CHAPTER 59: CHAPTER 47: I HAVE A DREAM

Western Continent.

The North, Three Sages Snow Mountain.

Thousands of meters above, a streak of black and red light whistled past. A giant flying dragon, its wingspan dozens of meters wide, emitted a deep roar as it swept rapidly through the high sky, its wings stirring fierce air currents. This was a Black Scales Drake with an extremely pure bloodline.

A girl with silvery-white hair leaned against a soft cushion on the drake’s back, casually flipping through the documents in her hand. She wore a black and red military uniform, adorned with a golden thread pattern of a black eagle, outlining her languid curves.

"Your Highness, has the border conflict ended?" a slender figure in a metallic mask asked respectfully, appearing silently on the dragon’s back.

"It hasn’t completely ended, but large-scale operations are unlikely to break out again." The Second Princess, Isadella, stated, her delicately beautiful face showing no emotional fluctuation. "The theocratic kingdom interfered, unexpectedly encircling and killing ’Hundred Beasts’ Arezjord. With a third party intervening, the battle naturally came to an indecisive end."

"’Hundred Beasts’ has fallen?" A hint of surprise and doubt flickered in Fioran’s eyes.

Though an enemy, Arezjord was a genuine 6-Ring Beastmaster with his own Titled Rank. Within any Transcendent power, a Titled Rank Beastmaster was considered a national treasure, second only to the few Legendary individuals; it was unexpected that one would fall so easily.

She herself was merely Titled Rank.

"Lately, there’s been significant commotion all across the Western Continent, no matter where one looks." Isadella’s gaze never left the documents in her hands. "Are they all eyeing the Empire, thinking the former King is old and decrepit, so every faction wants a share of the spoils...?" A cold sneer tinged the silver-haired princess’s voice. "Tell me about your progress. How is the Ceylon investigation coming along?"

"It’s confirmed. Behind the wanted criminal who destroyed Ceylon... there were indeed some subtle manipulations."

"However, eight years have passed since the incident. All leads are very vague, so we can only make uncertain conjectures..."

Isadella, hearing the hesitation in Fioran’s voice, interrupted her directly. "Speak plainly."

Fioran paused for a moment, then her lips parted slightly as she uttered a name.

"Scarlet Rose."

"Another oath-sworn family." Ice seemed to crystallize in Isadella’s beautiful eyes. "Our ancestor certainly left his descendants a great problem."

Unlike the "Winter Flower" family—which, despite its name as an oath-sworn family, had guarded The North for years yet possessed very little influence before its destruction—the "Crimson Rose" Borgia family was a truly powerful line of Great Nobles. As one of the 8 Great Oath-Sworn Families personally ennobled by the first Emperor of the Fresta Empire, the Borgia family had been rooted in the Empire Capital for nearly a thousand years, secretly accumulating unimaginable resources. Its tendrils were deeply entrenched in the Military Department, the Jurisdiction Bureau, the Royal Research Institute, and various other sectors. Their influence spread throughout the entire Empire and even to foreign nations, extending into the Lost Realm. They were a behemoth truly capable of destabilizing the entire Empire on their own. In some respects, they could even be compared to the Empire’s Royal Family.

At the same time, they were one of Isadella’s greatest obstacles within the Empire.

She smoothed down her long hair, somewhat tousled from the fierce high-altitude winds. Just as she was about to speak, she seemed to sense something and paused.

"There’s news from the Empire Capital."

"The Empire Capital..." Fioran hesitated. "Has the one from the Abyss begun to move?"

"More or less. There were some minor hiccups along the way, but the outcome is essentially the same." A hint of keen interest touched Isadella’s delicate brow. She knew full well the capabilities of the one under her command—a unique member of the Succubus Royal Family, a being favored by the Dreamscape Dragon. That this young man named Shiayar Egutt could resist the dreams woven by a member of the Succubus Royal Family undoubtedly intrigued her further.

Isadella extended a slender, fair finger and lightly touched The Void. A sapphire-blue crystal slowly materialized, then coalesced into a swirling image of light and shadow.

"Watch with me. I know you’re eager to return to the White Tower afterward. Take the Military Department’s passage once this is over."

Fioran nodded silently. The Military Department’s Teleportation Array, due to its high activation cost, was theoretically only usable for clandestine, state-level military operations. Now that Her Royal Highness had made an exception, it would undoubtedly save Fioran a great deal of travel time.

Thinking this, she walked over to stand behind the silver-haired girl, silently gazing at the swirling screen of light. Fioran was indeed very curious to see the Mind Landscape of this young man, who had an inexplicable connection with the White Tower’s founder and might even be the reincarnation of an ancient powerhouse.

Spirituality and Magic Power traversed the Astral Realm, converging via the path of the Astral Wandering Spirit. Soon, the screen of light stabilized and became clear.

What came into view was a cerulean sphere. There were a few tan-colored regions on its surface; the rest was pure blue. Beyond the sphere lay an almost entirely black expanse, where occasional, faint pinpricks of starlight twinkled, illuminating the profound darkness.

"This is... the planet we live on?" Surprise tinged Fioran’s words.

In this world of Transcendent beings and secret organizations, there were clear gaps in knowledge, especially forbidden knowledge, across different societal tiers. After all, even basic literacy and access to books were beyond the reach of the commoner class. For most commoners, their entire understanding of the world might come solely from a few tales spread by wandering poets. Therefore, to some extent, the breadth of a Beastmaster’s knowledge and the depth of their understanding of the world on the Western Continent directly reflected their strength rank and societal standing.

As a Supervisory Envoy of the Empire and a Titled Rank powerhouse, Fioran was naturally familiar with concepts like ’planet’ and ’starry sky.’ But even so, her understanding of the world she inhabited was merely a rough, vague concept; she could never have formed such a clear Mind Landscape as the one displayed on the screen.

That cerulean planet was so beautiful, yet so profound—

The first glance captivated her.

A vague premonition formed in Fioran’s mind—This scene... this must be the true appearance of the world they now inhabited.

Meanwhile, the glint of keen interest in the silver-haired princess’s beautiful eyes intensified. In this fleeting glimpse, she saw more than Fioran did.

It was a magnificent structure of countless tracks connected to discs, rising vertically from the planet’s surface and pointing straight into the boundless dark firmament. It resembled the Tower of Babylon from ancient myths, which connected humanity to the gods and marked the boundary between Heaven and Earth.

Through the broadcast from the dream manipulator, Isadella saw the name given by the master of this Mind Image World to the conceptualization of this magnificent structure:

"Space Elevator."