In the back of the bakery, Emily spoke with the mysterious woman. Her eyes darted around as she cautiously looked at the large hole in the wall. A bright gleam flashed, and after a couple of seconds, the rubble around it started to piece itself together.

"Uhhm, Koko, do you still have the thing I made three days ago?"

Koko loosened her brows. Her fists slowly unclenched as a bright smile replaced her frown. Clasping her hands, she said.

"Of course, I would never discard an item made by a prized customer."

Emily heaved a sigh of relief. She was worried that her gift would've been thrown away. But after remembering the date she had promised, a weak murmur escaped from her lips.

"I was originally planning to bring him here the day after he returned, but with… well, you know."

Koko just shook her head.

"No, it's fine. You don't have to apologize to me. We've known each other for long enough now. And I've practically watched the two of you grow up."

After saying that, she handed Emily a small box. A long pause occurred, and after a bit of time, she muttered.

"Do your best. You won't be staying here for long, right?"

A weak smile appeared on Emily's face.

"Yes, I'll be leaving for the capital tomorrow... And, once again, thank you for everything you've done."

...

Walking back to the table, Emily gathered her courage before revealing the object behind her. An apologetic tone entered her voice as she said.

"I'm sorry, the cake's three days old. But I did try my best to make it."

Julius didn't respond. Instead, he just stared at it with a scrutinized look. Feeling that something was off, he turned towards Minhyun and gestured.

"Here, you like cake?"

Minhyun just rolled his eyes.

"Your sister got that cake for you, not me. The least you could do is try it."

Julius sighed. He really didn't want to eat it, but with no other options left in front of him, he hesitantly took a bite. Then, after chewing for a bit, he paused and swallowed. Although he couldn't taste anything, it wasn't all that bad. Compared to everything he's eaten in the past... he'd say this was.

"Edible. It's edible."

Immediately after hearing this, Emily's eyes lit up. Arrogance fueled her bones as she hurriedly called out.

"You heard what my brother said! Put it on the menu!"

Koko smiled before responding with a smirk.

"Yes. I'm sure that with the Little Emperor's reputation, we'll have another best seller at our hands!"

Julius glared.

So this was why you agreed to her request.

Exiting Pain du Pâtissier, the five of them continued to roam the streets of Times Square. Random items were purchased, and a ton of food was consumed. But after reaching a flower shop, Julius stopped before reading the sign.

[Petals]

Ding, ding, ding.

Chimes jingled as he walked inside. Ignoring the medicinal scent in the air, his attention was immediately drawn to a display at the back. Inside the small glass cover was a flower blooming in the sunlit dew of the shop's ambient light.

Noticing Julius' daze, Minhyun came up from beside him and asked.

"I didn't know you liked flowers? Is that why there's a garden outside of your room?"

Julius rubbed his finger on the glass. After a while, he nodded. He couldn't remember when, but he always held some sort of affection towards them.

Minhyun looked inside and continued.

"You know, I used to have a friend who liked flowers as well. He'd always say something about how freeing it was to lie on a bed of them. Something about how it'd help get rid of all the worries he had in life."

He then laughed.

"You know, I'd always catch him sleeping out there in the dead of night. It was pretty unsafe, and I'd have to use all my strength to wrestle him back inside."

…

"I kinda miss those days."

Julius paused. Then he said.

"You must've been good friends."

Minhyun shook his head. Still looking at the flower inside the display, he muttered.

"No, I was a terrible friend."

After saying that, a voice quickly called out from behind them.

"We should get going now. The play's about to start."

With that said, the group made their way towards Dianus Theater. And once inside, a cohort of staff came to greet them.

"Miss Emily, we've been expecting you. Please come this way. I'll take you to your seats."

Three of them split from the rest of the entourage. Gesturing at the stairs in front of them, they led the group towards the upper deck. A voice sounded out when they reached the top and a gust of wind formed beneath their feet.

"Winds, may you let us tread on your verdant paths."

Minhyun's jaw dropped and his legs immediately quivered.

"Yeah, I don't think I can do this. Can you take over for me?"

Julius just dully stared at him. After shaking his head, he said.

"Are you serious?"

Then, with a sigh, he slowly stepped in the air until he reached their designated spot.

Seeing that the play hadn't begun, Minhyun asked a question that had been bothering him for a while now.

"Hey, I have something to ask. I thought you used circles to cast magic, not words."

Julius looked back in surprise.

"Oh, you know about that... It used to be just words, but after the integration of…"

However, before he could finish his sentence, the curtains drew open and the lights flickered on.

"You know what, I'll tell you more later. The play's about to start."

Edged by Julius' words, Minhyun slumped. Then, to make matters even worse, he suddenly realized something...

He was about to watch a play in foreign dub with no subtitles on.

"Wow, I can't believe I'm watching a play… It'd be nice if I could, you know, actually understand what they're saying."

Julius ignored his passive aggressive tone. He simply just pointed at the stage and said.

"You don't have to worry about that. Most of the storytelling and theatrics come from magic. No matter what language you know, you'll understand the message they're trying to convey."

After saying that, the actors came out one by one.

A couple hours passed, and when the play finally finished, cheers erupted from the stands. Standing up, Julius noticed that Minhyun and Emily had disappeared. After taking a moment to look around, he saw them arguing at the front lobby.

