Chapter 47

The once-icy floor now hums with warming glyphs beneath a blue-tinted mana canopy. Kalt XVIII, still in light training gear, walks into the open hall where the rest of the Universal Guard is finalizing their strategy meeting.

Kalt XVIII
(approaching, panting lightly)
...Are you all seriously planning a technological revolution without me?

Everyone turns. Celeste looks up from the holographic tech-slab with a casual smile and waves her baton.

Celeste Diminuendo
(grinning)
Whoa, no revolution—don’t get all frostbitten about it. We're not here to annex your planet, Kalt.

Kalt XVIII
(half-wary, half-curious)
...Annex?

Celeste
(giggling as she spins in her chair)
Yup. Not what's happening. This is still your kingdom. We're just proposing support systems—tools, stabilizers, some sparkle, a few tech cores, maybe a nice music dome...

Kalt
(frowning slightly)
I don’t want Raureif to become... dependent.

Astera 
(sincerely, stepping forward)
Then think of it this way: it’s not about dependency—it’s about safety. We’re installing a Universal Guard satellite station here. It'll double as a high-speed teleport node. If danger comes, we can arrive in under 15 seconds from any district.

Kalt pauses, his eyes widening slightly as he processes it.

Kalt XVIII
So this is like... a ward? A defense outpost?

Shizuku 
(nodding)
Exactly. And temporary if you want it to be. You’re not handing over control. You’re gaining backup.

Alto
(crossing his arms)
And trust me—there’s no shame in accepting help. The Guard exists to protect, not to rule.

Kalt
(slowly, nodding, then looking at the table)
...Then, I want input. I want to learn this. Let me see everything you’re planning.

Berwick 
(smiling lightly)
Of course. It’s your kingdom, after all.

Celeste
(firing up a mana interface)
Strap in, prince of frost. Time to get briefed by the best orchestra of specialists in the universe.

As the floating interface projects schematics and city blueprints, Kalt leans in, eyes focused, mind racing. It’s his land—but now, for the first time, he sees a vision beyond mere survival.

He sees legacy.