Greenwood Plains, Northwest of Oralio.

  Greenwood Plains was one of the most eye-catching landmarks in the human kingdom. It was a vast land of bright, tall grass that brimmed with vitality— courtesy of the mist of Essence permeating its expanse. At oddly calculated intervals, gargantuan trees towered into the sky, with branches that loomed over the land like divine presence.

  This place, which was a sight to die for, was also home to the Hollows— fluffy white creatures with squarish heads and large, void-like eyes.

  They possessed no mouths or noses, only having tiny legs that propped them upright like humanoid creatures. Despite their fear-instilling appearance, Hollows were completely harmless, and were arguably the friendliest of all magical creatures. Perhaps, second only to the Orbulus.

  They weren't allowed to be domesticated, however, as they could only exist in very special areas. Their survival was dependent on an abundance of pure, untainted Essence. It would be selfish to own one, only for the poor creature to die due to an unfavorable living environment.

  A number of horses galloped along the path through Greenwood Plains. On these horses were knights in gleaming silver armor. On their chest plates, the emblem of Oralio shone with glory.

  These were the Imperial Knights— the valiant force that served as Oralio’s war legion. Which was quite ironic, considering the fact that racial wars ended over a thousand years ago, after King Angelos led the combined forces of all six races against the abominable Demons. After they had triumphed against a common enemy, the kingdoms came to an agreement, and peace finally reigned.

  So, most of the time, the Imperial Knights had nothing to do. This wasn't to say that they were completely idle— they still diligently prepared against the ‘Inevitable Calamity’ as stated in the Book of Testament. There were also lesser Banners that oversaw internal conflicts of the kingdom, as well as localized garrisons that handled more mundane affairs.

  As the horses came to a halt, the lovable creatures with milk-white bodies poked their heads from the tall grass, staring at the knights with their large, hollow eyes.

  One of the knights jumped down, wearing a crimson cape that fluttered in the wind, and others quickly followed suit. They all lowered their visors and stared at the odd phenomenon above them.

  The clouds parted around a certain area in the sky, revealing fine cracks that extended outwards. It resembled a mirror that had been struck with force, threatening to shatter at a moment's notice.

  Some of the knights couldn't help but feel a sense of apprehension. One of them stepped up and addressed the commander.

  “Your Grace, what are your thoughts?”

  Imperial Commander Khanu sighed and shook his head. “It's unlike anything I've ever seen or read about. It doesn't look like something caused by a Null either.”

  ‘Nulls’ referred to Blessed from the Void Ascent.

  “That's true. Otherwise, Lady Heather would've taken care of it.” The knight nodded in thought.

  At that point, another spoke.

  “Do you think it's related to the prophesied Calamity?”

  Everyone turned to look at him. While most wanted to refute, they suddenly felt that it wasn't a totally negligible thought. Due to how long peace had lasted throughout the Kingdoms, they couldn't help but feel that it was the calm before the storm.

  “If it's the Calamity as spoken of in the Book of Testament, why is it appearing over our lands alone? Are humans that unlucky?” Another joked with a hint of mock.

  The others laughed.

  “Indeed, Oralio would suffer the greatest damage if that's the case. We can only hope it's nothing too serious.” Commander Khanu sighed and added, “Nevertheless, even if Calamity arrives, we aren't going to be totally helpless. Currently, there are three Ascendants in the world, and one of them belongs to the Human race.”

  The image of a beautiful lady with bright golden hair flashed across their minds and they couldn't help but feel a sense of security. For those who knew what she was capable of, they more or less perceived her as a demigod. An entity blessed by the Deities.

  “Anyway, we're going to set up an outpost and have two knights on watch duty. Supplies will be delivered every three days.”

  Commander Khanu smiled and turned to look at his subordinates. “Who wants to volunteer?”

  The knights instantly fell silent.

  …

  Royal District, Night.

  Esau returned to the castle after following Heather around the entire day. There was still a while before dinner, so he wanted to head to the library and expand his knowledge on a few things.

  This included searching for deceased knights who had been decorated during their time alive.

  Tilly was waiting for him in the hall. Esau glanced at her and said, “Accompany me to the library.”

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  “Is there something in particular you're trying to find?” Tilly asked, about to suggest that she could do the chore of finding the needed books and bringing them to him.

