novelraw Chapter 140 - 139 - Aftermath of a Miracle
Chapter 140 - 139 - Aftermath of a Miracle
"HOW IN THE HELL WAS THIS ALLOWED?!" Estelle was screaming from her office in the Floating Isles to the assembled council of the Stardust Emporium. It had only been hours since Lind Frey did something, but the special artifact in the Star Piercer had suddenly spiked like mad.
The massive structure floating above Cimmeria served many functions. The most critical was ensuring none of the other structures ever fell from the sky. Its other functions were mostly governmental or showing the prestige of the Stardust Emporium.
It had been modified from a design found in an Inheritance.
Its other purpose was to have an unrestricted view of Cimmeria to detect nefarious experiments. Cultivators were selfish creatures and often tried to find shortcuts when the regular path seemed to abandon them.
It also served as a warning if something horrifying made its way to their Mortal Realm but it had failed spectacularly.
"We do not know, esteemed–" One of the old men on the council in resplendent silk robes tried to speak but Estelle was having none of it.
"I GET ENOUGH KISSING UP FROM MY IDIOTS AT STARFIRE! HOW DID ONE OF THEIR GATES OPEN UNDER OUR NOSE?!" Her face had to be deep crimson as she was breathing heavily from shouting. Some felt like her tier 4 Sky Realm aura could reach them down on the surface.
"When the gate closed, a few offices up here also exploded in emerald light. We do not understand the mechanism but Seniors Sylvan and Mor have vanished from our halls." A younger woman with auburn hair spoke as she read from a report. Estelle nodded for her to continue.
"When we examined their offices, we found secret caches that had been ruined by what seemed to be some of their artifacts. How they were smuggled in was clear as those seniors had authority to turn off the detectors." It was unavoidable that someone with authority abused it, but this time it was near catastrophic.
Not only had a dangerous gate been opened within their city, aether children had been sacrificed in large numbers. According to estimates, at least 15000 had been lost.
Human losses were harder to calculate as there were many guards on missions or doing things for their cultivation that could get them killed without leaving a body. Losing guards on a yearly basis was normal.
Estelle's projection massaged her temple and glanced at once of the members. Unlike the rest, he was dressed in oranges and yellows. He was the acting head of Starfire House in Cimmeria. He nodded and coughed to draw attention.
"I am afraid things are worse than we thought. I have finally reviewed some questionable records over the last few years and I have concluded some of the artifacts given to us vanished without sale." The room felt tense. It was bad.
Starfire House held high end items for sale in Cimmeria only but Sapphire Auction House was their combined economic power across the 3 continents that could funnel special items back to Cimmeria.
It meant there had been a systemic abuse at many levels either through incompetence or active collusion to do so. How close had they come to disaster and it was all stopped by a Soul Realm. A 6 elemental one at that!
"Daniel, do we have records of what they were, their appraisals?" The young man nodded and pulled out a scroll. It was clearly fortified by formations but he was shaking from nervousness for all to see, yet he kept going.
"My Lady, one was an unidentified black metal rod. No Qi could enter it effectively but we were setting it aside for further analysis. There were also several jade slips of near Heaven Realm power being reviewed with artifacts they were found with. All were deep black in color without exception." Half the old men massaged their temples. It was no one's fault exactly but the combined description left them with the current events that led to 1 conclusion.
"Thank you, Daniel. Now, I want a deep and stark review done on everyone and everything in the next month. If I find any of you overlook ANYTHING remotely wrong, I will personally send an appeal to the Alliance for appropriate measures!" Estelle glared at them and all were sweating buckets as they knew she was serious.
"What about Lind Frey?" The auburn haired woman spoke once more but it was a valid question. All had heard the voice demand for him and more than a few in their seats knew who it was.
"Best to leave that alone for now. Anyone that crossed that senior never lived to regret it. Trust me, he is in the best hands. Further, I want that boy protected so long as he is in Cimmeria. If he stumbles, it better be an act of Heaven and Earth!" Estelle's serious face left no discussion and few could argue with her logic.
The boy had saved them all.
He had exposed traitors, closed a gate, and freed prisoners. The Aether Sect had petitioned as well for him while the Heavenly Maiden Sect's position was clear from the start. The Divine Sword Sect's main headquarters in Sarth had somehow found out as well and were sending someone.
How could a single Soul Realm have so many sects fighting to protect him on top of Lady Estelle? None questioned it as they all bowed to her.
