Galaxy's First Ruler

Aldrich walked out of the office and saw the awe mixed with slight fear written on Mr. Edwin's face. A devilish voice resounded in the hall and a gust of wind appeared and vanished instantaneously.

"Mr. Edwin, have you gone through all the details?"

Aldrich had prepared many documents for different scenarios. He looked at one corner of the hall where many boxes had been lying on top of another.

Those boxes contained many paintings, research materials, and ideas related to conjoining Mana cores with the existing technology efficiently. That corner, with its many boxes, was worth billions of US dollars.

Only a few Dreamers and scientists could undeniably say that it was priceless.

"Yes, I would serve the Thousand Faces Guild with all my heart."

Mr. Edwin put a hand on his chest and gave a deep bow. Reverence and attachment came seeping out the old man's gesture.

"Good! Where's Boomie?"

Aldrich had brought Boomie to the Guild's HQ after his initial treatment at the Dungeon's location. The Healers had stated that he was in a deep sleep state and he could wake up any moment. More than a day had gone by, but Boomie had yet to wake up.

"Baron Bernard is in the medical facility. Please follow me."

Aldrich followed Mr. Edwin to a corridor. Many doctors and Dreamers were roaming about there, busy with their respective tasks. At that moment, all felt their chest being squeezed by a pressure unknown to them.

Aldrich's figure, with the single-horned mask, towered at the entrance of the corridor. The staff worked for Mr. Edwin, but it had become a fact who he worked for. The Masked Menace was exactly as they had heard about.

Aldrich entered the room and found Boomie sleeping silently on a bed surrounded by many doctors.

"Leave."

Within seconds, the room got empty as they heard the single command from Aldrich.

Aldrich approached Boomie and sat beside his bed. Many blurry memories flashed through his head, clouded by a strange darkness. Their adventures in the mountains, the countless hikes, and many unknown psychological sessions.

The time he had spent with his only friend seemed minuscule compared to the time in that Darkness, where no living being must go.

Aldrich's hand reached out towards Boomie's hair and he gave them a slight shake. He took out a neatly folded paper and handed it over to Mr. Edwin.

"Give this to Boomie as soon as he wakes up."

"Ok…"

The stretched acceptance didn't go unnoticed by Aldrich.

"Emotions can be as strong as the danger posed by them, Mr. Edwin. Don't hold them back when there is no need to do so."

Aldrich hadn't finished his sentence when soundless tears dropped onto the tiled floor. The buried feeling of deep sadness came erupting out from Mr. Edwin. It was already a Sin for 'the Butler' to portray his crying figure to his employer. The only thing he could do was to let out his emotions as silently as possible. But Aldrich could read Mr. Edwin's feelings quite well.

He stood up and put a hand on Mr. Edwin's shoulder and said.

"Let's go."

*

An open-roof hall, within one of the Rocket launch sites in the USA, was filled with a dense air of anxiety and helplessness.

On a table, in one corner, Mr. Santino was shouting at two of the scientists in a rage. Yet, this rage couldn't affect the other five Dreamers in the hall, having an unfazed attitude.

Baron Matsumoto Sho was standing at the windowed wall, and his eyes kept staring at the giant Rocket. Baron Edmund was on a sofa with his head craned up, lost in the vastness of the Sky. None knew what the two had been thinking since their arrival.

At the other corner, Baron Annie had been holding hands with a man of blond hair and a thug-like appearance. This unknown Baron's arrival had shocked many, but he was welcomed just as the others.

The fifth Dreamer lacked immensely in strength compared to the other four. But her demeanor wasn't much different from them. Ms. Olivia Wells, the director of the American Dreamer Association, also had a lost look on her face.

All people were waiting for a man they had never thought to become this important in their life.

*

Aldrich entered the hall, with Mr. Edwin following him. He felt the immense burst of Mana and knew the Barons had been quite nervous about his possible refusal regarding the task.

But Aldrich had no thought of walking away from this.

As soon as he entered, all heads turned towards him and many felt the horror of the new mask on his face. Aldrich's eyes met with the Japanese man, named as the strongest Dreamer on the planet. Before anyone could say something, they both took steps towards each other.

By the time the other Barons and Mr. Santino rushed towards the center of the hall, Aldrich and Sho had already been standing a few steps from each other. All knees buckled as soon as they came near the two, irrespective of their rank.

Hundreds of snowflakes and irresistible coldness came falling towards Aldrich. But before they could touch him, a depthless Darkness appeared around every single snowflake and devoured them. The coldness got lost in the deep admiration reflected in the eyes of the two Dreamers.

"Impressive."

"Admirable."

Aldrich and Sho said the words to each other, and none had any idea what had just happened. Only a feeling of doubt and a frown were visible on Edmund's face.

Aldrich wouldn't have praised the middle-aged Baron if he hadn't felt the trace of Law around Matsumoto Sho. Aldrich knew it couldn't come close to his understanding of Darkness. The thing he admired was the fact that Sho could understand even a minute amount of a Law in just one year.

But Aldrich hadn't expected what Sho did next. Edmund, Annie, and Logan got such a shock that for a moment, they even forgot the situation the earth was in.

Aldrich watched as the Swordsman in front of him took out his sword and kneeled on the floor. Baron Sho laid his sword at Aldrich's feet and put his head on the sword.

"If I get to live, I will never forget this debt."