After speaking with Aleus Hiro didn't remain in the banquet for much longer and returned to his room, calling it a night. Despite how unspent he looked he needed to rest, there was no telling how much of his effort would be required tomorrow, he had to be at his peak condition on all aspects. Senses, stamina, mental and physical performance, all these aspects had to be able to perform at their maximum tomorrow he couldn't afford a mishap.

  Night passed and morning came, Hiro woke up to a surprise, his life sense and sight had actually gone above what he had achieved yesterday, although not by much still not insignificant.

  He got up and looked at one side of the room, a white wall nothing of note to the normal eye. But Hiro saw more than this, like the wall was made of transparent glass he could see a smokey white light figure right on the other side, a palace servant replacing the runes used for the shower and bathtub with fresh ones, he had long since become aware of.

  "A shower before setting out would soothe the nerves."

  He said deciding to wash up before joining the rest of the subjugation army. Of course as much as he felt relaxed he didn't waste time on it, leaving after spending a reasonable amount to not be wasteful.

  "Sir Hiro."

  Said Nubel with a simple nod towards Hiro as they met in the hallway.

  "You still came even though I said you didn't have to."

  He said after returning the greeting, it turns out before leaving the banquet Hiro had released Nubel from his duty of attending to him.

  "How can I not come, as long as you are within the palace and are still Akarn's guest then I shall continue to offer my services."

  "If that's how you feel."

  Hiro chose to accept.

  "This way let me guide you to the our royal battle ship."

  Said Nubel moving ahead and leading Hiro out of the palace.

  As they traveled along the palace grounds to their destination Hiro finally saw what his life sense and sight could not see. Throughout the entire palace grounds above the buildings and gardens, sky battle ships were afloat. There were so many that most had to tower over one another making at least five layers of ships. And right below them was rune practitioners working tirelessly engraving runes just below the lowest sky ship. From how they were engraving on the air itself it was clear they were rune masters but looking at the numbers there had to be rune experts mixed in, offering assistance.

  The rune arrays being drawn were going to be used to teleport to that portal. When Hiro asked why they didn't just teleport to the moon directly Nubel explained that it teleported what was above it to any coordinates with a corresponding rune array. This limited its use, needing two rune masters one at the origin and the other at the destination. Both would have to coordinate making the a exact same array irrespective of size for the most part. Meaning if they wanted to get to the moon directly someone would have already been there to engrave the corresponding rune, which wasn't possible because of the fragment's danger.

  "So small and yet has a personal teleportation rune array."

  Noted Hiro as he came before Akarn's royal battle ship.

  "Indeed but despite its appearance its one of the strongest ships here."

  Informed Nubel as they boarded, the royal battle ship was quite small smaller by half at best compared to the other sky battle ships. They were large, worthy of being battle ships and had numerous cannons arranged in rows and other long range weaponry built on their flanks, with some having one or two cannons at the front. These sky ships didn't have a balloon or sails but instead larger turbines right next to the ships' base on either side.

  Akarn's royal battle ship also had the same base design although it looked beautiful and fragile compared to the other battle ships contrary to Nubel's words.

  (I'm guessing Aleus failed to convince his father to let him join the subjugation.)

  Hiro thought when he realised he didn't see him on the ship but also did not sense him on the palace grounds, from this he suspected he was sent away, likely back to that ruin. It was the only thing he thought could make him change his mind after what he realised of the man the previous night.

  (He was so confident, and that I was sure he would be here but I guess it makes sense he would prioritise excavating runes than the subjugation.)

  Hiro came to a conclusion while his sight was set afar. Sand for as far as he could see, forming dunes and ripples, the blue sky wasn't so different. Both the ground and sky resembled the ocean at this time and place, dunes like the ocean waves to the desert and rippled scattering clouds of the sky like glistening ripples of the ocean.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Suddenly Hiro saw a bird fly passed him, his gaze followed it before finally landing on Oldomus on the other side of the battle ship. The bird stood on his shoulder before speaking in human tongue.

  "Master Oldomus, the last rune array has been completed. We await his Majesty's command."

  Needless to say this was no bird but a golem, more specifically a messenger golem.

  After listening to the message Oldomus gave a satisfied nod before transforming the bird into a metal staff then turned to one side looking at an elevated angle, a floor higher. There the Rune King stood also looking at Oldomus, evidently he heard the message as well but that didn't stop him from reporting.

  "All battle ships are ready to depart your majesty."

  He responded with a nod before taking out a rune and held it close to his mouth then spoke.

  "I've spoken too much yesterday and the days before, so I'll keep my words short...

  There was the Savage World Rune Era, Secluded Rune Era, Thriving Rune Era, Depression Rune Era, and the most recent, Calamity Rune quarter Era. This is our history and across it the continent has only ever banded together twice.

