Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

The moment everyone stepped inside the Basilica, they immediately realized that something was different.

From the outside, the Basilica had appeared to be an enormous but completely normal structure standing at the center of the city. However, the moment they crossed the threshold, the space before them no longer matched what should have been possible from the structure's exterior.

The interior was far larger than the Basilica itself could physically contain, with a massive empty chamber stretching far beyond the dimensions that should have existed within the building. There were no visible walls separating the expanded space, nor could anyone determine where the additional space began or ended. It simply existed as part of the Basilica's interior as naturally as if it had always been there.

For the strongest individuals present, this discovery alone was enough to make them take the Basilica far more seriously.

This wasn't merely some Spatial Relic expanding the interior of a building, because the effect covered an enormous area and the spatial structure had been maintained so naturally that none of them could find the boundary between the original space and the expanded one. Someone had to possess an extremely high level of control over Space to accomplish something like this, and judging from how stable the entire area was, that person's understanding of Space had most likely reached a level far beyond what any ordinary Cultivator in Eliomor could imagine.

And this was only the first thing they noticed after entering.

At the far end of the massive chamber, a woman could be seen sitting behind a large table. She had already been waiting for them, her posture calm and composed as she watched every person enter without showing even the slightest trace of impatience.

She wore the traditional white garments of the Holy Church of Eluminad, the clothing covering her body from her shoulders to her ankles while intricate golden patterns were embroidered across the fabric. Her long purple hair fell naturally behind her back, and her facial features were so refined that even among the strongest women present, she immediately stood out.

There was something about her that made it difficult to perceive her as merely another Human.

Her beauty was almost divine, but that wasn't what truly made her different. Her calm eyes carried a depth that made it difficult for anyone looking at her to determine what she was thinking, while the faint presence surrounding her didn't feel like pressure from a powerful Cultivator at all. It was more like the surrounding space itself had already accepted her existence as something that stood above it, making it difficult to treat her as an ordinary person who simply happened to possess tremendous strength.

She looked like someone who had possessed power for so long that displaying it had become completely unnecessary.

She was Sylvaris Oreorthal.

The Pope of the Holy Church of Eluminad.

The moment everyone had entered, Sylvaris slowly raised one hand and snapped her fingers.

SNAP!

The sound echoed throughout the enormous chamber as the empty floor beneath everyone suddenly shifted. A massive obsidian circular table began emerging from the floor itself, rising smoothly without producing even the slightest crack or sound, and there wasn't even a visible fluctuation of Spirit Energy accompanying its movement. It simply emerged, as though the space itself had decided that the table should exist there.

One chair after another then emerged around the circular table as well, each positioned several meters apart from the next. By the time the final chair settled into place, approximately five meters separated every individual who would be sitting around the table, leaving enough distance between them that no one could casually interfere with another person's position. The attendants remained standing behind their respective Strongest Individuals, while Sylvaris calmly watched everything finish.

Several of the people present couldn't help but feel slightly more cautious after witnessing this.

She had simply snapped her fingers, and the space had responded.

Sylvaris finally stood up from her seat and looked toward everyone who had gathered. Her expression remained completely calm as she spoke with an almost melodic yet steady voice, "Now that everyone is here, I would like us to get to the main agenda of this meeting."

Her voice wasn't loud, yet every person inside the massive chamber heard it clearly as though she had spoken directly beside them. "Before we start, though, I assume all of you know that the previous generation of Kings and Queens were the last ones to see us Ancients."

She paused briefly before continuing, "And we do not abide by the rules followed by any Continent in this World, nor do we have any treaty with any Continent. That means we will not care if we have to destroy an entire Continent should we deem it dangerous or believe that it has brought trouble upon us."

The moment those words left her mouth, Solaris and Eliana's eyes narrowed slightly. Neither reacted openly, but both immediately thought about the same possibility, 'Is she talking about us?' They were the ones who had arranged the Formation that had caused the Ancients to move, and although they had taken precautions beforehand, there was no guarantee that those precautions had actually been enough. What if Kael had already been detected?

