Investiture of Paradise: On the Flowerbed of Lotus Chapter 2: Strange Lotus in a Stranger Pond, a mega man fanfic

-[Volume I: Investiture of Paradise: On the Flowerbed of Lotus]-

-[An far-off Tale From the People of Delta]-

-[Second Record]-

Strange Lotus in a Stranger Pond.

Records Archived on; December 6th 208, 18 B.A.R

By Ciel.

Ciel was in quite a predicament.

Now it was nothing particularly Life-threatening or in fact involved her life at all in any way like a moment ago when she was in danger of being eaten alive by a Humongous Snake with unusually Bright, metallic Scales of silver shade, it has been dealt with by having a bolt of steel lodged into its cranium by a helpful Man who is the cause behind her current dilemma. No, he has not, at least so far, shown to harbor any ill-intention toward her yet either. She sincerely hopes it stays that way, for not only did this Man save her from having her objective in this land he is native to end prematurely before she could get anywhere far in making progress about it, but has generously offered her an Energy Cache that helped her get back on her feet after she was severely injured by the aforementioned Giant Serpent when trying to defend herself, both of which he has no obligation to do for a stranger such as herself, and because of that alone, has earned himself her most profound gratitude, something she would like to demonstrate…Had it not been for the language barrier that separated them apart.

This brings her back to her current problem. The communication difficulty between her and her timely savior. Now that she thinks about it, in hindsight, she should have seen this coming, This is the nation of China that she found herself in, albeit an alternative one, a country whose tongue has not been spoken in centuries back in her home world, any records in regard to the land and the language they use to carved themselves an identity different from all the others has been utterly lost in the pages of history, leaving Ciel having no opportunity to study nor understands Chinese, subsequently lead to her awkward position of staring at the native Man dead in the eyes while her mind is hard at work searching for an appropriate response to what she assumed to be a question based on his tone of voice, clear with curiosity just like his eyes, full of kindness and patience, which made Ciel felt even more guilty for her inability to answers his inquiry. If only she had insight when designing the Cyber Elves she has on her person to have some form of language translation capabilities, which would be incredibly useful here as it would in the long run when she has to actually fulfill her mission. Somehow, she still has yet to think up of means to accomplish it yet, not when her mind is occupied with trying to figure out how to reply to his question like a decent Human Being.

Seemingly recognizing her Plight, the Man let out a contemplative hum, deep in thought, Whatever it was that he was thinking about, ended it with him reaching a solution with a snap of his finger, breaking the concentration of the distraught Blonde scientist, who noticed him reaching for one of his pouches to take out…A scroll made out of wooden strips? What is that? Heedless to the curious gaze of the Blonde-haired Woman on the object, her savior removes the bands that hold the scrolls together, unfolding it, where he proceeded to inscribe what appeared to be words based on the precise movement of his finger onto the wooden surface. Is he trying to communicate through written words? Was the speculation Ciel had, which was confirmed when he handed her the item, where a rough sentence was chiseled on the wooden frame, carved entirely in Chinese.

It made her hold back a sigh of exasperation. As much as she appreciated the notion and the trouble he must have gone through to etch these for her, it did not help her situation in the slightest, how was she supposed to understand if she could not even speak the tongue, let alone comprehend the intricate language? 'So much for being genetically engineered.' Ciel mused without an ounce of amusement in that particular line of thought, only irritation. Despite her upbringing of being a test tube baby created with the sole purpose of possessing a greater comprehension of information and unmatched knowledge at an early age than normal, here she is, a person designed to be a genius, stuck at a roadblock of three simple yet complicated symbols in a language lost to time, a barrier she lacks the skill to scale over. What a lousy scientist she turned out to be.

While caught up in her inner rumination, her finger unconsciously shifted toward the letters, brushing it on instinct to wipe away the dust embedded inside the symbols. And this had some sort of effect, one that nearly caused her to drop the scrolls when her train of thoughts rerouted back to reality at the sight of the words rearranged itself pulled over her attention, enthralled in watching them dance on the surface of the wooden scroll, something she now suspected is nothing ordinary, before these words cease their movement, reestablished themselves back their original position, this time though, in an entirely different shape.

[Can you tell me what is your name?] It now read in a language she can fully comprehend, giving her the answer to the question she has been wondering the entire time, much to her astonishment and the amusement of the Older Man, who had expected this reaction from her, even more so when she started to turned the object up and down, trying to inspect the peculiar item, clearly fascinated by the mysterious wooden scroll and how it essentially just translated the Chinese sentences into something she can understand with literally a touch of her finger. What kind of Device is this? How does it work? what kind of system does this amazing object run on? She needed to know more about it in greater detail! But this is not the time for that, as her improvised examination of the fascinating device was interrupted by a, rather exaggerated, sound of the Man clearing his throat, thoroughly enjoyed watching the Younger Woman's flustered expression, embarrassed and slightly ashamed, she should have expected that the first question would be to inquire her identity! She would too if he was in his shoes!

"C-Ciel, it's Ciel, Sir." Regaining her composure, Ciel was finally able to answer the question of the Man, earning her a nod of acknowledgment to her words from him. It appeared that he could follow what it is that she was saying at the very least. Following her introduction, the man made a beckoning gesture, wordlessly requesting for the scrolls back, to which she did just that. Perhaps he wanted to say something. While waiting for her Savior to once again write on the wooden Scroll, Potentielle, who has been observing the interaction the entire time, returned to Ciel, resting on her shoulder, joining her in watching the Older Man inscribing on the surface of the device that he handed to her when he was finished. Just like the last time, the Scientist, now knowing what to do, brushed her Thumbs against the dented surface, activating the translation feature, converting the foreign tongue to one she is more well-versed in.

[It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance, Xia. The name I go by is Ren Ning. May I ask what are you doing here?] The man now identified himself as Ren Ning, an oriental name that she decided to commit to memories as soon as possible, made yet another question to her, one that is expected when finding someone out in the wild with no clear purpose, though something else in his newest inquiry that caught her attention than his name and the actual question itself. Specifically, what he presumably called her. Xia? Is that supposed to be her? It does sound fairly similar to her own name of Ciel. Might be either a mistranslation made by the Scroll or he simply misheard her name. She did stutter a moment ago. Both possibilities are plausible, but either way, she can ask about it later, Right now, she should first respond to what he has to ask first, it would be disrespectful for her not to, and that is the last thing she wanted to do is to show discourtesy to the Man that has saved her life.

Trouble is, however, she stumbled into another impasse, not related to the tongue itself, but how the tongue should move, for she had no idea what would act as a satisfactory answer because there was no way she could just tell him her real intentions of wanting to meet up with the leaders of four major players in this country under the order of a God, it would only serve to aroused suspicion, if the fact that she is in the middle of nowhere has not done so already, not to mention that Ning might view her as insane for claiming that it was the divine that tasked her with such a task. There have been countless reports of people that allegedly received Duty from all kinds of deities over the course of history, a prime example of this being Joan of Arc, a saint in ancient times that Ciel read about in an old tome within an abandoned library, who ended up being burnt alive on a stake on the account of her supposed heresy in using God's name, and while Ciel doubted that the same would ever happen to her if she revealed the truth, she knows better than to outright telling him that she fell from the sky and ended up here because of a God, it would only make her sounds like a delusional little girl in his eyes.

What to do, What to do…There are three possible paths here for her that she could come up with, that she either lies and gives him a somewhat convincing reason as to what she is doing in a forest, which she highly doubts she could do something like that, Ciel cannot lie for the life of her no matter how much she tries, or that she feigns ignorance, professed that she absolutely no recollection whatsoever prior to finding herself in the middle of a foreign environment, or a combination of the two. Personally, as much as it she hated taking advantage of Ren Ning's trust like that, the second option is the best option, as it is just not possible for her to weave up fabrication to her background on the fly, and the last option is far too contradictory with lying about her situation only to act completely oblivious thereafter while acting like she has lost her memories is by far the easiest way out of the three. As disgusted as she was with herself, there is no better alternative, she had to do this if she wanted to earn Ning's Trust, no matter how tainted it would be.

Having settled with a credible, if false explanation, Ciel put on an act to appear as though she was trying to dig up her memories, only to fall short when there is nothing to be found, to a degree of success, "I'm sorry, but I don't remember. In fact…I…I Don't remember anything other than my name and these cyber Elves with me, Sir." She claimed in a faux tone of regret, hoping he did not catch on in regard to her momentary hesitation in her words earlier, trying her best to not appear nervous. Fortunately, it seemed to work out, as the eyes of Ren Ning widened in shock, before looking up at her with pity and understanding in those gentle brown eyes of his, which made her stomach churn in shame, but she endured it and did her best not to shows any sign of discomfort at his expression of compassion she felt like she did not deserve. Please stop looking at her like that, it made her feel even more bad about lying than she already was.

[I'm sorry to hear that. It's alright now, how about you come back to town with me? My wife, Lanfen would be more than happy to take you in and help you until you can remember.] Was what he had to say on the scroll before placing it back in its respective pouch, offering his hands for a shake. The Ciel from a moment ago would have accepted the offer and the shake with utmost enthusiasm, learning that there is civilization nearby, where Ren Ning's Family would be generous enough to welcome her, a stranger in all but name by this point. But the fact that she has to lied to get her way put a great damper on her mood, once again feels horrible for exploiting his ignorance of her circumstances. As a result, she took his hands in a less-than-upbeat manner than she would have liked to, which he paid no mind to, before Ning approached the corpse of the silver snake, wrapping his arms around its neck, then with one swift motion, pushed it from the ground and lifted up the head of the titanic size serpent with relative ease, hefting it around his shoulder, to the shock of Ciel and Potentielle, neither of whom could believe the impossible sight of a man carrying around a creature the size of a small house without so much as a strain on his body. That thing must be at least three digits in weight! Yet this Man was able to take it up into his arms and move with the snake on his shoulder that has barely enough space to place it on like it was merely an oversized luggage!

Just what kind of world was this?!

Wordlessly followed Ren Ning closely behind as he moved forward into the forest, a Disbelieving Ciel watched as the black-haired Man, oblivious to the reason behind her current state of mind, whistling cheerfully, in quite a good mood today, having brought home a large haul, the Townsfolk would be overjoyed. On the side of the spectrum, his blonde-haired companion did not share his sentiment, still trying to process everything so far. By the time she snapped out of her unresponsive state from struggling to comprehend the absurd reality she has founded herself in, they have finally made it, the exit of this natural labyrinth, with the prize coming in the form of a humble yet bustling little town, where the lively sounds of people conversing, children squealing in delight as they played in the wide open road, shoutings from all the merchants pitching their goods on display as well as countless other activities reaching her artificial ears, almost overwhelmingly so, which become progressively even louder the closer they approached the edge of the town, but the mechanical plates in place of her ears did not register these near deafening barrages of racket on the street, for it was the street itself that all of her focus is directed toward, taking in her brand new surroundings that were a stark but welcoming contrast to the lust forest she was in for the past hours.

She doesn't know where to even begin to describe the extraordinary features of this place, The Architecture was unlike anything she has ever seen, each building was a flawless symmetry, with elegant curved roofs sharply rising at the end of each eave toward the sky as though they are about to take flight, patterned window of intricate design, extravagant chiseled stone wall that shined brightly in the warm sunlight after the cold afternoon rain that soaked the marvelously perfect paved street, decorated by curious red lanterns at every nook and crannies, and then there's the atmosphere… tranquil and serene as they were despite the bustling street that mere added more to its beauty. It was the exact type of majesty she has envisioned in her dream of a world where Humans and Reploid could coexist in Harmony, and here it was, right in front of her. It took her breath away, the closest thing she could use as a point of comparison was the utopia she was born and raised in, the ancient city of Neo Arcadia long since destroyed by a certain spacecraft, but for all of its splendor that may surpass that of this town, there is one thing that this place has that made it vastly superior to the forgotten megalopolis; It was peaceful.

That is the defining difference, Neo Arcadia never knows peace. It only know injustice, cruelty, and disharmony, they made up The few memories she bothered to retain about the time she spend in the false utopia, watching from afar as more and more innocent Reploids were sentenced to a meaningless, unjust death in a pointless effort to conserve the dwindling energy supplies, essentially going against everything their founder has desired for the city to stand for in their willful ignorance, betraying his ideal all to preserve his dying legacy by rebuilding the pillar that holds its together with corpses, all because she thought she could help. In contrast, here, the people were so happy, so full of life and cheers, lacking the same uncertainty about the future she saw every day back then in everyone, and that brought a smile on her face as she passed by a group of children chasing each other in a game of tag, laughing loudly as they did so, already imagining her little Sister among them, having fun without a care in the world. This town almost felt like it was a dream, one that Ciel doesn't want to wake up, savoring every second of this much-needed repose from the precarious situation with the giant snake that Ren Ning was still carrying on his person.

Walking down the paved path, Ciel could felt numerous gazes of everyone present directed at both her and her savior, while the majority of which were leveled at Ren Ning himself, who returns every greetings the townsfolk send at his way and soaked up every praises when they take a good look at the latest bounty on his shoulder, making the blonde-haired wondered why no one questioned the 50ft tall Serpent he is lunging around, there are few eyes rested on Ciel, mostly out of curiosity at the unfamiliar face in their town and nothing else, she tried to assured herself, although it still made her felt uncomfortable all the same, not helping that she overheard severals of the populace exchanging words through hushed whispers in their native tongue as they keep their eyes on her retreating form, causing her mind, still ridden with guilt for taking advantages of a member in their town, to grew paranoid on what they are saying, despite her best efforts to ignore the silent discussion of the onlookers. How she wished there was a way to turn off her earplates right now.

"Xia! 你要去哪裡? 就在這裡!" Before she knew it, Ciel has already separated from Ren Ning as a result of nothing paying enough attention, forcing the Older Man to call out for her. Even though knowing she would not understand not a thing he said, his voice was enough to break the blonde-haired scientist out of the prison of her regretful mind, which resulted in her immediately realizing her mistake when she saw the older man standing in front of a moderately sized building, presumably his home, which is a good distance away from where she is standing, gaining a rather embarrassed expression on her part and suppressed laughter from the nearby townsfolk at her blunder as well as Potentielle alongside them. There she goes again, being so engrossed in her thoughts running wild that she fails to register her surroundings, it has always been a persistent issue for her since her youth that carries on to her days in the Resistance, something that annoyed her younger sister to no end whenever she was caught up in her works and pay no mind to anything else. Seems that there something just never changed, no matter how much time has passed.

"Guessed that is what they will be calling me now…" Mumbled under her breath, not even bothering to speak up to try and correct him, seeing no point in doing so, the blonde quickly joined the black-haired man, standing by his side, who go on to give several knocks on the wooden sliding door of the cottage in front of them, announcing his return to those from within. In less than a minute, the door flew right open with such force that it nearly got torn off, revealing the would-be door destroyer to be a Woman, which Ciel presumed to be Lanfen, the spouse of Ren Ning that he has mentioned earlier, who appeared to be around her late 20', with a notably green stream of hair and eyes, vibrant as a meadow in the morning sun. While she has seen people with that eyes color before, a certain Sage of the Strong Air Battalion was one such example of, This is the first time the Blonde have seen someone what that shade of hair. At first, she attributed it to good dye, but upon closer inspection of the roots and the end of each strand demonstrated that it is all-natural, to her growing surprise today. What kind of genetics is responsible, she wondered.

"Ning! 你回來了!" The very first thing the woman known as Lanfen does upon laying her bright emerald orbs on her beloved husband is to cry out what Ciel assumed to be something along the line of relief of seeing him return safe and sound before leaping straight into his arms, which tossed the remains of the giant serpent aside in favor of wrapping her into his tender embrace, warming the heart of everyone, and to the irritation of few others nearby at the shameless, open display of affection of the two. However, it came to a stop when Lanfen spotted Ciel at the corner of her eyes, giving her a few good looks before turning to her husband, "哦, 這是誰?" Based on her tone, she must be asking for her identity, it would only make sense when you see your family brought back home a stranger, especially one that looks like a wet kitten they found in the rain. She really needed to clean herself up soon.

"這是 Xia, 我在森林裡尋找巴蛇時發現了她." Came the incomprehensible explanation, making a gesture at Ciel, who was starting to grow frustrated with being unable to understand anything that they are saying. If it keeps staying this way, the language barrier will continue to be a persistent obstacle between her and her goal. Perhaps she should change her plan and try to learn the native tongue as soon as possible, to grasp the language itself would not even be an issue for her, what with being genetically modified since birth for the specific purpose of absorbing great amounts of knowledge, making her more than capable of mastering the dialect if given the opportunity, all she is needed is someone to teach her the basics. The problem however was finding said opportunity and that somebody, which she did not expect to come by so easily, this is a foreign land much different from her own, which means they operated on an economy separate from the one she is familiar with, there is no way of knowing if her Energy Crystals would worth anything here, so the chance of her being able to find a tutor willing to teach her that accept these Crystals as payment is minuscule at best, if not outright nonexistent. Maybe with any luck, She could ask Ren Ning for that Scroll as a communication medium at the very least. "她只會說英語." Fortunately, she wouldn't have to worry about that, for the opportunity she was searching for is much closer than she might think, much, much closer, like an inch away from where she stood.

"我明白." Nodding in understanding, Lanfen diverts her complete attention to Ciel, a curious expression overtook her feature. With what her spouse had told her in mind, the vibrant green-haired Woman wordlessly cleared her throat, before uttering a sentence that caught the blonde scientist off guard, "Greetings." Wait…Those words…she can understand them! "My name is Ren Lanfen." She greeted, a smile of amusement blooming on her face at the blonde's astonished looks, clearly taken by surprise, having not expected the older woman to speak in her native tongue with such perfect precision in her voice that had she not known better, she would have thought it was her first language. Though while it did come as a surprise for Ciel, it quickly turned into excitement at the prospect of being finally able to converse with someone that she could actually understand now.

"Greetings to you too Mrs. Ren, I'm Ciel. Your husband must have told you about me." Or at least she hoped he did, Ren Ning did mention her name, or what he assumed was her name, and make a motion toward her way a moment ago.

"Yes he did, said that he found you while searching for the Bā-shé." Now that had her eyebrow raised in confusion. Bā-shé? Not a word she is familiar with. Though seeing her confused expression, Lanfen decided to elaborate further, "I meant this creature right here. This one a little scrawny, must have been starving, But its Lungs might be still intact to sell." She mused, now getting a good look at the latest kill her spouse has brought back. On the other side, Ciel felt all the color drained from her face, leaving behind a pale complexation as she took in the off-handed remark from the green-haired Woman. If this 50ft tall lightning Snake is considered Scrawny and half-starved by the standard of the people here, she could only shudder to imagine what a fully grown one would be like, worsened by the mental image her mind conjured up. She might develop a phobia for Snake after this, if falling doesn't first, "Well that aside, he did also mention that you can only speak English, is that right?"

"Well…Yes…" Ciel admitted, slightly ashamed at the fact, causing her to become fascinated with her plated shoes to avoid making eye contact with Lanfen. While she appreciated Ren Ning being considerate enough to mention her inadequacy when it comes to the native language, that way Lanfen would have the foresight to know that speaking English is the only way to communicate with her, it does not make it any less embarrassing, "I don't know much about China…I just woke up in the forest one day. I cannot recall how…I don't know what to do..." Once more, she lied, and once more, it made her felt sick having to do so, positively nauseous even, but she swallowed them down, knowing that it was necessary, no matter how it made her feel.

"Oh, you poor thing…" Lanfen gasped in horror, her eyes welling up in sympathy, pitying the Blonde for her supposed misfortune, an action that unintentionally further increased the emotions of guilt forming in the pit of Ciel's stomach, making her feel even more disgusted about herself than she already was. She wished she could tell the green-haired woman to stop giving her that look, to stop offering her the unwarranted kindness she does not deserve, that she is nothing but a despicable Liar, taking advantage of others in their ignorance for her own gain, even though she subconsciously acknowledged it was the most sensible choice over the truth, it did little to put her at ease, "I've decided! How about you stay with us for the time being? Ning and I would not mind, we have an extra room upstairs." That was the final blow for Ciel, barely able to hold back the content of her stomach crawling up to her throat, rising alongside her feeling of guilt, threatening to escape the confinement of her body. Just stop…Stop being so generous to her…She doesn't deserve them…

"不好了! Xia, Are you alright?!" When the skin of Ciel became sickly pale as a result of coming down with the ailment known as penitence, it made the two Rens to huddled around the Young Woman, concerns evident in their face, unaware that they are the root to her tree of guilt growing in her stomach, and their action only encouraged its growth.

"I-I'm…Alright, just…a little ill…" She did her best to assure them, putting up a valiant effort to drive the rising bile back down to her stomach. To think that there are people that are this generous…And she exploited their selfless nature like that…It made her genuinely sick to the core that she wanted to vomit. By walking down this path of deceit, she is trampling upon everything she stands for, what he stands for, never had she felt such measure of disgust toward herself since the creation of the false angel, the fake paragon of Neo Arcadia. But what else could she have done? Argued a part of herself, located in the deepest crevice of her head, indeed, as wrong as it were, there is no better option. It would be in her best interest if she just go through with it, think of a way to repay their hospitality later. As much as she hated to admit it, that line of thought was the one that ultimately won out, "Thank you…For allowing me to stay…"

"Don't mention it, 姑娘. It's only right." Lanfen and Ning smiled, a sentiment that Ciel could not find herself sharing with them, but tried to nonetheless with a sheepish smile she did her best to muster up, an expression that seems to be interpreted differently, "Oh right, you don't understand our native tongue. We should get that corrected as soon as possible. Don't you worry, I used to be a teacher myself, so I can teach you in the way of our country!"

