Godfrey’s soul opened his eyes and saw a new bridge was being built. Bricks after bricks manifested from nowhere, forming a pathway to a new tower which was being constructed. Massive blocks came from nowhere and began to fit themselves into their respective areas.

There were golden veins below the structure. It was being covered rapidly, but that had to be the veins of his soul being linked to Dax as an anchor.

He shut his eyes and appeared in the Alchemist’s meeting room. Most of them weren’t present, but the Chief Alchemist was.

"We saw," the Chief Alchemist said before Godfrey could speak.

"Will the False Heart change him?"

"It will. What you brought is a summon linked to one of the most powerful offensive relics of Generation Zero. That relic will keep getting more pages the stronger he grows. You have impressed me with this new talent, my king," the Chief Alchemist responded with a soft nod.

"It wasn’t easy."

"It couldn’t be. But we won’t face a problem with this knight. All we need is the heart implant, which will be done after we’ve prepared him, then we shall proceed with his armour," the Chief Alchemist told him.

"This knight is a good addition and would be of much help when the Ruination comes. Once the news reaches the Titan Midgets, I’m sure they’ll be excited to make another armour."

Godfrey leaned forward. "You’re talking about the Blacksmiths? Where are they?"

The Chief Alchemist stretched his hand and an image manifested over the long table. It was a place brimming with heat and thousands of short, white-haired Pathans, a different race called the Midgets, each of them working at their own individual smithy.

It was like a volcano was turned into a workshop.

The technology, the rune machines acting like escalators to take them to higher floors, or the rollers that sent crafted armour pieces to the examiners.

"These are our blacksmiths, the Titan Midgets. We call them The Giants of Pathan. The armour of each Golden Knight is meticulously handcrafted and enchanted with runes, one of the core foundations of our mana system. Strange words gifted to us and our beasts when our minds were opened by the mana tree’s dew."

As the Chief Alchemist spoke, Godfrey watched these small blacksmiths work without the knowledge that they were being watched.

They would lift massive objects like they weighed nothing. Imagine having the word Titan attached to Midget. Two opposing words fused for just one race.

The noisy yet strangely harmonious sound of hammers striking and forming metal, the sizzling of hot metal being dipped in cold water, the orange flames from the forge, it sank into his eyes.

This was an entire community right within the castle. The unseen part of a Golden Knight’s glory, the invisible figures his noble knights trusted with their lives to make durable armours worthy of slaying whatever foe they might face.

"We gathered all great talents in Pathan to create the order. All races, only the Goliaths were not compliant. These little men are the origin of Pathan’s civilization, the origin of our united language and reinforced building technology. They built the Golden Order Castle..."

The Chief Alchemist dispersed the image. "The castle that housed and trained two million knights."

"Then the castle I saw in Paradise..."

"Is not the main Golden Order Castle but a secondary one built when the order had fallen, when the city that bred the strongest fighters sank, when our numbers had dwindled to the bare minimum. When... the Ruination had beaten us both internally and externally," the Chief Alchemist replied.

"Once I’m done with all this, surviving the Ruination, I would like to see a true golden castle or whatever ruins remain," Godfrey said.

"I believe with the addition of this new knight, your chances of surviving the Ruination are higher. However, we have sensed that the mana tree is a bit too aggressive this time around. Too much power is receiving her aid, this means whatever she will unleash during the Ruination will be completely monstrous."

Godfrey rose to his feet.

"As monstrous as they will be, I still see advantage. The Ruination will provide me enough cores for all ten of you, then I can unseal my next knight. It’s the perfect opportunity."

Godfrey nodded at the Chief Alchemist, then appeared in his throne room.

He stood in the middle of the hall, looking at the throne. There was nothing on it, but a vague feeling told him something sat there, watching him.

Maybe after defeating the presence of the Unknown King, all he gained might not just be the third core. A part of that being now followed him.

It couldn’t be seen, it couldn’t be felt. Before, he didn’t even know, but right now, staring at that crown, he felt something was still on it.

A part of him.

Godfrey had no idea Snow had seen something similar. His soul might be quite different from before.

"I’m one step closer to my goal," Godfrey said and vanished. His eyes opened in the real world and, in a flash of violet light, he was gone.

***

Shortly after Godfrey left, Saul arrived. He looked around, all he could see until the end of his vision was a wasteland with several craters. The land was scorched black. The battle that had occurred here had turned this land barren. It would take the intervention of another demigod or the passage of time, probably decades or centuries, before it healed on its own.

Space cracked. Saul turned toward it and saw Gabriel emerge from the crack. Both men stared at each other, one floating, the other standing on land.

"You shouldn’t have sent Dax. Now he’s dead," Gabriel said.

Saul stood there, silent. His anger couldn’t find an expression because it was simply too much, but his eyes were dark, his mere aura causing a cyclone.

As he turned away and was about to leave, Gabriel’s voice rang out. "I won’t allow you to attack him at his home."

"There will be retribution. I didn’t just lose a summon, I lost much more. I lost something I couldn’t afford to lose." His voice was low and calm.

"What you caused has ruined this place and it will affect the city. I can hold you accountable for this reckless action," Gabriel replied.

Saul glared at him. "I want to see you try." His eyes gleamed.

Gabriel folded his arms. "Do not test me, Saul. I acknowledge your strength, but wait for him at the tournament."

"I am getting fed up with you." Saul maintained his glare, then averted his eyes and walked away.

’You’re in for a surprise.’ Gabriel’s eyes gleamed as his lips rose a bit. ’A shocking one. That castle is just splendid.’