"People of the Song Domain…"
Her voice wasn't particularly loud, yet her will carried it effortlessly throughout the enormous hall, her voice reached each of her subjects.
"Tonight, we gather not merely to celebrate, we gather to welcome home those who ventured into the Nightmare."
Her gaze travelled through the crowd as she continued.
"Some of you entered the Nightmare carrying nothing but your hopes, your fears, and the determination to survive, others entered as Awakened, seeking to test yourselves against trials that ordinary people could ever comprehend."
"Many of you returned changed, some returned stronger, some returned wiser, and some returned carrying scars that cannot be seen."
The hall became completely silent as everyone listened with deep respect.
"But you returned, and that reason alone is worth celebrating."
Several people in the crowd cheered slightly while exchanging glances. A few who had recently returned from their Nightmares earlier lowered their heads in respect, while others smiled.
"The Nightmare is cruel. It does not care about status, wealth, talent, or bloodline. It offers no guarantees. It takes everything you are and throws you into a world where even the smallest mistake can become your last, yet every time our people enter those worlds, they return carrying something with them, and for that we celebrate"
A round of applause erupted in the hall, Merlin himself clapped along, then Ki Song raised her hand and the silence returned.
"Look around you, our cities stand stronger than ever, our armies have grown, and our people have learned to look toward the future rather than merely waiting for the next disaster."
Her voice sharpened as she looked at the crowd.
"But we must never mistake growth for safety, the world beyond our walls remains dangerous and the Dream Realm remains vast and unforgiving"
"There are still enemies watching from the shadows, waiting for our guard to come down before they strike, but we will always prevail" She proclaimed proudly.
"Now, let us welcome the brave new cohort of Ascendeds…"
The next moment, the once silent crowd erupted into cheers and applause, and at that moment, he realized the difference between Song and Valor.
If Valor was one who led their people through military strength, then Song was merely people who fought out of responsibility to protect what they have.
His thoughts were cut short as his gaze drifted to the figures walking into the hall. Leading them was Seishan who wore a long flowing sleeveless velvet dress, her shoulders were wrapped in lace of the same color, and her gray-like skin glowed under the light.
He stared at her slightly surprised, this was the first time he finally saw the changes brought by Ascension. Although he had seen the changes in the face of the cohort, it wasn't exactly profound, because he saw them as sleepers, then as Awakeneds, then as Ascendeds, so even though they changed, it was like a process he watched and adapted to, but for Seishan, the last he saw her was a Sleeper, and now as an Ascended, the change was visible at a glance.
Behind Seishan was a few other Ascendeds, some he recognized from the Forgotten Shore, and others he had no idea about.
"Aren't you going to greet her? Shan's been asking of you" Eubin teased him from the side.
"I'll go, but let her enjoy the party for a while…" he smiled and walked towards the table that held drinks.
"Since you're not interested, we'll be going on ahead" Eubin waved as she made her way towards Seishan.
"Don't forget you owe me a dance…" Hel reminded, then followed after Eubin.
Cara followed him to the table with drinks and stood beside him.
"You know…" she spoke up, "you really don't act like a Prince"
"A few months ago, I wasn't one, so what do you expect?" he shrugged.
Merlin picked up a non-alcoholic wine, poured it into two cups, and handed one to Cara, then he picked up an alcoholic wine and sent it to his [Dimension Ring], then he did the same for two others.
Cara who was watching him raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't that stealing?"
"It isn't if it's yours"
"But it's not yours"
"Well it's in the Palace, and I'm a Prince, how isn't it mine" he shot her a flat look.
"I'm not even going to argue with you anymore" she sighed as she sipped her drink while enjoying the rest of the party.
On the other side of the party.
"Heya Shan…" Hel waved as she approached Seishan.
"Hel" Seishan answered curtly, "and Bin… where did you guys go?"
"We were with your little boyfriend, though I'm not sure he belongs to you anymore~" Eubin teased.
"Who?" Seishan raised an eyebrow.
