Back in the world of Kalpa, the past week had passed with little that truly demanded Akasha’s full attention.
He had spent the days quietly tying off loose ends—settling minor matters of the Peak, reviewing the latest status from the Academy of Veils, and ensuring the second domain continued to stabilize without unexpected complications.
During his latest conversation with Harlan, he learned something rather intriguing: the Ancestors of the Academy of Veils wanted to speak with him.
He had always assumed this moment would have come much sooner.
As mentioned before, before his mental outlook changed, Akasha wasn’t one to take the first step—he tended to respond to events rather than initiate them.
Still, he was almost certain that his accomplishments around the Academy would have drawn the Ancestors’ attention long ago.
Yet, for it to have taken more than a decade to happen... well, that was surprising.
With that in mind, he added the meeting to the short list of things he planned to wrap up before leaving Kalpa.
After taking care of the remaining tasks, he quietly kept that promise to himself.
The chamber that held the Ancestors was a quiet, circular space deep underground below the Academy of Veils.
Two broad healing tubs sat in the middle of the room, their surfaces calm and faintly glowing.
The air had a crisp, almost clinical chill, disturbed only by the gentle, intermittent sound of droplets forming and falling back into the water below.
Akasha sat in a simple chair of woven dream-matter, one leg crossed over the other, posture relaxed yet fully present.
His purple-and-white hair drifted slightly in the still air.
Before him, the two Ancestors reclined in their own tubs, each bearing the hallmark traits of the Loria Empire—soft brown hair, deep brown eyes... the distinctive features of their lineage.
And seeing this, his mind wandered slowly, thoughts drifting without any sense of urgency.
’I guess... Everything grows more interesting the longer I remain here.’
He hadn’t been in the presence of the Ancestors for long—just moments ago he had appeared without any warning at all.
One moment, they were alone, and the next, Akasha was there, seated in a simple chair crafted from the very essence of his dreams.
Yet, despite his brief time here, a single glance told him all he needed to know.
These two were Loria—undeniably so.
And much like Amber, they seemed completely unaware of what that truly meant.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You wanted to meet me, didn’t you?" he asked, voice calm and lightly amused. "But... why does the cat seem to have your tongue?"
The two Ancestors stared at him from within their healing tubs, the soft light of the chamber catching on the still surface of the water.
Through their eyes, the figure seated before them refused to settle into clean focus.
Even so, they could faintly make out his luminous brown skin, with neck-length hair of purple and white drifting gently with every faint current of air in the room.
The vivid purple infinity symbol was etched on his face with meticulous care.
His posture, however, was almost lazily at ease—one leg draped over the other, one hand resting lightly on the arm of the plain dream-woven chair...
His expression carried a hint of amusement, as if the whole meeting were nothing more than a passing diversion rather than a formal affair.
And yet, despite the striking details, he appeared to them as almost nearly invisible.
The edges of his form blurred and slipped whenever they tried to hold him fully in sight.
Even so, the imperfect beauty that still reached them carried a quiet, persistent weight, pressing against their senses in a way neither of them could easily name.
The woman felt her fingers curl slowly against the cool rim of the tub.
’How... did he simply appear here?’
The question turned over in her mind without finding an answer.
There hadn’t been the slightest sign he was coming—not even from Harlan.
One moment the chamber was empty; the next, he was sitting there as if the place had always been his.
The man beside her kept his jaw clenched, eyes narrowed in quiet calculation.
"He wasn’t this strong... not years ago."
Back then, much of the Academy had been thriving, expanding rapidly.
From this very spot, they could see Akasha clearly, every detail unmarred by distance... Yet now, barely a decade later, he had risen so far above them it was almost unfathomable.
And still, that face—flawed yet radiant, magnetic in a way they wished it wasn’t.... drawing their gaze again and again, defying every attempt to look away.
The woman took a slow, deliberate breath before speaking.
"So, you’re the one who’s been aiding the Academy of Veils for the past two decades?" Her tone was steady and devoid of any excess emotion.
"The Lord of Dreams?"
At that exact moment, favorability notifications appeared in neat succession across Akasha’s vision.
[First Ancestor of Veils Favorability: 65/100]
[Second Ancestor of Veils Favorability: 67/100]
Akasha’s smile widened ever so slightly, a subtle shift that hinted at quiet satisfaction.
The relaxed confidence in his stance seemed to flow even more naturally now, as if the climbing numbers were merely affirming what he’d known all along.
With deliberate calm, he offered a single, measured nod.
"I am," he said.
There was no hint of bragging in his tone—just a calm admission of fact.
Every effort he had made for the Academy had ultimately been in service of his own goals. It was a simple reality, one that needed no defense and certainly no extra flourish.
Before either Ancestor could form a reply, a soft notification bloomed in front of him.
[You are being summoned: Amber Salvatore (Loria)]
Inwardly, he arched a brow, though the easy smile on his face stayed perfectly in place.
’Uhh... what reason could she possibly have for summoning me?’ he wondered for a fleeting moment before giving a small shake of his head.
With nothing more than a passing thought, he brushed off the summons entirely, turning his attention back to the two figures reclining in the softly glowing water.
Taking a deeper breath, the male ancestor eased the subtle tension that had started to tighten his shoulders.
"Then what exactly are your goals?" he asked. The words came out controlled, but the weight beneath them was unmistakable.
"What are we meant to do once the deadline ends? We still have an entire Pantheon to answer to."
Akasha opened his mouth to respond—only for a flood of notifications to interrupt.
They came in rapid fire, first a few, then dozens, then hundreds, each flashing the same name over and over.
Amber Salvatore.
In this moment, he truly paused.
The smile remained on his face, but for the first time since entering the chamber, a quieter calculation moved behind his eyes.
He regarded the two Ancestors and the relentless stream of summons at the same time, weighing the interruption against the conversation still unfinished in front of him.
’She has to be in some sort of danger... right?’
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