This chapter serves as a transition, cementing the consequences of the previous climax and setting the stage for the wider conflict involving the Celestial beings.
The Scar of Salvation
Weeks passed, The immediate relief of the King's recovery slowly gave way to the profound, altered reality of the Citadel. The Western territory was stable, but the political and personal atmosphere had shifted entirely.
Jade had fully embraced her new status as the Ascendant Consort, a title that carried immense political weight, though she still wore simple scholar's robes. Her sacrifice had stripped her of the Azure Sight, leaving her left eye pale, unseeing, and scarred, but it had paradoxically granted her true authority. She was no longer Aether's weapon, but his equal partner.
"The Council is convening again," Aether announced, entering her private chamber. He was fully healed, his obsidian armor repaired, yet he moved with a new gravity the immense power boost he'd received from the Divine Eye's transfer was apparent.
"They want to discuss the Eastern border," Jade said, sipping her herbal tea. She had lost her magical sight, but her strategic vision had sharpened, focusing on politics and cause-and-effect.
"They want to discuss you," Aether corrected, sitting beside her. He took her hand, his cold scales a familiar comfort. He carefully touched the pale, unseeing orb of her left eye. "They fear a human who could sacrifice a Celestial Gift. They call it the 'Ascendant Eye,' a warning that your human will power transcends their magic."
"Good," Jade said curtly. "Fear makes them predictable."
The Dragon's Weakness: Fear
Aether looked out the window, his amethyst eyes distant. "My father's recovery has been miraculous, but the Night Weaver remains our gravest threat. Seraphina was only a tool. The true enemy is the fear and chaos that powered her corruption."
"The Shadow General and the anchor that power felt alien, Aether," Jade mused. "It felt like a different law of physics."
"It is," Aether confirmed, his voice dropping to a low, intense rumble. "The Weaver is not of Xianzhou. It is a creature that feeds on soul manipulation and fear. Dragons, being elemental beings, are largely immune to standard fear but the Night Weaver discovered our true vulnerability: loss of elemental authority."
He explained the core of the problem: when the King was poisoned, the entire realm felt his loss of power, generating massive fear which the Weaver then harvested and channeled into the corruption.
"If we cannot defeat the Night Weaver, it will simply find a new Dragon puppet and repeat the process until Xianzhou collapses into a feast of fear," Aether concluded.
The Dragon's Decree
The following day, the King held court in the Great Hall. General Vorlag and the Council were present, stiffly maintaining their skepticism.
The Western Dragon King, radiating immense, healthy sapphire power, addressed the assembly.
"By the decree of the Western Lineage," the King announced, his voice booming with restored authority. "Prince Aether is pardoned, his honor restored through victory and sacrifice. And the human Jade, who willingly gave her life force to save this realm, shall be recognized not as a weapon, but as the Ascendant Consort the first of her kind."
The murmurs of the court were cut short when a flash of brilliant, golden light suddenly filled the hall. The air grew impossibly heavy, charged with a holiness that instantly silenced every Dragon and human present.
The presence was overwhelming, far beyond the elemental strength of the Dragon King. It felt like standing at the foot of a thousand years of pure, cold justice.
From the golden light, a creature descended. It was a magnificent Kirin , its body covered in shimmering gold scales, a single, curved horn spiraling from its head. It was the epitome of grace and terrifying, undeniable authority.
The Kirin did not bow to the King. It spoke, its voice a deep, resonant chime that echoed in the very foundations of the mountain.
"I am the Messenger of the Celestial Throne. I have witnessed the Activation and the subsequent Destruction of the Divine Eye."
The Kirin's majestic gaze settled directly on the pale, scarred left eye of Jade.
"The chaos you unleashed in the Nine Peaks has broken the Divine Veil. The Celestial Mandate is now threatened. The Throne demands an accounting. The fate of the Human Consort and the Dragon Prince is now subject to the Will of the Gods."
The first godly encounter was upon them, and Jade's presence had brought the highest power of Xianzhou crashing down upon the Western Court.