Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

A day later...

In the realm of Astraya, every major figure who had participated in the long battle against Orivian had gathered around a large circular table.

Thorsin was among them as well, having been revived by Eliomor alongside the other souls that had once been suspended within the roots of the shrine. Floating seats had been arranged around the table for everyone, leaving enough space between each individual as they waited for Eliomor to begin the meeting.

Kael sat beside Eliana, the Elven Queen, while Thorsin sat slightly farther away with the two people he had brought during the previous meeting in the Church of Eluminad. Opposite him, several meters away, sat Sylvaris alone, her calm expression unchanged as she observed the others.

Zaakrax occupied the far side of the table from Eliana, his arms crossed in a relaxed manner as he looked toward the group sitting opposite him. Velmira was also present, seated near Sylvaris, remaining silent as she observed the gathering.

After everything that had happened on the Human Continent, this was her first major meeting as its newly appointed Queen.

Atlas sat beside Eliana and Kael, while Solaris and Seraphiel sat beside him. Seraphiel had insisted on coming despite Atlas wanting her to remain at home, and since it was ultimately her own choice, he had no reason to refuse her.

She had even dragged Atlas beside her despite his designated seat being elsewhere, leaving Solaris to sit on Seraphiel’s other side. Atlas didn’t particularly mind the arrangement. If this meeting had happened before, he would have spent his time analyzing every individual present and comparing their strengths, but things were different now.

He already knew that he was the strongest person sitting around this table in terms of conventional power, while Kael was the only person he considered comparable because of his strange abilities.

Atlas’s attention remained fixed on the floating orb of Eliomor’s consciousness, which hovered several meters above the center of the circular table. Once everyone had settled into their respective seats, Eliomor finally began speaking.

”Now, before I get into the main point of this meeting, I would like to impart some knowledge to all of you about certain things. What I am about to explain may shock and confuse you at the same time, but it is necessary for you to understand before I reveal the details of what is going to happen.”

With that, Eliomor began imparting the knowledge of what a Galaxy actually was and what their own World represented within it. They learned that Eliomor was nothing more than a single planet located inside a vast Galaxy containing countless other planets and worlds.

The World they had spent their entire lives considering the entirety of existence was, in reality, only one small part of something far larger. Atlas understood the concept almost immediately and simply nodded as he processed the information, having already experienced things that made the revelation less surprising to him.

The others, however, were far more shocked by what they had just learned. Sylvaris and several of the other rulers remained frozen for a moment as they tried to comprehend the scale of the Galaxy that Eliomor had described.

Even Thorsin’s expression became serious as he attempted to process the idea that their entire World was merely one planet among countless others. Zaakrax reacted somewhat differently, his expression becoming thoughtful rather than openly shocked, as though the revelation was connecting with things he already knew.

Seraphiel also accepted the information surprisingly easily, focusing more on understanding what it meant than being overwhelmed by the revelation itself.

After giving everyone some time to calm down, Eliomor continued speaking. ”Now that you know the most crucial information, I shall begin explaining things.” Everyone nodded in response, with the exception of Atlas, who simply continued staring at the orb with curiosity.

”Two thousand years ago, after I had made an agreement with Luberion and laid out the plan to take down the resurrected Orivian, he ascended into a Higher Plane.” As Eliomor spoke, the meaning behind the unfamiliar words was directly conveyed into the minds of everyone present, allowing them to understand what it meant without needing a separate explanation.

Atlas had already experienced this knowledge entering his mind before, so the revelation didn’t surprise him. The others were also less shocked this time because Zaakrax had previously told them about Ascension, although they had never known the details.

The existence of a Higher Plane also seemed far less unbelievable after learning that their own World was only one planet within a much larger Galaxy.

Eliomor continued after a brief pause. ”Before he ascended, however, Luberion created a ’Veil’ around the entire World so that Eliomor would remain undetectable and untouchable by external threats such as the Eternals. By that point, Luberion had reached a level where creating such a Veil around the World was possible.”

Atlas and the others remained silent as they carefully processed the information. The fact that Luberion had been capable of hiding an entire planet from external civilizations for such a long period of time made it clear that the First Human King had possessed power far beyond what they had previously understood.

Kael listened to the explanation carefully as a thought surfaced in his mind. ’Hmm, this Luberion guy must have been quite strong. Don’t you think, System?’ He could already sense that things were beginning to move toward an entirely different level of existence and power. The revelation of the Galaxy, the Higher Plane, and now the Veil was making it increasingly obvious that the world he had known was only the beginning of something much larger. A grin appeared across his face when the System responded.

[Highly likely, Host. From the situation, it seems a new power hierarchy is going to be organized soon.]

’Heh, I like the sound of that...’

Kael’s grin lasted only for a moment before he turned toward Atlas, and the expression on his face immediately disappeared. ’Tch! He’s gonna become even more powerful now!’ He cursed internally before the System responded with what felt like an obvious reminder.

[Host should remember that Host was the one who gave him that Pill of Experience. That has already made him the strongest one sitting here.]

Kael sighed and shook his head before returning his attention to Eliomor’s explanation. ”That ’Veil’ had been stably protecting Eliomor from those external threats for two thousand years without any inconvenience.”

”However, as you all know, everything eventually has an end to it.” Eliomor paused for a moment, and when it continued, there was a noticeable seriousness in its mechanical voice, ”The energy sustaining the Veil has been almost completely drained, and now that Veil is going to wear off in just two months.”