"Is this about the Divination Department?" asked Luna. "You should know things are beyond my ability."
"No," Edward shook his head. "I wouldn't blame you for something like that."
"Oh, then, what did you want?"
Edward paused, his hesitation obvious from his facial expression. Luna looked at him weirdly, "Are you going to ask me to do something morally outrageous again?"
Edward's mouth almost twitched, "It's not as bad as you make it sound."
"What is it this time?" she asked with an exasperated sigh.
"I just had an idea on how to boost the strength of the Divination Department."
"And that would be?"
Edward no longer hesitated and replied, "Take countless variants of yourself from the Multiverse, purify their Seer Bloodline before connecting their minds together, forming an amplifier–allowing them their ability to reach new heights."
"You want to use my variants from the multiverse as some sort of battery or Divination Artifact?"
"When you put it that way, it sounds worse than it sounds."
"And how exactly do you think that sounds?"
"We can erase their memories so they don't feel any pain."
Luna's bloodline was special, making it impossible to clone her. And even the successful clones lost her Seer Abilities, so this plan has to use different versions of herself from the Multiverse.
"That sounds even worse," argued Luna. "They would be nothing but objects once you succeed."
"We will be using the versions from the Dark Multiverse, meaning they would all be evil."
"And that won't make the situation any better. Based on what you said about the Dark Multiverse, these people turned evil because of one or two events that went wrong in our timelines.
"In other words, they are the way they are because of fate and circumstances."
Edward groaned a little, "In that case, think of the long term. If you agree to this project, it can increase your chances of reaching Tier 11. You know what is at stake and what is waiting for us in the future."
"Don't try to guilt-trip me. We don't even have a proper method of reaching Tier 11. So, this project will not affect the general situation."
Edward looked her in the eyes for a few seconds before sighing, "Then, what about a compromise? Instead of using your variants, we use Professor Trelawney.
"Although her divination bloodline is nothing compared to yours, we can make up for the gap using numbers. Plus, we don't have to tell her anything."
Luna frowned for a moment, "I'll think about it." Then, she immediately ended the conversation, leaving Edward alone on his throne.
"Morgana, what do you think the consequences would be if I did it behind her back?"
The little elf appeared before him, "She has great control over the Department, so it's very unlikely to hide it from her. And once she finds the truth, well, the best-case scenario is she ignores you for a few years–possibly hundreds of years–and the worst-case scenario is she divorces you."
Edward groaned softly as he muttered, "So severe, huh?"
"Boss, if I may say something."
"Go ahead. You know there is no need for reservation between us."
"Your current reaction is probably the result of your insecurity that the Empire's defense system was so easily breached. In other words, your paranoia makes you subconsciously fear similar things will happen again.
"So, you want to do whatever necessary to ensure it doesn't–even at the cost of your personal relationship."
Edward paused, "You're…probably right."
"I usually am," said Morgana with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. She knew her best was in a delicate state after experiencing the Illusion Formations. So, his paranoia was at an all-time high, fearing the things that happened in the illusion would come true.
"Well, smartass, I'm glad you're here to keep me in check," said Edward as he rolled his eyes. "Let's get back to work. Did you send the invitations?"
"Yes. Everybody is already waiting."
"Did anyone not show up?"
"No, but a few people seemed deep into important research and sent a representative."
"That's fine," nodded Edward. "Let's begin."
Thousands of screens appeared before him, showing him all types of Arcanists: humans, other races, old, young, women, men, and some people who even looked like children for odd reasons.
All the people present were people who had a private Demi-Plane, so their ranks ranged from Tier 4 to Tier 7.
As soon as these people appeared, they saluted the Emperor as a form of politeness. However, after seeing Edward's nonchalant, almost cold response, they knew something must have happened.
"Less than 30 minutes ago, Arcanists Jame Carter and Edward Wentworth III betrayed the Empire and sold their soul to Guzznad. Wentworth almost succeeded in using a Tier 8 Spell, destroying the entire Solar System."
The faces of these Arcanists changed. Their hearts trembled as they realized how close they were to death. Among these people, few people could survive the sudden destruction of the Solar System.
So, the result of such a terrorist act would be catastrophic.
"Your majesty, is this why there was an anomaly of time stopping recently?" asked an Arcanist.
"Yes."
Everyone quieted down, analyzing the ramifications of this event. A few smart people had already guessed the reason for this meeting and were unhappy.
"I made the use of Demi-planes public to give you personal space to do your research. I basically allow each of you to have your own small country where you have absolute power, including military powers in the forms of Golem Legions.
"But what is the result?"
Many people were against such "loose" control of the Demi-planes, and many others were against allowing private use altogether. But Edward proceeded because, in the future, Arcanists will travel to other planes and, eventually, other universes.
So, they need to be a walking civilization to conquer, visit, or explore these places. So, he allowed them to develop to prepare for the future.
"Anyway, private Demi-planes will be more strictly regulated from now, and the threshold for possessing one will be raised. We will place a Dimensional Wall to separate all Demi-planes from the Empire's territory to prevent the previous situation.
"So, be prepared that it will be more difficult for you to enter the territory from your Demiplane."
These Arcanists secretly cursed in their mind. Although the Emperor used sophisticated words like "more strictly regulated," they knew what these words actually meant.
The Intelligence Department will now secretly infiltrate their Demiplanes and monitor them. After all, they need resources for their experiment or raising their legion, so it's easy to infiltrate.
Even the ones who do not allow people in their space and only use Golems did not think they were safe. With the royal family's capabilities, it's not impossible for them to secretly control many of their Golems without anyone else being aware.
Additionally, that Dimensional Wall will also affect them as it will make traveling to Earth more challenging, limiting their connection to other Arcanists. The exchange of ideas and knowledge is the cornerstone of any powerful Arcanist.
So, most of them will have great connections, friends, or acquaintances with people in many fields.
If this decision was made anytime before today, they could protest, even banding together and using public opinion to protest such a decision. However, these cunning Casters knew it was impossible to do so with the betrayal of these two.
If they tried anything now, they would become pawns for the Emperor to display his power and warn others.
"I have said what I needed to," said Edward. "The meeting is finished, and you're dismissed."
He waved his hand to close all these screens, not giving anyone the chance to ask any more questions.
