CHAPTER 138: CHAPTER 138 - REVELATION

There was a reason Sebas had kept Luke and Cienna’s secret buried all this time.

Not because he didn’t want Lucien to know.

The truth ran deeper. It was tied to the very day Luke and Cienna lost their lives.

And there was a reason he chose to reveal it now.

Because Sebas too had ascended to Tier 9. Because Lucien had entrusted him with command of the former assassin group. And under his guidance, several of them had risen to Tier 9 as well including Viper.

To say that the strongest force in the kingdom now stood watch at the borders was no exaggeration.

Sebas fell silent. The truth was... If he had not become this strong, he would never have dared to speak.

He lifted his gaze toward the horizon as though seeking someone who lingered just beyond sight.

’This time... I am strong enough to protect what matters. Luke, watch over me and over "our" son.’

On the day Luke died, he had unleashed a skill that transferred fragments of memory into Sebas.

That was when Sebas learned. Their deaths had not been chance.

Viper had spoken before about that day. The mysterious client who seized control of their minds.

But only Sebas knew the real mastermind.

So he had acted ignorant all these times.

Because if Cielius or Lucien had known, they would have stormed headlong into vengeance.

And the enemy’s strength and that of his followers, was far too great.

But now... things were different.

They had numbers. They had Tier 9s.

He hadn’t expected this day would ever come.

He hadn’t expected Luke’s son to become someone far greater than they had imagined.

Sebas was prepared to die.

Because in truth, no one longed to avenge Luke more than him.

...

Lucien, Sebas, Cielius and Elunara gathered in the mini castle.

Cielius lifted his staff and weaved a barrier that sealed away every sound.

Sebas drew a steadying breath. "Young Lord... I suppose I have to tell you about the day Luke and I first met."

And so the story began.

He spoke of long years at Luke’s side.

Their relentless training.

The legend they forged together.

The evils they purged from the capital.

He told of the day he met Cienna.

The day he won her heart,

The day Lucien was born.

And then... the day of their deaths.

"That day... it was too perfect to be coincidence," Sebas’s voice was low and rough. "Perhaps it was Luke’s clairvoyance skill or something even greater... but before the end, he uncovered the truth. And before he closed his eyes... he used his skill to send me everything he’d seen."

Sebas’s eyes hardened.

He had witnessed Luke’s last vision. A shadowed figure hidden behind the scenes, issuing the order for their deaths.

A man terrified of change... and of his own downfall.

"And not just that..." Sebas’s voice faltered for the first time. "That day, holding the infant Young Lord, I ran with a single thought in my mind. Keep him alive."

He looked straight at Lucien whose face was carved in shadow.

"Strangely, we survived. I was barely standing yet we arrived here unharmed. Only later, after speaking with Viper, did I understand why. The king himself intervened. He broke the mind control on the assassins. He covered our tracks. That’s the only reason I can imagine why we’re standing here today."

Silence pressed in.

The king.

What was his true motive?

And what connection did he have to the web behind Luke and Cienna’s deaths?

Cielius’s voice cut through the stillness.

"So... tell me, Sebas. Who killed my child?"

Power rolled off him in waves. His eyes burned with barely contained rage.

Lucien stepped forward and placed a steady hand on his grandfather’s back.

"Grandpa," he said quietly.

The touch broke through the storm. Cielius drew a harsh breath. His aura receded though the fire in his gaze did not.

Sebas looked from one to the other.

He exhaled a weighted sigh.

"The one who ordered their deaths," he said at last, "was Ashreth Vulcan. The Supreme Leader of the Wildlands Federation."

The name hit like a thunderclap.

Everyone froze. Ashreth. The man the world hailed as a paragon of virtue.

That name was not one they expected.

And yet Luke and Cienna. The children of destiny. They had been slain at his command. By a man with whom they shared no bond.

He paused.

"Luke uncovered his secret while testing a new skill long before his death. He saw what Ashreth truly is."

Sebas’s eyes darkened.

"Do not be deceived by his youthful face. In the vision Luke shared, I saw the truth. Ashreth has existed for more than a thousand years... older than many elves. Not truly immortal, yet never dying. Luke called him... a reincarnator. Every Supreme Leader throughout history has been him. A phoenix rising from death, moving his soul into a new body each time."

Lucien drew a sharp breath.

’A phoenix...’

It matched exactly what he had sensed with his divine sense.

Silence settled over the room like a shroud.

Each of them needed a moment to take in what they had heard.

The revelation was immense.

The enemy... even greater.

No one knew whether Ashreth had struck because Luke uncovered his secret or for reasons buried even deeper.

