Aizen had seen beautiful women before. There were a lot of them in The Castle. There were princesses as well whom every male admired and they deserved all the admiration without a doubt. But he had never been speechless in front of a girl before this moment.

He wasn’t even thinking anything. He was just staring at her. She stood half a head shorter than him. Her wine eyes were the same as her hair. Her skin was fair with a little pink in it that raised envy of men and women alike. She was clad in light battle armor and an exquisite dagger was equipped on the belt of her skirt. Her boots were knee-high. Not an inch of her skin was uncovered other than her face and hands. The Black Cloak she wore was not fastened but it still obstructed people from getting an idea of her curves and her exact figure. It may have not been her intention but with her beauty, it only fueled the minds of men to wonder.

He finally collected his gaze that was filled with admiration and smiled at her. However, just as he did that he found her kneeling in front of him and he was left speechless again but for an entirely different reason.

“Viara Ka’zaed sees Lord Morningstar!” Her voice was calm but she was flustered. She had expected for the man to be handsome but her expectations were still short. The man was not too tall, just over six feet. His stature was not broad and was more on the lean and scholarly side. He had midnight blue eyes and had unkempt black hair that was neither long nor short. He held a magnetic attraction to him that would have eyes locked on him, wherever he would go.

She was just wondering how could there be such a perfect face when his lips curved in a smile. It was then that she finally saw the admiration for her in his eyes. She had panicked and straight went down on her knees to pay her respect and to cover her blush.

Aizen did not know why but he felt anger well up in his heart when she knelt to him. He could see that it was out of respect but it made him angry for some reason. He had not even focused on the name she had called him with and just noted it down in his mind.

“Rise,” He said to her in a serious tone, “I do not want to see you kneel like this again. Even if it is me you are kneeling to.”  He voiced his feeling and his anger.

Viara stood back on her feet but still kept her head lowered. It was not only in respect but also because of the anger that his words contained. She had offended him for some reason but there was an unspeakable feeling that his words gave her. She liked them even if she did not understand why he had said so.

“I shall engrave my Lord’s words in my mind.” She said respectfully and in hope that his anger would abate.

Aizen felt awkward at his own anger but he did not say anything more about it. He did not want her to question his manners. She had given her name but he hadn’t.

“My name is Aizen. You may call me by my name.” He said to her in a gentle tone.

“Yes, Lord Aizen.” Viara’s worries finally lessened after hearing the change in his voice. “We must leave now. The portal will not last for long.”

He looked at the portal behind her. Unlike usual portals that could only be cast on a medium such as a wall or a floor, this portal was standing in the air as if space itself has been ripped open. He looked at the room he was in and there was nothing but walls that surrounded it. Each wall had the emblem of The Castle of Knowledge carved on it. An Angel that held a Book and looked at the sky with his wings wide open.

“Let’s Go.” He walked to her and gestured her to lead the way.

She nodded and walked inside the portal. Aizen took a deep breath and exhaled before stepping inside it.

They were in the center of a hall now. The roof of the hall was like the Night sky full of stars that provided the light to the hall. In front of them was a Black Crystal, a Six-Pointed Star, hovering in the air above a formation that was carved on the floor.

The formation was inside a circle and contained an image of a Six-Pointed Star that was surrounded by many inscriptions. The Shape of the Star was exactly the same as the one hovering in the air and those inscriptions were already present in his mind. He felt like the Black Crystal was asking him to place his hand on it but held himself back.

Viara kept quiet and watched Aizen look intently at the star. All he had to do was place his blood covered hand on it, the Star Palace would come back to life and have his new Lord. The Star had waited for thousands of years for his new Lord. She wanted him to carry out the ceremony as soon as possible but she kept quiet and just stood by his side. It was a decision that only he could make when he truly wanted to.

Aizen was not going to touch it without reading through all the inscriptions present in his mind. And he could not read them all in a day or two. His reached this decision because he felt like he needed to have the knowledge of all those inscriptions first before listening to the call of this Crystal and accept what it had to offer. He nodded to himself and then turned around to see the other people present in the hall.

There were five of them but before he could even take a proper look, they all went down on their knees.

“Vienna Ka’zaed sees Lord Morningstar” A sweet and delicate voice called out.

