Rex stared at the sapling in doubt.
He has this inkling feeling that this was nothing like a normal custom.
It was especially so when he saw Princess Davina smiling elatedly when the sapling erged, like she had managed to achieve one thing that she wanted. But even so, he had already done it, so there’s no reason for him to fret about it.
Even so, he wanted to ask.
"Is it really a normal custom?" He looked at Princess Davina with a raised brow.
"Hmm?" Princess Davina quickly wiped the smile off her face. "Yes, it is. Why? You don’t trust ?"
"Just asking."
"That’s a subtle way to say that you are."
"You’re overthinking it."
Princess Davina turned away—and continued to walk deeper into the grove, heading to the central part, which was an open glade covered in white sand that looked pristine—and soft. She didn’t say anything, but she doesn’t need to, as she wanted to show it to Rex, not tell him.
A wind barrier was covering the central area.
It wasn’t forceful or even solid, but Rex could feel the wind swirling around the central part.
He didn’t know what this wind barrier was protecting the central area from, but it’s certainly not designed to block soone from entering. Even the System confird his thoughts as the barrier provide no protection against people.
But upon walking through the wind barrier, Rex’s eyes widened as he slowly tilted his head skyward.
Behind the wind barrier was one towering structure that reached sky-high.
Among everything that crossed his mind as to what Princess Davina was trying to show him, this was beyond his expectations. Before him, right at the center of the grove, the ancient tower lood—like a divine spear thrusted into the heavens.
Its surface was forged of radiant white stone laced with veins of gold and erald light.
Every inch of its colossal fra seed to hum with power, a low vibration that resonated through the air as though the structure itself breathed. And it didn’t take long before Rex realized the inside of this tower was powered by both life energy and voidal energy.
Other than its height, such a combination made it distinct from an Obelisk of Life.
Intricate rings and runic engravings adorned its sides, slowly rotating in harmonious motion.
But what made the tower more breathtaking wasn’t only the tower itself.
It was also the storm above that churned in defiance.
Surrounding the heaven-high tower are rolling clouds that crackled with lightning, but their rumbling and roars couldn’t hide the tower’s brilliance. Golden light spilled from the engraved channels, bathing the surrounding gloom in a celestial glow.
Erald currents ran through the surface like rivers of magic.
Rex was accustod to the Great Barricade, which was imposing in its own right with its height.
But it was still a lot shorter than this magical construct.
"Holy... What in the world is this?" Rex muttered aloud—unable to hide his surprise as from where he stood, he could see the sa exact layers of the sky that he saw during the Altar of Gods trial. "I could really see the clear sky."
"It’s one of the Hundred Concordia Devotions," Princess Davina answered. "It’s a special tower—that was built by a man in the past. There’s no concrete evidence for what purpose the tower served, but so historians and scholars said these towers are tied to a legendary man in the past."
"He created one hundred towers to win the heart of a noble princess he fancied. Each tower was created from the spoils of battle he fought in her na. This tower is the biggest tower of all; it was made to rember the day the princess accepted him. And ever since the findings spread about that, people started to tie this place to eternal love. It beca a formality for nobles of the empire to co here with their spouse."
"Does that an..." Rex pointed at his behind. "What we did earlier...?"
"Yes, it’s proof that we’re here. You’re my fiancée, after all." She answered with a beaming smile.
One that was genuine and warm.
Rex was caught off guard as the smile was the most beautiful one she had ever worn.
Even so, seeing her like this pinched his heart.
It should be obvious that he wasn’t going to stay around for long; he would return to the Mortal Realm the mont he got what he needed, as the empire and the others needed him. But Rex didn’t say anything, as for this day, he decided to follow her lead.
No need to make a big deal about this.
Let’s make this a proper goodbye.
Just as Rex opened his mouth to talk, Princess Davina quickly averted her gaze.
"I want to show you how it looked from the top," She said, pointing at the summit of the tower, but the way she quickly said it made Rex feel like she was scared to hear what he had to say. "I’m sure you’re going to like it there."
"Okay, but how do we get there?" Rex asked, deciding to follow her flow.
"Grab my hand," Princess Davina rose from the ground, levitating with the help of her life energy. Her hand stretched towards him on instinct, but halfway there, her fingers faltered hesitantly—the motion suddenly turned delicate, uncertain.
Her hand trembled faintly in the air.
For so reason, her eyes fixed on Rex’s hand, and then her own hand.
It seed the prospect of holding hands made her stop, but before she could retreat, Rex already caught her hand without a second thought. His grip was firm, grounding, completely unaware of how his touch sent an electrifying shock through her veins.
Princess Davina could feel the warmth of his palm against her; it was startling.
She has never held hands with any man.
It has been God knows how long since she held her own father’s hand.
