By the time the sun rose, Aerthus had brought Lily with him, to the dismay of a lot of nobles, as they thought the royal family, including her, had run away, and would not rear their head ever again.

  "I told you that they won't be happy about it." She said after following Aerthus into a room inside the castle where he was also staying. What she was surprised by was that she got a proper space for herself, wholly expecting that Aerthus would tell her to come to his bedroom... but he did not.

  "Not your problem." He answered simply, "It will be mine. I will decre that you were pardoned and would be part of the negotiations on how to integrate the region into my Empire."

  "You are also testing them." She said simply, making Aerthus smile and nod.

  "True. I want to see if they can indeed be trusted and how they follow orders, because they are no longer independent but my people, my subordinates."

  "And what will be my role? Antagonize them by just being here?" She asked, reading the atmosphere well, showing that she was perfectly aware of her impact on everyone else.

  "Mhm." Aerthus nodded but then crossed his arms, looking over her, "You are sharp, and not just in mind but with how you say things... I should be careful around you."

  "You don't have to." She shrugged, shaking her head, "You are pretty much invincible by now. Also, I don't care, that's why I say what I think and feel. I have no responsibilities anymore, and honestly? Even if you want to put some on me... I will reject it. Let me live, and I will live as I want... If it's a burden, you will have to kill me."

  "No," Aerthus answered firmly to that, looking into her eyes, unblinking, "I won't hurt you. Never."

  "Bold words from an Emperor." She chuckled, not avoiding or breaking their eye contact. "We will see how true they are."

  .............

  Days went by as he accompanied her everywhere while the diplomatic meetings kept advancing, and on most nights, they always returned to the field of lilies somehow. It was... turning into a kind of routine, one that Aerthus didn't want to break, so for the first time ever, he didn't even compin when the talks between the nobles and his diplomats broke down. It just meant he could spend more time with Lily... but, in the end, she forced him to attend one of the talks, because even she got annoyed by how nothing was happening.

  Finally, even Aerthus had to realize it was indeed a mess, and he suddenly stood up, letting his powers emanate from him, pressuring everyone and silencing the room with a simple sweep of his gaze.

  "Enough!" He spoke up with absolute authority. "This squabble ends now. You had your chance to choose a leader for this new region of my Empire, and you failed. Now, I will appoint one." He leaned forward, beginning to smile, "Lily."

  "You are not my husband to order me around," she answered, rolling her eyes and then sticking her tongue out at him like a kid, which was more shocking than Aerthus's own powers. What... just... happened?

  "That is not… really dylike to do so…" Aerthus himself murmured with a small smile while the rest of the nobles were horrified, afraid that this crazy woman was going to be their downfall. Even Aerthus's own people tried to find their jaws, turning their heads back and forth between Lily and their Emperor.

  "I had enough of my life, forced to act like a dy... but I am not bound by protocol anymore, remember?" she giggled, sitting beside him, leaning on the table. "I am my own, and I decide what to do for myself, not others, not you, not them; nobody could force me to do something I don't want to!" she pursed her lips pyfully. "So no. Put someone else forward, I am not doing it."

  At her words, the present nobles finally fred up, terrified that their new ruler was going to execute them for treason or something. Aerthus's guards also stepped forward, looking at not just Lily with hostile expressions but at the shouting nobles, too. This was devolving quickly... yet what broke the tension and cacophony of shouting was Aerthus's hearty ugh, resonating in the room after a few seconds, joyfully spping the table.

  "I like you!" He said firmly, looking into her eyes.

  "Mmm?" Lily looked at him with a faint smile. "You like my body or-"

  "Everything!" Aerthus cut in, accompanied by a wide grin.

  "Well, that is good to hear! But…” She murmured, tilting her head to one side, then the left.

  "But?" He asked, maintaining a grin while the rest just looked around, confused, searching for their allies, for their confirmation of what was really going on; even Aerthus's most loyal guard, Martuk, and his leading General Ortez held their heads, rubbing their foreheads, letting out loud sighs, standing behind their Emperor. This was going off-script, and devolving fast... What was their Emperor doing?!

  "You still need to court me. I barely know you!" She answered with a small chuckle, shaking her head. "You are okay, you have the looks, but... I don't love you. That needs time to bloom, Emperor Aerthus, you can't just command my heart."

  "No problem!" He said, not even flinching, "You are going to follow me, and we can get to know each other."

  "What if I don't want to go?" Lily leaned back, putting her finger on her lips innocently, "I told you, I won't do anything that I don't want. Not even if you drag me along on a leash... naked!"

