I'm wearing formal royal attire to meet the Japanese representatives while Erik is dressed in a futuristic overall so we couldn't look more different. I'm trying to imagine him in Celestial clothes, but my imagination fails me. The image of him in a well-fitted suit is rooted too deeply in my mind. Still, in a few months, Erik will put on a robe. I should get used to that idea.
"I'll be fine," he waves his head. "You didn't have to accompany me. The Japanese delegation is here already, you should go."
I insist on staying a little longer and kiss him when he lies down and puts on a VR helmet. I wait until his consciousness gets transferred into the virtual world of Draconia Online before I'm willing to leave him. Erik is working hard on his transformation and I want him to know that he has my full support.
Son, you're the only one we're missing, my father sends me an urgent telepathic message.
I give Erik one last worried look, but I know that he's in good hands. Nala is with him and I trust her completely. It's the strangest thing. I've known her only for a few days, but she's family and that seems to mean everything to the Divementis. I look at Advin and even though I haven't had a chance to connect to him yet, I trust him as well.
"Let's go, better not keep them waiting," Advin says and we get to the elevator. We ride up to the floors above the ground and I'm happy to see the sky again. I feel uneasy in the underground labsâthat's no place for Celestials.
Advin leads us to a spacious meeting room and we're indeed the last participants to arrive because only two chairs remain unoccupied. The Japanese delegation stands up quickly and they bow to me. Aunt Nyx does the same, but my father stays seated and impatiently points to an empty seat right next to him. I slowly sit down, careful not to brush him with my wings. Liana is sitting to my left so Gotrid has to sit two seats away from me.
I study Prime Minister Ichikawa's emotional state and he feels as nervous as he looks. He took Minister of Defence Hayashi with him and four more representatives, but they know that they are at our mercy here. With the world being invaded, they are taking their chances.
"Ichikawa-san, Hayashi-san, I guarantee your safety," I try to smile at them amicably.
"Can you guarantee our privacy, though?" Hayashi taps his temples.
I want to say 'yes', but I can't speak for the Divementis so I stay awkwardly silent. Fortunately, my father is a much better diplomat than I am and swiftly takes over.
"Naturally, we would never invade the minds of our allies," he declares. "We're prepared to tell you everything, no more secrets. Let's start from the very beginning."
He says 'beginning' and he means it. He starts by introducing Draconia so I listen tentatively because I suspect that I might learn something new as well. Surprisingly, though, I don't hear anything I haven't known already. It seems the game copied the real world of Draconia almost to the letter.
Then my father talks about the Enemy's invasion and the war that dragged on for eight years. He tells them how the four Draconian races were annihilated one by one and the Divementis were lucky to escape to Earth. He expresses his deep gratitude that this planet could serve as their refuge.
"Unfortunately, the Enemy didn't stop with our world and who knows how many worlds before us they had conquered," he clutches his hands into fists. "For the record, we didn't accidentally lure the Enemy here. Our dimensions are very close to each other so the Enemy would get here sooner rather than later."
"And the Great Evolution?" Ichikawa finally takes a deep breath because he was mostly holding it during the explanation.
"That was our attempt to revive the four extinct Draconian races in the hope it would give us a fighting chance," he says and continues with a more detailed explanation.
He isn't saying anything new to me, so I have a chance to send my mind out and check on Erik. I reach him successfully, but his mind is too deep in VR so I can't catch anything solid. He seems okay, though. I also catch hints of excitement. Is he enjoying the game?
"No, my son didn't know anything," my father coughs to get my attention, answering Hayashi's question. He knows that I've been drifting during the diplomatic talks. "In fact, I had no idea that I had a son until quite recently. Aefener's mother and my dear partner Amelia left Nebula before any of us knew that she was pregnant."
Hayashi looks satisfied with the answer and I feel a wave of newly formed trust towards me. He's the type who appreciates honest people and I've been transparent towards the Japanese. Besides, I might be half-Divementis, but I grew up among humans. He must be counting on me still having some remaining loyalty towards humanity. Well, he's not wrong.
"So, we're really at war," Ichikawa gulps. "Are we the first country you told?"
"Yes," my father confirms. "In the upcoming weeks, we plan to approach countries that accepted Draconians, starting with the European Union, but the whole world has to unite for the common cause eventually. Our downfall was in not uniting in time. We can't repeat the same mistake."
"How much time do we have to prepare? The rifts are becoming more and more frequent," Hayashi nervously drums his fingers against the table.
"A year and hopefully a few more months on top, but no more than two years," my father doesn't sugarcoat it.
"Can we make it longer somehow to give us more time?" the Prime Minister asks eagerly. "You mentioned that you've been suppressing the rifts until now. Can't you continue to do so?"
"We lack the energy required to continue running the dimensional device at its full potential, our reserves are almost depleted," Nyx takes the word. "If you provided us with a stable source of energy, we could get those two years. We're talking about nuclear power here."
Ichikawa laughs hysterically and something in him breaks a little, but he withstands it.
"Considering we're facing an apocalypse, entrusting aliens with nuclear power is the least of our concerns," he says with a shaky voice. "We're prepared to give you our full support. There's no room for doubts and lengthy discussions with the monsters upon us. If we don't help you win this war, we all die."