…

Unable to take any more of this, Ciel vomited.

"XIA!"

At the same time…

At around the same time, within a certain spacious Grand Chamber located in an undisclosed location known to none but the most illustrious and powerful names out there, an important meeting was about to take place. Countless Men and Women of high standing rest down in an array of seats, Prim and Proper in both their finely-ironed uniforms and professional expressions to match, unanimously gathered together under one roof of the deadly quiet room that is devoid of any trivial discussions that hold no relevance to why they are here, which they await the proceedings of to begin with bated breath, refusing to make even the slightest bit of sounds, like doing so would spell their demise, as they quietly observed the empty center of the soundless hall, something that is about to change. Their provided refreshment of warm water and bitter coffee, having gone cold by this point, soon began to tremble, as did many among them when the sounds of the marching closing in on them, akin to a growl of a predator snarling at a wounded and helpless prey that is the board as all of the waking eyes turned towards the double door that some yearned to walk out of to opened, peered slightly, letting no light from the other side to slip out, making ways to their new arrivals.

A multitude of individuals, proudly advancing toward their designated seats in the heart of the Chamber, having been expecting them. Once they made themselves comfortable at the respective seats that matched the color making up their garments, one of them, the leader of this entourage, A man clad in sharp suits, donned over a bright blue overcoat, the same shade as unkempt but not unclean hair and eyes, full of experiences belong to a long-standing ruler in those brilliant orbs of his despite his relatively youthful features, adjusting his golden bracelets before announcing the beginning of the meeting with a clap, commanding everyone to release their collective breath, an act he picked up with his enhanced hearing sense from his mechanical Plates in the place of where his ears are supposed to be, as he spoke up in a firm voice full of authority, "Let the Meeting proceed." He ordered, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.

"The Council recognized Lord Elric Xenuvier, Leader of the Righteous Xenuvier Clan, The Blue Megaman. Ruler of Neo Arcadia Delta."

At the announcement of his title by the guards dotting across the hall, The Man known as Elric briefly acknowledged it with a slight nod, somewhat hesitant in the gesture. Elric has never been the one to take vanity in his status as both a Megaman and as a ruler of his Clan. He has his pride as one, but never truly indulged in it like some of his predecessors that once held the same position as him, and the near-worship admiration from the people felt rather unwarranted in his opinion, but setting those thoughts aside for the moment, the Blue Megaman began by activating the massive mechanism suspended on the ceiling, projecting a holographic interface at all sides of the hall for everyone in the gallery to take a good look at the content offered up before them, which is an seems to be a record, taken from an overhead view, depicting the sight of the sky itself being torn apart, forming a rift in the sky where something, or rather, someone descended into the through it, causing a commotion between the witness, speculating at what the implication of this could mean.

"As all of you can see by now, At exactly 7:43 AM on the border between The Azure Dragon County and the White Tiger County in China, another disruption, which our research team deduced to be related to the recent Cyber-space distortion occurred, with an unidentifiable individual to emerged through it." This piece of information served to further intensify the murmurs between each personnel, especially when they learned of the locations where the distortion took place. Not too long ago, there was an invasion by the Force from a foreign Plane of existence that left the eastern nation in a state of disarray, with most of its people be in a state of unrest and distrust toward foreigners as a result, especially those in the Vermillion Bird territory, which suffered the largest brunt of the following assault.

The fallout of the siege by the outside world, while fortunately ending in failure for the invader, has divided the nation into four recognized factions, all resolved to deal with the aftermath in their own ways. Worst of all, these methods and the beliefs that come with it conflicted with one another, leading to them all but officially declared enemies that left little hope for future peace discussions, especially between the Vermillion Bird and the Azure Dragon. Tensions have never been higher in the history of Delta since the founding of the fourth Arcadia Empire, and the only reason why a civil war have yet to break out is that the leader of these two factions, Jun Aiguo of Vermillion and Qin Ruogang of Azure truly wished to avoid an all-out conflict if they could help it, as even though their relation has been strained by clashing ideology, they still hold a lot of respects toward themselves and the other factions leaders whom they maintain a neutral standing with, treating each other like Brothers and sisters, with them frequently holding peace conferences in slightest bit of remaining hope they could find a middle ground to settle on, but both of them know it was only a matter of time before the tension reaches a boiling point before implode, and this recent development at the border of the Azure Dragon County might be the contributing factor that will cause it to erupt into violence, considering how the Vermillion County viewed outsiders and other County for harboring them.

"Thus far, Ruogang has not informed me about spotting this individual in his territory, nor has he received a report about his enforcers." When the distortion was captured by the satellite, Elric was quick to contact the Emperor Qin Ruogang of the Azure Dragon County, the branch of the Xenuvier Clan stationed in China that represents their influence in the country, he has expressed doubt regarding the survival of the foreign life form, a sentiment that the Blue Megaman can understand why. With falling from such a height, it would require a miracle that they survive the impact that soon followed, and he would have been inclined to believe it, had it not been for the fact that the survey detachment that was sent to investigate the general area came back with absolutely nothing, not even discovering any remains to show about it, therefore it leads to one conclusion; Whoever it is that has fell from the sky, they lived still, somehow, and is somewhere out there in the ticking time bomb that is the perilous landscape of China.

"Neither have Aiguo said anything about it, which means our mysterious foreigner is still somewhere at the border." Added to the conversation was a Woman clad in primarily Red, her golden stream of hair swayed ever so slightly as she made a motion with her gloved hands, pressing the pair of glasses resting on her face, protecting her delicate heterochromatic orbs of ruby and emerald. As the head of the foreign affairs delegation in China, Aiguo was always the first to report to her, the head of the Red Clan that the Vermillion Bird County answered to, but so far, there has been no word from the man, leading to her believed that the topic for the current meeting have yet to make their way to his designated region where his influence reaches its limit at the border.

"The Council recognized Lady Kyra Zeranaki, Leader of the Brave Zeranaki Clan, the Red Megaman."

"Thank you." The Red Megaman goes by the name of Kyra Zeranaki simply expressed her appreciation at the introduction, though she found the fact that they do this every single time is somewhat redundant, as the face of the Red Clan, one of the more prominent Megamen Clan, every one by this point knows of her already, so it was kind of pointless to do this every single time she attended a meeting, then again, she supposed that is just how they operated. Besides, that is not to say she is against the sequence, it is part of Neo Arcadia Culture after all, just find it a bit unnecessary at times, "Mei Feng" has not said anything either according to Cat Girl, isn't it right?" Narrow were her eyes when she shifted her attention to her colleague, the one seated on the furthest end from where she is, cloaked in bright pink that made her truly stand out even among the Megamen here.

"The Council recognized Lady Makiko Elpis Marisbury, Leader of the newly-formed Elpis Clan, The Revolutionary Megaman."

"Yup, "She" hasn't seen this foreigner in "her" territory yet, Nya." Spoke up the only Brunette among the colorful array of hairs, bobbing her head side to side, swaying her low twin tails alongside it. As one of the counties aside from the Black Tortoise to remain neutral in these times of crisis, the White Tiger province alongside its ebony counterpart continued to be an ideal spot for any touring foreigners that is either forbade from stepping foot in the Azure Dragon district or to be treated with suspicion in the Vermillion Bird Sector, not to mentioned the residents are quite hospitable, willing to open their arms for outsider where most would fold it. In all likelihood, their esteemed visitor being on the perimeter of one in many towns dotted the border, though not that the ruler of the region in question has anything to report along that line yet. If there were, then Makiko would know, she and "Mei Feng" are a lot closer than some might think.

"Speaking of China, how goes the negotiation to reopen your respective frontiers, Kyra, Elric?" Seeing that they were already on the topic, the green-colored Member among them spoke up, directing the latest inquiry that echoes the thought of many to the polar-colored Megamen. Ever since the decision to close down the two Regions as a temporary solution in the aftermath of the outside invasion, including the trading routes to and from them, not only did the economy over there tank a massive hit, requiring the two sects to stretch out their resources, but it has worsened the relationship in the Alliance with other worlds as well, as such, to reestablished the Border checkpoints is necessary to resolve both issues. But like with most things, it is far easier said than done, for if it were, then they would not have this discussion.

"The Council recognized Lord Aeolus Hapenito the 4th, Leader of the Esteemed Hapenito Clan, the Wind Megaman."

"So far, not well. You have to understand Aeolus, just because they are part of the Greater Clan, doesn't mean they always adhere to everything we say. It is in our treaty with China that they are allowed to exercise independent rulership of their territory so long as they do not violate any terms. Even if Aiguo is a Crown Member of the Zeranaki Clan, his loyalty goes to his people, not the clan itself." Goes The Red Megaman, regretful as she was with the lack of progress. In the dawn of the Neo Arcadia Delta, various countries have accepted to be vassals to one singular Dominion under several conditions, be it resources, manpower, technologies, and so on and so forth. China was one such nation, demanding immunity as a sovereign country exempt from most rules with their personal government system in exchange for them pledging Loyalty to the Arcadian Empire as a vassal nation and the right to establish their presence in the country. Not wishing to stir needless conflict, the founders of Delta accepted these conditions, with the Chinese gaining the privilege they desired. The ensuing agreement has led Neo Arcadia to enjoy prosperous trade with the nation, but at the same time locked them out from interfering with most of their political intrigue, leaving their hands tied when situations in the eastern nation went south for the worse.

There is not much Kyra can do, even with all of her influence as the Leader of the Zeranaki Clan, and the respect she earned from Aiguo from her leadership, he is obligated by the governing senate to serve his Country first, and Neo Arcadia second. Even still, he continued to do everything in his power to try and resolve the situation, though he was not so confident about his prospects.

"What should we do about the foreigner though?" Pulling everyone back to the matter at hand, A rather gorgeous Woman with a dark blue river of hair flowing like a waterfall questioned, her blue jewels shining as the tide of the sea gleamed with curiosity as she shifted ever so slightly in her vest far larger than her actual body, feeling that they have strayed from the main topic of this meeting.

"The Council recognized Lady Thetis Leviane the 13th, Leader of the Elegant Leviane Clan, the Ice Megaman."

"Right, thank you for reminding us, Thetis." Elric expressed his gratitude to the most talented Ice Megaman of her generation, who reciprocated with a wink toward his way for his trouble, before returning his attention to the main projection, "In any case, this individual, should they still be out there, needed to found and if willing, questions the circumstances in which they ended up through that rift." Best to play it safe, no all-out search party until they can confirm whether or not this foreigner poses a threat to the delicate balance of China, best they can do is to send one, maybe two agents to track down this person. Should they capture this person are remains to be seen, though the Blue Megaman prays they would not resort to that, for there is always a possibility that they were transported to this World through an accident of some kind, and most likely disoriented by the foreign environment, approaching with the intention of detaining them will only make them unwilling to cooperate, "That is all. Everyone, you are dismissed."

One by One, The chamber began to empty as all but a few officials headed for the exit, some breathing out a sigh of relief they had been holding through the entire meeting. Soon, the sea of people finally washed over, leaving behind only the Megamen Rulers, who were preparing to leave themselves, but not before holding an improvised private discussion far away from the earshot of everyone, "You guys noticed it too, Did you not?" Once they had ensured that they were all alone, Elric turned to his comrades, all of whom returned his inquiry with a silent nod. There are no mistakes now, among these ambassadors, there are some that clearly don't belong here. Moles. "Siarnaq, deploys some of your agents. Track them down. Eliminate them if you must, but capture them for interrogation if possible."

If there is someone in their ranks who is well versed in the art of stealth that he becomes virtually become invisible to all, it would be none other than Siarnaq Phatonaga, leader of his Family Clan, the man whose innate talents resonate with his title as the Shadow Megaman, so it would be obvious who to entrusted this task with. At the command, the Purple-haired man nodded in compliance, donning his fedora that when combined with his red silk scarf, concealed most of his darkened features before stepping into the gloaming cover of the night, where he submerged into the Pitch black pool, vanishing without leaving a single trace, determined to complete this task of eliminating these roots of corruption without hesitation, without questions, and without fail.

"Still impressed with how they managed to blend it so quickly. Had they not been part of the enemy's force, Siarnaq's Clan would benefit immensely from having infiltrators like them." Sighed did the Woman named Atlas Firnaria, the second of her Clan to bear the name who holds the title of the Flame Megaman, ruffling her brown hair that burned into a bright orange at the end of each strand. Like most of her Clan along with most Flame Megamen they produced, she favored a more direct approach in terms of combat, but unlike the prideful members of her Clan, she recognized the value of assassins that they condemned for being cowardly, sulking in the shadow, and the danger that came with them, allowing her to trained herself in spotting discrepancies in these supposed officials from the real one right away where most of her Clan would have a hard time of doing. The fact that they managed to integrate themselves into the ambassadors without drawing attention to themselves was praiseworthy in of itself, but unfortunately, their nervous actions gave given them away for the Megamen to notice the behavior of.

"Indeed, Dear." Aeolus nodded, in agreement with his spouse, a relationship most found would find to be unusual given the heated and thundering rivalry between the Hapenito and the Firnaria, but that is their problem, not his nor hers, "Though we still have that problem in China to deal with. What should we do about it? I know you said to have agents investigate them, but with the border being sealed off at the current moment, we cannot exert much influence as we would normally do." From the way he sees it, they are in a bind, Perhaps they can send some Megamen to the eastern landscape with the task of tracking them down, a certain troublesome interstellar twin stationed in Greece would be perfect, since navigation is their specialty, not to mention they have all the time in the world since they have not many responsibilities to take care of, due to being suspended and all, but in his opinion, that would way too much for a simple investigation. Not to mention that tasking highly respected members such as them would cause an outrage, well, mostly on the older Twin's part.

"Don't worry, I've already figured out a method." Their Leader has assured them, having already made preparations prior to the start of the meeting, "Ruogang is currently traveling across all of China to meet up with the other three emperors as we speak right now, should be reaching the edge of the White Tiger County by next week, and have agreed to looks into this matter during his journey when I requested of him too. With him being an emperor himself, he should be allowed to pass through the usually closed border and investigate any towns he passed through to see if this foreigner has either made a layover there."

While it will take time for him to get there, both the Blue Megaman and the Azure Emperor are confident that the individual, assuming they don't end up dead somewhere in the wilderness in the first place, will most definitely either stay in or have passed through one of the smaller settlement near the where the distortion took place. Considering that they are in a foreign land that is incredibly dangerous to travel alone in as an outsider, they will definitely remain within the safe refuge of a town's wall, thus giving them plenty of time to track them down, and even if they missed them for whatever reason, like them not staying in one place for example, they can still gather valuable pieces of information that passed through the grapevine to work with, especially in a perilous time like these where the topic of an unfamiliar face will cause a big fuss among the citizen.

Although it may not be at the top of their priority at the current moment, searching for the individual might allow them to learn the cause behind the recent spatial corruption and potentially put an end to it before further damage could be done, as such, it is best to entrust a delicate task such as it to someone of Ruogang's caliber, even if Elric is a little regretful on burdened the Emperor with it when the man already enough on his hand, despite the Man has assured him that he would not mind, especially if it is from him, the Clan's Head that personally requested of him.

"If that is the case, I'll make sure to give his Majesty a warm welcome then. Ta, for now, Nya." And with that in mind, Makiko Elpis Marisbury, known as the Revolutionary Megaman and best friend of the Red Megaman by most, shifted her brown hair to that of a bright, vibrant pink shade, assuming her Alter Ego known to the masses of China as the White Empress "Mei Feng", ruler of the White Tiger County, bid her farewell to her fellow Megaman, unsheathing her needle Rapier that she used to puncture a hole in the fabric of space, tearing a large gash before stepping inside, sealing off the wormhole on her way out, leaving no traces to track like the Shadow Megaman before her. Let's see if his imperial majesty could find out what kind of mouse has wandered into the Lion's Den.

Ciel sneezed.

Quite odd for such a thing to happen when she is half-submerged in a warm, soothing bath, washing the fatigue she has accumulated the entire day only for her nose to act up in irritation. Maybe the weather has finally gotten to her, she did spend quite a while being dosed by the cold rainfall after all, and Lanfen did mention that as a result of the recent change in the season, several families here in the town of Xiangjiang, which she is just learned the name of, have come down with a fever or the like. Mostly those with weak immune systems. For a moment, Ciel wondered if she had contracted any of the local diseases, but eventually realized it was just a sudden sternutation, before returning back to the matter at hand; Cleaning herself up as she enjoyed the remediating shower that the Rens had kindly offered her.

Following the rather embarrassing act of giving the pavement a new multi-colors paint job from her guts, something that Ciel has apologies profusely for the indecent display toward their generosity, to which the Ren Family just brushed it off as not that big of a deal, nearly give her a new supply for the foul-smelling paints because of their boundless kindness, the blonde genius was introduced to the rest of the Family that she will be staying with for a while, including their only son, Ren Lei, an energetic young boy that bombarded her with countless such as who she is, why she is here and why she is so pretty according to his amused mother, making the Scientist to gain a pink tint at the innocent praise, along with his grandparents, two old folks goes by the name of Ren Peizhi and Ren Shan respectively, who welcomed her into their home with an equal amount of hospitality as the rest of the family…And with no small amount of mirth when they heard the third question made by their grandson, even teased poor Ciel by entertaining the idea of marriage with Lei down the line, to the confusion of both people in question, partially because the young bot boy doesn't quite understand what they mean by that while the Blonde understands absolutely nothing that they said.

Once she familiarized herself with the colorful members of the household, she was immediately escorted by Lanfen to the bathroom, pointing out her still somewhat damp clothes and she needed to change as soon as possible before she came down with a fever like the rest of the neighborhood. Before long, Ciel found herself immersed in a hot medical bath, savoring every second as she could feel the cramps in her joints undo themselves. How long has it been since she can get a proper bath? Far too long, that is for sure. Since the day Serpent escaped with the fragment of the Model W they have managed to excavate up, Ciel has lost herself in her works, laboring tirelessly developing keystones to lock away the cursed machine underground, neglecting her own wellbeing in the process, to the protest of many in the Guardians, successor to the Band of Resistance back in the old days, and especially her little sister, whose insistence on taking care of her is the reason why the Blonde did not die from exhaustion every single day back then.

Oh, how she missed that precious little Reploid. Ciel honestly cannot wait to return to her once her mission here is all said and done. Sinking lowered into the bath, she let out a small smile, just imagining the faces of everyone when she did return to them, it would be one of the greatest days in her life, if not the best. For now, though, she should focus on said mission that needed to be completed if she wanted to be reunited with her Family. Soon, her bathing session came to a close, with her emerging from the bath, and draining the water using a button on the nearby panel that Lanfen had given her some pointers in its features beforehand, thank goodness for that, then heading out of the room thereafter, where waiting for her on a counter in the hallway was the set of clothes the Woman has provided for her, said that it once belonged to her several years ago, never gotten around to get rid of it, should fit her nicely, Lanfen has told her. What good fortune.

Putting it on, Ciel realized that it was one of those traditional oriental garb she had seen in the old history book, a Cheongsam if her memories served her correctly. Patterned with the flow of the Wind at its hem, Green was its primary color, the same shade as the hair of its former wearer, but the most notable feature about this article of clothing has to be the front of the neck, which has some kind of sigil imprinted on it, resembling that a hawk, folded its talons into its torso. What does this symbol represent? Ciel has mentally wondered, hoping to get some insight from the original owner of these clothes later when the circumstances see it fit to give her the time needed for a question such as that. That thought aside though, she has to admit, the Cheongsam looks rather stylish, even if she was never one for fashion. Although Ciel did wish she could keep her trusty Helmet, it has been with her through highs and lows over the course of her life, but with how badly damaged that thing is, and with no hope of repairing it, she has to let it go with a heavy heart.

Her silent mourning for her late Helmet came to a halt when little Lei practically slid across the hall and, unless her eyes were hallucinating from exhaustion and stress from the Bā-shé, leaving behind a trail of electric current in his wake, almost made her wanted to double take had it not been for the little boy to grab her by the hand, shouting in his incomprehensible tongue as he trying, and only succeeding because she let him to in order to encourage him, to pulled her to the next room, though not that she needed to understands his words to tell what he is saying and trying to do if the scent in the air were of indication. There was the smell of various herbs, the fruity aroma of cinnamon, the sharp balm of lemon, and the burning fragrance of peppers, all originating from the diner area, where she saw everyone in the Ren Family gathered at the table, where a feast of large varieties that filled up their table, which they reserved an empty seat to just for her between Lanfen and Ning. So it's dinner time already. It was slightly awkward, sitting between the two like that, she felt like Lei should have been the one to be at where her seat was situated. But enduring the uncomfortable sensation, the Blonde sat down, joining the rest of the household in their evening meal.

While she no longer required organic sustenance for her body to operate, a perk that came up with the cybernetic modification on her body that eliminated the need to, she would be lying to say she did not look forward to feeling these delicacies to grace her tongue when they assaulted her nose with their alluring, inviting fragrance, beckoning at her to consume them. She could not exactly remember the last time she had tasted actual food instead of the energy ration she used to take as a supplement, probably around the same time when she started to forget to dedicate most of her time to her research, exchanging most common pleasure in life for efficiency in her work. But now, after all this time, she gets to experience the joy of consuming real food again! And just like with the bath, she will make sure to savor every single second of it!

Before starting this feast off, the Rens collectively uttered some form of…Prayer? As their palms meet each other. Must be a part of their culture. Deciding to respect the ceremony, the Blonde clasped her hands just like the rest of the family, putting her best effort in replicating the sound they made, to a varying degree of success it would seem if the look of confusion from the elders and a sheepish one from their children were anything to go by. Ciel can only hope that she did not just completely butchered it and offended them in any way. From the looks of it though, they did not seem to mind much as their attention turned back to their meal, taking the first step to digging in already, to which she eagerly joined in partaking.

