The Voidmind residence had descended into a sudden chaos.
Dante paused his hurried steps and glanced out the floor-to-ceiling window that gave him a good view of Slymere, which sprawled down the mountain and into the valley below.
A sudden flash dazed him, followed by roaring thunder that shook the entire Voidmind residence.
She must have begun her ascension already. Dante thought as he pulled his cloak tighter around his body to conceal his metal body from the servants who rushed past without even giving him a second look—something that would have enraged him in the past, but now he couldn't be more thankful for being overlooked.
Confused shouts echoed through the hallways as doors slammed open, and the Elders left their void chambers.
Dante kept himself pressed against the window and faced away from his confused family. He almost felt like laughing as he saw hundreds of lightning bolts rain down on the land governed by his family, obliterating buildings and setting the world aflame. This is what you bastards deserve for turning your back on me. Humiliation. Thankfully, he resisted laughing at the destruction of the mortals under his family's protection as a nearby door swung open, and a man he hadn't seen in weeks appeared.
His Father—the man's piercing gaze swept the area as the chilling void wreathed his fingers.
Dante pulled his cloak tight and kept his head low to try and blend in with all the servants rushing around. He had no desire for his Father to take an interest in his silver augments or his explosive growth in cultivation. In fact, running into his Father was the worst possible outcome right now.
"What in the nine realms is going on?" His Father roared at the Elder to his side after making it to the window and observing the same sight that had almost reduced Dante to laughter. "Are we under attack? Did the Skyrends ignore the orders of Grand Elder Valandor and attack us before the three-month grace period has ended?"
"My Lord, we have no idea," The Elder answered respectfully. "We were all in closed-door cultivation until a moment ago and are still assessing the cause, but I do suspect the Skyrends may have taken it a step too far."
His Father gnashed his teeth as another barrage of lightning illuminated the world before smashing down onto Slymere with a god's fury. "These bastards have no fear of the Patriarch if they will attack this blatantly. I will send a message to Grand Elder Valandor and the Nightrose family regarding this incident. Meanwhile, you two need to fuel the defensive arrays."
"But my Lord, the Qi cost to defend the entire city from this much lightning will be astronomical!" One of the Elder's protested. "We should concentrate on defending our residence and the precious void-gathering arrays. Everything else should be ignored. The city and mortals are replaceable."
"Are you a fool? When did I ever say anything about protecting the mortals?" His Father shouted, "Let them perish. With the Beast Tide coming and the Patriarch announcing there will only be one trip to the new sect lands, I do not care for them. A light culling is fine."
Both elders bowed, "As you command, Grand Elder." They both vanished with Void Step, leaving Dante alone in the hallway with his Father as the servants had also made themselves scarce. He had debated vanishing along with them, but there was no way his Father wouldn't notice him trying to run.
There was a tense silence before his Father began to walk over slowly.
His expression was fierce and made all the more menacing by the thunderclaps accompanying his steps and the flashes of lightning illuminating one side of his face.
"Dante, it's been over a month since Grand Elder Valandor visited, yet you waste your limited days in the training hall and bedroom," His Father's voice was colder than the void, and Dante subconsciously shivered. "Are you hoping to fight your way out of this? Look out the window. Do you see the destruction the Skyrends can wield? How do you plan to fight against the wrath of the heavens?"
"Why are you so sure it's the Skyrends?" Dante said without thinking, but before he could retract his statement, he found himself choking in his Father's grasp around his neck. As he was lifted from the ground and felt his legs uselessly swinging, he was reminded of his Father's monstrous strength.
"Dante, stop deluding yourself. There are only two reasons there would be a storm of this magnitude concentrated over our city. Either someone is ascending, or we are facing the wrath of the Skyrend family." The grip tightened and threatened to snap his neck. "You and I both know my brother never discovered a way to ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm nor is anyone from the younger generation projected to reach the Star Core Realm within the next few years. I know you went on a power trip and killed the Skyrend scions. Stop trying to deny it."
