My Overpowered Bunny Girls

Chapter 192: Floating Empire

The portal to the Shattered Throne tower wasn’t hiding.

It stood right in the middle of a dead forest. It was a massive arch of broken white stone, sticking out of the dirt like the ribs of a buried giant. Pale grey light shimmered inside the arch. The ground around it was completely bare—no grass, no weeds, no life at all. The Court’s corruption had burned through here a long time ago, leaving nothing behind but an empty scar.

Nathan stood in front of the arch with his team. The TCA had given them a full briefing, extra supplies, and enough health potions to last for weeks. The other heavy-hitter teams—Silver Drake, Red Dragon, Golden Hawk, and Goldcrest—stayed behind this time. The Shattered Throne was a diplomatic mission. Sending too many Climbers would look like an invasion. Nathan’s party was walking in alone.

"Listen to me," Helena said, dropping her usual strict guild-master tone. "This World is going to push back. Lady Seraphine might be marked as an ally on our papers, but out there? Trust is expensive. You have to earn her respect. Just... whatever you do, don’t start a war we can’t afford to finish, okay?"

Nathan looked at his team. Garrett stood like a brick wall, resting a heavy hand on Volcan. Dillon was shifting on his feet, full of nervous energy. Elise looked completely calm. Smithy was quiet, his eyes scanning the dead trees. His three summons—Mirko, Kuro, and Shiro—were tense and ready to move.

"We’ve done this plenty of times," Nathan said, trying to sound reassuring. "We walk into the unknown. We deal with whatever is waiting in the dark. We come out the other side. This is no different."

"Except this time, we aren’t just shooting everything that moves," Dillon pointed out with a sigh. "We actually have to make friends."

"Same job," Garrett grunted. "Just more talking."

Nathan couldn’t help but smile. "Let’s go."

They stepped through the glowing arch, and the Shattered Throne swallowed them whole.

The World was nothing but a broken sky.

Nathan took his first breath and coughed. The air was freezing and dangerously thin, like standing on the peak of a high mountain. His newly advanced B-Rank core hummed warmly in his chest, automatically pushing mana through his veins to fight off the biting cold.

He looked around. There was no ground. Just an endless, pale grey void stretching out in every direction, like a winter sky without a sun or stars.

Scattered across the empty air were floating islands. Massive chunks of rock and dirt hung suspended in the void, carrying the ruins of old castles, tall towers, and broken stone walls. They just floated there, held up by old magic Nathan couldn’t even begin to understand.

"So this is the Shattered Throne," Elise whispered, looking out over the edge. "A world literally torn to pieces."

"Fitting name," Garrett muttered, gripping his mace a little tighter. "I feel like I’m going to throw up just looking down."

They were standing on a tiny floating platform. The stone was cracked and covered in rotting wooden scaffolding. Below them was just grey emptiness.

"Look," Smithy said, pointing ahead. "Over there."

A sketchy bridge made of frayed ropes and old wooden planks stretched out from their platform. It swayed gently in a wind they couldn’t feel, connecting to a much larger floating island nearby. On that island, bright flags whipped in the air—crimson and gold. They bore a strange symbol: a broken iron crown, stitched back together with glowing threads of light.

"The Legion of the Shattered Crown," Nathan said, recognizing the banner from Helena’s files. "That’s our stop."

’This air is too thin. The drop is fatal. Stay sharp, Summoner,’ Kuro warned through their mental link, her voice cool and practical.

They crossed the rope bridge carefully. The old wood groaned and cracked under Garrett’s heavy armor, but it held together. As they got closer, the island loomed larger. It was a heavy fortress built right into the ruins of an ancient castle.

Guards watched them closely from the high stone walls. They wore battered armor painted with that same broken crown symbol. They didn’t draw their bows or yell. They just watched with hard, tired eyes.

A tall woman was waiting for them at the heavy wooden gates. She was older than Nathan expected, with graying hair tied back and a nasty scar cutting across her cheek. Her armor wasn’t fancy, but it was practical and well-cared for. She rested her hand loosely on the handle of her sword. Her eyes swept over the team, judging their worth in a split second.

"Climbers," she said. Her voice was low and rough, like gravel. "The TCA sent word you were coming. I’m Captain Aldric. I run the Legion’s vanguard. Lady Seraphine is waiting for you in the main keep."

"Thanks for having us, Captain," Nathan said with a polite nod.

Aldric stared at him blankly. "Save the thanks. You haven’t earned your breath here yet."

She turned on her heel and led them through the gates.

The keep was ancient. The stone walls were deeply scarred from centuries of war, but the crimson and gold banners hung proudly. In the courtyard, soldiers were running drills. They moved fast and hit hard. This was a fortress, but Nathan could tell it was also a home. The soldiers joked quietly with each other, and the servants moved with clear purpose. It felt lived-in.