Eyeing the various plates scattered on the table, Ciel picked up the utensils that she identified as the chopstick and bowl provided to her, contemplating on which dishes among them should she try first. None of the food here is things she is familiar with, then again, she never actually eaten 'food' before, having grown up eating nothing but processed nutrient pastes and later raw energy crystals, with the occasional bread if she is lucky, so this is the first time she has ever seen any of these dishes, thus was having a hard time actually deciding which to try first. Eventually, after a few minutes of careful deliberation, her hands went for the bowl of what appeared to be fried fish, well, she tried to, but found the chopstick was much more difficult to use than she had expected. Ciel knew there would be difficulty, to use an unfamiliar tool, but it was more troublesome than she would have anticipated. Soon, she just gave up on using the two wooden sticks the correct way, and just stabbed its thinner end into the fish. It was far easier this way, if a little improper, Still, everyone doesn't seem to have a problem with it. That's a good sign at least.

Bringing the slice closer to her mouth, she brought down her teeth onto it, immediately being assaulted by a burst of flavor when she did so, secreting from the oil-sealed pocket of fried skin, releasing its juice, a flood of electrifying sensation splashed on her tongue, with more of it being unleashed the further she chew onto it, before she swallowed the fish, which she felt another surge of energy coursing through her, accompanying by a pleasing aftertaste, causing her to tremble in delight at the unexpectedly overwhelming flavor of this simple looking dish. This is what real food taste like? If so…She might see herself becoming a glutton in the foreseeable future should that be the case.

"From the look on your face, I'm guessing you enjoyed it?" The voice of Lanfen caused Ciel to snap out of her blissful state of being stunned by the impossibly delicious food, returning back to reality, where she saw the Green-haired Woman look on at her, an amused smile resting on her feature as she took a bite of the same dish as the Blonde, giving out an much more subdued reaction than the scientist did toward the dish. The older woman was quite flattered that the meal she cooked could bring out such a response, though she could not wait to see what kind of reaction she would have when she learned just what exactly it was that she was putting inside her mouth. She is most certainly in for a surprise on that front.

Growing flustered, Ciel made a slight nod in confirmation, this was the first time she had tasted anything quite like this, though she was a bit curious about one thing about it, when she swallowed it, she could sense a feeling similar to assimilating the Energy Crystal into her body, even charging up her cybernetic implants in a similar manner, making her wondered just what exactly did she just consumed, "Yes…Though Mrs Ren, may I ask what kind of fish this is?" Perhaps an Energy Crystal-infused dish? There was a slight shine to every plate on the table, on top of that, This place has an energy tankard, so it stands to reason that they will be in possession of its raw crystal form. Though to use of energy crystal as a cooking ingredient was rather unprecedented, this would be the first time she saw someone do it.

"Fish? Oh no no no, this is no fish." She laughed at the reasonable mistake, it does appear to look the part of a fish, but unfortunately for Ciel, it is nowhere near what this dish truly is, "It's the fried Bā-shé dish, my personal recipe, deep fried in beef grease before seasoned with powdered Energy Crystal. Don't worry, it is perfectly safe." Oh, so she was right when she suspected that they use-

Wait.

What.

The "Fish" she just took a bite of…Was actually…The Titanic Snake earlier today?! The same one that nearly killed her, is now being served on the table of this family that does not seem to bat an eye to the fact that they are putting a man-eating Serpent inside their mouth as if it was just a piece of chicken?! Staring down at the now revealed Fried Snake meat embedded between her chopstick, Ciel…

…Just took another bite of the fried giant Snake, too mentally exhausted to even care anymore. At least it was good. Although it was ironic to think that the Bā-shé that wanted to eat her is now resting inside her stomach.

The rest of the dinner was a peaceful affair, with most of it having been passed through several conversations during the meal between the Ren Family that Ciel sadly is unable to contribute much due to her lack of understanding of the native language. Before long, every single plate had been cleared out, with everyone here had their fill of the feast, which signaled the Matriarch of the household to round up all of the platters, to which Ciel decided to assist her with as a token of her gratitude, much to Lanfen's delight. Soon, the sink was filled with all kinds of dirty dishes, left helpless before the bane of their existence that is the sponge in the hand of the Green-haired Woman whose jade-colored eyes narrowed down at her daily foe in a fierce manner, preparing to wipe the world clean of these filthy menace.

Ciel has tried to join in her battle against the used dishes, but the older woman has insisted on letting her handle it, not because she is against the offer to assist her per se, more hands are always welcome in this kind of endeavor after all, just that Lanfen's intuition, which has never failed her throughout the course of her long life, has advised her to turn down the proposal, persuaded her that the Blonde may not be of much help, partially because something about Ciel that tell her the Blonde has never done something like this before, exposing her to the risk of half-assed the cleaning process or accidentally drop one of the plates when the water caused her fingers to slipped, and even though she appreciated the helpful nature of the young woman, unfortunately, the Green-haired has to favor her instinct this time around, though not without some regret at the decision.

Little did Lanfen know, her gut feeling ended up being right yet again. Despite wanting to be of assistance as much as possible, Ciel has to admit, she has never once had the opportunity to learn how to clean the dishes, anytime she tried to back in the day as a break from her usual work, her comrades kept insisted to let them do it in her stead and let her return to her important duty as they put it, leaving her with little practical experiences. In all likelihood, she would have ended up breaking several plates and barely cleaned the rest had she tried. Still, Ciel cannot say she was not a little disappointed that she cannot be of use to Lanfen, feeling herself unworthy of the generosity of these people again. Oh well, perhaps she can find a different way to repay her gratitude at a later date, for now though, she is in desperate need of rest. Her eyelids started to grow heavy while her legs started to feel wobbly. Today has been a stressful day to say the least, what with meeting a god, learning she is dead, being brought back to life, getting sent to China of all places, getting attacked by a Giant Snake, and then eating said snake thereafter. Suffice to say, she will need to sleep more than she has ever been.

Staggering out of the dining area, barely keeping herself awake, Ciel managed to reach the room the Ren had given her as her temporary residence, where she opened the door and immediately collapsed onto the soft bed the second she laid eyes on it, letting the exhaustion to take her, dragging her into the land of dream…

Where a certain Familiar face was waiting for her on the other side of the waking world.

"Yo, How was your first day in the Land to the East?" At the sound of the voice, dread began to build up inside her before she opened her eyes to see that her surroundings were the bog again, a sight she had hoped to not see for a long time, but no matter how much she blinked, the sight will not change in the slightest. There is no mistake about it, she was here again, in the Boundary that separates life and what came after it. Then it could only mean one thing, "Before you assumed otherwise, no, you are not dead, just dreaming. Though I cannot blame you, this is technically the first time I've ever contacted someone this way." Her assumption for the worse was immediately dispelled by the Blond-haired Deity, tending after the bonfire like before. He had expected her to panic, after all, he did say that she would come back here should she fail and die before completing the mission he had entrusted to her, still, he should have mentioned that they would be meeting each other soon.

Breathe out a sigh of relief, Ciel felt her body relax at the assurance, before turning around to face the Deity, meeting his eyes beneath those shade of his, joining him around the localized flame just like last time, "I have to admit, I was not expecting to see you this early, God." She stated, having not quite forgotten his parting words before he pushed her through that distortion. Should her memories have no fault, he has instructed her to find him next time in order to progress with the mission of reunifying China together. Perhaps that next time is now?

"…Please, just call me…Velvet." There were a few moments of silence on the Deity's part, before he uttered again in a low tone of voice, "It's inconvenient for us if you do not have a way to address me with my many names." Velvet huh…Strange word for a name, then again, she did not exactly have the most normal name either, having gained it from a certain Sage from Neo Arcadia as a reward for passing the initial test that required her to demonstrate her capabilities, It is not really her place to judge. Ciel supposed she should be grateful now that there was a way she could address the Deity rather than just call him "God". Though there was just something about his tone when he uttered that word, something akin to…regrets, it sounds like, and she know that feeling better than anyone else, Ciel has no shortage of regrets over the course of her life. Maybe this Deity has some bad experiences with the name? Whatever the case, it is not for her to dwell on that.

"Right then Velvet. As for your question…It went well." She has told him, opted to exclude certain details in her recollection. It's probably for the best if she did not mention about the Bā-Shé. Not sure why, but she has a feeling that Velvet would not take it well to the news that she was attacked by an 50ft tall Snake that can shoot lightning from its mouth, "I've managed to meet with the local, who was kind enough to take me in their home until we can decide what to do with me." To say she was fortunate would be an understatement, for her to chance upon Ning, who saved her and be a part of the family that was willing to take care of a complete stranger like her, clothed her, feed her, and even promise to teach her their language in order to communicate with them better…She cannot get any more lucky than that. She can only hope that this same luck would extend to her actual mission at hand.

"Aaah, that's good to hear. The people of that world are known to be quite friendly most of the time." Her words seemed to earn his approval by the nod of his head, though his expression soon grew solemn nearly instantaneously, "But time will be tough ahead. You should get a moving as quickly as possible." As much as he would wanted for her to take her time and adjust, there is not much left that they could afford, with the current development, the civil strife he feared transpiring might near, and there is not much he could do beyond watching the flow of time running its course. Ciel needed to Act, and fast if she wanted her goal to be possible to complete.

"B-But how? I had no idea how I was supposed to do that!" And such was the question that had been plaguing her the entire day. From the way she sees it, there is not much she could do that the moment, she doesn't even know who the four faction leaders are, much less actually gain access to them. From what she has learned from Lanfen in regard to the current state of affair the family has discussed at the dinner table when she asked about it, the Azure Dragon and the Vermillion Bird County has apparently shut down their borders not too long ago after a failed siege done by an unknown foreign force as a temporary countermeasure to any possible foreign Spies, rendering it inaccessible to all but high ranking officials according to the older woman, something that Ciel was by no means one. If anything, she should be considered an illegal immigrant, the exact opposite of what she needed to cross the wall that separated the four Regions from each other, "Shouldn't you tell me how considered that it's you that wanted me to do this? Isn't that what you tell me to do as the first step?"

"True." Velvet sighed, ruffling his stream of golden Blonde hair, he did say that the last time they spoke with one another. It's a promise after, especially one made with her, "Alright, I'll tell you how; Just a week from now, your opportunity shall arrive in town, use that time to arm yourself with whatever knowledge you can find here. It will be essential." At that, Ciel found her interest piqued. A week from now he said? Hmm…Better knowing what to expect than just making random guesses she supposed, although she would appreciate it if he decided to elaborate further on what this Opportunity is, "Oh by the way, don't let anyone know your real name. Not now at least."

Hold on, what did he mean by that- "Farewell for now, Xia." A single click from his snap echoes across the empty swamp, causing the surroundings to collapse, and Ciel along with them, descends down to a sightless abyss as she screams out in horror as the chasm devours her whole.

May your Journey be one of success.

Ciel woke up as she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Such a response was not entirely unwarranted, given the nature of her dream, or rather nightmare would be a more fitting description for what she just experienced a moment ago. Once she realized where she was, inside the guest room of the Ren household that she had fallen asleep, with the time still being night, going by the ethereal ray of the moonlight shining through the transparent silk curtain, Ciel let out a long-winded sigh that flew out of her lips like a heated kettle, both out of relief that she was safe and sound and in exasperation at her sleep being ruined by the Deity. Again with the falling, it's like the Deity has no better way to end the conversation other than that method. At least this time, she landed back in the world of the living rather than into the water like last time. Still at this rate, if this became a recurring dream, she really would be developing a fear of heights soon enough. All that aside, Time to think about the new information and instruction that God, who now identified himself with the title of Velvet, has told her thus far in regard to the mission he has given her.

A week from now huh? From what she has learned from Lanfen, the only person in the Ren family who could speak proper English under her usual pretext of amnesia, tomorrow would be Tuesday, which means she has exactly six more days left to prepare until the time comes. The question is, would that be enough time to learn the intricacy of the complicated Chinese language? Her success seems to depend on whether or not she could judging from the way Velvet has phrased it. The mere thoughts put its pressure on her, weighing down her heart. What if she failed? What if it a single week was not enough? What if she missed the opportunity he had spoken about? Would there be another chance like that? So many questions running around her head, feeding into the tendrils of doubts that has wormed their way back into her heart. The thought of her failing made it ache, far more than it should have otherwise. If she could not succeed…Then…Alouette…Everyone…

…No.

She refuses to give up now, she would spit in the face of those who are waiting for her back home, of the Rens family that has so graciously invited her into their home and offered to teach her in their way without needing anything in return. Rather than let these feeling of uncertainty to filled her heart, Ciel shall burn them away as fuel for her motivations, driving her desire to learn to be faster than ever before. She will learn them in the amount of time she gets, no matter what it will take to do so, and she will grasp this golden opportunity by the end of it all with all her might the second its arrives. She will be waiting for it, just like she will wait for them, for Alouette. She will do everything in her capacity as her big sister to accomplish this seemingly impossible mission without fail. Of that, she is certain.

…Though she will need some sleep first, it's still the middle of the night after. Hope nobody was roused from their peaceful slumber by her screaming all of a sudden. Placing her head on the comfortable pillow and draping the warm blanket over her person, Ciel allowed herself to sink down into the world of fantasy, wishing it be a much more pleasant one this time around. Though before her consciousness left the mortal realm, there was one question left that passed through her mind for a moment before its gave out.

What does Velvet mean when he says to let anyone know her real name?

You'll learn eventually.

The arrival of Morning was announced by an array of Roosters, who let out a resounding bellow when their biological clock aligned at the crack of dawn, awakening countless people who wanted nothing more than to pelt these feathered annoyances with a rock at these rude intrusions to reach their sensitive ears early in the morning and then to bury their face back to the comfort of their bed in order to shield their delicate eyes from the blinding ray of the solar star. Alas, such a thing was not simply possible, not when their responsibility and the presence of the Sun prevented them from returning to the blissful embrace of slumber, forcing them to begrudgingly pull themselves from the grasp of exhaustion and parted way with their beloved bed, heading toward their personal bathroom to prepared themselves for the challenge life will be putting them through.

The Rens was one such household, with everyone, including Ciel herself, lining up for their turn to the bathroom, which is currently occupied by Ning, who was taking his time inside, trimming his self-proclaimed magnificent mustache, much to the irritation from the rest of the family. After he finished and had his earful of disgruntled yellings from everyone else for stalling everyone of their precious time, the proceedings went fairly smoothly without a hitch. When it was Ciel's turn, her morning procedure was a simple one, brushed her teeth clean of any residue from yesterday's dinner, cleansing her face with a splash of water, before getting to the most grueling part; combing her hair. For some inexplicable reason that continued to elude her to this day, her hair never seemed to stay put every time she woke up, always spreading out and making her look like a human-size broom, requiring at least half an hour to straighten them up to her usual style. It costs so much of her time that at least five percent of her daily schedule is dedicated to grooming her hair, with the rest spent on her research, which she supposed will now be used to learn the Chinese language once she is done dealing with her volatile locks.

Exactly half an hour later, no more no less like always, Ciel finally emerged from the bathroom, her hair uncurled back to normal, with their owner immediately headed straight for the dining area, where due to her spending nearly an entire hour working on her golden mane, was mostly empty, with Peizhi and Shan having finished their portion of the breakfast and now resting on the couch, watching the latest headline where on the television's screen depicting the outline to the country of China, most likely discussing about the ongoing political strife of the nation, while Lanfen and her son Lei was still sitting at the table, eating their meals in peace, with Ning nowhere in sight, if she has to guess, he is probably going out hunting again, his wife did tell Ciel that he is the one that provided for the family, hunting various beasts in the forest to sell, like yesterday when he brought back the Bā-shé, which they have disassembled before selling the Heart of. Apparently, the cardiac organ of the creature was what allowed it to generate lightning across its body in order to hunt its prey, as a result, it is frequently sought after for its conductive properties by various institutions that conduct research on its unique abilities.

And the Bā-shé were not only such being either, the surrounding forest was home to all sorts of bizarre and unique beasts that sounded as though they came straight from the pages of myth, such as the Huodou, a creature bearing the appearance of a dog with fur as black as night, said to be able to spew fire of its body, prized for its hides that is capable of withstands even the most scorching of temperatures, or the Bai Ze, a monster resembled a goat with that has a dragon for a head, often hunted for its horns, which when grinds into a fine powder and processed into capsules form, possessed the beneficial capabilities to purge all kind of ailment from the body of any that consumed them, making it a highly valuable medical ingredient all across China that is always in demands even to other neighboring nations to this day.

As much as it caused her to shudder just picturing these creatures in her head alone, making her feel rather fortunate that she did not encounter any of them, It was fascinating to hear Lanfen telling her about these Beings nonetheless. All the species she has heard so far was not like anything back home, which she should have expected given that this is an entirely different world that does not operate on what she considered to be normal. Sure, there was the Mutos Reploid, the closest parallel Ciel could think of on the top of her head, combat type of Reploids modeled after various mythological concepts in order to demonstrate their status as the Guardian of Humanity, but that is where the similarity draws to a close, for the Mutos Reploid was exactly as the name suggested, a type of Reploid, Machine as they were, no matter how advanced they may be, metal was as different from flesh as oil is to water, similar yet fundamentally their own things, whereas these creatures…They are completely organic, at least partially, for she was certain the silver scales of the giant Python were steel in nature, as when she destroyed the eye of the Bā-shé, it bled a sharp, crimson red like a living, breathing animal, unlike the artificial pale blood of the Humanoid Machine.

It has made her wonder…Just how do these creatures come to be? What evolutionary factors have led to them developing these unique properties? So many questions, so few answers. Perhaps she can ask Lanfen about the origin of these creatures once she is able to learn how to speak Chinese. Which will soon be her first lecture once her breakfast is finished, which already had the entire time the matriarch of the family was regaling to her about the occupation of the family's patriarch. It was a little embarrassing placing her fork inside her mouth when there was nothing there. She should really rectify that habit of hers once of these days.

Once the uneventful meal session concluded, young Lei decided to inform his Mother beforehand that he would be outside playing with the rest of the children population of the town before heading toward the door to the town square, bidding his mother farewell with a kiss on the cheek, which she returns one to his forehead, leaving behind only Lanfen and Ciel, both of whom has been looking forward to this moment since yesterday when they first met. The Blonde appeared to be motivated, with her eyes burning in anticipation, an expression that the green-haired Woman wholeheartedly approved of as she led her to another room, located at the end of a hallway, where it led to a spacious room, decorated with shelves filled to the brim with all kinds of books as well as Wooden Scrolls not too dissimilar to the one Ning has used to initially communicated with her the day before.

At the sight of the various tome that lined up the shelves, Ciel could not help but feel rather giddy, she had never seen so many books, at least one that were in good condition. As technology became more and more advanced each decade went by, old paper tomes started to grow obsolete as a result when everyone changed to pocket archives to store information. The cease in production has made them become something of a rarity in her time period, with a few she managed to procure from a blocked-off section in a sunken library, none of which were completely intact when she recovered them, having suffered from the ravages of times that have no need for them, to the point some even forget what they are even called. But here, there are more books than she knows what to do with them, figuratively and literally, because she does not doubt that all of them are written entirely in Chinese without having to even look at the cover, though you can bet that she will buried herself in these pages as soon as she learned how to read the language, a lesson currently in session.

"Are you prepared for this Xia? Because I warned you, Chinese is quite a difficult tongue to speak." In comparison to English, which Lanfen finds fairly easy to grasp, the same cannot be said for her native language, as a former teacher herself with several years' worth of experience as an educated, she understood the struggles her students going through when they try to learn the country's tongue, fumbling and messing up at various points in their lesson, and she did her best to instruct them, but only two or three students of every class she has trained were able to pass the rigorous requirement of the system in the school she was once a part off before her early retirement due to their high standard. While the resolve in Ciel was certainly praiseworthy, she has seen those fires like hers being extinguished before when most of her students were unable to pull through the tall order and become rather dejected, barely putting any more effort into learning, something she still blames herself for even now, so it made her slightly worry to see those flame died out again in Ciel.

"More than ever." But Ciel is different from them, born as one of Neo Arcadia's crowning achievement and the culmination of technological advancement, praised as a prodigy of all prodigies who have gone down in history as one of the most brilliant minds to have ever walked the earth with the like of Dr. Thomas Light and Albert W. William, Learning an entirely new language was well within her capabilities, in fact, it would not even be a challenge, especially when she has strengthened her mental fortitude to be stronger than ever, the only hindrance is the time limit she had while readying herself for what to come in a week time, but it will be nothing than to served to shows what she is capable of when she put her mind into it. What she does today, she does it for them. Wait for her Alouette, big sister will return home as soon as possible.

"If you insist." And so it began, her First lesson in the way of the East, and it was…Surprisingly simple. About as simple as learning the alphabet, quite literally, as it was only a matter of learning every symbol in the Chinese lexicon and how to pronounce them that before long, she had already mastered a few basic sentences such as a greeting and the like. So much so that Ciel was honestly a little disappointed on how anticlimactic it was, then again, she should not have expected studying to be anything exciting. As much as she loves to gain new knowledge in anything, she is not ashamed to admit that the process of learning itself can be quite dull and monotonous. There has been countless time in her youth when she wished she could skip a few lessons since she has essentially learned everything there is to learn, only for those wish to be utterly denied by her educators, who she may or may not give a stink eyes to every now and then at the time. Now that she thought back about it, that was unbecoming of her.

