CHAPTER 300: MEETING WITH THE KING

Lucas stepped out of the icy chamber with the girls surrounding him, each one still stealing glances at him as if making sure he was truly awake and well. The palace corridors felt unusually warm after months trapped inside a frozen cocoon of his own cultivation. The frost still clung faintly to his robes, and every step he took melted tiny droplets onto the polished floors.

Selene walked just behind him, arms folded but her eyes soft. Lira stayed close to his side, almost brushing against him whenever she worried he might sway. Nyx kept a watchful gaze, silently evaluating the subtle shifts in his aura. The Ice Belle floated ahead proudly, as if leading a parade, demanding for food every few steps.

They escorted him out until the path forked. Lucas paused and faced them gently.

"Go get something to eat," he told the girls. "I’ll meet you all later. I need to speak with the King first."

Lira placed a hand on his arm, hesitant to leave him so soon after he woke. "Are you sure? You’ve only just recovered..."

Lucas smiled reassuringly. "I’m fine. Truly."

Selene gave him a long look, as if making her own judgment, then nodded. "We’ll wait for you in the East Garden. Don’t take too long."

With that, they finally allowed him to go, though the Ice Belle lingered a moment longer before darting after the promise of food.

Lucas continued alone toward the royal audience hall. For the first time in months, he felt completely aligned...mind, body, and spirit. And now, he needed to report that strength.

Two guards pushed the doors open for him.

King Highmoor sat at a low table, reviewing stacks of parchment, his brow slightly furrowed. The moment he sensed Lucas’s presence, he looked up sharply. His stern expression softened into relief and pride.

"Xavier" the King said as he rose to his feet. "You’re awake at last."

Lucas bowed deeply, his posture filled with both respect and gratitude. "Your Majesty... I came to inform you that I am fully recovered."

The King studied him closely, his gaze passing over Lucas’s clearer complexion, his calmer aura, and the faint but tangible chill that surrounded him like a second skin. "You look stronger than before," the King said. "Steadier. The months were not wasted."

Lucas straightened. "Thank you, Your Majesty. I am ready to resume my duties. Whatever the kingdom requires of me, I will answer."

The King nodded once, satisfied. "Good. There is much we must discuss. But not without the Empress present. She has been waiting anxiously for your return."

He gestured to one of the attendants nearby.

"Send word to the Empress," the King commanded. "Tell her that Xavier has awakened and her presence is required."

The servant bowed quickly and hurried out of the hall.

King Highmoor motioned for Lucas to sit across from him. "Until she arrives," he said in a quieter tone, "tell me everything. How do you truly feel? And what did those months of cultivation reveal to you?"

Lucas inhaled, gathering his thoughts as he prepared to answer, the faint whisper of frost swirling around his finger tips.

Lucas lowered himself onto the cushion opposite the King, taking a measured breath before speaking.

"Your Majesty... I feel whole again," Lucas began. "But different. My meridians, my Dantian, even the way I sense Qi...everything has shifted. The Empress’s outburst had torn me apart inside, but these past months... the Ice Belle helped me rebuild myself from the foundation upward."

The King listened in absolute silence, hands folded, eyes sharpened with interest.

Lucas continued, "During the first weeks, I focused only on stabilizing what was damaged. Her pure divine energy seeped into me while I was unconscious. It mended things that even a celestial-ranked healer might not have been able to repair. When I finally regained clarity, I found something unexpected."

He raised his hand slightly, and a thin mist of crystalline frost formed above his palm, swirling like a living thing.

"I developed an ice affinity. Not an ordinary elemental gift, but something... refined. Divine. It’s her influence. She never left my side. She enveloped me every day with that purity."

The King leaned forward, his expression shifting from curiosity to astonishment.

"So it is true," he murmured. "The Empress suspected it. Nyx mentioned the possibility as well... but seeing it with my own eyes is different entirely. An elemental affinity born from a divine creature... You may be the first cultivator in generations to possess such a thing."

