Nakșatra Flame god;He who becomes Empyrean

The room was dim, silent except for the soft creak of the door as Renn Tal stepped in.

He walked past the gloomy room and into a courtyard flooded with sunlight. It was beautiful—almost too much so. A shallow, clear lake rippled quietly at the center. Birds of every bright color flitted between trees and carved rocks. Everything was carefully placed to create the feeling of peace. But to Renn, it all felt like decoration around something dangerous.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a young man, his back turned. White robes, embroidered with green symbols. Hands behind his back.

His face was exceedingly handsome and pale,around him gaits swirled around,making the air around him ghostly and chilling.

That was Darius—leader of the King Cobra Triad.

He looked barely twenty, but everyone knew better than yo underestimate him due to his young age.

He was a genius nurtured by the sect themselves,so he enjoyed a transcendent status even among fellow inner court disciples.

His skin was pale, smooth like porcelain. His features were sharp, almost too perfect—like he'd been carved instead of born.

Renn didn't speak,he dropped to one knee.

"My lord Triad Leader," he said, bowing his head slightly.

Darius didn't look back as he asked,"Did he accept?"

Renn shook his head. "Kaelith refused."

There was a pause.

Then Darius chuckled softly and finally turned around. He looked amused, not angry. "He said no?"

"Yes, my lord. Directly. No hesitation."

Darius's expression changed slightly—like something about the answer genuinely surprised him.

"Hmmm,You're really similar to him, eh…" he muttered.

Renn blinked. "I'm sorry, my lord? Similar to who?"

Darius didn't answer right away. He just stared past Renn like his thoughts had wandered somewhere far off. Eventually, he spoke again.

"He's stubborn."

"Yes, my lord," Renn said carefully. "Should I push him more?"

"No," Darius said, shaking his head. "Don't pressure him. Let him think. If he wants to join us, he'll come on his own. Give him a week. If he doesn't show,then just watch him from the shadows,tell the outer court members not to go try and coerce him using force…if not,hehe."

He said in a manner that implied severe punishment,possibly death…

"As you wish.",Renn tal shuddered inwardly,he knew better than to defy the young lord's orders.

Darius stepped closer to the lake, watching the koi fishes move beneath the surface. For a long moment, he said nothing. Renn waited patiently—he'd learned not to interrupt when Darius was in this kind of mood.

"You didn't expect him to say no," Darius said, not looking up.

"Yes, my lord," Renn admitted. "Most people would jump at the chance to join the Triad. Especially after we embarrassed one of our own for him."

"He's not like most people," Darius replied. "He's scared. But not of us.",he could sense a deeper energy emanating from the outer court and it was coming from kaelith…

Renn frowned. "Then what is he afraid of?"

Darius glanced back at him. "Himself."

That made Renn pause. He didn't fully understand what Darius meant, but he wasn't about to ask more questions. Darius had his own way of thinking. Sometimes he said things that didn't make sense until weeks later.

"Stay out of the inner court this week," Darius said casually, as if talking about the weather.

Renn straightened. "Why?"

"The elders are watching,they don't like us blurring the lines between outer and inner court. Let things cool off for some weeks."

Renn nodded. "Understood. I won't set foot there until you say so."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a talisman—a thin slip of enchanted paper lined with golden thread.

"I'll contact you through this," he said.

Darius barely reacted. World Paper talismans were rare, expensive, and highly valued. But for someone like Darius? It was pocket change.

"Good."

Renn tucked it away again. Then, after a brief pause, he asked, "What exactly do you see in him, my lord?"

Darius didn't answer immediately. He stared at the koi for a few seconds, then said, "There was someone I once knew long time ago. Kaelith reminds me of him. Same look in the eyes—like they're carrying the weight of something no one else can see."

He turned back to Renn. "Two tigers on the same mountain eh??let's see how this goes,hehehe."

That confused Renn. But he didn't ask.

Then he bowed again and left the courtyard, the heavy door closing behind him with a quiet thud.

Inside, Darius stood alone, watching the sunlight dance on the lake. His thoughts lingered on a name he hadn't spoken in years.

...

Thud!!!

A low thud rang out in the room,as a ripple spread,about a radius of seven meters before it dispersed.

8th level of Vital ember realm!!!

Kaelith had woken up to cultivate early today

This past three days had been very life changing for him because his cultivation speed had increased massively,his meridians had been increasing in strength and elasticity every day since the night he was mysteriously healed,letting him accumulate more energy in them…

"Is this the heavens bestowing good grace upon me??,I feel closer to my goal more than ever now!!!"

He was still a long way from being strong enough to contend with the powerhouses of the red rage sect,but his increased cultivation speed gave him confidence,atleast his Goal didn't seem so far fetched as much…

He quickly suppressed his aura,hoping to hide his cultivation level from people,they would be shocked if they knew he increased his realms by two stages in the Span of a week.

If word of it were to get out,it might draw unnecessary attention to him,and kaelith didn't quite like the spot light.

"Grrrhh",

His stomach made a rumbling sound signifying his need for food..

"Huh??,but I just ate bruh,how the heck are you hungry,it's just noon,",kaelith looked down and spoke as if berating his stomach.

He had already collected his daily allocated meal from the outer court's food court.

He scanned the room,looking if he could find any food material that he could cook.

At the one of the corners to his entrance,he found some potatoes with blight,elated,he quickly started preparing the potato.

He quickly stepped out to cut vegetables for a side dish..

"Hey kaelith", said a girl,about the same age as him,

She had extremely fair skin,her face was pretty decent.she wore pink robes that couldn't quite hide her developing curves…

She smiled sweetly at kaelith,making him smile back slightly.

"How're you Trisha,hope you've been good??"

Trisha was an outer court disciple too.

She was one of the very few people who talked with kaelith,a friend of sorts.

Her contagious smile,and kind heart made it impossible for kaelith to resists talking with her,she always made it hard for him to act cold or unfeeling towards her…