Chapter 47: The Eternal Warden

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Eternal Warden

After finishing their breakfast, Aeon rested his utensils on the table and looked across the table surface straight toward his father.

"Dad, I have a request."

Aldrich locked his gaze onto his son, his expression immediately shifting into a serious, highly focused expression.

As far as his memory could stretch, his son’s personal requests were something both he and his wife could effortlessly count on a single hand.

Unlike the other noble children of his age group who constantly threw tantrums for luxury toys, rare pets, or spoiled trinkets, Aeon had never demanded anything shallow.

Except for a few pieces of high-tier technology and his own specialized game setup, he had always carried himself with an unyielding maturity that made them incredibly proud to call him their son.

Consequently, whenever he manually voiced a request, it was treated as a top-priority, serious matter that demanded their absolute attention.

In truth, there were multiple times when the Duke and Duchess secretly wished their son would make far more demands of them just so they could pamper him.

Aldrich spoke in a calm, encouraging tone, "What is it, son? Speak your mind."

Aeon lightly scratched the side of his head, a trace of rare hesitancy surfacing in his expression. "Would it be possible for me to visit the Astaraeas private family cemetery? I want to properly pay my respects to our ancestors before I pack my gear and leave for the academy."

The parents were taken completely aback for a brief heartbeat. Then, Aldrich burst into a hearty laugh while Elisabeth giggled gently beside him, her chest filling with warmth.

The private Astaraeas Cemetery was a legendary, heavily restricted sanctuary. It was the definitive resting ground reserved exclusively for the direct descendants of the core Astaraeas lineage, alongside highly respected ancestral warriors who had achieved the elite status of S-rank to EX-rank powerhouses before their passings.

It was a staggering feat of structural organization. Even the ancient warriors who had died across distant star systems and isolated galactic battlefields were brought back across the void to be buried directly within this subterranean region.

The graves spanned a timeline ranging all the way back to the eras preceding the Great Merge—the cosmic cataclysm where several distinct dimensions and alien realms were violently collapsed and combined with Earth.

That historical lineage represented hundreds of thousands of years of unyielding warfare. Even after such a massive expanse of time, a dragon’s fallen body remained a prize of unimaginable value.

Even if their internal organs had completely ceased to exist over the millennia, their ancient bones alone held tremendous natural resources and mystical properties.

And things like dragon bones tend to naturally increase its quality as it ages even after death.

Furthermore, when a high-tier entity cultivates, their lifespan scales upward exponentially, and an identical law governs the time it takes for their physical muscles and bones to naturally decompose.

Because of those heavy material stakes, the family cemetery was an incredibly secure, fortified location, its exact physical existence and coordinates rarely known to more than a handful of core leaders.

The parents didn’t harbor a single shred of doubt regarding Aeon’s true intentions, firmly believing that their son was simply a deeply respectful, honorable descendant who genuinely wished to honor the memories of his bloodline before taking his first steps into the wider world.

Aldrich rose from his seat, a brilliant, proud smile gracing his features. "Of course you can, son. Every single true leader of our bloodline must pay their respects to the foundation before heading out. Come, let us make the trip right now."

Elisabeth and Aeon stood up in unison, and the family exited the grand dining hall, heading directly toward the outer courtyard gates of the main manor.

Moments later, they stepped down the marble stairs of the outer terrace, where three high-tech hoverboards floated patiently above the path.

The transport boards were uniquely configured into the sleek shape of a massive double-edged sword, complete with a split handle design that divided into two distinct sections at the rear.

A polished, ten-centimeter circular stabilization port was carved directly into the metal where the blade transitioned into the hilt.

The family members stepped smoothly onto their respective sword-shaped boards, their boots fitting perfectly into the designated tracks with plenty of extra room to spare.

With a quick tap against their high-tech metallic wristguards, a small, vibrant holographic display flickered into existence above their arms.

They tapped a central interface key, and the sword-boards instantly hummed, releasing a soft, pulsing light and a subtle operational resonance that indicated the anti-gravity circuits had successfully activated.

The sword-boards hovered cleanly above the stone path. With a slight, instinctual lean of their feet, the three sword-boards shot upward into the sky, tracking a direct course toward the northeast sector of the vast ducal territory.

They cruised through the clouds toward the cemetery’s coordinates. After five minutes of rapid transit, their boards angled downward, descending before a modest, beautifully preserved one-story blue amd white building.

The sword-boards touched down smoothly on the grass plot fronting the structure. Stepping away from the transport gear, they calmly marched up to the front entrance of the building.

Aldrich reached out his hand, pressing the electronic door chime.

Ding~

.....

Click!

After a quiet minute of waiting, the heavy door slid open with a soft metallic click, and an old man bearing long, sweeping white hair and a pair of dark, polished dragon horns stepped into the frame.

His face looked remarkably smooth, mapped only by a few shallow wrinkles, with a neatly trimmed white beard and mustache settling perfectly around his jaw.

Despite displaying the classic physical characteristics of an elder, his physical posture remained completely unyielding, firm, and exceptionally tall.

His deep, piercing purple eyes locked onto the three family members standing before his home.

"Hmm? What business brings the steamed Patriarch family to my doorstep today? To what do I owe this rare honor?" the old man questioned, his voice carrying a deep, resonant rumble that carried the weight of ages.

