Unsealing Emptiness

Chapter 446: The Grand Reveal.

"...It’s all because of the Alliance Leader!" Ember blamed Hestian while pointing at his face.

The Alliance Leader wanted to speak, but the Celestial Phoenix was still putting unimaginable pressure on the three Sages. He felt that he wouldn’t live to see the next day if he displeased the creature even once more.

"Explain." The Phoenix replied, releasing even more pressure than before.

It was at this point that Hestian finally realized there was no way out of this mess. He had gotten nervous in the presence of this creature; it only now started to set in how much of a blunder he had gotten himself caught in.

"Your Majesty, the incident is nearly a century old when thatman from the ’Land Above Realms’ destroyed my Mind’s Eye. Even though I was under your protection, evidently, you couldn’t do anything since it would have left the whole Realm in ruins had you intervened."

Ember was clever in her use of words to direct any bit of sympathy as she could to herself while being meticulous in her efforts not to offend the Phoenix either.

"However, a mortal heart such as mine couldn’t rest until I got my revenge. That much, you should agree with, Your Majesty."

A humming voice resounded throughout, signaling the Phoenix’s approval, "But what does your revenge have to do with destroying The Alliance and assassinating City Lord’s men?"

At this point, things were already falling into place in Hestian’s mind. Sweat formed on his forehead as he struggled to think of a way out.

Ember didn’t hurry with her explanations. She knew that the Phoenix was willing to listen even more now, "Your Majesty, I spent countless years searching why that man specifically targeted me in this Realm. After all, I wasn’t the only Dragon with a Mind’s Eye in this Realm nor was this the only Realm he could’ve chosen.

If not for the evidence I found a few decades later, even I would have started to realize that my suspicions stemmed merely from the bitterness rooted in my heart."

While the Phoenix didn’t seem to mind, the Transcendents at some distance were cursing at Ember for dragging her story so long. After all, they were enduring the worst kind of physical and mental pressure they had ever encountered in life.

Ignoring the pains of her own subordinates, Ember continued calmly, "Imagine my surprise, Your Majesty, when I found evidence of contact between that man and our Alliance Leader right here!"

The Celestial Phoenix sharpened her gaze.

Ember knew perfectly well that that incident had also left bitterness in the Phoenix’s heart. After all, her subordinate was stripped of her cultivation in her territory while she could only watch silently.

"L-Lies, Your Majesty! I had no part in-"

But his ramblings were cut short as the pressure on his body increased to the point that his spine caved, thrusting him into the ground.

"I can tell when someone is lying to me, wretched snake!" The Celestial Phoenix’s anger was now only directed at Hestian.

Even City Lord Ryujin was at a loss for words.

Amidst the unfolding situation, Ember still continued speaking, "Since I was the City Lord and a smart one, the Alliance Leader couldn’t control me as he wanted to. When presented with the opportunity, he was quick to betray Your Grace."

This time, it was Ryujin who spoke up, "Are you saying Hestian has connections with people in the ’Land Above Realms?’"

But Ember shook her head but didn’t look at him, "The Immortal Sect is responsible for that. Since they are in constant struggle with the Beastkin, the Elders of the Sect were more than happy if they could reduce the number of Dragon Sages."

And just with words, Ember had easily swayed the Celestial Phoenix’s bitterness and directed it toward the Alliance Leader and the Immortal Sect.

Standing at a distance, Ozul who could feel and observe emotions was one of the few who could make out what she was doing.

"But why did you have my men assassinated?! I wasn’t involved in all of this!" Ryujin shouted, still frustrated that he had lost so many Transcendents.

"Your Majesty, Ryujin was in talks with the Immortal Sect. I didn’t want Phoenix City to have any more connections with those bastards. And even in this endeavor, the Alliance Leader helped me." Ember again shifted the focus on Hestian.

"He accurately told me where Ryujin’s men would be each time. This snake wanted to weaken everyone so he let me kill a few Transcendents. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would leave his layer and rally the City Lord against me."

As Ember laid down everything, there was a momentary silence that prevailed throughout Phoenix City.

Ryujin was even more enraged at the fact that Hestian helped Ember, shifting all the anger and hate toward Hestian alone.

