CHAPTER 209: The Taboo of Destiny and the Fang in the Forest
When all the Sequences and Elders crossed the threshold and the immense marble doors closed, the Throne Room was plunged into absolute silence. The echo of footsteps faded away, leaving only the sound of the measured breathing of those still standing on the dais.
The stillness did not last long. The one who shattered the glass of tension was Lilith, who finally erupted.
"Samael Morningstar," the Ashen Phoenix's voice rang out like a razor, while the room's temperature began to rise dangerously. "Right this damn second, you are going to tell me what the hell all that was. Why does Eris still have that mark on her neck? Weren't you supposed to have erased it? And why are you sending her on such a hazardous mission... Are you completely out of your mind?!"
Samael looked at his aunt with absolute calm and a sepulchral silence. He slowly stood up from the throne. The imposing Imperial Void Dragon Armor and the obsidian crown dissolved into shadows, leaving the boy once again dressed in a simple, elegant black robe.
"Follow me," was all he said.
The four ladies—Lilith, Seraphina, Sienna, and Vexia—simply stared at him, exchanged an intrigued look, and began to follow him.
They walked in silence through the palace gardens until reaching the colossal roots of the Stellar World Tree. Beneath the canopy of leaves projecting shadows of constellations, Samael stopped.
He turned to them and spoke with the same serenity.
"You four know about my powers, right?"
The four women nodded.
"Well, as you know, I currently have mastery over these things..."
Samael raised his right hand, palm facing up. From his fingers erupted three spheres that remained floating in the air.
One sphere was a deep, viscous red: "This is my primary element, Blood."
Then, a second sphere appeared beside it. It was almost completely transparent; if they didn't focus their eyes, they wouldn't even know it was there: "This is my Spatial element."
A third sphere appeared, a dark purple. Unlike the spatial one, which caused no visual effect, this one warped the very fabric of reality around it, sucking in the light: "And this is my Void power, thanks to my dragon bloodline."
But the demonstration did not end. From the center of his palm, a tiny white sword sprouted, glowing with a blinding edge: "This is the Sword Dao."
"With this, these are all the powers everyone knows about."
The four women swallowed hard in silence. They knew Samael was a monster, but beholding that arsenal of powers concentrated in a single person was still completely absurd by the rules of the mortal world.
"But that doesn't explain your madness regarding the girls' mission, Samael," Lilith spat, crossing her arms.
"You're right," the boy nodded. "That doesn't explain why I made the decision to let them go, knowing it would put them in danger. But there is a reason. Despite having mastery over these elements, and having a law in the first three—with the exception of the sword, which is lagging behind quite a bit, and I've only reached Stage 1 of Sword Intent..."
"In other words, Samael," Lilith interrupted him, "you have two Divine Laws and one Blood Law, which is already absurd—having Space and Void at the exact same time."
"Yes, exactly. Three laws plus the Sword Dao," Samael confirmed. "But I am not the only one with the Void attribute; remember that little Celeste acquired that power along with Sera's ice. And Violeta also has Space. And let's not forget the powers of the other kids, which are completely off the charts as well."
Samael closed his fist, vanishing the four projections.
"Continuing. The reason I let them take on that mission was this. Counting the other three laws, I have two more... which are quite, or rather, very special. You know that Spatial power and Void are divine powers. Well... these two are a rank above."
"Drop the damn mystery, Samael, and get straight to the point," Lilith demanded desperately.
"HAHAHAHA! I'm getting to the point," Samael wiped away his smile, his gaze growing profound. "I am talking about the power of Destiny and Reality."
Hearing those two words, Sienna and Vexia took a step back, unable to stay silent. Their faces paled.
"That... how is that possible?!" Vexia exclaimed, adjusting her glasses with trembling hands. "You shouldn't possess that power. Since it is something more than just divining a few trivial things; that is touching the threads of people's very destiny. In the higher realms, you could count on the fingers of one hand those who possess that kind of power."
