Having received a direct answer from the Empress herself, Count Hahn lowered his head in salute and departed from the Audience Hall.
At the same time, on his journey back to the Special District, he continuously pondered the same question that countless major powers had been wondering about.
Just what kind of great figure within the Empire required such an absurdly complex ritual for advancement?
One had to understand:
For three hundred years, beneath the watchful eyes of the entire world, the Empire had deceived a city of over a million people.
The sheer amount of supernatural symbolism involved in such an undertaking was likely more than enough even for an Angel's advancement ritual.
No wonder the other empires were constantly trying to sabotage it.
And no wonder the organization behind the black-robed man had been willing to play the trump card that was Sealed Artifact 1-047.
After all, no one wanted to see an already powerful empire suddenly gain another Sequence Two Angel at the very least.
What Count Hahn failed to notice, however, was that the Empress's wording bore a striking resemblance to the way Mozo had handled the Judicator Pocket Watch earlier.
Neither of them had directly acknowledged the most critical point.
---
After Count Hahn departed, the three Empresses finished handling the day's affairs and silently, flawlessly coordinated their movements as they entered a hidden location beneath the Imperial Palace from three separate routes.
Daylight, Evernight, and Dawn each emerged from different passageways before a colossal stone gate.
Then Evernight stepped forward first and addressed the strange statue carved into the gate.
"I am the Eternal Monarch, guardian of the Empire's prosperity, your one and only Emperor."
After she finished speaking, Dawn stepped forward toward the statue, whose eyes had partially opened.
"I am the Eternal Monarch, the sole legitimate ruler of the Andal ancestors. Your Emperor for all eternity."
The statue's half-open eyes widened completely.
But that still wasn't enough.
So Daylight stepped forward last and declared in a tone filled with incomparable arrogance:
"I am the Eternal Monarch, the sole sovereign adored by all subjects across the Seven Kingdoms. Your eternal Emperor!"
This time, not only did the stone statue fully open its eyes, it also spread apart its enormous fang-filled jaws, revealing three keyholes inside.
Daylight immediately and carefully withdrew a key symbolizing the Empire's skies from her robes and inserted it into one of the locks.
Dawn took a deep breath before pulling out a key symbolizing the Empire's lands from beneath her skirt and inserting it as well.
Finally, Evernight directly reached into the valley between her magnificent breasts and retrieved the last key, the one symbolizing the Empire's seas.
Once all three keys had been inserted into their respective locks, the colossal stone gate, so durable that even gods would struggle to breach it, finally began to slowly open.
This was the safehouse forged by the First Emperor of Lorain, the Andal Emperor himself, after conquering the Seven Kingdoms. It had been created using the heads of the seven monarchs and his own supernatural characteristics.
Its purpose was to shelter the royal bloodline during times of crisis.
Its security was unimaginably reliable, and the method of opening it was equally complex and secure. Even the timing and order of the spoken phrases mattered.
Likewise, the insertion order of the three keys changed constantly depending on the date and time.
Combined with defenses that bordered on indestructible, it could truly be called absolute security.
Yet now, in the hands of the current Empresses, this place reserved exclusively for the imperial family was being used for something entirely different.
Once the gate opened, the three Empresses entered in order, led by Daylight.
Inside, all former furnishings had been cleared away.
The only thing remaining was a stone platform positioned in the center of the chamber.
Upon it lay an illusory body composed entirely of seven-colored light.
Standing beside the platform was a white-haired old man.
Aside from the striking stone platform, the old man himself was equally strange. He wore a crude linen robe stained with a cheap black dye that even ordinary commoners would refuse to wear.
Only beggars and the starving dressed like that.
In contrast, his silver-white hair possessed an indescribable beauty, almost supernatural in nature.
And on his face rested a mask of flowing silver-white material, like liquid water in constant motion.
If not for his hunched frame and aged white hair, it would have been difficult to tell the masked figure was even an old man.
Upon seeing the three Empresses enter, the old man wearing the strange mask merely gave a slight bow of basic courtesy despite facing three Sequence Ones.
Then his gaze returned unwaveringly to the illusory body atop the platform.
The body was formed entirely from rainbow-colored light. Its face could not be seen clearly, though one could vaguely tell it belonged to a man.
The moment she entered, Evernight impatiently approached the platform.
The proud Empress revealed a tenderness no ordinary person would ever be permitted to witness. She wanted to reach out, yet did not dare touch him.
Her hand hovered helplessly in the air for a moment before she slowly withdrew it in sorrow.
Dawn also stepped forward slightly, curiously and faintly blushing as she looked at the illusory body.
Though Daylight did not approach with them, she studied the figure for a long while before finally walking to the old man's side and asking while staring at the platform:
"Will it truly succeed?"
The old man sighed helplessly.
"Your Majesty has already asked me this over two hundred times. And if we include all the previous Daylights before you, then it's already been several thousand."
Clearly, the repeated questioning from generations of Daylights had worn down even him.
Still, he answered as he always did:
"The required ritual is nearing completion. Please wait patiently for the good news. And when the time comes, I also hope Your Majesty will honor our original agreement."
Receiving the answer she desired once again, Daylight let out a long sigh of relief before saying:
"Please rest assured. I will recount this entire history to you in full. As for the portions intended for the public, you may personally decide what should and should not be revealed."
After speaking, Daylight suddenly added:
"However... is that truly the only compensation you desire?"
The old man wearing the silver-white mask smiled.
"We are merely spectators. Spectators need only know the story. Besides, my compensation is far greater than Your Majesty imagines."
Daylight nodded slightly before casually remarking:
"I recently heard some rather dull rumors claiming someone stole the Green Mask. I wonder if you require a bit of assistance?"
The old man merely snorted dismissively.
"No one can steal our belongings. It is nothing more than a ridiculous rumor."
Hearing that, Daylight briefly glanced at the ever-flowing silver mask on his face. Countless thoughts flashed through her mind before she silently turned back toward the platform.
This time, her gaze held the same deep affection as Evernight's.
Which was hardly strange.
They were, after all, the same person. Only their personalities and perspectives differed across different stages of life.
Well... their figures differed too.
Yet at that moment, the old man suddenly spoke again.
"Your Majesties, I must take my leave for a short while. Not long. Merely a single day."
Daylight, Evernight, and Dawn all frowned simultaneously.
The Holy Night Festival was close at hand, and the old man was the key figure presiding over the ritual.
Facing three Sequence Ones, the old man remained completely calm.
"I'm merely guiding a new member," he said casually. "It won't take much time."