"Your last words?" The Celestial Phoenix stared down at Hestian.

But the Alliance Leader remained quiet, with his head dropped and blood seeping from his nose.

Countless thoughts ran across his mind. Where had he gone wrong? What could he have done better? When was he found out? How did Ember best him? Should he have killed her?

Unfortunately, it was too late for these thoughts. If he were to sum up his mistakes, it all boiled down to one thing only: he had become arrogant.

Having played tricks and used people to his advantage all his life, he had gotten comfortable.

"Don’t become so arrogant or you will fall just like me!" Hestian glared at Ember and spat hatefully.

Those were his last words as the Celestial Phoenix screeched once again and black flames rose just beneath the Alliance Leader.

Screams of agony filled the city as slowly everything around Hestian began to melt and evaporate.

Before long, another Sage in the Realm was dead!

The black flames burned until not even his ashes remained in sight, giving a cold reminder to the onlookers of the horror they may go through if they crossed the Celestial Phoenix.

"The matter here is resolved! Taint my territory any further, and I will be forced to cleanse!" The soothing voice of the Celestial Phoenix entered everyone’s ears.

Meanwhile, Ozul was the only person moving boldly toward the Phoenix.

Not only was Jinx on his shoulder but she was constantly nudging his face with her paws and pointing toward the Phoenix.

He stopped multiple times, considering it a safe distance from that giant creature, but Jinx would start nudging at his face again.

The Celestial Phoenix then turned toward Ember, "I wronged you when I stood by silently back then. However, resistance against that man spells chaos for this entire Realm. Keep that in mind."

Ember listened silently, not denying nor agreeing with her advice.

The Celestial Phoenix understood that a century-old resentment couldn’t be washed away with mere words, so she didn’t pursue it any further.

Instead, she finally addressed the City Lord, "I think you knew my distaste of that Sect. Continue your dealings if you so wish to, but any trouble caused by those vermins will be yours to deal with and yours alone."

Ryujin, the City Lord, too cupped his hands together and dropped his head. He was afraid the Phoenix was about to relinquish his title and return it to Ember, but it seemed like he had narrowly avoided that fate.

Beside him, Ember was satisfied with the outcome.

In one swift manner, she had gotten rid of the scheming snake known as the Alliance Leader and also cut down Ryujin’s forces, even if a little.

As for regaining the title of the City Lord, it didn’t matter to her. On the contrary, she would have resisted such responsibilities. Being the City Lord would grant her many powers, but so did some restrictions.

After all, she would suddenly become responsible for a whole city. Previously, she could hardly manage enough time for other activities. Hence, she had to acquire that extremely rare artifact which allowed her to set up teleportation gates all over the Realm.

She had long realized that she couldn’t depend on the influence of the Phoenix again.

There were only a few people native to this Realm who could threaten her, and they were the people who had even broken the barriers of the Sage Realm and touched the skies.

The Sect Leader of the Immortal Sect was one such person.

’With this new Mind’s Eye which was already strengthened, I might even be able to achieve a breakthrough...’ thought Ember silently as she stood firm in her respectful posture, hoping the Phoenix would leave.

The Celestial Phoenix flapped her abyssal wings, ready to fly back into her Sub-Realm.

Standing among other Transcendents, Rai had the most exaggerated expression on his face. Ember hadn’t shared this plan even with him, but everything turned out in her favor. Only now did he realize why she wanted him to take down as many Transcendents as he could.

It made sense that this was a rare opportunity to weaken Ryujin as much as possible. Now, Ryujin had lost 5 capable men and the Phoenix was leaving for her nest. They had escaped responsibility for those Transcendents!

He could only marvel, with jubilant emotions, at such a comeback of his Lord. If not for the Phoenix’s presence, he would have even started clapping.

But just then, the Phoenix stopped, the burning blades of wind generated by her charcoal feathers died down instantly.

’Hm?’ Ember looked up with a puzzled face. Why did the Phoenix stop?

The Phoenix was looking in a certain direction with deep focus.

Tracing her line of gaze, Ember noticed a familiar figure with a black cat on his shoulder, slowly walking toward them.