Angel Monarch

Reality broke into fragments, and Henry's eyes snapped open…

"…I'm sure many will take my generous offer!" Said Vicky, while glancing at everyone standing inside the conference room. However, her white eyes stopped at Henry, since the young Prince looked like he had just seen a ghost.

"Uh… Henry, are you alri—"

Before Vicky could've finished the sentence, Henry suddenly tackled her. He lifted the small Princess and hugged her as tightly as he could, afraid she might disappear.

The people stared at the regal couple in absolute confusion. Tears streamed down Henry's face, while Vicky just looked helpless and happy.

She giggled as Henry pushed all the air out of her lungs, and began crushing her ribs. However, a moment later she realized how strong Henry's grip around her chest was… Much stronger than an Ascended's…

"Henry… What happened?"

Upon hearing Vicky's whisper, he lessened his hold and let her breathe freely. The hug remained though, but instead of tight and afraid, it was tender and loving.

The Princess reached out and brushed away the tears running down his cheeks. She smiled with warmth and leaned in for a long kiss, not caring about everyone still watching them.

"Don't worry, my love. Whatever happened, it's over now. You can tell me later, after we've won this war!" Said Vicky in a whisper, while maintaining the kiss.

However, her words didn't calm Henry, it had the opposite effect. His hands tightened around Vicky again, making the young Princess realize her mistake.

"Is it something about the war? Will something bad happen?"

Henry nodded once, still unwilling to let Vicky go. His heart burned with relief, which felt suffocating. He wanted to scream with joy, but also to hug Vicky forever.

Through the overwhelming emotional overload, he couldn't force himself to explain everything, or even to speak.

Vicky's presence calmed him somewhat, so as time passed, he began feeling better. Soon enough he regained the ability to speak and think straight, which meant the third part of his plan to save everyone began… It was time to change the past!

The Prince took one more deep breath, taking in his fiancée's scent, then he put Vicky down on the ground. His hands trembled as he forced himself to let go of the Princess's shoulders.

His eyes glinted a darker blue than usual. As his vision left Vicky and landed on Bea's concerned expression, they began glowing brighter.

Something in his body activated automatically, and pictures, no… Memories appeared in Henry's mind…

They weren't his, but he deduced with ease whose memories they were…

In one picture, Henry saw himself having dinner with Lucy, Leslie, and a bunch of strangers whom he couldn't recognize. While talking and laughing, he leaned in and kissed the young gloomy boy sitting by his side.

The next picture showed a different memory. A destroyed city and a sudden bright light illuminating the darkness.

It changed again, showing Sera and him having a candlelit dinner. Then changed, and Henry saw himself, Sera and Vicky having fun at a beach.

An endless frozen world. Happy memories with Vicky. Sad and regretful memories with Sera.

Henry glimpsed into Bea's past, seeing her most precious and important memories, which formed her entire personality. However, his newfound ability didn't stop there.

The glow in his eyes turned brighter, and a different vision appeared in his mind…

He stood on a battlefield, surrounded by the dead. The Tree of Light burned brightly above her, the flames consuming all the blood-red and golden flowers.

Deep hatred and sadness clouded his mind as he rushed towards the source of all his sorrow… A lone man wearing a blood-red cloak, his mocking laughter echoing through the broken battlefield…

The vision soon ended, leaving Henry speechless. He recognized that vision. It wasn't about the past, but the future… Bea's and everyone else's future! The future Henry desperately tried to change!

After struggling a bit, Henry regained control and shut off the ability, which caused these visions. Even though it was a passive ability, he could toggle it on and off.

The silence inside the conference room was palpable. With worry and confusion etched on their faces, everyone stared at Henry, as if he had just lost his mind.

However, some of the gathered individuals noticed a definitive change in the air surrounding him.

It wasn't easy to notice, but the Stellars knew his Rank had increased. One moment he was just a strong Ascended, but now his power exceeded Vicky's and maybe even Bea's.

The Prince took another deep breath and glanced at Vicky once again. She smiled reassurance, yet her white eyes only held concern within their breathtaking depths.

"Hello everybody. You're probably wondering about why I'm acting so strange… Well, you might not believe me, but I came from the future a few hours from now…"

A few gasps of shock rose in the small gathering, but there was also some doubt, understandably.

