Chapter 135: Sister
In a different location on Earth, far from the lights of Rome and the celebrations of the ICL, there existed a place that defied description.
A temple carved into the heart of a nameless mountain — ancient beyond measure, its smooth stone walls formed not by tools but by something that predated human civilization. Pale luminescent moss crept along the joints between blocks, casting the corridors in a soft blue-white glow.
The room was circular. Thirty meters in diameter. The floor was polished black stone that reflected the single source of light — a floating orb of pale silver flame, suspended in the center of the room by nothing at all, pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.
Beneath the orb, kneeling on the cold black stone, was a girl.
She looked to be between 16 to 17 years old. Silver hair fell past her shoulders in a loose braid. Her skin was pale, almost luminous in the silver light. Her features were delicate, youthful, with a softness that hadn’t yet been carved away by the world. She wore a simple white robe that pooled around her knees.
Her green eyes — vivid, striking, the same green as spring leaves — were fixed on the floor.
Before her stood a woman.
White hair like starlight with all the warmth drained out. It fell to her waist. Her eyes were pale grey, almost silver, and they held no warmth at all.
"Master. I want to go and see my elder brother."
SLAP.
A red handprint bloomed on her cheek. She didn’t cry out. Didn’t even flinch. She just knelt there, head turned, breathing carefully through her nose.
The woman lowered her hand with an annoyed expression.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Her voice was utterly devoid of affection. "You have no brother. I am your only family. I’m the one who saved you. I’m the one who brought you out of your despair."
The girl’s jaw tightened.
"So don’t ever bring that up again. Lena."
"Now leave. Go and continue your cultivation."
Lena didn’t move. Her hands curled into fists on her thighs.
"But master—"
"I said leave."
The temperature in the room dropped.
The woman’s pale grey eyes locked onto Lena.
"You should be grateful he’s still alive." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "But consider him dead. Just like you did before."
Lena’s breath caught.
She stood. Bowled. Turned. Walked toward the corridor entrance without another word. Her footsteps echoed — tap, tap, tap — each one quieter than the last as she disappeared into the blue-lit darkness.
The woman watched her go.
Silence filled the chamber.
Then the woman raised her hand to her mouth and bit down on her own finger — hard. A deliberate act of frustration.
"Damn it."
She turned away from the corridor, her white hair swirling, and stared up at the silver flame. Her reflection stared back from the polished black floor — inverted, ghostly, wrong.
"I don’t want her leaving yet." Her whisper was tight. "Not now that mother’s soul is still incomplete."
*******************************
Lucian woke up to warmth.
Rose stirred a moment later. Her eyes opened, met his, and went wide. Her face turned crimson. She scrambled off the bed so fast she nearly tripped, grabbing a pillow and pressing it against herself.
"I — the bathroom — I need—"
"It’s over there."
They took their bath quickly, separately. When they met in the hallway afterward, the awkwardness had softened. Rose’s red hair was damp and combed. She was smiling as they chatted a bit on the way to the elevator.
The doors opened on the ground floor.
Clara stood in the lobby with folded arms, pouting at Lucian.
Lucian blinked. "Clara—"
She didn’t say a word. She just grabbed Rose by the wrist and dragged her away toward the restaurant.
Lucian scratched his head, confused.
"Is she angry or what? I thought she gave me permission the other night." He watched them disappear around the corner. "Well, women are really hard to understand."
He stood there a moment.
"Maybe they are just going to have a nice girl talk."
*******************
Lucian headed to the training room and went through his rewards.
He put on the A-Rank Mana Heart Protection Pendant — a thin silver chain with a teardrop-shaped blue crystal. The moment the clasp clicked shut, he felt the shift. An eight percent reduction in mana consumption across all techniques. With his insane mana reserves and Transcendent Core efficiency, he could fight for hours on end and cast multiple high-tier spells without the same drain.
As for the Rising Star IAR designation, he would use it very well when he got back to France.The Rising Star designation — priority access to dungeons, missions, and resources across all IAR member academies for four years.
He reached into his shadow storage and pulled out the Earth Grade Mind Fortress Pill — a small, matte-grey sphere. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed.
Gulp.
The effect was immediate but subtle. Warm honey pouring into the spaces between his thoughts, filling cracks he hadn’t known existed.
