After returning home, Edward discovered only a few hours had passed despite spending a week in the Rick and Morty Universe. So, he no longer wasted time and got to work after checking on his family.
He had two weeks before the Council Meeting. In such a short time, he needed to understand and be capable of using all the Citadel's technology.
Technology did not come as naturally to Edward, but he still had an extremely high IQ, so it took him some time in a Time Acceleration Room to master the technology of the Citadel to the point of being able to replicate and upgrade it.
Finally, he had to prepare before activating the thing. The process took three more days. Finally, Edward launched the citadel. A few members of his family accompanied him along with the Time Aurors.
The Citadel will now fall under their jurisdiction, so they need to know how to control and incorporate it into their existing system.
The process was simple, at least on the surface. Edward felt a slight tremor, but it was too subtle and unnoticeable by most.
"How is the data?"
"Everything is fine," replied Mulatu Amine, an Arcanist from the Ethiopian Region and the current Department Head of the Time Auror. He was born with a unique perception of time since the Old Era. Unfortunately, his talent never had a chance to shine until the Empire.
He was discovered to be one of the few people with the talent to wield Time Magic, so Edward used every means to nurture him. He did not let him down and proved his talent. Then, Edward granted him control over the Time Auror, guarding the Empire's timeline.
"We have successfully placed a wall around our timeline."
Amine felt relieved as his job just got a hundred times easier. People would be surprised how often individuals tried to mess up with time and rewrite history.
There were more Time Turners than the Ministry of Magic of the previous era told the people existed, and some people are born with the talent to control time magic. However, instead of training properly, they often hide their talent and engage in dangerous secret experiments that can endanger the space-time continuum.
Finally, their job is to also prevent creatures from the Blank Realm and from other timelines from entering their timeline. Before Edward's variant, they rarely encountered such a thing. However, plenty of scary creatures from the Blank Realm roam from one timeline to another.
"Your agents won't have any problem entering and leaving, right?" asked Edward.
"No problem."
"What about the protocols to ensure no problem?"
"We have updated our security measures and monitor every particle that leaves and enters our timeline."
"Excellent. However, from now on, reduce the number of tasks to the Multiverse to the bare minimum."
With the current situation, Edward wanted to cancel all missions into the Multiverse. However, the Empire needs more resources, and the Dark Multiverse will soon become its main source.
Amine was surprised by this order, but he did not ask much. He is one of the few people in the Empire with the highest security level. So, if the Empire did not tell him, he understood it was an issue beyond security levels.
Such knowledge usually involved the deepest secret of the royal family, and he was politically minded enough to know not to pry.
Edward continued observing the data for this citadel. His understanding of Space-Time Rules and the Multiverse will drastically increase with the newly gathered data.
Sadly, it was not time for study and research.
He left the citadel and returned to his lab. He closed his eyes and waited a few hours. Finally, he succeeded in his attempt.
Soon, he found himself in a white room with a petite woman before him.
"Cronai."
"We don't have much time," she said indifferently. "Be quick and direct."
"I placed a wall around my timeline. Would that solve my current issue?"
"No, it can only buy you an extra ten years."
"So few?"
"The Guardians are monitoring the Multiverse. They won't care about a destroyed timeline, but a disappearing one is another thing. So, once my method is no longer useful and they begin their search for you, they will notice the anomaly of a missing timeline."
Edward frowned before asking, "Could I move the Empire and move to another plane?"
Cronai was quiet; this was the last thing she wanted after putting so much effort into Edward and the Empire. She was already hopeful about them but became even more joyous after seeing the technology to put a wall around a timeline.
Furthermore, she saw this was not the limit of this technology. In the peak era of the Magus Race, they did not have such technology. They had Tier 11 Magus who could easily hide one or multiple timelines but never the technology or magic to do such a thing.
One advantage the Arcane Empire had over the Magus Race was its inclusivity. The Arcane Empire could perfectly fuse and accept everyone and everything, whether it was technology, countless different power systems, multiple races, ethnicities, or civilizations.
Meanwhile, the Magus Race walked the path of assimilation. They assimilated everything into their races and their magic.
As such, she saw hope for them to reach heights greater than the Magus Race.
"Your method might work," replied Cronai, deciding to tell the truth.
"Might?"
"Every life I create has a unique life or soul imprint. I keep a record of these imprints, and the Guardians have access to these records. If you move to another plane, they can track you there.
"However, in other planes, they are only a very powerful Tier 10 God, so it might be easier to deal with. Moreover, you also know the relationship to other planes, they might not be willing to take the risk."
"Maybe before, but not after exposing the citadel," added Edward. These guardians must want to become true Tier 11, so they should lust after his citadel and its technology.
"Possibly."
"Can't you hide my soul imprint from the records?"
"That's against the rule. Furthermore, even if I did, what about all the citizens of your Empire?"
"That's true," nodded Edward. "What about preventing the Guardians from accessing the records?"
"I have a binding oath with them. Unless they no longer hold the position, it's impossible for me to break the rules and reduce their power for the sake of protecting you."
After saying these words, more chains appeared on Cronai's body, becoming visible even to the normal eyes.
"Thank you for telling me the truth," quickly said Edward.
Edward appreciated Cronai not hiding the truth for her benefit. Furthermore, he could also see the risk she took to reveal the truth.
"That's all I can say for now. In the future, you will not be able to contact me. However, as long as you find the Savant Race, you will find a way to deal with the Guardian."
Edward opened his eyes and exhaled deeply.
'This trouble is not as simple as I imagined.'
He did not wish to move the entire Empire to another plane. Firstly, this place was his home, and he had many advantages, mostly in the form of Cronai's blessings.
Edward could predict how much harder it would be for the Empire to rise to the pinnacle of the Astral Realm in other planes.
'Furthermore, why do I need to run away from these Gods? They should be the ones running away from me.'
A ray of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes. He would not deal with these Guardians simply to remove his status as a Time Criminal. No, once he has enough information, they should be the ones afraid and running away from him.
Edward left the lab and prepared for the meeting at the Council of Bones.
