Chapter 84: Eldoria

Eldoria was everything the System had described and more.

The floating city rose out of the clouds like something that had no business existing in the same world as muddy roads and Guild commission boards. Terraces of pale stone and living crystal stacked upward in elegant tiers, connected by bridges that looked spun from light. Waterfalls spilled from the edges of the city and dissolved into mist long before they could reach the distant ground. Towers twisted gently like growing things rather than rigid construction. The entire place glowed with a soft, clean radiance that made everywhere else look dim by comparison.

For a long moment, nobody on Argent’s back said a word.

Kai felt his mouth fall open and didn’t bother closing it. Even Elias had gone quiet. Ayan’s eyes were huge. Rhydian let out a low, impressed breath.

"Doesn’t get old," Lucien said, staring at the city with equal wonder, though there was something more personal in his gaze.

Kai understood the feeling. Who would want to go back down to the filth and noise of the world below if they lived somewhere like this? If he had been born an elf, he doubted he would have ever left. And since the city was floating now, there had to be history behind that change. The thought tugged at him. He suddenly wanted to know everything about how Eldoria had risen into the sky.

Lucien directed them toward a wide, luminous platform that jutted out from the lower edge of the city. The runway was made of a clear, sparkling substance Kai couldn’t identify — somewhere between polished crystal and solidified light. Argent landed with surprising gentleness. Elias, of course, had to make his own entrance. He dropped from the air in a controlled spiral and touched down with a flourish that was only slightly ruined by the fact that everyone was already rolling their eyes.

Classic Elias.

Ayan looked around with open, almost childlike curiosity.

"Whoa... does every part of the city look like this?"

Lucien chuckled, a quiet note of pride in his voice.

"Most places do. But none of them lead up to there."

He pointed forward.

At the highest tier of the city, rising above everything else like a dream given stone and form, stood the royal palace. White walls caught the light and held it. Towers spiraled upward in graceful curves, their surfaces etched with living vines of silver and pale green. Broad terraces overflowed with luminous flowers. The central spire was crowned with a crystalline structure that refracted sunlight into soft rainbows across the upper city. It didn’t look built so much as grown from the same magic that kept the entire mountain suspended in the sky.

Elias let out a low whistle.

"Whoaa. What is this place?"

"Can’t you tell?" Lucien said. "It’s the Royal Palace."

"Oh, I definitely dig that."

"Come on."

They followed him along a wide avenue of pale stone. The closer they got to the palace, the more the air seemed to hum with power. When they reached the gates, the tall barriers opened without a single spoken command.

Several elven attendants — all women, all graceful, all dressed in flowing white and green — stepped forward in perfect formation and bowed deeply to Lucien.

"Welcome, my prince."

"Welcome, Your Highness."

The words landed like a dropped stone in still water.

For a second, the entire group went speechless. Even Argent made a low, surprised sound in his throat and shifted his wings.

Elias recovered first, of course.

"What a twist. Who knew the flower boy had serious history!"

Rhydian looked genuinely startled.

"This is the first time I’m seeing this myself."

Ayan’s voice was barely above a whisper.

"Whoa... royalty."

Kai turned to Lucien, eyebrows raised, and let a thread of dry annoyance color his tone.

"Hello? My prince?"

Lucien laughed under his breath. Then something in his posture changed. The quiet, slightly reserved alchemist they had been traveling with seemed to step aside, and a different presence settled over him, Even before he spoke, the shift in aura was unmistakable. The air around him carried a new weight.

"Welcome, friends, to the palace of Eldoria," he said, voice clear and formal. "I am Lucien Vaelith the Third, Crown Prince and heir apparent to the throne of Eldoria. Please....you may enter."

The System confirmed it without hesitation.

[Identity confirmation matches prior bloodline analysis. Candidate 002’s ability to manifest a true World Tree is consistent with direct descent from the First Elf line. Royal status: verified.]

Lucien gestured toward the open gates. For a few heartbeats, nobody moved. They just stared at him, trying to reconcile the soft-spoken man who carried herb baskets and the Crown Prince who had just introduced himself with effortless authority.

Kai found the contrast unfairly attractive. The formal bearing, the sudden gravity in his voice, the way the attendants looked at him like the center of their world .... it hit in a way that made Kai’s fingers twitch with the irrational urge to drag him closer and kiss the composure right off his face. He crushed the impulse before it could show.

"Go on," Lucien said, nudging them forward. The quieter, more familiar side of him flickered back into his tone for a second.

They smiled awkwardly and stepped through the gates. The attendants moved ahead to guide them. Elias, predictably, immediately started eyeing one of the prettier maids with open interest and offered her a slow, shameless smile. Kai shot him a flat look that promised violence later. Elias only grinned wider.

Lucien issued calm instructions as they walked.

"Show the beast to the stable, and the guests to their respective rooms in the guest quarters."

Then he turned to Kai and the others.

"I will be with you all by evening."

Without waiting for a reply, he moved past them and disappeared down a different corridor, already being absorbed back into the machinery of the palace.

The attendants led the group toward another wing. Argent gave a low call and launched into the air, following a separate guide toward the stables. Rhydian watched him go with a flicker of worry until one of the maids reassured him, in soft and careful common tongue, that the Thunder Griffin would be treated with the highest care.

Kai walked in silence, still turning the new information over in his mind.

Lucien Vaelith the Third.

Crown Prince of Eldoria.