Bloodline: Sovereign's Awakening - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: When Radiance Breeds Ruin I

The new day rose, yet the echoes of the previous day’s events still lingered throughout the vast domain of the Tala Clan.

Tension crackled like an unseen storm, weaving its way between the Celestial Seal branch and the Gilded Star branch, dividing what was once an unshaken lineage.

In the heart of Pagadianara, the grand halls of the clan’s domain stood silent, yet the air was thick with unspoken fury. Grand Matriarch Iskayna had contained her rage, but the fury of the Brilliant Star—the celestial guide of their bloodline—was undeniable.

The elder council, consisting of Marcon, Virelio, and Saphira, remained speechless as they tried to grasp the weight of the revelation.

For all their years of wisdom and power, none of them had foreseen this—the true heirs of the Tala Clan were not the ones they had long nurtured and placed upon their pedestals, but the exiled ones, Dasig and Leon.

The Brilliant Star, the very celestial force that had guided their clan for generations, had acknowledged them, rather than Grand Matriarch Iskayna herself. This alone had shaken the foundation of the clan’s rule.

But what ignited the celestial fury was something even graver—the slaughter of the Star Spirit it had left to oversee the residence. Someone tasked three lesser spirits—Twinkle, Resona, and Shad—with watching over the domain; their ethereal forms flitted between the shadows and stars.

It was they who had led Dasig and Leon as they entered the residence, guiding their paths, whispering them to the truths buried deep within their blood.

Then came Sionan.

Like a falling meteor, he descended upon them, his condescending tone, his wrath searing through the heavens. His Meteoric Dust attack had not merely been an act of aggression—it had been a defilement.

The three lesser spirits, bound by their celestial duty, had flung themselves between the attack and the rightful heirs, shielding Dasig and Leon at the cost of their very existence.

The force of Sionan’s strike had torn through their incorporeal forms, shattering their starlit essence.

In their last moments, their light dimmed, their celestial bodies crumbling into dust as they expended every last fragment of energy to protect those they had sworn to guide before echoing their deaths through blasts.

The heavens bore witness to their sacrifice. The Brilliant Star bore witness.

And it had judged.

In their respective castles, the elders brooded over the unfolding chaos. Marcon, Virelio, and Saphira remained in stunned silence, still grappling with the truth that had upended their long-held beliefs. But inside the Gilded Star Castle, Elder Yvandro’s fury erupted like a dying sun.

He refused to accept it.

His fists clenched, his breath ragged, he lashed out in fury, his voice shaking the golden chamber. It was their fault! Dasig and Leon—those exiled wretches—should have never returned!

If they had remained in obscurity, if they had never stepped foot in the Tala domain, none of this would have transpired. His son, Sionan, would still be alive. The exile had no right to return, no right to be recognized!

“The Brilliant Star has lost its reason!” Yvandro seethed, his voice a storm of grief and wrath. “To punish Sionan—for what? Defending the clan from those who should never have come back? And now, my son is dead, while those exiled brats live! This is unjust! This is madness!”

His voice rang through the grand halls, echoing with the weight of his anguish.

Darkness loomed over the Tala Domain.

Fragments of raw emotion—rage, grief, resentment—bled from the nobility, each thread distinct yet entwined in the same storm of unrest. Unbeknownst to them, their collective turmoil had taken shape, coiling and converging in the skies above Gilded Star Castle.

Then, the alarm horns blared across the land.

The Weaver Guards, ever vigilant, had spotted it first—the ominous shimmer of dark crimson, poisoned green, and spectral violet threads, swirling in the heavens like a corrupted tapestry. These were no mere remnants of emotional discord.

These were the seeds of the monstrosity.

At once, the Weaver Pillars, the ancient enchantments protecting Pagadianara, flared to life, their golden luminescence stretching across the domain in a desperate attempt to suppress the corruption. Yet, as the threads thickened, the corruption overcame their protection.

The twisted emotions had already fused, their malevolence greater than the pillars could contain.

Above the Tala territory, the Empyrean Shield—the last divine safeguard—shimmered violently, its celestial light flaring as it fought to purify the forming abomination. Yet, the ominous threads resisted purification, writhing as they fed upon the lingering turmoil.

It was no longer just an omen.

It was an emergency.

Beyond the borders of the Tala Domain, beyond its celestial halls and gilded towers, the radiant tremors of the Empyrean Shield’s struggle echoed across the vast expanse of the city.

The sky itself bore witness.

The Pagadianara Council, sensing the disturbance, immediately convened. From the capital’s heart, authorities issued swift orders.

Authorities mobilized the city’s elite forces.

In a matter of moments, they drew battle formations, infused weapons with enchanted weaves, and crafted spells to counter the forming monstrosity.

For all its glory, the Tala Clan was no stranger to calamity.

But this time, the threat did not come from beyond their domain. Something birthed it from within their halls and emotions. Then, the final weaving began.