"The void beast..." Dante gasped out. "It was the void beast or uncle. Not me. I could never..."
"Where the fuck is this void beast, Dante?! Have you even attempted to search for it?" Dante found himself viciously tossed to the ground with his Father towering over him and dusting off his hand as if he had touched something dirty—his own son's neck. "The truth of the matter is, your death was sealed the day Grand Elder Valandor arrived with the war declaration."
"Father, do you really think I would do something so foolish," Dante said as he still felt the chilling grip of his Father around his neck.
"It does not matter what I believe. You have been accused of killing two scions, which alone isn't enough to start a war, but then Thunderhold Peak was attacked by that void monster. Our affinity is rare, Dante, and two such significant events happening back to back with the involvement of our affinity is too suspicious."
His Father turned his back and began to walk away, "Innocent or guilty, it matters not. The Skyrend family has been at our necks for decades and is only kept in check by the Patriarch's rules. These rules have protected our family from annihilation until now." The man paused his steps and glanced over his shoulder, "If it's between abiding by the rules to avoid a war or breaking them to save your life. I hope you forgive me for the option I must choose for the family's greater good."
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Dante staggered to his feet, "Forgive you? You tell me it's hopeless—that my fate is already sealed. But then treat me like a fool for training hard day in and out in the hope of a better tomorrow. What would you do in my situation, Father? Layover like a wounded dog for those heaven-worshiping freaks to smite me? Or train like crazy in hopes of a longer life? I am starting to think you want me dead."
His Father's eye twitched before turning away, "Instead of wasting your time on a futile effort, why don't you go and use that Qi we wasted so many resources on and power one of the void arrays? It's the least you could do for us."
Dante held back his rage, "It would be my honor to serve this family until my final day."
"Good, I knew I raised an obedient son." Was all his Father said before he vanished elsewhere with Void Step.
If you know I am obedient, why do you believe I went against orders and killed the scions? Dante thought as he straightened his back, and with a stoic expression, he moved through the hallways toward one of the defensive arrays that were furthest from the others. It was rather pointless as it protected a training courtyard, which was seldom used.
On the way, he made a stop at a spirit stone storage room.
"Dante Voidmind?" The Elder guarding the room raised a brow as he strode through the doorway. "What are you doing here?"
"Father instructed me to be helpful to the family by powering a defensive array, but I have been barred entry to void chambers recently and, therefore, lack the Qi on hand to power an array single-handedly."
"Is that so." The Elder smirked as he shifted from behind a table and walked toward him. "Mind if I check?"
"Go ahead," Dante presented his silver arm. He had nothing to fear from a check because he hadn't technically lied. He was out of Qi, but it wasn't due to lack of cultivating but rather because he used up all the Qi he had to assist Nox with purging that strange curse from her Nascent Soul.
The Elder placed two fingers on his wrist and closed his eyes. Dante felt a chill run through his arm and wrap around his Star Core as the Elder's void invaded his body.
"Mhm, you tell no lies." The Elder muttered as he withdrew his withered hand and walked into the back of the room where the spatial rings filled with spirit stones were located.
Dante waited patiently.
"Such a shame a promising youth like you has to be sacrificed for petty politics." The Elder grumbled as he returned with a gold ring, "5th stage in the Star Core Realm would have put you on track to surpassing your Father one day."
"Maybe that is why he is more than happy to see me go," Dante gave the Elder, whom he hardly saw outside this room, a strained smile. He had found his Father's dismissal of him colder than expected, and he suspected his talents and thirst for power played a part in his downfall. His refusal to back down and constant offering to expand the family's power, a popular policy with the other elders, likely threatened his Father.
A talented heir wouldn't be a problem in another noble family since the Grand Elder would be centuries of cultivation ahead. However, in our family, where nobody can ascend to the Nascent Soul Realm, it would only be a matter of time until I was also at the peak of the Star Core Realm alongside my Father. He must fear me.