Aldrich, Elisabeth, and Aeon immediately placed their right hands flat against their chests, bowing their heads in perfect, synchronized harmony as their voices echoed together.

"Greetings Ancestor, Eternal Warden."

Along the flight path to the building, Aldrich had already quietly briefed Aeon on the warden’s exact identity.

This ancient figure was Ordan Astaraeas. He wasn’t a standard Celestial Dragon by birth, but a Spirit Dragon originating straight from the ancient Spirit Race.

He had been formally granted the Astaraeas family title since the dawn of his existence, a cosmic honor enacted after the very first Ancestors of the Celestial Dragons had forged an absolute, unbreakable blood contract with him.

In a very literal sense, he functioned as a grand Ancestor to every single living dragon lineage inside the modern empire.

Even the primary members of the Imperial Royal Family were required to show unmitigated respect whenever they stood in his presence.

For centuries without end, he had served as the single, unyielding warden protecting the resting places of the fallen families and forgotten heroes.

Ordan casually waved his hand through the air, his tone carrying a touch of mock impatience. "Skip the meaningless formalities, you brats. What exactly brings you to my station, my children?"

Aldrich reached out, placing a firm hand on Aeon’s shoulder as he explained their sudden arrival. "My son will be departing for Nexus Academy in two weeks. He voluntarily requested to pay his deepest respects to our fallen ancestors before he leaves the estate."

Ordan raised a single eyebrow, his deep purple eyes clowed, shifting down to exam Aeon. Aeon didn’t flinch away from the heavy pressure, locking his cosmic gaze directly onto Ordan’s eyes while offering a simple, deeply respectful smile.

For a long, silent moment, Ordan stared down at the young dragon, assessing his presence with deeply analytical, calculating eyes.

Finally, a small smile broke across the elder’s face, and he shook his head slightly in approval.

"Children these days usually have to be dragged kicking and screaming to remember their roots. It is refreshing to see a youth voluntarily visit the graves to offer proper reverence to his ancestors."

He paused for a brief moment, suddenly pointing a gnarled finger straight at Aldrich’s nose.

"Unlike you. When you were around his age, your father had to drag you out of the training yards by your ear just to force you to bow before your fallen ancestors."

Pfft!

Hearing the old warden unceremoniously leak the Duke’s childhood secrets, both Elisabeth and Aeon bit their lips, desperately trying to mask their sudden laughter.

Aldrich’s regal face instantly flashed from pure embarrassment.

Witnessing the reaction, Ordan simply smiled, turning his full attention back toward Aeon. "Are you fully prepared to enter the grounds, boy?"

Aeon offered a firm nod, responding respectfully. "Yes, Ancestor. I am ready."

Whoomp!

The exact microsecond the confirmation left Aeon’s mouth, Ordan snapped his fingers through the air. Instantly, a swirling, vibrant blue portal fractured the space directly behind the family.

Ordan was a legendary, master-tier Space Mage m. An elite practitioner who could proudly declare that across the entirety of Nexus Earth and countless external dimensional planes, absolutely no one could surpass his baseline understanding when it came to manipulating space magic and commanding the Law of Space.

"Very well. Step through the gate, child. You have exactly ten minutes to survey the grounds and offer your proper respects," Ordan stated, casually waving his hand to grant permission.

Aeon stared into the depths of the swirling blue portal, offering a reassuring nod to his parents before stepping through the spatial threshold.

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Whoosh!

Aeon’s field of vision shifted instantly, transitioning away from the sunless environment and the blue-white building into a vast, breathtaking grassland plane hidden deep within an isolated sub-dimension.

The realm was profoundly beautiful, populated by an array of distinct, rare tree species whose vibrant, colorful leaves drifted lazily through the atmosphere, carried by a soothing, perpetual wind.

Colossal, hyper-detailed stone statues were arranged across the landscape. Some were modest in size, while others rose to heights stretching hundreds of meters into the clouds.

Even though the fallen ancestors were proud dragons, every single monument had been masterfully carved to depict their humanoid forms.

Each statue captured the unique combat stances of the dead, with their hands gripping a diverse variety of signature cosmic weapons, while a few stood empty-handed, exuding pure physical dominance.

A complex network of immaculate white marble crosswalks wound seamlessly around every statue, creating a massive, labyrinth-like maze that stretched toward the horizon.

Aeon closed his eyes for a moment, bowing his head deeply toward the rows of silent monuments as he pressed his right hand flat against his chest, sending his voice echoing over the plains.

"Greetings, Ancestors."

Once the formal greeting concluded, he straightened his posture, his eyes flashing with a cold focus.

He had zero intention of wasting his ten minutes of privacy. Utilizing his soul power, he silently cast a high-tier illusion art using his Primordial Spirit Energy, completely cloaking the local space from any external monitoring arrays or spatial eyes Ordan might have running, and Camouflaging Aeon.

With the security of the sector perfectly completed, Aeon raised his right hand toward the sky, a dense, terrifying surge of dark-purple energy instantly erupting over his palm, warping the surrounding gravity as his unsealed power leaked into the graveyard.

A dangerous, brilliant smile spread across his handsome features, and he spoke in a tone of absolute, commanding authority.

"DESCEND."

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