Lucian closed his eyes and entered his sea of consciousness.
Three palaces floated in the dark expanse. The Light of Dawn glowed white-gold on the left, three stars burning. The Crimson Origin pulsed deep red on the right, two stars alight. And the Mind Palace — the newest, smallest — sat directly ahead, two silver stars flickering.
He sat in a lotus position in front of the Mind Palace. The Mind Fortress Pill’s essence diffused through his consciousness, and with it came comprehension. He could see the architecture of his Mind Palace spells more clearly now — Mind Read wasn’t just reading thoughts, it was a bridge between consciousnesses, and the pill showed him where that bridge could be reinforced. Mind Spike wasn’t just an attack, it was a compressed wave of mental force, and the pill showed him how to shape that wave more precisely, reducing waste, increasing penetration. More intricate expressions of spells he’d barely begun to understand.
A few hours passed.
Lucian woke up back in the training room, feeling his mental strength strengthened even further.
He stretched his neck. He reached into his shadow storage and pulled out the Vial of Arcane Ascension — a small crystalline vial filled with swirling golden liquid. He uncorked it and gulped it down.
Gulp.
At first, he didn’t feel anything.
"Hey, system, I don’t feel—"
It hit him like a furnace door opening. Every cell in his body ignited simultaneously — not painful, not yet, but intense, a deep internal warmth that spread from his core outward to his fingertips, his toes, the roots of his hair. His vision blurred. His heartbeat accelerated. A system notification flashed.
Vial of Arcane Ascension — Active.
Select target ability for evolution.
Three options appeared:
A-Rank Light Control → S-Rank Light Manipulation
S-Rank Blood Manipulation → S+ Rank Blood Manipulation
SS-Rank Mind Manipulation → No Effect
Lucian thought, I guess Mind Manipulation is already too high.
"I pick Light Control, of course."
The heat intensified. Pain flooded his body — deep, internal, radiating from his core outward. Lucian’s back arched off the mat. A strained nnngh escaped through his clenched teeth. The warmth concentrated in his chest, then his head, flooding toward the Light Palace in his Sea of Consciousness like a river finding its course.
Inside his sea of consciousness, his Light Palace was transforming.
The white-gold light shifted — brightening, deepening, taking on undertones of pure gold and blinding white that hadn’t existed before. The palace’s structure expanded, its walls thickening, its foundation widening. The three existing stars flared brighter, their light sharpening.
Fwooom.
Light erupted through the entire Sea of Consciousness. Lucian’s physical body convulsed once on the mat — gasp — and then the heat receded like a tide pulling back from shore. Left behind was a deep, resonant warmth that settled into his bones.
And in the center of the palace, in a socket that had been dark and dormant, a fourth star ignited.
Fwooom.
The notification blinked.
A-Rank Light Control has successfully been upgraded to S-Rank Light Manipulation.
Host has successfully ignited the 4th Star of the Light Palace.
The notifications continued scrolling.
Light Blade has evolved into an S-Grade spell — Dawnbreaker: First Light. Condenses light into a blade of pure radiance that carries purifying properties. The blade burns through darkness, dispels shadows, and sears corruption from flesh.
Host has unlocked new spells:
Light Judgement ★ ★ ★ ★ — Sustained beam of pure light that erases matter along its path. Unlike Light Bolt, which is a projectile, this is a continuous stream that can sweep across battlefields.
Light Weaving — Instant creation of physical light constructs without incantation. Swords, shields, walls, spears, chains — all harder than steel, all created in a thought. Evolution of Light Blade and Light Chains into a single versatile spell.
Lucian stared at the descriptions. Dawnbreaker’s purifying properties were interesting — searing corruption from flesh sounded specifically designed for certain types of enemies. Light Judgement was raw destructive power in sustained form. But Light Weaving was the one that caught his attention.
Cool. This will be extremely useful in the long run.
No more switching between Light Blade, Light Chains, Light Shield separately. One spell. One thought. Any construct. The efficiency gain alone was massive — less mana wasted on spell transitions, faster response time in combat, and the ability to adapt his light-based attacks instantly to any situation.
He filed the information away and stood up. There was something else he needed to do before the day ended.