"Aurelian, that was amazing. Good job; I am proud of you. The Empire is proud of you!" Alexander said as he patted him on the shoulder. Behind them, their most trusted aides were following them, and further behind, the great army of the Dark Side was retreating.
"Emperor, was five years a good deal?" Aurelian asked, still unsure whether this treaty was good or not.
"It is perfect. It is more than enough for us to prepare for the next war. There will be no peace until we retake the Great Wall. They will just keep invading over and over; this is the truth." Alexander said before continuing, "What matters most is that you established dominance. Seladin is the one who guards The Hole. If you wish to retake the Great Wall, it is he and his armies that you will have to fight. Of course, I will be there."
"I can't wait to finally relax. It is time that the Holy City is rebuilt. I will need my Aurelia here." Aurelian said as he spoke. It was the truth; if the city was to be rebuilt, she was a key factor.
"We will create teleportation stations soon. We feast first!" Alexander said as he took out a bottle of wine. Nobody behind them spoke. They were still being watched by the other countries; it would be safe to speak only when Leeroy Jenkins - the Archmage - said so.
The company entered the city under the cheers of the army; it was at that time that Leeroy Jenkins told them to relax and speak freely. Right now, around them were only Masters, Archmages and the most influential people.
"Father! Uncle!" Aurelion embraced his relatives, who simply stared at him. His armour was dissipating bit by bit, revealing his actual appearance from before the negotiation. Whatever Duke Garcia had put on him, it was only for a fixed amount of time.
"Greet your grandparent, Val, no, no, my son is now Aurelian! Haha!" Louis said as he was brimming with happiness.
"We have an Aurelian in our line, brother! Father would have been so proud of your son!" Thomas said as he looked at the reclaimed Holy City.
"Brat! Amazing fight! You killed the strongest Expert in the world and survived!" Duke Garcia suddenly came forward with the rest of the Masters and Archmages. He put his hand on the rags that were now on Aurelion's body and removed them, revealing only his chest, which now had scars.
He had been healed; however, scars remained, especially on his hand that had gone into Seviras's insides. The Armour from Alaric Dane was totally wrecked, but it was worth it. All of it.
"My...my grandson, it was such a rollercoaster of a fight. Watching you made all of our hearts clench. Your grandmother was shedding tears, but I must say, you won the respect of every Master in our Empire, as well as in Rovan. Delegations will soon arrive to pay respects to you. Rose! Come over, clean up your grandson! He can't look like that during the ceremony." Duke Garcia called over his wife, the Archmage Rose Garcia. It seemed that she had broken through, and her identity was being hidden from the eyes of the foreign countries.
Stepping forward, every eye was on her, except Leeroy's, as he was setting up a teleportation gate. She stroked his face, which now had multiple scars, and touched his eye that was grey in colour now.
"You're half blind...almost..." She said as she kissed his forehead. Her mask was finally off. From her kiss, it seemed like water had poured over Aurelian, as he was thoroughly cleaned and dried.
Duke Garcia was around 65, and so was Rose; however, they looked no older than thirty years of age. The grandfather was around 1,88 while his wife was a bit shorter. She was a tall woman, yet gorgeous, as her blue eyes contained oceans of life. She was blonde, while the Duke had brown hair with patches of white on them. He had been under too much stress.
"Meet the Masters of the Empire. Almost everyone is here; soon, more will arrive." Rose said as she stepped aside.
Aurelion took a step forward and cupped his fists as he gave them a bow of respect. "Greetings, Elders. It is my pleasure to meet all of you. I hope I have not let down any of your expectations! Especially yours, Marquis Belisarius!"
Marquis Belisarius was the person who had created the Shifting Serpent Technique; he could tell by his serpentine green eyes and his aura that was so...overbearing and predatory. The man wore green robes as he stepped towards Aurelian and placed his hand on his shoulder, his green robes fluttering. He seemed to be young, 25 years of age; however, his actual age was 55 years old. To be around a Master like him, someone who looked so intimidating yet handsome, it was a different kind of feeling.
