Astoria broke down once she felt Damien's warmth. She didn't cry or shout, but she dug herself into him and trembled, unable to find a way to properly express the emotions inside her.
The sadness was minimal, as of those who died, none were close to her. One of them was even the 4th Prince who'd caused her so much trouble when she first met Damien.
The main emotion plaguing her mind was frustration.
Frustration that even after she worked so hard to gain so much strength, she still wasn't able to contribute to her family and fight by their side.
Damien sighed. In terms of the conflict itself, it was true that Astoria had no involvement at all. Yet, her nonaggressive contribution of restoring the Fate Clouds did far more for the world's safety than any of the slaughter and death taking place elsewhere.
Everyone else secured short-term safety, while Astoria restored long-term security. If both didn't happen concurrently, Beast Emperor Star would've faced far worse threats in the future, when their enemies came to prey on them while they were weak.
'Convincing Astoria about her importance through words is no use even if it's coming from me. She's too used to belligerence, so she doesn't realize the value of strategy at all, just like the rest of these damn dragons.'
It was definitely a huge flaw in their thinking that only the Emperor had overcome, but since the recent calamity happened due to the lack of strategy and wariness, Damien was sure the Golden Dragons would improve from this point forward.
'But for now, let's cheer her up and go meet with the Emperor.'
Damien grabbed Astoria's hand and pulled her off the couch.
"M-master? What are you doing?"
Astoria blushed, her mind suddenly filled with stray thoughts.
"Come with me, let's go have some fun," Damien proclaimed with a smile.
Astoria's blush deepened.
"Master, be more mindful of your words!" She exclaimed in embarrassment.
"Hm? What's wrong?" Damien asked, tilting his head curiously.
Astoria gritted her teeth and shot a hateful glare at him.
"R-really…you…"
"When a man and a woman are alone in a room together, just what kind of fun can they have?!" She finally exclaimed.
"Uh…"
Damien stared at her in disbelief. "Who said we were staying in your room?"
"…"
Astoria lowered her head, directing her eyes to the ground.
"Hello?"
"…"
Her face turned the same color as a tomato, and then went deeper red until it looked like she was seriously about to explode.
"Earth to Astoria?"
"It's time to die."
Astoria expressionlessly grabbed a dagger from nowhere.
"Alright, stop fooling around. It's not that embarrassing, is it?" Damien said wryly.
"Master, this is social suicide. I can never go out in public again."
"It's only the two of us who heard it though?"
"Regardless."
"Relax, it's fine for you to have these thoughts occasionally. After all, you're at 'that' age."
"What age?"
"Ahaha, don't worry about it. Anyway, come with me. I'll show you something magnificent."
He and Astoria flashed away from Beast Emperor Star entirely.
When Damien was thinking about how to cheer up Astoria, there were a few ideas he had, the first of which was to take her somewhere with dazzling scenery so she could find peace and clear her mind.
He genuinely thought hard about where to take her, as he'd seen many mind-blowing sights in the past, but honestly, there weren't many that could match the simple yet grand beauty of the universe itself.
Damien and Astoria arrived at the place where he felt the universe's grandiosity with his own body for the first time.
Just a few hundred thousand kilometers away from Dawn World, in the middle of the starry sky.
A place where beautiful stars of all different colors, shapes, and properties decorated the blackness, where Sky Castle Luxurion shone like the North Star, so blindingly bright yet so incredibly far away.
It wasn't a particularly special place. Honestly, the same view could be found anywhere in the Divine Realm.
However, to a spatial practitioner, the view itself wasn't what mattered.
Just standing there, one would get immersed in the ambiance, and fall prey to the universe's ebb and flow. It was a beautifully serene and calming experience that Damien wanted to show Astoria.
As a talent not much lower than himself, how could Astoria fall short of his expectation?
She synchronized with the universe's body, relaxed her mind, and found the security to view the situation on a greater scale.
She gained the peace and quiet she needed to gather her thoughts and strength so she could move forward with peak performance.
And when she opened her eyes, Damien flashed away with her once again.
This time, they arrived on flat ground, in a world filled with the color orange. Orange sands made up the ground below and orange dust flowed through the air. The sky and sun were mellow and pastel, making the entire environment feel strangely bleak.
"What are we doing here, Master?" Astoria asked, now in a far better state than before.
Luckily, Damien had appeared before she let her feelings fester for too long, so clearing her doubts was also easier.
Damien looked over with a grin. "This is an abandoned world I came across a few years ago. I don't know how it was created or why it's empty, but there is no life in this world at all."
Astoria raised her eyes in interest. "Is there some sort of treasure here?"
"Nope!" Damien exclaimed happily.
"Then…?"
"My dear disciple, the reason we came here is simple. In this abandoned and empty world, you can destroy any and everything without consequences! Go wild, Astorimon!"
Astoria's eyes widened. Her expression slowly morphed, becoming more and more excited.
"Are you serious?!"
She asked with the hope and exuberance of a little girl going to a theme park for the first time, and Damien was happy to say he could meet her expectations.
"Go wild. You have 2 hours to spend however you want, then we're going to meet your father."
"Master, you're the best!"
Astoria jumped up and gave Damien a quick hug before rushing away.
Distant booms resounded in the next instant.
Damien sighed to himself with a defeated smile.
"Haa, just what kind of barbarian princess am I raising?"
***
Damien returned to Beast Emperor Star with a happily skipping Astoria precisely 2 hours later.
'It's almost concerning how easily violence was able to solve her problems, but it's probably nothing, right?'
Damien walked through the palace halls with Astoria and arrived before the dining hall.
The guards outside bowed upon seeing them, pushing open the massive doors.
"The Emperor has been waiting."
The master-disciple duo walked into the dining hall with confidence, panning their gazes across the room and taking account of everyone present.
The Golden Dragon Emperor, his three wives, his remaining living children besides the 1st Prince, and many unnamed officials that Damien didn't bother with.
Damien's eyes landed on the Emperor, a smile spreading across his face when he noticed the latter looking at him as well.
"What a grand reception this is. Emperor, if I knew you were missing me so dearly, I would've brought gifts!"