Lucas nodded slowly. "It is powerful, Your Majesty. Far more than I can currently control. When I pushed deeper into it, I lost myself for weeks at a time. I cultivated without rest, without food. If not for her feeding me energy directly, I would have perished."

The King exhaled deeply, impressed. "And your realm?"

"I reached the Third Stage of Grandmaster," Lucas answered. "But the breakthrough to the Ascendant Realm remains locked behind a wall. I will need far more than the natural world can give before I can ascend."

The King rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That alone places you leagues above most young cultivators. And yet you have done it while recovering from a near-fatal backlash."

Lucas looked down for a moment, voice quieter. "I only survived because of the Ice Belle." A faint ghost of humor softened his tone. "She’s grown as much as I have. Maybe more."

A small smile tugged at the King’s mouth. "She has a remarkable personality, that one."

Lucas laughed softly. "She demanded food the moment I woke up."

"Good," the King replied. "Creatures of divine origin often reflect the nature of their partners. Her appetite means your bond is alive and strong."

Lucas’s expression shifted back to serious. "Your Majesty... I am ready. Whatever mission, whatever threat... I can face it now."

The King held his gaze for a long, heavy moment, measuring the conviction behind those words.

"Very well," he said at last. "When the Empress arrives, we will speak of what comes next. Lechia, the Rot, the usurpers... and the path our kingdoms must take."

The soft rustle of silk announced her presence before the doors fully opened. The Empress stepped into the chamber with quiet composure, the veil draped over her face catching the light like woven moonlight. Though her aura was restrained, Lucas still felt the familiar pressure of a celestial being...calm, heavy, and impossibly refined.

She paused just inside, lowered her head in a graceful bow, and addressed the King first.

"Your Majesty," she said, her voice steady and warm. "I hope I did not delay your discussion."

The King straightened with a respectful incline of his head. "Not at all, Your Grace. Your presence is welcome."

Lucas, who had risen the moment she entered, bowed deeply. "Your Majesty," he greeted softly.

The Empress turned toward him, and though the veil hid most of her expression, Lucas could feel her eyes sweeping over him with a motherly sharpness. For a brief second, a soft glow flickered beneath the veil...the faint shimmer of her celestial sight.

Then she exhaled, and a gentle smile colored her voice.

"You are standing," she said. "And your aura no longer trembles. Good... I am relieved to see that your foundation has not only recovered but grown stronger."

Lucas met her gaze with sincere gratitude. "I owe much of that to the energy you infused into me during the explosion... even if it wasn’t intentional."

A light, amused sound came from behind the veil, almost a quiet laugh. "You survived what should have broken you. That alone is remarkable. But to awaken with your realm stabilized and your ice affinity awakened... I must admit, I am impressed."

She stepped closer, not too near, but enough to observe him the way a master observes a promising disciple. Her eyes flickered again, this time in open astonishment.

"Your meridians have widened more than I expected. And the purity of the Yang coursing through you..." She shook her head slightly. "The Ice Belle has given you more than power. She has reshaped you."

Lucas lowered his gaze, humbled. "She never left my side."

The King looked between them, his expression thoughtful. "He has recovered more fully than any of us anticipated."

The Empress nodded. "Indeed. His spirit is no longer fractured. His Qi flow is smooth. His affinity is awakened. Even his presence has changed." Her attention shifted back to Lucas. "You have stepped into a path rare even among celestial practitioners. Do not waste it."

Lucas felt a surge of renewed determination. "I won’t."

The Empress gave the faintest nod, her tone softening. "Good. I am glad to see you well again...Xavier."

Her use of his name...not "young cultivator," not "boy," not "Alden"....held warmth and acknowledgment.

And beneath the veil, he could sense her amazement lingering. The Empress lowered herself into the seat the King gestured toward, her movement measured and elegant, yet weighted by the gravity of what she carried with her.