CHAPTER 26: THE RITE OF THE DRAGON VEIN

In the Silvervein Clan, there was a tradition that had lasted for hundreds of years, ever since the first Clan Head carved the clan’s name into history—the Rite of the Dragon Vein. It was, in essence, the trial of adulthood, the moment when a Silvervein youth either proved themselves worthy of the bloodline... or was left behind.

The rules of the Rite were strict and without exception. Once a young clansman summoned their first magical beast—usually around their eighteenth year—they would be stripped of all clan status and privileges. Their silver robes and crest were taken away, replaced with the plain garb of a commoner, and their hair color dyed. From that moment, they were no longer Silvervein heirs, but ordinary wanderers. They were then sent into the outside world to complete five missions. Only after finishing all five could they return and reclaim their place in the clan.

The meaning behind the Rite was clear. The Silverveins were powerful, but their strength had been built through hardship. Thus, their descendants needed to understand the struggles of the world beyond the clan’s walls—its cruelty, its opportunities, its endless dangers. Thus, the five missions would act as a test of survival, of growth, and of resolve as a beast master.

And not only that, their performance in the Rite would later determine whether they could compete for one of the limited slots offered to the Silvervein Clan by Luminaris Academy, a privilege granted to only a few of the most powerful clans in the whole continent.

Well, for most, the trial was hardly insurmountable. Even the least talented among them usually cleared it within six months, well under the generous two-year limit. Some even returned in triumph within mere weeks, boasting of victories won with the aid of their formidable magical beasts.

After all, simply being a Silvervein already placed one above ninety percent of everyone else.

However... now...

For Emilia, things were different. Her only companion was a Noctifelis, just a small cat with no combat ability, no useful skills, and almost no potential for growth.

What others saw as a mere rite of passage, for her loomed as a daunting wall. A challenge so great that it seemed impossible.

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"Woaahhh... so this is the Forbidden Peak!"

Emilia gasped, her eyes wide with wonder as she stepped into the most sacred place of the Silvervein Clan. Each breath she exhaled turned into pale, ghostly plumes that drifted in the frigid air.

The summit stretched out before her, cloaked in endless white. Snow blanketed the land, glistening like scattered diamonds beneath the blinding sun. The wind howled around the jagged cliffs, its bite sharp enough to flay exposed skin in an instant. It was a world both merciless and breathtaking, a spectacle of nature’s raw power.

Yet, wrapped snugly in her heavy cloak and bolstered by layers of anti-cold enchantments, the deadly gale brushed against her as gently as an autumn breeze.

"Oh, look! Are those... real dragons?!" Emilia cried, pointing toward the heavens with childlike excitement.

"Oh yes, yes they are!" Lady Ariana replied, her voice trembling with awe as she stood beside her daughter.

High above, colossal shapes pierced the clouds. They were ice dragons, beasts of legend. Their wings spread vast as glaciers, casting shadows across the snowy peaks as they wheeled gracefully through the sky. Their scales gleamed like shards of pure crystal, scattering sunbeams into radiant, prismatic light. With each beat of their wings, blizzards stirred; with every sweep of their tails, streams of glittering frost lingered in the air like star-dust.

Unlike lesser wyverns, these dragons bore four powerful limbs in addition to their mighty wings, their long, serpentine necks curving with both elegance and menace. They were the embodiment of winter itself—majestic, merciless, and eternal.

"They are called Glacionis," Draco said at last, stepping forward with solemnity in his voice. "Even the youngest among them... is no less than level 95. One of these creatures alone is strong enough to lay waste to a village should it ever go on a rampage."

"Wait... Glacionis? Isn’t that..." Emilia’s voice trembled.

"Yes," Draco nodded. "They are the same species as your mother’s beast—Articia."

Indeed.

Lady Ariana’s most powerful companion, her pride and her greatest weapon, was none other than Articia—a Glacionis of nine stars, tempered by nine different evolutions. Through decades of blood and battle, it had stood at her side, freezing countless monsters and even shattered mountains. Its name alone carried weight, striking fear in her enemies and earning reverence among beast tamers across the world.

A true legendary summon.

Needless to say, Mimi was utterly spellbound as well.

Her bright eyes followed the dragons overhead, glimmering with pure admiration. The little Noctifelis trembled, not with fear but with wonder, her tail swishing furiously as if her small body could not contain the joy surging through her.

Then, suddenly, the Glacionis above took notice. Their cries echoed across the sky, deep and resonant, shaking the mountain itself. With a single mighty beat of their wings, they descended.

The air roared.

Snow and ice tore from the cliffs in spirals, the summit whipped by a storm of white. Emilia staggered under the force, crouching low as she clutched Mimi tight against her chest. The Noctifelis buried herself into her master’s arms, her small frame trembling. Had Emilia not held her fast, she would have been blown away like a leaf in a gale.

Draco and Ariana alone stood firm. Their steps carried them forward, steady against the storm. Then, together, they lowered their heads in deep bows. Eventually, Emilia followed.

And in answer, the Glacionis returned the gesture. Their colossal necks bent, wings folding in majestic unison. A sound rumbled from their throats, a vibration so deep it shook the bones. It was like a thunderous, reverent purr, like the heartbeat of titanic giants.

It was then that a voice rang across the summit.

"Come to me. Step into the circle."

It was the voice of Lord Siamelumis. A woman’s voice, soft yet unyielding, carrying a power that pressed upon every heart. It was the kind of voice one could not deny, a voice that commanded not by fear, but by sheer, immovable authority.

A voice of a divine entity, of someone already so close to being a god.

Only then did Emilia notice it—the glowing circle etched into the very heart of the peak. Its lines pulsed with golden light, glyphs unraveling from the ground and rising into the air like fireflies, hanging weightless in the freezing wind.

The Glacionis parted, their vast forms shifting aside, their gazes solemn as though honoring a sacred rite.

Without hesitation, the three of them stepped into the circle.

The moment they did, the glyphs flared to life.

Light engulfed them.

The frozen peak, the biting wind, the endless snow... everything vanished in a single blink.

When Emilia opened her eyes, she no longer stood on a mountain, but upon a solitary isle suspended in the endless void. Darkness stretched in all directions, boundless and absolute, as though the world itself had fallen away.