  Esau thought for a moment and said with a hint of embarrassment, “I'm not sure yet…”

  “Alright then.” The maid chuckled and walked ahead of him.

  The two familiarly moved around the extravagant interior and arrived at a large chamber without doors. Instead, there was an Arch with a spherical glass embedded at the top. The glass resembled an eyeball, for reasons Esau could not understand.

  Inside the chamber, there were large shelves arranged in an orderly fashion from one end to the other. Contained in them were rows and rows of books that recorded the history of the human kingdom, as well as fundamental information regarding the other Kingdoms and various races. There were also detailed records of the Graced, the Blessed, and all the Ascents in existence— including magical beasts and other astounding phenomena across the four continents.

  There were also more personal books and grimoires that belonged to prominent figures, as well as thaumaturgical records regarding the art of Alchemy, Artificing, and the detested ritualistic magic.

  In short, this place was a treasure trove. Of course, excluding the royal family, it was only accessible by nobles and other highly important figures.

  Upstairs, where there were also numerous shelves, the librarian rose and nodded in greeting.

  “Young prince, what brings you here?”

  Esau greeted appropriately and responded, “I had something I was curious about. Madam Harunet, do you know if there were any knights that went by the name Sodom in the last decade? Is it someone important?”

  He rounded the duration to a decade, because it didn't seem probable that he managed to enter the dream of someone who had been dead for more than ten years. Even ten years was stretching it quite a bit.

  The librarian, a graceful woman in her late sixties, thought for a moment and shook her head.

  “I don't think I've heard of the name. I know the names of the previous commanders, both Royal and Imperial. Well, at least for the past five generations.”

  Hm, that's odd… Esau’s puzzlement deepened. He suddenly felt like a lone fish in the middle of a vast sea.

  Why would I get pulled into the dream of someone who doesn't exist? Or someone who's been dead for centuries? As Heather mentioned, it's possible for high-level Dreamers to enter the dreams of the dead, but there can't be too much of a gap between the time of death and the act…

  Maybe King Angelos could? Hm, I need to read all I can about this Ancestor of mine… Esau’s mind drifted to the first Ascendant that walked the land.

  As he didn't want to explain what was going on just yet, the boy asked, “Which books contain detailed information corresponding to the Fourth Era?”

  The ‘Fourth Era’ was also known as the Era of King Angelos Augustus Goldheart.

  Madam Harunet raised her right hand and flicked her fingers a few times. Certain books ‘flew’ out from within the shelves and arranged themselves before Esau.

  “Thank you.” The boy said as Tilly helped grab the floating books. He found a chair and placed the books numbering five before him. Then, he picked one and began reading with great attention.

  Soon, he reached the part which focused more on the mighty king.

  “At the beginning of the fourth era, the gates of the Abyss swung open and the Demons walked the land once more. These vile creatures had a strength beyond anything the five kingdoms had ever seen, and the world's order was quickly plunged into chaos when they tried to proliferate and corrupt all life.

  “However, a fundamental rule of the realm was balance. If there was an insurmountable force of evil, the world would give birth to a Messiah. Similarly, if the forces of righteousness were in too great numbers, catastrophe would inevitably befall the world. And so, it wasn't surprising that in the midst of war, a Blessed who wielded power beyond man's understanding emerged.

  “Angelos came of age, and the monolith failed to fathom his vast Essence Pool. Due to this, a new grade was created and deemed ‘Ascendant’, as he had ascended beyond the limits of man.

  “He was a Dreamer who was closest to Lord Hanuman’s authority. His powers bordered on the edges of fantasy. He could decide what was real and what was false, could manifest grand cities out of thin air, as well as achieve the unseen feat of single-handedly containing the Abyss.”

  Esau couldn't help but narrow his eyes when he read that part.

  He contained the entire Abyss?

  After a few seconds, he quickly calmed the agitation in his heart, as he understood that there had to be some sort of exaggeration in the text. After all, which kingdom wouldn't want to shower praises on their powerful ancestors and magnify their accomplishments?

  He sighed and continued reading, “Angelos grew extremely powerful over the years, and he quickly became King and the Supreme Commander of the joint forces of the kingdoms. During the war, even the Druids who led a life of seclusion came under his command.

