Chapter 323: Retired Space King
The World Fragment trembled violently within its containment field.
Cracks spread across the surface of the protective barrier, energy pulsing outward in waves that made the air shimmer.
Then it shot forward like a guided missile.
The crystalline shard pierced through the remaining debris and slammed directly into Caelus’s chest, merging with his body in an explosion of blue and violet light.
Everyone in the ruined hall froze completely.
"He took the World Fragment!" someone from the crowd shouted.
The voice belonged to a man wearing golden robes decorated with ancient Egyptian symbols, his eyes burning with fury as he stepped forward from the shadows.
"How could we allow him to take the World Fragment?" another member of the same faction demanded.
These were the Kemetist Faction members who had been observing the entire battle without lifting a single finger to help anyone.
Now they moved with sudden urgency.
One of them rushed toward Caelus with his hand outstretched, golden energy crackling around his fingers as he prepared to seize the Fragment by force.
"Watch out, Caelus!" Dickenson shouted in shock.
But the warning was unnecessary.
Before the Kemetist member could even get within ten meters of Caelus, a figure stepped calmly out from the crowd.
Elder Sterling raised one hand.
His aura exploded outward like a tidal wave.
The pressure was overwhelming and his appearance begin changing, taking on a more youthful look.
The Kemetist member stumbled backward, his knees buckling under the sheer weight of that power as his face went pale with terror.
"A Peak King Rank?" someone gasped.
"How is that possible?"
"Since when did New York City have a Peak King Rank?"
The whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire, everyone staring at the elderly man with wide eyes and trembling lips.
"Wait," a voice called out from the Shinto Faction’s balcony. "Is that Space King Sterling?"
"No way."
"That’s actually Space King Sterling!"
"You mean the man who retired after his wife died in a King Rank Dungeon?"
"The legendary Space King Sterling?"
Every faction and guild present was completely shocked by this revelation.
Raymond’s eyes widened from the Alisson suite above, his business mind racing to process what he was witnessing.
"Doesn’t Sterling co-own the Golden Chamber with his younger brother?" he muttered.
Sterling swept his gaze slowly across the ruined hall, his expression calm but his eyes carrying the weight of absolute authority.
"No one will touch Young Caelus," he said, his voice echoing through the silence. "The Fragment from another world will no longer be auctioned by the Golden Chamber, and everyone here will disperse immediately."
He took another step forward, his spatial aura rippling outward in visible waves.
"There has been a sudden attack by the Demon Species tonight," he continued. "That is what happened here, nothing more."
His eyes moved across the crowd, meeting the gaze of every faction leader and guild representative present.
"Am I clear?"
Everyone nodded in shock, none daring to argue with a Peak King Rank existence.
Sterling then turned toward the upper floor where Sylvia stood gripping the broken windowsill.
He raised his hand gently.
Spatial energy wrapped around her body like a cocoon, lifting her softly into the air and carrying her down toward Caelus.
The moment she landed beside him, Sterling activated his power once more.
Space folded around all three of them.
The ruined auction hall vanished from their sight completely.
They reappeared inside a luxurious penthouse overlooking the Manhattan skyline.
Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed the glittering city lights below, and expensive furniture decorated the spacious living area.
This was Sterling’s private residence, a place few people even knew existed.
Sylvia steadied herself after the sudden teleportation, her crimson eyes immediately moving to check on Caelus.
He stood motionless beside her, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow.
She smiled softly at the elderly man.
"Elder Sterling, it seems you’re really famous."
Sterling chuckled modestly at her words, a warm smile crossing his aged features before his expression turned more serious.
"I must apologize for not interfering during the battle," he said. "I know you may be wondering why I simply watched from the sidelines."
Sylvia tilted her head with curiosity.
"But from the very beginning," Sterling continued, "I felt that Young Caelus already had everything under control, and I’ve learned to trust my intuition over the years."
He walked toward the window and gazed out at the city below.
"I don’t know whether it’s because of my Space powers," he said softly, "but I can always sense when something truly bad is about to happen."
His voice carried a note of deep sorrow.
"Once, I ignored that intuition, and as a result, I lost my other half."
The weight of those words hung heavy in the air.
