I. The Sea of Beasts: Where the Aurora Does Not Reach
Three days have passed since the wind wolves crossed the final dune, leaving behind the last glimmer of dawn over the Morningstar Citadel. Here, in the immense Sea of Beasts, sunlight is but a distant rumor. The sky is hidden beneath layers of ancient trees and veins of hanging vines; humidity covers everything, mixing the sweet scent of carnivorous flowers with the putrid stench of forgotten corpses.
Kael leads the way, the spirit wolf beneath him huffing and alert. His greatsword rests on his shoulder, but his eyes—more alert than ever—scan every shadow, every twisted branch, every whisper that does not belong to the wind.
Violeta advances on the left, her hair tied in a frost braid, her aura of cold pacifying insects and devouring the poisonous spores floating in the air. Beside her, Elara walks with calculated steps, her fingers brushing the hilts of her daggers, her gaze fixed on the patterns of light filtering through the leaves: always searching for movement, for the error, for the rift in nature.
Eris closes the formation, the inner fire vibrating in her chest, her patience worn thin. Her foot crushes a bone-root as large as her arm. She clicks her tongue. —"This place smells like a grave," she mutters. Elara nods, but smiles. —"A grave full of treasures, if we're lucky."
Kael stops dead, raising a hand. A hum emerges from the foliage: hundreds of jade dragonflies flutter, followed by the beat of wings from a six-eyed bird watching them from above. The air fills with a sharp, sweetish scent. —"Careful," Kael whispers. "That bird is a Blood Lookout. Where there is one, a hive is near." —"And where there is a hive, there are guardian beasts," Violeta adds, consulting the spiritual compass. "The Qi here is... distorted. As if time flows differently."
Elara, without looking back, squeezes the stone Celeste gave her. She feels a soft vibration, a reminder of her mission: no one returns the same from the Sea of Beasts, but some do not return at all.
Suddenly, the group stops. In the middle of the path, a bright blue flower hangs from a gnarled branch. —"Qi-Devouring Lily," Elara whispers, pointing. "If you touch it or pass too close, it releases pollen that paralyzes your meridians and digests you alive."
Kael shrugs and bypasses the flower with a wide margin. —"I hate this place. Even the mud seems to want to swallow you." Violeta, fascinated, studies a crack in the air next to a fallen trunk. —"The spatial rifts here are natural. The Sea does not follow our rules. That is why the beasts grow so large… and why outsiders don't last."
Eris flicks a small spark and burns a flying leech that was trying to latch onto Kael's neck. —"Less sightseeing, more tracking. How far to the Intermediate Zone?" —"We're just entering," Violeta responds, checking the hide map and the compass. "Sela said the Beast Empire and the Alchemy Pavilion have camps in this ring."
A distant howl, guttural and deep, resonates through the thicket. Kael grips the hilt of his sword. —"Let them come," he growls. Elara smiles, for the first time in three days.
II. The Bone Clearing: Where the Savages Rule
The smell of rotting vegetation suddenly mixes with smoke and roasted meat. The group advances a few more meters, and the foliage opens into a natural clearing: Traveler's Rest. It is famous among treasure hunters as a neutral zone, where even the beasts of the Sea avoid entering for fear of ancient ruins and the spiritual pressure that repels them.
But today, the clearing is not empty. Twenty warriors, most dressed in white tiger skins and armor made of scales and fangs, are clustered around a large bonfire. The banner of the Beast Empire—a golden claw on a black background—waves in the center.
On an improvised throne of skulls, a young blonde man with wild hair and golden eyes as sharp as razors cleans his teeth with a curved dagger. At his feet, five cultivators in gray robes—likely independent merchants—lie bound and beaten.
Kael moves forward, analyzing the field, the posture of the imperials, and the locations of the true dangers. The young man on the throne looks at them with disdain and raises his voice, deep and arrogant. —"Well, well. More rats from the south. What happened today? Did someone leave the dumpster door open?"
Some of his men laugh; others look at the Morningstars with a mixture of fear and contempt. Kael does not unsheathe his sword. He walks with the calm of a hunter who has already decided how the day will end. —"We seek passage, not trouble," he says, his voice low and rasping.
The blonde youth stands up, his aura exploding: he is Origin Realm Stage 5, a high-level genius, and he knows it. —"I am Prince Draken, third heir of the Beast Empire. This clearing is mine. If you wish to cross, you must pay the toll."
Draken smiles and points at Violeta and Eris with a lewd gaze. —"Leave the weapons, the rings… and the women. Perhaps I'll let you and the child live."
