Adrian floated in the silent expanse of the Virelith galaxy void, practicing his willforce techniques again and again. He was just about to shift back into his Source Form for another cycle when a sudden, ethereal vibration rippled through the vacuum.
CHIME!
Adrian's focus snapped as he was caught off guard. He knew that sound. It was the cosmic resonance signaling that a cultivator had successfully stepped upon the first stage of consciousness mastery: the Chime of Consciousness.
His thoughts immediately turned to Hestia.
"Did she already reach the Chime of Consciousness?" Adrian thought, a sudden surge of anticipation rushing through him.
Given her million years of accumulated experience and her recent astral stage ascension, it made perfect sense. At that moment, his focus narrowed entirely on Hestia, completely forgetting about Mariska, resting back in the relic planet.
Eager to check on her, Adrian immediately raised his hand, and the fabric of the void tore open. A portal, threaded with violet light, materialized before him. Adrian stepped through, crossing the vast distance in an instant, and emerged into the inner-zone base of the Azure Garden.
The dense, life-rich ambient mana of the garden washed over him. Bypassing the bustling administrative sectors, Adrian tracked Hestia's distinct presence straight to the guest buildings nestled near the flowing streams.
He pushed open the doors of the suite, stepping quickly into the room, expecting to find Hestia in the midst of a meditative breakthrough.
Instead, the scene before him made him pause.
The atmosphere in the room was relaxed. Hestia was sitting casually on a plush sofa, the rich, fragrant steam of mana-infused tea curling upward from the delicate cup in her hands. Sitting directly across from her was Mariska.
The very moment Adrian's foot crossed the threshold, the tranquility in the room shattered. Mariska instantly went on high alert. The wings resting behind her flared. She did not recognize the man who had just barged into the suite. To her, 'Aeon' had a different facial structure and a distinctly modified mana signature.
Her hand hovered instinctively near her side, ready to summon a weapon to defend the woman who had just treated her with such overwhelming kindness.
"Calm down, Mariska," Hestia spoke, her voice smooth and unhurried as she gently set her teacup down on the low table.
Hestia gestured toward Adrian, a wry, knowing smile curving her lips. "Please, ease your guard. This is Adrian. My partner. The man you know as Aeon."
As Mariska heard the explanation, her aggressive posture faltered. The realization hit her almost instantly. In the ruthless expanse of the universe, particularly when travelling, changing one's appearance and masking one's mana signature was very normal. The Elyrians had been altering their physical form for a long time, and she immediately understood what was going on.
Adrian halted his steps, the residual urgency fading from his posture. He ran a hand through his hair, a faint smile touching his face as he realized his mistake.
"I heard the chime," Adrian said, looking directly at Hestia. "I assumed you were the one who had ascended to the first stage."
Hestia scoffed softly, crossing her arms beneath her chest, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "How could I ascend that fast? It will happen in the future, undoubtedly, but today, the glory belongs to Mariska."
Hearing her name, Mariska stood up from the sofa. She stepped out from behind the low table and, without a shred of hesitation, bowed deeply toward Adrian.
"Senior," Mariska said, her voice trembling slightly, "Hestia has already told me everything. I now know that you both are the leaders of the Crimson Vital Sect, and I am deeply indebted to you and your people."
She slowly looked up, "Only because of this incredible time formation, because it gave me the critical time I needed to calm the anxieties tearing at my mind, could I finally process my grief and stabilize my consciousness into the first stage. If I had remained in the Providence Hub, the paranoia would have fractured my mind before I ever heard the Chime. I owe my ascension, and my life, entirely to you."
Adrian shook his head, his eyes softening with genuine respect. "You earned that ascension through your own resolve, Mariska. I merely provided the environment. Do not diminish your own achievement."
Mariska took a deep breath. During her long conversation with Hestia, she had learned the truth of the Crimson Vital Sect.
With that, she realized that the beings standing before her were not just powerful; they were righteous in a universe that actively punished righteousness.
Suddenly, Mariska dropped to one knee, bowing her head so deeply her silver hair brushed the floor.
"Senior," Mariska pleaded, "You have seen the cruelty of the Yiphraen. You have seen how they bleed us to fuel their wealth. I formally ask for your alliance. Please... help me strike back against the Ethereal Providence Sect. Help me save my kin."
The room grew heavy with the weight of her plea.
Adrian looked down at the kneeling princess. "Rise, Mariska," Adrian commanded gently. "You do not need to bend your knee to buy my blade. Even if you had chosen not to trust me, I had already decided that the Ethereal Providence Sect's butchery would not be allowed to continue. A system that harvests sentient life offends my bottom line. Their reign over your people is already over."
