Chapter 174: The Goddess of Eternal Grimoires (2)
After those words, Liliana wasted no more time as the trial dissolved around her.
The bloody ocean, the haunting siren melodies, and the burning star all unraveled into soft streams of crimson light that pulled inward and vanished.
When the last thread of the realm faded, she found herself standing once more inside her private chamber deep within the Dark Hold.
The familiar walls of dark stone and living blood-veins greeted her without fanfare, the air thick with the quiet scent of old power and the faint metallic tang that had always marked this place as hers.
"Oh... how convenient." She muttered as a slow, genuine delight spread across her features as she realized the trial had brought her directly here.
She had already prepared herself for a few weeks’ journey, but now... there was no need.
She crossed the chamber with unhurried steps and settled into the high-backed chair at her table.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
For a long while she sat there, one pale finger tapping a slow, thoughtful rhythm against the polished surface.
The soft, repetitive sound filled the quiet room while her mind turned over the path ahead.
"Now... how should I go about this?" she murmured to herself, realizing that expanding beyond Kalpa was never something she had seriously considered before.
That was, of course, until recently—her father’s return to the world of Loreua had shifted everything.
Now, as a member of Dreamer’s Peak, the idea had taken on a new weight, sharper and more pressing than she ever imagined.
She knew well that other worlds waited.... realms that could be brought under the shadow of the Dark Hold, resources that could feed the growth of her forces, and opportunities that would allow her to stand even closer to the man who already occupied the center of her love.
Her finger continued its slow rhythm against the polished table while her thoughts turned inward toward the new power that now lived in her Star.
"So... God-Ranked stars...exist." She leaned back slightly; crimson eyes fixed on the empty air as if the star itself might answer.
"I should have known that higher paths were possible, but standing on one is something else entirely.
Written rules, eternal contracts, bindings that cannot be broken... this star was made for me. It should make everything far easier than it has any right to be."
She’d never been considered weak before, but in this moment... fully aware of the newfound innate powers surging within her and remembering how she had created the Dark Hold from the ground up...
She knew this mission would be effortless.
A small, almost secretive smile tugged at her lips as the full weight of her advantage sank in.
With quiet confidence, she lifted her gaze once again.
"Show me the cost," she murmured, voice low and precise, "for complete knowledge of the Orin Star System."
A status screen bloomed into existence before her, the text sharp and clear against the dim light of the chamber.
[God Ranked Knowledge — Orin Star System]
[Cost: 250,000 DP]
Liliana’s crimson eyes narrowed slightly. She arched one elegant brow, then flicked her fingers in a small, practiced motion that called her own status into view beside the first.
----
[Liliana Salvatore
Age: 239 Years Old
Rank: Cosmic Union (Tier 21) (Total BP +16)
Race: Vampire/Siren (Bloodline: Death Siren (Divine), Kinfeaster Vampire (Divine)
Affinity: Blood, Charm, Melodies, Plasma, Ink, Illusions, Death, Devouring
Divinity: 325,200
Star: Goddess Star of Eternal Grimoires (God)
Queenship Authority: The Eternal Grimoire
Empress Authority: The Expanse of Eternal Grimoires
Decrees: Decree of the Grimoire (Celestial (3/3)), Decree of Eternal Contracts (Stellar (2/3))
Innate Powers: Eternal Grimoire (God), Eternal Manuscript (God), Goddess’ Edit (God), Grimoire of Judgment (God), Ink of Binding (Above Origin)]
---
She stared at the new bloodlines for a long while, one finger idly resting on the edge of the table.
"I still don’t know how to feel about these," she murmured under her breath.
"This Kinfeaster Vampire... it grants me the ability to gain Battle Power for every... thousand of my own kind I kill or consume."
On the surface, it didn’t seem like such a bad thing, but going around slaughtering vampires for strength...
Wouldn’t that paint a huge target on her back?
"And Death Siren... everything about it whispers of death through melodies."
The traits were undeniably powerful, but there was a shadow in them, heavy with consequences.
Still, the unease was tempered by gratitude.
Akasha had bestowed these bloodlines upon her, and that alone made them hers to accept.
In the next moment, her gaze drifted to the Divinity count, and she realized it had climbed far higher than she’d expected.
"That’s about two hundred and fifty thousand more..." she murmured under her breath. "So, the trial lasted five whole days, huh?"
She shook her head slightly, still finding it absurd that she’d earned fifty thousand Divinity in a single day.
The thought was almost laughable. Still, she now had more than enough. Without a second thought, she went ahead and confirmed the purchase.
HUMMMM!!!
In that moment, the status screen was gone, replaced by a massive projection hovering above the table.
Before her, an entire star system came to life in vivid, luminous detail, each celestial body shimmering as if suspended in a dream.
Six planets hung perfectly aligned, their colors and textures distinct yet harmoniously arranged.
Liliana leaned in closer, her gaze drifting unhurriedly from one world to the next, taking in every subtle hue and shadow as if trying to memorize the scene.
"So, Loreua... just as Father told me," She muttered, seeing it was the oldest and very first world.
Her voice was low, almost casual, as the truth settled in her mind.
"And... the Loria Empire?"
She raised a brow, recalling how she had once brushed off the fact that Amber was a Loria, but now... it felt like there was more to it.
Apparently, the world of Loreua hadn’t been conquered by an invading Pantheon at all. Instead, it served as the meeting ground for the invading clans—an arrangement orchestrated by the Loria Empire.
"No... why would she be from an Empire when the Loria Kingdom was here?" she questioned, quickly pushing the thought aside again.
She had never looked too deeply into it, mostly because her own origins were already hard enough to trace.
Besides, the Loria Kingdom had always been on Kalpa until recently, and no one had ever come looking for her, which led her to believe Amber wasn’t from an important branch of the Kingdom.
In the end, though, none of it mattered... Amber was her daughter now, and nothing could ever change that.
Her eyes drifted to the next world.
"Vexon..." she murmured, recognizing it as one of the three other worlds taken by an invading Pantheon.
In truth, this world, along with Oryssal, was in much the same—if not the same—state as Noxara.
Two Pantheons had overrun both from the Accord of Assimilation, their presence slowly draining the life from the inhabitants and the worlds themselves.
The difference was stark, however—unlike Noxara, these worlds were already teetering on the brink, nearly lifeless with nothing left worth saving.
"This makes things... a bit troubling," Liliana muttered, her voice low. "They’ve got maybe a decade left before they’re completely gone."
She hesitated, debating whether or not to pass this grim truth on to Akasha, but quickly dismissed the thought.
"I’m sure he knows better than I do," she said softly, turning her gaze toward the fourth and final world.