In this new life, I avoided Caelus like a plague. When he descended to the mortal realm to temper his soul, I sealed my sanctum to forge my own. When he vowed to repay a debt to a mortal woman, Lois, and settled her in my own aerie for me to tend to, I entered a deep seclusion. When he needed a sacred herb to break through to the next tier of power, I found it first and consumed it myself, without a second thought. In my past life, my mentor and I became bonded partners. But just as I reached for Divinity, he siphoned my very essence, leaving me an empty husk. All so that Lois could form her own Crystalline Core, extending her mortal life so she could remain by his side… 1. After the final ordeal of bone-tempering, I emerged as the first Aegis practitioner to reach the Crystal Tier. When I reported the news to the Grand Master, he was overcome with emotion. “When you abandoned the Blade-Path after mastering only the third form, I thought it was a jest,” he mused. “I never imagined that you, like Caelus, were a prodigy born once a millennium.” Caelus was my senior, my mentor. When I was ten, a Savage Tide consumed my homeland. I was the sole survivor, found amidst the carnage by Caelus, who had come to slay the beasts. From that day on, he became the singular star in my desolate sky. He was elegant and serene, a spirit of profound grace. When he formed his own Core, the heavens themselves took notice. He was a peerless genius in the eyes of all. And I was merely the untalented stray he’d brought back to the mountain out of pity. I offered a faint smile, my voice even. “You flatter me, Grand Master. Caelus is the true prodigy. A common soul like myself could never compare.” I bowed my head slightly. “My only desire is to repay the Empyrean Order and our Master for their grace. My heart has room only for my training.” The Grand Master, pleased by my devotion, gifted me a robe woven from phoenix feathers and dismissed me. 2. In my past life, Caelus and I were bound as partners. But he was always in seclusion for ten days, then on a quest for five. In over five hundred years, the number of times we met could be counted on one hand. I wasted countless hours of my own training managing the Order’s affairs for him, and I gave him all my resources without question. My own talent was limited, so my progress crawled compared to his. By the time I had just formed my Core, he was already on the cusp of the Aetherial Soul tier. Within the Order, he was the golden child, our greatest pride. Beyond it, he was the youngest Soul-tier Blade-Master in history, his reputation soaring toward legend. They all said I wasn't worthy of him, that snagging a man of his stature was the blessing of a dozen lifetimes. I wanted to prove I deserved to stand by his side. I wanted to help him. So I trained, pushing myself to the breaking point. When the moment of my ascension to Divinity finally arrived, he stole my power, draining my very aether to forge a Crystalline Core for Lois. “Elara,” he had said, his voice calm, “you will only fall back to the Adept tier. You can train again.” “Lois’s mortal life is nearing its end. If she cannot form a Core, she will perish.” “Lyra cannot be without a mother. This is a debt I owe her. I am sorry.” Caelus, was I not good enough to you? When you needed a beast’s core, I fought a creature tiers above me and was nearly crushed to a pulp. When you were ambushed by demonkin, I threw myself before you as your shield, my left arm crippled in the process. When you lay dying from your wounds, I used my own blood as the catalyst for your elixirs, nearly dying myself time and again. You saved my life, but I saved yours, too! How much did I have to repay before the slate was clean? Why was her debt a price I had to pay? Lois’s child could not be without a mother. Then what of the child I carried for you? I clutched my stomach. The bitterness, the rage… it was all useless. As my life force dissipated and the divine lightning struck me down, I saw Lois successfully form her Core. Caelus held her and their child in his arms, a perfect family. In that final moment, a single thought consumed me. The debt is paid. If I were granted another life, our paths would never cross again. Thank the heavens, in this life, we were not yet bound. There was still time. 3. Because Caelus had brought me to the Order, my first sanctum had been assigned to the Azure Aerie, the peak closest to his. I followed the map of my memories, calculating the days. On the stone wall, I carved a tally mark for each day that passed, a single line, grouped in fives. The day of our wedding in my past life would be the day of my departure in this one. This time, I had to reach the Aetherial Soul tier as soon as possible. 4. I prepared a feast for one, a small ritual to remember the taste of the mortal world. Before I could take a single bite, Caelus returned. He was holding Lois’s hand, with their daughter, Lyra, in his other arm. They looked like a picture-perfect family. Lois was lovely, with crimson lips and a delicate face framed by large, soulful eyes that were both innocent and alluring. Three years ago, Caelus had descended to the mortal realm for a trial and met with disaster. The story was that Lois and her husband had saved him, but her husband had died in the process. Vowing to repay his debt, Caelus brought the mother and daughter back to the Order. But he was often away, leaving them in my care. If they so much as sneezed, Caelus would accuse me of not being attentive enough. But the Order was not the mortal world; the mere difference in day and night temperatures was enough to make them ill. How could they not fall sick? Once we reached the Crystal tier, we could go months without eating. The only reason I had cooked daily in his sanctum was for them. Lois, showing no restraint in my presence, took my seat and filled two bowls with rice. One for Lyra, one for Caelus. “Brother Caelus,” she said softly, “I know you Ascendants can go without food, but Lyra misses you so much. Won’t you eat with her, just this once?” A warm smile graced Caelus’s face as he sat. “Elara, the soup.” He ordered me around as he always did. I didn’t look up, my gaze remaining fixed on them. When I didn’t move, his brow