  "You won't come?" He asked, watching as Lily only smiled a little.

  "I don't know. I may. I may not."

  "Okay! No problem! Then I'll stay here. With you!" Aerthus answered, and his voice was so firm that his people knew… he wasn't lying. "We can turn this city into our Capital. I can set up the pace here; it's a nice spot. Men!" He waved his hand towards his side, "Draw up the pns! This will be our future Capital, and this will be where my pace will be! Make sure to also include... an observatory."

  "My Emperor!" They tried, but Aerthus wasn't having it.

  "Oh!" Lily finally blinked her eyes, a bit surprised at what he was doing. "Well..." She blushed, "Touring and seeing the world does sound exciting…" She whispered, a bit shyer now. "I never left the kingdom before… not even the castle… soooo, it sounds fun. Okay, okay! You win! I can go with you." She replied after a brief thought with a carefree expression, giggling to herself.

  "Great!" Aerthus cpped, also ughing, "Ortez!"

  "Yes, My Emperor?" the stocky, short man with ginger hair and a long, bushy beard stepped forward, saluting, wearing full pte armor.

  "Ask my master Cevix to come here and continue the establishment of a new city council. Also, what I said earlier, I was serious. This pce will be my Capital city when my Empire has grown to its fullest. I want the pns to be ready by then and for this pce to be transformed into something worthy of an imperial bloodline. Do it with them," he pointed at the local nobles, who couldn't get to an agreement until now, "Or without them. I no longer care. Whichever gets results!" He dictated firmly, making it clear to the locals that pytime was over. "Meanwhile, get the troops ready to move out in a week! There are territories that need to be annexed, and we can't dawdle anymore. As for me... I have more pressing matters to attend to."

  "As you order!" he saluted once again, but suddenly asked, "What… are those matters, My Lord? Do you need the Royal Guard to accompany you?"

  "No, it's nothing like that." He waved a hand, "It's about comprehending... I still need to learn about the story behind the ox and the broken cart, how it got stuck up there..." He muttered as he smiled, stretching his hand towards Lily to lead her out of the room, confusing everybody, but Lily just ughed with him.

  "It's a long story, I told you!" She whispered, accepting his hand, leaving behind a completely dazzled group of people who wouldn't dare to say anything that would anger Aerthus or his people, who commanded a million-strong army... Their new Emperor... he could fly high up in the air, killing dozens with just one sweep of his hands.

  "I have time," they heard him say, only looking at Lily at that moment. "I won't forget anything you say. Not for a minute…"

  .............

  The sky above a raging battlefield slowly fractured as the clouds beyond it were torn into multiple streaks, like cw marks on flesh. At the same time, the air itself rippled from the impacts of the two bodies battling, flying, and crashing into each other over and over again, sounding like war drums. Far below them, two mortal armies were also going at each other's throats, as two cavalry lines just rushed into the tower-shield-wielding left fnk of the defenders.

  As the two bodies cshed again and then separated, Aerthus rolled his shoulder, golden specks of his life-force leaking from the shallow cut across his colrbone that soon sealed up without leaving behind a scar or letting his blood be drawn out. Across from him, Zelig, the leading figure of the Naulin Kingdom, floated with a surprising composure, his purple robes barely disturbed by the violent csh, looking spotless and perfect.

  "You're getting slow, old friend." Aerthus chuckled, cracking his neck, "Previously, you would have already stabbed me through my chest... but... You are missing a lot now."

  "...?" Zelig's lips twitched faintly, "You say that every time," he replied in the end, shrugging. "And every time you're the one bleeding in the end... I would doubt your intelligence if you couldn't adapt to my rhythm by now. Haaah... Too bad you don't stay down."

  "Not my thing, you see. I thought you learned that already!" Aerthus ughed, already ready for another round.

  "Show-off." Zelig exhaled slowly through his nose as the two cshed again.

  From the ground it was... nothing but the battle of two lights, one gold, one amethyst, going at each other, neither of them backing down... and it was going on for decades by now. As the two leaders fought, finally, the formation of shield-bearers broke under Aerthus's cavalry's charge. The moment it happened, sensing it, he flicked a gnce downward, his eyes briefly sharpening, then his smile grew, provoking Zelig a bit.

  "Your left fnk is folding."

  "I'm aware," Zelig answered, but he didn't look.

