[Before the Exemplar Palace Gates]
The air was cold, but the touch of the hand that crept onto his back was even colder. Vanitas turned. Justitia. She was wearing a crisp white dress, and a formal smile that hid fangs behind it. Her carefully manicured nails dug lightly into his wrist, just enough so that the servants wouldn't notice.
She whispered in a soft voice, like someone giving a morning greeting: "Enjoy the festival, brother... because the reckoning for what you did will be severe upon our return."
Vanitas didn't yank his hand away violently. He settled for a small, cold, soulless smile. He reached out with his other hand and slowly brushed hers off his wrist, as if dusting an imaginary speck off his jacket.
"Don't touch me, sister." He took a step closer to her, his eyes piercing the mask of meekness she wore: "And you should thank the 'Festival of Serenus'.. because your life after this festival will be completely different."
"The voice." Motus's voice came from behind, calm as polar ice, and sharp as a sword. He didn't shout. He didn't even turn around. He was slowly putting on his leather gloves while looking at the horizon.
"Walls have ears, and the carriage has a driver. Keep your poison for the house. Today we are the front of the family."
Justitia took a step back, adjusting her dress with feigned dignity. Vanitas looked around. The entire family was in formal celebration attire. Aretia, wearing a dark kohl-colored gown, stood with military straightness. Otus, in loose but luxurious clothes, carelessly tied his belt. And finally, Superia... the makeup on her face was heavy, layers of powder trying to hide wrinkles and anxiety, making her look like a perfect porcelain doll.
Justitia boarded the carriage in silence. The brothers followed her, then the father, who passed by Vanitas without looking at him, as if he didn't exist.
Vanitas remained. Superia came over and took his hand. Her hand was trembling slightly. "Thank you for keeping it together, son." she whispered quickly.
He helped her up, then stepped inside.
...
[Inside the Carriage]
The carriage moved. There was no sound of wheels, for the horses pulling it weren't ordinary animals, but hybrid alchemical creatures whose hooves floated slightly above the ground. The atmosphere inside was charged with heavy silence.
Motus broke the silence without moving his eyes from the window: "What happened yesterday... is an internal matter we will handle in the 'Closed Room'. Today, we are in the presence of the Observers. Any mistake, any uncalculated look, will cost us dearly."
The mother tried to break the ice with a forced, cheerful voice: "Oh, don't be so gloomy, my dear! It's the festival! We will finally enter the Summit of Apex!" She turned to her eldest daughter: "Didn't you say, Aretia, that it's like another world?"
Otus laughed with a rough, muffled sound: "You speak as if we've gone before, Mother. The festival happens every fifty years." "Hehe... yes, you are right." she laughed nervously.
Vanitas sighed silently. He leaned his back against the seat and looked at the carriage ceiling. There was an art piece brilliantly painted on the velvet ceiling: a stag looking beyond the world. Even the stag in the painting looks as if it wants to escape the frame.
The carriage stopped. "We have arrived."
Otus stood up to exit, but his father's voice stopped him with calm firmness: "The order, Otus. Your mother and I first. Then you, Justitia, Aretia.. and finally Vanitas."
Otus sat back down. "Yes, sir."
The parents exited. Otus stood, and before stepping down, he turned to Vanitas with a warning look. He exited. Justitia followed, holding her nose high. Aretia looked at Vanitas with cold disgust, whispering as she passed him: "Try not to stain our reputation, just as you stained the hallway carpet with the servants' blood." And she exited.
Vanitas remained alone for a moment. He adjusted his collar. He drew Smile No. 4 (Mysterious Calm). And he exited.
...
[The Summit of Apex]
A bright light struck his eyes. Vanitas was accustomed to the luxury of the "High Orbits District" where they lived, but this... this was another level of existence.
The Apex Tower was a pillar of white light piercing the sky. Its stones shimmered as if breathing. They walked towards the great gate. Dozens of noble families lined up like ants waiting to enter. The giant gate opened. A stream of pure air rushed out, carrying the scent of flowers that did not exist on earth.
They entered. What Vanitas saw inside made paintings and poems seem cheap. A suspended blue sky, a massive alchemical dome with clouds made by human hands. Rivers flowing with liquids resembling molten ruby. And in this vast space that defied the laws of physics, the Three Great Palaces sat majestically.
On the right: The Etherium Palace. Transparent, glassy, as if made of frozen air. No doors, only energy barriers rippling silently. Its calmness was terrifying.
On the left: The Osmium Palace. Black, dense, its corners sharp as guillotine blades. It gave a feeling of multiplied weight and gravity. It was the embodiment of absolute military power. (And it is the palace to which the Exemplar family is subordinate).
And in the middle, dominating everything: The Aurum Palace. Gold. Not paint, but an entire structure of the precious metal. The palace shined brazenly, provocatively, as if saying: "I own your fate because I possess its price."
The families stood in precise geometric order in the central plaza. From the sky, flying carriages descended. Each carriage bore the emblem of one of the Three Great Families, driven by "Guides" to receive their subordinates.
