"The Radian has requested it personally... it must be quite significant." Nurah murmured, "Is it an artifact? Material? Natural Treasure?"
"It’s believed to be a Natural Treasure... a Flower in the shape of an illuminating Sun." The High Chancellor said, "You will recognize it once you see it."
"What about the rest of the treasures?" Jojo clasped her hands, "What’s our share? Namaste."
"It’s 50% for each team... 50% to you and 50% to the Headquarters. Hence, if you were to get in, you would compete on who would gather the most treasures... However, there is one exception to this split." The High Chancellor said, "The team to find the Sun Amulet and hand it over to the SAS Headquarters will be exempt from splitting their treasures."
"Whoa... we get to keep everything? Sweet."
"Seems fair enough."
Although everyone knew that their goal inside was to find a miracle medicine for Seraphis, it changed nothing... they were bound to find many other treasures during their search. If they found the Sun Amulet, it would be even better.
"Wait, if it’s so significant to the headquarters, I doubt they will turn it into a mission for Warden-ranked teams, no matter how powerful they are. The safer option is to send Solarbound Daywalkers or even Blazewarden Daywalkers... unless." Levi paused while his brows were tightened, making his expression quite grim. "The Distorted site is in a Fractured State?"
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expression changed... even Arthur, after he carried out his own studies on the ancient sites for the past days.
"Fractured state... doesn’t that mean the site can get devoured by the Shadow dimension with any major disturbance?" Arthur’s pupils thinned.
"Yes." The High Chancellor nodded, sighing, "I was about to mention it... We thought the SAS Headquarters were using it as a training mission, but in truth, they can’t send anyone higher than a Warden rank without putting the entire site in danger of collapsing into the Shadow dimension."
"What about us then?" Shia frowned, "Fractured Ancient Sites are known to pose major risks... a single well-timed energy disturbance might cause its collapse."
"Fret not... the Headquarters had done their thorough research on the site. They found that the site is stable enough to handle a decent level of energy disturbance. Also, each team will be given a single-dimensional teleporter that is linked with the World Tree’s dimensional mirror in case the gate closes earlier than their assumption." Lord Hicham smiled, "If it were too dangerous, I wouldn’t have risked sending my sweet daughter."
Jasmine glanced in his direction, somewhat annoyed... it was like she was telling him not to embarrass her like this before her friends... But Lord Hicham merely chuckled, carrying his fatherly duties well.
"Well, it does sound highly unlikely for the top three strongest teams in the campaign to take a suicidal mission." Levi nodded in approval.
If they dared to take on such a mission, whether the site was fractured or not, they wouldn’t have accepted if their odds of returning safely weren’t decent.
"Are you in?" Feng Ling asked.
’They’d better be.’ Mao narrowed her eyes coldly.
’Enough, Mao... if I didn’t think they had it in them, I wouldn’t have made the bet... they will win.’
’Even against him? Your demonic little b...’
’We will see in two weeks.’ Feng Ling interrupted calmly.
Levi glanced at his teammates, and all of them nodded in approval. Then, he gave him the thumbs up.
"The Exploration mission will start in fifteen days once the gate opens up fully... we will depart in a week from here on our mounts." Feng Ling said indifferently, "I will have you do some clean-ups on the way to check on your improvements... so be prepared."
"Understood." Levi and the others nodded.
They didn’t know why Feng Ling was chosen to be their supervisor, but they weren’t complaining... his strength was unequal when it came to Solarbound Daywalkers, and he had yet to teach them anything as promised by the government.
"I wish you the best of luck in your journey..." The High Chancellor advised sternly, "And always remember, treasures can be found again, life is forever lost."
Levi and the others bowed their heads slightly in appreciation and walked away, taking his advice to heart.
They knew that many people had ended up killed because of their greed in such Ancient sites... They didn’t want to be added to the statistics.
After leaving the Council, Levi told everyone to regroup on the rooftop in the evening since the call had caught them amidst their plans.
Then, he returned to the apartment with his brother, and each went to their rooms... Arthur was a Pathfinder now, which meant he needed to put extra effort into his cultivation to grow his seed naturally.
The government could not afford to keep showering them with growth totems... they had a limited quota from Solar Aegis Sanctuary, and it should be distributed among other Daywalkers, too.
As for buying them from Boundless markets? The prices were nowhere close to what the Sanctuary was selling them for.
When Levi spotted Arthur sitting in front of the window, akin to a plant sunbathing, he couldn’t help but hold his chin thoughtfully.
’Arthur is wasting too much daytime on cultivating naturally... and it is only going to get worse.’ He pondered, ’Maybe it’s time I seek the Titan’s help... some of his memory should have returned by now.’
