---Leon POV, Next Day---
As the first rays of morning light trickled through my window, I opened my eyes with a sigh. Sleep had been a rarity last night. Unlike my replica Purple mattress at the Academy, this one was only slightly better than the futon bed I had in my university days.
‘I don’t understand it. How can a magically advanced society not have made any improvements to the ancient coil mattress? Am I the only one on this planet who desires a comfortable bed!?’
With an annoyed groan, I rolled out of bed and went to the attached bathroom. After washing my face and changing into workout clothes, Solaris and I left my room.
Boom! Boom! Ka-Boom!
A series of violent explosions rocked the city. In seconds, the royal palace came alive like a disturbed beehive. Palace guards rushed to secure Hertrude and Hertrauda, shoving anyone in their path out of the way. Dazed and confused, half-asleep servants scrambled out of their rooms toward the nearest exit. Some of them wore just their underwear...
“Leon!” Angelica flew out of her bedroom in a satin red nightgown. “What is happening? Is it the Holy Kingdom? Have they launched a surprise attack?”
“I’ve got no idea. The shaking only just—”
Before I could finish answering, the rest of our group burst out of their rooms. The frantic women saw me and immediately rushed to my side. If this were not a serious situation, I might have had time to enjoy the eye candy before me. Olivia dove into my chest, followed close behind by the other women.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
I gave up trying to answer Angelica’s question. Getting us out of this potential death trap was my highest priority right now. Earthquakes were a rarity in this world, as tectonic shifts did not affect floating landmasses. As such, structures were not designed to withstand violent shaking like this.
“Luxion, I need a sitrep, now!”
Before setting out, I ran from room to room retrieving our belongings. If there were a battle going on, everyone needed a weapon to defend themselves. Stowing their personal effects in my Item Box, I shoved their weapons into their hands.
“Stay close to me.” I started moving to join the stream of servants. “Under no circumstances are you to wander from my side.”
My plan was simply, find Hertrude and Hertrauda then get to the ship. It was the safest place in the capital to secure everyone. Once onboard, I would have Luxion take them away while Vandel and I dealt with the threat.
Rumble! Screech!
The floor groaned once in protest before completely giving out beneath us. Massive stone slabs tipped downward like trapdoors, sending furniture and crumbling masonry plummeting into the darkness below. With nothing left to stand on, weightlessness took over as this section of the palace buckled inward around us.
“Leon!” they screamed in unison.
I watched everyone instinctively extend their hands to grab onto something, only to grasp empty air. As the wind whistled past our ears, they rolled over to look at me. Their faces were gripped by despair and hopelessness. Accepting their fates, Angelica and the other women closed their eyes, waiting for death to take them.
‘Klordius Aremus, my son, awaken…’
That familiar, thunderous voice echoed within the center of my mind, shattering the mental fog that had obscured my past.
In an instant, the floodgates broke. The memories of Aremus flashed behind my eyes in a vivid, blinding surge—my early childhood beneath the soaring wraithbone domes of Biel-Tan among the Aeldari, my long-awaited return to the Imperium of Man, and every grueling detail leading up to the precise moment of my death. It all came crashing back to me at once.
The sheer volume of restored history struck me like a slap in the face. My mind stalled under the sudden information dump, leaving me frozen in mid-air for an agonizing second as we fell further into darkness.
‘My beloved son, our galaxy needs you more now than ever. Humanity is slowly being pushed to the brink by our enemies. The sheer incompetence of those who claim to be my faithful servants has only compounded things. Your brothers, The Lion and Roboute, are giving everything they have to keep things together, but they cannot do it alone. They… No, we need—’
“Shut up!”
Pure, unbridled fury erupted from the depths of my chest—not just my own, but a tidal wave of anger on behalf of Aremus. The memories burned with intolerable clarity: the Second Legion erased from history not once, but twice, for daring to question his grand plan. All the sacrifices flashed before my eyes in a horrific sequence.
“Was it worth it?” I shouted into the void. “Malcador! My friends among the Custodes and the Sisters of Silence! Our entire family! Every single one of them was sacrificed for your grand dream, Father! And look at what remains! Most of this nightmare could have been avoided if you had simply listened to me instead of shying away from the truth!”
The surrounding air crackled against the sheer force of my unleashed psychic energy, the falling debris momentarily suspended by the pressure of my rage.
‘And I have spent every day for the past ten thousand years regretting it,’ The Emperor answered, his tone heavy with a profound, weary remorse that echoed into the deep recesses of my mind. ‘It took losing everything and watching what we built crumble to dust for me to realize how wrong I was. I allowed arrogance to blind me to the truth you sacrificed so much to show me. Klordius Aremus… from the depths of my heart, please forgive me for everything I have done. You may never forgive me—I know this—but please, do not let your hatred for me condemn our people to a slow death. They are blameless.’
In my past life as Aremus, the Emperor had never spoken to me with such raw emotion. He had always addressed me with cold indifference, looking down upon me with disdain. This drastic change threw cold water on the fiery rage in my heart. It was nowhere near enough to make up for what he had done, but it was a step in the right direction.
I let out a heavy sigh. “I gave Malcador my word that I would return home and help fix things. As I am now, however, my help would not amount to much. My legion is nonexistent, and my full strength has yet to return. Until both matters are resolved, I am a liability rather than an asset.”
