Part 1: City of Red Dreams
The newly proclaimed Imperial Capital Morningstar was no longer Skull Rock, but a citadel of blood and void erected upon the ruins of the defeated clans. The ancient Valois walls burned with protective runes, and the Dragon Tower rose as a beacon for allies and enemies alike.
Imperial banners fluttered in the markets. Rural clans, minor sects, and old families from the north and south arrived to swear loyalty or seek an audience. In the temples, monks chanted litanies under the crimson moonlight. The atmosphere was thick with possibilities and omens: something more than a new regime had been born.
On the obsidian throne, Samael, invested as First Emperor of the Void, presided over the Supreme Council: Kael and Eris as Dragon Generals, Cedric and Xylia in charge of defense and espionage, Elowen leading alchemy and healing, Violeta heading intelligence and expansion. Lilith, reborn, was the Phoenix Mother and protector of future generations.
Seraphina, wearing the imperial crown of ice and ash, united the lineage and the heart of the empire.
Part 2: The Supreme Dynasty Protocol
The Ritual of the World Root was initiated. Samael, with the system's blessing and Divine Favor, connected the capital's core to the energetic roots of the continent. The system whispered to him alone:
[Access to the Roots of the World unlocked. —You may claim and modify legends, climates, and Qi flows throughout the empire. —Wealth and resources will increase exponentially, but the greed of sleeping forces may awaken. —Caution: each expansion alters the balance between Heaven and Earth.]
Devastated areas flourished: oases, farmlands, new minerals, docile or allied spiritual beasts. Children were born with talents, junior disciples broke through stages with little effort, and the spiritual fertility of the land reached legendary levels.
But with each day of abundance, the red mist and the elders' restless dreams grew denser.
Part 3: Politics, Alliances, and First Cracks
In the Council chambers, new vassals and foreign allies knelt before Samael, swearing loyalty in exchange for protection, lands, or titles. Some, sincere; others, opportunists; a few, spies from fallen clans and sects.
Politics became a game of swords and smiles. Kael and Eris dismantled a conspiracy of ruined nobles. Violeta and Xylia discovered a spy from the Eternal Flame Sect altering records. Cedric sealed several infiltration routes with impossible-to-break matrices.
Elowen, in her laboratory, tended the wounded and prepared elixirs for the first imperial army. Lilith patrolled the neighborhoods, ensuring the city's loyalty with her fire and compassion.
But Samael, thanks to the Patriarch's Eye, sensed something dark stirring beneath the surface: the shadow of envy, suspicion, and resentment from the old powers.
[System: —Imperial alliance established. —Harmony level: high, but unstable. —Risk of rebellion, betrayal, or external attack: increasing. —Warning: the "Wrath of the Heavens" has been activated—a primordial calamity may be summoned in reaction to imperial expansion.]
Part 4: The Omen of the Heavens
That night, while the new nobles celebrated in the palaces, Samael meditated in the throne chamber. The system showed a vision: —A primordial dragon, of impossible size, writhed beneath the earth. —A golden phoenix burned in the sky, crying tears of blood. —An ancient seal, hidden in the heart of the continent, trembled and cracked.
Lilith, in her dreams, saw the ancient phoenix and heard the warning: —The crown of the void defies the firmament. If the Morningstars do not balance their dominion, the calamity will not distinguish between allies and enemies.
Kael and Cedric, during night exercises, felt tremors in the Qi of the earth. Xylia and Violeta heard rumors of forgotten beasts emerging in the old forests.
Elowen discovered, deep in an imperial mine, a stone that beat like a heart: the seed of a dormant primordial law.
Part 5: The Council's Response
Samael summoned the pillars and heirs.
—The empire is at its peak, but the gods and ancient calamities are awakening. We cannot rely on strength alone. We must balance conquest with wisdom, blood with compassion, void with creation.
Lilith: —Phoenixes live not only by death, but by rebirth. Kael: —If we must fight the heavens, I will do it with my sword held high. Elowen: —Perhaps the seed I found will allow us to negotiate with the ancient world, not just dominate it.
Seraphina: —What we build today must outlast our lineage: it must survive the gods and oblivion.
The system offers, only to Samael:
[Imperial Decision: —Invest resources to appease the heavens and protect the people, in exchange for delaying advancement and stabilizing the lineage. —Or advance without looking back, unleashing a calamity but obtaining a primordial inheritance or law. —Results and paths will change forever.]
Part 6: The First Seal and the Roar of Calamity
As the council deliberated, in the north, the Sect of the Purple Light and the last Valois, defeated but not annihilated, activated a forbidden ritual: —If Morningstar must rule, let it be among ruins!
The sky split open. A black dragon of void and a phoenix of destruction descended like a tide of nightmares. Earthquakes, eclipses, and rains of blood battered borders and capitals.
The system vibrated with maximum alarm:
[Calamity in progress. —Surviving and sealing the origin of the calamity is now the supreme priority. —Success: the dynasty will be recognized even by the heavens. —Failure: history will be erased and the name Morningstar will become an eternal taboo.]
Part 7: The Call of the New World
In the imperial plaza, Samael and Lilith stood tall, crown and flames shining.
—Let all Morningstars answer the call! —Samael thundered—. Today, we fight not just for power, but for the right to dream under our own sky!
Disciples, allies, and vassals gathered their forces; Kael and Eris led the cavalry, Cedric and Xylia mobilized the formations, Elowen and Violeta prepared cures and strategies.
For the first time, the imperial clan would fight not just against human rivals, but against the very will of the world.
The dragon's roar and the phoenix's song entwined, and under the blood moon, history leaped toward legend.
END OF CHAPTER 36