Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

When Hal brought the chariot out of his inventory where he had now taken to storing it after getting it out of Grimoire, The ladies admired it.

Praising its stunning workmanship while also wondering where Hal had gotten it, however, if there was one thing they had all come to know and expect, it was that Hal was a man with incredible resources.

At this moment, Hal was in a corner of the Mansion and examining the ground there while also measuring with his Astral sense in preparation for the drawing of a massive array.

A Teleportation Array or more commonly known on the continent as the Teleportation circle.

It should come as no surprise that the landmass of the Haron continent alone exceeds that of the earth by at least three times.

In such a situation where the size is not supposed to hinder transportation and quick summons by powerful figures, there grew a necessity for teleportation circles which can only be powered by strong Cosmic energy which either comes from a Cosmic Saint or a Blue gem.

Cities like Sapphire city did not have transportation curves because they were too low on the social hierarchy and could not afford the blue gems or the Saint expert needed to power it.

The closest Teleportation circle to Sapphire city was about three cities away and at the center of the Kirsten Barony which the city fell under.

It was going to be the target of their teleportation. As it turns out, the Array he was able to purchase from Grimoire at the moment only had little range and could easily get them to the Barony center which was Kirsten city and from there he would make use of their Departing Teleportation circle to go to the Duchy.

However, there were measures made by the organized Teleportation circles that belonged to a specific state that tracked the origin of a teleportation and Hal would prefer they did not know Sapphire city had a Teleportation circle.

Luckily, Grimoire also had its own measures through which Hal could cancel all traces and keep his traveling Anonymous.

*Pah*

He smacked his hands together and separated them to form a Hexagram made up of Astral energy which he slammed into the ground to begin drawing the Circle, 

"This will take a while" he mumbled.

\'Best to take your time\' Grimoire said.

...

In the lounge...

Melinda was seated on a chair and Rita and Emily were on the sofa and facing each other while having what looked like a staring contest.

Neither of the two ladies was saying anything and the silence was thick with tension.

Tension that Melinda seemed completely oblivious to as she took leisure sips of wine.

"So, you\'re from Doxon" Rita was the first to break the silence.

Emily smiled lightly, 

"Yes, I am. Is that a problem?" She asked.

That shook her head, 

"Not at all. It\'s just that I am from Doxon as well. I just haven\'t been there in a while."

Emily raised her eyebrow, 

"Oh? Do you have family there?" While the question might have seemed silly since a normal assumption would have been that Rita DID have family there, Emily was learned enough to know just how often people became orphans in a world governed by the strong.

No matter the attempt at organization.

That would simply remain the order of the day.

That said, the question still caused Rita to be confused, 

"You don\'t know?" She asked in a slow tone of voice.

"Know what?" Now it was Emily\'s turn to be confused as well but it was not Rita who spoke now but Melinda, 

"Rita\'s past." She said.

Emily shook her head, 

"I have no idea"

Melinda nodded, 

"Figures. Hal hardly speaks of our matters to each other. He says it\'s borderline gossip and he would rather leave that to us" she said with a mild chuckle.

Rita cut in, 

"I was saved by Hal\'s mother and she sent me to this city to watch over him. A job I regret to say I nearly failed to do."

Emily narrowed her eyes slightly, 

"You know Svetlana?"

Rita nodded with reservation, 

"I do. She thought me a lot. I am guessing by the use of her name that you know her as well."

Emily looked thoughtful, 

"Not personally. But residing in this city does not mean I should shut myself from the going-ons of my home, does it? It would be quite unruly of me not to know the name of my Duchess" she said.

News that Svetlana was now governing Doxon was not shocking to Rita in the least as that was something Hal had already told her. Although he never really said how he knew.

Also, Svetlana was a Duchess even before she sent Rita to watch Hal in Salmon city.

The two ladies were now looking away from each other and the silence was stretching once again. This time, Melinda broke it, 

"Ahh, Doxon Duchy. Home of Sensuality and the capital of Debauchery. The imperial city might hold the power but I feel your Duchy holds the Men."

Emily grinned and it was clear she took those words as the compliment they were meant to be, 

"Thank you. I absolutely concur. And that is saying something considering how I was practically raised to hate your guts." She said.

Melinda turned to her and smiled, 

"Same here. From an early age, I was thought that the Doxon Duchy was corrupted by the Sensual palace and was aiming to plunge the continent into complete immorality.

I was thought to either stay away from your people or beat you up.

The thing is, I always secretly imagined how much fun it was to live in the Duchy." she said.

Emily laughed with a hand over her mouth, 

"If you were taught. Then I was practically brainwashed. \'Beware of those with the Golden eyes. They wish to put an end to our way of life\'. It was all a tad bit silly, to be honest."

Melinda agreed.

With the Duchys so close together and so different, there were unavoidable differences that stoked the fire of rivalry among them all.

The Doxons and the Silvas were usually at each other\'s throat, diplomatically of course, and by consequence, their secondary powers, Sensual palace and Dane family were directly opposing as well.

In the case of the latter pair, avoidance was even more unlikely as even though the Dane family did not really practice the abstinence of the Primeval Virtue, they did follow some of her other principles.

It caused them to shun the Sensual palace which was packed with Dual cultivators who practically dedicated their lives to doing the opposite of what the Primeval virtue ordered.

*Sigh*

The two sighed deeply simultaneously, 

"But we need to go back" Melinda said.

Emily nodded, 

"Yes, we do. They\'re family." She said.

Melinda looked away and there was a look in her eye as she \'agreed\',

"Yes. Yes, I guess they are"

...

Meanwhile...

Hal completed the Teleportation circle and injected Cosmic Energy into it and activated it.

While he felt it took too long on account that it was short-ranged, Grimoire begged to differ and told him the fact that he completed it that fast was a sure sign of talent.

"Whatever, it\'s ready and it\'s time to leave"