Chapter 58: The Omen above Lumiria(2)

By introducing standardized firearm technology, he could turn every able-bodied civilian into an effective combat unit. A thousand ordinary men armed with kinetic rifles presented a far greater defense grid than a dozen elite knights who could only be in one place at a time. If humanity was to survive the horrors of this world, it couldn’t rely on miracles or gifted nobility. It needed mass-produced, uncompromising force.

His mind was set. He would advance Lumiria’s technological base, step by step, until they possessed a military framework capable of standing against whatever dark threat hung over this realm.

Ren paced steadily across the smooth stone floor, his heavy boots coming to a halt before the tall glass window frame of the newly constructed armory. He rested his hand against the cold pane, looking out into the bleak twilight that had enveloped the entire sector.

Outside, ferocious gales roared through the open plains, whipping past the perimeter walls and rattling the heavy timber framework of the surrounding buildings. The unnatural gloom showed zero signs of dissipating; the midday sun remained completely swallowed by an ominous, ink-black haze that turned the bright afternoon into a suffocating, pitch-black night.

Ren let out a long, slow sigh, his breath clouding slightly against the glass.

"I was planning to run a live demonstration on the firearms today, but this damn weather had to ruin the entire schedule," Ren muttered, staring out at the shadow-drenched landscape.

It was jarring—seeing a clear, sunny sky extinguished in a matter of minutes, replaced by a dense, unnatural darkness that felt heavy enough to crush the lungs.

"Don’t sweat it, Ren," Ryu said, stepping up beside him and leaning against the interior masonry. "Once this sky clears up, you can take your time showing us how those weapons work."

Behind them, Miku and Reika nodded in enthusiastic agreement.

"He’s right," Miku chimed in, her eyes lighting up with genuine curiosity. "Honestly, we’re really eager to see what those strange firearms of yours can actually do in action."

Ren glanced back over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the three of them. Beneath their encouraging words, he could see the subtle tension lingering in their eyes.

"Are you guys genuinely convinced this is just a routine weather change?" Ren asked, his tone laced with a sharp, grounded concern as he pointed toward the howling dark outside. Even inside the reinforced, stone-walled bunker, a draft seeped through the iron seam of the double doors, bringing with it an unnatural, bone-chilling cold.

Ryu, Reika, and Miku stepped forward in unison, joining Ren at the window to stare out into the darkening expanse.

Their brows pulled tight, a shared apprehension settling across the group.

"Truthfully... none of us can say for sure," Reika admitted softly, her fingers gripping the edge of her floral dress as she watched the black clouds swirl overhead. "A sudden shift like this isn’t normal."

"Yeah, something feels way off," Miku added, crossing her arms tightly across her chest as she held her chin in deep thought. "We’re nowhere near the end of summer. A stormfront this heavy shouldn’t be forming out of thin air."

Ryu’s jaw set into a firm line as he stared into the black sky, his eyes narrowing into razor-sharp slits. "Are you getting that same bad feeling in your gut, Ren?"

Ren turned his head back to the glass, his gaze locking onto the circular void at the heart of the storm, where the clouds churned like a whirlpool swallowing the last traces of daylight.

"Yeah. Looks like we’re on the exact same page," Ren said grimly.

His instincts screamed at him. Calling this a simple transition from summer to the rainy season was absurd. If his premonitions were correct, this atmospheric anomaly wasn’t a natural phenomenon at all—it was an unmistakable harbinger of danger, a silent prelude to a catastrophic threat waiting to drop onto their heads.

[POV: Evelyn]

High upon the grand marble balcony of the royal keep, Princess Evelyn stood leaning against the polished white stone balustrade.

Below her stretched the majestic, sprawling heart of the Starlight Kingdom. From this towering vantage point, the capital revealed its immense scale—a vast, breathtaking expanse of pristine white avenues, grand multi-tiered plazas, and endless rows of slate-roofed estates stretching all the way to the outer ramparts. Nestled within the central plaza, the royal gardens glistened, their marble fountains spraying arcs of clear water around the towering, pristine white statue of the legendary hero, Merlin Grace. Carved from immaculate white stone, the statue stood as a timeless symbol of absolute strength and unyielding hope for the entire realm.

