It had been a rather peaceful first week. Akhenamen had spent a lot of time writing to Leeros, the Dean of the Academy. And even to Tifania through Sofya. Asking both of them to help ensure the leaders of the Northern Alliance and Brightheart Covenant that he sought neither war nor conflict with any faction. Seeking only peace and prosperity for his people.

  ?

  For the Pyrax Empire and Northern Alliance, the matter was settled swiftly. He had no real information on what happened between Valencia and the Radical Faction, but the Emperor’s delegation had actually paid him a personal meeting.

  ?

  Not just them, as the Northern Alliance and the Brigheart Covenant and even the Mermaid's Kingdom of Zenthia’s inner sea had all sent their envoys. If it were a faction big enough to be considered major and even a few more independent ones, like The Academy and the Centralized Bank of Zenthia.

  ?

  Everyone wished to attend the meeting with the new faction that had at least three confirmed Authorities and thousands of Transcendents.

  ?

  ***

  ?

  Akhenamen was sitting down on a simple chair. It wasn’t an impressive throne or standing at the top of some towering stairs. It was just a humble chair made of Liquid Silver, colored and shaped to look like wood.

  ?

  This had been done on purpose by Akhenamen, who had quickly realised he didn’t just have to prepare for war but also for the players. He would stand out far, far more if he were the leader of the most powerful mortal faction on Zenthia and yet had the most humble chair.

  ?

  Ascylla was standing next to him faithfully. Still like a statue with her eyes closed. The Twins were guarding Cygislax’s mainframe, which he had moved to a more secure location. He had no need to show off his people’s power. The Authority ranked Hyperfauna Machines made sure of that already.

  ?

  Talking about them, they were all currently waiting at the edge of Oleron, literally watching over their weaker siblings advancing toward Cygislax. While Ascylla had reassured Akhenamen that it was unlikely that amongst the thousands of Cygilites coming back, there was even one weaker than an Ancestor or about to step into Transcendence. He was still not fully reassured.

  ?

  But with the Hyerfauna Machines watching, he was feeling slightly more at ease with his people’s safety. And considering the Emperor of Pyrax and his entourage had to pass through the mountains currently guarded by the snake-shaped Hyperfauna Machine called the Slithering Earthquake, the Emperor had already been shown his people’s strength.

  ?

  He had reshaped himself slightly, naturally taking a shape closer to his future self. His once twin eyes having been fused back into a single glowing green eye, taking most of his face, two huge glowing green flaming horns of pure Gauss energy flaring in a circular shape. His body had also become a lot more armored and thicker.

  ?

  Looking definitely even less human now, and far more like an avatar of destruction. Thick silver plate covering his body, Gauss energy moving under them, as if linking them together. His entire body was covered in it. A thick silver tail is still present behind his back. His glaive rested against his wooden chair.

  ?

  When the Emperor’s delegation finally reached Cygislax, having been the first to react to Valencia’s pressing, they were composed of the Empress and Valencia alongside an Authority.

  ?

  Akhenamen had prepared the room, having been warned by Cygislax of the approaching delegations. The room that had once housed Cygislax’s main frame was now perfectly round with simple blocks of silver acting as chairs around a huge circular floating table of Liquid Silver.

  ?

  The Empress had a stern face, but Akhenamen had to admit she was very far from the ideas he had in his head. She was a small woman with tanned skin of bronze and short black hair going down to her neck. A few scars are present on her face, and wearing practical armor of gold, encrusted with reddish runes.

  ?

  She carried a greatsword on her back, clearly a Legendary item from its appearance. Her face was a perfect picture of normal. Neither too pretty nor too ugly. Yet her demeanor showed she was used to more direct confrontations, already watching Akhenamen as if she were ready to fight him.

  ?

  Valencia stood next to her, dressed in a more formal attire than she had been back during her time travelling with him through Oleron, her hairs done in a messy ponytail as she waved and winked at Akhenamen. Smacking her daughter’s shoulder.

  ?

  “Akhenamen! That’s my daughter! Her name’s Phyllia! She’s the current Empress!”

  ?

  Akhenamen stared between the two; frankly, he didn’t see the resemblance at all. But it truly didn’t matter to Akhenamen who stood up, his body towering above the two by at least twice their height as he presented his hand.

