Ming Long’s den...
Inside an opulent den, with massive space and several levels, the fate dragoness Ming Long, Matriarch of the Long Clan and wife of the Storm Dragon, sat holding a crystal artifact in her hands as she carefully studied it.
Beside her on the platform she was seated on lay a crumpled letter, with faint traces of the light element.
There was pin-drop silence, with only light humming sounds from the item in her hands. But suddenly, a presence manifested and a shout followed.
"Master!! Where are you??"
Yue Qinglan arrived inside the den with a panicked expression. She was breathing heavily as if she had seen a ghost. Meanwhile, Ming Long calmly asked, "What happened, dear? What did you get yourself into to sound so tense?"
Yue Qinglan arrived in front of her. Still, Ming Long remained absorbed in her work and did not look at her.
"Master, I have found the Fateless," she said, making Ming Long’s grip loosen and the crystal artifact fall from her hands. She looked up with wide eyes and saw blood dripping from Yue’s nose.
Ming Long stood up and comforted Yue. She made her sit and calm down. Once she saw Yue recover from her shock and panic, Ming asked her,
"Tell me what happened?"
Yue looked at Ming Long with a serious expression. "I was spending my evening meeting up with Andrea as usual, but then she repeated one of her requests she had been making repeatedly as of late."
"She wanted me to divine the future of Tamasya’s disciple so that she could take measures and safeguard him from Amon’s threat. You know how Tamasya intends to make him her partner, right? That was why she had been so worried the last time she visited us."
"I promised Andrea and then returned to my place that day. The next day, I tried to use a minor gold-rank divination spell, but it failed. It felt strange to me, but I dismissed it as a coincidence and used a higher-ranked spell."
"But the anomalous behavior remained no matter which spell I used. By the end of the day, I had almost exhausted my entire arsenal of divination spells."
"At that moment, I thought there was something wrong with me—that I was not able to execute the spells properly, but I was wrong, Master."
"I confirmed it by using the same spells on others, and they worked fine, which made me think that there was something abnormal going on with this William Kaiser."
Yue spoke, and her body shivered a bit before she continued, "So then I decided to use the legendary spell that you taught me." She gave Ming Long a look filled with mental pain and unrest.
Ming sighed and spoke, "That spell was given to me by that mysterious lady I told you about a few weeks ago. This spell was given to me so that I could detect the presence of the Fateless. But it seems you have found him before me."
She then matched Yue’s gaze seriously and asked, "What did you see?"
Yue spoke without waiting. "A flame. I saw a wisp of flame floating inside the fate realm. The creatures who had haunted me for years were shrieking in pain around it. Its color matched my lotus, as if that flame was the one that gave it birth."
Yue recounted her experience to Ming Long, who in turn asked, "Did you see anything else?"
Yue shook her head. "I felt someone watching me, but I remained in the fate realm only for an instant, so I really have no idea about it."
Ming Long nodded, hearing Yue, and was lost in her own thoughts.
"A pink fire, fate lines burning," she murmured. She felt that the pieces were somewhat adding up now, and there was a high probability that this William Kaiser could be the Fateless.
"We have to confirm if it’s really him or not," Ming Long said.
"How will we do that, Master?" Yue asked.
Ming Long looked up and spoke, "If he can read the script written over the skeleton left by the esteemed lady, then he is Fateless for sure."
"How will we do that, Master?" Yue asked again, but before Ming could reply, suddenly the atmosphere changed and a new presence arrived.
Storm elements rippled in the air before a swirl manifested, and as it dispersed, the figure of the Storm Dragon and another man appeared inside the den.
The Storm Dragon had a serious expression on his face. Ming Long turned and looked at him. She stood up and walked over before greeting the man who had arrived with him.
"Matriarch of the Long Clan, Ming Long greets Patriarch of the Moon Clan, Elion Luneia."
Elion returned her greeting with grace before both men took seats. Ming Long and Yue were equally surprised at how the Patriarch of the Moon Clan had escaped from prison, but they could tell from Yun Long’s expression that things were serious.
Yue stood up and was about to leave the elders, but Elion stopped her. "Yue, I think you should not leave."
Yue looked back and nodded before taking a seat beside Ming Long.
The Storm Dragon started speaking to Ming Long. "I will be participating in a serious conflict tomorrow, which will jeopardize my position at the Astral Warden Council and leave the Long Clan without representation in the council."
Ming Long’s brows raised in suspicion. "What are you going to do?"
Yun Long heard that and took a deep breath before readjusting himself. He gave Elion a look.
Elion nodded and spoke, "Winston will be executing Anastasia tomorrow during the Founder’s Festival."
"What!!!" Yue almost screamed in shock.
Elion nodded and continued, "He tried to lure Tamasya into his grasp before by leveraging the execution timing, and Tamasya decided to act and infiltrate the empire along with her disciple William. They have already captured a cardinal."
Ming Long heard that and her brows furrowed. She then heard Yun Long speak, "I am bound by a heavenly oath to William Kaiser that I will answer his call for help three times. Turns out he has used one chance for now. Lord Elion was here to inform me about it on William’s behalf."
"I am bound by a heavenly oath, so I can’t step back," Yun Long said firmly.
Ming Long heard him and frowned. "Is that the only reason you are going to enter this conflict?"
Yun Long shook his head. "I also want to leave the council," he spoke truthfully.
"I will go too!" Yue stood up and spoke with determination, but before the Long couple could say anything, Elion spoke up, "Yue, you are the Divine Seer of the human race. Your divinations will be more valuable than your sword. William wants you to stay near the contact crystal in Riverdale’s Imperial Palace and inform him of any anomalous possibility that could endanger the war that will start tomorrow."
Yue and Ming looked at each other before eyeing him. "War??"
Elion nodded. "Yes, it will be a full-fledged war, and several factions will be involved."
Ming Long’s expression turned serious. "Lord Elion, elaborate clearly."
Elion looked at them and spoke, "The Order of the Eternal Sovereign."
"They have assured their support to Tamasya, and they intend to bring back the rule of the Solaris Clan on that land."
These words rang in the air, leaving the brows of the two dragons tightened while Yue was shocked, she knew much better about Eternal Sovereign than these two old hags.
Elion did not stop speaking. He revealed the whole strategy they had come up with to overthrow the Church’s rule.
For a few minutes, Elion kept speaking while the three sitting around him looked shocked after each sentence was finished.
A few minutes later.
"This is just the tentative plan we intend to go by. For the rest of the variables, we will adapt to the situation," Elion said.
Ming Long, who had heard everything, was still skeptical about one thing. "You have expressed your intentions to bring back the rule of the Solaris Clan, but as far as I know, the whole bloodline is extinct."
Elion kept his neutral expression before a small smile appeared on his withered face.
"I apologize for almost forgetting to inform you all, the son of Rudra Solaris and my daughter is still alive. His name is William Kaiser."
He paused, then corrected himself:
"I apologize, I meant William Kaiser Solaris.