Sylvia understood immediately what he meant, the story of his wife’s death in a King Rank Dungeon now making perfect sense.
"It seems you were right, Elder Sterling," she said gently.
She glanced toward Caelus, her expression shifting to concern as she noticed something strange happening around his body.
A shimmering force field had formed around him, crackling with the same blue and violet energy that had erupted from the World Fragment earlier.
His form flickered within the barrier, almost like he was existing in two places at once.
"It looks like he’s merging with the Fragment," Sylvia observed.
Sterling nodded thoughtfully as he studied the phenomenon.
Just then, a powerful force erupted from Caelus without warning.
The energy barrier around him expanded rapidly, twisting and warping until it tore open a portal in the middle of the penthouse.
The swirling vortex crackled with spatial energy, its pull immediate and irresistible.
Sylvia felt herself being dragged toward it before she could even react.
"Hubby!" she called out, but her voice was swallowed by the roaring wind.
She vanished into the portal completely.
Sterling stepped back with wide eyes, his own spatial powers unable to counteract whatever force was at work here.
"Young Caelus?"
Caelus’s eyes opened slowly, glowing with an otherworldly light as the force field around him stabilized.
"We’re fine, Elder Sterling," his voice echoed, carrying a strange resonance that made it sound like multiple people speaking at once. "Don’t worry about us."
Sterling studied the young man’s expression for a long moment before nodding slowly.
"Then I’ll wait until you both return," he said. "There must be something inside that Fragment, something that will benefit both of you greatly."
A faint smile crossed Caelus’s face despite the energy swirling around him.
"Your intuition really is incredible, Elder Sterling," he said. "Now I understand why you chose to sign a contract with a newbie town like mine and even paid five percent above the market price."
Sterling returned the smile with calm confidence.
"Intuition is a necessary quality when building an empire like the Golden Chamber," he replied. "I’ve never been wrong about people, Young Caelus."
The portal’s pull intensified around Caelus’s body.
"We’ll return soon," he said.
Then the vortex swallowed him whole.
Caelus opened his eyes to find himself standing on solid ground.
Before him stretched a massive island unlike anything he had ever seen.
The landscape was covered in strange vegetation that glowed with soft bioluminescence, trees with crystalline leaves that chimed gently in a breeze he couldn’t feel.
The sky above was not a sky at all, but rather an endless expanse of swirling colors that shifted between purple and gold.
Sylvia stood a few meters away, her silver hair catching the strange light as she surveyed their surroundings with wide eyes.
Caelus walked toward her immediately.
He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly before pulling her into his embrace, his arms wrapping around her waist as he held her close.
She relaxed into his warmth, her hands resting gently against his chest.
"You okay, Hubby?" she asked softly, her voice filled with genuine concern.
Caelus let out a heavy sigh, his breath warm against her hair.
"I don’t know, Sylvia," he admitted. "My Ender powers have been revealing themselves more and more often, and I don’t understand why it’s happening so fast."
He tightened his hold on her slightly.
"I feel like something is going to go wrong at any moment," he continued. "Like I’m losing control of who I am."
Sylvia smiled warmly at his words.
She reached up and gently patted his head, her fingers running through his dark hair before she kissed his forehead tenderly.
"It’s okay," she said. "I’m here for you, and I always will be."
She pulled back slightly to meet his eyes.
"Even if your Ender powers are awakening far too quickly," she said, "we’ll be fine, Hubby, because we survived the Abyss together."
Her crimson eyes sparkled with conviction.
"Whatever is coming next, we’ll face it together."
She leaned in and kissed him deeply.
Then she wrapped her arms around him tightly, holding him close as though trying to shield him from the entire world.
"My good boy," She whispered.
Caelus’s face twitched immediately at those words.
"Hey," He said with a hint of embarrassment. "We’ve been through this before, you can’t call me that."
Sylvia giggled mischievously, her eyes dancing with playful light.
"But you like it," She teased. "Or would you rather I called you Master instead?"
Caelus’s face twitched even harder.
He quickly changed the subject before she could continue, his eyes scanning the strange island around them.
"This place is strange, Sylvia," He said. "I’ve never seen anything like it."