Dimensional Descent

The Emberheart Lady spoke calmly and in the end, her husband couldn't refute anything she said.

Inwardly, though, they both felt complicated about this matter. Nothing in Leonel's letter was wrong. They had disparaged his wife, and they had raised the status of Lyra.

The latter choice was because Lyra's marriage to Thalion was meant to be the catalyst they needed in order to move forward with the next steps of their plan.

Part of their mixed feelings was exactly because of this. They had put their daughter directly in the line of fire not just once, but twice now. Although the world didn't know, how could they not know that they had tried to marry her off to Leonel first.

These matters built up frustration in layers and they felt like they were being painted into a box. But ultimately, they never had a choice...

Until now.

Finally, they could take some of the brunt of the pressure away from their daughter and bear it themselves as her parents. The Emberheart Lady didn't even plan to have Lyra on the participating roster. She would do this for her child... as Lyra's mother.

They accepted Leonel's challenge.

By doing so, they felt that they could better paint the humans as the villains and their plan, which had stalled, could roll forward once more.

...

What the couple didn't know was that this wasn't their choice at all.

Leonel stood on the high clouds of the Dream Pavilion, taking in the beautiful array of blues, pinks and violets. It was truly gorgeous in ways that couldn't be described.

now, but he was hard pressed to think

course, he could have made the letter even more vicious, but he didn't, and that was because he wanted them to publicize it. He wanted them to use it as the lightning rod

to marry Lyra to them. If he had, there was no way they'd go the extra step of publicizing it, and thus

Leonel chuckled to himself.

smile that could blot out the sun spreading across

a step, he entered the Pavilion. Inside, he found Goggles exchanging ideas about

were about

whoa, I didn't come here to interrupt you guys. How's everything

a

but Leonel

Goggles' own was faked. It was too easy to see through. It seemed that even now, he wasn't quite comfortable around Leonel

time. Plus, it isn't as though I've put in as much effort as I should have. Just giving

to the time they would wrap their arms around one another's shoulders and face off against the world together,

life didn't come without its

smiled, not showing the thoughts of his heart on his face. "I have something I might need you two for. Soon, we'll be challenging another Dream Pavilion and the

participants is dependent on myself, though there are some quirky rules we have

you guys know the rules when the time comes, but I'll be

was extensive and if Leonel really poured it on them, they wouldn't be able to retain it all. It was better

felt like the sky was being overturned. He had been having fun learning more about Crafting than he had

didn't know if he

know what your greatest weakness is,

blinked, blushing down his