The Blossom Plane. Core Region.
The strings being pulled by the Martial Plane were quite long. However, a wrinkle in their plans had occurred. Just days ago, a Small Realm they had been making use of for many generations had suddenly vanished without word or warning. The most shocking part? It disappeared during a session cornered off by the mere Pedestal Plane.
"Meralda, explain yourself."
A beautiful young woman stood with a bitter expression on her face. Her hair was done up in a messy bun, and she had a pair of odd glasses hiding her usually energetic eyes. These weren't a normal pair of spectacles, but were instead one that came with multiple layers of lenses. With them, Meralda's eyesight was beyond superhuman, even though it looked like she walked around with a telescope on her face.
This woman was none other than the energetic exam overseer that watched over Ryu's exam. She was a genius of the Blossom Plane, a step higher than Ryu's current Pedestal Plane. However, she definitely wasn't being treated as such currently.
She stood alone on a podium in the middle of a grand room. It looked like a place a senate would come together to speak of law and order, but on a much larger scale. This place was known as The Center, a place where powerful men and women came to flex their prestige.
As for the maintaining of law and order it claimed to exist for? It was more of a joke. These individuals cared for nothing other than their own pockets. This care might extend toward their own Clans and Sects as well, but no further than that. This is what the Blossom Plane had devolved to after the destruction of the Shrine Plane, though you'd probably be killed for saying so.
"Esteemed elders, I have nothing I can say." Meralda lowered her head. "I was simply overseeing the exam as I usually do when everything with black. Everyone was forcibly teleported out and the Small Realm crumbled not long afterward. It's… It's gone."
"Didn't I tell you we shouldn't have allowed those Pedestal Plane swine to take part in the exam?"
"Don't be ridiculous, we had to cast the net as wide as possible for the benefit of our goal."
"Then… Doesn't this mean that it's been taken? Could it be that one of the examinees at that time gained the acceptance of the Faerie who created that Small Realm?"
"It must be so. Faeries wouldn't give up until they've found their lifelong mate. The Small Realm wouldn't have crumbled otherwise. But the question is who is it?"
"Meralda." Countless gazes turned toward the slightly eccentric young woman, expecting an answer.
Meralda chewed her cherry lips. She didn't know what she should say. She knew from the very beginning that these elders only wanted to monopolize the strength of the Faeries for themselves. In fact, they probably hoped that the young man or woman chosen would be from a lesser Plane despite what they said. If that was the case, he or she would be far easier to control.
In truth, this was a double-edged sword. These individuals knew it was impossible to forcibly take a Faerie away from its Life Partner, so, they'd likely nurture and coax the person chosen. However, at the same time, this individual would be forced to become a pawn… No different from a slave.
The issue was that she had heard it… She heard that young man call himself Ryu Tatsuya, a name filled with such strength and power, that even she, who was born from a prestigious Clan even within the Blossom Plane's Core Region, felt her heart flutter.
'What should I do… What should I do…' Meralda bit her lip harder. 'You were too free with your words! How could you not know the kind of power your name holds? The kind of fear it still strikes?!'
The Tatsuya Clan. If word of their successor reaches the Martial Plane, it was unknown what they would do. Meralda didn't believe that Ryu was a true blood member of the Tatsuya Clan, but rather that he was a lucky young man who likely ran into a Legacy they hid and was thus granted permission to use their name. But, even if this was the case, it wouldn't be taken lightly.
Meralda turned her gaze upward, looking toward a particular collection of eight seats that represented the greatest powers in this Blossom Plane's Core Region. Of course, the person who her eyes laid upon was her very own grandmother. Deep within her gaze was a pleading for help. She didn't want to be the reason why an innocent little boy lost his life.
The older woman sighed. "Is there a need to press my granddaughter in this way? She said she knows nothing, so she knows nothing. Are you trying to say that my Dugo Clan Heiress is a liar?"
The faces of the various elders twisted. This unreasonable old woman was talking nonsense again. She really was too protective of her granddaughter. It was a miracle she even allowed this questioning in the first place.
It was no surprise that the meeting came to an abrupt end not too long after. Meralda only repeated that she knew nothing and was finally allowed to leave.
"How many individuals were taking the exam at that time?" One of the eight seated heads suddenly asked.
"There were 236 youths taking the Common Grade Exam and 43 taking the Black Grade Exam."
The heads fell into contemplation.
"The Common Grade Exam is just a coverup. The only ones who matter are the Black Grade exam takers because only they can reach the end of the exam and have a chance to be accepted by the Faerie. Focus on those 43 for now. Find out their names, their backgrounds, and monitor them all. We still have to answer to the Martial Plane when this is all said and done…"
The Center seemed to take a collective breath as one. Everything would be fine even if they never found this individual… As long as the Faerie who built the Small Realm was of a normal breed. Maybe an inferior Elemental Faerie or Pixie Faerie… But, if this Faerie was a Ficia Faerie capable of bringing an individual from the brink of death to full health… Or a Quibus Faerie capable of controlling the dead… Or a Cultus Faerie capable of nurturing history's greatest heroes… Or any other member of the highest echelon of the Faerie Realm… Such a person couldn't be left to grow alone. They had to be controlled or slaughtered.
It was clear that Ryu needed to temper his mind more if he wanted to survive. He had to be more aware that he was no longer a Scion respected by the highest Immortal Plane. To his enemies and those who would cause harm to him, he was a bug to either be controlled or stomped upon.
Luckily, he had a teacher by his side now in Ailsa. She would slowly help mold his future path.