The next month flew by fast.
Leonel felt incomparably relaxed. He spent his days in leisure, from the outside it was difficult to tell that he should have been the person experiencing the most pressure.
When the day came, however, he awoke with a sharp coldness in his eyes. He bathed, meticulously cleaning every inch of his body. He ate, eating through tables' worth of food as though he would never be satiated. Then, he dressed himself, wrapping himself in robes of violet and gold.
When he stepped out of the Segmented Cube, he found his Queen with a dignified expression on her face.
Aina wore a long violet and gold dress that clung to her curves and had just a single slit down its right side, revealing a creamy smooth thigh wrapped with a delicate lace garter.
Aina smiled lightly, stepping forward and smoothing out Leonel's chest. Her hair and eyes seemed to sparkle on their own, emitting a gentle light. When she seemed satisfied, she took his arm, and they stepped out together.
The atmosphere was incomparably solemn, not a single sound could be heard despite the seemingly endless pair of eyes paying attention to the situation.
The location was a space above a seemingly barren planet. There wasn't a single blade of grass on its grey body, nor was there a single sign of life.
Above it, there was a platform formed entirely of glass. On this clear platform, a large number of youths stood in pairs. One would have thought that Leonel's threat had fallen entirely on deaf ears.
Surrounding this clear platform, several flagship level ships were in attendance. Any power of the Human Domain worth much of anything was present, even if they had no intention of participating. There were no doubt powerhouses of the Void Palace and Shield Cross Stars present, as for those that couldn't make it, the Morales had made certain that they had a chance to watch. They wanted the entire Human Domain to witness this event.
It might be surprising that the participating youths were only standing in pairs rather than having their entire entourages with them, but this was how every Heir War began. Only by completing tasks would one gain access to more of their allies, and if you failed too soon, you may never get to display your full strength at all.
In the center of these participants, six of the seven Heirs stood, each one with a preselected target. There wasn't a single one of them that didn't look prepared for battle, their gazes sharp and their aurasa piercing.
Adawarth, First Nova. A bronzed armor covered his body, the maturity between his brows clear for all to see. In these years, he had managed to rein in much of the Stalwart Polearm Legacy Faction under his control, if he had been given some more time, there was no doubt that he would have returned it to the status of a Party and maybe even a leading Majority.
Surprisingly, though, to his side, there wasn't a member of this Faction, his supposed strongest backing. Rather, there was a young woman, a young woman that was recognizable by all, a young beauty that was most definitely on the Queen Beauty list and someone that Aina would recognize quite intimately. This young woman was none other than Vega Quarius.
The appearance of this woman by Adawarth's side was a huge surprise. The Quarius family was a Constellation Family, and as such had sent geniuses to represent them. But rather than siding with her family, Vega had actually made such a decision.
Auran, Second Nova. He seemed to stand in the shadows along with his partner whose face was entirely obscured. In fact, even Auran's face itself seemed impossible to see. He was without a doubt the most mysterious of the six, but this only made sense as he was known to have the widest information network. Covertness was the name of his game.
Xavnik, Third Nova. Although his gaze was sharp, there was a confident smile on his face. That interaction he had had with Second Nova all those years ago felt like a lifetime ago. Only he understood his reason for working with the Unfettered Blade Party back then... To his side, though, an inconspicuous and unknown young man stood, shrouded in just as much secrecy as Auran's partner.
Sceio, Fourth Nova. He was without a doubt the most erratic of them all, he had even tried to place Aina under a slave contract many years ago. But, this was in line with his personality. Considering Vega was by Adawarth's side currently but Sceio had been chasing her for a long while, it was clear that scruples weren't something this Fourth Nova had.
Even so, the current Sceio seemed to have undergone a striking change. The transformation was almost perfect... if it wasn't for the fact Vega's Vice Captain was currently by his side as his chosen partner. With that, the Morales Heirs had already monopolized two Queen Beauties for themselves.
Ramon, Fifth Nova. If Second Nova was the most covert, Ramon was the most silent and also the only one of the six that Leonel had never heard of.
Ramon wore a pair of glasses and his appearance was the least confident of the six. However, by his side, there was a valiant woman who seemed to exude all the aura that was needed for the both of them.
This woman was yet another Queen Beauty, making that three. However, she wasn't from another family. No, she was from the previous Nebula Generation, the Littlest Nebula, and was a Morales through and through. Of all the surprises of this day, the appearance of Valorie Morales was maybe the greatest...
Valor, Sixth Nova. The most stoic of the six and also the one to enter the Seventh Dimension the most recently. By his side, a man stood in silence, his eyes half closed. At first glance, it was difficult to tell which of them was the more stoic of the two, and maybe that was exactly why they worked together so well...
This young man was well known as the Sector Ranked Disciple closest to becoming the next Domain Rained... Bruno, his last name unknown.
At that moment, a flagship up above shuddered and a young man and woman wrapped in violet and gold stepped out.