1 Prologue

The year is 9990, of the reign of Aurtherus. 10 years remain of the rule of King Aurtherus, supreme monarch of the Heavenly Kingdom, highest of the heavenly realms. It is written in the statute of old that no king of the Heavenly Kingdom can rule for more than 3 cycles of ten thousand years.

"It is about time to join the forefathers. My burden is almost over," King Aurtherus smiled as he thought to himself. He remained silent for a few moments, allowing his fingers to gently caress the scepter that sat on the right side of the throne. When the king touched the scepter, heavenly power rushed into his inner being like a mighty light wave and his countenance glowed like sun.

All the subjects in the throne room knelt in reverence at the intense bright aura. Prince Edward bowed his head at the bright light and revealed a tinge of nervousness. Direct heirs were not required to kneel. In fact, the royal children were usually not required to attend throne assemblies unless they were involved. However, for the first time, all of them were required.

As the overpowering light from the throne resided, the usual reporting by the governors of realms began. This routine reporting involved critical and severe matters and each case was presented to the king for his royal deliberation. The various governors stood in line to make their reports. The heirs retreated to the back of the room while waiting for the usual royal proceedings to conclude.

As the youngest of the 4, Prince Edward took the left most seat. He took this time to take peeks at his siblings while nervously twirling his little fingers. Prince Edward was born in the twilight of King Aurtherus' reign. Born in the 900th year of the third cycle, Prince Edward was destined to be the final child with royal blood of this era.

As part of the royal heavenly race, only children born to the king during his reign will be blessed with the mantle of royal heritage. And only those who carry this mantle can become heir to the throne. The heavenly race lived eternal lives and members could only conceive once every half a cycle at most. From the royal heavenly race's perspective, Edward being less than 100 years old could only be considered to be a child.

At the far end on the right, sat Prince Basil, the oldest and most overbearing of his siblings. He sat fully upright in his seat and stared straight ahead at the royal proceedings. Basil was born in the 800th year of the first cycle and always saw himself as a leader. Being way older, Basil developed a form of superiority complex and hardly interacted with his younger siblings. He preferred to spend his time with the military nobles of the heavenly court.

Prince Basil was tall and muscular. He had much ambition to boot and decided to join the heavenly army from a young age. He rejected any favors that were offered due to his lineage and chose to work from the bottom up. Working his way from a regular foot soldier, Basil was currently the commander of the heavenly Valkyries, an elite force that was tasked to protect the heavenly realms from the demonic ones.

"Prince Basil looks stunningly handsome in the garbs of the Valkyries commander." thought Edward to himself.

Prince Colin was seated beside Basil. He was slouching in his seat and looked extremely disinterested in the proceedings. Colin was born in the 400th year of the second cycle. And as his older brother neglected him most of the time, Colin was sort of an introvert. He kept mostly to himself and was only ever interested in new knowledge.

Prince Colin was also tall but lanky. He lacked the physical splendour that was so apparent in Basil. However, one could tell that Colin thought of Basil as some sort of muscle head from the way they interacted. However rare those occasions were. Colin would spend his days either in the heavenly archives or traveling to see new sights throughout the heavenly realms.

Edward moved his eyes away from Colin and glanced at the person on his right. Princess Delia caught his eyes and smiled back at him. Princess Delia, born 300th year of the third cycle.

"Ahh. Princess Delia. The light that shines brighter than a thousand stars; sings the realms" Edward thought to himself as he returned the smile.

More than just beauty, Princess Delia was the kindest and most caring of them. She was loved by the masses as she displayed her strength for the good of the people in the heavenly kingdom. She was also the closest kin to Edward. She took care of him and played with him when he was a baby. Prince Edward and Princess Delia were particular close as they were born in the same cycle.

"Don't worry, Ed." Delia said in a hushed voice as she winked at him. Prince Edward smiled as he felt the tension in his heart lighten up slightly at her affirmation.

After the conclusion of the reports, Prince Edward's eyes lit up. The time for "Judgement" has come. After listening to the reports of the realm, the king would speak his verdicts on the various issues that were brought up and heavenly power will be released to those that would carry out the tasks. Prince Edward has only seen it once when he was required to attend for his coming of age.

King Aurtherus stood up from the throne, lifted the scepter of power and pronounced his verdicts on the issues. At the end of each verdict, the governors would respond with, "Let it be so" and power like a bright light wave would be imbued.

"Let it be so. Long live King Aurtherus and the Heavenly Kingdom will reign forever," Prince Edward whispered as he watched the scepter continuously shining and the entire throne room being surrounded with a warm but powerful aura. Edward closed his eyes and sensed the remnant light that brushed him like the gentle waves on a beach.

As the light faded, and the matters of the day were addressed, the governors all bowed and exited the throne room. The 4 siblings made their way to the front of the throne and bowed. Prince Edward felt his heart quicken again as the selection drew near...