  ?

  “Glad to meet you, Empress Phylia. I am Akhenamen.”

  ?

  While Phylia’s face stayed perfectly still, not even changing at her mom’s hard smack, her eyes did soften a bit as her mother acted casually toward him. And Akhenamen’s simple presentation had told her more about him than reading his life story would have.

  ?

  “Thank you for saving my mother. May I ask which title you use?”

  ?

  “My people are sadly known for their love of very long titles, so simply consider me as their Argent Hierarch. Just Hierarch.”

  ?

  “Very well, Hierarch Akhenamen, I am here to represent my husband. The Emperor of Pyrax. My words will be his own, and my signature will be his. You already know of my overbearing mother, but allow me to present to you one of our Empire’s oldest protectors: Lord Verdant.”

  Akhenamen shook Phylia’s hand while his singular eye focused on the last member of the trio. A… small snake? It had nine heads. It looked quite cute, to be honest. Like a small chibi version of a hydra. However, its eyes and the aura surrounding it were both undoubtedly those of an Authority.

  ?

  “HIIIIIII!”

  ?

  The childish scream from Lord Verdant had surprised Akhenamen deeply. He felt lucky his face showed no emotion, but this Hydra was actually… not faking its youth? Luckily, his right hand acted quickly, sending a message into his mind.

  ?

  [Verdant must be a child of the Many-Headed Hydra. A Dominion ranked being that ruled over every reptilian life on Zenthia. Except dragons. The Many Headed Hydra was a well-known fighter of the Forgotten War, though she is said to have been fighting for “the love of it”.]

  ?

  [Not because of any self-righteous reasons. Its race is known to mature extremely slowly. So even if Verdant could be thousands of years old, he is still considered a child biologically by the System.]

  ?

  “Thank you for your explanation, Ascylla.”

  ?

  [You’re welcome, my Hierarch. But do not be mistaken by its childish act. It is still a being that has lived for thousands of years.]

  ?

  “Noted.”

  ?

  Akhenamen’s conversation with Ascylla did not last more than a few milliseconds. It was almost impossible to spot.

  ?

  “Greetings. I did not believe that a child of the Many Headed one would be a protector to Pyrax. But since they do have a Hydra bloodline, I suppose I should have seen it coming. You’re quite different from your mother. I doubt she would have faked such… childish-ness.”

  ?

  At those words, Verdant’s cheery smile seems to be replaced by a cunning smirk as he stopped swirling around like a happy immature boy and showed off the attitude of one who had lived for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

  ?

  “I was told you were perceptive but that is indeed impressive. Allow me to present myself properly then. I am Verdant, child of the Many-Headed Hydra. I will act as Phylia and Valencia’s protector for this meeting.”

  ?

  “Protector? I have truly no wish to be declaring wars when I promised my people peace.”

  ?

  “Not from you, Hierarch Akhenamen. But from the other factions.”

  ?

  It was Phylia who answered.

  ?

  “From what my mother told me, you were asleep for a very long time, so you might not be familiar with Zenthia’s politics just yet… but if you had wished to destroy us, the awakening of tens of thousands of Transcendent Cygilites directly inside Pyrax would have crippled a big part of our empire. No… today’s meeting will be different from what you're used to, I’m sure.”

  ?

  Akhenamen believed he understood what she meant. His people outside of Oleron were in the tens of thousands. An overall small number of sentient survivors from the days when they had billions. Yet even a hundred Transcendent spawning in the middle of an occupied territory was amongst Zenthia’s most deadly force.

  ?

  Even if his people had only ten Authorities, it would still be enough to destroy Pyrax and the Brightheart Covenant. And that was without counting the Authority-ranked Hyperfauna Machines.

  ?

  So now everyone wanted to make sure the Cygilites would have no reasons to attack them and maybe even to convince them to work together toward a common goal.

  ?

  Barely did Akhenamen have the time to guide the Pyrax delegation to its seats as a show of courtesy that already the Northern Alliance and the Brightheart Covenant had already arrived. With quite a few other factions not far behind. Clearly, Akhenamen was gonna be shown the biggest players of Zenthia during this very meeting.

  ?