Dimensional Descent

Joel took a deep breath. This changed the dynamic of a lot of things, but he wasn't sure of how to proceed from here.

For one, the Viola family was far too powerful. The fact that they had moved the wedding up on purpose without regard for Miel meant that they were already determined to do this. It was clear that after the elders of the Viola family saw Aina's talent, they were determined to make her theirs.

But, this was just one aspect of it. Even if they had known this before, Franco would have still said what he said earlier. The fact that Aina wasn't entirely in control of her faculties, though, was something that made even them hesitate.

The choice was made by Aina's father to begin with, not Aina. And it seemed that Aina agreed because she saw the 'logic' behind it. Rychard wasn't worth much to her before, but if he was a ticket to the Void Palace, then it made sense to her. As for matters of love, she hadn't even considered it.

"We…" Joel shook his head. "… I don't know, I can't guarantee anything. I can only say that we'll speak with Leonel and Granny Roesia. Maybe there is something they can do."

Maybe if it have been before the first day's selection, Joel and the others would have been ready to wade through hell or high water, not for Aina, but just so that Leonel would have a chance at happiness. The odds a man would be able to get over his first love marrying and lying with another man was minimal at best. And, for someone like Leonel, just the attempt toward the action alone was enough for him to shut down and not mind it anymore.

But… Just earlier today, they had all received a rude awakening. All the pride they had had from their accomplishments in the Milky Way flew away like dust in a storm. They were nothing but ants here. They had barely gained the ability to fight against the geniuses of branch families, how could they possibly challenge the older generation of a pillar family like the Viola?

Savahn smiled a complicated smile. It had a hint of bitterness to it, but it was mostly filled with understanding.

The truth was that Miel hadn't even sent them here. It was Yuri who realized that something must have gone wrong, causing her to come here of her own accord.

She knew her adoptive father well and knew that he wouldn't put Aina in danger on purpose. He likely wanted to use Rychard, and then when she was accepted by the Void Palace, throw him away. The trouble was that while Miel had spent most of his time training, pining after a day he could get revenge for his late wife, Rychard had been embroiled in political schemes since he was a boy.

saw through his plan with

because he was alone and this marriage had been accepted by

very little options

a loss for what to

**

"Yip! Yip!"

as Little Blackstar raced around his hands, arms and shoulders, messing about with Little Tolly. The two still had their rivalry and it only seemed to grow stronger after Little

had missed Little Blackstar. The

he had his own brothers as well. Being an only child could

careful, don't touch

Blackstar almost nicked the blade of a sword

thought that Leonel would be honing his skill, maybe practicing some more of the Luxnix family Force Arts. But, nope…

looked like it was straight out of Grecian times. It was quite short, being only about a foot and a half long. Its body was narrower near

But, maybe its most astounding feature was that the air seemed

a ball and vanishing into space before appearing high in