Mimic Awakening

In the summer, the night is oddly cloudy and raindrops are pouring over the territory. Mists form along the streets of a certain city from the raindrops hitting the surface. The territory of Count Boyce of the Kingdom of Roheazul is experiencing the heavy downpour of a localized thunderstorm that has been running for a few hours.

The capital city of the county should have bustling and lively nights, but the unexpected downpour tonight drastically decreases the activities the citizens should be enjoying on a regular basis. Most of the street stalls are closed, and businesses under roofs have their lights lit to offer their products and services.

Tonight, the city is unexpectedly quiet and melancholic. But the rain is not the only thing that turns down the mood of the city. With the war with the Empire of Siafran going on, the citizens of this city, as well as some other royalist territories in the kingdom, always feel uneasy thinking about when they are going to be visited by the imperial forces.

At the outskirts of the city, there is a luxurious horse-drawn carriage parked along the muddy dirt road. Hiding in the sounds of the pouring rain, a group of eight people under hooded robes marches their way from the city to the said carriage.

They stop near the carriage before the four of them from the front turn their backs to face the others. Two of them are men, who seem to be wearing armor under their robes, flanking the two women in the middle. One of the women then steps forward before an older man from the other half of the group steps in.

"Father," the blonde woman speaks amidst the rain. "Do you really have to stay behind? Can’t I really change your mind any further?"

"My decision is final, my daughter." The man replies to his only child with a gentle smile. "Our allies have started selling one another, and our name would be dragged anytime soon. Your husband has been captured by the imperial forces already, and he is currently on death row."

"It can’t be..."

"No way... Milord is already..."

Hearing this terrible news for the first time, the woman gasps as her face goes pale, and so does the other woman standing beside her, who is actually her personal servant.

The woman’s husband is a count of another territory in the kingdom. When the empire declared the war, Count Boyce had his daughter called back to his territory to keep her away from the war.

Later on, her husband’s city was seized by the imperial forces. As many royalists had fallen to the empire, more and more nobles had betrayed one another to save their own or reduce their impending punishment.

As one of the royalists, Count Boyce has expected that the empire would march their way here sooner or later. He ultimately decided to stay and resist the imperial forces. Before it is too late, he orders his daughter to get out of the kingdom and make an escape to an allied nation.

"That’s why you need to escape through the port city, Elise," says the count. "This kingdom was doomed from the beginning. Even if the empire did not spring into action, revolution would surely incite within years."

"Please come with us," The woman begs, tears coming out of her eyes. "You might get executed if you get caught."

"At least I died fighting for the kingdom to the end. I’ll defend this city to my last breath. Someone needs to take responsibility for the sins of our ancestors, and it should not be you."

"But, father!"

"Take her to the carriage!"

"Let me go!"

Taking the final order of their lord, the two knights immediately grab each of the woman’s arms before dragging her to the carriage. Her maid follows suit behind.

Thud.

Neigh.

When the carriage’s door has been shut close, the two horses neigh before they start moving their hooves on the mud.

"Farewell, Elise," The count bid his final goodbye as the image of the carriage gets slowly covered by the splashing droplets of the rain.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

Three days have passed since they received a written message from Claire’s acquaintance. The message stated that the messenger has something important to discuss with Claire.

The day finally comes, and Azrael, Claire, and Alina are in the front garden of the castle on the other floating island, which is still blooming with flowers, as they face Zyren and Dareon.

Concluding that the islands had moved far from the continent of Revoria, they unanimously decided to station the islands about eight hundred leagues, or four thousand kilometers from the westernmost part of Revoria. In comparison, it is the same distance between the islands of Hawaii and the continental United States.

The islands are also positioned about two thousand kilometers from the north pole. It is currently around three thousand meters from the cold ice of the Northern Frozen Continent.

As they agreed, the undead’s floating island has to rise to match Azrael’s island’s altitude. At that latitude and altitude, the air temperature on the islands should be harshly cold.

But due to the barriers erected, the islands have a temperate climate and air pressure similar to that of at sea level. The barriers are basically pressurized domes powered by archdragon cores. Due to that, plants can survive and thrive on both islands, creating the islands’ possibility to support a community.

"We have to go. Take care of the island while we are out."

As Azrael says that to the undead pair, Claire begins casting Long Teleportation. She does not use her awakened ability so that she can have a longer conversation while the spell is casting.

"You can leave it to us," Dareon reassures. "We will protect the islands from any threats. Even though it’s unlikely to happen."

Positioned in the middle of the ocean over ten thousand kilometers from the waters, virtually no monsters can reach the islands, much less attack them. Even if they could, they would have to face Zyren and Dareon, who can temporarily reach the catastrophe class, first before they could land.

One of the few beings who can threaten the islands is a supreme dragon. Not only do supreme dragons pose threats on a continental scale, cataclysmic-class beings, but a few of them can fly despite their stupendously massive sizes. Not even the combined powers of Zyren and Dareon with multipliers could handle one.

"Have a safe trip," Zyren says. "We will wait for your return."

"We’ll see you later."

At Azrael’s words, the three humans are swallowed by the lights of the spell before they vanish in the spot as if they were blown by the passing wind.