furrowed, and he was about to scold me when Lyra suddenly burst into tears. “It’s spicy! Mommy, it’s so spicy!” Lyra couldn't handle spicy food. She stuck out her tongue, her small face turning beet red. Lois quickly poured her some water. But Lyra spat it out. “It’s so bitter!” Only then did they notice that every dish was laden with hot peppers, and the tea was a bitter medicinal brew. Lois’s eyes instantly welled with tears. “Sister, you knew Lyra can’t eat spicy food and hates bitter things. Are you trying to tell us we’re not welcome? Did you do this on purpose?” Caelus’s face darkened. I scoffed. “You may not like it, but I do. Did I invite you?” I added coolly, “Besides, you’re her mother, so concerned with your own meal you don't even check your daughter's. I’m an outsider; I wouldn’t dare meddle.” Lois eventually left in a storm of sobs. When Caelus returned after settling her down, night had already fallen. I was in meditation, circulating my aether, and ignored him. An hour later, I realized he was still there. Annoyed, I opened my eyes. “Do you require something, Senior?” “Elara, you’ve changed.” He sounded displeased as he explained, yet again, “Lois’s family sacrificed so much to save me. Before her husband died, he made me promise to look after them. I cannot be a man who breaks his word.” I said nothing. He continued, “The Order’s dining hall is crowded and the food is… coarse. The meals you prepare are the only thing I trust.” Crowded and coarse was just an excuse. He was afraid of being accused of favoritism, and he was afraid of wounding Lois’s fragile pride. To spare her feelings, he had turned me into his servant. When he was here, I served all three of them. When he was away, I cooked for them alone. I remained silent, overcome with shame. The me from my past life was truly pathetic. Caelus continued, taking my silence for agreement. “I’m leaving for a trial in ten days. It will be inconvenient for Lois to travel back and forth with a child. I plan to settle them here with you. It will be easier for you to care for them.” I smiled. Lois had been here for three years, consuming countless resources, yet she was still stuck at the first level of the Foundation stage. She couldn't even command a blade-flight. Of course it was inconvenient. I didn’t respond. Caelus, mistaking my silence for assent, actually smiled. “Then it’s settled. Tidy up tomorrow and let them move in.” I neither agreed nor disagreed. Because I knew that even if I objected, they would come anyway. Out of sight, out of mind. By dawn, the doors to my training chamber were sealed. I would not be disturbed. 5. When I next emerged from seclusion, I heard movement outside my sanctum. I recognized Caelus’s presence. “Senior, it is hardly appropriate for you to be lurking outside my door so late at night.” There was a moment of silence before Caelus pushed the door open. A flicker of astonishment crossed his face. “You’ve broken through again?” “A minor stage. It’s nothing to speak of.” I was still a long way from the Aetherial Soul tier. I couldn’t afford to relax for a second. Only at that tier would I be permitted to leave the Order for good. Caelus was silent for a moment before speaking. “You abandoned the Blade-Path for the Path of the Aegis without a word. I suppose I can’t fault you for it. But you promised to care for Lois, and then you suddenly went into seclusion. What is she to think?” His voice rose, losing its usual composure. “Anyone can see you did it to avoid caring for her! Do you have any idea how much you’ve hurt her? She’s done nothing but weep for days.” He rarely lost control of his emotions. Once was when he brought Lois back and knelt before the Grand Master, begging for her to be allowed to join the Order. The other time was now. Both times, it was because of Lois. My voice was utterly devoid of emotion. “Then what would you have me do, Senior?” “Apologize to her, and we’ll let the matter drop.” I couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. “We of the Order should be concerned with the fate of the world, with our own ascension. If Mistress Lois desires the treatment of a lady of the house, you can spend your spirit stones to hire attendants. I’m sure many would be willing to serve her tea. But I am not one of them.” My voice hardened. “Nothing, and no one, will stand in the way of my training.” “You—!” Caelus started to rebuke me, but the words died on his lips. He fell silent for a long moment before saying, “Once I obtain the Voidbloom, we will be wed. We can set a date then.” He left without another word. He’d said the same thing in my past life. To be with him, I had stormed the lair of a Void Serpent, barely escaping with my life to pluck the Voidbloom that allowed him to survive his tribulation. I never knew if it was intentional or not. Every time, he would mention something he needed. And every time I returned, battered and bleeding, with the item in hand, he would say, “If your cultivation is lacking, then train. Who asked you to do these useless things?” He would scold me, but he always used what I brought him. Pushing the memories aside, I thought of the wedding. Ever since he’d found me, I had followed him like a shadow. A century ago, our Master, the foremost Blade-Master of his generation, left to guard the Wyrmgate Pass, entrusting the Order’s affairs to Caelus. He had even said that he would return for our wedding. Even those in the Order who disapproved could only acquiesce. But now, there was no chance I would marry him. This life was my own. 7. The next day, I journeyed alone to the Void Serpent’s lair. In my past life, I had come here before forming my Core. The serpent, a full tier of power above me, had torn my hand to ribbons and shattered my leg. I nearly died in its belly. Only by unleashing a sliver of blade-intent left to me by our Master did I survive. This time, I was its equal in power, and with the phoenix robe to aid me, I dispatched the beast quickly. After taking its core and the Voidbloom, I set up a protective ward around the cave and consumed the sacred herb. The Aetherial Soul tier was getting closer.
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "393767", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel