Empire's Exploration Era: Fatima Fattash's Hope

Fatima looked at the data. By using the [Divine Substance] discovered on this planet, she had successfully nourished Lana's Soulfire and alleviated her symptoms. The data is about the same as it was a month ago, but this is still good news. Her daughter's condition had been nearly hopeless, so extending her life by a month was already wonderful news to her.

Fatima sighed and finished her work for the day. She took a shower, changed into her pajamas, and spent some time replying to her emails. After replying to the last one, Fatima's thoughts began to drift. She opened a small spatial rift and took out a locket containing a photograph.

Fatima stroked the photograph. Before she knew it, a tear had slipped down her cheek. "Hassan, why did you leave us?" Countless memories flashed through her mind, including their first meeting, their wedding, the horror of the Dementor Invasion, the rise of the Empire, and finally, Hassan's final moments.

Her husband, Hassan Sadek, had been a remarkably talented Arcanist. Despite his parents' vehement opposition, Hassan had resolutely signed up to become an Arcanist after the Empress created a method for artificially producing Magic Cores.

Before long, Hassan displayed extraordinary talent in magizoology and the study of supernatural species. Even before the Empire had launched its first interstellar expedition, he had been expected to become one of the earliest tower masters.

However, everything changed when Hassan was invited to participate in a secret government project located beneath the sea. After that, Hassan essentially disappeared from the public eye, and many people even believed that he had died.

At first, Hassan's work had not affected their relationship much. Although he kept his work strictly secret, everything else remained normal.

However, as time passed, the restrictions surrounding the project grew increasingly