As soon as the screen popped up, I instantly pressed the [Yes] button.
From the ring, several plum blossom petals surged out, taking the shape of a figure.
The upper layer of petals vanished, revealing the ethereal goddess beneath.
"Raj," U called, moving toward .
Without saying anything, I rose from the bed and gently hugged her.
"Is everything alright?" she asked, brushing my head.
"Nothing is alright," I murmured. "This place does not feel like ho anymore."
I stayed glued to her for a few more minutes, allowing my troubled mind to relax. After parting, I briefly scanned the light pink robe she was wearing and asked, "You have beco a Core Disciple?"
"Un," she nodded. "The Inner Court disciples shared chambers, so I had no choice but to apply for Core Disciple."
"The robe suits you," I complinted, softly patting her head.
Accepting my care, she revealed a mont later, "I have found a way to et with Sister Nym."
"Really?" I asked, excitent clear on my face.
"For the past six days, I have been moving one mountain closer to Everfrost Peak, creating hidden teleportation arrays at each mountain. It will take two more days to reach the mountain Sister Nym is staying on."
"Thank you so much, U," I said, giving her one more hug.
"I...I will do anything for you," she murmured in a low voice.
"Oh right, U, I need your help with sothing," I said as we parted. "Co with ."
Activating Vyaghra’s blessing, I grabbed U’s hand to hide her presence as we left the sect, reaching the Royal Gate at the zenith of the mountain.
"Could you adjust this protective array in a way that allows us to enter without raising any alarm?" I asked, pointing at the translucent barrier surrounding the summit.
"Let analyze it," U replied, her eyes fixed on the barrier as her hand touched the gate.
After five minutes, she withdrew her hand and said, "The patterns used to form this array are all interconnected. If even the slightest change is made, the patterns will beco even more complex, and a loud alert will ring out."
"So... you cannot do it?"
"Of course I can. But it will take a great deal of ti to locate the hidden patterns on this gate."
"Hidden patterns..." I mumbled. After a brief pause, I offered, "What if I find the exact patterns that need to be adjusted?"
"You can do that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Precisely. These eyes can see everything," I said, my crimson eyes turning golden as I activated Eyes of the Fallen.
Turning toward the gate, I pointed at the highlighted areas within the countless interconnected patterns that appeared like pure gibberish to . It felt as though I were staring at an impossibly difficult calculus problem.
"Analyze this spot," I said.
"Yes! This is one of the parts that needs to be changed!" U gasped in shock. "How did you find it with a re glance? Oh right, your eyes."
Once I showed her the exact location, she began drawing her own patterns over the existing ones with sharp precision.
"Where is the next one?" she asked a minute later.
"Here... here... and here as well."
For the next half hour, I guided her to the highlighted areas while she solved them with a deeply serious expression.
It felt as though I were an assistant helping a renowned genius professor solve an incredibly complex equation.
"Your eyes are so convenient," U said as we reached the final part. "I wish I had them too."
"Asking for re eyes when you already possess all of ," I replied with a faint smile.
U chose to use her right to remain silent as she worked on the final part, a faint blush appearing on her face.
"Show your hand," she said, extending her own once done with the final part.
When I placed my hand over hers, she drew a small circular pattern on my palm, similar to the one engraved on the gate.
"The array has been adjusted. We can enter freely now," she revealed, withdrawing her hand.
Now that I could truly enter inside, my heartbeat grew louder with both anticipation and nervousness.
A faint sense of fear also crept into my heart as the thoughts of what I had learned about my parents crossed my mind. What if what awaited inside was the harsh truth I had been trying to run from?
With a blank expression, I kept staring at the gate. I had never felt so powerless, unable to take even a single step forward.
"Should we go together?" U asked softly, holding my hand as her fingers coiled around mine.
Her gentle voice and warm hand brought comfort and gave the strength to take this step.
I nodded, gripping her hand tightly as we moved forward.
The gate opened with a slight touch of U’s finger, and the mont we entered, it closed once again.
Inside, the place was exactly the sa as it had been when I left almost twenty years ago.
The grand open garden at the center, with many beautiful royal chambers surrounding it on three sides.
The entire place was spotless, as though soone had been living here all this ti.
Releasing U’s hand, I slowly moved forward, my eyes half open as mories of my childhood replayed in my mind. My mother’s scolding, sparring with my father, and story sessions with Uncle all resurfaced at once.
As I stood montarily lost in the past, a sharp and nervous female voice rang out.
"W who are you? How did you enter inside?"
I turned to find a middle aged woman standing on the stone path outside one of the chambers.
Although she had grown old, I instantly recognized her.
She was Lily, the head maid of the royal family who used to serve my mother, the Queen.
"I...I am a Core Disciple of the Thunderbane Sect, Lucifer Morningstar," I replied, pulling myself together. "Master Robert sent us here to receive the blessings of the ancestors."
"That is strange," Lily muttered, her eyes narrowing. "He has never sent anyone here before."
"I do not understand either," I replied, scratching my temple. "He only told to co here and ask Maid Lily to guide us to the Tombs of the Ancestors."
Hearing her own na from my mouth, her suspicion eased. After a brief pause, she said, "Follow ."
Following her, U and I reached the back of the zenith, where a temple stood. It was the place my mother used to bring to whenever we paid respects to our ancestors.
Inside the temple, instead of using Soul Stones to light the place, nurous oil lamps and candles lined the walls. At the front stood a black stone slab with many nas engraved upon it. Below, dozens of incense sticks burned, filling the entire temple with a sweet fragrance.
With nervous steps, I moved closer to the stone slab, my eyes tracing the engraved nas.
"Nathan El Thunderbane"
"Stormir El Thunderbane"
"Zephyron El Thunderbane"
"Taranis El Thunderbane"
.
.
.
"Voltrex El Thunderbane."
The na struck like a hamr. My legs gave way, and I collapsed to my knees.
"F father..." I murmured, clenching my teeth.
As I was engulfed in the sharp pain of losing my father, I failed to notice a woman seated in the corner of the temple.
I raised my head, my eyes falling upon a raven haired woman sitting on a chair, her black eyes lifeless and cheeks sunken.
"S she is the priestess here," Lily blurted out, nervousness lacing her voice. "She suffers from an illness, so she cannot walk. She can neither speak nor hear anything."
I did not hear any of the hurried explanation Lily was giving.
Rising to my feet, I silently moved closer to the woman she called the priestess. With every step, moisture gathered in my eyes without my noticing.
"Mother," I murmured, sinking to my knees before her.
My eyes, hair, and even my facial structure were different due to the face mask I was wearing. My Soulforce signature had also been altered by U’s spells, making completely unrecognizable.
Yet the mont I called out to her, her lifeless eyes, which had seed to stare into darkness, shifted and focused on .
Her lips slowly parted. Her weakened, trembling hand rose and touched my cheek as she murmured in a barely audible voice,
"T...Ta-Taranis?"
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