Upon arriving in the future, Arciha was born in the Mixed World, which is located on the 8th layer and falls under the category of Equivalent Multiverse. At the time of her birth, Arciha once again triggered a tremor in the 21st+ layer—a place the beings of the higher dimensions refer to as the realm of the creators and the Queen of All Things, whose dimensions transcend all conceptual calculations, whether qualitative or quantitative, regarding any form of matter. This disturbance was caused by Arciha's aura leaking into the spiritual world as it attempted to penetrate the physical world, but the aura could not breach the spiritual defenses of the uppermost layer. The Queen of All Things immediately manifested herself with a somewhat annoyed expression, intending to wait until the time came to hold Arciha accountable, as she fully understood the characteristics of the magic Arciha possessed.
Back to the Mixed World
Arciha was born in the city of East Exlite under the name Zhaes, located next to the city of West Latifania, which is known as a free city and a hub for the black market. Zhaes's family was actually a troubled one, the result of an arranged marriage; consequently, when Zhaes turned five, everything fell apart. His father didn't return from work for several days, and his mother also decided to leave Zhaes at his grandmother's house and simply walk away. At the age of 8, Zhaes's grandmother passed away due to old age. For Zhaes, it was actually possible to change that fate, but for him, changing fate was a bad thing, and he always viewed fate as an unknown aspect of life for living beings. After losing his family, in his new life, Zhaes discovered something while exploring a remote forest rumored to be the "Forest of Death"—so called because it was one of the remnants of the Exlite Empire, which had now fallen into the hands of the Latifania Kingdom, though no one knew exactly how that had happened.
Exlite's legacy for Arciha in the past
Zhaes was instantly surprised and muttered,
"Wow, I didn't expect the little palace the Emperor gave me as a gift to still be intact. The Emperor really went out of his way to give me this gift."
Zhass said, "Esfla (Hiding Shield)."
Before leaving, Zhaes made the little palace invisible to everyone.
West Latifania City
After returning, Zhaes tried to explore the black market in West Latifania and asked the vendors selling strange goods in the area.
"Excuse me, do you know anything about the collapse of the Exlite Empire?"
"Hey kid, if you want to die, don't drag a fool like me into it! No one dares to ask about that, and no one knows anything about it. But according to rumors among the nobles, the empire collapsed because they were devoured by the kingdom itself—that's all I know. And don't ask about it again if you don't want to get killed!"
"Alright, thanks."
As Zhaes continued his journey, he saw all sorts of suspicious goods and even slaves, along with many nobles in the black market. In the blink of an eye, Zhaes spotted something on a moving vehicle carrying slaves for sale; one of the slaves had a mark on his hand—a crescent moon—which was supposed to be a symbol of honor.
A look back at the gathering of the Emperor, Arciha, the 7th-Layer Cosmic Emperor, and the Queen of All Things
In discussing the Mixed World and the birth of the girl destined to bear the crescent moon mark on her hand, the Emperor listed the various marks and their corresponding ranks:
White is the ancient rank (SS)
Red is the hero rank (S)
Blue is the high rank (A)
Green is the middle rank (B)
Brown is the low rank (C)
Each tier will rise as power grows
As for the signs themselves:
Abstract (unknown)
Crescent Moon (Hope of the World)
Star (Wizard)
Flower (Healer)
Gold (Warrior)
One of the 7 Cosmic Emperors Laughs Loudly
"Ha ha ha ha ha..., finally, after all this time, this Rotten Creature (Arciha) will be gone!"
Hearing those words, Arciha didn't pay much attention to him
"Arciha, would you be willing to take care of my grandchild if you were to meet him in the future?"
"What are you saying, Emperor? Are you just going to give up on our hope like that?" (with a very annoyed expression)
"No"
"What do you mean by saying that? What are you thinking?"
"Is Arciha a threat right now? No, right?"
"Of course she's a threat to everything. Doesn't the emperor know that no one can rival Arciha except for that hope?"
"Yes, I know exactly what you mean, but what I'm asking is: has Arciha ever tried to stir up trouble between any worlds? As far as I know, Arciha deeply respects the concept of fate!"
Arciha interrupted
"Hey, when will this end if the two of you keep arguing like this?"
"Ha, you're only here because the Queen invited you. If you want to leave, go ahead. A creature like you has never deserved to exist and is actually best off being eliminated!"
"Hm, have I ever offended you, or is there something about my subordinates that you don't like?"
"Don't you realize that what you did back then terrified the entire universe?"
"Why are you blaming me for what happened back then? Didn't I already say I just wanted to settle my issue with the god who killed my friend?"
"Wrong is still wrong, right? I already told you that you're to blame for everything and must be eliminated because you truly don't deserve to exist in this reality."
"Hm, well, go ahead then, hehe" (forced laugh)
"Huh? You bastard—Laws Fall Down Eras...
The Queen tried to stop him
"Enough! Can you stop it!!!"
"Ugh, Ra, you're bothering me, you know!"
"Eh, eh." A murmur rose from the crowd.
Suddenly, four of the Queen's Guards appeared and pointed their weapons at Arciha's neck.
"How dare you address the Queen by her first name?"
"Hmm." (Arciha didn't seem to think much of it.)
"You all return to where you came from."
"B-but this creature addressed you by name, and that is a grave taboo—for Her Highness is the supreme entity who should only be addressed by a fitting title."
"I already asked: can you return to where you came from?"
"A-alright."
"Ugh, you brat, you're so—
"-Revlasa-(-Dimension Termination-)—where are you going?"
"I-it's impossible, I-I can't...
"Revlasa Ka(-Dimension Termination Destruction-)
"Stop! -Taking the Law of Life- can Lord Arch utilize my guardian?"
"Ra, you're always bothering me!"
Instantly, everyone present at the gathering was overwhelmed by the clash of two high-level spells.
"So thank you all for coming to this meeting."
Without further ado, the Queen of All Things closed the meeting.
Before it ended, the Emperor still tried to ask Arciha about his future grandchild, but Arciha didn't pay much attention to his words. That is what remains in Zhaes's memory of the past when the grand meeting took place.
To be continued...