How did he get down?

Slowly floating down to his body, he listened in.

"Big bro, you should know that the best part of the play was when June faced off against the horde of fragmented in order to save his little sister."

Minhyun, inside Julius' body, shook his head. After stealing a pen from one of the employees, he began to shittily draw on one of the stands.

"No, it's clear that the best part was when Rillia, the daughter of the chieftan, took the mantle of tribe leader and united the four branches after her father was assassinated."

Julius, watching all of this from the sides, wanted to cry.

Can you two speak like normal people? We're out in public.

In the end, when neither side conceded, Emily twiddled her thumbs and asked.

"Umm, elder brother. Can I show you something when we get back? I've made a lot of progress in my magic, and I wanted to get your opinion."

Minhyun turned to get Julius' opinion.

Julius weakly replied.

"Sure, why not."

...

In the fields of the Mondeau family courtyard, a girl was blasting training dummies with a barrage of spells. Explosions filled the fields as large craters were left in the ground.

Turning over to Julius, Minhyun leaned in and asked.

"So, can you answer my question now?"

Julius stepped back. Hesitation filled his eyes as exhaustion ate away at his body. The trip back had once again drained him of his sanity. But with his promise being made, he answered.

"Fine, but I'm only saying it once."

***

The world was originally one, with Enteim being the only realm in its existence. Eras passed, but after a hole was torn in the sky, a new world emerged. That being Vanitas.

Nobody knows why this had happened, as unfortunately, most of the history before 300 years was erased by something. Using the text that had managed to survive, all we could conclude was that a large massacre occurred on that day. And that after all the bloodshed, a list of merit was formed.

The magic you're questioning comes from Vanitas. The third world that's currently merging with ours. People of that land use magic circles. A type of magic based on the principles of equivalent exchange. It uses formulas to transform the state of an authority into a different form, whether it be water, fire, earth, anything can be manipulated as long as it follows the natural laws of the world.

As for the second world that merged with ours. It's called Kunlun. Their magic is similar to the one originating from Enteim. If Enteim's was described as wielding the authorities of the world, then Kunlun's would be described as becoming one with it instead. Nobody knows when or why it merged with Enteim. The text from that period of history is mostly charred, with only scraps of it surviving till this day.

Of course, other types of magic do exist. However, you wouldn't really be able to call it that since it involves using a different aspect of will. Rather than you wielding or acting as an authority, it'd be more accurate to say that you become one instead. Its just, those cases are very rare. Not only would you need a great level of mastery in otherworldly concepts, but you would also need a book to interpose your existence in the world's leylines.

***

Finished with his summary, Julius cleared his throat.

"Did you get everything I said."

Minhyun shook his head.

"I got the part where you said there were three worlds, but other than that. Not really."

Julius sighed.

"Close enough."

Minhyun paused. After a while, he said.

"Is that why you believed in the things I said yesterday?"

Julius nodded his head.

"I just assumed you just came from a rift in the world's borders. Though, that still doesn't explain the fact that you can possess my body."

Minhyun then asked another question.

"About the books you mentioned. Does your sister own one?"

Julius froze... Bitterness filled his voice as he said.

"Did she offer it to you?"

Minhyun looked down.

"I don't know... I couldn't understand what she was saying."

He then continued.

"But I did return it to her."

A bit of relief returned to Julius.

"That's good... Thank you."

Minhyun sat there in contemplation. He didn't know whether to tell Julius about the words he saw written inside. Or about the butler he had seen in the halls.

But before he could come to a decision, a question rang from the side.

"So, how did I do?"

Julius stared at the girl in front of him. Remembrance flashed his eyes as he nonchalantly answered.

"It's passable... But you're still weaker than me when I was eight."

Emily's eyes twitched. After calming herself down, she said.

"That's because I wasn't using my full power. If I did, then I'd be able to beat twenty of you."

However, after saying that, she just paused.

Julius raised his brows.

"Oh... I'm proud of you."

Emily stomped.

"Stop being sarcastic. I'm being serious here."

Julius groaned, after raising his head, he said.

"If I were to estimate, then you'd probably rank within the top five of this generation."

He continued.

"I'm number one, of course."

Emily smiled. Pointing her finger at him, she looked up at the sky and laughed.

"Just you wait. Soon, I'll show the world that the Mondeau family is number one."

Julius scoffed, not believing a word she said.

And so, a couple minutes passed as the three of them just sat there, basking in the sun as a bed of flowers nestled around them.

After a long pause, Emily asked a question.

"Elder brother... Do you know why I planned all of this?"

Julius didn't respond. Even he felt that something was off about this.

Seeing this, Emily just smiled.

"It's because I'm leaving tomorrow... I've decided to head to the capital to continue my studies."

She paused. Then continued.

"The next time we meet will probably be in ten years."

Julius froze. He knew that this would eventually happen. Bitterness lingered in his eyes as the harsh reality of the world hit him. Time ultimately waited for no one. While he continued to sit here, wasting his life away, everyone else was running ahead, pursuing their dreams and achieving their life's goal.

In the end, Emily looked over to the sun and said.

"Thank you for everything... I had a lot of fun."