For her part, Lanfen herself was quite astounded by the rate at which she grasped the language, so much so that if she did not know any better, she would have thought it was her first language and that she only pretended to not know it in order to impress her. To which Ciel could only offer a nervous, sheepish laugh, which she did not seem to pay any attention to, The Green-haired Woman had no idea how close she was to the mark.

However, learning the language was merely served to prepare her for what to come, the History.

Oh, the History.

To say it was long would be an understatement. Reading through the first ten pages has already cost her the entire day. It started off fairly small and innocent like all thing does, For Ciel, it came as an off-handed request on her part, wanting to learn more about China and its history out of curiosity. She should have taken the phrase 'Curiosity kills the cat' because the content she is about to read has made her skip a beat multiple times in a row. Where to even begin? Well, the beginning, when Lanfen moved toward the nearest shelf, tracing her finger across the surface of the line of books, before stopping at what she was searching, a thin book labeled 'A Brief History…Of Neo Arcadia Delta'. Reading the title alone nearly made her heart burst through its ribcage. To see the name of her former home on a foreign book was jarring. It made her mind run wild on speculation as to why, of all places, those words are here in China, a location Neo Arcadia has never colonized in the first place. Could it be…that this plane of existence is an alternative timeline, a sub-category of the Multiverse Theory, which is said to be a reality that diverged from a point in history, where Neo Arcadia was not destroyed, that it is still ruled by…

Quickly pulling over the pages, it becomes immediately proven that her assumption was wrong, for the very first line of the book has one simple statement that rendered her speechless. 'History of the Fourth Neo Arcadian Empire'. Fourth. Fourth. Neo Arcadia Delta is the fourth one?! What about the other three?! The first one?! What is going on in this world?! Desperately trying to search for an answer, Ciel turned to the first pages, where it read as follows; 'This is a Brief Summary of The fourth incarnation to the concept of Arcadian Empire, of which our proud Country is the vassal to; Neo Arcadia Delta, earning its name from its nature as the successor of the First three Neo Arcadian Empire; Neo Arcadia Alpha, Ruled by the False Reploid King Copy X, Neo Arcadia Beta, previously governed by the Mad scientist, Dr. Weil, and Neo Arcadia Gamma, once led by honored Emperor Maxwell Xenuvier, the founder and first ever leader of the esteemed Xenuvier Clan, now succeeded by his Descendant, Elric Xenuvier'.

So she was wrong, thank goodness that she was, it is one of the few times when she doesn't want to be right for a change, though when she thinks about it, she should have taken that into account with how genuinely cheerful and lively everyone is, such an emotion have no place in an oppressive regime. But…According to the book, the current Leader of this so-called Neo Arcadian Empire that China is said to be a part of, something Lanfen has confirmed when she mustered enough mental strength to ask about it, is currently being led by a Man known as Elric, if this book were up to date with the present time, a member of a Clan that goes by the name of Xenuvier, which seems to add emphasis on the letter X in its name. Neither of which she is familiar with, but with a name like that…It has to be related to the true Founder of Neo Arcadia itself, "Miss. Ren…What is the Xenuvier Clan?" Decided to get a concrete answer, Ciel made a question, earning a look of surprise from the Matriarch of the Ren Household as if was not expecting such an inquiry to ever leave the lips of anyone.

"What? You never heard of the Megamen Clan?" She would have responded with a clear no, but there was something in those words that caught her attention instead. Megaman. The terms used to describe those that possessed compatibility with the knowledge of specifics Reploids that are stored inside a piece of technology known as a Biometal, allowing them to use the power gained from these devices for their own purpose, whether it would be nefarious or righteous. She would know about them, she made them after all, but an entire clan of one…She is certain she never heard anything like that. Sensing hesitation in Ciel, Lanfen seems to understand that indeed, it was as clear as day that the girl before her has absolutely no idea what she is speaking about, something she once thought was simply not possible, given the nature of the governing body of Neo Arcadia, but she supposed she must have forgotten about it as a result of her amnesia, she suspected it as much going by her features, which matched the distinct trait belonged to a certain clan, "Well, to answer that..Let's see…" Gently removing the history book from Ciel's grasp, the Green-haired Woman flipped to a specific page, before turning it for Ciel to see the content of.

"Megamen Clan is the term used to describe a Clan of…Well, Megamen, individuals that is capable of merging with these ancient artifacts we know as Biometal." The illustration that followed the explanation made her heart swell, for etched on the pages, it was Model Z, the Biometal that housed the essence and spirit of the Red Devil whom her heart cherished the most, "They are Storage unit that contained crystalized Knowledge of Legendary Hero, which every Clan used in order to protect, defends and maintain order in the Empire, The Xenuvier is one such Clan, with them having been around since the foundation of Delta." A rather Noble cause, one she wholeheartedly approved of using her creation for, "At the current moment, there are a total of six Active Clans. Here, this is the section that is dedicated to them." Going over the various pages, Lanfen's Finger eventually rest on a rather colorful section of the book that stands out from the indifferent monochrome colors that dominated most pages but these.

To start it off, there was the Xenuvier, A clan characterized by their distinct light Blue Color like the horizon and their altruistic nature, well-known to be the most generous and compassionate of all the Megamen Clan, having pioneered the practice of taking in the destitute and homeless, generally those that have nowhere to go, into their fold, where they are given a place stay and a new purpose in life, which become a culture all Clan adopted. According to the abridged history, it was founded by Maxwell Xenuvier, the first ruler of Neo Arcadia Gamma prior to its collapse who, like the rest of Clan, advocated for peace between worlds and avoiding conflict whenever possible unless it is an emergency, where when the need arises, they will armed themselves with their Busters that possessed no limit to their growth, like the vast sky open with potentials. Their Biometal is as expected, Model X, the Blue Megaman, with the number of biomatch exceeded millions. It came as a surprise to Ciel, to see that there are so many people that are compatible with Model X, but it was not a bad kind, if anything, it brought her joy, knowing there are countless people that have an affinity with the Blue Biometal. It made her glad that her creation was in good hands.

On the next Page, it was dedicated to the Red Clan, the Zeranaki, established by Roze Zeranaki, who Ciel noted to literally be the name of a certain Red Reploid rearranged with no small amount of amusement. The Clan hold the belief that the Strong have the Duty to protect the Weak who cannot defend themselves, as such, their members make up most of the military force that is identified by their bright red coat that signify their status, with their current Leader being a Woman known as Kyra Zeranaki, who is noted to not be born into the clan, but rather were adopted into the position by the previous head of the Clan and surrogate Mothers, as in plural, Twain and Gwain Zeranaki, a pair of Twin sisters who shared the position during their reign that recognized the potential of Kyra when they first met her. Interesting, so the one that governed the Clan does not have to be part of the Clan since birth. She initially assumed otherwise, believing that those who were taken into the Clan were relegated to lower ranking compared to those who were born into it, but that appeared to not be the case.

Following right behind was the Hapenito Clan, whose primary color was Green, in both their flag and the hair color of their Members, which is the result of their genetics being altered due to constant usage of their Biometal, Model H. When she learned that piece of information, it prompted her to ask Lanfen if she was a member of the Wind Clan, which she actually confirmed that she was, well, formerly, before she left after marrying Ren Ning, explaining her unnatural hair color and the clothes she has given Ciel, answering another unspoken question for her; The Garb she is wearing belonged to the Matriarch of the household were the Cheongsam uniform of the Hapenito Clan, as shown by the Hawk sigil, which served as the symbol of the Clan. In fact, the clan is strongly associated with flight in general, due to their biometal granting them total Mastery over the air, to the point that it is not uncommon to see members of the Wind Clan to be in the Air Force across the world.

The Firnaria Clan was the next on the list, identified by the bright orange shade that made up their Page, burning as brightly as their passion in Combat, just like a certain Crimson Strong Arm General Ciel knows back in the day. Apparently, throughout the long history of Delta, the Clan form some sort of rivalry with the Hapenito due to their contrasting belief of Overwhelming Power versus Elegance in Battle, with them viewing each other as "Barbaric Brute" and "Pretentious Peacock" Respectively. Though recently, they came to a teeth-clenching understanding due to the unprecedented Union between the Head of the Wind Clan, Aeolus the Fourth, and Atlas the Second of the Flame Clan, whose relationship remains a controversial topic to this day. Sounds like something of a fairy tale, wondered if she going to hear about it eventually.

Second to last on the line was the Leviane, the sea Clan. Said to be as elegant and tranquil as the ocean wave, its Member is generally regarded as the Guardian of the sea, which they seem to take great pride in as much as they do with their underwater combat capabilities, matched by none but their own members. The current Head of the Clan is Thetis Leviane the 13th, much to the astonishment of Ciel toward such a title, the fourth and the second she could understand, but for someone to be named the Thirteenth? This Clan must have admired Thetis the First, the founder of their Clan, to the point of naming their Leaders Thetis thirteen times, or at least, that is what she assumed at first, but when she questioned about it, Lanfen just dodged the question altogether, stating it was a Sensitive Topic. If that is the case, Maybe she should not pry into where her nose does not belong in. Something tells her that the circumstances behind it are not pretty.

Speaking of not pretty, that is how she felt when she read the last Page in this section, about the Phatonaga Clan, made up entirely of Assassin, Spy, and Infiltrator, The Clan has a rather problematic History behind them. During the establishment of Neo Arcadia Gamma, the head of the Phatonaga at the time became disgruntled with the governing system, culminating in them eventually rebelling with the plot to blot out the sun until Emperor Maxwell submitted to their demand. However, refusing to cave in and accept the brutal Regime they have in mind as a substitute for his way of ruling, he rallied every single able-bodied Megamen and managed to thwart the plot, though not without sacrificing his own life in the process, bringing about the collapse of the Gamma Empire without a leader to guide them. The casualty of the War was not nearly as great as the Elf War from what Ciel has gathered, but it was enough for the people to demand the Phatonaga Clan to be disbanded. Fortunately, they would come to reform themselves, swearing to only raise their Blade against the enemy of the Delta Empire under the leadership of a Man known only as Siarnaq Phatonaga, who, unlike the rest of his fellow Megamen, has little to no information in regard to his profile.

Reaching the end of the section, silence befell onto Ciel, letting all the pieces of information she just soaked up to sink into her brain as the implication of what she just had read dawned on her. This world has biometals, her creation, here in this place, and they are not just in the hands of somebody either. No, they have an entire lineage spanning across multiple generations built around them. That particular revelation has rendered her at a complete loss for words. What does this all mean? How are her biometals here? Just what is this world? Those were just some of the many questions on her mind at that moment, spinning up all sorts of speculation to weave out a coherent answer that she could accept as a plausible explanation.

Could it be…That this world, rather than an alternative universe as she has presumed at first, be in truth the future? That would certainly explain the knowledge these people seem to have about the first Neo Arcadian Empire, its history, and the presence of her Biometals…The question is, however, just how far into the future is she if that's the case? "…What year is it, Miss Ren?" came a quiet inquiry from Ciel, hoping to get a rough idea of the present time. From what she has observed and knows thus far, in this world, China is now a recognized country once more, meaning the same could be said for other nations as well. Before she goes on that fateful mission that led to her being here in the first, she has made a general estimation of the amount of time needed for Humanity to recolonize the entire planet in its current state, which would take around a hundred, if not thousands of years, way beyond the amount of time she could realistically live to see through her own eyes even with cybernetics extending her lifespan. However, should this be indeed the future, then there is a real possibility that at least thousands of years have passed, just as she has estimated, with her mental math drawing conclusions at Year 3000 or something similar along that line.

Nothing could have prepared her for the actual answer though.

"Oh, it would be 208, 18 B.A.R." Was what Lanfen has told her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Well to her, it probably was, but for Ciel, that just gave her more questions than answering them. She had anticipated the answer to be something like 30XX or the like, but what she got was the exact opposite instead. Not only is the year essentially rewind back to only having three digits, but it was accompanied by a strange Acronym as well. Is she actually in the past? No, that cannot be it, The technology she has seen here, the bizarre Crossbow Ning used, the Energy tank he offered her, the Wooden Scrolls he employed to communicate with her, while primitive in appearance, is still far too advanced than what the calendar suggested. Maybe something has happened that led to them creating a new time system. That sounds much more plausible.

"B…A.R?"

"Oh right, most people have forgotten what it has stood for." Nodding in understanding, the Green-haired Woman cusped her chin, trying to recall exactly what those words stood for. While the meaning of the acronym has been lost to most common folks, there are a select few who do hold the answer to the question most people would not bother to ask, and Lanfen was one of these people, having learned about it during her time as a member of the Hapenito Clan, which was a lifetime ago. So long in fact, she has forgotten many things, buried most of that knowledge beneath the memories she made with Ning before they get married, which she now has to unearth again, "If my memories have no fault, it should stand for 'Billion years After Resurgence'. As for what exactly is the Resurgence though, not even I know. It's a confidential secret that only the higher-ups in the Megaman Clan hold the answer to."

There was once a time when she made the same question as Ciel back when she was a young and ever-curious Member of the Wind Clan who was well-known at the time as an inquisitive Girl who keep poking her nose into places they do not belong, much to the amusement and displeasure to her fellow Clan's Members. Among them, there was Zephyrus, the father of Aeolus and the previous head who were the former case, always does his best to answer her countless inquiries to satisfy her thirst for trivial knowledge. But if there is one question he absolutely refuses to respond to no matter what, even if his life were at risk, would be answering the true nature of 'The Resurgence', the point in time of Humanity that was not included in any form of records whatsoever, constantly dodging or outright shut down any attempts to probe answer from him to the point he became uncharacteristically angry at Lanfen once when her incessant inquiry has pushed him over the edge. That moment was what put an end to her habit and forever scarred her, hearing the man who treated everyone in the Clan like family be that furious at them. It left such a lasting impact that She has never forgiven herself for that incident ever since.

Her inner recollection has made her oblivious to the catatonic state Ciel is currently in upon hearing her revelation for the second time today, wrapping her head around what she just learned. 18 B.A.R. in other words, Billions. Billions. Over 18 Billion years have passed since this 'Resurgence'. It was a number she had a hard time comprehending the gravity of, and not without a good reason. While she knows about this 'Resurgence' as much as Lanfen does, which is not much, to begin with, it changes little to the fact that over eighteen eons have passed in this world, a unit of measurement she never thought she would ever think of using, then again, she never thought she would be that far into the future either. It made her wonder though, Could this be how her own World would turn out Billions of years down the line?

"Right, I think that's enough question for today, Let's get back the lesson." Unfortunately, she never gets the chance to give much thought about it when the Matriarch retrieved the history book from Ciel's Hand, placing it back in its spot on the bookshelf, before redirecting her attention back to the reason why they are in this room in the first place, to educate the guest of her family in the language of the Nation. They have sidetracked for long enough, time to reroute back to the main road. Although fumbled slightly at first at the sudden shift in topic, Ciel did manage to regain her footing with the situation and continued on with her improvised lecture, handling whatever lesson was thrown in her way with relative ease. By the time the sun reached the summit of the day, spilling its burning radiance through the crack of the curtains to let everyone know that lunch was at hands, The Blonde has already exhausted every single little thing Lanfen had imparted to her, much to the awe of the Woman.

"I cannot thank you enough for teaching me Mrs. Ren." Ciel could not help but express her gratitude once more as she joined the older woman in walking down the hallway closely behind, heading straight for the kitchen in order to whip up something for the family who is waiting for their midday meal. Even if it was the fact that her advanced intelligence was what allowed her to breeze through session after session as she has, she cannot discount the teaching methods Lanfen employed throughout the lesson that made it so much more manageable for her to learn them either, without her help, Ciel would not know where to even get started, much less getting as far as she did. The Woman truly has the makings of an experienced and talented teacher.

"No need to thank me, Xia. If anything, I should be the one to do that, reminding me of the joy in teaching others." If there is one thing she missed as a teacher, besides throwing the occasional chalk at the forehead of any student who was not paying attention as a sport, was the happiness she felt when watching them grow and progress through the class using the knowledge she bestows upon them. There's nothing that brings her more satisfaction than witnessing the development of the pupils under her as the school year passed, knowing them, educating them, bonding with them, before ultimately parting ways with them during their graduation, where she sent them off to their path in life. It made her feel like a Mother to her students, watching them grows up and chasing after their aspiration when they come to age. Even now, she still yearned to experience that joy again, in the form of her son, Ren Lei. As much as it pained her and Ning's hearts to know that their beloved child would not stay little forever and the inevitability of him leaving his parents in order to carve his own life elsewhere, the two decided to take what little solace there was in nurturing Lei into a fine young man as he matured with each day go by and enjoying the remaining times while he is still a boy.

Speaking of the Lad, it would appear that he has returned, as indicated by the front door to the home swung open with the kind of vigor only seen in children, slamming against the door with such force that it dented the wall it has collided into and nearly tore the door off its hinges, "Mama! I'm homeeee!" Came an equally energetic shout from Lei that further confirmed the identity of the door-destroyer, Making Ciel muse if the habit of abusing the piece of furniture is a family trait or that is just something he inherited from his mother's side of the family if Lanfen's treatment towards it the other day was anything to go by, While noting how the once incomprehensible tongue now become clear and coherent to her, like the language barrier that blocked them from entering her ears has been tore down, paving way for more potential conversations. It seems her lessons have already prove their worth.

"Lei! Stop doing that! The door cannot handle much more of it!" The Mother of the young boy called out, oblivious to the hypocrisy in her words, which Ciel wisely decided to held her newly enlightened tongue at that, knowing better than to remind the woman that she did the exact same thing the day before. Lei seemed to not pay any attention to the scolding Lanfen had given her as he just rushed forward to the hallway, practically leaping into the arms of the green-haired Woman, who just quietly sighed with a sheepish smile before embracing her son. She cannot find it in herself to stay mad at him for long, he's too earnest to a fault, "The thing I do for you, boy."

"You really love him, don't you Mrs Ren? Oh what am I saying, you are his mother after all." Ciel asked with a bright smile tugging her features, both at the heartwarming sight before her and the slightest bit of childish excitement when she uttered the sentence in the native tongue of the Matriarch, somewhat hoping to earn the woman's approval, which earned her two response. A look of amusement from Lanfen and one of astonishment from Lei, clearly not expecting the guest of his family to be able to speak such perfect Chinese when just yesterday she could barely pronounce the ceremonial phrase before dinner. Though this shock immediately turned into excitement in less than the span of a second, a look of eagerness replaced his previous expression.

"Woah! You can talk miss?!"

"Eh…Of course, I can?" She could see where he was coming from with a question like that, as since yesterday, other than with Lanfen, Ciel hardly ever spoke to anyone due to not understandings the native language, it is expected that the boy would be surprised that she is able to speak their tongue all of a sudden, and with such fluency no less, but the way he phrased made it as though Ciel was mute the entire time. Though given the circumstances, he has all right to assume so. Not that it made the question any less awkward though, "Your mother has just taught me. She's a good teacher. I'd say you are lucky to have her teach you." From the way she sees it, Lei has a bright future ahead of him having an effective teacher as a mother like Lanfen to educate him. Though the young boy does not seems to share Ciel's sentiment when his face contorted into a grimace, looking as though he just suck the most sour Lemon known to mankind.

"You hear what she said, Lei? You are indeed very lucky to have me as your teacher. Better start paying attention to what I have to say, and you'll be just as smart as she is." Said Lanfen with a rather vicious, almost wolf-like grin on her face, much to the horror of the young boy which she relished in seeing it spreading across his face like a wildfire over a dry meadow. Now with a piece of irrefutable evidence that her method does work in the form of the oblivious Ciel, who had no idea what is going on, Lei will have no other choice but to take his education more seriously, much to the delight of the green-haired woman, allowing herself to have a moment to celebrated her victory over the bet she has made with her son, not that she has expected him to win anytime soon in the first place, "Speaking of studying, time for you to do your homework."

"No…Noooooooo!" Realizing that she was right, the poor boy clasped his face with his palms in a rather overdramatic fashion, before running off into the distance in an attempt to escape. A futile effort despite the speed that comes with being the offspring of a former Wind Megaman, as even with his altered genetic that allowed him to produce electricity to enhance his desperate dash, considering that his mother could do the same, not even exert much effort more than necessary to close in on him, casting an ominous shadow over Lei as she loomed over him, an empty smile plastered her normally gentle features that made the young boy scream in terror as her menacing pair of hands reach out for the boy, incapacitating him when he was lifted from the ground, while Ciel could only look on with complete and utter confusion. What was that all about? Oh well, not really her business. The blonde shrugged before heading in the opposite direction, heedless to cries for help from the young Lad, for his voice had already been drowned out in despair instilled into him by his Mother, who let out a cheerful whistle, an contrast to the terrified screech of her son, dreading the direction they are heading toward. The studying Room. Lunch can wait until after Lei has finished his homework, with his speed, it would take no time at all.

Severals minutes full of sweat, blood and tears from little Lei…

And no time did it take, with the entire Ren Family gathered together at the dining table in less than 30 minutes later, where a pleased Lanfen handed a bowl of white rice, freshly cooked and still enveloped in piping hot steam to Ciel, who has her concerns for Lei shared by the everyone else present, especially his father who have returned home bringing back a rainbow-colored Salmon that now served as their lunch, as the Lad now looks like his battery has been drained dry, leaving not even a surge of electricity behind. Considering that he has to finish a mountain of schoolwork along with an additional lecture from his demonic Mother in less than half an hour, burning through his energy faster than he could replenish it with his lightning, it is no surprise he would end up in this state. Sheesh, Asian households sure are unforgiving when it comes to their children's education. Ciel really considered herself as lucky that she had been genetically engineered to be a genius, or else she might ended up like the poor boy over there.

