Chapter 154: New Members? (2)
"So, should I call you the Red Lady... or Peak Master Liliana?"
The words dropped into the moment like a stone into still water, sending ripples through the air.
Jovian and Amber froze, their golden and brown eyes snapping toward Liliana with matching looks of startled confusion.
Like most of Kalpa, they had heard the stories of the Lady in Red, and they were familiar with the whispers surrounding the Dark Hold.
But to think it was Liliana all along?
That was beyond anything they could have guessed. For Jovian in particular, the revelation didn’t bring confusion—only the sense that things had just become far more intriguing.
Amber’s voice came out small and genuinely lost.
"Mother..." She stared at Liliana as if seeing her for the first time, brown eyes wide with open disbelief.
"Is this... true?"
Liliana hesitated briefly before letting out a bright, carefree laugh, her crimson eyes sparkling with pure delight instead of any trace of embarrassment.
"Well, I must say, that’s not fair at all," she said, still laughing.
"You expose my little secret before I even have the chance to reveal it myself."
A softer giggle followed as she stepped a little closer, the dark crimson black of her robes shifting with the movement.
"Though.... You may address me however you like... though it would be better if you called me—"
"Liliana it is, then," Akasha cut in with a quiet sigh, already sensing the direction of her words and choosing not to let the more intimate title leave her mouth.
He glanced between the two women, his expression calm and composed.
"Well... would you both be interested in becoming members of Dreamer’s Peak?"
Before either could reply, he continued, his voice calm yet firm.
"The rules are simple. All I ask is that you grow stronger and avoid disturbing the peace within the Domain. Beyond that, your freedom is yours to enjoy."
Jovian’s golden eyes narrowed in disbelief as he jabbed a finger toward his own chest.
"And why wasn’t I offered something like that? I’m the one who nearly got hollowed out waiting for you."
Akasha met his gaze with an indifferent shrug, her expression calm and unshaken.
"Well, maybe because you dream about being a free spirit so much.... Why would I offer something like that to you?"
Jovian was about to retort, but after a moment’s thought, he let out a long, frustrated sigh instead.
’Well, he’s not wrong...’ he admitted to himself. ’Who knows what kind of Main Character problems this guy might have down the line?’
Though he hadn’t gotten any confirmation about Akasha’s existence, his mind was already made up.
And if experience had taught him anything, the more important someone was, the more likely trouble would just come crashing into their lives.
At least, that’s what all his reading had led him to believe.
Liliana, meanwhile, took her time answering—not out of hesitation, but because she was openly savoring the simple fact of standing this close to him after so long.
Her crimson eyes moved over his face with quiet, almost greedy attention, the obsessive warmth in her expression never once dimming.
When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and unmistakably pleased.
"I accept," she said without a single second of real consideration. "And Amber accepts as well."
Akasha shook his head slightly at the presumption, then glanced at Amber herself.
The younger woman showed no resistance—only a quiet, almost pleased acceptance in her brown eyes—so he made no further objection.
With a brief mental command, both names settled into the records of Dreamer’s Peak.
[New Members: Liliana Salvatore, Amber Salvatore (Loria)]
----
In the moment the status appeared, the Domain acknowledged them without resistance, and the soft, constant pulse of the mountain seemed to deepen them.
HUMMMM!!!!!
Liliana and Amber sensed the shift instantly, a rush of divinity rising through them in a smooth, unwavering ascent towards fifty thousand points.
The mountain itself seemed to lean toward them, the air warmer, the grass softer underfoot, the quiet authority of the Domain wrapping around their presence like a welcome that had not existed only moments earlier.
Before either woman could voice the questions already forming, Akasha spoke up.
"Alright, this welcome will be quite short," he said, still with plenty of things left to do.
"I’ll be gone for a while—possibly a few years. There are still matters I need to set in motion for Phase Three."
Amber stepped forward, her head tilting with a faint, flirtatious smile. She’d heard him talk about such things before, but never with details beyond the Phase they were in now.
"And what exactly are these Phases of yours? If I’m not mistaken, we’re still in Phase Two—the conquest of Kalpa itself."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"With your disciple Melvin already controlling the Eastern Continent and the Academy advancing through the North, we’ll finish far ahead of the original timeline."
Jovian’s head snapped up at the mention of the North, a sharp curse slipping from his lips.
"Shit... the North is under attack?"
He ran a hand through his white hair, already shifting his stance like he was ready to bolt.
"Dammit, Akasha, I’ll see you the next time I summon you. I need to find my lover and the others."
Akasha raised an arched brow at him.
"Damn, Akasha?" he muttered, wondering what this had to do with him.
But seeing Jovian already taking off into the sky, he called out.
"Dude, at least give me a year before the next summon!"
As Jovian vanished into the distance, Liliana, close enough to have caught every word, rolled his name over in her mind with quiet satisfaction. At the same time, Akasha turned back to the two women and motioned for them to follow.
Luna and Yume fell into step without comment as the group began walking toward the rear of the mountain.
----
"Phase Three is expansion beyond Kalpa," Akasha explained as they moved.
"Establishing bases across the other worlds of the Orin Star System and preparing for the fourth and final phase—complete conquest of the entire system."
With Liliana and Amber both being Members of the Domain, he saw no reason to keep such information from them—and besides, it wasn’t as if they could hide anything from him at this point.
Much like with Melvin, his system tracked their every move, alerting him even to the smallest actions.
Still, he usually only paid attention to the big events.
At this moment, there were roughly eighty years left until the greater deadline, yet he still needed a clearer understanding of the major powers at play.
So far, he was aware of the Celestial Accord and the Accord of Assimilation, but he suspected there was a much larger Academic Pantheon hidden somewhere in the mix.
’It’s pretty neat to have the world’s history,’ he mused, knowing through his deep connection to the world that the envoy from long ago hadn’t belonged to any Pantheon he had yet encountered.
He went on with his explanation, casting a glance at Liliana.
"That’s where you come in, Liliana. I need the Dark Hold expanded, with a branch established on each of the other five worlds."
Liliana let out a soft, pleased laugh. "How ironic. I’d already been planning to do exactly that."
Amber raised an eyebrow. "Is there anything specific you need from me?"
"Nothing in particular," Akasha replied. "But I will give both of you a gift to welcome you."