The ominous threads, now a writhing mass of crimson, violet, and poisoned green, spiraled into themselves, warping space as they fused into something abhorrent. The Weaver Pillars and Empyrean Shield pulsed desperately, trying to suppress the birth of the monster, yet the corruption had already taken root.

The sky twisted, reality shuddered, and from the roiling storm, it emerged.

A B+ rank monstrosity—the Overbearing Rift Tyrant.

Despite the purification efforts and the ancestral safeguards, it had manifested near the strength of a Doomspawn.

Its form was grotesque, vast, and harrowing—a towering colossus with elongated, grasping hands, each finger stretching unnaturally as if seeking something unseen. Its frame was thick with pulsing veins of corrupted energy, and from its golden eyes, tinged with crimson irises, came an unsettling stare, as though it could see through the soul of all who dared behold it.

Orbiting its shoulders were floating spawn—disembodied eyes, shrieking wounds, and shards of spectral needles drifting and twitching with eerie sentience.

But its most nightmarish trait lay in its back.

There, a lattice of countless holes gaped open, releasing an endless stream of small, spectral orbs—each one a fragment of the emotions that had birthed it. Each one a whisper of fear, despair, and hatred.

Then—it roared.

A bone-rattling, realm-shaking howl of emergence tore across the land.

Pagadianara trembled.

Outside the Tala Territory, the people screamed and ran, fleeing in terror as the monster’s presence sent shockwaves through their very emotions. A disturbance like no other had come to the city, and the air seethed with instability.

Fear. Panic. Despair.

A wide-scale emotional fluctuation erupted throughout Pagadianara.

The Weaver Pillars flared with golden urgency, and the Empyrean Shield crackled, sending rippling stabilization waves to prevent the corruption from spreading further. Above the Tala residence, the protective enchantments fought against the beast’s influence, but their light remained violently unstable.

Across the city, scattered personnel—Threadbinders, Warped Artisans, and Spiral Adept leaders—moved swiftly, calming the people and guiding them toward safer zones before the turmoil could fester into further catastrophe.

In the midst of this, Emotional Guardians arrived near the zone, their presence a balm against hysteria.

They wove their threads through the air, their power reaching into the fragile hearts of the frightened citizens, soothing their fears before they could give rise to even darker forces.

As the overwhelming terror slowly subsided, the Empyrean Shield and Weaver Pillars stabilized—but their violent pulsing persisted, locked in a battle against the monstrosity looming above the Tala residence.

The city was not yet safe.

The Tyrant had come.

And its judgment had only begun.

Inside the Gilded Star Residence, chaos reigned.

The roar of the Rift Tyrant monster sent tremors through the castle’s grand halls, shaking its golden foundations. The people—nobles, attendants, warriors, and servants—shrieked in panic, desperately fleeing before the monster’s inevitable assault.

Yet, within the depths of the residence, two figures remained unmoved, their minds consumed not by fear of the monster but by the storms within their souls.

Inside the Elder Chamber, Yvandro sat upon his golden throne, his breathing ragged, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug into his palms, drawing blood.

His thoughts burned.

His mind seethed.

The revelation of the true heirs, the exile’s return, the Brilliant Star’s actions, and most of all—the loss of his son, Sionan.

The Weaver Pillars, the Empyrean Shield, and the cosmic forces—all had conspired against him. Against his lineage. Against his pride. Negative thoughts eroded his mind.

The very threads of his being, once radiant silver, had begun to shift. Black threads slithered over his skin, twisting and writhing like living serpents, feeding on his spiraling fury.

His jealousy, rage, and despair condensed into something twisted and unstable. And he welcomed it.

Elsewhere, in the dimly lit chambers of Sionan’s Quarters, Prina sat beside the lifeless bed where her husband had once rested.

Her fingers trembled as they traced the cold sheets.

Her Lover. Her Sionan.

Gone. Stolen from her.

Her heart—once a beacon of resilience—shattered into countless fragments.

She had prayed. She had devoted her existence to the Brilliant Star—and yet, the very heavens she had served had taken her son away.

The threads that once glowed a gentle, celestial blue now darkened. They deepened into a sorrowful, abyssal hue—a deep, suffocating blue of grief. And the corruption fed upon it.

Her body trembled, not from the monstrous threat outside, but from the abyss swallowing her from within.

Beyond their chambers, the nobles and warriors of Gilded Star felt their fear swell into a storm of emotion, an unseen force that magnified the corruption blooming within Yvandro and Prina.

Their panic fed the horror, and the monster’s presence fueled their despair.

A vicious cycle had begun.

The Weaver Pillars and Empyrean Shield battled to keep the corruption from spreading further, but within the Gilded Star Residence, it was too late.

Inside, two souls of power—one of blinding rage, the other of consuming grief—had already begun to shift and form to something monstrous.

And soon, the Tyrant would turn its gaze upon them.

The Gilded Star was falling. And the residents of Pagadianara would bear witness.