"Now, I want the city repaired and that entire structure gutted. If that is not done by the end of the week, we shall all have a very pleasant conversation once again!" Estelle smiled like a hawk looking at prey that made them all shiver. Everyone nodded and not one thought to pass the cost to the lower merchants like they usually would.
The meeting moved on but the large matters had been covered yet it was far from the only meeting and in them all a name was being repeated over and over again.
Lind Frey.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Heavy. Lind's first sensation was being weighed down. He could not move his arms or legs but it was due to some kind of weight on them. His next sensation was a splitting headache but he slowly opened his eyes.
He had expected perhaps to see white space once more but he recognized the profound feeling in the neat stone structure around him. Sunlight softly leaked in from a window facing a bare street he was very familiar with.
He was trying to organize his thoughts but his first one was straight forward.
How was he alive?
It was swiftly followed by the comforting sensation of his Qi flowing in meridians that should be shredded. His dantain was solid with no fractures or damage. His cores were at peak tier 9 and foundation at peak tier 8. How?! How was any of this remotely possible?
It was not like the last time. The karmic restitution had done a very thorough job of healing him, but this felt very different. His memory was foggy for most of the fight but he definitely felt death closing in at the end.
He faintly remembered hearing Shoti's voice and maybe felt her hand but it may have just been his last thoughts before death.
He carefully looked down and giggled to find out his 'weights' were 3 women. One platinum blonde, one sapphire and gold, and one green haired women were all laying on top of his arms and legs. They were passed out but they looked tired even asleep. Tear tracks were clear on all their faces and he felt guilt.
"You should feel guilt, idiot!" Delenn's voice came from somewhere but quietly. He looked over and saw her leaning over the window sill to look at him. Her white hair made a shroud of holiness around her.
"Di–" The moment he tried to speak his parched throat roared to the front of his concerns. A cooling mist floated above him and he allowed the water to soothe his throat before he tried again. "Thank you, Mistress. Did you heal me?"
A soft look passed over her face but she shook her head.
"You are a very lucky young man. A Gift of Aether usually can't help a human, but maybe 6 elementals are different. You are only alive due to that and some pills. I examined you carefully but there are no issues." Lind nodded but then glanced down and looked back at Delenn who only smirked at him.
"You must suffer for making them worry and weep. Be a man." Her broad shoulders shook as he could see her giggle. "You made a miracle and were repaid in turn by another. Make sure to thank the spirits for their mercy."
Lind nodded solemnly and profusely thanked them.
He knew he could not rely on these miracles. Twice they had happened, it would not happen again. No one was that lucky.
Lind looked softly at the 3 women and wondered if Cyntilla was ok. He quickly checked and found her mark was intact. Didn't he die? He must have come close instead.
"Mistress, how long have I been here?" Delenn became solemn. She then came inside and sat down to look at him.
"You have been out for 3 days. I have helped your recovery far faster than they can do out there. The contest starts tomorrow but I recommend you skip it for now." Lind smirked but then nodded down to the 3 women and Delenn also giggled. There was zero chance of Lind going anywhere.
"Am I in trouble?" Lind had acted unilaterally within Cimmeria, even in self defense, he had probably wrecked a street at least getting the aether children out. He was likely on the hook for some serious expenses and could not see Lady Estelle missing a chance to profit off an elixir master.
Delenn stared at him as if he was an idiot.
"You discovered a nefarious plot to consume aether children and humans by monsters that should not be in this realm. You closed their gate somehow and nearly died for it. Your elixirs, given to the Heavenly Maiden Sect, have been distributed to the few businesses and people injured in the after effect also." Lind did recall asking Vice-Sect Master Lydia to do that and giving her a batch to do so from grades 1 to 3.
"So, no trouble?" Lind was not sure how Cimmeria worked when such clear leverage could be used against him but Delenn held her head in her hands before sighing.
"They owe you, Lind. They owe you a great deal. You do not understand but they do. What you faced was a terror from the Heaven Realm." Lind felt his blood run cold. The Heaven Realm was an actual place as well as a cultivation realm. He had not heard much about it but something that could turn humans into those voracious things was terrifying.
The memory of facing them made him shiver but did not awaken any of his weights. The bottomless hunger and empty emotionless eyes would haunt his nightmares for a time to come.
"What was that?" Lind wanted to know but saw Delenn's brow furrow. He knew she was weighing whether to tell him something or not but then she shook her head.
"It is not something you need to worry about and we don't like talking about them. Making such a gate is very difficult and often useless for them in the Mortal Realms. If not for those idiots, it would have collapsed on its own in less than a month." Lind nodded but made a note to see if there were any records matching what he faced.
He would never forget it.