Part 1: The Threshold of the Dragon Tower
Skull Rock dawned wrapped in an amber haze. The echoes of battle still colored the air, but the camp bustled with a new energy: fierce hope and fear of the future. The younger ones looked at the Dragon Tower with superstitious reverence; they knew that behind its walls, the clan's heirs were about to face trials that would decide everyone's fate.
In the courtyard, Kael, Violeta, and Eris waited before the black door of the tower. The stone was so dense that Qi swirled in vortices visible to the naked eye. The three wore combat robes, each with the dragon symbol embroidered on their chests.
Kael closed his eyes, feeling the vibration of the sword seed in his heart. Beside him, Violeta took a deep breath; frost covered her fingers, but a spark of void flickered in her palm. Eris, leaning on her spear, had hair burning like a torch.
Samael and Lilith watched them in silence.
"There is no turning back," Samael warned them. "This tower does not just demand power; it demands truth. Inside, you will face your desires and your scars. If you return, you will be worthy of the family. If not... you will still have my respect."
Lilith, with a half-smile:
"And if you die, better it be with glory."
Kael nodded, his gaze fixed on the door.
"I do not plan to die until I find my truth."
The twins held hands.
"Together," they whispered.
The door opened with a rumble, swallowing them in mist and light.
Part 2: Floors of Trial
First Floor: The Burden of Lineage
Upon entering, Kael felt the weight of the world fall on his shoulders. In front of him, a young version of his mother looked at him with sadness.
"Are you my son... or just someone else's sword?"
Kael wanted to answer, but the pain of absence silenced him. For an instant, he saw Samael, the fallen, himself as just an echo of vengeance.
The sword seed burned in his chest.
"I am not just a tool," he thought.
He raised his sword and executed a flawless slash, cleaving through the illusion and the fear.
[System: Sword Heart: Advance. Sword Affinity 25%. New technique: Slash of Doubt.]
Second Floor: The Spatial Bridge
Violeta walked alone in a mist where gravity shifted, where walls bent, and the cold was absolute. Ancient voices whispered:
"Daughter of Ice, will you be a bridge or a wall?"
She felt the dragon bloodline flicker, but the void roared in her blood, mixed with the ice.
A portal appeared, unstable.
Only by accepting that her roots were a bridge between worlds, not just a barrier, could she cross it.
For an instant, the frost in her palm spiraled, and a spatial wave enveloped her.
[System: Partial Awakening — Spatial Talent. Can distort distance within a one-meter area.]
Violeta smiled, a tear freezing on her cheek.
Third Floor: Fire and Destruction
Eris ascended under a rain of illusory fire. She saw scenes of destruction, of herself razing enemies and friends alike.
"Will you be the flame that saves or the fire that devours?"
The spear trembled in her hand.
She remembered Violeta, Samael, the clan. Fire could protect, not just burn.
She threw the spear, not against an enemy, but into the center of the room, where her own shadow burned. The fire became a shield.
[System: Awakening of Protective Fire. Fire Affinity increased. New technique: Flame of Salvation.]
Part 3: The Clan's Rest and Leadership Decisions
While the three fought in the tower, the base was in full swing.
Strategy and Espionage
Cedric and Xylia were in the war room. On the table, the Mirror of Ten Thousand Miles glowed with Samael's Qi.
"Movement detected on the northern border. The Valois are gathering allies, and the Purple Light Sect is sending emissaries to minor clans," Cedric reported.
Lilith reviewed the list of casualties and warriors ready for puppetry.
"Do you not fear we will transform into what we hate, Samael?" she asked the Patriarch when they were alone.
He didn't answer right away.
"I fear condemning my people more than I fear crossing lines my enemies never had. If the line must be crossed, I will do it with open eyes."
Rumors and News
A spy returned, panting:
"Patriarch! The tournament will be in the Jade Celestial City. There are lists of favorites and... targets to eliminate. You, the twins, and Kael are on both lists."
Cedric paled.
"Our name already carries weight on the continent. If we fall, they will do so celebrating."
Seraphina, cold and resolute:
"Then no one will fall. They will remember us for miracles, not defeat."
Part 4: Interludes and Humanity
At the base, warriors celebrated the siege survivors, shared stories, joked. An elder told children how, in his youth, the Morningstars were legend and how now they could be again.
Kael, in a rare moment of rest between floors, sat with Violeta and Eris.
"Do you not miss the days when we were just children playing at being heroes?"
Violeta looked at him with a half-smile.
"Sometimes. But I prefer fighting in reality than dreaming in submission."
Eris nodded:
"Being a hero is not having no fear. It is not letting it stop you."
The three, for the first time, laughed together, knowing that battle had made them truly family.
Part 5: The Limits of Power and the Patriarch's Eye
Samael retired to the Hall of Bloodlines. The System showed him fragments of the future:
Alaric at the Sect, surrounded by Saints. The Valois Patriarch sealing alliances with dark clans. A void dragon roaring at the top of the tournament tower.
The Patriarch's Eye revealed:
"The twins' bloodline continues to evolve. Kael's too. Lilith... remains sealed, but the fire of phoenix and ash stirs."
A whisper from the ancestors:
"Remember: sometimes a family survives not by the strongest, but by the boldest. The throne was not made for comfort, but for sacrifice."
Samael, for the first time in a long while, felt a slight tremor of doubt... But he drowned it with determination.
Part 6: Cliffhanger — Shadow in the Tower
On the top floor of the Tower, Kael, Violeta, and Eris found themselves in a circular room. The air was so dense they seemed to move in dreams. A shadow materialized on the ceiling, watching them.
Kael, sword raised:
"Who are you?"
A Void Dragon—or its echo—descended, eyes of fire and frost.
"I am the judge of your bloodlines. To advance... you must choose: Will you sacrifice a fear, a secret, or a hope?"
Absolute silence.
Violeta stepped forward.
"I sacrifice my fear. My blood will no longer be a prison."
Eris smiled, defiant:
"I sacrifice the secret that binds me to the past. I will be destruction and salvation."
Kael, holding back tears:
"I sacrifice the hope of finding easy answers. My sword will be my truth."
The dragon nodded, the room trembled. A glow enveloped the three. Each one's bloodline advanced another step.
[System: Partial Unlock — Bloodlines evolving. Unique technique available for each in the Tournament.]
Part 7: Epilogue: The World Watches
In the Purple Light Sect, Alaric smiled upon receiving the news of the Morningstar survival.
"Prepare yourselves. The true tournament has only just begun."
In the Valois Fortress, the Patriarch looked south, rage and ambition dancing in his gaze.
In the Dragon Tower, Samael watched his heirs descend, stronger and different. He knew the rest was over.
Across the continent, clans and sects whispered the same name: Morningstar.
[End of Chapter 27]