Sovereign of the Ashes

In the days that followed, Sein’s observations only confirmed his suspicions.

More and more Huusian ships gathered around the planetary fortress. The Huusians seemed far stronger than Gwyneira had described.

Sein also sensed the arrival of several new Rank Four beings.

As a result, he could only suppress his presence even further.

The good news was that the Huusians with weaker perception still had not noticed that, while Sein appeared to be a late-stage Rank Three on the surface, he was in fact a true Rank Four.

The bad news was that not long after entering the fortress, Sein was told that Gwyneira’s father wanted to meet him.

***

In a spacious, distinctly Huusian-style hall, Sein finally met Gwyneira’s father.

He was a Rank Five being with deep red skin and a rugged, muscular build.

Sein noticed something interesting. Although the Huusians themselves had reddish skin, they highly valued the color green.

The royal decorations in the hall were mostly bronze, gleaming with a greenish sheen.

That might also explain why Gwyneira thought Sein looked “handsome” at first glance.

Red, on the other hand, was considered a taboo color among the Huusians. Apart from the royal family, ordinary Huusians were strictly forbidden from owning anything in that shade.

So, at Gwyneira’s suggestion, Sein had swapped out his red cloak for a dark green one before coming to meet her father.

The king did not seem particularly interested in Sein’s identity. He was simply curious about the man his daughter had been spending time with.

Like many Rank Four beings who struggled to reproduce, the Huusian king had only two daughters.

Despite his noble status, he failed to see through Sein’s disguise.

During his conversations with the Rank Five king, Sein gained a clearer picture of this Huusian tribe’s strength.

Besides the king himself, there were six other Rank Four Huusians.

Among them, only the old man Sein had met earlier hailed from Gwyneira’s tribe. The rest were chiefs from other tribes.

Although they acknowledged Gwyneira’s father as the “king”, his control over them was actually limited.

Beyond these larger tribes were hundreds of smaller, weaker ones that had only Rank One or Rank Two warriors.

Yet all of them had come together into a coalition army now marching toward the Zeak Empire.

The Huusians had not agreed to the Zeak Empire’s employment just for the high pay. There were other reasons at play as well...

“Bousse, what’s your hometown like?” Gwyneira asked one day, sitting by the bed in Sein’s cabin.

Since Sein was living in someone else’s fortress, he had not been running experiments lately. With free time on his hands, he did not mind Gwyneira’s occasional visits.

The curved glass window in Sein’s cabin let him lie back on his bed and take in the dazzling, endless beauty of the Astral Realm.

It was obvious that Sein got such comfortable living quarters in the otherwise impoverished Huusian fortress thanks to Gwyneira.

As he gazed at the moving sea of stars outside, he replied, “It’s a world of greenery, with mushrooms blooming on the ground, and bubbles drifting through the skies. Our friends, the platypuses, roamed freely.”

What he described was the true home of the Bokrians in the Chida Star Domain. He had been there before, though only briefly.

Beyond some basic details about the plane, he also shared bits of its customs and traditions with Gwyneira.

Sein’s understanding of the Bokrians’ world came mostly from his mage’s curiosity. Despite his short stay there, he had managed to gather plenty of information.

His explanation sounded like a textbook answer, but Gwyneira still listened intently.

After a long pause, she sighed softly. “How wonderful. I wish I could visit your world one day. Chida Star Domain, huh? I wonder if that chance will ever come.”

Her eyes drifted toward the starry skies beyond the window. “I have only seen my homeworld in the recordings from my father. It’s a world of red soil, but sadly, it’s no longer ours.”

“Father says our royal family is sinners. Because of our ancestors’ mistakes, we lost our home planet, and our people were forced into exile. Though the tribes still respect us, they are no longer as loyal as they once were.

“He believes that our trip to the Zeak Empire will draw us into a long war. The empire’s strength now surpasses what the Huusians had at their peak. I can’t imagine how powerful the enemy must be for the empire to see them as a rival. But we Huusians have no choice. The Zeak Empire has promised that once we fulfil this contract, they’ll help us reclaim our lost home.”

What Gwyneira revealed was likely classified information meant for only the Huusians’ upper echelon.

Sein could not tell if she had spoken out of genuine trust or if his soul magic had influenced her into revealing more than she intended.

Either way, he was only mildly interested in the Huusians’ history.

In the Astral Realm, every race and civilization had its own story. If someone were to write a book, each could serve as the protagonist of its own tale.

Some civilizations had already fallen, while others continued to thrive and grow stronger.

It was the clearest reflection of the Astral Realm’s dazzling diversity.

“Where is your homeworld?” Sein asked casually.

“I have no idea. Only my father and the high priests know. Father said we won’t return until we’re strong enough. He still wishes to reclaim what our ancestors lost,” Gwyneira replied.

Sein simply nodded without further comment.

***

As Sein steadily advanced toward the borders of the Gallant Federation with the Huusians’ fleet, a federation envoy had already slipped quietly into the Netherworld Star Domain.

The Netherworld Star Domain, serving as the buffer zone between the Magus Alliance and the Gallant Federation, had long been the focus of both parties’ attention.

For years, countless legions and immense resources had been poured into this region.

At this critical moment, on a certain demiplane deep within the Netherworld Star Domain, a group of Gallant Federation envoys gathered before the supreme being of that world—Naeverynk, the lord of Netherworld, better known as Commander Blood River.