Part 1: The Consecration beneath the Void Crown
The crimson moon had barely vanished when the Celestial Jade City fell into reverent silence. The coliseum lay in ruins, the blood of saints and monsters still steaming upon the arena. At the center, the Morningstar clan—intact and resplendent—formed a circle around Samael. Floating above his head, the Crown of the First Sovereign of the Void radiated both power and fear.
Samael raised the crown before his clan and the world:
"From this day onward, the name Morningstar shall no longer be legend or threat. It shall be law. The old world trembled; the new world will be ours."
The roar of his followers erupted like a volcano's awakening. Lesser Patriarchs knelt. Neutral clans sent messengers of fealty. The elders wept; the youth chanted the promise of an imperial future.
At that instant, the System vibrated with a notification only Samael could perceive:
[Imperial Mission Unlocked: —Main Objective: Conquer and subjugate the Valois family and the Purple Light Sect. —Reward: Title of Supreme Dynasty, Absolute Divine Favor, access to the world's roots. —Permanent Bonus: Aura of Imperial Dominion. —Risk: all ancient powers now conspire against the new dynasty.]
Part 2: The War Oath Ritual
In the Skull Rock fortress, crimson banners flew high. In the throne room, Samael and Lilith presided over the War Ritual. The pillars formed a circle, holding swords, spears, and seals to their hearts.
"Today we forget fear and remember blood," proclaimed Lilith, her voice blazing with the rebirth of the Ashen Phoenix.
Kael and Eris, appointed as vanguard generals, swore to carry the banner to the front lines. Cedric and Xylia assumed control of defenses and espionage. Elowen blessed the supplies with alchemy and advancement pills; Violeta sealed the rite with an oath of intelligence and sabotage.
All disciples—from the newest to the eldest—took part in the blood ceremony, carving the Morningstar mark into their skin or spirit.
[System: —Oath effect: Unbreakable morale and loyalty. —Cultivation advancement bonus: all main members may advance half a stage during the siege. —Activation of the Symphony of Destinies: the pillars may share fragments of power and techniques in combat.]
Part 3: The Call of Alliance and Diplomacy of Fire
News spread like wildfire: Morningstar was accepting vassals. Lesser clans arrived with caravans of offerings, spirit stones, and pledges. Neutral temples sent ancient weapons in exchange for protection. Even small, once-forgotten kingdoms offered up cities and trade routes.
Samael, radiating his Sovereign's aura, chose the worthy and spurned the opportunists. "There shall be no traitors, no cowards, no impure blood in my Empire," he declared before the assembled leaders.
Among the envoys appeared a delegation from the Black Mist Sect and the Eternal Lion Clan. After tense exchanges and displays of power, non-aggression pacts were sealed, making clear the continent's fate hung on every alliance.
[System: —Alliances sealed: +15% increase in resources, troop reinforcements, and access to secret techniques and maps. —Fortune bonus: hidden routes to the Valois fortress and the Sect unlocked.]
Part 4: War Preparations — Forging the Dragon
In the days before the assault, the Morningstar base became a war workshop.
Cedric and Xylia erected unprecedented defensive formations and siege arrays, able to repel saint puppets and lesser saints.
Elowen, with a battalion of alchemists, produced combat pills, life bombs, and selective poisons.
Kael and Eris trained the new generation, forging swords, spears, and shields bathed in dragon's blood and lightning.
Lilith, her power restored, imbued the soldiers with a temporary resurrection blessing: as long as the phoenix burns, the first lethal blow will not kill the bearer.
The system allowed all the pillars to synchronize their talents, sharing fragments of techniques and knowledge in dreams and group training. The imperial nexus was now an unbreakable network.
In the intimacy of night, Samael and Seraphina shared a moment of love and strategy beneath the starry sky, vowing that neither gods nor monsters would break their alliance.
