Ren landed on paved ground. A towering wall faced his back and tts glowing inscriptions terrified him.

His instincts wanted nothing to do with the wall and its inscriptions.

Looking at the concrete buildings, Ren gulped. Used to the wooden architecture of Evergreen city, the developed buildings surprised him.

He felt a strong sense of familiarity with the architecture.

Nostalgia clouded Ren's mind. Everything reminded him of home. However, a particular difference destroyed his reverie.

The inscriptions on the buildings glared at him. In this aspect, the buildings resembled Edahi’s model of architecture.

“Lord Ren, welcome to the Lunocha clan. I shall be your guide.” The owl perched on Ren's shoulder.

“Why did you bring me to your clan?” Ren asked. He couldn’t get over the vague sense of familiarity.

“Our Matriarch wishes to meet you. Of course, it is related to Zarstorm.”

Ren nodded and followed the owl’s directions. On his way, he encountered many black-haired humans, clad in decorated robes. Their cheerful banter filled the air. It was a familiar, yet foreign sight, distinct from the enslaved human town in Ren's memory.

However, an extraordinary aura surrounded everyone. It reminded him of their identity. They were Ascended Humans!

Ren’s blue hair stuck out in the crowd. All sorts of gazes fell upon him, mostly curious.

Ren sighed. He couldn’t escape his unspoken fate of being the center of attention. His sole consolation was the lack of hostility from the crowd.

“Hey, a human!”

“What is a human doing in our Clan? I’ll blast him out!” Two young men spoke loudly, ill-concerned of inconveniencing the public.

Ren stopped, curious if he'd meet the first hostile bunch.

“I don’t know. Wait! That’s Elder Xeroh!”

“Elder? Blasted bones! I forgot my training sash. I'll be back.”

“Pfft! Weren’t you the one who spoke of kicking him out? Chicken!”

“Your mom is a chicken!”

“She’s your mom too!”

Ren couldn’t help but smile. However, Piko’s head plunged.

“Lord Ren, please ignore these rascals. I’ll teach them a lesson later!” Piko glared at the two brothers.

----------------------------------------

Ren entered the largest building in his vicinity. Armored swordsmen crowded the building. With Piko’s intervention, they passed the security and entered a large room.

A white-spotted black lamp stood at the center. Its overpowering black light arrested the trespassing sunlight, isolating them in the shadows made by the lamp's spots.

As a result, the walls resembled stars glowing in the night sky.

“Welcome, Void Arts Practitioner Ren.” A soft, cracking voice caught his attention.

An old woman approached him, seated in a wheelchair. Her large spectacles rested on her wrinkled face. However, her black hair lacked a single trace of white. A uniformed maid pushed the wheelchair towards him.

“Are you Lunocha’s Matriarch?” Ren's brows furrowed.

“Indeed, Young Ren. Entering this cruel path at such a young age… It breaks my heart to see such suffering.” The Matriarch wiped her spectacles.

“Thank you for the concern, but I’m not here for your pity.” Ren's impression of the Matriarch instantly plunged. She wouldn’t have spared him a glance if he wasn’t a Void Arts Practitioner. Yet, she feigned pity over the same issue.

“If the elders were to be apathetic towards the plights of the younger generation, the youth shall grow into a bitter generation, crueler to their young ones. This vicious cycle of apathy will destroy us. Don’t you agree?” Her smile warped her wrinkles.

“The information or I’m leaving,” Ren warned. He even doubted if they had any information on the Zarstorms.

The Matriarch nodded and commanded in a soft, yet stern voice.

“Xeroh, can you bring my documents?”

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“…Matriarch, pardon my memory, but may I know which documents?” Piko asked hesitantly.

“Silly me. I placed them on my study table. They’re the ones marked with ‘Zarstorm’. You can't miss them.”

“Understood, Matriarch.” The owl escaped through a window.

Ren's expression fell. He doubted if the old woman was stalling for time.

“Young Ren, would you like a cup of tea?” Without waiting for a reply, she ordered, “Bring a chair for my guest. And two cups of tea.”

The maid displaced a chair, carefully positioning it behind Ren. Then, she departed.

“I’d prefer if you told me whatever you know about the Zarstorms.” Ren sat down. Inwardly, his excitement for the information had dimmed.

“You care a lot about ‘Zarstorm’. Revealing one’s weakness is a terrible idea in a negotiation.” The old woman caressed the armrest of her chair.

“I disagree.” Ren stared into the old woman’s black pupils and continued, “There are no negotiations without this information. If you want my help in any manner, I need all the information on the Zarstorms. If your clan withholds it or I find it unsatisfactory, I’m leaving. But, conversely, if it is helpful, I will return the favor. So, can you stop stalling?”

“Are all children fearless these days? It’s no wonder that we have Void Arts prodigy. I can rest assured. The future is in wonderful hands.” The Matriarch praised while accepting a teacup from the diligent maid.

Ren clenched his fist.

“Lord.” The maid offered a cup to him.

He refused the cup and outright ignored the maid. She awkwardly placed it aside.

“If you're going to stall, I'll have to assume that you know nothing. And if you shift the topic again, I will leave.” He spoke in a deadpan voice.

