A gentle voice sounded from behind me. As I turned toward it, Cassandra, the desert emperor’s consort, was smiling at me.

Here, it’s worth noting that Cassandra was not the empress.

Traditionally, the emperor of Quan took numerous wives.

Cassandra held the position of the first consort, and among Kalik’s wives, she was the most powerful.

Therefore, it could be said that her status was slightly lower than mine.

This is because, in Nyx, the empress is equal to the emperor, but in Quan, the first consort is definitely below the emperor.

Thus, Cassandra used formal language with me.

“If the Empress of Nyx takes a liking to the grand festival’s dashi, things will go smoother.”

Cassandra continued with a twinkle in her eye, speaking in the unique accent of the desert kingdom.

‘Dashi… That was definitely an ancient word used only in the desert kingdom.’

Literally, it means brother.

However, in the desert kingdom, dashi, among the words for brother, carried the most negative connotation, making it impossible to fully convey the feeling with a direct translation.

‘So she deliberately used a word exclusive to her country.’

She was subtly showing her dislike for that poor fellow.

I raised my eyebrows and responded a bit coolly.

“I think aqwan would be a more fitting word than dashi.”

“Oh, you know our language well?”

Cassandra made a gesture with her pinky and thumb, expressing surprise.

“I learned it as part of my education.”

“You’re modest. It’s difficult for foreigners to distinguish between dashi and aqwan. That alone shows the Empress’s proficiency in Quanese.”

Cassandra gave a good-natured compliment.

I felt uneasy, not understanding why she was elevating me in such a situation.

What benefit did she have in praising me?

“Then you must understand this too. A gertic has come down. In the language of Nyx, it’s a prophecy.”

Suddenly, I looked at Cassandra intently.

Prophecy and gertic were similar words but slightly different.

Gertic meant a revelation with compulsion, or a prophecy.

In other words, it could be interpreted that the gods were demanding something from humans.

‘If you heed the gods’ demand, blessings will come, but if not, punishment will surely follow.’

That strong meaning wasn’t indicative of a god, but rather a devil.

‘It’s the sisters. It has to be the sisters.’

Once I was certain, joy erupted from deep within my heart.

I was unsure whether it was the sisters or not!

“I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to reveal the gertic here.”

“Oh, there’s no problem. Everyone can hear it. Unlike Nyx, we don’t keep prophecies secret in Quan. Everyone is aware of the contents of the gertic.”

Apparently, Enrique wanted to discuss this matter separately elsewhere. Being an emperor, he surely couldn’t have missed the subtle nuances of gertic.

However, Kalik waved his enormous hand dismissively.

Everyone being allowed to hear it also meant that everyone was expected to listen.

Then Kalik spoke in a booming voice.

“The gods have commanded that this special dagger be presented to the Empress of the Nyx Empire. It will stop the spreading of the Desert of Death.”

With a snap of his thick fingers, a desert attendant carefully brought a silk cushion.

On it lay a small, curved dagger, ornate with numerous jewels.

‘A sheathed blade can’t be brought into a banquet hall, so it must be a replica.’

Without needing a closer look, this dagger was an ancient artifact and a magical tool.

Normally, its blade was too dull to cut even a twig, but once blood was spilled on it, it became sharper than anything else.

In essence, it was a magical tool with nothing particularly special about it.
“In the center of my country lies the Desert of Death, which is a real headache. It’s inhabited only by demons and is expanding, devouring the bordering grasslands.”

The reason Quan is conveniently called the Desert Empire is that more than half of its territory is desert.

But not all deserts are the same.

In some sands, life breathes.

Mammals like desert foxes, sand mice, and wild camel herds, as well as rattlesnakes and scorpions, coexist and form an ecosystem.

‘But in the Desert of Death, there are only demons. Even the sand is black.’

The emergence of the Desert of Death in Quan is akin to the drying up of the Diawan River causing heavy rains in Ansel.

Somewhere in this world, there must be a land that is equally prosperous.

As long as that land continues to be fertile, the Desert of Death will not disappear.

‘But if it’s expanding, that’s a problem for Quan.’

Considering that a gertic commanding the offering of a dagger to the Empress of Nyx descended, one can imagine how tumultuous the Quan royal household must have been.

‘But… I’m not sure what my fondness for Kalik’s brother has to do with this visit.’

Of course, I do like that tremendous yang energy.

“Why was it commanded to offer that item to the Empress of Nyx?”

“How could I know the mind of the gods? Though I am an emperor, I am not a god.”

Kalik shrugged his muscular shoulders in response to Enrique’s soft question, indicating he didn’t know.