(3rd Person POV)
Arthur and the others stepped inside.
Thanokai sat in front of a computer, headset clamped over his ears, fingers moving across the keyboard. His crew members were scattered across the room in similar positions — rows of monitors and chairs, the entire setup resembling a gaming café.
Voices overlapped, sharp and urgent.
"Enemy on the left! Throw a flashbang before you push!"
"Jak, use your ultimate! The guy's hiding in the bush!"
"Fuck! Sniper hit me — is he on the rooftop?"
They were deep in an FPS match, shouting callouts and strategies, completely absorbed.
Thanokai remained focused on his screen, unaware of the visitors. He turned toward the four-eyed creature who'd answered the door. "Eighty, did you bring the—"
He stopped.
His eyes locked on Arthur.
On-screen, his character took a bullet to the head and crumpled.
His teammates noticed immediately.
"Captain, what are you doing? We're gonna lose!"
"We're down 7-9! If they hit twelve, it's over!"
They expected him to snap back, bark orders, rally the team. Instead, silence.
"Captain?" The crew member beside him nudged his shoulder.
No response.
"Why are you so quiet—"
Thanokai's head whipped toward him. He hissed into the microphone, loud enough for everyone to hear through their headsets. "Can't you see? The King is here!"
The room went still.
His crew turned slowly, as though expecting a hallucination. When they saw Arthur standing in the doorway, the color drained from their faces.
Thanokai dropped to his knees first. His crew followed a heartbeat later, heads bowed.
"My King! My Lord!" Thanokai's voice shook. "I devote my life to you!" He swallowed hard, forcing himself to continue. "What brings you here, my lord? Have I— have I done something to displease you? I live only to serve!"
Arthur chuckled. "Looks like you're having fun in my kingdom."
"I—" Thanokai scrambled for an excuse. He couldn't look like he'd been slacking off. "Your kingdom is magnificent, my lord! You've created a Divine Kingdom that surpasses any realm in the Divine World — far beyond that fool Solarus or any of the major deities!"
He pressed on, desperation creeping into his tone. "Your inventions are beyond incredible! Living here is greater than anything I experienced as a space pirate captain—"
"Alright, alright. Stop with the bullshit." Arthur cut him off. "Thanokai, I need you right now. Can I borrow some of your precious time?"
Thanokai flinched at the emphasis. "I am always available for you, my lord!"
"Then come with me."
Thanokai's throat tightened. He had no idea what Arthur wanted from him. He glanced at his crew members, hoping for support — maybe someone brave enough to accompany him.
Not one of them met his eyes.
They wouldn't risk offending the King of this Divine Kingdom. Not for him.
'Ungrateful bastards... They won't even come with me to face the Lord...' Thanokai gritted his teeth and stood.
"Come on."
Arthur pulled Thanokai by the shoulder and guided him out of the room.
They made their way to Hellfire Castle at the city's center.
Saza studied the Hexathyr as they walked — pure-blooded, and powerful by any standard. This was the first time she'd seen one in person. What impressed her more was how thoroughly terrified he was of Arthur. A noble race, reduced to trembling obedience.
...
Thanokai knelt on the floor of Arthur's office while Arthur settled behind his desk.
"We need your blood for something."
Thanokai's head snapped up. "B-blood? What for?"
Arthur gestured toward Saza.
She stepped forward and explained the space-time array, the materials required, the function it would serve. Thanokai listened, his expression shifting from fear to confusion to reluctant understanding.
When she finished, Arthur leaned back. "You never mentioned your race were masters of space-time. Pretty impressive."
Thanokai's hands came up immediately, waving in denial. "Master, it's not— it's not what you think." He swallowed. "Our race is indeed noble, but we aren't masters of space-time."
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying my friend is lying?"
"No! Certainly not!" Thanokai's voice pitched higher. "Lady Saza is right — but that mastery is lost to us now. We've retained only basic knowledge. We can navigate the void, teleport short distances, survive in hostile space. But the greater abilities — controlling time, stopping it, even traveling days or months into the past or future — all of that is gone." He looked down, something bitter crossing his expression. "Lost for reasons we don't understand."
Arthur's gaze went cold. "So you're useless."
Thanokai flinched. "N-no! Even without the mastery, my blood still carries the space-time element. It should still function for the array!"
Arthur turned to Saza.
She nodded. "That's correct. The bloodline carries the signature even if the knowledge is lost."
"Good." Arthur nodded. "How much blood do we need from him?"
Thanokai's heart sank.