Captain Aldric led the team into a large, drafty hall at the center of the keep. The stone floor was worn smooth by thousands of boots. At the far end of the room, sitting on a simple wooden chair that acted as a throne, was Lady Seraphine.

She wasn’t what Nathan had pictured.

She was young—probably in her early twenties, younger than him. Her dark hair was chopped short and messy. A terrible burn scar ran all the way from her temple down to her jawline. Her eyes were a flat, pale grey, matching the empty void outside. She wore a heavy crimson cloak over plain armor, and a crude crown made of twisted, mended iron rested on her head.

She didn’t look like royalty. She looked exhausted.

"Climbers," Seraphine said. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it easily filled the quiet hall. "You’ve crossed a lot of empty sky to find us."

Nathan stepped forward. "Lady Seraphine. We’re here to help you put the Shattered Throne back together."

Seraphine smiled. It wasn’t a happy smile. It was the tired, bitter smile of someone who had been promised the moon and was handed a rock. "Help," she echoed, testing the word. "People throw that word around a lot. Tell me something, Climber—do you have any idea what it actually costs to stitch a dead empire back together?"

"No," Nathan answered honestly. "That’s why we’re here to learn."

Her smile faded. Seraphine studied him, her grey eyes locking onto his. "Honesty. That’s a lot rarer than I expected." She pushed herself up from the wooden throne with a heavy sigh. "Walk with me. Let me show you what you’re actually signing up for."

She led the party out of the drafty hall and up a narrow stone staircase to the highest wall of the keep.

From up here, the view was dizzying. Nathan could see the true scale of the Shattered Throne. Hundreds of floating islands, broken bridges, and ruined castles drifted in the endless grey sky. Far in the distance, sitting on the largest chunk of floating earth, was a massive, terrifying structure. Its black towers leaned dangerously, but it was still standing.

"The Throne of the Old Kings," Seraphine said quietly, leaning against the cold stone wall. "It sits at the absolute dead center of the World. The Shepherd broke it when he ripped our realm apart. Ever since that day, the surviving factions have been bleeding each other dry to claim it. The Iron Court. The Vine Council. The Deep Fleet. The Crownless. And us—the last stubborn loyalists of a dead empire."

"Twelve factions," Nathan said, remembering the briefing.

"Twelve, yes. Some are just small raiding camps. Some have real armies. But every single one of them wants that Throne. And absolutely no one is willing to share it." Seraphine turned to look at him. "You said you want to help. Out here, ’help’ means picking a side and killing the rest. It means fighting an endless war. Are you ready for that?"

Nathan looked back at his team. They were all listening closely. Then he looked back at the tired young queen.

"We’ve fought some pretty bad wars," Nathan said. "But I’d really rather not start another one if there’s a different way."

Seraphine’s eyes widened a fraction. "A different way? You actually think you can unite twelve warring factions without shedding blood?"

"I think it’s worth a shot." Nathan leaned against the wall next to her. "Look, the World is already broken. The Shepherd did this to you. But if we can somehow make the factions see that you’re all fighting for the exact same thing—a future—maybe we can find a way forward. Not by conquering everyone. By making an alliance."

Seraphine stared at him for a long, heavy moment.

Then she laughed. It was a real, genuine laugh. It sounded surprised, a little bitter, but mostly just shocked that someone would say something so crazy out loud. "You are either a complete idiot or a prophet, Climber. I honestly can’t decide which."

Nathan gave a small shrug. "Could be a bit of both. But if we don’t at least try, this war is just going to keep going until there’s no one left to sit on that throne."

Seraphine’s face softened just a bit. The heavy exhaustion didn’t leave her eyes, but a tiny spark of real respect flickered there.

"Alright. If you actually believe that, then prove it to me," she said, pointing out toward a cluster of jagged, dark islands in the distance. "The Iron Court has been raiding our borders for weeks. Their leader is a warlord named General Kael. He’s brutal, he’s greedy, and he thinks killing is the only way to unite the sky. If you can walk into his camp and somehow make him listen to reason? Then I’ll believe anything is possible."

Nathan glanced back at his party. Mirko grinned, tapping the hilt of Dragon’s Fang. Shiro stood perfectly still, her face totally calm. Kuro gave a single, slow nod. Dillon cracked his knuckles loudly. Garrett just sighed and adjusted his heavy shield. Elise offered a small, confident smile.

"We’re going to need a guide," Nathan said. "And a little time to plan."

Captain Aldric stepped out from the doorway behind them. "I’ll take you. I know the Iron Court’s patrol routes better than anyone."

Seraphine nodded slowly. "Go with Captain Aldric. See what you can learn. But be smart about it—Kael usually kills strangers before they can even say hello."

Nathan bowed his head slightly. "We’ll be careful."

As they walked back down the stone steps, Nathan could feel the eyes of the Legion soldiers burning into his back. They were being judged. They were being tested by this broken world.

But that was fine. They were getting pretty good at passing tests.