“Lysaria Arzark sees Lord Morningstar”

“Meera Silverborn sees Lord Morningstar”

“Arthur Silverborn sees Lord Morningstar”

“Marylyn Silverborn sees Lord Morningstar”

He looked at the girl leading them. She had the same hair as Viara and the little of her face that could be seen from her posture showed that she was undoubtedly her little sister. He had felt anger when Viara had knelt to him but watching Vienna on her knees ached his heart and filled it with guilt.

“Rise.” He told them and kept his eyes on Vienna as she got back on her feet.

She looked at him with eyes full of curiosity and admiration. It made him feel better and lessened the pain in his heart. Her beauty was breathtaking and her cheerful aura was refreshing and contagious. She looked to be around 16 and was half a head shorter than her sister. Her hair was braided and only two locks of hair were on either side of her face that held an uncanny resemblance to her sister. She wore a pink skirt that accentuated her figure and made her appear even more alluring. The color looked perfect on her and suited the cheerfulness that her presence emanated.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

‘This girl is Dangerous.’ Aizen couldn’t help but comment in his mind.

“Elder Brother, please stop staring at me like this.” She said to him and lowered her head. Her ears were pink from her blush.

‘She really is dangerous.’ He nodded to himself.

“Vienna!” Viara called her out and reprimanded. “Don’t call Lord Aizen, Elder Brother!”

“Oh, so Elder Brother is called Aizen. That’s a nice name!”

The little girl smiled at him cheerfully and completely ignored the warning of her sister.

Aizen could see that this little girl was clever. She had only called him out as an elder brother because of his alienated command of “Rise” to her. She had seen through him. He felt really happy to have her treat him as such and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“You may address me as you like, Princess.” He said to her and watched her blush at his words.

“Un” she nodded her head before teasing her sister with a wink.

She was someone who made him happy just by her presence. And for her to have such an effect on him, empowered her all the more to make him sad if she wanted to.

He could feel the link that connected him and the two girls. ‘Is it because we have the same Bloodline?’ He asked himself but left the thought for later to divulge in.

Aizen looked at the girl on the right of Vienna. She was wearing a white skirt and was slightly shorter than her Master. Her lovely face held enchanting emerald eyes that were curiously looking at him. When their gaze met, she lowered her head as the pink intensified on the fair skin. Her silver hair was pin straight, flowing down her back. She was of the same age as Vienna and emitted a graceful and delicate aura. The impression that she would give others would be of ‘A Timid and Delicate Flower’ which even Aizen has thought of until their gaze met. ‘A Silver Rose with hidden Thorns’, it was the impression he had now. He smiled and then sighed. ‘What a troublesome pair of Master and her Shadow.’

The girl on the right was different from anyone else in the room. From everyone else, he felt some familiarity but from her, he didn’t. He, however, felt the link between her and Viara which deemed her as Viara’s shadow just like how Meera was Vienna’s shadow.

Lysaria gave off an imposing and heroic aura. She was slightly taller than Viara and was clad in a similar light armor. It was more of a battle skirt with light metal plates covering the vitals and vulnerable parts of the upper body. This battlesuit accentuated her figure and alluring curves. She had a tight waist and her leather-clad thighs were ample. Unlike the other girls that blushed under his gaze, she only squinted her sharp brown eyes. Her brown hair was braided in a fashion only Valkyries adopted. That explained why he felt no familiarity with her. He remembered reading about a family that had a special Bloodline. And their women were called Valkyries, who loved battling just as much as their men.

‘What a fitting pair of Master and her Shadow’. He laughed softly as he glanced at Viara and then back to Lysaria making them both furrow their brows.

The last two were a couple. And their likeness to Meera made him guess that they were her parents. They looked no more than 25 years old. The woman was taller than her daughter and looked just as delicate, clad in a black skirt. The man was only an inch taller than his wife. He was handsome with a light touch of femininity which made him appear delicate as well. He wore a White Cloak with a Star embedded on where the heart should be.

They were people who were not born to be warriors but still emitted a dangerous aura. They were undoubtedly assassins specializing in their Bloodline. The aura they emitted was exactly the same and it had confused Aizen. But soon after seeing the amiable smile on their face and their nod to him as he observed him, he understood the reason.

