In the Royal Capital of Lancia, the Ruling Kingdom of the Human Empire, existed a man who known as the Time Imperial; the only person capable of harnessing the absolute power of time to its full potential. A man Lady Clockwork herself cared for.
No one, not even those who saw themselves as infallible, dared to oppose this stern man's rule and was the reason why the four other kingdoms could only reluctantly accept Lancia as the central national power that represented humanity.
The Human Empire could only be propped up by someone who could ensure the Royal Family of the five kingdoms who made up the five portions of the empire wouldn't revolt. Only then would the nation be at peace by using the authority of their 'Ruler', which is instated by Lancia's own 'Imperial Ruler'.
"Royal Father, how is your health?" Drake asked in concern. Just like every other day, the Ruler of Lancia Kingdom sat down with his family to have dinner in the morning. Although his daughter and youngest son weren't brave enough to interrupt their dad while he was having a meal, his eldest son wasn't the type to keep his feelings bottled up.
"I'm fine, son." The man of great stature, who sat on the master seat of the large dining table they had their dinner on, replied in a heavy tone. It was too bad his rather imposing way of talking always pressured others whether he wanted it to or not...
The Time Imperial, Darren Lancelot, couldn't help but sigh inwardly as he understood that his way of interacting with his children was too cold and distant despite all his efforts to bring them closer.
After their mother died, the only person capable of mediating and lightening up the atmosphere vanished. The only person who even tried to break the tension in the atmosphere was eldest son, but his sincere efforts were far from enough to succeed... He missed is friend, Brandon Volts, who always had a knack for taking care of kids, as he watched his own grow distant from him.
He was truly envious... Even though Darren knew that it was his fault. If he was more talkative like his now deceased wife was back then, they wouldn't be having a hard time interacting this way. It was unfortunate that being stoic and unreadable was ingrained into him over the years of handling the politics of Lancia. His attitude was too stubborn...
'With great power came greater responsibility.' This was the law of Gaia and something even the Ranking System used to measure the level of strength of inhabitants of the world best exemplified, and Royalty was on no exception!
Nobility may have the freedom to live however they like, but those a step higher like those who have attained the Lord Rank and became what could be considered a 'Deity' were destined to rule over at least a part of a small kingdom on their own.
It wasn't a choice but a restriction that came with greater power and the ability cast their unique Spell Slots limitlessly. Those who became 'Deities' of the Lord Rank were protectors of humanity.
And above the Lord Rank, the almost mythical Noble Ranking that only few could even hope to obtain, the highest level of power existences of Gaia were capable of reaching, was known as the 'Imperial Rank'. It was a status that signified the one who had the greatest responsibility of all and the one who at the pinnacle of their race. A status befitting that of the 'Imperial' Ruler of humanity.
Not many would know, but Darren was well aware that even among those who had reached the Imperial Rank, he was the one with the most restrictions, and also the greatest responsibility of all. Even the Grand Hero had to give him respect.
Things have changed since ancient times... At least enough for a Gaia Human like them to notice.
His 'Role' had become the responsibility to seal the greatest Tyrant of Gaia who was visible to everyone as a giant statue that reached towards the sky. This was ever since the tragedy back then.
The 'Imperial Tyrant' of Beasts HAD to be sealed, unless they desired an apocalypse to happen...
Inhabitants of the five kingdoms of humanity didn't really need any compasses when outdoors as the towering figure of a snake-haired woman with a serpentine lower body was visible in the skies of the East no matter where they were to travel.
It was an ominous figure that was different from the large tree known as Yggdrasil that could similarly be seen in the skies of the west due to the sense of foreboding humans would instinctively felt upon glimpsing at its figure.
There were even rumours stating that the war between gods would start the very moment the gigantic snake that seemed to cast her shadow onto the world was to awaken...