"Um... can someone explain what the hell is going on?" Lilith asked, growing even more impatient seeing the reaction of the other two deities.
Vexia took a breath to explain.
"To put it simply. The power of destiny varies. Some people can see the flow and destiny of individuals in a blurry way; others can only visualize fragments. Others are mere diviners who, through secret means and techniques, can access it by paying with their blood. That is why I don't understand how the Patriarch has that kind of absolute, innate power."
Sienna continued, her mirror eyes flashing with fear.
"And regarding the power of reality... it is something similar to mine, but it is also very different. Because it allows you to control reality itself. Depending on how much power you use when activating it, you can destroy everything with just a few words, or create and bring dangerous things into the world. If you use it with secret techniques, they become even more powerful. That is why, if someone appeared with that kind of power in the Higher Heavens, they were killed immediately. Those gods and supreme beings wouldn't tolerate them and wouldn't let them grow. Because when you completely master a law, you acquire its Concept. It is the next step. When you have near-absolute mastery over it, you enter a different level; if the bearer decides that no more plants will grow in a certain area, that will happen. But not everything is as pretty as you think, isn't that right, Patriarch?"
Samael nodded.
"You are right, Vexia and Sienna. It isn't all that simple. These two powers are things I obtained by chance. And thanks to them, I have been able to prevent disasters, discover the clan's hidden opportunities, and foresee whether people are in danger or not. And I know I can do much more, but I am only in the initial stage since I acquired them. And regarding the Law of Reality... it is true that this is its function, but unfortunately, it is incomplete. I have power over reality itself, but it is limited, and the side effects are brutal."
The youth looked down at his own hands.
"As you saw what happened in the Throne Room... I was looking into Eris's destiny. And that was the physical reaction to using destiny. But that was more than seeing a simple thread... I saw a possible future."
"Patriarch, that is already touching the domain of time," Vexia said, sweating cold. "How could that happen? You should only be able to see the flow, not directly witness a future scenario to perfection."
"Unfortunately, not even I know how it happened, but all I know is that—" Samael fell silent, swallowing hard with difficulty.
He gritted his teeth until his jaw cracked.
"They all died."
The silence that fell beneath the World Tree was absolute, freezing, and suffocating.
"H... hey, Samael," Lilith stammered, stepping back a pace. "You're telling me they all die... then why the hell did you make them go?! You aren't doing your part to prevent that future!"
Samael let out a heavy, leaden sigh.
"Unfortunately, this is inevitable. If I try to prevent them from leaving, it will end up happening anyway. Either Eris goes straight to look for him, or they come for her right to our gates. It could take years, or even months, but it will happen. And to prevent the scenario I saw from becoming reality... I gave them that mission now. I took the initiative."
Samael lifted his face, regaining his composure.
"And don't worry about them. I sent Malak and his Hundred Shadows with them in absolute secrecy. And they also have a life insurance policy, like everyone in this clan."
"What do you mean by 'life insurance policy'?" Seraphina asked, clenching her fists.
"I learned a special technique. And thanks to the fact that everyone is connected by my bloodline, it was possible. So, the damn second they cross paths with the culprit... I will personally deal with him. I will not allow him to touch my sisters."
Lilith took a deep breath, surrendering to her nephew's relentless logic. If Samael said that with such determination, it was best to leave it in his hands. Though, as an aunt, she couldn't help but feel a pang of dread for her nieces.
"But Samael... I don't have dragon blood," Lilith remarked, trying to understand the limits of that network.
"About that, Aunt..." Samael gave a half-smile. "You do have some dragon blood in your body. Even though it is only a little and your phoenix blood absorbed it. I don't quite understand how it happened, but it is good news."
"So... is that why you assigned those exact missions to each of them? Because you saw their possible futures?" Sienna asked.
"Mmm... unfortunately, this has nothing to do with that. I assigned them for other tactical reasons, and also because it is what's best for the growth of each and every one of them," Samael clarified. "But the missions that were special... were Kael's, Cedric's, and Xylia's."