Solaris's expression remained unchanged as another possibility crossed her mind. He was an Anomaly, but these Ancients weren't children, what if his Presence Erasure didn't work on them? If that was the case, another question immediately followed, 'Then why did they allow him to move freely?' The possibility that the Ancients had already discovered everything but deliberately allowed Kael to complete his task was far more troublesome than simply believing that they had failed to notice him.

Eliana had already reached the same possibility from her own perspective. If the Ancients had discovered what they had done but had deliberately remained silent, then there had to be a reason for it. 'Could they already be preparing something?' Neither Solaris nor Eliana had an answer, because their knowledge regarding the Ancients was simply too limited.

They knew what had been passed down through History, but that information could only explain what these beings had done in the distant past. It couldn't tell them what they were capable of now, nor could it explain what kind of abilities they had developed after spending countless years outside the rules followed by the rest of the World.

And now, they were sitting directly in front of one of them.

Sylvaris calmly looked around the table before sitting back down and speaking again, "Now that you know the basics about us, let me introduce myself first. My name is Sylvaris Oreorthal."

The moment she spoke her name, something strange happened.

There was no explosion of Spirit Energy, no Formation activating beneath the floor, and no visible disturbance in the surrounding space. Yet every person inside the chamber felt the resonance of her name passing through their heart and mind, as if the very sound carried a deeper meaning that their minds instinctively recognized despite having never heard it before.

"I have served as the Pope of the Church of Eluminad for a thousand years," Sylvaris continued, her voice maintaining that same strange resonance. "My surname originates from one of the Ancient Families in Eliomor."

Every word she spoke continued to carry that sensation, making everyone wonder how such a thing was possible. They knew she wasn't using any kind of Unique Ability or Relic, because there was no Spirit Energy fluctuation accompanying her words. If she had activated some ordinary Ability, there would have been at least some disturbance that their senses could detect.

This was something else entirely.

Only Zaakrax seemed to understand what was actually happening as a faint smile appeared on his face, 'Is she trying to pretend that she didn't notice my Cultivation Rank, or is she testing me?' He had recognized the technique hidden within her words, and the fact that she could influence everyone in the room without revealing any obvious activation made it clear that her control over it was extremely refined. If she was testing him, then there was no reason for him to remain passive.

Zaakrax slowly raised one hand, immediately drawing the attention of everyone present, including Sylvaris, "Then we should introduce ourselves as well, as you may not know our names and Origins."

He paused briefly before continuing, "Although you sent the letters to us, you never mentioned our names in them. Instead, only the titles of King and Queen were mentioned and..." His gaze shifted toward Velmira, who remained seated with an indifferent expression. "...a certain Revenant, I suppose. From that, we can assume you do not know our names. Don't you think that is a reasonable conclusion, Honored Pope?"

Sylvaris narrowed her eyes slightly as she caught the true meaning hidden beneath his silver tongue, 'If you're going to test me, let me test you as well.' That was his actual intention, and except for Sylvaris, none of the others could understand the meaning hidden beneath his words. They simply didn't possess enough information about Zaakrax or the extent of his abilities to recognize what he was doing.

A long silence followed.

Sylvaris continued looking at him for several moments before finally thinking, 'Such audacity. Even if he has reached the same level as us, he is still young and shouldn't be capable of using such a complex technique. Heh, perhaps his arrogance as a Dragon has simply gotten to his head.'

Her expression remained calm as she finally replied, "Fair point. Introduce yourselves, then."

Zaakrax was the first to speak.

"My name is Zaakrax Valderion, the ruler and Emperor of all Dragons. My surname originates from the greatest and strongest Dragon Ancestral Family to have ever existed." The moment he spoke, his words spread throughout the entire chamber with the same strange resonance that had accompanied Sylvaris's introduction.

Solaris's eyes widened.

Eliana's expression stiffened.

Azarion and Thorsin both turned toward him in disbelief.

They had all felt it, the same depth, the same authority, the same level of existence that Sylvaris had revealed through her own introduction.

For the first time, the strongest rulers of Eliomor realized something they had never expected to discover from this meeting.

Zaakrax Valderion had already reached the same level as an Ancient.

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[A/N: Read the creator's thoughts section... hehe~]

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