“So, it has already been a month,” Si said.

  Taj nodded. He projected himself fully, adding that he was testing how to approach his materializations.

  “Lukai being the Leader, the New Empire being official. A month. Not a lot had changed in one month, and at the same time, so many things are already different,” Si added.

  It could sound very generic—yet.

  “Correct, I did not expect anything to improve quickly. The progress should be slow; people should have time to adjust, no?” Taj commented on it like this.

  Si nodded. He couldn’t say it better.

  People should have time to adjust. Lukai though, as if he couldn’t grasp it. Si looked at Taj—did he observe the same?

  Taj was silent, watching him carefully.

  He nodded, this time more to himself. Taj had noticed.

  “We need to wait and observe.” Si stated.

  This time it was Taj who nodded.

  What Si truly wanted to do was to dive deep into science, look for the old materials, look for knowledge, and improve the current situation. There were things they needed to take care of.

  Shadows faced problems. The birth rate was low due to incompatibility between them and Crystalers. Abilitiers from the OFF were also not great in number.

  Natural energy was dependent on talent and hard work, and not many with talent wanted to work hard to cultivate it. So, fewer people joined them, and fewer children were born.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Si was aware that the Sect had the same issue back in time and was worried that what had caused their fall could cause Shadows’ fall.

  Taj had already explained that the reason was energy collisions, especially after Crystals were miniaturized and their design significantly changed. Lukai confirmed this and mentioned it was described in Elder’s notes. The ones that the OFF lost—not lost, but hid on Planet Three.

  “Taj? Planet Three… you said you talked to Lukai about a special project?” Si recalled it and needed to ask.

  “Correct. Lukai refused,” Taj said, his expression dissatisfied.

  “What was it about?” Si asked, but he was almost certain what it could be.

  “I requested to start to build a spaceship. I confirmed I could try to create a navigation. It would take years. If we do not start now… o, but the Leader refused. He asked me to work on something more important,” Taj said.

  They both fell silent for a moment.

  Taj in Gates meant better control; it meant possibilities of reaching stars further. It needed work to build ships and create the navigation system, as he mentioned.

  How many years have passed since the last Gates improvement? People were living longer and healthier lives, and energy kept them in good spirits. But what else was developed further? Not much. Were they now too lazy?

  “Do I assume correctly that Lukai wants to have a better view of the data from Gates? I also would like to; I would not be surprised…” Si started to say, but Taj interrupted.

  “Correct. For that, I require Gates to be unified. Si, it is chaotic here. The data does not match in many places. I am cleaning slowly. I started to create my own algorithms; I used some older libraries for that. Si, I am not a data scientist. I have learned many things over the past years, so I can manage; however, Lukai should trust more people, hire specialists, and work closely with them. What is more, he should not only work with them but listen to what they say, sporadically, at least. It is only a month, and I can see…” Taj suddenly stopped, as if he had said too much.

  “So, I get it, Taj, I get it. Let’s observe…?” Si asked.

  “Good, let’s observe,” Taj said, nodding.

  It looked like they reached some understanding without saying too much. Si was content. Then he recalled another matter.

  “Taj? I have something else to ask you to help me, may I?” Si probed.

  “O? Do tell?”

  “Mari Hal, I would like to investigate her death. Luna is aware I want to check on it. Could you help with this?” Si asked.

  “Si, in fact, I already did it. Not only me, Luna’s friend did it as well. You two should talk about what you would like to do next. Because the ones who killed Mari Hal were her own family. They should be severely punished,” Taj said.