"Why those three?"
Samael adopted a solemn look on his face and spoke slowly.
"What I am about to tell you... I want it to remain strictly between us."
The four women nodded, adopting rigid postures.
"First, I will start with Cedric and Xylia," Samael clasped his hands behind his back. "Both Cedric and Xylia were great emperors in their past lives. Thanks to my power of destiny, I knew this. Xylia was a Grand Empress of the Higher Realm; what level her cultivation reached exactly, I do not know. All I know is that she was betrayed by her own people, ended up dying, and somehow reincarnated here in the lower plane."
"Regarding Cedric, his case is slightly more special. He returned to the past. How he did it... I do not know. Was it manipulation by someone else, or a cosmic treasure? I will discover it eventually. Apparently, whether in his past or present life—it is too confusing—he was the sole survivor of the extermination of our family when the Valois attacked us alongside the three families: the Chens, the Zhaos, and the Lius."
Lilith and Seraphina gritted their teeth instinctively upon hearing those names, bitter hatred rising in their throats. But they took a deep breath to calm down, remembering that those four families had already been reduced to ash.
"And somehow," Samael continued, "Cedric managed to reach the realm of Grand Emperor on the path of arrays and formations. Do not ask them absolutely anything about their pasts unless they reveal it themselves. And if you wonder why I did nothing upon learning who they were... Why should I? They carry my blood in their bodies. They are my people. And what is more, they are Morningstars."
"You're right," Seraphina nodded in a firm voice. "What does their past matter? They are our family now."
Vexia and Sienna looked at each other, growing ever more astonished by the weight of the secrets. A mortal Patriarch who commands five laws—four of them supreme—and who also leads reincarnated emperors!
"What a headache, Patriarch..." Sienna sighed.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Samael laughed, lightening the mood. "And now, regarding the missions I gave them... Well, apparently our array genius has a little lost wife he is desperate to find."
"Hoho! Now this is interesting," Lilith said with a wide smile, but then she remembered the map and grew rigid. "Hey Samael, what does this have to do with sending him to the Star Ice Empire?"
"Good question. The person he is looking for is there, but he is in for a big surprise," the youth replied. "As for Xylia's mission, it is something she will have to see and face herself. It is about her past and her executioners. And about Kael... this is a more intimate matter. Something the kid, despite not showing it on the outside, still carries as regrets that need to be released. Aunt, how much do you know about Kael's parents?"
"Er... well," Lilith blinked, searching her memory. "I only know his father was an Elder back when your father was Patriarch. His cultivation level barely touched the Sea of Qi; he was weak. And regarding his mother, I don't know much; only that she was a rogue, unaffiliated cultivator whom he found on a mission and saved from assassins. But that is all I know about her."
"Mmm... and do you know how they died?" Samael pressed.
"Well, that was tragic. It happened outside the city, when they went out to search for supplies with other clan members. Only their shredded corpses were left at the scene; no one was found alive. But the one thing that wasn't found anywhere was Kael's mother's body... Which, now that I think about it, is strange. But why all these questions, Samael? Er... don't tell me it is what I think it is."
"Yes. His mother is alive," Samael dropped the bombshell. "And not only that. He has a sister."
Lilith covered her mouth.
"But I don't know much more either. So it is up to the kid to figure it out on his own. I feel this isn't as simple as it looks on the surface. Why did she disappear like that? Why did they kill his father? Who was hunting her originally? We just have to wait, and if he needs help... we will be right here to sever heads."
"You're right," Lilith conceded. "It isn't worth dwelling too much on what happened. It would be a heavy burden on Kael. Over time, it is better that he untangles it himself and can shed his shackles. He hasn't realized that this is what is holding his sword back."
"What do you mean?" Seraphina asked.
"Yes, Kael is holding himself back spiritually without realizing it," Samael said.
With a slight gesture, the monarch conjured an elegant tea table and jade chairs beneath the tree's branches. The four women took their seats in silence while Samael served the steaming tea with extreme calm.