"Why do you think I stay in here and keep my mouth shut," The Elder laughed as he pushed the ring into Dante's hand and returned to his seat behind the table in this small room. A sad and quiet existence. "Go defend the residence, or don't. Either way, I won't mention your visit here."
"Thank you, Elder." Dante respected few people, but this Elder, Jasper's father, had always been one of his favorites due to his integrity. Leaving the room, Dante walked toward the defensive array again with the spatial ring filled with spirit stones, but before he reached the hallway's end, he dipped into a side passage and descended a staircase to the lower level.
Keeping his cloak's hood over his face as he passed by many servants through these narrow corridors, he soon came upon a room in a quieter part of the lower levels.
"Jasper," Dante whispered to the man standing outside.
"Oh, Dante, did you find some?" Jasper said.
Dante was about to reply but had to stabilize himself on the nearby wall and wait a second as the entire residence shook due to the constant lightning blasting the mountain. "Yes, I did, here." Dante showed the golden ring.
Jasper nodded and began creating a void bubble surrounding them and the doorway. This was an older Void Chamber, which was left unused as it lay in the residence's newly expanded servants' wing—making it the perfect place for Nox to undergo her ascension to Nascent Soul Realm.
Dante gripped the golden ring and got ready to mentally remove all the spirit stones from it. He would need to chuck them into the chamber as fast as possible to avoid being consumed by Nox's darkness.
Nox had requested this before she began the ascension. Dante had been wandering around looking for a way to get spirit stones without arousing suspicion when his Father had given him the perfect excuse.
However, I am doubtful that this botched ascension will work. How can this many spirit stones be enough to compensate for hiding from the heavens? My family has done centuries of research on ascending to the Nascent Soul, and one of the reasons we thought the void stifled our progress is that the heavens wouldn't strike us with lightning but rather become enraged and rain hell on the whole area.
Usually, to ascend to Nascent Soul, a cultivator would pump their Star Core to its limit, causing it to go supernova. If they manage to control the supernova and survive, their soul will split in two, giving them an infant soul they can use to escape the clutches of time. This, of course, comes alongside the other benefits of having two Star Cores, such as doubling Qi regeneration and offering two Qi pools to pull from and twice the gravity to flatten those around them.
So, hiding away in a void chamber like this deprives Nox of heaven's Qi, which is usually needed to force the Star Core to critical mass and go supernova. And that's besides the fact she is still cursed and doing this all in an environment without much darkness Qi. Is she insane?
Despite Dante's strong thoughts on the matter, Nox had undoubtedly started the process. There was no backing out now. He could only sneak as many spirit stones as possible over the next week while this storm raged.
"Opening the door now, get ready. Nox might still be in the supernova phase." Jasper said as the void bubble to avoid heaven being able to lock onto this location was set. They were now cut off from reality and in a self-contained pocket of void.
The door swung open, and Dante had to wreath himself in a veil of the void to avoid being annihilated by the pressure that hit him. Within the center of the room, Nox was being orbited by two blazing stars of shadow that seemed hellbent on trying to crush her, and she was desperately keeping them apart.
Somehow, she had already made it past the supernova phase.
Nox let out a hellish howl as she lost control briefly and was crushed between the two stars as they slammed into each other, sending out a wave of black flames that tore into the Void Chamber.
"Spirit stones, now!" Nox shouted from between the stars, and Dante no longer hesitated and threw them in. Nox grasped at the hundreds of spirit stones and clutched them in her hands. Within seconds, they dulled as Nox pulled the Qi stored within them into her body and barely managed to free herself by pushing the two stars apart again.
If Dante looked really closely, he noticed the smaller of the two shadow stars had black vines poking out of its surface. Which meant it was likely the cursed infant soul.
Nox fed the smaller star some Qi, making it grow.
"I need more spirit stones," Nox shouted gruffly, and Dante happily slammed the door shut before he wasted any more of his precious void Qi avoiding being burned to death by waves of shadow flames. Now, where could he find more spirit stones...