"Who else but that little magician you helped us win over" Hel scoffed.
"Oh Merlin?" Seishan raised an eyebrow "how's he my boyfriend?"
Hel smiled, "oh you didn't hear, when Bin went to invite him to join us, he said he wouldn't talk to anyone except you~"
"But he's here is he not? Did you thrall him?" Seishan turned to Eubin.
"I tried, but it turns out he was living with three Saints, so that way failed, but Hel had a vision, and because of that, he came along," Eubin explained as she located Merlin through the crowd.
"Three Saints" Seishan sounded confused, "are they here?"
"No… they're with the government, it's better than Valor atleast" Hel shrugged then added excitedly "Shan, let me tell you his adventurous journey in the Dream Realm"
From there, Hel narrated Merlin's experience in the Dream Realm, and whenever she included her own adventures, Eubin would quickly correct her. Seishan listened with profound interest as her eyes drifted across the room, locating where Merlin was quietly eating the prepared delicacies.
"What do you think he's awesome right?" Hel smiled proudly as she completed her story.
Eubin's eyes twitched slightly as she looked at Hel, although she had corrected most of the outrageous parts, the story itself was still filled with questionable parts. If she dedicated herself to correcting every wrong part, then the story would never be finished as she would be interrupting every seven seconds.
Hel's story was simply put—
57% Facts.
43% Glaze.
"Yes… really interesting," Seishan smiled as she walked towards him.
"Wait…" Hel stood in her front.
"What's the problem?" Seishan tilted her head.
"Well I already asked him to the first dance, so don't try to steal my spotlight"
"I understand, I just want have a talk with him"
"Eubin… Hel, I would like to have a word" a mature calm voice sounded from behind the trio.
Eubin turned around and bowed slightly.
"Mother…"
Eubin and Hel immediately followed Ki Song as they walked towards another part of the party while Seishan continued walking towards Merlin.
"Eubin… have you noticed anything?" Ki Song asked calmly.
"No… he's acting completely normal, I can't tell if he's actually planning something"
"What about you Hel? Have you had any visions?"
"Nothing… apart from the first time, I've never had any vision concerning him, most likely he has a memory that blocks divination"
"A memory huh…" Ki Song turned to Merlin who was similarly looking at her, then turned to her daughters, "keep a close eye on his actions and words, he's definitely planning something"
..
.
'I wonder why Ki Song was looking at me, I'm definitely not dancing with you, your vessel might look nice, but in the end that's still a dead body though…' Merlin thought inwardly as he turned his eyes away from Ki Song and focused on Seishan who had just arrived at his side.
"Long time no see… Merlin" Seishan smiled as stopped opposite him.
"Lady Seishan… welcome back to the world of the living" He replied with a smile as he gestured to Cara beside him.
"This is Ascended Cara…"
"It's a pleasure to meet you again Lady Seishan" Cara bowed respectfully.
Seishan gave him an amused look as she said.
"I know of Ascended Cara, even before I entered my second nightmare, but I'm surprised you still insist on referring to me as 'Lady' when you're a Prince"
"Yo Seishan… what's up" he waved casually causing Cara and Seishan to chuckle slightly.
"You're really different from the Merlin I remember," Seishan commented lightly.
"Get stuck in a castle filled with women and even a stone would change…" he shrugged then continued, "although I'd love to hear about your adventures, this doesn't seem like the right place, so for now, all I can offer you is a drink"
He smiled as he retrieved a cup from his [Dimension Ring], the cup was filled with frozen red liquid that glistened slightly under the lights.
Seishan's nose twitched slightly as her eyes alternated from the cup to his face, although she had soothed her flaw before the party, just being in the same room as the cup stirred her up again as her breath became heavy.
"What drink is that? And why is it frozen" Cara asked from the side.
"It's frozen because I froze it, and as for the drink, let's just say it's a body fluid of mine" he smiled as he used the [Burn] ability to heat the cup.
He controlled the temperature just enough to make it liquid, but still left it slightly cold. He then passed the cup to Seishan, then poured a bottle of alcoholic wine for him and Cara.