A silence stretches. Kael sighs and looks at Eris. —"I told you. I hate those from the Central Empires. They talk too much." Eris smiles, and the clearing heats up by ten degrees. —"May I?" she asks, her eyes glowing. —"Just don't kill him," Kael responds. "We need information."
Draken takes offense, scowling. —"You mock me? Kill them!" Two bodyguards (Origin Stage 4, imbued with panther spirits) lunge toward Kael and Eris. Eris doesn't even pull her weapon. —"Flame Step: Glimmer."
She vanishes and reappears in front of the first one. Her hand, coated in black fire, grabs the man's face mid-leap. —"Burn." She slams him into the ground, and an explosion of crimson fire incinerates the armor, leaving him unconscious and smoking in a crater. The second tries to flank her, swift, but crashes into something invisible: Violeta has erected a spatial wall two fingers thick. —"You took the wrong path," she murmurs, and with a gesture, the wall pushes him back with brutal force. The man flies and crashes into a tree, falling like a broken puppet.
In five seconds, Draken's elite lie in the mud. The clearing falls silent. Even the insects seem to hold their breath.
III. The Price of Arrogance
Draken rises from his throne of bones, his arrogance turned to disbelief, his disbelief to fear. —"Who… who are you? My father is the Beast Emperor! If you touch me…"
Kael walks toward him, sword still sheathed but his aura as sharp as an edge. —"Your father is very far away. My patience is very near. Sit." Draken collapses, trembling. —"What… what do you want?" —"The Star Dragon Root. Where does it grow?" Kael asks.
Draken's eyes go wide. —"The Root? You're crazy. That's in the Internal Forbidden Zone. In the King's Nest." He swallows hard. "But you can't enter. The Alchemy Pavilion and the Heavenly Sword Sect have blocked the entrance. They are hunting the Guardian Beast. If you go, they'll kill you before you even see the root."
Violeta nods, fixed on Draken's gestures and heart rate. He is lying in the details, but telling the truth in the essentials. Kael leans down and cuts the ropes of the merchants with the tip of his sword, without wounding them. —"Get out of here." The merchants flee, stammering their thanks. Kael approaches Draken and lowers his voice. —"If you try anything, there won't be anything left to send back to your father."
Draken, pale, only nods.
IV. Plans and Promises
The Morningstar group moves away from the clearing, the tension dissipating but alertness at its peak. Kael doesn't smile, but there is a dangerous lightness in his stride. Elara, who has watched in silence, speaks as they head deeper into the thicket. —"There are two great sects blocking the way, and they will hunt any outsider."
Violeta calculates. —"The Heavenly Sword and the Alchemists will have at least five Origin Realm Stage 6 or 7 experts and dozens of disciples. A frontal attack would be impossible even for us." Kael laughs, a dark and fierce sound. —"We're not going to fight them. We'll just wait for the Guardian Beast to fight… and we'll steal the prize while everyone is busy."
Eris snaps her fingers, fire dancing in her eyes. —"That sounds like something the Patriarch would do."
V. Echoes in the Darkness
Back in the clearing, Draken picks up his dignity in pieces. He looks at his men, resentful and humiliated. He pulls out a red jade talisman. —"Father!" he shouts into the talisman. "I found the intruders you were looking for. They have the aura of the Black Dragon. They are heading to the Thunder Valley. Send General Fang."
The talisman glows with a sinister light. The voice that responds is more roar than word, deep and cruel. —"Keep them watched. If they escape, your head will be the offering." Draken swallows hard, rage and fear in his eyes. He watches the route the Morningstar group took and smiles maliciously. —"This time… you won't escape."
VI. Brotherhood and the Promise
That night, the group camps on a ridge protected by roots and mist. Kael sharpens his greatsword in silence, Violeta extends a simple concealment matrix, Eris watches the fire, and Elara meditates, Celeste's stone tempering her fear.
—"Do you think the Emperor will come?" Eris asks in a low voice. —"For sure," Kael responds. "But let him come. Today we don't fight for glory. We fight to return home."
Violeta nods, the reflection of the fire dancing in her eyes. —"The Sea of Beasts does not respect titles. Only legend. And no one tells better stories of survival than the Morningstars." Elara, in silence, promises: —"Even if night falls and they forget us, I will remember the way back."
The roots stir. Danger lurks, but the brotherhood is stronger. The Sea of Beasts roars. But in the midst of the storm, a lineage advances, and the echo of the aurora keeps pulsing, weaving a promise that no empire, beast, or arrogance will ever break.
[End of Chapter 91]