Lunch was an interesting affair, to say the least. Now that Ciel actually understood their language, she was able to follow and contribute to any conversations, one of which was started by Shan after Ning had mentioned the difficulty his occupation is currently facing due to the current situation here in China. With the border to the Azure Dragon being closed off, unknowingly catching Ciel's attention, he cannot reach his usual hunting spot without facing repercussions from the patrols in the area, thus he has to settle with catching fish and maybe the occasional Wild beasts seen lurking in the nearby forest, which is starting to affect the economy, especially supplies and demands for certain items that are now inaccessible. While it has not reached that point yet, if this keeps going on, at this rate, the finances of the Family may be in danger of getting depleted.

"I heard from the news that the border should be reopened around this by the end of the month." Trying to comfort his son, Shan decided to mention what he had heard on the headline. According to the news, there are rumors going around the grapevine that the Emperor, Qin Ruogang are planning to revoke the decree that sealed off the Region in order to travel to the White Tiger province, which is where they are now, something that Ciel took a mental note of, in order to extent an invitation to Empress Mei Feng to a peace talk in hope of restoring the relation with the rest of China. Now as much as he did not want to put much credence to the talks spun by the rumor mill, everyone seems to be convinced that will soon happen, it is confirmed that the Azure Emperor does plan to go on a trip across all of the West County, so perhaps there is some truth to it after all. They just have to wait and see, "Of course, if that were the case, then there may yet be hope for the Vermillion Bird County."

"Honestly, I don't know what Emperor Aiguo was thinking when he closed the Border of his territory." Peizhi huffed, taking a bite of the braised Salmon. From what she has heard of the man, the Vermillion Emperor is an honorable man, someone that truly deserved of his title, as expected from a Member of the Zeranaki Clan, yet ever since the invasion by the Foreign attacker, Aiguo's response was to completely cut off all trading route connected to his Region, unaware that he is damaging his beloved country more than the invader ever did. As the one who held monopolies over practically every single dock in the Nation, the decision to shut them down, thus destabilizing one of the major sources of the economy has sparked much outrage from the people outside the province, to which the Vermillion Emperor has yet to response to, and his inaction only furthering the controversy surrounding him, "Hopefully his Imperial Majesty could get him to see reason and reopen the trading route soon, we could benefit immensely from it."

"Don't be too harsh on him Mother, If anyone is to blame, it's that incompetent Court of his." While she is in agreement about the Border, the same cannot be said about the Vermillion Prince himself, because as far as she is concerned, his only problem is his misplaced trust. Formerly a member of the Hapenito Clan Branch that stationed in China, Lanfen once had the opportunity to meet his majesty Aiguo himself in person, where she learned that even though he is technically the leader, most of his decisions are dictated by the Vermillion Imperial Court comprised of high ranking officials, who in her opinion, Aiguo has put too much faith in. Those bumbling fools know next to nothing when it comes to ruling a nation, prioritizing only their section of the map and content with leaving the rest out to dry. Now the entirety of China suffered because of their mismanagement, while their Emperor is suffering the brunt of the hatred from the populace. She has told him multiple times to replace his court with a different, and preferably a more reliable one instead, but even now, it seems that he has not changed his mind in the slightest, he was always too soft when it came to the people of the Vermillion County, "I swear, Miss Kyra should tell his Majesty to stop with the reliance of his court and let him take the reign for once. He is loyal to his people and they are loyal to him, I don't think there would be any problem if he just decided to take full control like His Majesty, Ruogang."

"Kyra? Isn't that the Zeranaki Clan's Leader? What is her relationship with the Vermillion Emperor?" This is the first time Ciel has heard of this. As far as she can tell, the only parallel she can draw between the Red Clan and the Vermillion County is the similar color, but it would seem that there is more to it than just a mere coincidence from what Lanfen has said, as while the history book did mention that the Megamen is connected to the government, it did not elaborate on the full extent of the influence they have in the Council. These people may have a greater degree of authority than what she has initially anticipated, enough for them to be more than capable of empowering Aiguo's position as the Emperor from the sounds of it, "Are they friends? Something like colleagues maybe?"

"Oh, they are more than just simple acquaintances. See, The Vermillion County has been governed by the Jun Dynasty for eons now, which was installed into power by the Zeranaki Clan when the Country became a Vassal Nation to the Arcadian Empire in order to serve as the Clan's representative, just like the Azure Dragon is to the Xenuvier, so you could say that Lady Kyra is above Aiguo in terms of Authority." It was common knowledge to any citizen of China that the member of the Jun Dynasty who had been leading their Region as far back as anyone could remember is in truth honorary Member of the Zeranaki Clan, possessing the ability to use the power of their designated Biometal in order to enforce their Authority across countless generations, which was what allowed them to last as long as they have compared to all the historical bloodline in the past. In fact, they endured far longer than the Jiang who was once the former Dynasty that governed over the Azure Dragon Province before its last ruler, Jiang Ziya stepped down from the position and allowed the Qin to rise into power as the replacement.

"I see…" At the information, Ciel could only nod, returning her attention back to the bowl of rice in her hand, which she took in her mouth in an absent-minded manner, for her mind had wandered elsewhere. Interesting, so the Vermillion Bird and the Azure Dragon are considered a Branch of the Zeranaki and the Xenuvier, the Red and Blue Clan respectively. It would seem that no matter what time period it was, those two continued to stand side by side with each other. Though what about the White Tiger and the Black Tortoise? Are they ruled by a Megaman Clan also? But their color does not match up with any of the other Megamen Clan. Perhaps they are independent of the rule of the Neo Arcadian Empire then? It might be a possibility. Well, she supposed it would not hurt to ask, "Miss Ren, I'm a bit curious, You said that the Azure And the Vermillion Emperor are part of the Megamen Clan right? What about the other two Counties?"

"Ahhh, those two. Well, it is a bit more complicated. The Black Tortoise is a sovereign county, where instead of an Emperor, it is more along the lines of a republic state, while the White Tiger is ruled by an Empress, rumored to be a member of a new Megaman Clan. But other than the fact that it only became that way two centuries ago, I don't know much about it."

From what Lanfen has told her right after, a little over two hundred years ago, the White Tiger County went from a republic state similar to its black counterpart to one that is ruled over by a Clan, governed by the Mei Dynasty, which currently still only have one member, the white Empress Mei Feng, who has been for the same amount of times since the switch in rulership, something everyone attributed to cybernetic Implants that extended her lifespan well beyond what is considered normal. But other than that, not much is known about the enigmatic Empress, who has rarely been seen in public, there is no shred of information regarding her origin, where she came from, how did she got appointed to the position of empress and which clan is it that she answers to, though according to the lucky few who has a chance to lay their eyes on her form, they have reported that Mei Feng was a beautiful woman with hair of pink as bright as a blossoming peach, with unmatched elegance and grace, who seldom speak unless strictly necessary, boasting an air of mystery around her. Now isn't that something?

Though not that she had paid any mind to the last part, as her attention was focused on something else, the fact that Empress Mei Feng apparently been holding the throne for more than two hundred years, which seemed to be the result of the Cybernetic Implants of this world. Ciel herself has a similar augmentation, which she gained as a result of the body modifications that were introduced in an effort to bring mankind on the same footing as their Reploid Compatriot, but they only extended her natural lifespans by several decades at best, and that is with regular maintenance. The kind found here, on the other hand, seems to be more advanced from the sounds of it, allowing the White Empress to reign over her County for two centuries. Such a discovery only fanned the flame of her curiosity for the sheer technological advancement of this world even further. Hopefully, she'll get a chance to study more about it in the future.

Once she was able to resolve the situation in China first of course.

What conversations the Ren Family might have had fall on the deaf ear of Ciel, whose mind is occupied in processing the newest set of information, so by the time she finished with it, so has lunchtime, with everyone having left the table to do their own respective business. Seeing not much else to do, Ciel just decided to return to her room, planning to check on her cyber elves that she had left in stasis since yesterday. Potentielle and Illimite must be bored out of their mind right now, something she will be apologizing for as soon as possible. However, upon arriving at her quarter, she was greeted by a sight that made her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. The Cyber Elves' Containers, which doubled as their solar-powered energy station, were unsealed, with their inhabitants nowhere to be found in here.

"Potentielle?! Illimite?!" Hoping they are still here and just playing a prank on her, Ciel calls them out, trying to see if it would elicit any response at all. If those two Cyber Elves had gone outside, then chances are they would get themselves completely lost in this foreign environment, and that is the last thing she wanted to happen after that encounter with the Bā-shé, there is simply no way of telling what would happen if they wandered off into town without her supervision. Fortunately, the Blonde would not have to look anywhere far, because it took not even a minute after she has shouted their name did the two artificial life forms seemingly popped into existence, colliding head first into Ciel's face, nearly causing the scientist to be knocked off her feet, "Geez! Don't do that again! You two were seriously going to give me a heart attack!" Even in the face of her scolding, the two Elves just giggled, knowing that she was more relieved to see that they were still here than she was at being upset with their ill-conceived attempt at humor.

Around the same time…

"Ning…could you spare me a moment?"

When Ning was just about to leave for the town square to assist everyone in preparation for the upcoming festival on the horizon, the patriarch of the Ren household was intercepted by a few words from his wife, solemn as they were that made him stop dead in his track, it was so cold that it made him froze on the spot. It was not like her to speak with such a tone, one that filled with such hesitation in the voice of a woman who is usually so sure of herself, just when she was so upbeat and full of life a few moments prior. The sudden change in her mood warranted the absolute attention of her beloved husband, who saw the beautiful face that used to be so energetic like a thunderbolt that he fell in love with being tarnished by a frown full of uncertainty, making him concerned about what she had in mind to say to him, even more so when he could clearly tell she was having a second thought about it.

"What's wrong, Lan?" He had asked, his voice full of concerns for her wellbeing, Inhaling sharply that filled the entirety of her lungs, Lanfen made a beckoning gesture at his way, wordlessly requesting him to join her at the living room, where it was completely devoid of any and all activities now that Peizhi and Shan are nowhere in sight, having left for the Plaza of the settlement beforehand, giving it a suffocatingly uncomfortable air in its vicinity that made Ning wanted to gagged at the mere thought of stepping into the overwhelmingly quiet room, even with the presence of his wife there. But he endured, hardening his mental fortitude to give him the strength needed to go march into the room, even when his legs were screaming for him to go back. Soon, the two husband and wife sat on the opposite end of each other, neither of whom felt comfortable facing each other, "Is there something wrong."

"Not with me. It's…About Xia." As much as she hated talking about someone behind her back, Lanfen had to get this off her chest one way or another, especially toward her husband, who brought back their enigmatic guests of their family in the first place, "…Do you think she's a Foreigner?" Foreigner. According to the textbook definition of the word, it often refers to people that originated in a country different from one's own, but in the Neo-Arcadian Empire, the term held a similar yet different meaning. It is frequently made use of when describing individuals that came from places beyond their Plane of existence, being that originated in an alternative world contrasted from theirs, usually identified by their lack of the most basic knowledge any Neo Arcadian worth their salt would know, a method that the green-haired Woman, to her shame, employed to confirmed the hunch she had since yesterday toward Xia, who was found under a rather suspicious circumstance with a convenient memories loss. There was no doubt about it now, Xia was a Foreigner, someone from another world.

"I…well, I have suspected as much." Contrary to what the townsfolk like to believe, Ning is far sharper than he may appear, it was necessary to be when your occupation required you to hunt some of the most dangerous beasts China has to offer, and he has been doing this for decades now, long enough for him to be an senior member of the Hunter Guild who was well-known for his great sense of perception to the environment. This acute awareness of his surroundings was what allowed him to pick up the scent of burning wood in an otherwise dampened forest, guiding him toward the Bā-shé's den he has been trying to locate, where he would spot a lone girl in the company of a Cyber Faeries huddled around a makeshift camp in the distance. Initially, he thought she was a member of the Zeranaki Clan due to her bright Blonde, almost golden Hair, a distinguishing feature of the Red Clan, that somehow winded up in the middle of a dangerous jungle, but it quickly became clear after observing her behavior that it was not the case, in all likelihood, she might be the one to emerge from the distortion he has seen in the distance.

Before he could approach her though, the Bā-shé already one step ahead of Ning, prompting him to save her, quickly disposed of the gargantuan Python in no small parts thanks to her damaging its eye, blinding its vision to let him get the perfect shot. Those damnable Snakes have always been too agile, "But honestly, I don't think she's a bad person. She's far too earnest. And the Cyber Faeries seems to like her. You know how apprehensive they could be toward people with ill intent."

"True, that girl has her head on the cloud half of the time. Maybe she does not remember much after all." Lanfen quickly found herself in agreement with her husband. To earn the trust of Cyber Faeries is quite difficult, due to their ability to sense the innate vice within people, causing them to be quite picky when it comes to the people they want to be in the presence of, as the only kind of people they favored are those with the purest of heart. For Xia to be friends with one…Well, then there is no doubt about her character, especially with how she has conducted herself thus far. It's too genuine to be a ruse, but even still, there is one question that plagued the Matriarch in regard to the Foreign Girl, "But what are we going to do with her? You know how everyone in China felt about Foreigners, especially these days." As much as she loved her countrymen, Lanfen is painfully aware of the shortcomings of the people in this nation, particularly their distrust toward outsiders. While it is not exactly unwarranted these days, considering the recent invasion from the Foreign Force has left the country in a state of unrest, everyone is too quickly to associate every foreigner they met with that Army that attacked their home, which only served to worsen the already strained relationship they already have with the Alliance. If words get out that Xia is a foreigner, chances are, it will invite the wrong kind of people to their doorstep.

"Nothing. She has done no wrong to us." The Patriarch declared firmly, face stern and absolute, leaving no room for argument, though he had a distinct feeling that his wife would not even think about that. Whether or not she had lied to them about her memories, Xia has been nothing but unfailingly polite to the Ren household, and as a proud citizen of the Neo Arcadia Empire, it is in their ideology that they treated others as equal, even to foreigners, since the foundation of Delta, regardless of the disharmony and strife that made most forgot about what they stand for, "She's lost in this unfamiliar world, and I will be damned if I just stand by and do nothing while she suffers."

"…Yes, you are right." A small smile bloomed on Lanfen's visage, which suited her more than the frown that previously overtook her fair features a moment ago. It would be wrong to treat Xia any differently just because she came from a world different from their own. If the Cyber Faeries trust her, then there should be no problem for her to do the same, for the Faeries' eyes saw no lie, only the truth, "You know, I was thinking; maybe we should invite her to join us in the New Red Moon festival. It's just a few weeks away from now after all, I'd love to see her reaction." The green-haired woman chuckled. If there is one thing she liked about Foreigners the most, it would be their reactions to what most Neo-Arcadians considered to be commonplace in this world. She honestly looking forward to seeing what kind of response Xia would have to the exhibition extravaganzas that the festival has to offer, specifically, the Dragon Dance, the Blonde will be in for a surprise.

"Great idea." Ning nodded, approving of the idea. While it will still be several weeks away from now, should things continue to go smoothly without any hitch along the way, then Xia should be able to join the rest of the Ren Family when the countdown to a brand new year rolls around, "Alright, I'll be joining everyone in preparing for the festival now. Want to join me? We could always use an extra hand." There is much work that needs to be done. From constructing the stalls, commissioning the necessary banners to hang up, preparing all kinds of delicacies, and employing the exhibit's services, while ensuring that they don't overspend their tight budget, quite the list of tasks on their hands.

"You know I'll be all for it." Lanfen was more than happy to accept the offer. She was never one to miss out on the chance to be of help, especially for an event as important as this. In fact, everyone is looking forward to her joining them, particularly in cooking up the snacks for the Occasion, her skill in the kitchen is renowned in the town of Xiangjiang as one of the best, which she took great pride in, "Let's get to it then."

Accepting the hand her husband extended to her, the two began to move out of the now peaceful living room that was no longer dominated by the uneasy and heavy atmosphere, the town's plaza being the destination in their mind as the two headed through the front door, striking up a small conversation as they did so along the way, causing them to be so caught up in the little discussion that they failed to pay notice to a miniature life form observing them the entire time, a look of relief resting on its tiny visage. At first, Illimite has fears for the worse when the two Ren couple is revealed to be aware of Ciel's status as someone from a world not of their own, given how the people felt about foreigners as of late according to Lanfen. But the Cyber Elf was glad that it misjudged them, This Family is truly good people with a pure heart, it is no mystery as to why it and Potentielle seemed to be so drawn to their presence, especially their little boy, Lei. The heart of that young Lad was so devoid of any impurity that the two Cyber Elves could feel themselves subconsciously attracted to his near infectious positivity that he practically oozed it out at every pole. They should go play with him or those strange Cyber Elves that has approached them when they were alone sometime, if their creator allows it that was.

With a goal in mind, the experimental Cyber Elf known by the code name of Illimite flew across the hall, heading toward the guest room their creator was staying in. It should head back before Ciel started to turn the house upside down looking for troublesome Elf.

On the Road to Bai Laohu…

To say he was having a bad day would be an understatement, for those simple words could not do justice to the current mood of the Imperial Ruler of the Azure Dragon County, Qin Ruogang, whose current state of mind could only be described as quiet frustration with a side of exhausted exasperation, courtesy of the political nightmare that was the Border-sealing Act has been gnawing away at his psyche for months on ends now, barely giving himself enough time to have a good Night sleep as he is forced to deals with incompetent morons that made up his court, He swears, why does he even bothered keeping those gaggle of idiots around for this long when they do absolutely nothing other than whining all days long over a Ordinance they have foolishly authorized during his absence without any says from him, while he have to spend the entire time resolving all sorts of problem that came with the fallout of their short-sighted decision and worked on abolishing that stupid Decree before any lasting damage could be inflicted upon his beloved Regions.

Couldn't those indolent imbeciles just revoke the order themselves since they were the ones who oh so wisely agreed to not read the fine print before signing it? Once this hassle has been dealt with, Ruogang is definitely going to get rid of those that were involved in the process that give their Emperor more problems on his hands. He could forgive them for the honest mistake of miscalculating the number of soldiers needed to be assigned to a single outpost that one time, leading to the bloat of guards in a single area, he could overlook the blunder of allowing his daughter to take the reign the other time, though it did took quite a while to repaint the palace from orange to its signature azure blue, and he can somewhat tolerate them accidentally losing the important document he has planned to deliver to all the other Leaders of the rest of China that would have otherwise resolved this mess in one fell swoop, resulting to him having to personally travel to each province to have an audience with his fellow Emperors, but this time is the last straw. To allow a decree he has made clear countless of times that he would not approve under any circumstances to take effect and cause a rift between the Alliance while he was away? Now that's something even in his infinite generosity could excuse. Those Dunces will face their long overdue consequences once he gets back.

But Right now, his mind needed to focus on the matter at hand; The upcoming meeting with Empress Mei Feng of the white Tiger County. Ruogang was glad that she was willing to accept his appeal for a peace conference, Despite knowing little about the Enigmatic Woman on her full personality, her origin and which clan is she a part of, she has proven herself to be a reasonable Ruler who wanted nothing more than what is the best for the people in her Regions when she accepted his request, and for that alone, Mei Feng has his utmost respect as both a royalty and a Fellow Ruler. Even still, he does pray that the meeting will go well, the last thing he needed right now was further the instability between the two realms and a potential civil war, something that none of them would want upon their Country.

"Haaaah…What I wouldn't give for some solid hours of sleep right now." The Azure Emperor sighed wistfully, already feeling his consciousness slipping away, which he knew would not last for very long as he saw his gilded carriage pass through the Border to the White Tiger County, where he would eventually chance upon a certain Blonde Genius, who would one day mend the fractured Nation using the symbol that she represents that have united them so very long ago.

Said blonde Genius is currently having her attention being enthralled by the monitor the guest room provided her with, almost looking as though she is about to kiss it, reminding her of the running joke among the Resistance's Members back in the day, when the most she could do to contribute to their collective survival was developing the new source of Energy needed to resolve the ongoing crisis at the time, spending most of her day typing away at her personal monitors that has its fair share of times where she would press her face onto its surface far closer than strictly necessary, which according to her sister, Alouette, make her look rather amusing when she isn't ignoring everything around her in favor of her work, much is the case most of the time. It would seem that history has repeated itself yet again, showing that there just some habits you cannot overcome no matter how much time has passed.

But she could not just help herself to the knowledge contained within this small device, the constant flow of endless information as she surfed through a wonderful website she had discovered known simply as the internet, which held answers to the myriad of questions she had about this world, that she felt herself getting lost in in these holographic pages as she absorbs countless data in her mental archive, be it trivial and significant, nothing was left out when she eat them all up. Figuratively of course. Though her feast of knowledge, like every meal, must come up to an end, when the time for an actual meal came knocking on her stomach, which let out a low bellow, crying for nourishment, preferably real food than energy crystals supplement, much to her embarrassment and the amusement of her two Cyber Elven companions at the roar from her abdomen. She must has been spending a lot more time on the internet than she has expected to.

glancing outside the window, Ciel could see that the blinding star that is the sun starting to set, sinking into the distant forest between the cracks of two hills, giving a warm orange tint that dyed the sky, the prelude to dusk where the daylight went to sleep, while the stars and the town come awakes at nightfall, signaled by the activation of the streetlights that illuminated the Plaza outside, allowing Ciel to see the citizen of the settlement hard at work, helping each other with moving various objects and what appeared to be decorations of some sorts around to specific spot. It was a simple display of cooperation, but one that Ciel found rather heartwarming, watching everyone join in the coordinated effort, bonding through their fellowship as they shared waves of laughter full of merriment over a few drinks during break time. They seem to be having quite a bit of fun in spite of the political turmoil that plagued their country. That's the kind of positivity that let them endure through tough times like now, Ciel acknowledged with a smile, all too familiar with that kind of optimism.

