Chapter 34 – The Blade That Split the Sky
Morning returned to Gildcrest with the scent of ash and dew.
Jean awoke with Celeste's words still burning in her mind: "Seek Martin Luther's blade." The tomb of the first Patriarch—the man who once wounded Antares and halted the first Dragon War. If such a relic existed, it would not only be a symbol of legacy—it could be the key to stopping the Dragon Lord once and for all.
She summoned the war council that very morning.
Cassien, bandaged but alert, scowled. "You want to leave now? After that siege?"
Kael crossed his arms. "The Succession War isn't going to wait for your pilgrimage."
Silvia stood at Jean's side. "Let her speak."
Jean stepped forward, her voice steady.
"There is a sword. Buried in a tomb no Luther has seen in centuries. A blade wielded by Martin Luther himself—the one that wounded Antares."
Yren's jaw tightened. "That tomb was lost after the War of Broken Gates. Even the High Archives have no maps."
Jean nodded. "But I've seen it. Celeste showed me. It lies in the Veillands—territory beyond the reach of the Clan. Cursed ground. Forbidden to all."
Whitney growled. "And guarded by spirits older than the gods."
Silvia's expression remained unreadable. "Then you'll need a guide who's already broken those laws."
Jean turned. "You know the Veillands?"
Silvia's crimson eyes gleamed. "I've been there once, when I followed a dragon into its den and barely escaped with my life. That land isn't just cursed—it's alive. And it hates us."
Cassien stepped forward. "Let me come."
"You're wounded," Jean said.
"And you're walking into a land of ghosts and legends," he snapped. "You'll need someone stupid enough to follow you."
Kael sighed. "And someone even stupider to watch your back."
Jean couldn't help but smile.
A small expedition was formed that day: Jean, Silvia, Whitney, Cassien, and Kael. Five against the unknown.
That night, before they departed, Jean visited the Hall of Ancestors, deep beneath Gildcrest. She lit the flame at her father's shrine and knelt.
"I don't know what I'll find," she whispered. "But I will not let your legacy end in ashes. I will become the sword that ends this."
The flame flickered.
And somewhere far away, in a land of mist and memory…
A tomb stirred.
And the blade that split the sky called out.
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