Edward returned to his timeline and was relieved when he saw nothing was wrong. Not long afterward, one of his clones teleported to him.
"How is it?" he asked.
"I used Time Magic to revert the destruction on Elysium. Everything is intact."
"What about that pool? What does it do?"
"As long as a person has a pure soul or a lot of positive Karma, they can turn into angels. Oddly, I did not find something similar in the Underworld, most likely because they no longer control the Afterlife."
"It's a great finding for the Empire," said Edward, who nodded before dismissing the clone and giving him Eve's body. Not long afterward, the other magic knights arrived.
"Sir," many screamed with joy as they rushed over. Noelle, Charmy, Vanessa, and Asta jumped on him and hugged him. Edward smiled as he reciprocated.
"Are you alright?" asked Yami, who smoked his cigarette in relief.
"I'm fine."
"I'm glad you're alright," said Acier.
"I told you guys nothing would happen to him: it's him of all people," said Mereleona.
"Sister, you were the most worried," said Fuegeolon.
"Do you want to fight?"
"Sister, brother, this is not the time," added Leon.
"*Sigh*. I did not expect some individuals could be so powerful. I feel like you deserve the title of God of Magic," said Undine, thinking about the few terrible spells these two used before disappearing.
"All of you have the opportunity to be this powerful," said Edward as he munched on the cupcake Charmy gave him.
"You've been saying that for quite some time. I feel like your words are not just mere encouragement, and there are meanings behind them," said Yami.
"You're right," said Edward, before spending a few minutes telling him about the Empire and the concept of Omniversal Travel.
"This would explain why you are such an anomaly," commented Undine.
"Indeed, many things suddenly make sense now," said Acier; they've known each for some time now, and he always felt his friend had many secrets.
"So, some of us can go to the Empire with you?" asked Yami.
"Unfortunately, you don't have much of a choice."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm going to steal this world."
"Again, excuse me?" he asked as he exhaled the smoke.
"I'm going to steal this parallel timeline from this universe, then fuse it with my universe," Edward said calmly.
"I"m still confused," said Mereoleona, and the others felt the same way.
"Think of it that way. After I finish, the Western and Eastern Continents will now become another continent on my home planet, Earth. You will become citizens of the Empire, having access to its education, health care, social services, etc. You can travel to other planets, meet other races, and experience a plethora of things you've never imagined before."
"Sir, that sounds great and all, but what about the citizens of the Clover Kingdom? What will happen to them?" asked Fuegeoleon.
"They will thrive beyond they could imagine in their lifetimes."
"What do you mean?"
"In my universe, magic is a gift granted by very few individuals. So, the population of wizards is extremely scarce compared to ordinary people."
"People born no magic like me?" asked Asta.
"Yes, and they are a majority."
"They must live a painful life."
"The discrimination in my universe is not as bad as in the Clover Kingdom. Unfortunately, the magically gifted still control the majority of power in the Empire, so I want to level up the playing field.
"One of my goals in bringing this universe back home is to allow every individual in the Empire to have the gift of magic."
"How are the citizens going to thrive? Must of them have a meager amount of mana? Are you going to let them use our training method?"
"I've developed a system that allows wizards to grow from no mana like Asta to as powerful as me. Although it is not perfect, things like talent, hard work, and resources play a role in their growth, there is still a clear path to advancement."
"As strong as you? Or that God? How is that possible?" asked Mereoleona.
"Don't be surprised. I'm not even the most powerful in my universe: not even close." Then, Edward explained the Tier System in his world, how he was only Tier 7, from the top.
"We are only Tier 5? And only because of your training?" Mereoleona had a hard time accepting how weak Edward seemed compared to the entire universe; that was a person she looked forward to surpassing.
"It sounds like a very dangerous place," said Captain Vengeance.
"No place is truly safe. Plus, I can protect the Empire from any Tier 9 threat. And once some of my research is finished, most general Tier 10 threats should not be a problem," Edward reassured.
"Kekeke, none of that matters. I cannot believe there are so many powerful wizards. I cannot wait to slice them." Everyone ignored this psychopath.
"Edward, is this world fusion safe? There won't be any problems, right?"
"Don't worry: this is not my first time."
"That's good. I'll have to warn Lolopechka to be prepared." There was something else she wanted to discuss, which was the status of the Heart Kingdom Queen in that Empire. However, now was not the time for such a discussion.
"Wizard King, I have a question," Yuno said.
"Are you wondering about my position?"
"Yes." Asta began to pay attention.
"I can resign, and the competition for my successor can begin. Or, you can change your goal to be Arcane Emperor," Edward said with a smile, making Yuno squint his eyes.
"According to the Empire's laws, anyone can challenge the ruling monarch every hundred years for the position. Now that I think about it, the Empire's centennial birthday is coming in a few short decades."
Yuno and Asta were not the only ones paying attention to this information. People like Fuegeleon and Nozel Silva have the dream of becoming the Wizard King, and now, maybe the Arcane Emperor.
"I want to be both," said Yuno.
"Me too," yelled Asta.
"Ambitious," said Edward with a smile. "I will announce my resignation as Wizard King. Then, you guys can compete for the position."
"Are you sure this is wise?" asked Mereoleona.
"I have a lot of work to do before the fusion. So, it will be good to be focused."
Edward then chatted with the group for a while before dismissing everyone except for Yami.
"I found your sister in the Eastern Continent."
Yami paused for a moment, "she's not dead?"
"No, she has been searching for you all these years."
"I see," he said. Then, tears began to fall from his eyes.
"I thought she was gone. I thought they were all gone."
"Regrettably, I could not find your family's soul in the Afterlife. So, they have likely already turned into energy to power up the seal. I could use Time Magic to try to retrieve them. But, even then, I doubt I would succeed."
"It's fine. I've already accepted their death. Now that I have my sister, I'm satisfied."
"Do you want to meet her now?"
"Now? I'm totally not ready. If she saw my appearance, she would be disappointed–especially since I'm 24 and not married yet."
"Then, this is the perfect opportunity to confess your feeling for Charlotte. That poor girl has been pining after you for too long; at this point, it's embarrassing."
"Charlotte, huh?" Yami did learn of her feelings for him during the training. But, given the upcoming battle, he did not want to address them.
"Maybe, you're right."
Edward patted his shoulder before leaving; he went to see Undine and Lolopechka to address their concerns. He told them that the Empire did not grant nobility status, so her status would change after the fusion.
The Heart Kingdom is as big as some large countries on Earth. Even so, countries are now considered regions of the Empire, so she will become the Region Mayor of the Heart Kingdom. Furthermore, her position has a term limit where she could not be re-elected for the same region more than twice.
Undine was not happy with this outcome as she wanted at least more than two terms. However, Lolopechka said she was alright with this outcome as long as her people were happy and lived fulfilling lives.
And Edward promised her that.
After this meeting, Edward went to see the elves, who were concerned about this fusion. He reassured them that the Empire was multi-racial, multi-species, and multi-ethnicities, so the elves would not be discriminated against by humans or other races for that matter.
He then proceeded to inform the dwarves of this news; their reception was the most exciting. These adventurous-angry dwarves were the happiest about the concept of traveling to another universe and interacting with others.
Finally, Edward returned home, and the next day, he communicated with the citizens and announced his resignation.
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Next Chapter Title: Leaving Black Clover