Galaxy's First Ruler

Shadow World

One month had passed since the events of Rosalia.

In one month, Aldrich realized many things that he had overlooked because of his unusual state. Although the single word still echoed in his ears and mind, like an ending agonizing call, Aldrich had come to terms with it.

No matter how much Aldrich had cared for Sha, no matter how much he wanted to go after her, nothing could actually make him a normal human. Aldrich had complete control of his impulsiveness, and he also knew when to let go of this control. The only point was, aside from his family and Boomie, Aldrich had never found a cause justifiable enough for him to lose this control.

The first thing that Aldrich analyzed was the word Fallen.

There was a Fallen status marked in front of his Common Rank. The same word was marked in front of Maya's Rank, and if his theories were right, Aldrich believed that even Boudicca's Rank must have fallen, too. The horrifying thing was that Aldrich was sure if he wasn't young enough, he might have died the moment his Rank changed from Viscount to Common.

Even though death had a different meaning to him, there was always a hint of doubt in his mind. An apprehension towards that Being behind the Veil. If it was possible, Aldrich never wanted to go there. But there were things he could only do in that almost timeless place. Like understanding and contemplating Laws and schemes.

And now he had got another reason to not go there. Aldrich couldn't afford to die casually with Sha being out there, in an unknown place, and into the chaotic hands.

'Broken Faith…'

Hmmmmmm!!!

The space vibrated around Aldrich. A vein from his mask left itself and reached to the palm of his right hand. But as it bloomed, there were no signs of Dark Katana. This wasn't the first time Aldrich had called for this weapon of mass destruction.

Aldrich had called out to almost all Items Sha had devoured, but only Broken Faith didn't show up. The last time he had seen the sword, it was in Sha's hand, slashing into the skins of those Chaotic Serpents. Even for the creatures made of Laws, the Katana had proved that there was no match for its sharpness.

'Tch!…'

Aldrich scoffed, getting the same result. He had already sacrificed his precious Skills, Levels, and Ranks to RECORD. And even though the Will of the Oldest One had negated the sacrifice of Shared Vision, the RECORD had devoured everything. Even in those desperate moments, Aldrich's mind was calculative enough for him to sacrifice everything to RECORD. Not to the Being behind the Black Veil, like the last time.

Aldrich was worried that "HE" might not accept this sacrifice, which included Shared Vision. But Aldrich never thought that "HE" could also prevent Aldrich from sacrificing Shared Vision to someone else. This gap in calculation had cost him everything.

Aldrich knew the Sword must have gone through changes, even if it hadn't got its original Rank back. The only thing Aldrich could say with certainty was that RECORD, like all these strange Beings, believed in a principle of equivalent exchange. If RECORD had accepted his sacrifice, the Rank of Broken Faith must have increased, but by how much, he didn't know.

'It's time… Someone should have come by now…'

Aldrich thought, staring dead at his Record.

The third thing was like a safe plan Aldrich had prepared for himself and Sha. A backup plan which was instantaneous enough for it to not get impeded by anything. This backup plan included the Duchess who needed Aldrich more than he needed her.

When Aldrich had left Boudicca, there were many layers for him to run away by himself. He could have assisted Boudicca better than anybody if he wanted to. But though Aldrich didn't know that his plans would go awry in the future, Aldrich always planned many moves. One such plan was to deal with a situation where he might be caught by Marquess Nicholas if the late Retd Commander had some trump card up his sleeve.

Aldrich knew that there was a Queen behind this Duchess, and their relationship was closer than everyone thought it to be. Aldrich was smart enough to realize this from her presence on the planet Rosalia. Every action of his in front of Boudicca would be described to Queen Eluned, eventually.

But a Dreamer, favored by Darkness, wasn't enough to catch a Queen's attention. That's why Aldrich had planned a game to play with Marquess Harold. That's why he had let Marquess Harold go alive, even though he had meant to deal with him. He knew Boudicca would be shocked to know that a mere Viscount could outsmart a Marquess, a Head of an Ancient House.

And Aldrich wanted nothing but to make Boudicca pass this shock to the Queen. A Viscount who had an Ancient Relic, who had the favor of Darkness, and who had the means to outrun a Marquess, was a box of secrets unto himself. To top that, her niece wanted Aldrich more than anything. If the Queen won't help him after hearing all that, then who would.

So Aldrich was waiting. He was waiting for someone to come and take him away from this choking atmosphere, which he hated so much now. Though the emptiness was eating him, and the feeling of doing nothing made him grit his teeth in anger, he waited.

Thrummmm!!!

Suddenly, the entire world surrounding Aldrich shook. A portal seemed to open, unseen to Aldrich, a few dozen meters away from him. It was as if someone had dug a hole in the space of Shadow World. It was entirely black, and a tunnel could be seen within it, leading to unknown locations.

Meowwww!!!

The sudden catlike meow echoed, making the corner of Aldrich's lips lift just slightly. A creature came out of the portal, resembling a black cat. The only thing odd about this creature was its tail, which was like the tail of some extinct Sauropod dinosaur. The black cat tilted its head and stared at Aldrich with its back eyes.

Meowwww!!!

With another meow, its long tail coiled around Aldrich and pulled him into the portal. And just as the portal was about to close, the Pillar of Footprints came rushing and plunged into the portal, following Aldrich.