Saza considered the question, her expression thoughtful. "Given his condition and apparent strength, I'd say several buckets should suffice." She wanted to take advantage of the opportunity — not just for Arthur's array, but for her own experiments as well.
Thanokai exhaled slowly. "Ah. Is that all? Then we can proceed."
Saza caught the reaction and felt a flicker of regret. From the way he'd responded, she could have asked for more.
What she didn't know was that Thanokai possessed a regenerative bloodline — his body replenished blood within seconds of loss. The amount didn't matter. He was simply performing, hoping Arthur would handle him gently if he appeared cooperative.
"Extract it," Arthur said.
Saza nodded and withdrew equipment from her storage ring.
---
Arthur spent the next day as a tour guide for Apollonia. His Divine Kingdom delighted her in ways he hadn't expected — she wandered from district to district, eyes wide at everything she'd never seen before. She even insisted on trying the FPS game Thanokai and his crew had been playing, though her enthusiasm faded after several frustrating matches.
By evening, she was exhausted.
The blood extraction finished around the same time.
They returned to Saza's world.
The time that had passed there was minimal — Arthur's Divine Kingdom synchronized with whatever world he currently occupied, adjusting the flow to match his needs.
"I'll set up the array immediately," Saza said. "But it will take a few days."
Arthur nodded.
She left.
Arthur sought out Leonard afterward and informed him they'd be leaving the world for a while.
Leonard's brow furrowed. "Leaving? Where are you going?"
"Back to our world."
Leonard stared at him. "Your world?" Confusion settled across his face. "What do you mean, your world?"
Arthur leaned against the desk. "I mean that Firfel, Apollonia, Sylwen, and I — along with those two idiots, Keanu and Kaiser — we're not from this world. We're from another one entirely."
The words hung in the air.
Leonard's expression shifted through several stages — confusion, disbelief, then slow comprehension as everything clicked into place. He looked at Arthur with wide eyes. "You're... not from this world at all."
"No."
Leonard let out a breath, shaking his head. "That explains it. Why you're all so unnaturally powerful. Why everything you do seems so... beyond what anyone here could manage."
Arthur smiled faintly. "Make sure you don't reveal this secret to anyone. Not even your father."
Leonard straightened, meeting his eyes. "You can count on me."
As they spoke, Keanu and Kaiser returned. A young woman accompanied them — striking, with an air of carefully contained ambition.
Keanu quickly explained her potential. Arthur listened, sized her up, and hired her on the spot. Alina Müller. He signed her to a contract and immediately created a telenovela project with her as the female lead.
Alina hadn't expected things to move so quickly. More than the sudden employment, she was curious about what a telenovela actually was.
---
Three days passed.
N.E.W.S. was established. Arthur set up the broadcasting infrastructure and converted an unused room in the Eastern Theatre into a studio. The theatre would continue operating as a cinema while also serving as the broadcast center.
The equipment was in place, the framework ready, but the actual broadcasts wouldn't begin until televisions reached the public.
The city was adjusting to the changes when something massive appeared in the sky.
A dragon.
"What is that!?"
"A dragon! There's a dragon in the sky!"
"We're under attack!"
"No, wait — look at its forehead!"
Panic rippled through the streets as people scrambled back, pointing upward. Then someone spotted the emblem blazing on the creature's forehead — the royal crest, unmistakable even at this distance.
"It's the royal family's dragon!"
"The royal family? Here?"
"Everyone, kneel! Now!"
Citizens dropped to their knees as the dragon descended toward the city entrance, its massive form casting shadows across the buildings. The guards at the gates followed suit, heads bowed low.
The dragon was enormous — easily fifty feet tall at the shoulder. There was no way to dismount from that height safely. It lowered its head slowly, bringing its skull down to ground level like a descending platform.
Two knights dismounted first, stepping carefully from the dragon's brow to the cobblestones. They turned immediately and extended their hands to assist a young woman in an elegant dress as she stepped down with practiced grace, using the dragon's head as her stairway to the ground.
One of the knights raised his voice, projecting toward the gathered crowd at the entrance. "The First Princess of the Nordsturn Kingdom has arrived! Show your respect!"
The city lord and the prominent figures scrambled out to greet her, forming a line at the gates and dropping to one knee in formal etiquette.
"We are honored to receive you, Your Highness!"
The princess stood before them, gray hair catching the light, red eyes sweeping across the assembled crowd with quiet confidence. She nodded once, acknowledging their greeting without unnecessary warmth.