and shook her head.

"No. I don't believe it. Aunt Rinia said Elijah and I need to be here. I can't accept that our only purpose is to run away!"

"You're not just running away," Arthur said sympathetically. "You're relaying what you saw to the council. Maybe what you'll see could be a key to establishing a proper defense."

Tess looked down, her body shaking in a mixture of anger and sadness. Arthur placed his right hand under her chin and gently raised her head to face him.

"Don't forget, Agrona needs me alive so he won't kill me. So don't forget everything I told you and hang on to hope, because there is no force in this world that will keep me from coming back to you."

He leaned in and gently kissed her lips, calming her down, at least enough to keep moving forward with the mission. If anyone on the outside were to have seen that kiss it would have looked like something scandalous was happening inside, as due to the disguise artifacts, Arthur looked like a highblood while Tess only a maid.

After arriving at the site they had to wait in a line of carriages as the other highbloods were also arriving. Once it was their turn Alaric came to the door and opened it while putting his hand out to help Caera down. As protocol, with Caera being the highest ranked as a highblood exiting first, followed by Arthur as he was listed as her plus one, then Tess and Elijah.

Once out Arthur placed a hand on Alaric's shoulder as leaned in close.

"If there is any way for you to reach out to your friends in high places, now would be the time."

Alaric looked confused. "Who are you..." It clicked in his head. "I'm not sure who you're talking about?"

Arthur gave a businessman like smile. "You know, our mutual friend you used to talk to and help arrange the visits for his master. I have a feeling I'm going to need their help soon."

Alaric looked serious and nodded his head. "It has been a while since they've visited the central-dominion. So I'm sure they would love the opportunity, if they can make it."

"Just drop my name, I'm sure they'll put the extra effort in."

With that Arthur walked to rejoin the others. Ahead of them they could see the tempus warp surrounded by a blood iron fence and ten Vritra blooded guards clad in black armor. They made no effort to hide their mana, so it was easy to gauge them, white cores, meaning they were most likely wraiths.

"Name and invitation." A Vritra blooded guard at the only entrance said flatly while holding out his hand.

Caera held out her invitation. "Lady Caera of highblood Denoir, my plus one is ascender Grey, unnamed blood, and two aides."

The guard raised an eyebrow. "An unnamed blood as your plus one?"

Caera hooked her arm with Arthur's while getting close, making herself look as affectionate as possible. "He might not be of an unnamed blood for long."

The guard just shrugged as he handed her back the invitation and stepped aside. "Enjoy your evening."

The four of them walked through to the tempus warp, Caera keeping her arm hooked with Arthur's to keep the image of a couple. As they approached another highblood and aides were teleported away, and an attendant waved them forward. No instructions were given, so Tess made sure to be observant as to what the others were doing. With all the preparations, nothing was discussed about this artifact. Arthur and Caera touched the center pillar first, followed by Elijah, then lastly Tess.

In seconds they were no longer in Cargidan, but a room of black marble, with serpent columns, a set of obsidian double doors open leading to a long hallway with a red carpet, where a woman wearing a black dress was quickly approaching. The walls were decorated with art depicting a horned figure being practically praised and worshiped by humans, as well as statues of the same man.

"Is that Agrona?" Tess asked quietly.

"Yup," Arthur replied with a tinge of disgust. "I just wonder where the art showing the centuries he experimented on humans is hidden."

"The mans ego is out of control. He might look like a benevolent ruler on the outside, but he doesn't look at humans as any more than an expendable resource," Elijah commented just as quietly.

"Vritra blooded are looked on as only a little more valuable, but not by much," Caera added.

Soon the woman arrived and bowed. "Welcome to Taegrin Caelum, please follow me."

The group followed, with Tess and Elijah taking up the rear. The woman looked completely normal, which brought more questions to Tess.

"I thought there weren't any humans here," she whispered to Elijah.

"All the humans are the children of high blood houses that fell out of favor with Agrona. They send a child here in an effort to keep their status. Most are experimented on, but the lucky ones remain as servants who live in fear for the rest of their lives that one day they'll be brought underground for experimentation. Either way they never see their blood ever again," he replied sadly, recalling his memories as Nico when he lived there.

As they walked down the hall they saw various stuffed mana beasts on display and began to hear ballroom music, until they eventually arrived at a large set of double doors with a man in a black suit waiting.

"Please come with me," the woman said.

Tess and Elijah bowed to Arthur and Caera and followed her as she continued to walk down the hall. They weren't at all surprised by this, it was normal etiquette at a highblood event. As a sign of their superiority they would bring their own servant to wait on them. Usually this was someone they trusted or in some case, extremely attractive. This was considered a great honor among the servants of any blood. As for them separating, the servants weren't allowed to have any attention on them as their lord and or lady were introduced, and were instead escorted by a servant of the host to a side entrance to the party by the food and drinks so they could quickly get anything their master desired.