A heavy black carriage bearing the Osmium emblem arrived. An armored man stepped out and headed towards Motus Exemplar. "Exemplar Family.. please come with us."
The father bowed respectfully and prepared to follow him. But...
Another carriage descended. A bright golden carriage, pulled by horses of pure light. The Aurum emblem. A servant wearing a golden half-mask stepped down from it. He ignored everyone, heading with steady steps towards Vanitas.
The servant stopped before Vanitas and bowed: "Lord Vanitas Exemplar."
Absolute silence fell over the plaza. The other families began to whisper. Motus's features froze. He didn't show panic, but tension appeared in the stiffening of his jaw. He took a step forward, his voice rigid, formal: "Envoy. My son bears my name, and my name is subordinate to the Osmium Palace. May I know the reason for this exception?"
The servant didn't apologize. He wasn't flustered. He raised his head slowly and looked at Motus from behind his golden mask: "The Overlord does not justify, Lord Motus. He only commands." Then he returned his gaze to Vanitas, gesturing to the carriage with his silk-clad hand: "Please."
Superia gasped with a muffled sound. Motus turned to his son. In his eyes, there were rapid and complex calculations. "Vanitas.." he said in a very low voice, and a commanding tone that hid deep anxiety. "What have you gotten yourself involved in?"
Vanitas looked at the servant, then at his father, then at the golden carriage. He didn't know. But he smiled. That calm smile that hides storms. "Father.. I, like you, know nothing." he said in a confident voice, enjoying his father's inability to control the situation for the first time. "However, the orders of the Summit cannot be refused. So.. excuse me, my Lord Father, we will part ways for a while."
He left his stunned family, and walked towards the golden carriage. Whispers chased him like shadows. "Is this Aurelia's doing?""Impossible, Aurelia is a disgrace to the family, she doesn't have the authority to summon an ant.""It's the Overlord himself.. why would he care about a child from a middle-tier family?"
Vanitas entered the carriage. From the inside, it was ten times wider than it appeared. A golden ceiling, a golden floor, and even the drink placed on the table glimmered like liquid gold dust. He sat on the plush seat.
"Envoy.." he asked calmly, interlacing his fingers. "Where exactly?" The servant replied without turning around: "To where the true gold is."
The carriage moved. It was instantaneous teleportation through the fabric of space. In the blink of an eye, the door opened. "My Lord.. we have arrived."
Vanitas stepped down. He thought he would see the palace courtyard, but he found himself directly in the throne room. A giant hall, its walls covered with statues of people screaming silently, cast in pure gold. And at the end of the hall, upon an elevated throne made of rare "Black Gold"..
He sat. He wasn't an old man like Vanitas had imagined. He was a young man.. with terrifying beauty. Golden hair cascading like a waterfall of light. Eyes as bright as two small suns, burning anyone who looked directly at them. And the aura surrounding him... wasn't just "Rei" or "Alchemy". It was a physical "weight" that crushed bones.
Vanitas felt as if the air had turned into heavy mercury pressing on his lungs. Every cell in his body screamed one command: Kneel. He did not resist. He didn't think of his pride or his new mask. He immediately knelt on one knee, and bowed his head until his forehead touched the cold floor.
"I greet Aurum... The Lord of Gold."
[Excerpt from: "Chronicles of Nothingness" - The Forbidden Volume of the Lost Historian (Eras)]
[The "Gilded Covenant" Document - The Secret Academy Records]Subject: Aurum - The Entity Who Bought Eternity
"If you think that immortality in the Tower of Revival is the ultimate hope, then you have not yet understood the truth of who resides at the summit of 'Apex'. There is a man who does not follow the laws, but rather he is the one who forged them with his ingots."
1. Trans-century Existence and Sovereignty Aurum is not just a family lord; he is a "cosmic constant". It is said he has ruled since the beginning of the New Age, and his skin has not known a single wrinkle. He is not merely an alchemy user, but the "Greatest Investor" in the continent's existence; it is rumored in dark corridors that he is the one who pays the "price for the survival of the Apex world" through energetic golden sacrifices whose nature only he comprehends.
2. Titles of the "God Killer" His names are as numerous as humanity's fears, for he is the "Tamer of the Eight Dragons," and "The Most Beautiful" (as it is said his body is a masterpiece cast with a precision that surpasses the beauty of gold itself). But the title that makes him truly terrifying is the "God Killer". Erased legends say his most famous victim was (Hades); the entity said to have ruled the underworld in ancient times, and with his death, Aurum seized the keys of existence and annihilation.
3. The Alchemical Miracle In Aurum's hand, all theories of the Royal Academy fall apart. He is known as the greatest user of "Applied Alchemy" in history. The rule stating that "Common Cards are weak" does not apply to him; it is said that any card he touches, no matter how trivial, transforms in his hand into a weapon deadlier and more precious than pure gold. With a touch from him, a simple "Alchemical Code" transforms into an absolute miracle.