Mariska slowly rose to her feet.
Adrian continued, "Since you trust us now, this only makes things much easier. Once a few days pass on external time, allowing the immediate heat of your escape to die down, we will return to the Providence Hub. We will bypass their outer security, reach your hidden micro-dimension, and move your entire sanctuary here to the Virelith Galaxy."
He looked at her, outlining the cleanest path to safety. "Once your people are secured here, shielded by us, you will be completely safe. Then, and only then, we can deal with Navira and her sect without having to worry about collateral damage or hostages."
But instead of the relief Adrian expected to see, Mariska slowly shook her head. A bitter, helpless smile touched her lips.
"It is not that simple, Senior," she explained quietly, her voice barely a whisper. "I trust you completely now, so I will reveal the truth. The reason the Ethereal Providence Sect has never been able to locate our sanctuary, despite us hiding directly within the Continents of their own hub, is because of an ancient Elyrian artifact."
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly in interest. "An artifact?"
"Yes. It was forged by our earliest ancestors," Mariska revealed, her gaze dropping to her hands. "It is embedded with the Prime Arcane Concept of Severance. It actively disconnects our micro-dimension from the universe's natural space and the location that binds us to reality. It is the only thing shielding us."
"If we attempt to move the dimension, or if we disable the artifact to establish a portal large enough for a mass exodus, the sudden exposure will be instantly noticed by the Astral Stage beings in the hub. The friction of re-entering standard space would be blinding to them. Navira would know our location in a heartbeat."
"Furthermore... my brother, the Crown Prince, is currently imprisoned by them. If we are located, the enemy will undoubtedly use him as leverage to force our surrender. We cannot just leave."
Silence settled over the hall as the reality of the situation locked into place.
Hearing about the Prime Arcane Concept of Severance, a sudden realization clicked within Adrian's mind.
Previously, he had wondered how a fractured civilization could successfully hide an entire micro-dimension directly under the nose of a Major Sect. Adrian had internally questioned why Navira, or any other Astral Stage being in the hub, couldn't just issue a direct command to reality. Why not simply command the universe to 'Reveal the Elyrians' hiding spot' or 'Teleport me to their sanctuary'?
Yes, a direct command extracted a heavy toll of mana and willforce. But weren't the Elyrians significantly weaker than the Ethereal Providence Sect? Since the target of the command was comparatively weak, shouldn't the cost of the direct command be manageable for an Anchor-stage sovereign like Navira?
This question had been bugging him since he first learned of their situation, but Adrian hadn't asked Mariska, knowing the boundaries he could not cross.
Now, he finally understood.
Adrian recalled his conversation with the Void Emperor.
"When they issued such a command, reality had to involve all concepts of the universe, including the Prime Arcane Concepts," the Void Emperor had warned. "Do you think those Prime Arcane Concepts would simply bow to them? No. They stand against even me... They do not submit to anyone, and when cultivators trespass into their domain without the right to command them, those concepts become executioners."
"Based on what the Void Emperor said, Prime Arcane Concepts do not bow to anyone," Adrian thought, the missing pieces of logic snapping together. "They actively resist and punish unauthorized direct commands. Reality couldn't obey Navira's command to find the sanctuary because the Prime Arcane Concept of Severance was actively rejecting her authority!"
Only now did Adrian truly understand the words of the void emperor and the power of Prime Arcane Concepts in the hands of ordinary cultivators. Up until now, his perspective had been skewed. These concepts easily obeyed him; even the Prime Arcane Concept of Causality had surrendered its knowledge to him, and the concept of Chaos that Aerin awakened obeyed him. Because the Source commanded the absolute reverence of reality, Adrian had subconsciously assumed that manipulating these concepts was merely a matter of paying the right price in mana and willforce.
Now, as he learned more, he could clearly see what kinds of devastating walls these concepts created for everyone else in the universe.
"I understand," Adrian said, a faint smile forming on his lips. "Moving the sanctuary quietly is off the table for now. We will have to do this the hard way."
He felt his blood thrum with rising excitement. His interest in this journey was growing with every step. Each time he believed he had begun to understand the path Fate and Causality had revealed, something unexpected emerged and unfolded another layer of the universe before him.
Now, his curiosity was more intense than ever. What exactly waited within the golden spire that the Concepts of Fate and Causality had pulled him toward so aggressively? If merely approaching its outer edges had introduced him to these many things, what would he discover at the final destination?
More importantly, how could whatever lay within the central spire of the Ethereal Providence Sect help him forge the ultimate divine concept he intended to create for the Origin Sect?