From her sister, she had heard that the body of a man is warr.
But Rex’s warmth was startling.
Maybe because he has Werewolf blood in him, but the heat his body was emanating was more intense than normal. Even so, it felt magnetic, and for the briefest heartbeat, the world seed to fall silent. All the light around them dimd, and even the air felt as though it paused between one breath and the next.
It was almost like the world was holding its breath, exactly like she was holding hers right now.
Even though Rex wasn’t anything when she t him the first ti, in the span of weeks, he beca a formidable force that could match—the geniuses of the empire. Not only that, he also never disappoints.
And that, added with the fact that he was the prophecised one for her, made this mont a lot more magical.
"What’s the matter?"
Princess Davina blinked, snapping out of it when she heard Rex’s confused voice.
He was staring at her with evident confusion flickering in his eyes.
Heat rushed to her face.
But she managed to cover it by quickly turning away—and before Rex could say another word, her grip tightened on his hand as she lifted Rex off the ground. Both of them flew to the top of the tower, which couldn’t be seen from the ground.
A minute in, Rex still couldn’t see the top.
Even though Princess Davina wasn’t flying at full speed, the tower stretched so high—that even after a full minute of ascent, its peak remained hidden. As they climbed, Rex could feel the air thicken around him with energy, subtle at first, but it felt invigorating.
But with every second, it grew heavier, more intense, pressing faintly against his skin.
And the mont they crossed the first layer of the sky, the space around them began to distort.
In his eyes, the world was dimming, and then back to bright again.
Like soone was playing on the switch that could turn the sun on and off, and then ca the sound of static that prickled his eardrums. Perhaps because his senses were more acute than normal—but this bothered him more than he wanted to claim.
Compared to Princess Davina, he constantly needed to focus on enduring the static.
Princess Davina wasn’t aware of it at first, but when they passed the third layer, she noticed.
Swish...
Expanding her life energy, she also protected Rex from the static and elevated energy level.
Due to what happened during the important mission, she viewed Rex to be extrely capable, and she forgot that he was only a new Eternal Spirit. Not to ntion, he’s not at full strength—so it was natural for him to struggle.
After scaling for ten minutes straight, the two of them finally reached the top.
Princess Davina hovered near the summit for a few seconds, allowing her body to acclimate to the dense surge of energy at that height, and also giving Rex a mont to steady himself as well. Only when she felt the pulse of mana settle did she finally descend, setting Rex down gently beside her.
His balance was still wavering from the lingering dizziness, but he recovered freakishly quickly.
It has always been his advantage when it cos to durability.
Rex shook his head roughly and looked around.
Just as expected, the summit of the tower was flat, its surface gleaming with the sa color sche of marble as the rest of the structure. However, across that pristine floor ran faint streams of energy—old, but intricate channels that pulsed like glowing gridlines beneath the stone, forming a lattice of light that looked alive.
And the density of energy was at its highest here.
It can only an that the source of energy that absorbed the life and voidal energy was also here.
Soon, Rex’s eyes landed on a single banyan tree at the center.
Even from the edge of the summit, Rex could tell—that the banyan tree was really big, at least the size of a two-story house, and its canopy could cover more than five houses. But what was most eye-catching was its leaves, which were colored black and white.
Judging from the concentration of life and voidal energy within its roots, the color must represent both sides.
Reading the notifications, Rex’s eyes widened slightly as his entire body began to seethe violently with what looked like steam. But in truth, it was the moonlight’s blessing, and his wounded body was now regenerating a bit faster than normal.
Is this even allowed...?
Rex has never felt a surge of moonlight energy as strong as this mont, not even close.
Although the moonlight was already giving him enough strength to reach where he was right now, there was still room for improvent. He now realized that his power was still far—from reaching the peak, as this anomaly alone increases his overall strength significantly.
Slowly, he tilted his head skyward.
Just as Princess Davina said earlier, this realm has more than one moon.
Even though the sun was still up, Rex could see two moons in the distance that were smaller than the moon in the Mortal Realm. Even so, these two moons already increase the presence of moonlight in the air.
"Do you like what you’re seeing?" Princess Davina asked.
Even before Rex answered her question, she already knew the answer would be as the seething steam that rose from Rex’s body, along with the small smile on his face, showed that the moons were impacting him in a good way.
"Yes, this is exactly what I needed," Rex cast a smile at her. "Thank you."
"As long as you like it," Princess Davina nodded and looked skyward.
Rex raised his brows as the mont he focused on Princess Davina; he noticed that her power was also rising. It was a mild increase, but noticeable enough for Rex to pick it up, exactly like what he was experiencing right now.
Her title is the Graceful Starfall... Does that an, like , who gained power from the moon, she gained power from the stars?
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