"Kael, just like the rest of the Sequences, harbors immense power in his blood. They are pure dragons, derived from my own bloodline," Samael paused, mentally reflecting that although he didn't know where his dragon blood came from either, it was thanks to the System that it had awakened. "And Kael doesn't just have that. He has the Sword Heart, which will invariably lead him to the absolute pinnacle of the Sword Dao, turning him into a true Sword Saint. Now that I think about it... Sienna, Vexia, do you know anything about the previous owners of the Sword Heart in the higher realms?"
Both shook their heads.
"No, Patriarch. Although several Sword Saints appeared in ancient history, most died before growing any further. Some mysteriously, and others hunted down by their own enemies. But that is all that is known."
"Mmmm. That is quite strange," Samael murmured, taking a sip from his cup. "Since I am sure absolute sword physiques and traits are highly coveted by sects. It isn't possible that there is no one alive who possesses it at the apex."
As he articulated that deduction, the System's mechanical voice answered directly inside his mind:
[Responding to the Host's doubt: There can only be a single owner of the Sword Heart in all of creation at the same time. Unless the previous owner dies definitively, someone else with that mutation will not appear.]
So that is how it works... Samael thought.
The monarch set his cup down on the table.
"So, beautiful ladies, now you know why I did what I did, and I would do it again without hesitation. So now... let us leave everything in the hands of those boys' swords."
The four women nodded, doubts cleared and confidence restored.
"Good. With all this settled, I will return to my training. So Lilith, Vexia, Sienna... I leave the administration of the realm to you. I will come out occasionally to check on progress, and regarding Eris... I will handle it myself when the critical moment arrives. I leave Celeste in your care."
"Don't worry about the little girl, Samael," Lilith smiled. "If anything happens, we will call you. Go to your training—you've already interrupted it enough as it is."
Samael nodded. He turned and extended his hand to Seraphina. She took it delicately, and both disappeared in a flash of stellar light.
They reappeared inside their private chambers in the Primordial Heritage Palace.
"Okay, my dear wife," Samael whispered, removing his robe. "Let's continue with our business."
"Yes," Seraphina answered with a blue gleam in her eyes.
Samael sat on the bed with his legs crossed, beginning to meditate and absorbing ambient Qi to completely stabilize the backlash his meridians suffered from forcing the Law of Destiny. Seraphina positioned herself in front of him.
Both closed their eyes, activating the highest expression of their dual cultivation technique: the Imperial Sutra: "The Eternal Dance of Chaos and Order."
The absolute fusion of opposing polarities flooded the chamber. Samael's homicidal, devouring Chaos—composed of Void, Fire, and Killing—entwined in perfect geometric harmony with Seraphina's frigid Order—based on Ice, Stability, and extreme Yin. The entire palace began to radiate waves of white and purple energy. It was not a technique that depended on vulgar physical contact, but on the atavistic resonance of their souls, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem of Qi that bathed the entire central peak for hours.
The realm continued to move.
A full day passed.
Dawn brought with it the moment of deployment. On the enormous terraces outside the Main Palace, the forty-five Sequences stood waiting, formed into their respective squads, tactical packs on their shoulders and weapons ready.
In front of them stood only Lilith, Vexia, and Sienna.
"The Patriarch is not present, as he entered absolute seclusion with the Empress to stabilize his foundation," Lilith announced, her voice heavy with authority. "So only we will see you off. Go... and come back in one piece, or I will kill you myself."
Sienna stepped forward and raised her hands. Space warped, and multiple reflective crystal portals opened in front of the groups. These dimensional corridors would take them to safe peripheral zones; others would drop them directly near their continental objectives, and others... well, only destiny knew which corner of the map it would spit them out into.
"March," Vexia ordered.
Stepping through the portals of light, the forty-five figures vanished one by one from the palace grounds.
When the final portal closed, Lilith placed her hands on her hips and sighed.