What I'm sensing from him is a mixture of fear and resolve with an undertone of hysteria. The Minister of Defence keeps his cool much better, but he's also experiencing high levels of anxiety. In comparison, Liana and Gotrid are just mildly tense. Are Draconians coping better because we were trained for this? While I'm also afraid of what's to come, I know that when it comes to the decisive battle, I will face it head-on. I'm a battle mage after all.
"Your Majesty, are you staying in Japan?" Hayashi turns to me so that it's clear that he's addressing me and not my father.
"For now," I nod. "I'm currently undergoing a Divementis telepathic training."
Both Hayashi and Ichikawa seem relieved to hear that. Am I somehow more approachable to them than the Divementis? Or do they hope that Japan gets the best protection with me staying here?
"We swear to complete transparency, we have nothing to hide at this point," my father says to assure them. "In just a few months, the whole world will know. In two years, there will be an open war."
"What are our chances?" Ichikawa gulps. "Do you have some predictions?"
"With only Draconians fighting, we had only a 20% chance of winning," Nyx admits openly, not hiding anything. "The existence of the Crown Prince is a game-changer, though. With his extraordinary abilities, we have a 40% chance of winning. If human countries decide to support us, this chance could be as high as 50%."
"Wait, the entire humanity helping out will amount only to a 10% increase?" Hayashi frowns. "It's still only a fifty-fifty chance!"
"Human weapons aren't effective against monsters," Nyx reminds him.
"Why not sending atomic bombs through the rift and nuking the Enemy?" Hayashi suggests.
"That's human thinking," my father rolls his eyes ostentatiously. "The monsters are spread all over Draconia, we can't wipe them out with a few focused strikes and we're not contaminating our planet with radioactivity in the process. Besides, we don't even know where the Enemy is located."
"Hayashi-san, I know that you're concerned that the Earth might get destroyed during the upcoming war, but we assure you that when we're ready, we will take the main fight to Draconia," Nyx tries to calm down the Japanese delegation. "We will need resources and supplies, thought, and that's where humanity comes in."
"You will take the fight... to Draconia?" Ichikawa blinks and he's not the only one. It looks like some of my Celestial subjects also failed to understand what fighting the Enemy directly means. Liana's emotional state doesn't change and Soren also stays calm, but Gotrid twitches.
"There's no use just fighting monsters that come through the rifts, we have to suppress the source," my father states. "Obviously, that entails crossing dimensions and going back to our home world. We desperately need rations, materials, tech and logistic support. We have the list ready. It's quite long and only for the first few months of our cooperation."
"Send the list then, I'll present it to the Cabinet immediately," the Prime Minister sighs resignedly. "Also, we want to appoint an ambassador who would stay at Nebula permanently if that's okay."
"Of course, they will be our honoured guest," my father assures him. "Please, choose someone open to us, so that they are easy to work with. We can't afford to waste time."
"Actually, I know exactly the person perfect for this job, her daughter is a Draconian," Ichikawa sounds a tiny bit optimistic. "Can she take her daughter with her?"
"Naturally," he nods. "We won't separate families."
Love, Gotrid nudges me telepathically. Will we really fight the Enemy on Draconia? I thought that we would protect the Earth.
My father is right, we need to address the cause, I answer back. Suppressing the rifts and battling monsters that come through isn't a solution. I'm sorry, Gotrid, I thought you realised what fighting the Enemy means.
I hoped you would do it from afar... through the rifts from here, he suddenly develops doubts and his resolve flutters.
My telepathy isn't that far-reaching, I have to disappoint him and quickly send him my love before his doubts turn into panic.
"Son," my father clears his throat. "We're still in the middle of negotiations."
I look up and see the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence watching me intently. When someone doesn't know what to look for, I guess I must look like I'm lost in thoughts, but as Liana pointed out several times already, it's easy to notice when I'm engaged in a telepathic discussion when they know I'm a telepath.
"Ichikawa-san, Hayashi-san," I address them apologetically. "I know that I was half-alien from the beginning, but I was born here. So were the transformed players and the young Divementis. We will do everything in our power to protect the Earth. You have my word."
"I believe you," Ichikawa surprises me because they aren't just polite words. I can feel that he genuinely trusts me. "Your actions speak for themselves. If you wished humanity any harm, we would be at war with Draconians when Delgado attacked the Prague embassy."
I shudder at that thought and also blush a little. I'm still not used to being praised, especially by strangers.
You do keep Celestial vices in check, my father sends me a quick comment. The Celestial Emperor being half-Divementis is a blessing.
I blush even more. Despite my many weaknesses caused by unpredictable genetic mutations, it seems I got the best of all three worldsâhuman empathy, Divementis telepathy and Celestial magic. It's certainly a good match for someone who is supposed to manage a race of magic-wielding winged beings with a god complex and fight a telepathic Cthulhu monster.
Liana gives me a grateful look as well. I realise that she's been unnaturally quiet during the negotiations. Is she letting me and my father handle it? Does she think it's inappropriate to intervene with two emperors present? Or maybe she's just tired and happy that she doesn't have to do anything for a change. I hope Soren is taking care of her properly.
The meeting ends with the Prime Minister assuring us that he will send the ambassador to Nebula as soon as possible. I feel tangible relief and I'm not alone. No matter how telling other countries turns out, we can count on Japan at least.