Chapter 32 — The Empire Beyond the Sky
The year was the thirteenth of the Holy Britannian Era.
The Empire stretched across continents, its banners fluttering from London to Kyoto-Hua, from the Cape of Innovation to the crystal domes of the Arctic colonies.
But for Edward, the Earth itself had begun to feel… small.
🌌 The Dream of the Heavens
Late one night, in the solitude of the Celestial Foundry, Edward stood before a vast glass dome. Through it, the stars shimmered above the capital like distant lanterns.
"Father once said the sky was Heaven's curtain," Edward murmured, his reflection faint in the glass. "But what if it's a door instead?"
Charlotte's voice drifted from behind him.
"You've conquered seas and skies, Edward. Must you reach for the stars as well?"
He smiled faintly. "I don't want to conquer them. I want to understand them."
He placed his hand against the glass — the same gesture he'd made when he first touched the world's first engine.
"If Heaven gave man curiosity," he whispered, "then perhaps exploring the cosmos is the truest worship of all."
⚙️ Project: Aetherwing
Deep beneath London-Prime, a new construction site buzzed in secrecy — hidden even from most of the Church's hierarchy. Only a handful of trusted engineers, H.B.I.B. operatives, and royal scientists knew its true name:
Project: Aetherwing.
Annabelle oversaw the mechanical design, her goggles glinting in the workshop light.
"We're building an engine that can fly higher than air allows," she explained to Edward, tapping on a blueprint. "Aether compression propulsion — using liquid mana to generate sustained lift in the void."
Charlotte frowned. "That's beyond dangerous. You're building something no one's ever tested."
Edward simply smiled. "That's why it must be done."
Evelyn Nightshade appeared, silent as a shadow.
"And the world must not know. The League of Balance spies are everywhere. The moment they hear of this, they'll call it heresy."
"Then it will remain our quiet miracle," Edward said.
🏗 The Birth of the Ark
Years of effort condensed into quiet nights of invention.
The foundry's roof opened one dawn to reveal a silver hull — a vessel shaped like a cathedral and a ship in one, its sides engraved with runes of faith and mathematics alike.
Edward named it The Ark of Light.
Its engines pulsed softly with blue aether; its sails shimmered like angelic wings woven from crystal filament.
During the first test, the air shimmered around it as if Heaven itself held its breath.
"Aether compression stable!" Annabelle shouted.
"Pressure holding!"
"Lift at sixty percent!"
Then — silence.
The Ark rose, slow and graceful, disappearing into the clouds above the Thames.
Edward watched from the balcony of the Cathedral Tower, heart pounding.
"We've done it," he breathed. "Britannia… has touched the heavens."
🌍 The First Colonies
Months later, under strict secrecy, a small crew of innovators and clergy launched aboard the Ark. Their destination: the silent ocean of the night sky.
They returned after weeks — their eyes wide, voices trembling.
"We've seen it," one whispered. "The Moon… and beyond. We set down where no man has ever walked."
They brought back fragments — minerals that pulsed faintly with aetheric resonance, unlike any element known to science.
Edward stared at the sample in his palm. "So this is Heaven's dust."
Soon, hidden domes rose on the far side of the Moon, glowing faintly with Britannian light. The Lunar Sanctum was born — humanity's first colony beyond the Earth.
And from its cathedral spire hung a single banner, white and gold, embroidered with the words:
"Ad Astra per Fidem et Scientiam" — To the Stars through Faith and Science.
🕊 The Voice in the Aether
On a quiet evening after the first expedition, Edward stood once more in the observatory. The stars seemed closer now — familiar, almost alive.
Then the air shimmered. The faint, ethereal voice he had heard before — the angelic whisper from Heaven — returned, soft and distant.
"The Heavens open to those who dream," it said. "But the greater the light, the longer the shadow it casts."
Edward closed his eyes.
"Then let the light shine anyway."
He looked to the stars, unaware that far below, the League of Balance had already learned of the Ark's ascent — and in the secret courts of Earth, fear began to turn into unity against the empire that had now reached Heaven itself.
End of Chapter 32