"Good. Now we will take charge of watching over these brats from the shadows. We can't slacked off and leave the entire burden to the others."
The three women vanished.
Out in the immense, damp external world.
A silver portal tore open in the middle of a dense, fog-shrouded forest. Kael Morningstar took a firm step and emerged from the rift.
Stepping onto the soft earth and breathing in the scent of dampness, moss, and ancient blood, Kael took a deep breath.
Here again... Kael thought, looking out over the impenetrable undergrowth. How strange the contrast feels. When I came the first time, as a mere child in the Origin Realm trying to survive... And now, stepping on this earth as a damn Saint. Hehehe... let's see what kind of beasts we run into today.
But just as he was about to take his first step into the brush, a heavy feeling overcame him.
What was that feeling? What was happening? His sword heart beat forcefully in his chest; his body tensed instinctively, as if the wind itself were laden with malice, and in the midst of that alert, he felt an invisible pull—deep and visceral—in a specific direction.
Remembering his Patriarch's exact words—"Turn off your reasoning, follow your instincts, and let your blood do the rest"—Kael did not hesitate for a second. He vanished in a blur of silver speed.
Several kilometers away, in a hollow surrounded by millennial trees, a cruel hunt reached its climax.
A girl in torn robes ran desperately through the mud. She was covered in bruises, breathing heavily, and dragging her leg due to a deep, bleeding gash on her waist. Behind her, crushing ferns and snapping dry branches, came the barking and laughter of a group of beast-men mercenaries mounted on monstrous ebony panthers.
"HAHAHAHAHA! COME HERE, YOU LITTLE BASTARD! YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO RUN!" a harsh voice roared behind her.
Shit... how did they know where I was? Why are they chasing me like this? the young woman thought, gritting her teeth to keep from screaming in pain as she pushed her meridians to the limit.
"Tell me!" she screamed, spitting blood.
"IF YOU STAND STILL LIKE A GOOD WHORE, MAYBE I'LL TELL YOU! HEHEHE!"
The bandit boss, mounted on the largest panther, activated a minor technique. The beast sank into the shadows of the trees and, in an unnatural flash, emerged directly from the shadow cast by the girl, right behind her.
Before she could even turn around, the bandit's scimitar flashed, delivering a horizontal slash across her back.
The young woman lost her balance and was sent flying forward, crashing brutally against the trunk of an old tree. She spat a mouthful of blood instantly, feeling her internal organs injured by the impact. She couldn't move. Her lungs burned, but she knew perfectly well that if she lay there, she was going to die in the worst possible way.
Forcing the torn ligaments in her arms, she drove the tip of her notched sword into the dirt and used the metal as a cane to try to stand up.
Without any mercy, a heavy boot with metal spikes slammed into her ribs.
The impact sounded like snapping dry branches. The girl rolled through the mud, letting out an agonizing groan. The bandit boss dismounted, walked over to her, and sank the sole of his boot directly onto the bleeding wound on her back, crushing live flesh while laughing.
"Ah... since you're going to die in this swamp anyway, I will grant you your final question," the mercenary mocked, twisting his foot on the wound to make her scream. "The one who sold you to us was your own dear uncle, Vane Vael. HAHAHAHA!"
"W-What...?" The girl's eyes widened in disbelief, shaking her head frantically against the mud. "How could that be...? No, no, no... That's a lie! You are a damn liar!"
"HAHAHAHAHA! Why would I waste my breath lying to a corpse like you?" the man spat to the side. "If you don't believe me, you can ask King Yama when you go to hell. Your uncle handed us all your information on a silver platter, and my young master used the little gift to win his favor."
The boss crouched down and grabbed her hair, jerking her head back violently.
"You're just a bastard bitch. Just because your mother was someone of untouchable status in the past, you thought nothing would happen to you in this forest, huh? Hehehe! In the end, your mother proved to be nothing more than a filthy whore."
Hearing the insult, the young woman's eyes injected with suicidal rage.