Part 5: The First Assault — The Roar Over Valois
The Morningstar army marched like a tide of lightning and blood. The Herald of the Void soared above; crimson and black banners fluttered at dawn's light. Before the Valois fortress, enemy troops—reinforced by saint puppets and minor saints—prepared a desperate defense.
Samael, Kael, and Eris led the charge.
Kael, his swordseed resonating, cut through the front lines, splitting iron formations as if they were paper.
Eris and Xylia, in perfect harmony, summoned storms of destruction and lightning that disintegrated walls.
Cedric, from the rear, absorbed and redirected enemy arrays, disabling hidden traps and deadly seals.
Lilith, wielding her ash and life flames, resurrected the fallen and burned traitors, inspiring both fear and fervor.
Violeta, mastering space, moved entire squads behind enemy lines, sabotaging supplies, freeing prisoners, and sowing chaos.
Elowen healed wounds and transmuted poison into weapons, creating zones where only Morningstar allies could breathe.
The system vibrated:
[Imperial Mission: First Valois Fortress— —Progress: 85%. —Bonus: collective advancement, chance to steal enemy inheritances and artifacts. —Divine Favor available: choose to claim a miracle in battle, awaken a bloodline, or seal the fortress's will.]
Part 6: Betrayals, Miracles, and the Fall of the Old Kings
Amidst battle, a squad from the Purple Light Sect attempted to attack Morningstar's rear. "Now, while they fight at the front!" shouted the Valois Patriarch.
But the soul nexus allowed Cedric and Xylia, sensing danger through the mark, to raise a barrier of lightning and swords. Kael and Eris, trained to act as one, counterattacked and crushed the assault.
Samael, seizing the opportunity, invoked Divine Favor: "Grant us the 'Gate of Judgment': for one minute, all Morningstar attacks ignore the defenses of puppets, saints, and forbidden artifacts."
The army roared, and under the Gate of Judgment, Valois defenses collapsed:
Kael and Samael beheaded the rival general.
Eris and Lilith annihilated the puppet control circle.
Cedric absorbed the fortress's central array, unleashing it as a bolt that split the Valois palace.
Violeta teleported allies into the enemy's heart in a single blink.
Elowen, from above, dissolved curses and healed their own.
The Valois fortress fell. Survivors knelt before Samael, swearing fealty or begging for mercy. The Valois Patriarch fled, cursing the Morningstar name to the heavens.
Part 7: The Sect Siege — Birth of a Dynasty
Without giving the enemy time to recover, the Morningstar clan and its allies marched on the Purple Light Sect. The citadel was a floating fortress, defended by saints, puppets, and imperial formations.
Samael used the Patriarch's Eye to find weak points:
Cedric and Xylia infiltrated arrays, disabling barriers.
Kael and Eris led a lightning strike at the perfect moment.
Lilith, reborn, unleashed judgment fire, incinerating forbidden seals and puppets.
The final confrontation was a storm of blood, void, and lightning.
The Sect's Saint faced Samael in a duel that shook the continent. Samael, using the nexus and power fragments from all, devoured part of the enemy's law and sealed their will.
The Sect fell. The lesser clans surrendered. The continent witnessed the birth of the Morningstar Dynasty.
[System: —Mission complete. —Empire founded: access to the secrets of the world's roots. —Reward: Awakening of primordial bloodline, titles and inheritances for allies, and the oppression cycle broken for future generations.]
Epilogue: The Roar of the New World
In the new capital, Samael—wearing the void crown and stained with the blood of all who had fallen—proclaimed:
"Today, the era of the old saints ends. Today, the empire of blood, void, and will begins. May the gods fear us!"
The roar of the people and the allied clans echoed to every corner of the continent. Alaric Valois, from the shadows, swore vengeance. The old Patriarchs, trembling, acknowledged the change of era.
And in the stars, for the first time in centuries, the dragon and phoenix danced together beneath the crimson moon.
END OF CHAPTER 35