The Dawn of the New World

Hao Xuan was hoping with all his heart that she would say something like that.

"Hahaha, you might not want anything to do with them, but that doesn't mean trouble won't come looking for you. And I'm pretty sure it's already here."

He purposefully worded the sentence to be as cryptic as possible, successfully gathering the attention of both the Princesses.

"Could you please elaborate a bit more, Lord Hao Xuan," Princess Helena requested seeing as Princess Na'im was holding back on purpose.

Hao Xuan didn't want to act any pettier than he already had so he told them almost everything. About the invaders, the many factions fighting for supremacy, the fact their world was merely one of many and that it was not that strong in any sense of the word.

He told them about the prison although he held back some important information about what was inside it, the fact that their entire world was nothing more than an accidental byproduct was clearly conveyed.

Suffice to say, telling them all that at once was nothing short of turning their world upside down. Everything they knew and had come to believe was shattered by a few sentences from Hao Xuan.

He saw the expressions on their faces that ranged from utter shock to fear-stricken bewilderedness.

"N-No, he's lying! That can't be true! There is no way that's true!"

Princess Inara pushed away Burak who was standing behind her dumbfoundedly, refusing to believe what she had just heard.

She who had grown up as royalty, who was told from birth about how special she was, about how she was a princess of ALL the demihuman tribes.

On her coming of age ceremony in a few months, she was to take over the mantle of her predecessor, becoming the sole ruling authority to govern one of the three main tribes. And to suddenly find out that her entire world was nothing but a speck of dust when compared to what was out there, how could she not overreact a little?

Her status had become her identity which was rendered useless in a matter of minutes.

So she looked to her older sister for affirmation.

"Sister! Tell this madman that can't be true. Tell me it isn't true, right? There is no way....it can't be..."

Her anger turned to doubt which planted a seed of fear within her mind. She mumbled incoherently, pulling at her twin sister.

Princess Helena maintained eye contact with Hao Xuan throughout. One of the many rings on her finger glowed lightly. An artifact that was able to distinguish fact from fiction to a degree.

She already knew about the surface world but even so, to find out about the invaders that were at her doorstep and the existence of other worlds, even she couldn't help but feel a little unease and anxiousness seep into the back of her mind.

"Enough, calm down sister!" she tapped Princess Inara's forehead once and her eyes instantly dulled. She became listless as if someone had just flipped a switch and turned her off.

Princess Helena stood up and said "Sit", making Princess Inara take her seat like a mindless drone.

Burak woke up from the daze and immediately got to looking after Princess Inara.

From the side Princess Na'im stood up as well, "How do we know you're telling the truth? Can you prove it?"

Hao Xuan snapped his fingers and the barrier surrounding the struggling Ma Jiang popped, releasing her.

"Ask her, she came from the same place as I did," Hao Xuan threw out the words before leaving the Yurt in wide strides.

As soon as Hao Xuan stepped outside all the noise stopped. Whatever barrier that was in place was doing an incredible job since even his supernatural senses couldn't pick up anything.

He let out a deep sigh, watching the white vapor from his breath slowly melt away into the night.

As crass as his actions were, they were necessary. The moment Hao Xuan stepped back on this world he was once again able to feel a strong connection with his severs, most of which were already down here.

Namely Monk and Gavril. Both of them were so close that he could feel probably even talk to them through the soul bond with a little bit of effort.

"The Academy probably knows by now if they didn't before. The Temple is already here and the people from the Hall won't be far behind. I just hope I'm-"

His monologue was cut short when a small figure came running out of the Yurt and tackled him.

Unfortunately, it was too weak and only ended up hurting itself.

Hao Xuan turned to see Ma Jiang rubbing the top of her head.

"Why dhid you dho that?!" she yelled, not realizing that she had bitten her own tongue.