"YOU DAMN...! DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT MY MOTHER!"
Ignoring her broken ribs and blinding pain, the girl used the last drop of Qi in her Dantian. She lunged upward, spun around, and thrust her sword forward, desperately aiming to slice the beast-man's throat.
But she couldn't do a thing. The mercenary boss parried the notched blade with a simple, lazy backhand from his armored gauntlet, sending the girl's weapon flying several meters away.
"You—a piece of trash at Origin Realm Stage 2—think you can touch a Semi-Saint like me?! You are stupid!" roared the boss, slapping her so hard she fell to her knees. "HAHAHA! Although... now that I think about it and look at you closely covered in mud... your appearance isn't bad at all."
The beast-man licked his chapped lips, his gaze wandering down the tears in the girl's robe. Seeing the intentions in his eyes, the young woman felt absolute terror—a fear colder than death itself.
I'm sorry, Mother... forgive me for being so weak, she thought, closing her eyes with tears of pure despair.
"HAHAHAHA! I love that prey expression!" the leader shouted to his men. "Now, boys, let's enjoy this delicious piece of meat first before claiming the bounty!"
"Yes, boss! I want to be second!"
"Don't even think about it, asshole, I go after the boss!"
"Shut up, you animals! Obviously, it's going to be me, understood?!" bellowed the leader.
"Yes, boss!"
The mercenary leader reached his filthy, clawed hand toward the collar of the young woman's dress, ready to tear her clothes off by force.
But at that exact second... their beasts reacted.
The ten giant ebony panthers, which only a second ago were baring their fangs, let out a sharp, pitiful, pathetic whine. The mercenaries' ears caught the sound of fluids soaking the grass; the beasts were literally peeing themselves in panic. They cowered against the mud, trembling violently and refusing to look toward the trees.
And from above, breaking the sepulchral silence of the brush, the slow, rhythmic sound of applause flooded the hollow.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
The ten beast-men looked up simultaneously toward the upper branches, bewildered. They saw no one. But just as the boss was about to yell, an ultrasonic whistle sliced through gravity.
Slash!
The sound was wet and brutal.
"Aaaagh! AAAAAAAGH!" a heart-rending, animalistic, agonizing scream echoed off the trunks.
When the nine remaining bandits looked down, they froze. Their boss had fallen to his knees, clutching his right shoulder as blood gushed out. His dominant arm had been severed cleanly from the collarbone and lay in the mud, hand still open.
And standing in front of them, placing himself between the girl on the ground and the mercenaries, a tall youth had landed. His long dark-red hair fluttered in the wind. With one hand, he firmly held the unconscious girl, while in the other, he wielded a broad sword of rough obsidian, its edge dripping with the leader's smoking blood.
"What a pathetic story I just heard from the branches," spoke Kael Morningstar, flicking the blood from his blade with a sharp motion. "And how deeply disgust me you people."
Kael lifted his face, his icy gaze sweeping over the beast-men.
"Ten grown men... all stepping on the Semi-Saint stages, accompanied by ten siege beasts, hunting down a single Origin Realm girl. Have you no damn shame? Your ancestors must be turning in their graves seeing the scum they birthed."
"Y-YOU...! WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU, YOU BASTARD?!" shouted one of the beast-men, pointing a trembling machete at him, while stepping back as he saw his panther still crying on the ground.
Kael looked up completely.
The floodgates of his killing intent burst open, crushing the oxygen out of the hollow. His eyes flashed, revealing two vertical, golden pupils like those of a primordial predator, burning in the forest's gloom.
All the bandits froze. Their meridians tightened under the atomic weight of a tyranny that did not belong to the world of men. The air grew thick and suffocating as lead, and the absolute deepest silence returned to the thicket, broken solely and exclusively by the dripping of blood falling from the boss's stump.
Kael swept his eyes over them and, in a voice devoid of all mercy, ruled:
"You don't need to know my name. The dead do not speak. Suffer."
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