“Viara” He called her name as he looked at her. “What is this Star?”

“This star is the Star or Morning, A Black Star formed of Black Crystal and the essence of the first Ancestor of Ka’zaed Blood.” She replied in a dignified tone.

He was shocked at her reply. He had already figured out about the Black Crystal but the thing about the essence of the first ancestor was Heaven Shaking. Every Bloodline in the lower plane was a branch of a family on the middle plane. Similarly, every Bloodline on the Middle plane was believed to be a branch of the Bloodline of the Higher Plane. A first ancestor could only be someone of the Higher Plane and someone who was possibly an Origin God, Origin Devil or Origin Monster. For the essence of the first ancestor to be present here was defying the laws of the planes.

Aizen knew that the place he was in right now was not on the Higher-Realm. No one could enter that realm and even those that came from the Higher-Realm could never go back there. It was a one-way route.

“The Star of Morning controls the Star Palace. And will only acknowledge a Morningstar to order it.” She also looked at the star as she spoke. She could see that he had a lot of questions but he could only get those answers if he from the Black Crystal.

“A Morningstar is an Alpha of Ka’zaed Blood. Only one exists at a time and another is born only from his Bloodline after his death. So when the father dies the son is born from one of his father’s women to be the next Morningstar.” She continued. “However, the last Morningstar died 6000 years ago and all his women were killed. Only a few of his children that were present in the Palace survived and none of his sons could be the next Morningstar.” She added.

Aizen’s mind raced as he tried to comprehend her words. So his father died when he was born? No, his Mother was only 16 when she gave birth to him. The last Morningstar died 6000 years ago. Was he really a Morningstar? Questions just kept arising in his mind and he looked at her for the answers.

Viara, however, did not have the answers to his questions.

“I can only tell you that your Father is indeed the last Morningstar. Your mother should be his first empress for she was the last one to be killed and must have done something to keep you away from the eyes of people. However, she was found and killed only a few hours after the death of her husband” She said and sighed. “The star must hold the answers. You can find them when you want to”.

He was only more confused after her words. He really wanted to go forth and accept the Star but he held back. He needed to calm down first and then learn the inscriptions before accepting it. He sighed and took his gaze away from the Star.

“Princess” he looked at her with a smile. “Would you show me around this Palace?”

“Elder brother won’t be accepting the Star right now?” She inquired with a smile and walked over to him. She tugged her arm around his and pressed her bosom on it.

“There are some things I must do before accepting it.” He was baffled by her move but managed to reply back in a composed manner.

Aizen could feel the softness and suppleness of her bosom on his arm. He leaned in and inhaled her aroma. “Shall we?” He whispered in her ear before looking at her.

Vienna wasn’t expecting such a bold move in return and his ambiguous words made her mind indulge in wild thoughts that scared her. Her cheeks warmed up and she lowered her head. However, she could tell that he was only teasing her so she gave back an ambiguous reply. “Yes, whatever Elder Brother wants.” She could play the game too.

“Are you sure?” He whispered in her ear. His question made her heart thump hard against her chest and he could feel it on his arm.

“Un,” She nodded but kept her head lowered.

“Let’s go.”

Viara could only look at their leaving backs, dumbfoundedly. Her sister was way more mischievous than she could think. But she was shameless as well, this she only found this out today.

The couple was also baffled but then they just shook their head and laughed. Marylyn looked at her daughter standing beside them. And tried her best to not tease her in front of everyone.

Meera too was shocked at the actions od Vienna and cursed her mistress in the heart. ‘You are too shameless!’ ‘You said we will take our time!’ ‘Shameless liar!’, she kept cursing her in her mind but still could not take away her mind from the matter that would entail. She was after all the shadow of Vienna. She had turned red from her blush.

Lysaria did not show any evident shock on the face. Her mind, however, was cursing someone.

“Shameless” only these words came out of her mouth.

Everyone thought that she was referring to Vienna but in reality, her words were directed towards Aizen. He had earlier looked at her with an unscrupulous gaze and she had held back these words until now. She had already considered him a lascivious person the moment their eyes had met. ‘For Eyes Don’t Lie.’