Although she is a little curious about what is it that they are working on. Judging from the items they were carrying, ranging from makeshift stalls, colorful ribbons, and extravagant decor, Ciel could only assume it was some kind of celebration. Decided to investigate further, the Blonde scientist moved for the monitor, one last time today, she had promised her two Cyber Elves, and looked up the calendar. Today was the 6th of December, 208 18B.A.R, in other words, several weeks away from an event known formally as New Red Moon Festival, casually dubbed by most as simply the New Year holiday, which, as the name suggested, is celebrated at the end of the Year, where everyone in China come to celebrated the memories they made in the previous year before moving onto the next, expressed gratitude to their friends and family, letting go of old grudges behind as they embraced a new chapter of their life once the cycle is completed, marking the beginning of a new year when the Moon shone bright red. How novel, Ciel mused as she read through the overview of information regarding the illustrious event, back in her home reality, although there are some celebratory event here and there, there has not been an entire day reserved solely for festivity, not when the restoration of civilization took priority over such frivolities, it was an lost culture that died with Neo Arcadia when the City was destroyed, taking the concept of holiday with it among the rubble.

Another difference between the two worlds then, it somewhat made her envious of the people of this world. If only her own could set aside their differences and petty conflict for once and come together, even only for a single day. Such a thing might not appeared possible, but she has reminded herself countless of times before, Impossible is the mindset of the weak, and she has sworn to him that she wouldn't be the same weak little girl who relied everything on him.

However, her internal rumination does not last very long as she is rudely brought back to reality by a light slap across the cheek by Potentielle, who was getting upset that she is ignoring them again, expressing their frustration by repeatedly colliding against her face, making her laugh more than actually hurt her, before Ciel could only raise her hands in defense as she giggled, "Alright! Alright! I'll stop now!" Huffing in victory, the Cyber Elf rejoined its siblings, who then followed Ciel once she pried herself from the enchanting grasp of the Computer, stretching a few times to expel the cramps that had accumulated on her back in the time she spent browsing the internet, then proceeded to head for the doorway leading to the hall, where she crossed path with little Lei. Literally, the two barely managed to avoid colliding with one another when Ciel stepped foot outside, thanks to the effort of the two Cyber Elves that pushed her back when they saw the charging bullet that was Lei heading toward her away, narrowly dodged the shot.

"Miss Xia! It's dinner!" And as energetic as ever, the young Lad practically leaped toward her, beckoning her to follow him, which she did so without a word save for a nod in acknowledgment.

Yet another day has passed for Ciel, which means one more day closer to her destined time.

"Once again, I thank you for your hospitality, Lady Mei." So here he is, within the towering Wall of the marbled quartz Palace in the White County, seated on an stone seat located within an vast expanse that was the lush, private garden of the Tiger, far detached from any prying eyes of the servants or officials, with only the two of them, the Azure Emperor and the woman before him, the Imperial White Empress, Mei Feng the walking Enigma as everyone referred her as, who was mysterious as she was gorgeous, captivating all that may lays eyes upon her unmatched form, with her dazzling hair of cherry blossom, golden eyes gleaming brighter than the most spectacular of jewels and a well-endowed curves hidden beneath a traditional garb that put even the most beautiful model in all of China to shame, which he cannot said he did not steal glance or two, as shameful as he was for doing such perverse act, as she poured them a cup of tea from a kettle of highest quality porcelain, all with a gentle, serene smile that him at ease graced her peerless visage.

"But of course, Your Majesty." Mei Feng chuckled gently, taking the initiative of being the first to take a quick sip from her cup of freshly brewed herbal tea, letting the soothing stream of the beverage to slide down her throat, warming her up in this cold environment as she gazed on toward the open field of her idealized landscape, a peaceful garden removed from all the trouble and strife of the world that brought tranquility her mind needed after the trial and tribulations of politics, where she has been spending the past few days in as both to recover and as an escape from the disharmony outside the walls of her Palace, "You know, It may be time for you to take the full Reigns once and for all." When she learned the reason as to why the Border of Azure Dragon County was closed in the first place, she came to understand the frustration of its Emperor when he appeared before her with a request to reconcile their relation in the Alliance, explaining his contradictory actions quite well. In her opinion, the Blue Court should have been disbanded ever since Jiang Ziya stepped down, but nonetheless, she was glad that Ruogang finally saw the reasons and did what should have been done ages ago. About time. Elric has been complaining nonstop about it.

"No need to tell me, I was planning to anyways." Even if doing so would mean he would have to triple his usual workload, it is still significantly more favorable than leaving the bulk of it to his substandard court. How in the name of the Mother Faeries did Jiang Ziya managed to govern over the Azure Dragon County as well as he did with those gaggles of idiots before he stepped down from the position is just about anybody's guess. Ruogang really needed to consorts with him one of these days on dealing with the burden that came with the title of Emperor, Though something tells him that the former Azure Emperor before him would not be of much help on that front, which might have something to do with the fact that the Man relinquished the Throne, putting an end to a long-running rule of a bloodline and let the Qin Dynasty to rise up to the Occasion to fill the vacuum of power he left behind just so he can pursue his passion for…fishing, of all things, without being dragged down by the intricacies of politics, resulting in him being branded as the "Fisher Fool" by the citizen in China that criticized him for abandoning his responsibilities for a mere hobby, which he seems to take in stride, "That said, maybe I should keep a few on hands, I do not think I can handle everything on my own."

"You do have a point." Even Mei Feng herself kept a few of the officials that once managed the White Tiger County when it was still a republic state in order to lighten the amount of work, giving her the free time she needed to spend in her beloved garden, or else she will still be sorting through the paperwork as they speak, "I just hoping Aiguo do the same soon." Don't get her wrong, Mei Feng respected the Vermillion Emperor as much as everyone else in his County, it just that he seemed to struggle when it came to making his own decisions as a ruler, relying to his court a little too much. She can see why he would have a hard time though, That Lad is better off in a combat scenario than a political one, something that rarely happened nowadays ever since he ascended into the position, so the Vermillion Emperor would obviously have a difficult time adapting to his newfound position after spending two centuries as a Prince before he finally climbs up the rank. But he would grow into it, Kyra has assured her as much, and her best friend's eyes for potential has never failed her before, all he needed was a little nudge in the right direction by a specific factor.

A factor that is currently in her County. Not that she is aware of the impact said factor would have.

"So am I." Ruogang nodded in agreement, finally deciding to drink his tea, which had unfortunately gone cold, not that he particularly minded, his tongue is quite sensitive after all, "While we're talking about our Counties, on a related note, have you heard about the distortion that took place here in yours?" She must have, it has been exactly two days since the incident occurred, more than enough time for the news to reach the attention of the White Empress, who has her agents serving her eyes and wars everywhere, even in the most isolated of locations.

"I did." She answered, keeping her words as vague as possible on where exactly did she learned about it, "There is a foreigner here in my county." The revelation caused the Azure Emperor to shoot up from his seat in alarm, worry clear in his expression, which Mei Feng could understand why he would feel that way. Although the Azure Dragon County was spared from most of the destruction done to China by the Foreign invaders, that is not to say that they did not suffer any casualties. Sure, the people that perished can be revived just fine, but the experience of dying at the hands of Foreigners has led to distrust toward them, resulting in everyone being wary whenever a Being from an alternative plane of existence arrives in their Country, but she silenced whatever he may have to say by reassuring him with a raised hands, letting him knows that the situation was well within her control, gesturing him to sit back down, "Rest assured when I say that this one is not associated with the Foreign Force. I have my men observing her for a while now, and they have reported that she is seen in the town of Xiangjiang, in the company of two Cyber Faeries, both of whom seem to trust her, and you know what that Means."

"…Well, a surprise to be sure. But honestly a welcoming one for a change." Sighing in relief, Ruogang made a nod in understanding. It would seem that he was getting concerned for nothing, thank the Mother Faeries he did for once in his life. It's rare for Cyber Faeries to grow close with a Human, even more so if they are Foreigner, as few only show themselves in a populated area, fewer still for them to remain in it with someone for an extended period of time, with them preferring the wild over a more developed area in China, "Though have you think of what to do with this…Girl? I'm not trying to imply that she is an enemy, but it still better be safe than sorry, don't you think?" Even if she had somehow earned the trust of two whole Cyber Faeries, Ruogang still felt like they should do something about her. When in a foreign environment, outsiders are prone to panic and violence, and it's best that they deal with the root before it has a chance to spread and bloom. The Girl needed to be located, and found, for her sake, because she just has been dropped into a place where people like her would not get a warm welcome in.

"You spoke the truth. But worry not, she's in good hands for now. A family has taken her in, and I have every reason to believe that they know about her true nature." From what information she managed to find regarding the Ren Family, it would appear that the household is comprised of five members, with the husband, Ren Ning being a senior member of the Hunter Guild, his wife Ren Lanfen who she discovered to be a former member of the Hapenito Clan, alongside their son Ren Lei who was reported to have inherited his mother's affinity for the lightning element, as well as his grandparents from his father's side of the family. An interesting little family for sure, but not all that notable in her opinion, though they have her respect regardless for their willingness to accept a Foreigner in these uncertain times, "As for what we should do with this girl, Xia I believed her name is if the report were true, well…you said you needed to find Maomao's a new assistant right?"

"Yes I did, I assumed this girl had some degree of skill in cyber Faeries' Programming?" That certainly piqued his interest. It has been months now since the last assistant quit their job due to the excessive nagging from his highly talented yet incredibly sardonic Cyber Faeries programmer, whose expertise could only be matched by the sheer amount of pestering she does to anyone who failed to meet her high standard for an assistant. Following the early retirement of the latest assistant after being unable to bear with her attitude, Maomao took her complaints to Jinshi, who in turn complained to him about it, and that prompted him to search for someone with at least decent aptitude for that line of work that his Programmer would like enough to not complained about it. If this foreign girl is both, then she would quite literally be a godsend from the heavens above, her status as a foreign individual notwithstanding.

"More than that. She apparently created the Faeries that followed her around. That alone should speak volumes of her talent." Just yesterday when she left the two Cyber Elves in their lonesome at the guest room, her agents sent their own Cyber Faeries for reconnaissance to contact Potentielle and Illimite in order to gather as much intel from those earnest Elves as much as possible, and what they have learned to surprise her as much as it did to Ruogang at the current moment. They are not just any run-of-the-mill Cyber Elves or Faeries, but an experimental, never-before-seen type of Cyber Elves that does not qualify in any standard categories, "Not to mention, she is an earnest girl who wanted to be helpful as well. Exactly the kind of person little Maomao would wanted, is she not?"

As excited as he was to hear that, as there are not many out there who still know how to develop Cyber Elves in China, at least not from the ground up, that particular sentence gave rise to another concerning possibility, "…Could she be creating them in order to fool others?" It was an eventuality that he was hoping was not the case, for if it were, then not only he miss out on a chance that is few and far between, but it would mean that the people of Xiangjiang is being taken advantage of, and nothing boiled the blood in his veins more than scums that exploited the trust other put in them. Furious as he may be at the thought, however, deep down in his heart, he was hoping he was wrong on that suggestion.

which was confirmed when the White Empress swayed her head side by side, her flowing pink hair shifted at her movement, "No, you know how Cyber Faeries are. If she were taking advantage of the Rens, then they would immediately confess." Although powerful for being of their stature, Cyber Elves and Faeries are, in nature, incredibly innocent, pure, and impressionable life forms, akin to that of a young child with their mentality, regardless of who they are and what kind of purpose they were made for, so much so to the point that they are incapable of deception of any sorts, only stating the absolute and earnest truth should someone asked them a question, more so to a fellow Cyber Elves, which is exactly what happened when they sent the reconnaissance Faeries to questioned the Elves, both party under the impression that they are friends and merely ask questions with the same level of innocence like what is their favorite colors before 'going home' and tell their 'parents' about what they have learned.

"True enough." Ruogang allowed himself to have a breath of relief at the news, glad that he was wrong, a rather strange line of thought for sure, but he digressed. Now with all his suspicion toward Xia had been cleared, the excitement he felt when he heard about her capabilities rushed back like a shot of adrenaline injected directly into his vein. If he managed to recruit this foreign girl into his fold, then Maomao would have an assistant she is content with at last, while he and Jinshi would finally get a break from her constant nagging, "Do you think the Council would mind if I take this girl in?" As enthusiastic as he was at the prospect, the Azure Emperor needed to take the Governing Council of the Neo Arcadian Empire into consideration as well, if a single one of them consents, then it would not be a problem. The trouble is, there is no telling how they would feel about him taking in a Foreigner into his Palace, which contains sensitive information, even if she is trusted by Cyber Faeries.

"They won't, I can assure you that much." Knowing her comrades in the ruling Councils, particularly her best friend Kyra, not only would they have no problem with it, but would in fact wholeheartedly approve of the decision, as by taking Xia into the Palace, they can keep a close eye on her, monitored her actions to ensure that she poses a threat to neither China nor Neo Arcadia as a whole, while benefitted immensely from having someone as resourceful as Xia in their fold when it comes to Cyber Elves and Faeries. Sure, there are risk, but not something they cannot handle, the Azure Palace is one of the most secure locations in the Planet, if trouble arises, it will be taken care of as fast as it happened, "Now I know You would wanted to pick up this girl as soon as possible, but how about you get some sleep first? You are free to use the guest room, Qin."

"Oh, thanks the Mother Faeries…I am truly grateful for your hospitality." It was a good idea to come here after all, he was looking forward to crashing his face head-first into the soft cushion.

This is the start of a good week for him.

And so a week passed the world by…

Ciel was having a good week.

Since offering her help several days back, The blonde genius has been participating in helping the townsfolk prepare for the Red Moon Festival, assisting them in any way she could. While she was not suited for a more labor-intensive job because of her petite body build, Ciel was still able to be of use to the townsfolk by assisting in carrying items she was capable of moving, delivering drinks to tried workers during every break, but chief among them must be her capabilities in sewing and making dolls along with various plush animals as prizes for various the stalls that is being constructed, an skill she learned during her early year to make the kitten plush that Alouette cherished with all her hearts when she gifted it to her, and now she is making use of that latent talent once more after all these years for a similar purpose. Doing this reminded her of those days with her younger sister, and the memories brought a smile onto her features, as did with the local children surrounding her, with Lei amongst them, watching her with their eyes full of awe and stars as she weaved up the mountain of stuffed toys they look on in yearning, eager to win when the Event come.

"Now, Now, everyone, don't worry. You'll get them when the festival rolls in." Ciel chided the more excitable children in a playful manner as she and all the passing adults grew a warm smile at the rather adorable sight of the Young girl being swarmed by lively children, a rare sight in these turbulent times where all the tension seems to disperse for a moment. As for the Blonde youth in question, she was having a great time indeed, from not only in making the prizes for the occasion, taking a break from the usual routine of gluing her eyes onto a monitor, which is something her Elves still poked fun at her the entire week, but spending her that time with the town's children population as well. Over the course of her life, she has never had the chance to interact much with other Human beings, even with the refugees that escaped from Neo Arcadia during the reign of a certain mad scientist, having spent most of her time working over socializing, but now here in the presence of these cheerful youngsters, it felt as though they bring out the child in her that never have the chance to have fun up until now, which she is relishing every second of it, taking her time enjoying the moment like reexperiencing a childhood's innocence long gone but not forever lost.

Severing the thin silk thread from the last plush she needed to make, Ciel tossed the final addition to the pile, finishing this portion of today's work, just in time for lunch, delivered to every worker by Ning and Lanfen. The former having provided the main ingredients, which is a Type of Mushroom the local referred to as Feng, not to be mistaken for the White Empress Mei Feng, some of them has joked. Apparently, these mushrooms possessed similar healing properties as Energy Crystal, capable of replenishing any Reploids and Humans that consumed it just like the minerals, though it has a rather pungent aftertaste according to the archive regarding the Mushrooms that Ciel has checked that one time. That is where the Matriarch of the Ren Family comes in, preparing the dish that eliminates the foul-smelling aspect of the fungus, leaving behind some of the most nutritious dishes that the Blonde has ever eaten in her life, restoring any vigor she might have burned and then some.

Upon finishing the delicious lunch, The Blonde would then decided that this is the perfect time to unseal the containers of Potentielle and Illimite, granting them the freedom to join the children's population in whatever game they come up with to pass the time, something that the Cyber Elves was more than happy to be a part of, partaking in all kind of activity, ranging from tags, which the children were having a hard time pursuing the Smaller Life due to their wings that give them an unfair advantage, hide-and-seek, again, the Cyber Elves make use of their statures to hide themselves in spots no one other than them would fit, to playing a game known as Jianzi, involving kicking a bell attached to a tassel made from some kind of feathers to see how many time could they launch it before it hit the ground, giving the children an actual fighting chance again the two Cyber Elves that has been essentially cheating in the first two contest.

Watching the children playing amongst themselves has become something of a favorite pastime for Ciel these past few days, seeing them and her Cyber Elves having fun in turns made her happy, though deep down in her heart, unbeknownst to even her, there is a hint of jealousy that could be found, unable to fester, but continued to persist like weeds in an otherwise flourishing garden. It was a feeling that is hard to describe, even more so when they are directed at her Cyber Elves…Having Fun…Enjoying the company of the cheerful children not troubled by the world around them…Something she never had the chance to see or experience…Ah, Perhaps that was it. Having fun. A phrase she was familiar with, but ultimately never knew what it was like to actually...well, have fun, circumstances never allowed it. Or at least, up until now, that is, for the chance to do just that stands before her, in the form of a certain young lad.

"Miss Xia! Wanna join us?" The thundering voice of Lei that came down on her like a lightning strike broke her out of her self-inflicted absent-minded state, finally registered her surroundings again, where the Young Ren could be seen extending his hands to the Blonde, offering her the opportunity to do what she truly wanted, even if she is unaware of it, "Come on, come on!" Not even bothered to wait for an answer or maybe a protest from Ciel, Lei just took her arms and pulled her away from her seat, making her join them by force, yet she could not find herself having a problem with that, if anything, a smile, albeit a sheepish one spread across her feature as she was getting "dragged" into the fray, much to the delight of the children and their new Cyber Elven friends upon gaining a new playmate, while the onlookers shared a peal of quiet laughter, witnessing the heartwarming scene of the Girl they have come to respects for her earnest and helpful nature joining their children in whatever is it they are up to.

Though at first hesitant and awkward in playing with children younger than herself, to say that she was not having fun would just be her lying through her teeth, as soon she did come to enjoy the diversion the kids came up, racing with or after the group, suppressing a giggle as she takes cover from the seeker, getting a surprisingly high score in the Jianzi much to the admiration of the children, probably because she is so used to running at this point that her legs have a lot more stamina than the average person, and generally having a grand old time among the horde of youngsters, feeling as though she was one of them, relieving a time gone by. If this thrilling experience is what having fun is like, then she almost wished it would never end.

It truly has been a great week for Ciel, full of brand new, refreshing experiences that made her truly feel alive like never before, enjoying the common pleasures in life she had been denied before she was even born, like everything before was just a bad dream. However, no matter how beautiful and wonderful these fantastical dreams may be, everyone will have to wake up from their sleep and return to reality one way or another. Ciel was not an exception from this rule by any means, as her day of rest was about to come to an end, foretold by the booming, almost mechanical neighing that rang through the street like a chime, ricochetting the walls and into the ears of all that may hear the bray produced by an entourage of horned, Drake-like beasts, whose majestic mane matched only by its fearsome, armored form, yet those cumbersome platings failed to hinder the strength of these Dragons as they pulled a gilded carriage behind them to the town Plaza.

She recognized these creatures, if Ciel's memories have no mistake, they are the Longma, a type of Imaginary Phantasm, Beings born from the fantasy of Men, given shape by the Cyber Space, which she has learned exists in this world too, where all the creatures she has seems thus far originated from, before being released into reality. Going by the information Page regarding this specific species, the Longma are known for their robust physique and their ability to traverse in rough terrain, not to mention their speed, often compared to Horses despite being technically Dragon, thus frequently domesticated for the purpose of drawing carriage and similar means of transportation in China, and judging from the sight of them strapped with the harness connected to a decorative cart, the data she gathered about the Dragon-like Horses were correct after all.

But it failed to mention anything about people kneeling in their presence, which is what every man and woman currently present are doing, dropping whatever it is they are doing in favor of getting down on their knees and prostrating themselves in front of these majestic being, or rather, the one inside the carriage the Longmas are pulling. Seeing that is what the action all are doing, though confused, Ciel chooses to follow their example, feeling as though this is necessary, and indeed, it was, for when the cart came to a screeching halt, the one emerging from within took everyone's breath away, as he did for Ciel, for she knows those features, the brilliant Azure colored eyes and jewels, dotted across his frill, jet black robes patterned with intricate gilded glyphs, just like his crown where the beads tassels shifted gently in the wind that brushed against the fair skin of his feature, where a smirk was resting on it.

Before her, stood none other than the Azure Emperor of the Dragon County in the East, The Nominated Crown Blue Megaman of China, and the Representative of the Xenuvier Clan in the Nation, Qin Ruogang of Qinglong with two attendants by his side. Here in the town of Xiangjiang for reasons unknown. Now that she sees him in person upon daring to take a peak from her position, Ciel could say without a shadow of a doubt, that he is truly someone that befitted his title of an Emperor, commanding respects and possessing an air of authority without even needing to speak a word, as though air itself bend to his presence that it became hard to breathe for Ciel, no matter how hard she tries, she could not find herself suppress a shudder of nervousness crawling throughout her body, stabbing into her being like a thousand needles. Ciel knew that the Emperor is currently traveling across the White Tiger County, but she had never taken into consideration that he would visit this remote town at the back end of nowhere, neither did anyone here it would seem, as the mayor of this small settlement, a Man known as Gao Weisheng finally gathered the necessary courage to force himself in the same vicinity as the Azure Emperor.