’Even if Luke had shared the truth, who would have believed him?’ Cielius thought. ’Maybe Ashreth killed him for something else entirely.’

Cielius suddenly rose as his fury rekindled.

Lucien’s voice cut through the charged air. "Grandpa Ciel... not yet. The enemy is too strong. I won’t lose another family member."

An adversary more than a thousand years old. Lucien understood what that meant.

The murals had taught him well. The ancient carry countless tricks.

Even the cautious can die without warning.

’And a phoenix... Weren’t they once shown as humanity’s allies in the murals?’ Doubt now clouded Lucien’s mind.

Cielius exhaled. Lucien’s words steadied the storm in his heart.

He sank back into his seat though the hatred burning in his eyes remained.

"It’s not the right time," he admitted at last. "Ashreth stands at the peak. Even with all of us at Tier Nine, the difference in power is vast. He might even be stronger than King Midas."

Lucien drew a long breath.

He had expected Sebas to share a story of family. Of warmth and remembrance.

Instead, he had revealed the shadow of a greater enemy.

Lucien’s eyes glinted.

A sudden stir rippled through Lucien’s divine core. There’s a deep thrum as if something within answered the storm in his heart.

He pressed a hand to his chest.

The truth was, he didn’t know what to feel.

He had never met his real parents. He had never heard their voices nor seen their faces.

Grief and anger tangled into something unnameable.

But one certainty burned clear. He would avenge them.

Whoever stole the chance to know the mother and father who gave him life would not leave this world alive.

The pulse inside him quickened as though sealing his resolve.

Then a stray thought surfaced.

"Oh, right... I haven’t shown you SKILLPEDIA since it started acting like it had a mind of its own."

He summoned the floating tome.

It appeared with a shimmer... then froze the instant it saw Cielius.

The book gave a visible shiver. It darted behind Sebas and it circled him as if seeking protection.

Everyone blinked.

"It seems Luke’s book is afraid of Sir Cielius," Sebas said.

The observation broke the tension.

Cielius’s lips curved into a wolfish grin. He lunged, trying to grab the book but it zipped away.

Finally it settled back against Lucien’s shoulder like a nervous pet.

"Wow, Grandpa Ciel," Lucien teased. "What did you do? My book looks traumatized."

"Nothing much, grandson," Cielius replied with mock innocence. "I only gave Luke a few beatings when he dared to steal my daughter."

The room went still.

Even the thousand-skill Luke... It seemed, he had never won against his formidable father-in-law.

Seizing the lighter moment, Lucien asked about his grandparents.

Cielius’s expression softened with a sigh.

"Your grandmother died giving birth to Cienna."

Sebas added quietly, "Luke’s mother passed soon after he was born. As for his father... Luke never spoke of him."

Elunara folded her hands.

"It isn’t surprising. The fate carried by children of destiny is too heavy for a human body to endure."

The chamber grew silent again. The weight of bloodlines and destiny pressed in on them all.

"Oh right! Miss Elf," Lucien said. "Any fresh revelations lately? Should I be worrying about Lootwell catching fire?"

Elunara’s lips curved faintly.

"Young Lord, since stepping into Tier 9, the veil of fate is not so opaque to me. What was once muddled is now clearer. My earlier visions... they were flawed, born of my limits. But now—"

She let her gaze sweep over the group.

"The threads of fate grow dark," she said at last. "A shadow stretches across the horizon. The wheel trembles. Its turn brings not prosperity but a storm that devours all. Beware. The air thickens with sorrow and the hour of trial draws near. Choices made in haste may set destinies in stone."

Silence followed.

’Great,’ Lucien thought. ’Here we go again with the riddles.’

"So... basically trouble’s on the way?" he asked dryly.

Elunara only nodded. Her eyes gleamed like moonlit ice.

"I see the heavens torn where light and shadow collide. Two vast tides surge, destined to meet with a roar that shakes the bones of the earth. Their clash is not of men alone... but of ideals, of wills and powers too immense to contain. When they meet, sparks will become fire... and fire will become a storm that spares nothing."

A chill prickled Lucien’s spine.

’Powers too vast to be contained... the colossal hand? Or the murals on the fourth level?’

Then Elunara fixed him with a steady luminous stare.

"The fates whisper of ruin and rebirth," she said softly. "But the final stroke upon the canvas belongs not to the stars... but to you. If the world follows its current path, it will crumble into dust. Should despair rule, it will be devoured by its own shadows. Yet if you rise... if you defy what is written... then from the ashes may bloom a world greater than any before. The choice is not carved in stone. It rests in your hands."

Lucien’s breath caught.

’I’m just a baron with a few cheats,’ he thought. ’How the hell am I supposed to carry the fate of the world? Fuck!’