  And now we embark on a new era and if heaven allows for me to be bold, I name it Ash Risen Phoenix Era. Let its beginning of a united continent be proof of the prosperity to come. This moment, although the common man remains ignorant of it, it shall forever leave a mark on the continent's long history.

  The beginning of this era a battle for the whole of humanity, the continent united as one to vanquish an a monumental adversity. Who does not feel any excitement from this, warrior, helper and finder alike, let it fuel you..."

  He spoke through the rune tablet, enabling everyone aboard the battle ships to hear him equally and clearly regardless of distance. And contrary to his beginning statement, the Rune King ended up speaking for quite some time but no minded. His words had great meaning like his naming of their era, dragons and phoenixes being in conflict was a known myth as such the king was actually likening the continent to a Pheonix that had fallen against a dragon but rose to claim revenge, further more and unnoticed by most, the phoenix didn't rise from its own efforts. Overall his words caused a increase in morale.

  But after he finished speaking no more time was wasted, the rune teleportation arrays were activated.

  (Finally something that needs a lot of life force.)

  Hiro thought as he watched Vazpin and Oldomus draw the world's life force to power their rune array. Ever since he gained life sight he had looked forward to such a situation, there was bound to be a new perspective to how they drew in the world's life force now that he had an advanced perception catered to this. And like he had expected something the previous Hiro couldn't assess became clear to him. The world's blue light life force below began to form thin threads that invaded the two's life force dyeing blue in the process of increasing it by leaps and bounds.

  (It's not truly inside their bodies which means if I control my sword well enough I can actually cut this life force thread rendering them unable to use the world's life force.)

  Hiro immediately had a thought, what if this was what B One had meant last night. If it was he didn't feel wronged, being handed answers when he was more than capable of arriving at them would eliminate his future achievements and in the end he might even lose the ability to think for himself at every turn, not to mention not having a clear grasp of his own ingenuity.

  (If this is the case then we'll actually have to return to our first strategy.)

  Hiro thought confident of this but he didn't spread this information, there was still a possibility this wasn't the case and even if it was everyone here was more than capable of switching strategies mid battle after Hiro confirmed this for a fact.

  "I should mention, for first timers it does tend to cause nausea"

  Said Nubel beside Hiro. And in the next moment the arrays erupted with pillars of light covering the battle ships all the way to the highest battle ship among the towered ships. From inside the light pillar Hiro and the others appeared to be surrounded by walls of light but wasn't harsh to the eyes.

  The light faded and all battle ships were gone from the palace instead appeared above the clouds after corresponding light pillars appeared here as well. Before the front most ship was that portal. At its base descending straight to the ground a ridiculously long stairway.

  "Here again."

  Hiro exclaimed remembering his arrival in this world, it wasn't that long ago a as such the memory was very vivid.

  "So sir Hiro has been here, I had dismissed the possibility after seeing your second sword. The star river stairway, the fact that we had to build this for the dragon is our greatest humiliation."

  Nubel said, rage rising within him but he soon sighed becoming calm.

  "What use is there in someone like me being angry, I can only dream of releasing my fury upon it."

  Hiro was silent, he couldn't sympathise. Maybe if Nubel went through the experience personally but that wasn't the case, only a feeling passed down from one generation to the next.

  (What do they have in mind, do we leave the ships here and enter individually or...)

  Just as Hiro was pondering how they would get through the obstacle of the portal's size, one rune practitioner among those who were here before them went to the portal and used some runes causing it to expand rapidly until it became large enough to allow five battle ships to enter simultaneously.

  "I'm sure no one brought useless runes in consideration of the battlefield environment. Now Charge!"

  The Rune King said once more through that rune tablet but louder, while pointing with his sword towards the portal. The subjugation army roared as the battle ships accelerated one after another entering the portal.

  Akarn's royal battle ship also charged with great speed and entered the portal. After emerging on the other side it became encapsulated in a translucent gold sphere with numerous runes, they were not the same kind but each repeated several times across it. The same was true of the other battle ships that had arrived at their destination.

  Hiro took in a deep breath as looked around and he was greeted with the same reddish rocky moon scenery as last time.

  "Shit."

  He exclaimed as he looked behind them at the portal now farther back. He could see the moon's life force converging into a mound near the surface. A sign the fragment was making an earth dragon clone body, he believed. But it was fast he could not make it in time for its first attack and his warning would be too late, nonetheless he ran towards the rear while shouting to alert everyone and summoned Epsilon but it was already too late.

  Boom!

  The ground ruptured just below the portal and a colossal dragon head emerged. It snapped its massive jaws around the portal. The material serving as the portal's exterior, also the material containing its function runes was not spared breaking apart immediately. In the next moment space near it from higher altitude was torn and Hiro jumped out of the tear.