Caera handed the man her invitation and he bowed in thanks, then opened the doors. The room was almost entirely made of gold, with carved black columns with a design of a serpent wrapping around it, and floored encrusted in precious jewels. There was also a second floor balcony that overlooked the ball room made of the same black stone as the columns.

"Lady Caera of Highblood Denoir, and Grey," the man announced.

No blood name being given about Arthur was also expected, as not only was he not invited, but Caera held the higher rank in Alacryan society. All eyes were on Caera and Grey as they descended stairs to the grand ballroom where the party was to be held, walking with an aura expected from the most prestigious highblood house in all of Alacrya. It wasn't unheard of for a highblood to send an elder child to an event in their place, that was the case even for this event. No, the reason for the attention was because of Caera's reputation. Ever since she had entered society she had managed to shoot down every marriage proposal sent her way, never batting an eye at a single highblood son. But here she was attending the event of the century, her arm hooked with an incredibly attractive man that no one had ever heard of.

Shortly after reaching the bottom music began playing again, and Elijah and Tess arrived with a glass of sparkling wine each. Tess brought hers to Caera, as they were concerned that if she were to get too close to Arthur that they inadvertently may do something to draw unwanted attention.

Arthur worked the room like he was born for it, making conversation with any highblood that spoke with him. Caera of course kept up, but it didn't come as naturally to her as it did to Arthur. He maintained an aura of mystery, never once saying his blood's status. The elder highbloods looked down on him as a ladder climber that was beneath them, while the younger generations had taken an actual liking to him, especially the ladies.

"Hey, I've got a great idea. Since we already don't like Seris' attitude, why don't we take her out too? Then you can marry Caera, and if you play your cards right, you can rule over both continents as emperor," Regis suggested.

"First off, I'm already married."

"You know throughout history there have been plenty of Emperors with multiple wives."

"I'm not in support of polygamy. Now get your horny ass out of the gutter. We both know the only reason you like this is because of the idea of a three way."

"Ha, you think too small. Most of these ladies look like they would get on their knees right here and now if you told them too. I'm thinking of a whole harem."

"Even if I did want that, I also don't have the time or patience for something so annoying. Now get ready."

"Ready for what?"

Arthur suddenly activated static void, then waited to ensure no one else was moving. Once he was sure the coast was clear he then activated Realmheart and looked around the room until he saw it.

"You see those?" He asked as he looked up at the columns at the balcony.

"Yup. One, two, three, four, five. You think it's an array or contingencies?"

"No clue, but I don't like it." He then looked around the floor where he saw a large amount of mana concentrated in a circle that covered three fourths of the room, as well as found five more concentrations near the bases of the pillars. "I don't like this even more."

"Must be the rest of the trap. I give that snake bastard credit, against anyone else that would be pretty much a guaranteed win for him."

"Then it's a good thing he's against me. I want you on the balcony, keep to the shadows and stay out of sight until I give the signal."

"Got it, this is going to be so much fun to see the look on his face when this shit starts failing."

With that Regis left Arthur's body in his wisp form and floated up to the balcony and hid in a shadow. Once Regis was in position he got back in the same position he was in and ended the aether spell, with no one the wiser as to what had happened.

Arthur continued making small talk with the highbloods, but it had long become tiresome. They had been there for nearly two hours and not even one of Agrona's Vritra blooded soldiers had shown themselves. He was half tempted to just reveal himself to draw him out, but there were lives on the line. Not just Tess and Elijah, but all of these nobles. They might not all be allies, but that didn't mean they were his enemies either. If they weren't an ally then they were an innocent bystander, the only real enemies here were the Vritra.

As if his prayers were then being answered, a sudden pressure overtook the room and everyone froze.

"Presenting the High Sovereign, Lord Agrona."

Quickly everyone turned in his direction and dropped to one knee with their heads bowed. Arthur and the others did the same, albeit reluctantly. Lucky for Arthur Regis was keeping him informed.

Agrona wasn't alone, it appeared that nearly two dozen of the Vritra were present and following behind them. However instead of walking down the stairs they all levitated and slowly moved through the air to the balcony overhead. Arthur had only seen a small handful of Agrona's Vritra, and Regis confirmed all of them present, along with multiple new faces.

"I welcome you all to my humble abode," Agrona said smoothly.

Not a soul dared to look up or even make a noise, not of respect, but fear.

"I hope you all have been enjoying yourselves this evening on this rare event. Never before has there been a reason to gather you all here, but today it is a necessity. You see, someone has been going around gaining support from you all in the hopes of staging a rebellion against me."

Seris' allies became instantly more nervous, but kept quiet.

"But do not fret, you will not be punished, for I am a benevolent ruler and you will be forgiven. The leader of this rebellion on the other hand is currently being dealt with by our remaining Scythes."

