"A book?"

  Aurel was momentarily puzzled. Picking up the book, he gave it a quick glance before opening it. The book looked like an old journal with a brown leather cover. When his eyes fell on the texts on the first page, a wave of nostalgia hit him.

  "Sebastian…"

  He recognised the writing the moment his eyes fell on the texts. Sebastian's voice had been one of the many voices he heard during his semi-comatose state. But at some point, Sebastian's voice no longer echoed in his ears.

  The first page read:

  To my liege

  And at the bottom was Sebastian's full and personal seal. Within the seal were faint traces of his energy signature, a mark that the journal truly came from him. Aurel flashed a rare smile at Sebastian's dedication to his craft.

  However, before he could flip to the next page, Aurel flinched when a sudden and thunderous explosion went off somewhere above him. He instinctively jumped back, his gaze shifting to the opening in the roof. The entire throne room trembled from the force of the explosion, shifting the rubble around.

  "Those damn raiders!"

  They were burying him alive. The opening in the stone ceiling was promptly sealed with rubble, casting most of the throne room into darkness, save for a few flickering neon lights. Aurel closed the journal and approached the closed opening when the rumbling subsided.

  "So this is what I get for letting them go?" Aurel sneered.

  While he was capable of digging his way out, he didn't appreciate his mercy being spat on. He wondered if his reputation had taken a nosedive since he disappeared.

  "No matter…"

  Aurel moved back to the cases with the journal in hand. He was not in a hurry to go through the journal. His current priority was to get something to cover his naked self and then get out. Maybe take a limb or two from those raiders to teach them a harsh lesson about his ruthlessness.

  Placing the journal on the broken dais, Aurel approached the other cases, opening them one by one. One of the cases contained a greatsword he remembered keeping in his armoury. The weapon was a one-of-a-kind creation of his.

  The next case housed what he was searching for. However, the clothes were of the regular kind, or, more specifically, for security personnel — a black T-shirt, black tactical pants, and a softshell jacket.

  He was a sovereign. Clothes like these were not suitable for him. Moving on, he checked the other cases, finding one with three Desert Eagle magic pistols and their rechargeable cartridges lined in protective foam.

  Aurel furrowed his brow, "Why would he pack these things?"

  He was visibly confused. Aurel could not remember the last time he used a weapon in a fight. He had transcended the kind of aid they provided, so it made no sense. In another case, he found a sleek, slightly bent magic sword. Beside the sword were daggers, their cold steel reflecting the ambient neon lights.

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  The next case finally had what he was searching for. An attire fit for his status. But unlike the ceremonial attire he typically wore, the one before him was made, blending status with practicality.

  It lacked the excess of ceremony, yet its craftsmanship spoke of rank. The attire was a dark, tailored coat reinforced at the seams, muted metal clasps in place of ornaments, and layered fabrics designed for both movement and protection. It spoke of authority not through display, but through purpose.

  Without hesitation, Aurel got dressed, finally covering his royal jewels. Then, he moved to the other cases, finding a massive sniper-like rifle called the Pulsebreaker — a deadly weapon that required clearance from him to use. He built only three of these babies.

  The others contained artefacts he didn't particularly find useful. He had most of them in his storage, leaving the 'scaps' in the armoury and forge. Aurel tossed the weapons and cases into his storage without a second thought.

  One of the cases, however, contained an accessory he rarely used — a ceremonial crown. It had no actual use outside ceremonies. His true crown was in his storage, and had functions known only to him.

  When he returned to the journal, Aurel hesitated. With his storage space glitching, retrieving the journal could be a nightmare. But the walls around him felt closer with each breath he took, the air growing stale and warm.

  "I'll get back to it."

  Aurel made up his mind and tossed the journal into storage. He looked around for a moment and moved back to the now-sealed opening in the ceiling. Slightly bending his knees, Aurel took off with a bang, shattering the stone floor with each.

  With his right hand, he threw a punch forward. The impact echoed loudly, sending tremors through the throne room. A rippling shockwave blew away the surrounding dust. But then…

  'Eh?'

  His punch did not break through the rubble! And had that been the only anomaly, Aurel would have attributed it to being semi-comatose for so long. But he fell back to the cracked stone floor.

  "My flight ability…"

  He had lost his flight ability! Aurel suddenly winced when he felt pain in his knuckles. His knuckles had not been bruised, but the sharp pain took him aback.

  'I've lost most of my strength?'

  His expression darkened when he realised what was happening. Just how long had he been under? Was it because the anchor was broken? He couldn't be sure. Unwilling to accept the reality, Aurel decided to cast a spell.

  Extending his right arm forward, he made a clockwise motion with his hand while visualising the spell sequence and runes in his mind. Materialising at the edges of his fingers and thumb was a slow-turning magic circle one meter in diameter.

  The surrounding air grew dense and rippled as essence levels spiked. Before the spell was even discharged, Aurel frowned at the pitiful display before his eyes. A lightning tendril the size of a stick shot from the magic circle, almost instantaneously impacting the wall behind the dais.

  With a thunderous clap, the lightning tendril ate into the stone wall for about two inches, sending debris flying. Aurel brought his hand closer and just stared. He had really grown weak, exceedingly so.

  He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, sensing the flow of essence in his body. That vast ocean of essence he once tapped into now felt like a lake. While still massive, it was nothing compared to an ocean!

  "So I'll have to rely on techniques."

  The last time he used techniques to complement his abilities was ages ago. It had been at a time when he was still getting used to the anchor. He needed to return to his castle as soon as possible. His people might still be at the mercy of those bastards.

  Recalling a particularly powerful strength technique he had created some time back, Aurel channelled his essence to activate it. He felt his physical strength and endurance receive the boost they needed.

  When his eyes snapped open, he shot upwards with an even greater bang. More powerful than HMX, Aurel's hand slammed into the rubble covering the opening in the ceiling.