A life that had grasped the world now sought the path it would take.
A warm breeze brushed softly through the forests of the Silva Empire.
Yet Empress Drian sat alone in the Chamber of Life, lost in thought.
Emperor Vulcanus of the Ignis Empire had postponed his decision regarding Drian’s proposal.
The core exchange between Ignis and Silva had not come to pass.
In the end, the growth of Silva she had hoped for could only be delayed.
“I wonder what Ignis is thinking by now.”
Drian spoke to herself.
“Are they deliberating over what I said, or have they, in effect, declared their refusal?”
If Vulcanus remembered Nemorensis’s exploits and sacrifice, it would be difficult for him to refuse Drian’s proposal.
Perhaps that was why he had chosen postponement instead of rejection.
In truth, Vulcanus had decided not to accept her proposal out of concern that their flame cores might even flow into the Aqua Empire.
“Perhaps I should give up my expectations.”
Arriving at the conclusion that postponement was as good as refusal, Drian shook her head with her eyes closed.
She rose from her seat.
“It seems growth through Ignis has failed. What we must do now is consider the growth that lies ahead.”
Drian left the Chamber of Life.
Drian, Tarban, and Bramir headed together to the fusion facility in the northwest.
When they entered the fusion facility, the researchers of Silva and Aqua were still moving busily about.
“Your Majesty, you have come?”
Elona and Selen bowed their heads before Drian.
Drian spoke to them without preamble.
“We attempted to speak with Ignis. But Ignis’s answer was postponement. It seems they do not yet feel that they need our support.”
The researchers’ expressions stiffened.
Elona asked,
“Has Ignis already succeeded in reestablishing its position?”
“It did not seem so to me. From what I saw while looking around the lands of Ignis myself, traces of Metallum’s invasion still remained everywhere.”
“Then why…?”
“We cannot know. Whether they are hiding something we still do not know, or whether it is simply because of pride.”
Selen also said a word.
“I thought Ignis’s damage might be something of an opportunity, but even so, it seems the timing was not on our side.”
Drian nodded and replied,
“But our growth has not stopped. Only the direction of that growth will change. Since it is likely that their postponement is only in words and is, in truth, no different from refusal, for now we will continue with what we have been doing.”
Elona and Selen returned to their places, and the researchers of Aqua also turned their heads and resumed their work.
They were disappointed, but decided to be satisfied with the conditions they had been given and look forward to the future.
A short while later, Drian and her party sensed a cold energy from the opposite direction.
Blue spray enveloped the space, and soon a woman appeared within the fusion facility.
It was Nereia.
Nereia appeared together with her retainers.
“Ah…”
Drian looked at Nereia.
“You have come at a good time.”
Nereia asked,
“I, too, had something to discuss with you. Is it the same for you?”
Drian nodded.
“Of course. We attempted to speak with Ignis. However, the core exchange was postponed. It can only be seen as a refusal in effect.”
Nereia’s reaction was indifferent.
“That was likely to happen. It seems they anticipated that if they gave their cores to you, the cores would soon flow to us as well. It was a proposal that would have been difficult to accept from the beginning.”
The researchers listened to their conversation, but said nothing.
After a brief silence, Drian asked Nereia,
“What was it you wished to say to me?”
Nereia answered,
“For the first time in a long while, I went beyond our deep sea. And there was a certain lake whose existence even we did not know.”
Drian flinched in surprise.
“Where did you discover the lake?”
“It exists between Terra and Metallum. It was closer to Terra, but the lake itself had been occupied by Metallum.”
Not only Drian, but Tarban and Bramir as well had their complexions change.
The lake Nereia had discovered was different from the lake Drian and her party had found.
Her words were tantamount to saying that ownerless energy was scattered throughout the world.
What was more, the lake Nereia’s side had discovered was already in Metallum’s possession.
Drian asked her,
“What is Metallum doing there?”
“They did not answer. But we could tell instinctively as well. Energy cores arise all throughout this world, and from the lake, our water energy is surging up. Metallum must be working at that lake to produce wave cores.”
Tarban asked Nereia,
“Did you perhaps lodge a protest with them?”
“Of course we did. But Metallum did not back down in the slightest. They shamelessly said that since the lake was now theirs, we should not interfere.”
Aqua’s researchers, Birellen and Miruel, turned to look their way.
They, too, were listening to the conversation with grave expressions.
Drian muttered,
“Metallum, Aqua’s cores…?”
Levian, Aqua’s Guardian of Tides, opened his mouth.