Levi had never forgotten about his brother or the Titan’s Crown Artifact... he was just waiting for the right time to make his case for his brother, knowing that as the stepfather of the first Nineborn Golems, he must have some methods to improve his brother’s evolutionary path.
Once he returned to his Spiritual Leywell, he didn’t hesitate to ask him.
"Elder, I have been meaning to ask... my little brother has been following a similar evolutionary path to the Nineborn Golems... His contracted nightcrawler, Khu’zan, seems to have a strong relation to their bloodlines, as they had already awakened three Gemhearts... Orryn’s Gemheart, Brag’s Gemheart, and Aurikara’s Gemheart... meanwhile, my brother is also a Half-Radian, but he has obtained their physical genetics unlike me, and it doesn’t seem like his evolutions are tapping into them." Levi paused, "I was wondering if there is any way he can improve his evolutionary path much better?"
Levi had been supervising his little brother’s growth from a distance... although his strength seemed already out of the ordinary, Levi wasn’t satisfied.
After all, his brother was also a Half-Radian, and he assumed that after he had a couple of perfect evolutions, he was bound to awaken his ability to absorb divine light, too... Instead, he had been awakening only mutations related to Khu’zan.
This bothered him as it meant that either their assumption of his brother being Half-Radian was false, or the Shadowlife seed was screwing him over.
Levi was sure his little brother was blood-related since they had done a DNA test when he wanted to donate one eye for him during their childhood.
"Little one, Shadowlife seeds aren’t the same as Origin seeds in this department... they can awaken Lowborn or Highborn Bloodlines, but Ancient bloodlines are quite too hard for it." The Titan answered, "The only reason you were able to awaken your Radian bloodline was due to the Sun Origin seed... if you didn’t have it, you would have struggled just as much as him."
"It can’t be..." Levi frowned, "Ash’Kral, is this true?"
"Unfortunately, he is right," Ash’Kral said calmly.
"Why did you say nothing?"
"I didn’t want to shatter your hopes." Ash’Kral shrugged.
"..."
Levi remained silent, gazing at his little brother’s wide back. He could tell that he was giving it his best to keep up with him and avenge their parents... whatever he was going through, Arthur was always there with him.
But, he realized that if he kept on this path, he was bound to leave him behind... Levi didn’t want that... His brother was the only one he truly trusted with his back, and that’s something rarer than any treasure in the universe.
"Elder, is there any other way?" Levi asked, his tone resolved, "Just say the word... and I will do it."
The Titan chuckled, "I admire your loyalty and courage to do whatever for your brother’s sake... but there is no need for you to do anything but give me your approval."
"Approval for what?"
"Approval to inhabit his Shadowlife seed and transform it."
"Transform it?"
The Titan smiled and said, "Levi... you are a smart one, you should have realized it by now."
Levi fell silent, his heartbeat stuttering... The Titan’s presence; his appearance, his voice, his timeless aura... had all pointed to a single conclusion Levi had refused to accept. For to do so would mean acknowledging the harrowing future that awaited him.
But he could no longer run from the truth.
With a faint sigh, Levi asked, "My apologies, elder... It took me a while to accept it."
The Titan laughed, knowing what Levi was having trouble with.
"Don’t worry, my child, their consciousness won’t be born until you turn them into mature trees... You still have plenty of time to enjoy your peace until then."
That’s right! Levi already knew that The Titan wasn’t just any random friend of Ash’Kral from the past... he was what remained of an Origin Seed’s soul... A surviving wisp of an Ancestral Tree!
Levi refused to accept this reality, because it implied that in the near future... The Three Ancestral Trees weren’t going to remain silent forever.
A day would come when their consciousness would awaken, and Levi would have to deal with genuine three Divas in his soul!
"The horror... I can already imagine the abuse." Levi smiled bitterly, feeling like he was about to be a father to three brats who hated each other.
"Haha, all shall pass, little one... worrying about tomorrow only steals strength from today."
The Titan smiled, knowing that nothing good would ever come from worrying about the future.
"You’re right."
Levi got rid of such negative emotions and showed his peaceful smile, refusing to allow the Three Trees to control his future, too.
"Elder, if you don’t mind me asking... what Origin Seed are you? What Laws do you command?"
The Titan crossed his wooden arms, which were veined with copper, iron, and quartz, then he said with a faint smile.
"I don’t remember."
"..."
Seeing Levi’s speechless expression, the Titan chuckled, "I am kidding... I am the Ancestral Tree of Stone, Metal, and Minerals... or in short, Terraforge Laws."