"I-I bid you welcome to our humble town, Your Imperial M-Majesty." The man spoke in his best attempt to remain as calm as one can be when facing someone with status like Ruogang, not daring not raise his voice nor lowering it, just barely enough for it to be audible, an effort worthy of praise in of itself. In return, the Azure Emperor offered the man a nod of acknowledgment at his greetings, before redirecting his attention to the gallery of onlookers gathered at the plaza. Which amongst them is the foreigner, he wondered to himself, knowing better than to outright stating his true reason for his arrival to this place, since he could still feel the tension in the atmosphere despite the merriment of it all. How should he go about in identifying that Girl from the crowd? Neither he nor Mei Feng has any way of knowing what she looks like. Not help that the description provided to him matched at least five different people in the crowd.

"Your Majesty! Careful! Those are Cyber Faeries!" Lady Luck seems to smile on him this day, for the answer to his unspoken question eventually falls onto his lap when he hears his two attendants call out a warning to him, spotting the two spheres of lights approaching him without even a single of moment of hesitation. These must be the Cyber Faeries of the Foreigner, which when they approached him, the corner of his eyes could pick up a Blonde Lass flinching at the sight before sweating a waterfall in silent Panic. There she is. The smile on his face widened further as he raised his hand to appease his servants, since even if their concerns are not entirely unfounded, Cyber Faeries can be dangerous after all, as long as he expresses no ill-intent toward them or their Creator, it should be smooth sailing, "Your Majesty…"

"No worries, Men." Less of an reassurance and more of an order, his words cause them to remain in place, albeit not without some initial protest out of worries for their Emperor, but they eventually caved all the same, stepping away to let the miniature audience to get a closer look at Ruogang, fascination apparent on their face, curious by his scent. It was distinctly familiar yet not at the same time, "Oho? How bold of you to do this in the presence of the Emperor. Very well, for your bravery, I'll allow it! Take in my glorious form, Faeries! Bask in it! Wahahaha!" His Majesty certainly has quite the…Personality, for a lack of a better term in Ciel's vocabulary, not entirely sure how she should feel about this Man just yet, but her Cyber Elves already seemed to have taken a liking to him, dancing around the Azure Emperor in delight at his Permission, much to his amusement.

"Although it is most peculiar indeed, Cyber Faeries would not usually appear in such a dense area, unless they bonded with a Human…" This elicited another flinch from Ciel, further confirming his speculation. Excellent, if he played this card right, he could have this girl presented herself before him without arousing suspicion, all he needed now is someway to make her do so, and thankfully, he just happened to have two little helpers to assist him in that particular endeavor, "Tell me little ones, do have an Human Friend?" The Cyber Elves, who did not think much of the reason behind the question, nodded eagerly, excited to show him their creator, while said creator and the townsfolk were in a state of mental panic, their mind were in complete disarray as sweats began racing down Ciel's face like a speeding bullet, which only worsens as the two tiny life forms guided the Man to where she was kneeling, gaining them a look of betrayal from her part as the two Elves unknowingly sealed the fate of the Blonde Genius.

"Oho? So you are the one. Stands. I'll allow it." Not wanting to test his patience, the Blonde found herself picking her knees up as fast as humanly possible, soon meeting the Sapphire orbs that is the eyes of the Undisputed Ruler of the Azure Dragon County, already feeling her legs about to give out, and it would have the second their eyes connected, but even after a solid minute of awkward silence passed them by, her legs, while still trembling, remains steadfast, for meeting him here made her realized one thing; This is the Opportunity Velvet has told her about that made her waiting the entire week for; The chance to progressed with her task, to mend the fractured Alliance of China, starting with Ruogang, the Man that will be an important player in this delicate game of chess! This is it! She just needed to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime personal contact with one of the most prominent figure in this Nation! Now her legs are trembling both from nervousness and excitement! "Tell me, Girl, how exactly did you come to earn the trust of these Cyber Faeries?"

"O-Oh, uh…I made them, so they just sort of…Grew attached to me." Focus Ciel, Focus! This is your one chance to make some kind of progress after all this time! Do not mess up now! With that mental encouragement in mind, the Blonde was able to stutter out an answer, regaining just enough of her bearing to form something that resembled a Human's Response, which seems to have some kind of effect on Ruogang, though it is hard to tell what emotions that expression seems to indicate. He has a really good control over his facial features. Or so she thought, because less than a second after confirming that her words lacked any hint of deceit, his face twisted out of excitement, which had been rising up the entire time, but now with her saying it herself, it finally erupted like a volcano, spilling out the Magma of laughter that burned the ears of all those unfortunate enough to hear the deafening howling of amusement from the Azure Emperor. Ciel was one of these unlucky ones, feeling her skull being rattled by the sheer volume of that laughter, not knowing what even prompted it in the first place.

"WAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Truly now?!" For Ruogang, today was truly one worth celebrating, even before the actual celebration which is the Red Moon Festival. Not only did he finally get the rest he had been craving all weeks, courtesy of the generous White Empress, rejuvenating him completely after battling his exhaustion all days long, but his trip of laying over the town to investigate bore greater fruit than he could have ever asked, finding that Foreign Girl without much hassle. He could not help but let out a joyous bellow. This has truly been a wonderful Week. Things are looking up for him, "Ahahahaha! The Mother Faeries have blessed me this day! You, girl, tell me your name!" Came a sharp order that pierced through the ringing wall that obstructed the sensitive earplate of Ciel, allowing her to hear the command loud and clear.

"It's-"

Don't let anyone know your real name.

Just as she was about to answer, as though directly whispered into her head, the parting words of Velvet from the last dream she had of him reemerged all of a sudden after being buried in the past, letting itself known after being forgotten for nearly a week as it echoing in the deepest crevice of her skull that drowned out her thoughts momentarily, enough to have her words die on the tips of her tongue before it could come out. Why did she remember those words now of all time? Is…Is this what he is referring to? Not revealing her true name to Ruogang? But what for? As far as she knows, her name is not all that special, not anymore in this world at least. Sure the Biometals she created are here, but it has been eighteen billion years since the 'resurgence', Whatever that point in history is, the likelihood of them still remembering her name is minuscules at best, there is a limit when it comes to databank after all. Besides, she doubted she would become important enough to have her name to go down in history books as something they taught in school.

So there should be no reason for her to follow those words…But…At the same time, there is still that innate feeling of doubts lurking in her chest, instilled by uncertainty about the true nature of the Deity that sent her here in the first place. What if she chooses to go against that advice? What will happen if she does? These questions made her fear of doing so, as though a knife is pressing against the back of her neck, ready to plunge right in if she so much as ignored the warning and stated her true name to the Azure Emperor. That is not the only thing that made her hesitate either, there is also the fact that he gave those words as a piece of advice imparted to her. In the short time she has known of Velvet, he has been nothing but helpful in her quest to return to her world, even offering the chance for such a thing when he has no obligation to. On top of that, just as he had assured her, the destined time did come to her in the form of Ruogang who stood before her. He did not lie to her, there is no reason for him to do that, he gained nothing from that. Ciel needed to trust him on this. Her instinct told her to. And her instinct has never failed her before.

However, if she were to lie about her name, then what it should be? It's not like she could come up with a completely different name on the spot-

Ah.

That's it! There is a name she could use! It's literally perfect for this situation!

Rerouting her mind back to reality after making the final decision that determined the remainder of her journey, the Blonde cleared her throat in order to ensure that what will soon follow will be loud and crystal, "My name…Is Xia." She declared, using the name that the Ren Family has gotten used to when addressing her. While she is unsure why they keep calling her even though she has told them on numerous occasions that is not how her name is pronounced, she is truly grateful for that mistake now. All she could hope now was that what Velvet had told her was absolutely necessary to progress through this mission.

Back to the matter at hand, Ruogang nodded in acknowledgment, regaining his composure while waiting for the answer, which the girl seemed to be a little hesitant in giving him, something that he just chalked it up to her having a timid disposition, she does come across as someone with a gentle personality, maybe she is just uncomfortable if giving out her name to new people. An introvert perhaps? She does give him that impression. Well, regardless, with her name in mind, it was the Azure Emperor's turn to clear his own throat of any vocal hindrance, "Xia, is it then? Very well. Heeds these words of mine, Young Xia; for I shall now extend to you a rare offer; with the upcoming disbandment of my old court, How would you like to become a part of my new Court?"

Shock. Such a simple word, yet the only one that could truly do justice to describing the emotions everyone is feeling in that moment when those words left the lips of the Azure Dragon Emperor, for they could have never anticipated on hearing that at any point in their respective life. The very moment those words reach the ears any and all that heeds them has paralyzed them on the spot like they were struck by a sudden thunder strike, rendering them incapable of doing anything but gape forward at the form of the man who has uttered the most incredulous thing they have ever heard. No Breaths were taken. No moves were made. And no eyes even blinked, like the world itself was frozen in place at his declaration, with the only thing they could do at that point was stare at the incredibly proud Ruogang waiting to hear the answer he wanted, which would take a little while as Ciel was currently pouring all of her efforts into trying to process the offer the Emperor has extended to her, and for a good reason, as according to what she has learned about the government system in China, to have a place in an Imperial court is no easy feat, you would have to be some of the most powerful, most influential and most importantly of all, most dedicated members of a County in order to even be considered a possible candidate, let alone be officially recognized as part of it. Suffice it to say, that becoming a member of the Imperial Court is a rigorous process. So the fact that Ciel just received an offer for such a prestigious position like that, could only yield one appropriate response.

"Eh?" Whispered Ciel, clearly taken aback by the proposal.

"Eh?" Said the children population, clearly confused about what was going on.

""Eh?"" Uttered the two attendants, clearly not expecting it.

"""EH?!""" Shouted the townsfolk, clearly at a loss for words.

"Neighmm!" Snorted the Longmas, clearly Hungry.

"You don't have to say a word." Unlike them, their collective response was one expected by the Azure Emperor. Ruogang could understand why they would be taken aback by such a proposal, the revelation that he is planning to retiring his current court would be something that would undoubtedly spark a conversation among the populace, given that they have been with him for the past two hundred years, one would think he will not be replacing them anytime ever, but after all the mishaps they have committed, especially in recent time has lead to the Azure Emperor running out of patience and the tolerance that comes with it to wither away, forcing Ruogang to have no choice to dissolve the Court to replace it with a new and improved one, of which he planned for this Foreign Girl to be a part of. By doing so, not only would he get Maomao off his and Jinshi's back, but with her as part of his new court, along with the reopening of his Border would help in restore the Public Relations with Foreigners in Alliance, thus ending the tension that is currently brewing beneath the surface of China. All of his current problems could be resolved in one fell swoop through this girl, "There is no need to thank me, I'm sure that you are overwhelmed with gratitude."

She is definitely overwhelmed alright, just not with gratitude. Not entirely at least. "U-Uh…Um…May I ask why, your Majesty?" It was a bold question, Ciel knows that, but while she acknowledged if she just accepted the offer of becoming a member of this court would allow her to get in closer to one of the Emperor, thus giving her the best chance at completing her goal, there is something she needed to know first before jumping blindingly into it. First and foremost is obviously why he would wanted her to join in the first place, from the sounds of it, most likely because of her ability to create Cyber Elves, which was quite curious in of itself. Is the skill to develop Cyber Elves really that valuable to warrant a position in the imperial court? The blonde did hear a surprise gasp from the townsfolk on the side when she informed the man about the origin of Potentielle and Illimite.

"A good question." Thankfully, the Azure Emperor did not appear to be upset with her making that question, if anything, he nodded in understanding and approval, somewhat pleasantly surprised even, "Well you see, young Xia, I just happened to be in dire need of an Assistant for my Programmer, Maomao, and in my court, people like you are few and far between." It was not exactly a lie either, here in the nation of China and especially in the Blue Dragon Region, Cyber Faeries' Programmers are highly respected individuals due to their line of work closely connected with the dominating religion in the Arcadia Empire and the overall benefit that the Cyber Faeries bring onto the table, but at the same time, there are not many of them willing to work for the court, as most preferred freedom and wanting nothing to do with politics that came with their employment. Because of that, having a Programmer is always a massive boon to any court that has them, and why Maomao has not been fired despite her poor attitude, Someone of her caliber is hard to replace, though her personality is rather refreshing in Ruogang's opinion, he can respected someone willing to speak up their mind and what they wanted, "So you can see why I would wanted someone like you to be a part of my new Court. If you accept my offer, not only would we pay you handsomely for your contribution, a Place in the Palace, and a high-ranking position, but your words will carry much weight in the court. So, what will it be?"

It is tempting, to put it mildly, especially the last part that genuinely stood out to her than the other two. If she were to take up the proposal, then if what he said was true, she would gain a degree of influence in the politics in the nation, exactly what she needed in order to advance in her goal. While she is unsure what to do when she does get to that point, since of all things she has knowledge in, diplomacy is not one of them, Ciel was willing to play the long game regardless to figure out the intricacy of the Court before ultimately come up with the way to handle the trials and tribulations of court intrigue, last she checked, Velvet never said there is a time limit to her task whatsoever, so it is entirely possible that she will be here in this world for much, much longer than anticipated. But that is fine by her, anything if it means she can eventually return home to her Family, even if it means spending years, perhaps even decades building her reputation in the Azure Court until she can somehow resolve the civil strife of the country. The prospect of possible housing and payment does intrigue her as well. With it, she can finally leave the Ren Family and pay them back for their hospitality up until now.

But that was not say that bidding them farewell would be easy for her. Over the week, she has truly become attached to the household, who treated her like a daughter they never had, and in turn, she has started to view them as a family herself. Even though she planned to accept the offer regardless, for it is the only way for her to move forward and no longer troubled them with her presence, it would not make it any less difficult to leave them like that all of a sudden. She have promised that they would see the Red Moon together several days ago, and she hates breaking promises, so the least she can do is for them is… "…Your Majesty, may I request something?" Ciel turned to the Azure Emperor, a firm expression on her face, one that surprised him, seeing such a rapid shift in her emotions, going from nervousness to such a resolute one, even more so with what she had to say. While his two attendants gain a look of outrage, about to decry the girl for her impudence, but they never have the chance to as Ruogang silenced them with a gesture.

"I do not mind. Speak."

"I thank you for your generosity, your Imperial Majesty. While it may be presumptuous for me to say this, if possible, I would like to remain here in this town until the red of the Red Moon Festival. I've made a promise I will be there with these folks, and I intend to see it through. Once it has passed, I would like to take up your offer." She knows she is not exactly in the position to negotiate, having nothing to offer onto the table in exchange for making him wait for her, thus risking her one and only chance to succeed in her main objective, but she intends to see through the promise she made to the Ren no matter what, even if it means she has to against her better judgment once more, which were screaming at her for such a foolhardy act, as it might cost them their opportunity to go home forever, but she chooses to ignore it in favor of staring straight into the eyes of the Man before her, for if she could not keep a simple promise as that, then how can she claim she would be able to uphold the oath she has made to him on that starry night?

Now it was the Azure Emperor who was at a loss for words at her request. For someone to decline an invitation he made personally? A favor from him? All so she could stay committed to the words she has pledged? How… "Hmhm…" How…! "Fufu…" How very interesting! "WAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ruogang could not help himself from unleashing another wave of bolstering laughter full of amusement, causing everyone to flinch at the sudden outburst of emotions by the Emperor. To think there would be a day when he would meet someone who was willing to risk the chance to have everything one could ever want in their lifetime; Wealth, Power, and Status in order to remain faithful to an oath. But rather than be offended by such a thing, Ruogang found himself incredibly pleased by her refusal to accept right away and instead prioritized what in his opinion, was worth far more than any of them. That alone shows him the full extent of her character, as an individual who treasured the bond she has made with these people, as someone who cared for others more than herself, precisely the type of person he would want in his new court, "You are a bold one, Young Xia! To make such a demand of an Emperor! Very well, I will allow it! Be grateful!" Even if it means he'll have to wait to have her cooperation, then so be it, better to have someone willingly accept than force them into his service.

"I-I will, my utmost appreciation, your Imperial Majesty!" Holding back a sigh of relief for the moment, the Blonde made a bow of respect toward the Azure Emperor, who truly earned it with his understanding nature. Now she can see why people looked up to the Man, truly someone who deserved his title as the Emperor of his County. Ciel was not sure on what to do had he refused to grant her request, but it seemed she was worrying over nothing. With this, she can both attend the festival and be able to move forward once all is said and done, "I promised that I will respond as soon as possible!"

"See that you do, Young Xia. Here," A brisk Clapping motion was what soon followed the Emperor's words, leading to his two attendants behind him to pump their curled fists against their hearts as a gesture of acknowledgment at his unspoken command, rushing toward the carriage to retrieved an item hold within, before returning to the site, now in hands a scroll sealed by two threads on each end, which they presented it in the same fashion as making offering to Ruogang, who then grab hold of it firmly, before extended it to Ciel with an expectant expression, watching her gingerly received the object with care, recognizing this is an item of great importance despite not knowing of its purpose, something that is soon revealed to her, "This here is the documents that will formally recognized you as part of my court, granting you all the benefits that come with the position. Just handed this to the Guards when you decided to come to my Palace. I'll make the necessary arrangement."

"I-I…Thank you again, your Majesty. I'll be sure to take good care of it." The blonde bowed as a sign of gratitude, making sure to put this Scroll into some place secure later when she returned to the guest room back in the Ren household. To hear that this object is essentially her golden ticket to get into the court in the near future, Ciel needed to ensure that it is well-protected until the time comes, lest she might squander her chance to accomplish her mission. She definitely to keep these away from her Cyber Elves while she is at it. She loved the two dearly, but just as with most Cyber Elves, they are still too young when it come to mentality, and with their abilities such as producing fire, they might accidentally damage the scroll out of curiosity. Best to play it safe.

"Make sure that is the case. Farewell Young Xia, until we meet again in the future." Now with his business in this isolated town concluded, the Emperor gave his parting words to his future Court Member, before turning around and stepping back inside his gilded carriage where his two Longmas has just finished on getting fed, escorted there by his two attendants, who hopped back on their own personal compact chamber once their Emperor return to his. When the cart has been repopulated, the Longmas, at the command of their drivers that signaled them that it's time to leave, let out a fearsome roar in affirmation, though somehow it is far more subdued and tame compared to the sheer might of Ruogang's booming bellow, immediately build up the momentum on their feet, which is released in a burst of speed toward the entrance of the town, their form shrink into the far-off distance of the road as the thundering thumps of their hooves faded into silence, the silence of which that descended upon the entirety of the population of Xiangjiang, trying to process what has just transpired a moment prior, having completely forgot about the whole decoration process for the festival.

Though they are eventually get brought back to reality when the tense silence is punctured by the needle that is Lei, who was the first to recover from the initial shock in order to rush toward Ciel so he can congratulate her, for even if he had no idea what the entire ordeal was about, being too young to understand the significance of the conversation that took place, from his perspective, the Blonde seems to have received an gift from someone as important as the neighboring Emperor of his home, and that is something worth celebrating over alone, "Woah Miss Xia! You get to talk to The Emperor! The Emperor! And get a gift from him too! So lucky!" Suffice it to say, the young Lad was a little jealous, but considering that the object she was given was just a boring old Paper Scroll, it somewhat lessened. Still, he wished he could talk to Ruogang himself, even if he had no idea what to say to the man, the chance to see an Emperor in person was few and far between after all.

"I…Supposed I am." The only response she could give was a sheepish chuckle, in an agreement that she is indeed very much blessed by lady Fortune. Who could what thought that her Cyber Elves would be the one thing that allow her to enter the Imperial Court? Circumstances seem to favor her this time around. Now with the Document in her hand, the key she needed to unlock the dilemma she had been contemplating for days now, Ciel could finally the path before her being laid for her to walk on, now finally knew what to do at long last. However, she will proceed on the road on a later date once the Red Moon Festival concludes. Speaking of which, she supposed it was time for everyone to resume the preparations, "Well, let's get to it, everyone!" She cheered, if a little awkwardly when she gained so response, Everyone was still stuck in a catatonic state, and would be staying like that for an Hour or two.

Well, better go stores the Scroll elsewhere.

On the Road to Qinglong…

"Lady Mei Feng, I did it. I've managed to successfully recruit the Foreign girl." With a mission well done, the Azure Emperor promptly contacted the White Empress as soon as a good distance had been made between his entourage of Carriages and the Settlement, retrieving the communicator stored in his robes, which projected the transparent form of Mei Feng in his palm, who no doubt is doing the same on her end of the communication line, in order to report the good news to his collaborator. The Empress has requested him to report to her as soon as the situation has been dealt with so that the two of them can make the required arrangement to place a Relocation Order so that their person of interest be moved to the capital city of the Azure Dragon County as soon as possible should she acquiesced to their Proposal, which seems to be the case, though Mei Feng was more than a little confused when she did not saw that girl anywhere if her expression were anything to go by, something that Ruogang recognized and immediately answers the unspoken question, "Well, she had agreed, under the condition that she remains in Xiangjiang until the end of the upcoming Red Moon festival. Once that has passed, she will respond."