‘I understand. Then, allow me to help you with both.’
Ancient knowledge and unfathomable power streamed into my body. It felt as though a supergiant star had gone supernova within my very soul. The world came to an abrupt stop. Falling debris hung suspended in mid-air; the screaming wind fell dead silent.
Taking full advantage of the stillness, I projected my psychic will toward the terrified women. A telekinetic field wrapped around them and their loose weapons, locking them safely within my protective grip.
I drove my boots into the living rock wall beside us and pushed off with tremendous force. Crossing the gap to a massive falling section of the palace wall, I used it as a springboard to launch upward. A rapid sequence of fluid leaps carried us skyward through the suspended debris field until we vaulted over the edge of the collapse.
Out of danger now, I set the women down onto stable ground and sighed with relief.
‘Go forth, my son. Be the light in our Imperium’s darkest hour. Give the people hope that a better tomorrow is nigh. Know that I will always be with you.’
Time snapped back into motion, and the roar of the collapsing earth returned in full force. No longer experiencing the sickening sensation of weightlessness, the women opened their eyes. They expected the afterlife, surrounded by their long-dead ancestors. Instead, they were lying alive and unharmed near the jagged edge of the collapse, watching the section of floor they had just occupied plunge into the abyss.
Unsure of what had transpired, Angelica looked back toward me for an explanation.
“Leon, I don’t know what you did, but you have my—”
Her voice died in her throat.
Leon was not there. In his place stood a silver-plated giant that made her heart hammer against her ribs in sudden, instinctual dread.
He filled her entire field of vision. High above her, the intricate silver armor gleamed through the haze of rock dust, pulsing with a muted, terrifying hum of blue power. Angelica swallowed hard, her eyes tracking up the sweeping green cloak toward his face. There was no trace remaining of the companion she knew—only a dark-bearded conqueror whose burning emerald gaze carried the crushing weight of a god.
“You… You aren’t Leon! What did you do with him!?”
With a trembling finger, Angelica pointed up at me. I was about to tell her that now was not the time for games, but I paused. Something about this situation was wrong.
‘Wait… Are we not about the same height? Why is she tilting her head back so far just to look at me?’
I lowered my gaze. My former body was gone, along with the plain, mortal clothes I had been wearing. In their place stood a hulking, colossal frame clad in the massive, ornate silver armor I had forged with my own hands during my past life as Aremus.
‘Well, I’ll be! Dear old father really came through for me.’
I took a fleeting moment to admire my restored form before snapping my focus back to the immediate danger.
“Angelica, it is me—Leon. I do not have time to explain everything right now, but I will once we reach safety.”
“I… I don’t know…” Angelica hesitated, her shaking hand slowly lowering as her eyes searched mine. “Tell me something only Leon would know.”
“We’ve only been engaged for a short time. What exactly am I supposed to answer with?”
A faint smile formed on her lips as the last remnants of dread subsided. The answer was uniquely his. She knew then that the titan standing before her was indeed the Leon she knew, albeit in a radically different form.
“You’ve got me there.” Angelica stepped forward and hugged me. “It was you who saved us from death, right? Thank you, Leon.”
Coming back to reality, Clarice and the other women picked themselves up off the ground and turned to thank me as well. Upon seeing my imposing visage, they reacted exactly as Angelica had—freezing in place with wide, panic-stricken eyes. Only after verifying my identity did the women rush over to embrace me in relieved gratitude despite the cold metal plate of my armor.
“Alright ladies, we need to get moving again. It’s only a matter of time before more of this place comes down.” My expression turned serious. “Luxion!”
My robotic companion appeared before us, his white spherical chassis dripping with dark, fresh blood. I wanted to know where he had been, but now was not the time.
<Apologies for the delay. I was dealing with a matter back in the Holfort capital.>
The mechanical servos in his optical lens twitched and whirred erratically as he focused on my new appearance. For a fraction of a second, the soft glow of his eye flickered, his algorithms struggling to process what stood before him.
Now that my memories as Aremus had fully returned, I recognized who and what Luxion truly was. Luxion froze, his eye locked onto mine, realizing the conversation he had been dreading was imminent.
<My satellites show no land or naval attack underway.> Luxion continued, his vocal synthesizer adjusting back to a smooth tone. <Whatever is causing this shaking is beneath the capital itself. Is it possible that the Principality moved the captured Magic Knights beneath the capital?>
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His conclusion was logical. The Magic Knights were precious research material. It made sense for them to be brought here; Vandel and his elite knights operated out of the capital. In theory, it was the safest choice, but it was a double-edged sword. By bringing them into the capital, if enemy agents got past their security and reached them, the enemy could level the capital before Vandel and his men could muster a counteroffensive.
Based on the timing, the Holy Kingdom had waited for my arrival before acting. Their aim was to kill Vandel and me before our alliance could rally its strength behind us.
“Listen carefully. We are going to find Hertrude and Hertrauda, then head for my ship. Once all of you are safely aboard, Vandel and I will deal with the enemy.” I started moving toward where the servants had been heading. “Keep close. Under no circumstances are you to wander too far from my side.”
“Of course!” the women said in unison.
Together, we made our way to the rally point in search of the princesses.
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