But enough about that... What was more important was that Darren really didn't know how to put down his stoic persona no matter how hard he tried. He only wished that his children would be able to tell from how he always made time to see them despite his deteriorating health about how he loved them equally... no matter how cold his exterior seemed.
"Father!" Just as he thought another day would pass with his only interactions being his eldest son... His youngest son, Vhalen, spoke out while rising from his seat. Darren was both surprised and joyful that his youngest son took initiative to talk to him! His eyes focused on him, which caused the shorty to feel pressured, but still... he spoke:
"Is it alright if I have this Seal taken off? Why is it only Drake is allowed to have his Imperial Attribute while the rest of us are only able to partially tap into its power? Surely you know that it limits our potential, right?" Unexpectedly, Vhalen didn't seem intimated by his presence today as he spoke about a sensitive topic that usually wouldn't be brought up. Did he even need to explain this personally?
The tension in the atmosphere rose once again and caused Drake's efforts to lighten the mood to be in vain. Vhalen noticed his strict older brother glaring at him from across the table, but chose to ignore him. After all, he had finally gathered up his courage to ask about their situation at this exact moment. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him from asking this question!
Darren looked at the 'X' shaped Seal on his son's hand that was displayed before him and sighed.
He wasn't disappointed by his youngest son's lack of comprehension towards his actions, but more grateful that one of them actually decided to ask about their circumstances after so many years.
"Since you are brave enough to ask... I will answer truthfully. The reason you and your little sisters have had your Imperial Attribute sealed is to erase any potential conflicts for the throne I will inevitably pass on... and to control the other 'Royal Families' that were chosen by our founding ancestor when the five kingdoms were erected. To put too much power in the hands of those who will not ascend to rulership will only invite disaster later on."
"Still... It's OUR inherent Attribute... Why must we Seal ourselves this way?" His youngest seemed moved by his explanation but still spoke out his true thoughts. Darren was impressed at Vhalen's frankness and realised that it must've been a hard thing for his younger children to accept their power being sealed away when their father was so strong.
When he thought about it a little deeper, he realised that it was probably a lot harder for his younger children to create Spell Slots due to the inherent strengths and weaknesses of having an Imperial Attribute. Their power came with flaws...
For normal Humans of Gaia, it was natural that they would be able to form Spell Slots of different Attributes they comprehended through life experiences and training. However, all Royalty who had an Imperial Attribute needed was enough time before their magical strength would naturally reach the power of a Duke Rank and far beyond.
There are even some foolish people who became Classless Beasts solely because they felt the unfairness between how Gaia treated Royalty and regular Humans. One could naturally gain Time Spells to improve their Rank while others had to give up something to grow stronger. This was the difference between Royalty and regular people.
The strength of an Imperial Attribute as well as their growth rate was the greatest strength of Royalty that weren't 'Sealed'. They might not be able to form Spell Slots of other Attributes, but they knew any Imperial Attribute of this world was strong enough leave others powerless. Even the Lightning Attribute could only barely fight 'Time'.
As for the weakness of an Imperial Attribute...
Well, that only applied to those who had their Imperial Attribute sealed... He suddenly realised that his younger children would have a harder time to form Spell Slots unlike the unsealed Royalty.
"One day, I will pass on... At that time you three will have to learn how to act independently without my presence ensuring the nation's peace. You might think that your potential has been limited by my Seal. However, is that really the truth?
How much of an advantage do you all have compared to Commoners who are usually destined to be born with Common Classes such as Warrior, Mage, Bard, or many other mundane professions?
Vhalen, you are a Healer, a Rare Class that ensures you will always be valued no matter where you go.
Mary, you are a Sorceress, a Legendary Class that imparted you the Class Skill of 'Nature Blending'.
Even your youngest sibling, Tina, would be able to gather those citizens of our Empire around her with her Rare Class of Musician. I hope you two are able to understand my intentions." Darren spoke while also glancing at his eldest daughter who was eyeing him the whole time. Her expression seemed to say that she was dissatisfied with his answer.
