Bloodline: Sovereign's Awakening - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Unshackled Stars, The Path Forward
Another day rose again, and Pagadianara City stirred with a quiet hum. The ever-gleaming threads of ethereal protection shimmered in the sky, their resonance a soft, rhythmic pulse that blended into the sounds of the hovering transports and the morning bustle of the markets. Towering structures bathed in the golden light of dawn stood as silent witnesses to the city’s calm resurgence after the week’s unrest.

Within the Tala Territory, the tension that had gripped nobles, servants, and weaver guards earlier had loosened. The estate exhaled a rare moment of peace, though the air remained thick with unspoken worries. By evening, the Assembly would gather again to determine the family’s course after recent events. Until then, life within the domain flowed as usual.

Iskayna moved with purpose through the halls, her steps measured yet restless as she made her way to the chambers where Dasig and Leon recuperated. The closer she got, the more unmistakable the presence pressed against her senses, feeling the influence of powers that were both overwhelming and strangely familiar. It was warm, steady, and radiant, like the sun’s embrace. As she entered the room, her breath caught at the sight before her.

Five celestial lights flickered like candle flames in the dim space, weakened yet exuding an undeniable authority. The Great Star Spirits—guardians of each branch of their family—had manifested, their glow faint but celestial, their presence comforting yet tinged with sorrow.

For the first time in her life, Iskayna heard them speak.

No one had heard the Great Star Spirits since the fall of their last Head Elder. Not a single soul. And yet, there they were, conversing. It was only then she realized that Dasig and Leon, unconscious as they were, had spoken to them before. As children, they had once shared words with these celestial beings as if they were old friends.

Dambana, the Oath-Bound Star, stood at the forefront, its wavering light maintaining the Celestial Seal Castle.

Isagani, the Rebirth Star, poured its essence through generations into maintaining the Gilded Star Castle.

Sanghaya, the Aegis Star, held steadfast, safeguarding the celestial weapons hidden within the Astral Castle since its foundation.

Gunaw, the Reckoning Star, shimmered above, its glow the celestial light illuminating the Lunar Pool for a thousand years.

And lastly, Silahis, the Guiding Star, flickered faintly, the quiet keeper of their ancestral records.

These manifestations were but remnants of their former brilliance. Something severed their power from the source, and dormancy was imminent. Still, in one last act of devotion, they gathered their waning strength to mend Dasig and Leon to repair their souls and restore their broken physiques.

Dambana’s voice resonated through the chamber, addressing Iskayna directly.

“I failed to keep my promise to the last Haraya Sovereign,” it admitted, its tone heavy with emotion that Iskayna had never imagined a celestial being could feel. “But I will awaken again—when the true legacy of the Tala Clan is finally understood and remembered by all.”

Iskayna stiffened. The words pulled at something deep within her, but before she could ask, Dambana continued, its voice restrained by unseen chains.

“I cannot tell you the truth of your clan’s purpose,” it said, a hidden weight behind its words. “Something binds me. Something keeps me silent.”

She already knew. Their history was broken. Shrouded in forgotten records, rewritten truths, and corrupted legacies.

All she had ever learned was that they had once been part of the Swords of the fallen Empire of Bathalumea. They were meant to serve as protectors of the Empire’s Supreme Ruler, the Haraya Sovereign, rulers who came from a lineage so powerful that even foreign leaders feared their name. But beyond that? Time lost the truth.

She wanted to press Dambana for more. She wanted to demand the answers she had sought for years. But she knew it would not answer her.

It never had.

Sanghaya, the Aegis Star, spoke next. Its glow flickered as it conveyed its last words.

“I can no longer shield the clan,” it confessed. “Only when the true heir of the Tala Clan stands among, you will my light return.”

The other Star Spirits remained silent, their forms dimming further.

Then Dambana turned its gaze toward Dasig and Leon.

“They must reclaim what is rightfully theirs,” it declared.

They are the chosen ones. Even the Brilliant Star acknowledged them once. This is their only chance to reclaim what was lost.

The words settled heavily in Iskayna’s chest.

Dambana hesitated, then spoke again—this time with an almost imperceptible warmth.

“Their children,” it said, “are the brightest stars of their line. They surpass even their ancestors.”