"Cheers…" he clinked cups with them and downed it.
Cara didn't drink hers as she leaned closer to him and whispered.
"What exactly do you mean a body fluid of yours?"
He sighed and told her straight up.
"It's my blood"
"Oh… for Lady Seishan's flaw" Cara nodded in understanding.
He nodded calmly then turned to Seishan who looked slightly flushed from his blood.
"So what do you think of the party, it was my idea"
"It's nice, but why would you want a party?" Seishan composed herself quickly and asked.
"No reason in particular…" he replied.
Cara raised an eyebrow, "so you requested for a party… on a whim?"
"More or less, yes," he shrugged.
The next moment, the music began playing a different, more elegant music, indicating the time for the dance.
"Well ladies, it's been a pleasure getting to know you, but I must be on my way"
"Where are you going?" Cara asked.
"Well I have a dance with Hel, and I'm not one to leave a lady waiting" he smiled as he made his way to Hel who was right beside Eubin.
'After all, there's no one better to get information from'
Merlin made his way through the crowd, until he reached Hel, she noticed him approaching and immediately smiled.
"Finally," she said. "I was beginning to think you were going to abandon me."
"I wouldn't dare," Merlin replied with a faint smile.
Hel laughed, "Good, at least you understand your position"
He smiled and extended his hand in a gentlemanly motion, inviting her.
"Would you do me the honor?"
She stared at his hand for a moment, then smiled brightly before taking it.
As the music continued, the two moved toward the center of the hall. He wasn't particularly experienced with formal dances, but fortunately, his body had the Clown's body control, and at his level, he could even balance on a string, what's a little dance compared to that.
"You're surprisingly good" Hel commented as they danced, and he couldn't blame her, after all he was supposed to be from the outskirts.
"I wouldn't want to embarrass myself in front of all these people now would I" he smiled as he held her close.
She stared at him but didn't reply. The music carried them around the dance floor while the surrounding guests gradually joined in. He maintained a relaxed expression, but his mind was elsewhere.
Ki Song was watching him, normally that's not supposed to be a problem, but he was planning on doing a little information extraction from Hel, and the method could only be described as not very gentlemanly, after all just asking wasn't going to get him anywhere.
He waited for a while then began his plan, he first pulled Hel close enough that her head rested right on his shoulder.
"You're getting rather intimate, aren't you worried, everyone's watching you know" Hel spoke calmly.
"Please… I'm a Prince, who cares about what I do, even if they care, what can they do about it?" He spoke right in her ear as they danced.
"Wow~ I like this part of you, where have you been hiding him since"
"Only on special occasions"
He then calmly used an ability he recorded, [Vertigo] and [Enthrall], Eubin's active skill and the one from the Corrupted Monster. He knew using the combination on Hel wouldn't cause her to be enthralled for long, and that wasn't his plan, all he wanted to do was lower her reasoning ability and increase his favourability.
The moment Merlin started using the abilities, Eubin's head snapped in his direction as her eyes widened slightly.
'This guy… proudly using my ability on my sister, so that's what he wanted to confirm if it could work on me, then it could work on a regular Saint… I wonder what he's planning'
She turned her head to Ki Song and noticed her mother was also watching the two with a smile on her face.
As she noticed her mother didn't make any move to stop them, she didn't bother worrying again, she just moved closer and sharpened her senses. As a Transcendent, she would be able to hear their conversation even from far away, so that's exactly what she did.
Merlin looked at Hel in his hand, when he first used the abilities, she had missed her step, but because he was holding her close, she was able to balance herself by leaning on him.
After the abilities had taken effect, he looked at her and smiled.
"What's with that clumsy footwork, you're supposed to know how to dance, you're a Princess"
He pinched him lightly and pouted, "my mind wasn't focused okay…"
"Did you drink too much?"
"I haven't even drank anything," she scoffed.
"Yeah yeah I understand… now then, I would love to ask you a few questions"