Elvras finally broke free of his surprise, and used a skill. Plates of azure armor coated him, pushing Sam's aura back. Generally, an aura could not contest an actual skill, and Sam let it fade, not needing it anymore. Elvras took this as a sign of capitulation, and a slight note of happiness stole over his features. He raised one hand, and a dozen streams of water flew in from the air, condensing from the natural vapors present there. The amount of water increased over and over again, doubling each second. It compressed down, breaking the laws of physics as it did so. Whereas the Flood Titan had used a similar technique, compressing a lake's worth of water into a beam the size of a pencil, Elvras was doing so without any way for the water to escape.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Do you really want to fight me over something this small? Can't you let go of your ego?"

"Ego? What do you know of what I've done?" "You cultivated at the detriment of those you're supposed to protect. Cultivated for nothing." It was a bit blunt, but Sam wanted to make sure that he got the message through.

Elvras faltered, his technique half formed. "Why… why are your words so cutting? Why do I feel like you're right, even though I don't want to believe it?"

"Because I am right," Sam replied softly. "Now, will you see reason, or not?"

Elvras let out a deep sigh, and sat down. He banished the water cannon forming before him. "I'll admit, I have my flaws. But nobody's ever said that to my face so bluntly."

Sam smiled. "I'm glad I was the first, then. You don't seem like a bad sort. Just short sighted." He sat down in front of Elvras. "I met another king recently. He was the opposite to you. Lazy, unmotivated, and only interested in controlling his subjects."

"I've been trying to be a good king, gods be my witness, but I can see the gaps in my aptitude for it." His eyes fell. "Truth be told, I much prefer progression, though I'm not that good at it. There's something special about the Dao, cultivation, all of it."

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"I agree. But you have to stay true to your responsibilities. Why not do so by putting all your training to good use?"

Elvras looked down at his fists. "In what way? It's not common knowledge, but the cultists have more peak E Rankers than I do. In fact, I'm the only one here."

"How?"

"They have help from their wider organization, more than I do from mine. The tendrils of a C Ranker's influence stretch across entire galaxies. They only picked the Worldsea to stage an invasion because of the low level of the inhabitants."

"I had a run in with an astral being before," Sam replied. "It resulted in the destruction of my universe, and subsequent rebuildings. Is this one going to do the same?"

"No. Only Peak C Rankers and above solicit that sort of response, and only in nascent universes. This universe has B Rankers of its own, and it's too stable for such a thing to happen."

"Hmm. Well, I think we've done enough talking. We're both men of action, it looks like, or at least, averse to politics."

With that, Sam's quest completed, giving him another small boost to his stats.

Elvras got to his feet once more, and for the first time in what was probably months, headed to the door. Sam followed him, a slight smile on his face. As the king stepped out into the light, both of the guards let out small exclamations of shock, before returning to a more professional demeanour.

"Arali, Jorn, where are my weapons?" Elvras asked. "My armor too."

"At once, my king!" both guards snapped off in unison, before scattering.

Elvras turned to Sam, a contented look on his face. "You're right. It does seem good, doing something for once. It's like a veil's lifted from me."

Sam stated to reply, but then noticed something strange about what the king had said. "A veil? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well…" Elvras trailed off. "That's strange. Why did I say that? My mind's been unusually foggy for the last few months, only sharpening during training."

Alarm bells were ringing in Sam's mind. "The creature that the cultists worship, the Dreamer, can it infiltrate sapient minds?"

Elvras froze, a look of horror on his face. "Yes… That's how it spreads its gospel. Did it do that to me?" He closed his eyes, as if searching through disparate memories. "Damn it! It did!"

"When did that happen?" Sam probed. "This could be important."

"It must have been at that banquet. That strange woman. Nobody knew who she was, but nobody did anything about it. She was some sort of illusionist, ostensibly there for entertainment. We'd vetted her and everything…"

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