A chill ran down Iskayna’s spine.

“The seal placed upon Dasig and Leon since their exile has been fractured. Their strength will return in due time. It is only right.”

Dambana’s gaze darkened. “And for them to survive.”

The warning was clear. Iskayna clenched her fists.

“Do not grow complacent,” Dambana said, turning its attention back to her. “A weak leader cannot protect what is to come. Do what is right.”

Before she could speak, Silahis interrupted.

“That is enough, Dambana.”

Its voice was gentle yet firm. “We do not dictate what the clan must choose.”

One by one, the Great Star Spirits began to fade, their light unraveling into threads of celestial energy. The luminous strands spiraled through the air before converging upon Dasig and Leon, seeping into their forms like golden rivers returning to their source.

The last seal upon them shattered.

And in the quiet that followed, Iskayna felt the shift. A power—old, unyielding, and undeniable—stirred once more within the two slumbering figures before her.

As the last traces of the Great Star Spirits faded into the ether, a lingering warmth remained in the air—a quiet hum of power stirring beneath the surface. Iskayna stood motionless, her pulse steady but her thoughts anything but.

She felt it.

Like the slow shift of night into dawn, the dormant force within Dasig and Leon was awakening, no longer bound by the heavy chains of the past. The very seal she had helped place upon them was now unraveling before her eyes.

A bitter taste rose in her throat.

She had been part of this.

The memory clawed at her—the day Dasig and Leon had introduced their chosen partners. She remembered the sharp sound of Yvandro’s voice, the way his disapproval cut through the air like a blade.

“They cannot remain in the family if they choose to marry impure lines.”

Yvandro had spoken first, but he wasn’t alone. Other noble elders had echoed his outrage, their words dripping with the weight of tradition and unyielding law.

Dasig and Leon had stood their ground. They had refused to bend.

The decision had sparked a storm, one that swept through the halls of their family like wildfire. Ultimately, the nobility’s rule forced Iskayna to act, not as their kin, not as someone who had once laughed and trained beside them, but as an enforcer.

She had stripped them of their titles. Of their rights.

Of their power.

The ritual had been agonizing. The five elders, herself included, had woven a binding seal so vast it had rippled through space itself, a web of constraints meant to suppress the very essence of Dasig and Leon’s lineage.

But even then, it had not been enough.

Their strength had defied the first trial.

And Yvandro, ever unrelenting, had refused to accept failure.

“If they break the rules, they are unfit to wield our bloodline’s power,” he had declared.

His order had been absolute.

They repeated the ritual. Over and over. For seven days and seven nights, the Divine Chamber had been flooded with the relentless force of the binding weave, its celestial patterns growing harsher, heavier, and more suffocating with each passing moment.

Finally, the chamber no longer reacted to their presence.

Until it was as if Dasig and Leon had never possessed power at all.

Iskayna’s fingers curled into fists at her sides. She had followed orders. She had obeyed. And yet, as she stood here now, feeling the inevitable return of their strength, she couldn’t escape the gnawing weight of regret.

“Would they ever forgive her?”

She exhaled slowly, watching the faint, golden threads of power flicker through the air, drawn once more to their rightful owners. The seal was breaking.

Iskayna stood still, watching as the celestial threads continued to weave through Dasig and Leon’s bodies. Their wounds were mended with an unnatural grace, the scars of their suffering fading beneath the golden touch of the Great Star Spirits’ lingering essence. Their breathing, once ragged and labored, had settled into a calm rhythm. Strength was returning to them, too fast and absolute.

This was no ordinary recovery.

This was restoration.

The realization tightened in her chest. The Star Spirits had not merely healed Dasig and Leon, and they had awakened what had been taken from them. The seal, so painstakingly forged to suppress them, now unraveled like loosened threads from an unraveling tapestry.

Iskayna exhaled deeply, her hands trembling at her sides before she steadied herself.

She had made her choice.

Night fell upon the grand halls of the Celestial Castle. The chamber, a towering expanse of marble and astral glass, shimmered under the ethereal glow of the Loom Threads spiraling through the ceiling. The four remaining elders sat upon their gilded seats, forming a solemn council—Iskayna, Saphira, Virelio, and Marcon.

