The royal courtroom of the former great empire was a cathedral of grandeur — a place where power itself seemed to take form. Gleaming marble floors stretched endlessly, polished to mirror the opulence above.
Towering pillars of black obsidian rose toward a vaulted ceiling etched with golden constellations that shimmered faintly under the glow of hovering crystal orbs.
At the far end stood the grand throne, carved from a single piece of celestial jade, its surface veined with faint rivers of light. The throne sat atop a dais of seven ascending steps.
Seated upon it was a young girl of breathtaking beauty, her vagrant, night-dark eyes glimmering with a playful light.
When the woman interrupted the entertaining drama before her, the girl pouted adorably, her expression both charming and mischievous.
"Do you remember the beggar who barred your way into the royal palace?" The playful smirk danced on her lips as she gazed down at the kneeling figures before her — figures who, under normal circumstances, she would have had to regard with reverence.
Confusion flickered across the faces of the delegates.
Of course, they remembered that annoying pest who had suddenly appeared before their procession and caused a scene.
They had thought their guards could deal with such a minor disturbance, but who would have guessed the beggar would be so slippery?
Left with no choice, the delegates had descended from their extravagant carriages, hurling insults at their incompetent guards before finally getting rid of the beggar — not without teaching him a lesson first.
So why was this being brought up again? Had their actions somehow displeased the Royal Eminence?!
The thought drained the color from their faces. But before their fear could fester, the woman spoke again.
"That is the person you've been so eager to meet."
A suffocating silence filled the hall. The fear that had clouded the delegates' faces melted away, replaced by blank disbelief.
The playful princess stifled a laugh on her throne. The woman beside her struggled to do the same as she looked over the comical scene before them.
The foremost delegate looked as if he'd swallowed a fly, his expression twisting beyond recognition.
The woman decided to clarify, enunciating each word with deliberate care. "The legendary Royal Eminence… was the beggar you beat and spat on earlier today."
As the meaning of her words sank in, the sound of bodies hitting the floor echoed across the hall. The delegates' eyes rolled back into their heads, their faces still frozen in horror.
"Hahahahahaha!" The young princess finally burst into laughter, unable to hold back any longer, the middle-aged woman soon joining in.
The only conscious figure left in the room rubbed his face tiredly.
"Don't tell me the father-and-daughter duo is starting to rub off on you too."
---
Some time later, Princess Ari left the mess behind, skipping playfully down the corridor.
Her hair was a cascade of midnight — thick, lustrous, and soft, absorbing every stray glimmer of light. It framed a face of flawless symmetry, her high cheekbones and delicate jawline accentuating her cherry lips, which seemed to invite one into an enchanting abyss.
As she moved through the grand passageways of the palace — its walls and columns built from materials worth kingdoms — Ari hummed a soft, beautiful tune, her voice mesmerizing to hear.
Eventually, she passed through the palace gates, her eyes bright with anticipation at the thought of seeing her mischievous father.
But what she saw instead froze her in place.
The air was filled with the sounds of pained grunts as six figures lay sprawled across the dirtied courtyard.
Ari recognized the distinctive features of the Simian Beasts — the emissaries of the middle world who governed their starfield. It wasn't the first time she'd seen them, though she'd rarely left this lower world since childhood.
These beasts had been searching for her father for reasons she did not know. But her father was not one who could simply be found just because someone wished it — even knowing he resided somewhere within this world.
That was simply who her father was.
Free.
Unfettered.
Unfearing.
And impossibly powerful.
She suspected that the Simian Beasts had been able to track his whereabouts only because of the incident with the last empire a few years ago. After all, no ordinary mage could have accomplished such a feat.
Still, she knew her father never allowed himself to be seen. Even though he often lingered near the palace gates, any attempt by the Simian Beasts to enter would be met with a wisp of killing intent that sent them fleeing.
But from what she was seeing now, it seemed the balance had shifted.
A rare seriousness crossed her face as she roused her elven bloodline, using it as a bridge to sense her father's presence.
Not even a heartbeat later, Ari's night-dark eyes lifted toward the heavens.
Without hesitation, she soared into the sky.
Despite what had unfolded earlier in the royal courtroom, the truth remained — Ari fully deserved the praise lavished upon her.
In fact, it could be said she was still being underestimated.
Her elven bloodline granted her unmatched beauty among humans, as well as talent rivaling the most gifted of elves.
And within her still slumbered a werewolf bloodline.
Either of these lineages alone would mark her as a peak God-tier talent. Together, they made her potential unimaginable — even to her father, a figure respected among the werewolves.
Barely in her late teens, Ari had already reached the peak of the Red Core stage — an accomplishment she'd achieved two years earlier, at fifteen. But with mana so scarce in this world, her cultivation had stalled. She used the time wisely, though, to consolidate her strength and solidify her foundation.
After all, without a proper foundation, no cultivator could hope to break through to the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth levels of the higher realms — a mark that separated supreme-tier geniuses from the rest.
A dark blur streaked through the twilight sky, and moments later, Ari hovered above the clouds.
"Father!"
Her voice cracked as she darted toward the figure ahead.
His back was straight, a drinking gourd resting lazily at his side. His long monochrome hair danced wildly in the wind, but the carefree aura that usually surrounded him was gone. Instead, a heavy gloom clung to him. His shoulders trembled slightly as tears traced down his devilishly handsome face.
"Father…" Ari whispered, her voice trembling as she reached out, her eyes misty. She had never seen him like this before.
Kael pulled her into a tight embrace, his strong arms wrapping protectively around her slender waist, his tears soaking her dress.
Moments later, a piercing cry tore through the heavens.
The rays of the setting sun vanished behind gathering clouds, and rain began to fall upon the land of Mother Ginea — a sorrowful cry drowned within the storm.
Ari's grandmother was dead.