"Fuck, I hope that bitch survives, otherwise this whole continent will turn into a blood bath as soon as we kill him," Regis commented.

"Have faith, I'm sure she was expecting this."

"Remaining scythes." Agrona shook his head. "I never thought I would ever say those words in this war. Yet somehow a lesser has managed to eliminate three of them. But not just any lesser, a lesser fooled and lied to. The Asura groomed and trained him like a dog to serve them as their champion in this war. He was completely unaware of the evils of the Asura as they promised him power so he may protect his loved ones, so we should not resent this young man, but pity him. He believed in their lies, clung to them in the hopes that he would protect those he loved, as any of you would."

"Talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Regis commented with amusement.

"Today I have gathered you here to present this young man to you, the one who Seris believed would bring her rebellion victory. Now even though I have yet to capture him, he is in this very room as we speak. Coming here with the idea of assassinating me before you all. But I do not hate him, I wish to embrace him as an ally. Show him the truth, that I am not the villain, but the hero who protects Alacrya from the evils of the Asura. Now, please make yourself seem Arthur, let us talk this out like civilized individuals."

"Get ready," Arthur relayed to Regis.

Clap clap

"Hahaha," Arthur laughed as he stood up clapping and disengaged his disguise artifact. "I'm sorry, but I can only tolerate so much bull shit."

Agrona looked down at Arthur scowling. "So you honestly believe the Asura are good?"

"Good and evil are subjective. In my eyes you both are a threat I need to deal with, you're just the more pressing one right now," he replied as he walked forward through the nobles.

"So I take it there's no point trying to convince you to surrender is there?" Agrona asked, sounding disappointed.

"Nope. In fact, I kind of need to fight you. You see, after the war I'll be building a house for my family, and I think those antlers on your head will look great mounted over the fireplace."

All of the the Vritra together released the pressure from their cores as a result of the comment. Every one of the highbloods collapsed to the ground shaking, many of them had their bladders release, while several grabbed at their throats unable to breathe or take a breath. Tess and Elijah fell to the ground as well, though it was only to not draw attention.

"That's cute," Arthur taunted with an amused tone, completely unaffected by them, "it took all of you, but that's only almost as strong as Kezess'." Arthur then had a serious expression. "How about I show you how it's done."

Arthur then released his bloodlust and aetheric intent. A significant number of highbloods passed out almost immediately while foaming from the mouth. The Vritra were taken off guard and their collective pressure ended, as Arthur's alone was as strong as all of theirs put together. None of them could understand how it was possible, but they also didn't know about the other timeline, and how Arthur was staring down so many who made him suffer through excruciating pain.

"What the fuck are you doing?! I don't know how many of them we can take, but I see how many they can use. I love pissing people off as much as the next guy, but not even I am crazy enough to antagonize all of them."

"I need to. With a little luck they'll forget that Tess and Elijah are here and focus solely on me."

Unfortunately for Arthur, that wasn't going to happen.

"I don't know Art," Tess said as she floated over and her disguise faded. "Maybe by the front door so we can use them as a coat rack would be better."

As she floated over her disguise completely disappeared, revealing the eleven princes wearing her new pristine white armor with a blue crystal in the middle of her chest. Upon seeing Arthur's Dijin armor Gideon had become motivated and inspired to create his own artifact armor. So as soon as the first shipment of the new metal arrived from the relic tomb, Gideon was given a portion by the council to create a new artifact that he promised. He studied the mineral for nearly a week before he finally got to work. Then after three weeks of cooperation with the blacksmiths, the first set of the artifact armor was completed for Tess, per Virion's request. It couldn't shimmer onto her body like Arthur's, but it was an armor even he was proud of.

"What the hell is she doing?" Arthur asked himself internally in complete shock and anger.

"Come on, I think if you think about it, you knew she wasn't going to just abandon you."

"Insolent lesser!" A Vritra shouted in anger.

Arthur sighed and just accepted their current situation. "He has a point. You know his antlers would look a hell of a lot better in the bathroom over the toilet holding the toilet paper."

Tess laughed a little then showed a faked hurt expression. "I'm so sorry, you're right. What was I thinking?

"Seriously guys?" Elijah said, sounding disappointed as he floated over and his disguise also faded to reveal a set of black battle robes. "Don't taunt the bastard, just kill him already so we can go home."

"Hahahahaha," Agrona laughed. "It seems my luck couldn't have been better."

Arthur knew exactly why Agrona was laughing, and looked up and smiled.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but you won't be getting the legacy," he taunted.

"You know my objective, yet still allowed them to accompany you?" Agrona asked amused.

"Well you see, there's this diviner back home that said if I brought them it would be guaranteed that I'd leave here with your head," Arthur lied with a cheeky smile.

Agrona looked down at them with a small arrogant smile. "We'll see about that."