  The next moment, the air detonated between them, and Aerthus surged forward in a streak of brilliant gold, his life-force roaring like a dragon, surrounding him like a living armor. His fist drove toward Zelig's chest with the kind of force that would leave behind a crater, demolishing an entire vilge if it hit something solid. Seeing it in slow-motion, Zelig's purple eyes fred, his white hair coming loose from its ponytail, billowing behind him like a second cape. For half a heartbeat, Aerthus's depth perception slipped, just enough for his punch to skim past Zelig's chest instead of caving his ribs in.

  "There it is." Aerthus clicked his tongue mid-motion, already switching as Zelig's palm came up, his fingers weaving through three rapid seals.

  The air around Aerthus thickened the next moment, as he felt himself slowing down, falling for a mental restraint coming from Zelig's mind, from his own little trick, from those purple eyes. It wasn't real... but in a battle, it was as good as a tangible net.

  "You know this doesn't work anymore," Aerthus said as he grinned, and then golden light erupted from his body as his life-force flooded his energy points in a violent pulse, and the pressure shattered like gss.

  Of course, Zelig was already expecting it, so he was moving the moment his illusion confused his old enemy's brain. He was turning into a violet arc of condensed light, his hand in a cw-like strike, aiming toward Aerthus's neck.

  Surprisingly, it took Aerthus across the throat, startling even the ruler of the Naulins, the only force that could stand up to the expanding Empire of Aerthus. Was this the end...? The end of the man who conquered the western side of the Shert River...? Someone who everyone was afraid of... The evil? Just his name had made the kings quake in their boots... What if he moves over? What if he attacks the eastern bank of the great river?! So, to make sure that never happened, the Naulins, along with the nine other kingdoms in their coalition, continued supporting the rebellious kings and queens of the west... To make sure Aerthus's Empire can not solidify.

  Yet... None of their campaigns ever succeeded... Maybe... now? For a brief moment, he thought this was it... He saw how Aerthus's head separated from his body. But... the body did not fall. His severed head, connected by a swab of muscle and skin, was already knitting back together in a grotesquely efficient speed, dragged back to pce in just a second.

  "Okay, that one was," Aerthus admitted, cracking his neck, the moment it got reattached, gulping down blood, "Ouch... That hurt."

  "Cockroach..." Zelig pinched the bridge of his nose, already a good distance away, knowing he wouldn't be able to get that close to him again, and the opportunity... It was gone, "You used to at least pretend that was inconvenient." He said, trying to hide the fact that for a brief moment, he was horrified... what if he killed him?!

  "It was a close call!" Aerthus said, almost as if he was compining, "You almost got me!" He roared as it was he who attacked Zelig this time around.

  By the next moment, Aerthus unleashed a sweeping wave of golden force that tore a canyon through the ground when it missed. At the same time, Zelig answered with yered spell circles coming into existence around him, three, six, twelve at once, each firing arrows of violet energy at him.

  None of them would say it... But both of them were grinning. These fights... they always helped both of them understand more about themselves and the world, pushing them further along the path of their cultivation.

  "Still holding back, Zelig?!"

  "You are not to speak!" Zelig's eyes fshed brighter, and then their gazes locked. "You are too proud, old friend..." He muttered this time, amazed that the man kept looking into his eyes, nudging him instead of trying to control his mind.

  As he did so, Aerthus's vision doubled, and his body reacted a hair too slow, deyed just enough that Zelig's strike nded square in Aerthus's ribs with a concussive boom that folded the air behind him, and Aerthus was unched backward like a meteor. He tore through three yers of clouds before finally stopping himself mid-air, coughing once, and then straightening as golden light flooded the damaged part inside him, repairing his lungs, ribs, and heart.

  "Okay," he said, "That one also hurt."

  "..." Zelig only stared at him for a long, quiet moment. "You're worse every year," he said quietly, letting his shoulders drop.

  "You say that like you're not the reason I keep improving or... vice versa."

  "Hmph," Zelig snorted and actually smiled. "I'm out." He shrugged, looking down, seeing that the army his people supported and supplied finally broke and began retreating, "This win is yours..."

  "Could you stop?" Aerthus asked, wiping his mouth, watching his friend, however strange it was, calling him like that, "I told you! I'm not going to conquer your nd!"

  "If I stop saying that..." He paused, just before disappearing, looking at him over his shoulders, "How are we going to fight? How are we going to ascend to the next level?"

  "There are other ways to do it, Zelig." Aerthus said, shrugging, but by then, the man was gone, "Haaah... Stubborn old fool..." He groaned, tapping his chest, hissing from pain, "Shiiiit... Lily will kill me for this... ahhh... She always notices when it actually hurts, unlike Zelig... Damn it... Owie... This will turn purple by tomorrow..."

  Corty