The Imperium of Tommorow.

My first sensation upon waking was one of incredible peace.
The crushing weight of cosmic power, the searing grief, the bone-deep weariness of a year-long war was all gone.
I was light.
I opened my eyes not to the harsh, unforgiving sun of the Irene Desert but to the soft, shimmering twilight of a familiar, hallowed space.

I was within the spiritual reimagining of the Hall of Kings, the realm of the Gladius Nobellus.

Before me, at the end of the long hall of statues, stood a family.

Silus was there, his usual gruffness replaced by a look of immense, paternal pride.
Usasha stood beside him, her smile as radiant and life-giving as the World Tree she had created.
But they were not alone.
To their right stood a charismatic, blue-haired man who radiated the calm confidence of the sea itself.
Beside him, a woman whose form seemed woven from the very shadows, her face once veiled, now clear and sharp.
And to their left was a fierce warrior princess with the strips of a tiger upon her face.

And standing between them all, his hand resting on his father's shoulder, was my friend. My brother.
He was whole, his form solid and free from the weight of his long, lonely duty.

"Tulote," I breathed.

He smiled, a genuine, unburdened expression of pure joy.

"Welcome, Arda. We've been waiting for you."

I walked towards them, my own form feeling strangely ethereal.

"What... how are you all here?"

Usasha stepped forward.

"Our realms, mine, and Silus's were separate, born of our individual essences. We could not truly be together, and the souls of our children were adrift, their connections to this world severed by tragedy. They could not find their way home to us. But Tulote's sacrifice... it was the final, ultimate act of love and Order. His power, unleashed in its purest form, did not just defeat our enemies. It mended the broken threads of our own family. He created a bridge, a single, unified afterlife where we could all finally be together."

I looked at the four siblings, reunited at last.
I approached Aquarius first.

"It's an honour to meet you Admiral," I said. "Your ship served us well."

He laughed.

"The Maw is a good ship, but she is only as strong as the captain at her helm and the hero on her deck. You did my legacy proud, Arda. Thank you."

Niath, the shadow master, looked upon me curiously.

"I thought you'd be taller..."

Tulote slapped the back of her head.

"OUCH! No matter, no matter, you fought with a strength the I truly admire in a ma-"

Tulote shot her a nasty look.

"I mean a hero. You have earned your peace."

Tigress, her voice a low, rumbling purr.

"Kept my brother outta trouble? Love to see it, and you've my eternal gratitude for what you've done, truly."

Finally, I stood before Tulote.
There were no words that could contain the depth of my gratitude, my grief, and my love for him.
I simply puled him into a hug, the brother I had found and lost at the end of the world.

"You did it, Arda, you kept your promise." he whispered.

"You bought me time, your sacrifice saved us all." I countered.

He just smiled.

"There is no victory without sacrifice. And I would make it again, a thousand times over, for the future you have secured."

As we stood there, a family reunited, a new light, golden and as solid as the earth, filled the hall.
Erton was there.

"Well done," the creator god's voice boomed, "Well done, my children. And well done, Arda Nebula."

He looked at Silus and Usasha's family, and at the world which he created.

"You have healed more than just a world today. You have healed more than just a world today. You have healed a wound in the very heart of creation."

His gaze then fell upon me.

"Your time is your own. Your heart is mended, your promise fulfilled. I will nay compel you to stay further. But a bridge has been forged between worlds. A path you may walk whenever you choose. You can return to your home, or you can stay here, or both really, traversing through worlds is as easy as crossing the bridge."

I thanked them all, the family of gods who had become my own, and with a final, heartfelt goodbye, I let the golden light take me.

—

Three Weeks Later

The coronation was the grandest event the Imperium had seen in two and a half centuries.
I stood on the great balcony of the Imperial Palace in Surton, the same balcony where I had first addressed the terrified citizens of this world.
But today, the courtyard was not filled with fear; it was filled with a roaring, jubilant sea of humans, elves, and dwarves, their cheers echoing to the heavens.

I was not the one being crowned.

At the centre of the balcony stood Cassandra.
Her usual practical attire was replaced by magnificent robes of state, woven from silver and moonlight, the ancient crown of the Elven Queens resting on her brow.
After the final battle, with the Lord Regent gone, the Imperium was leaderless.
By unanimous decree of the surviving generals, Kaelen, Tiberius, and Admiral Valenski, along with full backing of the Dwarven clans, she was named Queen Regent.
Her wisdom, her grace, and her ancient lineage made her the only logical choice to guide the world through its new, peaceful dawn.

She placed the crown of the new Emperor on my head.
It was not the heavy, ornate crown of Silus, but a simple, elegant circlet of silver, forged for me by the finest smith in the new Imperium.

"I am not a king," I had told them, a hundred times.

"And that," Cassandra replied with a smile, "is precisely why you must be."

So I accepted.
An emperor who had started as a father, a leader who knew the excruciating, terrible, terrible cost of war.

-

Six Months Later

The wedding was a small, private affair, held not in the grand Imperial Palace, but in the quiet beautiful courtyard of the World Tree in Elevetih.
The great tree, now fully restored, pulsed with a gentle light.

My four children, plus Cassandra, were the entire wedding party.
Idrian, my brilliant son, stood beside me as my best man, he looked really proud of his old man.
Ioas and Izacc were the ring bearers, carrying the simple, iron bands that our bride forged with her own two hands.
My daughter, Iriam, was the flower girl, scattering moon-petals down the aisle, her laughter vibrant and beautiful.
Cassandra was the bridesmaid, and she was crying tears of joy.

And then I saw her.

Xerta walked down the aisle in a masterfully crafted dress of deep blue velvet, adorned with subtle, elegant steel filigree that she had hammered herself.
Her fiery red hair was woven with small, white desert flowers.
She had never looked more beautiful.
She was not a queen, nor a goddess.
She was a blacksmith.
A maker.
A woman of unshakeable strength and a wonderful, honest love.
And she stood before me today.

As she reached me, her steel-grey eyes, which had once been so full of suspicion and anger, were now filled with a light so bright it outshone the stars.

"You're sure about this, outlander? Marrying a grumpy old dwarf? Think of the scandal!" she whispered, a teasing grin playing on her lips.

I took her strong hands in mine.

"I've faced down gods and monsters. This is the easiest decision I've ever made." I replied.

We were married by Cassandra, under the gentle, watchful gaze of a world now reborn.
That night, as I stood with my new wife and my four beautiful children, looking up at the twin moons, I finally understood.
Erton had promised to cure my failing heart and return me to my children.
He had kept his word, in a way I could never have imagined.

.

.

.

.

.

Well, I suppose I must stop writing now.
I've to figure out how I'm to explain to my government why a massive portal opened in the middle of the road.

—

Oh, he's going to love this.
What do you think we should name his book, kiddos?

"I've never been good with names" 

"How about Chronicles, like that book in the bible?"

"Yeah, but it can't just be chronicles you chicken, its gotta be more..." 

"How about Chronicles of Arda?" Iriam added.

"Let's add Imperial Saviour for a bit of flair~"

"So it's settled."

Chronicles of Arda: Imperial Saviour

- Xerta, Ioas, Izacc, Idrian & Iriam