It looked like Vhalen was speaking for the both of them when he complained about their Seals.
"I understand..." Vhalen sighed before sitting back in his seat. Not feeling that bad about the answer.
Compared to his older brother who was stuck on the other side opposite to his father on the dining table, his and Mary's seats were closer to his father at the centre. Though that also made it easier for them to communicate through their facial expressions alone. Darren wouldn't have guessed that the only reason his son stood up for himself was due to being pushed by his older sister.
'You see...? I tried my best.' Vhalen lifted his brow at and gestured secretly to the girl in front of him.
Vhalen's expression was like this: ╮ (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.) ╭
His body language seemed to suggest that it was inevitable that their father would answer this way.
'It's alright. Thanks for helping me. Dad is really scary most the time. I didn't know how to bring it up.' Mary replied by nodding her head. This one action alone was more than a hundred words to him, as he was familiar with her the most.
'You should try talking to Dad as well. Who knows if Dad's heart will be melted if you tried to act cute~'
'Don't start teasing me. You know Dad wouldn't be moved by such a foolishly simple method.'
'You really think so?' Vhalen rolled his eyes towards his father who he knew only had some kind of communication disorder. In fact, you could even say that he understood his father the most out of his siblings. He only chose not to be too outspoken in front of his Royal Father so his older brother had more chances to try and connect with him.
'Still... Didn't you and Tina already exploit a loophole with the help of your teachers~?' He then continued by secretly pointing his fork towards the bandaged Seal on Mary's hand. This small gesture was enough for his older sister to shiver a little.
'You better not tattle on me, you jerk!'
'Oh I would never~!' Vhalen shrugged his shoulders with a smile, to the confusion of his sharp-eyed and quick-witted older brother. Drake really wanted to know if his younger siblings had some form of telepathy he didn't know about as even Tina, the youngest of them who was studying abroad, seemed to be able to talk with his little brother using only glances rather than words.
"Oh, and brother, I heard that someone interesting entered the kingdom. Let's see... Someone with the Unique Class of Arcanist, was it? I really curious about him and definitely want to meet him." This time the youngest prince actually spoke out loud towards his older brother who was looking at him like he was some sort of freak when it comes to being social with the people around him. Though Vhalen himself knew it was just his older brother being weak at socialising with others just like their father rather his own strength at communicating.
"Who told you that?!" Drake asked in disbelief. He had thought his intelligence network was airtight!
"A certain Royal Tutor."
"You mean Dr Frank, right?"
"Bingo~!" The Second Prince gave a thumbs up.
Although Vhalen was unable to see the deeper meaning of the man's actions, his older brother was well-aware of the conflict that could occur if his little brother was to offhandedly try and introduce that mad scientist to Alex. He was sure Dr Frank would take advantage of the opportunity to try and research the 'Anomaly' as much as he could. This was overreaching his authority...!
"You can meet him... only if you keep Dr Frank away from him. I don't want you antagonising him."
"Sure, but I don't know if I can NOT anger him. You already know my personality, right?" Vhalen snickered as he wanted to poke fun at his older brother, who seemed to care a lot about this random Arcanist more than he thought.
Although Unique Classes were on par in terms of rarity to the Legendary Class his brother and sister was born with, he knew that the strength of Unique Classes varied from individual to individual.
Having a Unique Class didn't immediately make one powerful like having a Legendary Class since it only meant that the Class had never been seen before on Gaia. That's why he decided he wasn't going to be too disrespectful or too formal to person in question. He'll just act like himself without putting on any airs as a member of Royalty.
Vhalen was just joking when he spoke about angering Alex. However, it seemed his older brother took his words literally and started to argue. Mary wasn't interested in their conversation since she didn't see any benefits in getting to know this unknown person while Darren, who was fondly watching from the side behind his stoic look, felt his heart warming as he saw his two sons interact.
He wished this scene would last forever...!