Unlike his expectations, the Matriarch smiled calmly and waved her hand.

The maid approached her and whispered into her ears. Although Ren couldn’t hear their conversation, he guessed that it pertained to the source of the delay.

After a gesture, the maid moved the Matriarch towards the mystical lamp. The Matriarch touched the lamp and spoke.

“It feels like yesterday. I sat on my father’s lap, listening to his bedtime stories. One story, I could never forget. It was an era when the Mother Tree wasn’t supreme. A lotus bloomed! Its petals spread throughout Everleaf forest, expanding at an inconceivable pace.”

Ren’s heart shook. He isolated all his thoughts as his back unconsciously straightened.

“It was the awakening of the earliest known empire in Everleaf, the Zarstorm Empire. Earth Elementalists ruled the forest and humans were supreme amongst the races. Even so, every creature bowed before the ultimate ruler, the Progenitor.” A nostalgic smile crept up the Matriarch’s face. Her eyes turned cloudy, as though she had witnessed that era.

“This Golden Age invented the field of Magic Crafting, along with its inscriptions. Even Teleforms are credited to this period. A short 10 years... It transformed the forest forever. It connected and united the fragmented forest under the ever-blooming lotus. Or so, one would believe.” The old woman closed her eyes.

“Every flower with wither one day. What matters is how long they captivated the world with their beauty. The Zarstorm Empire captivated the world for 10 years. However, its fall did not leave Everleaf in chaos. A new empire rose in its place, the Edahi." The Matriarch sighed and continued, "The rest is common history.”

Ren gulped before asking, “How long ago was this?”

“If we go by Edahin records, it will date at least 5000 years back.”

Ren sighed. He was confident that the Zarstorm Empire belonged to his Zarstorm branch. Unless there existed another Zarstorm bloodline with the lotus as its symbol and Earth Elemental Magic as its expertise. The possibility of such a coincidence was lower than the possibility of Rui speaking the truth.

“What about the ruler? What was he like?” He asked.

“We don’t know much about the ruler. But in our ancient records, they’ve been mentioned as the Progenitor.”

“Are his descendants alive?” Ren’s eyes glowed.

“Yes.” The woman smiled.

Whoo! Ren sucked in a breath of cool air. Excitement, hope, and joy returned to his parched heart.

“Where… are they?” His voice grew hoarse.

The Matriarch caressed the lamp. Staring at the glowing darkness, she spoke.

“Young Ren, we are the descendants of the Progenitor.”

Ren jerked. However, upon second thought, his brows furrowed.

“You have the bloodline of this Progenitor?” He asked.

“Indeed, we are the heirs of the Progenitor. Even our earliest known ancestors refer to the Progenitor as their ancestor.” The Matriarch replied in a grave tone.

“I see. How good is your Earth Elemental Magic?” Ren grinned, his gaze alternating between the black hair of both the maid and the Matriarch.

“I’ll have to disappoint Young Ren. We aren’t Earth Elementalists.” The Matriarch smiled faintly.

“What about your bloodline skills?” Ren hid his urge to laugh. A cold flame raged within his chest.

The Matriarch’s smile faded. She ordered, “Cut the lights.”

The maid nodded and waved her hand. The curtains closed, forbidding entry to the sunlight. The lamp became the sole illuminator in the room.

‘Wind Elemental Magic?’ Ren’s eyes narrowed.

The Matriarch removed her spectacles. Her cloudy black pupils focused on him.

Profound darkness corrupted the whites in the Matriarch's eyes, turning it black like viscous tar.

Thump! Besides the rhythmic thumping of Ren's heart, the room was silent.

However, the Matriarch's pupils brightened, overpowering the darkness. It resembled the moon in a starless sky.

Thump! Thump! Ren’s heart pounded rapidly. A slight change had transformed the fragile old woman into a dangerous predator.

“Young Ren, please come closer.” The Matriarch beckoned.

Ren calmed his heart before approaching the Matriarch.

She grabbed his hands by force. A green light covered Ren’s fingers.

He felt a slight tingling in the depths of his fingernails. Soon, his wounds healed, expelling the remnants of the dirt.

The green light spread throughout his body, massaging the minor wounds spread throughout his body.

“There, all healed.” The Matriarch dropped Ren’s hands and continued, “This is our bloodline skill.”

“Healing, it’s a powerful bloodline skill.” Ren’s eyes gleamed but his joy fell flat. Healing was never an expertise of the Zarstorms.

The Matriarch’s eyes returned to normal. However, her complexion was a shade paler.

“Young Ren, I believe you mentioned our cooperation hinges on sincerity from both sides. We’ve proved our sincerity. Now, I ask for your sincerity.” The Matriarch smiled weakly and asked, “What is your origin and how did you learn Void Arts?”

“I’m just a human. As for the latter question, how many methods of learning Void Arts are you aware of?” Ren shrugged.

Crack! The armrest of the wheelchair broke. The old woman entered a coughing fit.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“Yes… yes. I’m fine.” The Matriarch took many short breaths. Nevertheless, the concern on the maid’s face told Ren that all was not well.

Upon regaining her breath, the Matriarch spoke.

“Young Ren, we have one last request. Can you show us your Void Arts?”