We rode slowly past the gates, towering buildings coming into view as the crowds instinctively cleared a path.
The city was filled with new residents. Some looked polished, refined by opportunity. Others wore hardship openly, their eyes dulled by loss.
Mirabel's gaze lingered on me, sharp and searching. Though she said nothing, I could feel her curiosity pressing against my soul. She was trying to understand how I had broken past the first wall.
For so long, my progress had stagnated. This sudden leap would prove invaluable.
I would cultivate myself into someone worthy of marrying Mirabel soon.
Or perhaps I simply wanted to see if I could. The line between purpose and whim often blurred for me.
When we arrived at the castle, I stepped out first and offered my hand. Mirabel took it without hesitation, dropping down beside me.
The carriage rolled away as we entered the palace. I opened the great doors, letting her step through first.
Before they even shut, she grabbed me by the collar and pinned me gently against the wall. Her presence closed in like a gathering storm.
"Alright, Nick. Spill it. How did you do it?"
I smiled, calm beneath her intensity. "Careful, precise planning."
She squinted, unconvinced. "You are not exactly the type."
I chuckled, deepening her confusion.
"Mirabel, trust me. This is for the betterment of our kingdom."
She sighed, stepping back and crossing her arms. "If you say so. But I have to ask… what abilities did you gain?"
So she meant the awakening. I hoped she would not be disappointed.
In truth, I had gained no new techniques, no fresh affinities beyond those I had already cultivated manually.
What I achieved was not flashy, but it was significant.
The awakening freed my mana, body, soul, and mind from restrictions. My existence value had risen, giving me more space to breathe within myself.
I brushed my upper lip, casual. "Nothing too daring, darling."
Before she could respond, a maid rushed toward us, clutching a sealed envelope in trembling hands.
"Um… it is a message from Uthopia," she whispered.
The envelope was white, marked with a bronze seal, a goat's head, the unmistakable sigil of Uthopia.
I took it with a soft smile. "Thank you, dear."
Mirabel exhaled in frustration as I opened it. We followed the maid deeper into the halls, leaving her behind, stiff and dazed.
Strange. I did not think I looked that intimidating anymore. Still, perhaps the change in my presence had made people wary.
Some embraced it. Others, not so easily.
Mirabel and I reached our shared room as I read the letter.
It was a response to our request for trade. They had accepted, but with conditions. They would wait until the war ended and until I officially took the throne.
I handed it to Mirabel. Her expression darkened, lips tightening. She nearly walked face-first into the door if I had not opened it in time.
"Those stuck-up bastards. If it were not for their king, I would tear their land to the ground."
I chuckled as she collapsed onto the bed in frustration. I pulled a chair close and sat, calm as ever.
"You should not fault them. With my reputation, it is no surprise they would rather wait."
She crossed her arms. "Still, to be so openly biased… unfitting for a kingdom. And a king."
I tilted my head. "Would you trade with me, were our positions reversed? Be honest. Set aside your feelings."
She puffed her cheeks. "Impossible. My love for you extends past even my own capabilities."
"Save that talk for the ceremony. Besides, we predicted this outcome. It does not blindside us."
She let out a deep breath and lay back. "Still, it makes winning the war slightly harder."
I spun the chair lazily. "Not if we go out there together."
Before I could spin again, she stopped the chair and leaned in, eyes sharp.
"You are not going anywhere until you unwrap that sword of yours."
To become a knight, one had to break through three walls.
Mirabel had shattered all three.
To be a Saint, the Golden Authority required at least seven.
Malachi, in all his glory, had broken through ten.
Mirabel had held back her growth for my sake, to help me catch up.
Now that restraint was no longer needed.
"Mirabel," I said seriously. "From now on, break through as many walls as you can."
She blinked, surprised. "Are you sure? If I ascend further, we will not be able to spar anymore."
I nodded. "Future threats demand it. Besides, you saw what I did to Malachi."
Granted, he had been holding back tremendously.
She shrugged. "Alright. If you say so, my love."
The walls existed to bind mortals, to keep them mortal. Breaking the final one meant stepping into a transcendent state, power rivaling even the lesser angels who soared down from the heavens.
Each wall was harder to breach than the last. The gaps widened until they became chasms.
Compared to Mirabel, I was barely a droplet in an endless sea. And that was generous.
Still, I braced myself, because before my very eyes, her power surged.
I was flung backward, crashing into the wall.
Standing before me was a being brushing against the realm of the divine.
Mirabel had pierced the tenth wall.
And she was nearing the eleventh.
I rose slowly, staring at her in awe.
She studied her hands and frowned. "Damn. I thought I would be stronger by now."
I laughed. "You matched Malachi back when you were only at the third. Is this not a bit much?"
She shrugged. "These walls can only hold me back for so much longer."
Was she implying she could breach the final wall? Arrogant perhaps, but maybe not wrong.
That was my goal as well, to reach a height that rivaled the world above, to ascend beyond limitation.
Though if I am being honest, part of me finds this all absurd. We climb because there is nothing else to do.
We break walls because they exist, and then pretend that doing so changes anything essential about the world.
Yet I still climb, perhaps because there is a certain defiance in refusing to stop.
"I have a lot of training to do," I muttered, glancing at my sword.
Mirabel smiled. "Do not worry, my love. In time, you will surpass even me."
I doubted that. Honestly, I should aim a bit lower, perhaps like Nicole.
She had only reached the fifth wall. Her power was immense, but I did not feel completely drowned in her presence.
The gap was still massive, but not unfathomable.
I sat back in my chair.
"After some rest, I will begin secluded training. Wake me only if the war turns dire, or if I fail to awaken one month before our wedding."
She gave me a worried look but nodded. "Do not worry. I will command our armies with dignity and might."
A pang of guilt pricked me for stepping back during wartime.
Still, secluded training would allow me to focus entirely on cultivation and refinement.
This training would not take long. And this climb would begin with a fall.
An ascension begins only when one is ready to break.
And I was ready.
I had set every condition for my evolution. I was stronger than in my past life, better.
Now, disregarding my curse of laziness, I would bring down the walls between me and my goal.
Perhaps the goal was meaningless in the grand scale of existence.
Perhaps no throne, no wall, no divine state could change the absurdity of living. Yet that very absurdity was reason enough to continue.
Absolute sanctity for my people, even if sanctity itself was only another illusion to chase.