The answer she received seemed to amuse the Empress, which he can certainly understand the reason why, he himself was immensely entertained by the bold demand from the girl, something that no one throughout his Reign as the Azure Emperor had ever done either out of fear for his wrath or respect for his position, yet while she has undoubtedly felt such emotions toward Ruogang when he approached her, considering she was trembling like leaf in the presence of a storm that is him during the first half of their conversation, she still held her head high to face him rather than trying to avoid eyes contact like so many before her, making a request without a hint of hesitation in her voice, firm and resolute as they were to keep a promise, that alone is worthy of the highest praise.

[My oh My, quite a fearless Girl, isn't she?] Mei Feng chuckled in amusement, a sentiment shared by the Azure Emperor. While they can attribute her boldness to the fact that she is a Foreigner and therefore did not understand the power an Emperor and a Megaman Wielded at their command, it is nonetheless commendable that she had the bravery to refuse of the call right away and favor a personal schedule first and foremost. That tells her that this Xia Girl is someone who is quite a responsible and earnest individual who is not afraid to speak up her mind and argue against those above her if their action goes against her personal belief, in a similar, yet fundamentally different and definitely more positive way compared to Maomao, and that makes her a perfect candidate for both as an assistant for the cynical Cyber Faeries programmer who has no patience for blind loyalty. All in all, from his observation, Xia is the type of person who would prioritize the best interest of the people over her own need, which make her ever more perfect for his court despite her seemingly youthful appearance.

"Indeed she is." A much more quiet laugh escaped the lips of the Emperor, who leaned against the window of his booth to see his carriage fast approach the towering border that separated his County from the rest of the nation casting its protection from the harsh sunlight above. Looking on as the entourage passed through the Azure-colored Wall, Ruogang allowed his lips to curl into a smirk of anticipation. It's time that he revoke the decree and reestablish the checkpoints and get rid of those troublesome Morons once and for all.

Though before he could do that, "Your Majesty!" There was a problem he needed to take care of first, one that began to emerge from all sides, surroundings them in every direction, intercepting the roads and any potential escape routes, forming a barrier of hostiles, in the form of a roving band of purple plated humanoid machines, leveling their Buster Cannons at the carriages, an act they are struggling with due to their battered visual receptor, all it did was provoked the Longmas, who let out a low, threatening growl, preparing to mauled them had the drivers not pull over the leash that prevents them from rushing head first, while the guards began to mobilize, establishing a circle around the gilded carriage of their beloved Emperor, who they are prepared to lay down their life for, fighting these androids, which they recognized the design anywhere. There is no mistake in it, these are the mechaniloids that the foreign invaders used as foot soldiers, Galleons if their memories served, machines that are by no means as dangerous as their own Incursion Combat Android, but still pose a threat in large numbers. Seems that even after their force has driven back, there are still some that continued to roam the Land, "Please take cover! We will deal with this shortly!"

"…I'll call you back, lady Mei." Seeing that the communicator began to crack under the force of his tightened grip, the Azure Emperor quickly dismissed the call before he could utterly crush the device into dust out of frustration. Just when the week was going so well again. Of course, problems just have to arise the moment he steps foot back into his Territory. He just has to be ambushed by the remnants of the enemy force that is more of a nuisance than a threat. Seems that he has to delay the reopening of the Border and double the number of guards patrolling the vicinity. The mere thoughts alone infuriated him to no end, to the point that he needed something to vent it on, and Fortunately, there were some willing volunteers just outside of the carriage, which he kicked the door of right open in order to step outside, to the protest of his guards, "Your Majesty! What are you doing?! Please get back inside! We'll-" Before they had the chance to finish their words, the corner of their eyes, unfortunately, caught a glimpse of the expression resting on the face of their benevolent Ruler, one that struck terror even into unfeeling and calculative Machines that was the Galleon, causing their programming to warn them upon sensing incoming danger in the form of a livid Emperor, who emotions twisted his features.

"No need. I'll take care of them myself." His furious hiss silenced any more disagreement to his action that his personnel might have, as they witnessed their emperor slowly step into an open space, making him the center of all the Galleon's attention, who collectively aimed at him, second away from firing their concentrated energy bullet, which is all the time the Emperor needed to utter one singular sentence, "Mega Merge."

Then there was Light, Sent down from the Heaven itself, brought down on Ruogang's form, infusing itself with his being as the torrent of blinding Azure-colored Radiance causing everyone, be it the Imperial Guards or the Galleons Force to shield their eyes, protecting their vision from this Sacred Glimmer. Those who were able to endure their instinct to cover their eyes saw a singular shining Ruby red jewel shining through the ray of Azure light that began to take the shape of a crane that spreading its wing, unleashing a shriek with such force that few of the Androids were send flying while the rest have their visual receptors overwhelmed by the Crane of Light that engulf the surroundings, before its brilliance began to die down, unveiling to them the Azure Emperor, but no longer is he clad in his trimmed, feathered robe or his gilded crown, what is in their place now are a sleek set of sapphire and quartz colored armor made from Data made manifested, held together by a striking array of kaleidoscopic tassels, resembling that of a peafowl that spread its majestic tail, just like the Mechanical wings unfurled as they roared to life with vigorous engines, as the red jewel, the core embedded on the forefront of his helmet glimmered like his eyes full of fire.

"I'm going to beat all of you back into silicon you outdated fossils."

With that firm declaration full of seething venom dripping from the voice of the emperor, the Galleons prepared to fire their shot, but he was already one step ahead, swinging his tassels wreathed in energy, the result was the swift decapitation of the nearest Mechaniloid, its severed head got send flying into the air, before the Blue Megaman of China quickly moved onto his next, lodging several energy bullets into the heads of a few more Galleons, with their bodies lifelessly collapsed into the ground. Once the nearest threat was eliminated, Ruogang leaped into the air and suspended himself with his wings that blared out a loud roar. Now having an aerial advantage over the enemy, the Emperor concentrated his energy into his Buster that once reached its limit capacity, was unleashed as a Crane Bird made of pure destructive energy that flew across the field, ripping through any Mechaniloids its form pierced through.

With half of their force already decimated in a span of less than a minute, the Artificial Intelligent that operated the Galleon immediately recognized that this was a battle where victory could not be achieved, that it is impossible for them to come out of this on top, so it attempts to order their vessel to escape from the vicinity, but they would not be so fortunate, as the ethereal Crane swooped down and shattered their already damaged form with its wings, reducing them into little more than a pile of scraps that ignited from the sheer amount of heat the energy Bird generated in the air it is coursing through. The Emperor watched on as the sea of purple mechaniloids was torn to shred by his charged shot that manifested into the shape of a Crane. A signature ability that is unique to him as the Crown Blue Megaman of his Nation.

What should have been an ambush was turned into a one-sided slaughter of the Galleon, where every single one of them was reduced to a mangled pile of metals by the time the Crane was finished with them, letting out one last shriek of triumphant before dispersed, at which point Ruogang descended from the air, landing back to where he has propelled himself from, observing the surroundings one last time to confirmed that all hostilities has been eliminated, before dispelled the armor, returning back to his previous garb of fur-lined robes and bejeweled crown, letting out of sigh of satisfaction, feeling his anger has been appeased with the devastation of the enemy Force. Less pests in this country he'd say. "Well then, time to go. If you have time to gawk, then use it to get a move on." Back to his usual mood of merriment, the Azure Emperor chided in amusement at the sight of his Guards who had observed the entirety of the battle of saucer-sized eyes and an unhinged jaw colliding onto the ground.

"Y-Yes! Your Majesty!"

As much as in a good mood as he was though, Ruogang was still deep in thought as he stepped back into his Carriage, his brow furrowed ever so slightly as he processed what had just happened. Just how did these Galleons know he would arrive back at this specific time to prepare for an ambush? Why were they was in such a battered state? And why did some try to escape? Last he checked, their operating system was not advanced enough to consider retreat when they realized they could not win, which is something that is not possible for them in the first place, having been designed simply to be disposable trooper that has no other purpose than to attack. Unless…There is someone out there, who has access to his strictly confidential schedule, in collaboration with the enemy force, and is able to upgrade the Artificial intelligence of these machines…He better investigate his court more thoroughly once he gets back. He fears his situation might be the same as the Council in Neo Arcadia.

There is a Spy in his Court.

With Ciel…

The following days after that fateful encounter with the Azure Emperor have been an utter blur of banality for Ciel. Aside from a celebratory feast the Ren Family have held for the entire town in order to congratulate her promotion in life, as not everyone could personally be appointed by the Man himself, everything has been largely quiet and peaceful for the most part as everyone resumed the preparation for the actual event that will soon be taking place, which she honestly does not mind all that much if Ciel was being honest. It's a welcoming change of pace after that eventful week that end with her having a chance meeting with perhaps one of the most influential people in all of China and receive an invitation to become a member of his government body directly from the Man. The Blonde could really use the much-needed break from such a hectic period of her life, for she has a feeling that it would be a luxury she would not be able to afford once the time came and she goes to the Azure Dragon Palace to take up the position offered to her.

As such, Ciel planned to make the most of this interval as much as she could. After storing away the Scroll that Ruogang had entrusted to her in a safe compartment, hidden away from any prying eyes, The Scientist, once made sure no one has seen hed stash away the treasure, marched out the door of the guest room into the hallway, where Potentielle and Illimite was there to greet her, having been waiting for the Blonde since the sun has settled and the soon-to-be blood red moon come awake when night falls. Hearing the bustling street all the way from here through the nearby window, she can make a good guess as to why the two Cyber Elves appeared to be so excited that they were practically dying while waiting for her; The long-anticipated Red Moon festival is here and at full throttle, as seen from the various light that illuminated the street that are now decorated with stalls of various shape and sizes, as the denizens of the town now clad themselves in ceremonial garb reserved for this occasion, granting them additional protection against the cold element of the night in this season.

"Xia! It's Time to go!" Came the voice of Lanfen calling out to her from downstair, hoping that the Blonde girl hadn't locked herself in the guest room again, and fortunately for the matriarch of the Ren Family, Ciel had just emerged from her private cavern after spending the past few days trapped in her thoughts about what will be awaiting for her in the near future, finally breaking out of the mental prison of her own making, up and ready to join the rest of the household in participating in the countless activities that the festival have to offered to its people on this night and only this night, even somewhat giddy to do so judging from the way she practically running down stair as fast as her legs could carried her. Not that they blamed her for feeling that way, they too shared the sentiment about the event.

"I'm here Mrs Ren!" Racing downstairs, the Blonde had arrived, sounding quite excited, more than she herself realized, Then again, she supposed this was technically the first time she had ever gone to a festival of some kind in her entire life. In the early days of her youth when she still lived within Neo Arcadia, the Stronghold does indeed held some celebratory events throughout its long history to preserve the old traditions of a time gone by, but she never had the chance to participate in any of them, with researchers and educators discouraged her from going outside of her glorified prison, telling Ciel that those Occasions are simply a waste of time, only served to distract her from her greater purpose. As a result, the Blonde was relegated to only watching from a distance inside the indifferent confinement of the research facility, envying all those who get to live a normal life and enjoy the holiday with their loved ones, while she had to devote her time to studying in the company of people that viewed her less as a fellow human and more of a tool, another gear in the mechanism that keep Neo Arcadia running. Then the city was destroyed by a certain Spacecraft, erasing the last bit of the concept from her world.

But now things are different, This World continued to uphold traditions before the age of technology, including celebrating the holidays, and there is no one to stop her from indulging in the common pleasure of life that has been denied from her any longer, Ciel can finally know what it is like to see an actual festival with her own two eyes and personally experienced it herself rather than only observing it from afar. "There you are! Good! Here, wear this, it's quite cold outside." Before she went outside though, a coat was presented to her by the Matriarch as a method to protect her from the chilling breeze in the air, and it was not just any coat, but the same bright pink one that Ciel had worn when she was sent to this world, all of its torn parts were patched and fixed up by Lanfen, ready to be used. So that is where it was, The Blonde did wonder where it had gone to after she took it off to have her first bath in a long while, it would seem that the Green-haired Woman was the one that was holding onto it in order to make the repair on the coat for her.

"Oh! Thank you for fixing it Mrs. Ren!" Putting it on, Ciel felt the familiar snuggling sensation of its fabric brushed against her skin spreading across her body, granting her the necessary warmth to endure the freezing atmosphere. Truth be told, she somewhat misses this feeling, having worn this cloak since the founding of the Guardian decades ago all the way to the present time, it has grown to possess an irreplaceable sentimental value to her, especially when Alouette has helped her make it. That was a memory she would forever cherish just as she treasured this cloak, so putting it back on not only made her feel warmer because of its thick fabric but at the thought of her little sister as well. Oh, what she wouldn't give to have her with Ciel right now to celebrate the Red Moon Festival together, but it was a fantasy that could never be. At least she have the Ren with her.

"No problems. Now, let's go!" With a chorus of affirmation from the rest of the Ren Household, the Patriarch of the Family took this as his signal and pulled the knobs of the front door open, much more gently than either his son or his wife, Ciel noted with a hint of amusement, before everyone stepped outside of the house, heading straight for the town's plaza, where the main event where taking place, and it was packed. Dozens upon Dozens of stalls alongside makeshift one constructed by various traveling merchants Recently came from outside of town housing various wares decorated the busy streets, which was teeming and bustling with countless conversations that drowned out the sales pitch of the merchants, requiring them to put more strength into her vocal cords for them to reach out to the sea of people.

"Steamed Pork burns! Get your Steamed Pork Buns! Try one for free, come back for more!"

"Stir-fried Noodles! Guarantees Delicious and Affordable!"

"Tired of the Greasy Taste in your mouth? Want to refresh your tongue? Then have a Sip of the Bamboo-shoot Soup! Wash it all down with a single sip!"

"Share this wonderful night with your family like sharing this Mooncakes!"

"Fish! Fresh off the port! The freshest there is in all of China!"

"Fishes and Ducks are fine and dandy, but nothing could possibly beat a bowl of hot porridge on this cold night!"

"If you want some desserts, then look no further! Candied Fruit!"

"Mapo Tofu! For when life gets dull, just add a bit of spice into the mix!"

It was overwhelming for Ciel, though strangely not in a bad way. Despite her mechanical earplates with heightened sensitivity being bombarded by the passionate roars from the multitude of merchants promoting their merchandises to all their potential costumers combined with the casual conversations made by the people that under normal circumstances would give her an head-splitting migraine, Ciel did not felt any headache forming whatsoever, perhaps it helped that most of her attention were directed into taking in the environment of beautifully decorated streets illuminated by the enthralling lanterns, or the fireworks erupting in the sky, spreading gorgeous patterns above for everyone walking down the street to see the dazzling imagery manifested among the stars in the nebulous horizon, where the cloud began to move aside for the White Moon to make its anticipated appearance, capturing the eyes of everyone as more of the rockets soared through the air and imploded into brilliant sparks, but it could not compared to the majesty of the crimson-colored Light slowly enveloped the heavenly body of the moon as the earth bathe in this glow.

'How peculiar.', was what Ciel thought to herself as she watched the ruby shade awash over the dazzling Moon, dyeing the light with the matching hue, had she not done her research prior to preparing herself for the festival, she may or may not panicked at the sight of the celestial body began to bleed red, but considering that this is apparently a yearly occurrence for the people here, she decided to not question it. However, she is still a little curious as to how the Moon always turns red at the end of every year. Could it have something to do with the sun's reflection? Possibly. There seem to be things about this world that she has yet to grasp the nature of, and that only served to fuel her desire to learn further, but still, she should at least enjoy herself first, she rarely has the chance to do so after all.

And when she said enjoyed herself, she meant it in every sense of the word, devouring all sorts of snacks she could get her hands on, joining the local children and Lei every single game in the stall, winning them the stuffed plush in the shooting range, which she may or may not have cheated with her Buster training that allowed her to be sharper than most people when its come to firearm, so much so that she nearly reach the point of letting herself go with the snacks and games during the festival, it is almost embarrassing in a way had she has any mind to pay attention to what she was doing, but she was too caught up in indulging in the festival's service to care, forcing Ning to stepped in and pulled her out of it before she went too far ahead, to which she apologies to them for the hassle, this is the first time she had this much fun that she had no idea that she was going overboard with it. Remember Ciel, stay within Moderation, she reminded herself as she joined the rest of the family in going toward the central plaza.

Where there was a Dragon.

A large, robust, golden Dragon of eastern depiction, its gilded scales of its serpentine form glistered in the crimson light of the red moon night as the Drake swam through the air, while its majestic mane and thin whisks brushed against the wind as it let out a mighty roar, to the cheer of delight from all that surrounding it, especially the children who let out an squeal of excitement when the Dragon passed through them. Another Imaginary Phantasm? Ciel thought to herself as she watched the Dragon continue to shift and prance about, somewhat confused as to why no one is no one would do anything about the creature. Though considering that everyone seems to be at ease despite being in close proximity to the Dangerous-looking Beast, maybe it is a tamed one.

"Fascinated by the 'Dragon', aren't you?" Came a rather sudden question from Ning, thoroughly amused by Ciel's expression full of curiosity about the Drake, to which Ciel could only give him a look of confusion. Why did he put emphasis on the 'Dragon' part of his sentence? Did he know something about this Creature? He is a Hunter by trade after all, so perhaps she could see things most people do not about the Imaginary Phantasm, or so she thought, as Lanfen leveled his finger at the dancing Drake, wordlessly instructed Ciel to take a look at the show, "Hehe, that aren't actually a dragon at all. Take a good look at the ground beneath it." While a little confused, the Blonde complied, diverting her gazes down beneath the Dragon, where she could see Shadows, That is to be expected, but what is not is the fact that the Shadow does not belong to the actual Drake, for the light does not project the slender form of the Golden Dragon, but rather that of multiple people, seemingly holding the Dragon together based on their coordinated movement.

"H-Huh?!" Just when she thought that this world could not surprise her anymore, it proved her wrong once more and likely would not stop anytime soon. Ciel was not surprised by the appearance of the Dragon itself, now knowing it was merely a puppet, even if it were real, She did see the Longmas that pull the carriage of the Azure Emperor after all, and learning their origin as a Creation of the Cyber Space that was unleashed into the physical world, which while she was having difficult understanding the cause behind it, still somewhat explained their existence, but the bizarre Shadow, or rather Shadows beneath the Drake was certainly something that taken her aback. What's going on with the shadow?! Who do these belong to?! Where are they?! She couldn't see them! No…She Could! If she fully concentrates, the radiance of the Golden Dragon does Shed Light onto its operators beneath it, revealing a faint, barely visible shape of several purple-clad individuals, appearing as though they blended right the surrounding environment, that is moving the Dragon in a specific pattern, animating life into the Puppet for it to glide through the horizon, where most of the people's gazes are focused on, diverting attention away from their forms that is practically invisible to the naked eyes. Some kind of stealth technology? What kind of equipment do they use to achieve this? How do they see each other to make sure they can avoid colliding with one another? She needed to know more about the Operators of the puppet!

"Surprising isn't it? That's how I felt when I was a child." He could certainly sympathize with her feelings right now. During his youth, he was completely terrified of the Golden Dragon, leading to him avoiding the Plaza like the plague whenever the Red Moon Festival rolled into town. Only after his parents show him the truth of the False Drake did he finally manage to conquer that irrational fear, replaced by a sense of awe by the skill of these talented operators who breathe life into their elaborate puppet set that makes it felt a living being, wanting to know just how exactly did they do it, "See, these Operators are actually Members of the Phatonaga Clan, and they are known for their talent in stealth, which they make uses of in various ways. One of which is the Dragon Dance service here in China." Contrary to popular belief, members of the Shadow Clan, while undoubtedly the most gifted in the Art of Stealth, are not always defaulted to Assassin or Spy, but sometimes make use of their skill of remaining inconspicuous for different areas in life, with many founds their calling as an actor in on a stage play and such.

"Really?…Interesting…" To think she would encounter a Megaman's Clan Members here and see them utilizing the crystallized knowledge of a Certain Shadow General like that, it is quite a creative way to make use of their power like that. Though Ciel does not recall ever programming the Shadow Biometal to render their biomatch nearly transparent, but she supposed it could be explained by the fact that it simply evolved to possess that ability. What set the Biometals apart from all the other pieces of technology she has developed over the years was its Consciousness Encryption Registration Vital collection of data Essence Archive Update System, or the C.E.R.V.E.A.U Processing System, named after a Reploid Scientist she was close with, that letting the Device experience 'Growth' and upgraded itself as time goes on, gaining features corresponding to the potentials they possessed. With the Biometal supposedly having existed for well over eighteen Billion Years, it stands to reason that they have obtained new features with that much time has passed. Still, it does not make it any less fascinating to see with her own eyes what her invention is capable of in this world, and how it is use for something else other than a tool for conflict, instead something to make everyone Smile.

It brought her a modicum of Hope for her World to one day be free of the needless warfare that tarnished the Land with impurity of Blood watering the earth, for her Home Reality where technology advanced for the sake of a brighter future. It was a naive line of thought, certainly, but that is what kept her going as well, just like it does now, where she has a chance to put an end to another conflict that ravaged this country. Until then however, Ciel watched on, alongside the Ren that she was beginning to view as her own Family just as they have to her, as the Dragon Swirl in the air one last time in a pattern of infinity, shining brighter as the brilliant Red Light soaked the Moon. Heralding the beginning of a New Year, and with it, a New chapter in Ciel's Journey.

"Thank you for allowing me to stay with you to see this, everyone." As the red Rue overtaking the moon subsided and returned it back to its natural colorless Light, The Blonde Girl turned to the Rens, And offered a small yet no less bright smile of gratitude, both for their hospitality and allowing her to join them in this important Occasion for the Nature, giving birth to a new memory Ciel would cherish alongside all others.

"No Problem, Xia."

[Record Terminated]

[Word Count: 41,022]