Seated in a chamber in the royal palace of Avilla, the Emperor held a mana stone encased in his palm, drawing out mana from it, which he then used to expunge the poison within him.
He had done so for the past three years.
Progress was akin to that of a slug, but the Emperor could only be content, and even happy, that it worked at all.
With the war ongoing, today was to be like any other, until his space ring shone with red light.
'Hmm? Bolton?'
He paused his cultivation, brought out a red crystal, and shattered it on the floor, letting it splatter.
Thereafter, essence erupted from the pieces and coalesced into words on the floor.
As it formed, the Emperor realized it was longer than most messages Bolton sent him and began reading through.
As he read, his expression kept changing. At the end of the reading session, the Emperor was confused, amazed and disgruntled at the same time.
