Beneath the night sky, Tales raised his head and gazed at the lights of the entire Emerald City as they gradually brightened. According to tradition, the Contest Banquet was about to end, and Queen's Day—the Emerald Celebration—was about to begin.
"I understand now," Tales sighed. "Emerald City is far more than just a city. It is also a stretch of history—a century of history."
Every land had its own shape.
The kingdom was far more complicated than he had imagined.
The Prince stared into the distance.
"From a certain perspective, it is even more complete, unique, brilliant, and flawless than Everstar City."
The moonlight dimmed, making the brightly lit Empty Palace resemble a Divine Messenger descending to the mortal world, waving its enormous arms as it held up the heavens and earth, resisting tremendous weight to protect the people below.
And now they stood upon one of those enormous arms, feeling more than a century of the past converge into light, transforming into the lamps of countless households. Specks of light gathered beneath the Divine Messenger's feet, illuminating the entire Emerald City and even the Southbank Territory.
"Indeed."
The corners of Jann's mouth curved slightly. Leaning against the stone railing, he gazed with Tales at the Queen's City before them.
"But you can't imagine how much courage every generation of the Iris Family displayed over this century, nor what price they paid to turn Emerald City into what it is today."
Courage.
Price.
Tales furrowed his brows and fell into thought.
A few seconds later, the curve of Jann's lips vanished.
"Unless the Year of Blood repeats itself, bringing war and calamity, or disaster descends and the events of Dragoncloud City happen again, I truly can't imagine what other means could bring down this impregnable, flawless Queen's City of the