“This is by no means something to be taken lightly. Until now, because of Terra’s atrocities, our wave cores have flowed to other empires. But since the amount leaked in that way is limited, no further damage will occur unless our deep sea is invaded again. However, the situation is completely different now. If Metallum succeeds in producing wave cores, wave cores will no longer belong solely to us. Before long, Metallum will recklessly abuse our cores.”
Drian could say nothing.
Drian and her retainers had also discovered a certain lake between Silva and Ignis, so they could well imagine what Nereia was telling them.
However, they decided not to tell Aqua yet about what they had discovered.
“I am truly sorry such a thing happened.”
Drian spoke with difficulty.
At that moment, Bramir found himself wondering about something, but given the atmosphere, it was difficult to ask right away.
Instead, Tarban said,
“It does not seem as though there is absolutely nothing our side can do. We have slime cores, do we not? Though we may be weaker than Metallum, slime should be stronger than them. We even have the Bio-Absorber, so with that being, surely…”
Nereia raised a hand to stop him.
“That is not enough of a justification. Metallum merely occupied a lake with no owner; they did not touch our deep sea. Oruma even said this: if we felt so displeased, then we should also find and occupy land where the energy of iron emerges. Their response was that even if we did so, they would not interfere.”
Tarban shook his head while keeping it lowered.
“How very like Metallum. So to them, cores are merely resources scattered throughout this world. No matter how much we grow together with other energies, we will preserve our own identity as much as possible. But Metallum has no respect for other energies, and they even take the stance that it is fine if other empires use their own energy however they please.”
Nereia continued in a grave tone.
“That is not all. Just as with the region we discovered, surely there must be regions somewhere where other energies dwell. Perhaps your energy remains somewhere in this world and forms a region.”
Drian said,
“A land where the energy of trees that is not ours dwells…?”
“Yes. Your forests may exist elsewhere in this world as well.”
Bramir flinched in surprise and looked at Drian.
“If that forest has already been taken by someone, could it be Ignis? Aside from us, if we exclude Terra and Metallum, who are opposed to it, among Ignis, Terra, and Metallum, what remains is Ignis.”
Drian’s eyes wavered.
“Then are you saying Ignis has occupied some forest?”
“Ah, we cannot know yet, but the fact that Ignis did not accept our proposal may be because they already have a separate method to produce life cores.”
In truth, Ignis had occupied a forest that existed in the southwest of the world, and they, like Metallum, were conducting research to harvest life cores from that forest.
Silva and Aqua’s side had not yet witnessed that fact directly, but that conjecture had now turned into certainty.
Nereia’s eyes gleamed coldly.
“Ignis is a race even more violent than Metallum. Now that Metallum has occupied the lake, it is obvious that Ignis would have acted even sooner before that. We have not seen it ourselves, but it would be best to assume that Ignis has also occupied a similar land somewhere in this world.”
After a moment of silence, Drian nodded.
“I understand. It was not good news, but I think it is useful information for grasping the current state of this world. It seems important that we use our information and yours to find the direction in which each of us will grow and move forward.”
Nereia also lowered her head slightly.
“Very well. Let us speak again later.”
Drian and her party turned and left the fusion facility, and Nereia’s side also departed from that place.
On the way back from the joint fusion facility of Silva and Aqua.
Bramir asked what he had been wondering earlier.
“But that Marinus—is he still making no move at all?”
Drian answered,
“I did not ask, but it seems likely.”
Bramir tilted his head.
“Why is Marinus staying still even in this situation? Should he not be enraged by Metallum’s actions?”
Drian spoke quietly.
“Even if he is enraged, there is nothing Marinus can do. Marinus is of the water attribute, and Metallum is of the iron attribute. The two are, rather, mutually reinforcing.”
Marinus, Aqua’s black dragon, likely knew as well that Metallum was tampering with the energy of water.
However, Marinus still did not react.
No matter what atrocities Metallum committed, the only dragons who could check them were Nemorensis and the dragon of Ignis who had yet to appear.
Bramir asked again,
“What would Nemorensis have done in this situation?”
Tarban answered,
“If Nemorensis were summoned now, I think he would have moved against Metallum. Since Terra stands between us and Metallum, there might be some friction, but…”
Soon, Tarban sensed something in his own answer.
“But it seems that even if we had Nemorensis now, the fact that Terra would not be threatened remains the same. This time, because of Metallum, Terra will escape danger yet again. Of course, that is only my humble opinion.”
Drian said slowly,
“That, too, is truly strange. Our Nemorensis and Aqua’s Marinus both faced Terramont directly before their eyes, yet neither showed any aggression toward Terramont. Was it simply because they had no justification to attack, or was there some other reason?”
The retainers had no answer.
That was a point both Drian and Nereia wondered about.
They continued walking toward the fortress.