CHAPTER 62: SANCTUARY OF TEN THOUSAND STARS (1)

Just like yesterday, they had a quick but hearty breakfast before Emilia took Mimi to the place where she would be receiving her compensation treasure—the Silvervein Sacred Clan Vault.

This ancient place had a name: the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Stars.

There was no building in sight, only a colossal stone gate carved directly into the face of a towering mountain. Rising nearly two hundred meters tall, the gate loomed like the entrance to another world. Its massive surface was etched with intricate designs—dragons soaring through the skies, constellations of stars surrounding them, and at the very center, the sigil of the Silvervein Clan: a dragon’s head with eyes set with two giant sapphires.

On either side of the gate stood two terrifying statues. Their bodies were tall and muscular like men, but their heads were those of dragons, jaws open in silent roars. Each held a torch burning with eternal blue flame.

At the foot of this monumental entrance, Draco and Ariana were already waiting.

Emilia walked forward with steady steps and bowed deeply.

"Father, Mother, good morning. I’ve brought Mimi here as you instructed."

Mimi, perched in her arms, raised a tiny paw and gave a polite meow in greeting.

"Good morning, Emilia. Good morning, Mimi," Ariana replied with a soft smile. The morning light caught her hair, making her look almost radiant. "How are you both feeling today?"

"We are well, Mother," Emilia answered warmly. Then she tilted her head toward the cat. "Right, Mimi?"

"Meow!" Mimi chirped.

"That’s wonderful to hear." Ariana reached down, her elegant hand gently scratching under Mimi’s chin, earning a pleased purr.

Draco stepped forward

"Alright. Are you two ready?" he asked.

Emilia straightened, and gave a confident nod.

And so, together, the group advanced toward the gate.

But before they reached it, Draco and Ariana both stopped.

Their faces grew solemn as they lowered themselves to one knee before the massive stone gate, the eternal blue flames reflecting in their eyes.

Seeing their reverence, Emilia quickly followed suit, bowing her head as she knelt respectfully as well.

Even Mimi, sensing the weight of the moment, went quiet in her master’s arms.

***

Draco lowered his head, his voice solemn and steady as he spoke before the ancient gate.

"O Guardian of the Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Stars, we humbly seek your permission to enter the Silvervein Sacred Vault. Please grant us passage."

When his words faded, silence fell.

The mountain wind died, the torches of blue flame swayed but gave no sound, and even the rustling of leaves in the forest vanished. For a long, heavy moment, it was as if the entire world itself was holding its breath.

Then, without warning, the earth groaned!

The ground beneath their feet trembled, stones clattering as if shaken by an earthquake. The mountain wall shivered with a deep, grinding sound that seemed to come from within the stone itself.

The air shifted.

A sudden gale whipped past, howling like a tornado tearing through the valley. Emilia shielded her eyes from the stinging wind, while Mimi clung tightly to her, fur bristling like a puffball.

And above them, the heavens began to change.

The clear morning sky warped in an instant. Clouds gathered, swirling together with frightening speed, colliding until the whole firmament turned into a boiling, rolling sea of black. Daylight dimmed, the world falling under shadow as if swallowed whole by the storm brewing above the mountain peak!

AAaaa!!!

What the hell is going on?!

Her tail shot straight up like a lightning rod, ears pinned flat against her head, every hair on her body standing stiff.

And then—

BOOOOM!

BOOOM!

Thunder bellowed across the heavens, so loud it split the sky apart. The noise rattled her very bones, and Mimi swore her little soul nearly leapt out of her body from sheer fright!

Her eyes, wide and trembling, lifted upward.

And there—within the storm—she saw it!

A vast, impossible silhouette...

Wings stretched wider than a mountain ridge...

A tail long and sinuous like a giant serpent.

And a body so immense, so overwhelming, it looked as if it could smother the sky itself.

And just like that, the shadow of a creature ancient and terrible glided above the clouds, circling slowly, like a terrifying god.

Then... the sky shifted.

The storm clouds twisted into a massive vortex, spinning tighter and tighter, until —

BOOM!

The heavens tore open!

A pillar of pure, blinding light speared down from the sky, piercing through the endless black clouds and slamming into the earth before the colossal stone gate. The brilliance was overwhelming, radiant enough to turn the mountain wall into glittering silver. Thunder roared in its wake, the deafening sound shaking the peaks as if the world itself were about to collapse.

And from within that sacred light... something descended.

The colossal creature—its form hidden by radiance—began to fall gracefully. Its sheer presence crushed the air, creating a pressure so heavy that Mimi felt her tiny lungs struggle to breathe. Meanwhile, the glow was unbearable. Its brilliance stabbed at the eyes, so fierce that no one dared look directly, lest they be blinded by its divinity.

...

A few seconds later...

Just as suddenly, the storm calmed, the thunder died. The world quieted, leaving only the faint hum of power lingering in the air.

Mimi cautiously cracked her eyes open, her ears twitching nervously.

Eh?

She blinked in confusion.

That terrible creature from the storm was nowhere to be seen. Instead... there was only... a girl?

Yes, not a monster—but a girl!

A young, strikingly beautiful girl with flowing blue hair and golden eyes. She wore gleaming silver armor, her arms clad in enormous gauntlets. From her hips extended a pair of metallic wings that shimmered with light, and behind her swished a spiky, scaled tail. She stood confidently with her hands on her hips, her whole body alive with lightning, sparks crackling and zapping across her frame.

From the looks of her, she didn’t seem any older than Emilia!

"WAHAHA!" the girl laughed, her booming voice shaking the mountain itself. "I am Zephyrona! Guardian of the Sacred Sanctuary of Ten Thousand Stars! No one may enter this place without my permission!"