Chapter 60: Blue Mist and Echoes of the Void
The cold persisted long after Violeta and the Outsider had left the arena. Frost and spatial rifts still shimmered under the moon, like sacred scars reminding the clan that, on this night, the world had changed forever.
I. The Protagonists' Reunion
Violeta, exhausted, was supported by Kael and Eris the moment she stepped out of the arena. Eris embraced her without reservation, still feeling the vibration of ice within her own bones.
—"I never saw you fight like that. I felt as if the world could split in half," Eris said, with a mixture of pride and concern.
Kael, steady and firm, placed an arm around his sister's shoulders. —"Today you proved that Morningstar is not just blood… it is space, it is legend."
Lyra, Aylin, and Xylia approached. Lyra, her eyes misty, whispered: —"Your combat showed us a future that none of us dared to dream of."
Aylin, inspired, squeezed Violeta's hand. —"I want to learn how to walk between worlds, just like you."
Xylia, always direct, smiled through her heavy breathing: —"Next time, fight beside me, not in front of me. Someone has to cover the cracks you leave behind."
Their laughter, brief and sincere, dissipated the last shadows of fear.
II. Strategies of the Pillars and Mentors
In the strategy room, Cedric and the elders discussed the battle. Cedric traced an invisible map across the table, marking the points where Violeta had manipulated space.
—"Violeta's awakening changes our entire defensive scheme," he commented. "If we can integrate her techniques into our formations… the clan will be impenetrable."
Elder Marcus, still pale from the pressure of the combat, nodded: —"I have never seen anyone wield space like that. But they must practice the relay: if another anomaly appears, not even ice can hold the world together alone."
Lilith, the Ash Phoenix, contemplated the frost still coating the windowpane. —"Tonight we did not win through power alone, but through cunning and surprise. Let us ensure the world continues to fear what Morningstar hides beneath the calm."
Elder Sela added from the shadows: —"Let all aspirants study this duel. The void is a double-edged sword: it can protect us or devour us, depending on how we embrace it."
III. The Council and the Disciples
In the corridors and courtyards, the disciples tried to mimic Violeta's teleportations—tripping, bumping into each other, and laughing.
—"Did you see when she appeared right behind the outsider?" —"I want that art!" —"First, learn how to not fall out of your bed," another mocked.
Jian, the wind prodigy, approached Violeta later. —"Your battle taught me that to break limits, one must accept the risk of getting lost."
She replied modestly: —"And you taught me that no journey between worlds is worth it without friends to remind you where to return."
Old rivalries softened. The aspirants now knew that glory was shared, and that the legend of the sequence never belonged to just one person.
IV. External Observers and New Intrigues
In the galleries of the outsiders, spies and emissaries from rival empires took hurried notes.
—"Next time, we will send one of our own space-jumpers." —"What do you think that clan seeks with such forbidden power?"
Lord Varian of the Star Ice smiled coldly. —"The world has just glimpsed its new abyss. Now they will see what happens when the gods forget to fear mortals."
V. The Patriarch and the Night
From the tower, Samael observed the citadel: the frost, the blue mist, the exhausted yet radiant disciples, and the Star Tree glowing brighter than ever.
The System whispered:
[The clan has transcended its frontier.
Violeta's awakening has altered the Qi of the continent.
Prepare yourself, Patriarch: new enemies and allies will come, drawn by the echo of this winter.]
Samael smiled, feeling that the clan was more united and more dangerous than ever. —"Today they danced between worlds. Tomorrow, they will write history."
VI. Epilogue: The Promise of the Siblings
That night, beneath the Star Tree, Kael, Violeta, and Eris tied a blue and white ribbon together, vowing that in every battle, no one would ever travel alone through the rifts of fate.
The Morningstar Clan, amidst ice, space, and memory, prepared for the next roar, knowing that after tonight, their legend would have no borders.