"No, young Aurelion. I watched your fight and your display of my Arts. I had traded it for something with your Grandparents, yet I did not expect that I would see it restoring the Empire in such a way. I am proud of you, and believe me, none of us here expected you to perform so well. You fought under odds that were against you; we could not have won that duel as Experts, yet you did. We are all proud; you showed the world that our Empire has given birth to an even stronger Expert, a human. Take this; it is all of my techniques and notes. Count yourself as my disciple, young Aurelion!" Belisarius gave him a spatial ring and gave him a wink after that. The rest of the Masters looked towards him and nodded as they smiled. They were all different in terms of presence; some seemed gentle, some radiated viciousness. All of them were killing machines.
"The teleportation device is set. Let the mother of young Aurelian come first, as well as his godmother and, mainly, Aurelia. Emperor Alexander, it is time for you to take out the robes we prepared. Strip, Aurelian; let those who shaped your life and success dress you up!" Leeroy Jenkins spoke as he beckoned everyone.
Morgana stepped first through the portal, running straight towards young Aurelian, causing the Masters to halt in their tracks. The mother embraced her son tightly, crying her heart out as she looked at his injuries and his now-blinded eye.
The next to step were Ahri, along with Axel and Juliet, who was now blushing. Luther immediately embraced his wife and daughter, but soon, he stopped in shock, placing his ear next to her belly. She was pregnant!
Luther, Louis, Aurelian and Morgana embraced each other in front of everyone, as behind them, Empress Helena stepped forward, smiling as she looked towards them... Strangely enough, Aurelian felt that she was a master...and she indeed was! It seemed like Juliet was her exact copy; however, the familiarity was from somewhere else - the creator of the Great Serpent Body! She and the Marquis Belisarius were brother and sister!
"Greetings, little disciple! I've been busy on the western border, but I watched your fight. I am proud; you have displayed my family techniques to perfection, and you get to marry my daughter! Aurelian is my disciple!" Helena declared as she smiled; sparks flew between her and Marquis Belisarius.
Everyone bowed as they greeted the Empress, Aurelian, as well. He had no clue that the Empress was a warrior, a Master, one who guarded the Western border!
"Raise, everyone! Aurelian, as a mother and an Empress, I have to ask, in front of everyone, before anything...What is your plan?" Helen's question was just in time, as the core of the Empire was here, and they wanted to know what would happen next, especially after the treaty. Alexander was the Emperor; he could order Aurelian; however, it was Aurelian that would become the one and only Archduke and bear the front of the hordes. He was young; however, fate did not wait for him to grow, thus they had to know what plans the young conqueror had.
Aurelion met Severin Halbrecht's eyes; it was as if they were conversing privately. He saw the War Marshal nod towards him, as if they had reached an agreement. The Marshal, unsurprisingly, was a Master as well.
"The plan is as follows... Rebuild the city, build a layer of walls and make it self-sustainable. We have conquered everything, 700 miles deep into enemy territory. There are 1400 miles more to go until we reach The Hole. After five years, the treaty is over. They will come again; however, by that time, we should be the first to strike and take initiative. The Eastern border is too massive for me to do that; however, if we split it in two between the War Marshal and me, we could penetrate deep enough. By that time, I am confident that I will be a Master; I can feel it...Yet, it will not be a war that just two or three Masters can wage. I ask of you, everyone - help me rebuild the city with me and let us wage war on the hordes of the Dark God. It will take money, a lot of it, but we have no option. Remaining passive would spell our doom; even if I can hold the city for my lifetime, it is unknown what will happen after that." Aurelian explained his plan, receiving nod after nod from the Empress, the masters and mainly, Emperor Alexander himself. They had to act while they had a good Emperor and a strong one, chosen by the Goddess herself, Aurelian. It was unknown what the next emperor or Aurelian could amount to, for good or for worse.
"I approve it. The Treasury will be open to you, as it should. Whether it was your plan or not, this city is holy to every single person in our homeland. Aurelian, we will stand beside you!" Emperor Alexander said as he confirmed the plan. There will be a lot of blood spilt in the future.