  “After three decades of constant battle, the Demons were eventually defeated and driven back to the Abyss, and King Angelos sacrificed his life to cast an eternal spell that sealed the entrance of the Abyss forever. Till date, the gates of the Abyss remain buried in the depths of the sea separating the southern continent from the rest of the world.

  “As for the southern continent, which suffered the most damage from the war, it became a devastated wasteland, quickly becoming uninhabitable.”

  Esau sighed and paused for a moment to digest the information. There was quite a lot to glean from what he had just read. For example, King Angelos’ terrifying might, as well as the fact that his powers slowly shifted from Dream to Fantasy. He had also learnt the physical location of the entrance to the Abyss.

  Ah, no wonder it's called The Abyssal Sea… How did I miss that? Actually, it's quite humbling to realize that we're only safe from the Demons because of a single man from over a thousand years ago… just how powerful did he have to be to create a seal that has lasted for so long?

  And not just a seal to a random place, but the entire Abyss! Is this the height of a Dreamer’s prowess? Fantasy, hm… I wonder who would emerge victorious in a fight… King Angelos or Heather?

  Even though it was a childish thought, Esau couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement. The pinnacle of the Dream Ascent going against the pinnacle of the Void Ascent.

  Wearing a smile, he shook the thought and continued reading about the other major events during the fourth era, such as the creation of the calendar, the architectural developments, as well as proper recording of all known Ascents.

  “I should learn more about this,” Esau muttered. He searched through the books and found the one that focused primarily on the Graced and the Blessed.

  The text explained how the Graced were the first set of people to develop magical powers. When the gods descended from the Deification Domain to the mortal realm, their divine Essence coated the entire world and people began developing powers at random.

  However, as the Mother of Everlasting Life was the realm itself, the first humans only manifested abilities in her likeness. In other words, they had the power to rule the sky, beckon the sea, create flames, and carve the land.

  “Simply put, the Graced are all elementals.” Esau flipped the page. “Although, I wonder if one is able to wield multiple elements?”

  Beside him, Tilly who had been quiet all this while, said in a soft tone, “That is unlikely. However, I think that should be the path the Graced are meant to follow.”

  “Please explain,” Esau shifted to look at her, fully interested in her thoughts.

  Tilly cleared her throat and explained, “I mean, independently, these elements don't exactly portray ‘Life’, which is what the Mother is. So, maybe they're supposed to be merged to achieve the element of creation…or something similar.”

  The boy nodded, feeling that her thoughts were quite likely to be correct. He then said, “Maybe when a Graced Ascendant is born, they aren't able to control just one element, but all four. In fact, the more I think about it, the more likely you are to be right. After all, doesn't it seem like the Graced are significantly weaker than the Blessed? If there is an encounter between an Elemental and someone from any Ascent, the Elemental is more likely to lose.”

  At that moment, Madam Harunet’s voice came from above, “That's true, and also not true.”

  Both Esau and Tilly raised their gazes to see the woman walking down the stairs. Actually, it didn't seem like she was walking. Her feet hovered just before the ground, and the hem of her robe swayed eerily.

  She arrived before them and chuckled lightly.

  “The grading system also applies to the Graced. So, while it's true that the Graced might be weaker than the Blessed at lower levels, it's not the case for those who are significantly powerful.”

  Before Esau could say anything, she continued, “At certain grades, the Elementals don't just manipulate their elements, they directly become that element. Not only that, but at even higher grades, they can ignore the physical limitations of the element and directly affect the conceptual meaning.”

  At that point, she laughed and asked, “Have you ever seen flames that can burn intent or emotions? Have you ever witnessed the concept of ‘breath’ deleted from a certain space, killing those in that area within heartbeats? A wind Elemental could do just that and some more. There's just so many possibilities, and it all depends on how vast one's Essence Pool is, as well as their innate understanding of the element or Ascent. Remember, at the Luminary grade, it is possible to create derivatives of the core slate. And at the Paragon grade, complete deviation is possible.”

  “Wow…” Esau was genuinely amazed. His lips quivered a few times, as though he wanted to ask many questions, but he ultimately held back.

  Seeing his expression, Madam Harunet chuckled and added, “Of course, there is an exception. And that is the Void Ascent. There is no way to go about it, the Nulls will always wield more power compared to other Graced and Blessed. Thankfully, they're in a minority.”

  Naturally, a certain beautiful face with bright yellow eyes and confident smile surfaced in the boy's mind.