Skymender returned to his house, which he had not been to for many years. For the first time in a long time, he saw Melly. She had aged a bit, but she still looked young. Skymender, on the other hand, looked as though he was middle aged.
When Melly saw him, she was clearly surprised. Despite everything, she had stayed here and loved her life.
She learned many things, knitting, farming, arts and crafts, essentially spending her life leisurely. There was no need for her to care about money.
When Skymender saw her, he wasn't sure what to feel or say.
He had not thought about her a single time while he was gone. It wasn't that he disliked her, or that she was a bad person, but that he simply did not care about her.
However, Melly walked up and bowed. "Welcome home. Would you like something to eat?"
Skymender nodded his head. She quickly cooked up a meal and served it.
Skymender tasted it, and it was actually quite good.
"Have you considered becoming a chef?" Skymender asked.
"No, not really." Melly responded.
"Well if you ever do, just go ask the Fatty about it." Skymender said.
Melly nodded. She naturally knew who the Fatty he was referring to was.
"Sky City is growing quite large." Melly said.
Skymender was surprised. "Really?"
She nodded. "It has a unique sort of situation going on with the underground world and the normal world. It is the third largest city in its Kingdom."
Skymender tilted his head. "Well that's good for my brother."
He continued to eat in silence.
After finishing, he got up and began to leave. There was nothing for him here. Before he did, however, he spoke with his back turned to Melly.
"Marrying me must have taken up several lives worth of bad karma. In your next life, I suppose you will be a lot luckier."
He didn't give her a chance to speak as he left, closing the door behind him.
Skymender went to the research institute.
He gathered up the most senior researchers and began to request their assistance. As this was at the behest of the Emperor, and as it was such an important project, not a single one refused. Among them was Tara, the student of the old researcher that Skymender had met long ago.
Skymender took all of them to the Imperial Palace. Inside, there was a much more advanced lab. Before he took them there, however, he picked up a valuable individual, perhaps more valuable than all of the old researchers combined.
His name was Charles and though he had not exactly made headlines, it did not mean that he was some unimportant or average individual. In fact, despite his relatively young age, he was as smart as the greatest scholars of the Empire, excluding Skymender of course.
Skymender looked around, and eventually found him in the mess hall, reading a book while eating.
He seemed much more mature than before. Although he ate alone, he seemed more exceptional than anyone else inside just from a glance.
Skymender walked up to him while the researchers stayed back, waiting for him.
He stood across from Charles and spoke. "It's been a while."
Charles looked up at him, his eyes deep and calm. "Indeed, Imperial Scholar Skymender."
"Just Skymender is fine."
Skymender explained why he was here. "I want you to join my research team."
"Researching the possibility of enhancing longevity, under the request of the Emperor."
Charles seemed to think for a moment. "Sure."
He took one last bite, closed his book, and stood up.
Skymender, Charles, and a bunch of researchers went to the lab, which had long been cleared out for their purpose. Everything was prepared for them. Clearly, this was a very important project.
Skymender went over everything he could think of, including the importance of the flower sitting in the middle of the room, and a few of his theories he wanted to try first.
Before long, they got to work. This was quite the complicated goal, and it would take a lot of trying and failing to find anything that even had a possibility of working.
Although only a few people were in the room, people from all over the Empire had been mobilized for this cause. Under Skymender's orders, some people were looking for rare materials they didn't have, while others were bringing the top researchers and geniuses from all of the Empire's on the continent.
Some were even going through the Ancient Empire's records to see if they had anything that could help.
Skymender started with calculations. He had a vast understanding of how many things merged and how their effects altered when combined.
As he had told the researchers earlier, he felt that the most likely chance of success would be using blood. This was a field he had studied relatively deeply, and he had a lot of confidence in it.
While they began to do calculations, the Emperor was speaking with Sword Grandmaster Shang, who had asked him a question.
"Do you think that Skymender will be able to successfully use the flower to create a longevity enhancing concoction?"
The Emperor did not even hesitate before shaking his head.
"I have done this plenty of times, and no individual has ever been able to successfully do it without my intervention. After all, with all my knowledge, I do know of a way, but it is less efficient than I had hoped. Regardless, it should give me an extra ten years or so." The Emperor said.
"Then why even give him the flower? What if it is damaged, or they use it and fail?" Sword Grandmaster Shang asked.
The Emperor responded. "Normally, I wouldn't care, but since this Skymender is a new variable, and I don't know if he will be here in the next cycle, I need to see what he is made of. I'll give him a chance, and even if he destroys it, so what? There is always another cycle, with or without him."