The tension was thick, a storm waiting to break.

Before them, nobles and high-ranking members of the Tala Family had gathered, each seated according to their respective lineage. Murmurs coursed through the air like whispers of an oncoming tide, some filled with curiosity, others with restrained hostility.

Then, Iskayna rose.

Her expression was unreadable, her presence commanding. And when she spoke, her voice cut through the chamber like tempered steel.

“Dasig and Leon will be the next leaders of the Celestial Branch of the Family.”

The hall fell silent.

Gasps rippled across the nobles, some rising from their seats in sheer disbelief. Others exchanged stunned glances, while a handful of them—those who had once supported Dasig and Leon before their exile—smiled in quiet vindication.

Virelio’s fingers tightened on the armrest of his seat. Saphira’s gaze flickered with something unreadable. Marcon leaned back, his usual indifference shattered by the weight of her declaration.

But Iskayna did not waver.

“The Great Star Spirits have spoken,” she continued, her tone unwavering. “They have acknowledged Dasig and Leon as the rightful successors of our branch. They have restored what we unjustly took from them. I will not stand against the will of the celestial guardians of our bloodline.”

A noblewoman, draped in the regal silks of the Celestial Branch, shot to her feet. “Impossible! They were exiled. Their power was stripped away. They cannot—”

Iskayna cut her off. “And yet, their strength has returned. Even the Brilliant Star itself recognized them once.” Her gaze swept across the hall, challenging, unyielding. “Tell me, who among you dares to defy the judgment of the heavens?”

The weight of her words settled into the room, suffocating.

Some nobles lowered their heads, reluctant but unwilling to challenge the divine decree. Others remained rigid, unaccepting, but speechless.

Virelio finally spoke, his voice even yet edged with something heavy. “If the Great Star Spirits have chosen them, then there is no questioning their right.”

Saphira nodded, her silver eyes cold but resigned. “Agreed. We will not act against the celestial will.”

Marcon exhaled, shaking his head with a dry chuckle. “Hah. Fate certainly has a cruel sense of irony, does it not?”

For a brief moment, it seemed the family might finally begin to heal.

But then…

Virelio’s expression darkened. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the grand table before them.

“And yet, we cannot continue as we are.”

A hush fell over the chamber.

His words carried a weight that none could ignore.

“The Celestial Oath is not what it once was. The core of our family has been severed—our goal’s broken, our paths divided.” His voice was neither harsh nor bitter. It was simply… final.

Saphira closed her eyes as if steeling herself. “We are no longer bound to the same destiny.”

The words struck like a hammer against glass.

The reality was inescapable.

For all the power, lineage, and duty they had upheld for centuries, they had failed in the one thing that mattered most.

They had failed to remain as one.

Iskayna clenched her jaw. “You would abandon the oath of our ancestors?”

Virelio’s gaze was steady. “We would walk the path that is left to us.”

Marcon, for all his usual carelessness, had a shadow of something somber in his voice. “The family has fractured Iskayna. You know this. We cannot force unity where none remains.”

The Grand Matriarch, seated in the highest seat of the chamber, had remained silent until now. Her expression was one of quiet sorrow.

“I do not wish to see our bloodline shattered further,” she admitted, her voice lined with exhaustion. “But I cannot force loyalty where it no longer exists.”

Silence.

The final blow had been dealt.

The Tala Nobility, once a singular force, fractured through branches and would further divide.

As the Assembly adjourned, the decision was sealed.

The Gilded Star Branch, once intertwined with the Tala Line, would also standalone as an independent nobility.

They would await their heir.

Xiadon Tala.

The only son of Sionan and Prina and grandchild of the fallen Merchant Prince, Elder Yvandro.

His name carried through the halls like an omen. He had yet to claim his place. Yet already, his fate was carved into the fabric of history. Many expect him to be the future of their branch family.

Iskayna stood upon the balcony of the Celestial Castle long after the nobles had left. She gazed at the stars, feeling the weight of the night settle upon her shoulders.

Behind her, Dasig and Leon still rested. Their breathing was steady. Their power was returning. They would surely rise again. Bearing her hopes that someday, their fractured clan would once again unite to fulfill their duty.