"I don't have any evidence, so you'll have to take my word for it. I came back to escape the future I came from… If we try what we planned, we'll all end up dead in a few hours!"

These words sparked everyone's curiosity, and while they still had doubts, they wouldn't lose anything by hearing Henry out.

The Prince looked at everyone with a serious expression when he felt Vicky gently grasping his hand. She might've been young, but the Princess's attention to detail was perfect when it came to her fiancé.

From the tight hug and tears, from the desperation and relief in Henry's eyes, she already guessed what he had gone through. So, Vicky held his hand reassuringly.

He nodded and smiled down at his fiancée with a thankful glint, then turned towards the gathered crowd.

For the next few minutes, he retold every mistake they made during the battle. Together they brainstormed ideas until they had a crystal-clear plan in place.

However, victory was still far from certain. Implementing the changes will lead them onto an alternative path, but the destination remains uncertain.

There were two main issues Henry needed to solve. That weird man with the blood-red cloak and Victor, the one who's guiding those ravens. This chapter was uploaded by the team at M|VLEMPYR.

The way his ravens broke through the upgraded shield wasn't normal. Even the strongest Stellar would've taken a few minutes to break through, yet he did it in a mere second.

"So he's an Ethereal. Should've guessed… One Ethereal alone couldn't have killed my mother, even with a Stellars help!"

"He and my father would've never stood a chance against mom… That lying piece of shit! I can't believe I nearly forgave him, buying his lies about being manipulated by our father…"

They all stayed silent as Sarah spoke. Her stormy eyes held no sadness, only hatred and contempt. Forgiveness wasn't an option anymore!

Leslie stood by her side, his hands trembling with anger. It took all the demon's willpower not to go berserk in this confined space.

While the emotionally flippant couple struggled to control themselves, the conversation about their plan continued.

"So he's an Ethereal? That means we have no chance of defeating him! Awesome!" Said Lucy, with as much sarcasm as she could muster.

The atmosphere turned grim inside the conference room. This obstacle felt insurmountable, and everyone was out of ideas… Everyone except Henry, of course…

The infinite time he spent inside his own head while walking towards the larva wasn't for nothing. He strategized about ways to defeat Victor, or at least hold him back. In the end, only one plan had even a slim chance of working…

"We've a chance, albeit a slim one. A few days prior to our embarkment to Antarctica, my mother contacted me. In the past two years, after discovering Vicky's Realm-travelling abilities, she began searching through documents to find the Realm where my other mother travelled!"

Most people realized the meaning behind Henry's words immediately, but the slower ones—Lucy and Will—didn't catch it. They just stared at the Prince, with raised eyebrows and confused faces.

"She found the Realm's coordinates where Queen Valerie got trapped after Harold closed off the Realm Gates. As a powerful Ethereal, she could hold off Victor while we eliminate all the armies!"

Deep down, everyone agreed that this was their only plausible plan, yet they still held a few concerns.

"Every Realm is gigantic, near infinite or even endless. The Gate you open probably won't be near her exact position, and we don't have enough time to find her. How do we find her inside that other Realm?"

Henry just smirked at the Stellar who voiced all their concerns. The plan was flimsy for sure, but knowing his mother's position wasn't an issue.

"I know my mother, so we'll find her easily enough. The real problem is the situation here in Antarctica. The storm will arrive soon, and since I need Vicky in the other Realm, you'll be left without communication!"

After hearing his valid concerns, they all spent another few minutes creating a plan, which could hold off the armies. Victor probably wouldn't attack before necessary, so they only needed time until Henry and the others came back.

"Okay, that's good. Then let's begin the plan. Vicky, scare the ten armies! Make their soldiers lose all morale!"

Vicky stepped away with a wide smile and prepared to open ten different portals, when David's shut came from the map, which monitored all ten armies.

"Wait! Something's wrong! Look at this… Why did they stop?"

Everyone gathered around the map, and whispered in confusion. Six out of the ten armies stopped, with only a small fraction marching on towards the cities.

While staring at the map in surprise Henry realized something… What if others could remember the rewritten timeline too…