Dimensional Descent

Joel took a deep breath. This changed the dynamic of a lot of things, but he wasn't sure of how to proceed from here.

For one, the Viola family was far too powerful. The fact that they had moved the wedding up on purpose without regard for Miel meant that they were already determined to do this. It was clear that after the elders of the Viola family saw Aina's talent, they were determined to make her theirs.

But, this was just one aspect of it. Even if they had known this before, Franco would have still said what he said earlier. The fact that Aina wasn't entirely in control of her faculties, though, was something that made even them hesitate.

The choice was made by Aina's father to begin with, not Aina. And it seemed that Aina agreed because she saw the 'logic' behind it. Rychard wasn't worth much to her before, but if he was a ticket to the Void Palace, then it made sense to her. As for matters of love, she hadn't even considered it.

"We…" Joel shook his head. "… I don't know, I can't guarantee anything. I can only say that we'll speak with Leonel and Granny Roesia. Maybe there is something they can do."

Maybe if it have been before the first day's selection, Joel and the others would have been ready to wade through hell or high water, not for Aina, but just so that Leonel would have a chance at happiness. The odds a man would be able to get over his first love marrying and lying with another man was minimal at best. And, for someone like Leonel, just the attempt toward the action alone was enough for him to shut down and not mind it anymore.

But… Just earlier today, they had all received a rude awakening. All the pride they had had from their accomplishments in the Milky Way flew away like dust in a storm. They were nothing but ants here. They had barely gained the ability to fight against the geniuses of branch families, how could they possibly challenge the older generation of a pillar family like the Viola?

Savahn smiled a complicated smile. It had a hint of bitterness to it, but it was mostly filled with understanding.

The truth was that Miel hadn't even sent them here. It was Yuri who realized that something must have gone wrong, causing her to come here of her own accord.

She knew her adoptive father well and knew that he wouldn't put Aina in danger on purpose. He likely wanted to use Rychard, and then when she was accepted by the Void Palace, throw him away. The trouble was that while Miel had spent most of his time training, pining after a day he could get revenge for his late wife, Rychard had been embroiled in political schemes since he was a boy.

How could Miel outsmart Rychard? Rychard saw through his plan with a glance and adjusted accordingly.

Without the halo of Void Palace disciple around her, Rychard had no need to worry about forcing Aina to do anything. And, because he was alone and this marriage had been accepted by the elders of the Viola family, Miel couldn't snatch Aina away openly without being hunted down and killed.

This left Miel with very little options and Aina with even fewer.

Ultimately, they were all at a loss for what to do.

**

"Yip! Yip!"

Leonel smiled as Little Blackstar raced around his hands, arms and shoulders, messing about with Little Tolly. The two still had their rivalry and it only seemed to grow stronger after Little Blackstar awoke from his comatose state.

Still, though they seemed to be at each other's throats, Leonel could faintly feel that Little Tolly had missed Little Blackstar. The two little toddlers might as well have been the closest of blood brothers.

Leonel was happy that he had his own brothers as well. Being an only child could have very well been too lonely if he hadn't.

"Ah, be careful, don't touch that."

Little Blackstar almost nicked the blade of a sword Leonel was working on.

One would have thought that Leonel would be honing his skill, maybe practicing some more of the Luxnix family Force Arts. But, nope… He was crafting.

The sword looked like it was straight out of Grecian times. It was quite short, being only about a foot and a half long. Its body was narrower near the hilt and thicker near its tip before ending at a point, giving it a sleek sort of 'S' shaped curve.

It had a bronze blade and a delicate wood handle that was immaculately carved. But, maybe its most astounding feature was that the air seemed to tremble around it, almost distorting reality everywhere it passed.

Without Leonel even telling him, Blackstar suddenly sensed danger, rolling into a ball and vanishing into space before appearing high in the air. His beady black eyes looked down, his whiskers flickering between apprehension and curiosity.

Little Blackstar didn't feel like he would die from that blade, but he definitely felt that he would get hurt. In fact, he felt that he would be hurt even if he used his incorporeal ability.

Blackstar was used to being immune to most attacks because he could just displace his body into his Shadow World. But, for some reason, that sword seemed to be able to ignore him, even attack him while he was in there!

Leonel reached out and grabbed the sword, balancing it on a finger.

"It's just a prototype, but its pretty good." Leonel spoke with Little Blackstar. "If I made weapons like this, it would be good. The problem is that this sort of blade can only last one battle before its own destructive capability eats away at the metal it was made from. A shame… I'm not sure if I could fix that, it would take quite some research…"

"Yip! Yip!"

Leonel laughed. "I can make you some claw gauntlets like this if you want. But, they would probably have the same issue. Plus, don't you think you scare your enemies enough?"

"Yip!"

Blackstar shook his head furiously. Clearly, the little guy wasn't satisfied.