Yet, across the expansive avenues and garden walkways, the bustling crowds had ground to a complete halt. Thousands of citizens pressed together, pointing nervously toward the sky as an eerie shadow crept across the white marble architecture.

The sudden, howling gales whipped fiercely against the high palace towers, snapping at Evelyn’s off-shoulder blue dress and sending long strands of her black and blue-tinted hair flying wildly around her face.

Beside her, Sylvara Elenith stood at attention, her silver hair snapping in the wind as her hand rested firmly on the hilt of her rapier.

"Princess Evelyn... isn’t it still the middle of summer?" Sylvara asked, her voice calm on the surface, yet carrying an underlying edge of tension.

Evelyn’s brow pinched tight. "Yes... it should be."

Her bright sapphire eyes scanned the darkening horizon, a heavy, suffocating pressure settling over her chest.

"What in the world is happening out there?" Evelyn whispered, her vision narrowing against the biting wind.

Sylvara looked up into the churning vortex above, her expression hardening. "Princess... do you suspect this natural phenomenon might be artificial?"

"I do," Evelyn replied, her voice dropping into a stern, ice-cold register.

The wind cut through her royal garments, carrying a sinister, unnatural chill that made the hair on her arms stand on end. It wasn’t the damp cold of an impending rainstorm; it was a stale, corruptive draft that carried the faint, lingering scent of decay.

Her mind immediately flashed back to her bloody confrontation with Velista inside Vora’s pocket dimension. Velista had backed her into a corner with his overwhelming dark authority, only to abruptly break off his attack and vanish through a spatial portal the instant he sensed an approaching presence. Velista, Vora, and the rest of the Heretical Dark Faction were still operating in the shadows, unpunished and uncontained. This unnatural eclipse bore every tactical signature of Velista’s hidden hand.

A disturbing thought crossed Evelyn’s mind, striking her like a physical blow.

’When Velista spoke back then... was the person he was looking for actually Ren Celestial?’

Her eyes narrowed to sharp, dangerous slits as she pieced the puzzle together.

If Velista was indeed targeting Ren, it meant the Heretical Dark Faction was fully aware of the primordial deity—NYX—sealed within the young man’s soul. If a fanatic like Velista succeeded in capturing the vessel, it would spell total, unmitigated ruin for the entire human race.

Evelyn had long known that Velista wielded a terrifying, corruptive mana—a power that bore a disturbing resemblance to the dark entity dormant inside Ren. To make matters worse, both men shared the exact same ancient bloodline name: Celestial.

Yet, history proved that not all Celestials were monsters. Decades ago, a loyalist named Rei Celestial had turned his blade against his own bloodline. Repulsed by his clan’s secret worship of the dark god NYX, Rei had systematically slaughtered the cultists, razing their hidden altars and wiping out every worshipper who refused to bow to the crown. He spared only a tiny fraction of the family—innocent descendants who rejected the dark faith and swore absolute loyalty to the Starlight Kingdom.

Velista, however, remained a dangerous anomaly.

The ruined village Evelyn had granted to Ren—the territory now known as Lumiria—had been the primary ancestral seat of the Celestial clan. When Rei executed his bloody purge, that very settlement became the epicenter of the massacre. Evelyn had deliberately fabricated the story of an Aberrant monster raid to hide the grim reality from the public, hoping Ren would eventually uncover the truth buried within the central residence’s hidden basement.

Yet, despite Rei’s purge, the lingering cultists had still managed to perform their dark ritual before their extinction, sealing NYX directly into Ren’s body.

If Velista knew that Ren was the living vessel of NYX, he would never stop hunting him. He would use every resource at his disposal to capture Ren, break the seal, and unleash the primordial deity to fulfill his twisted vision: the total eradication of humanity.

"Sylvara..." Evelyn called out, her voice cutting through the roaring gale with absolute authority.

Sylvara snapped her boots together, her posture straightening instantly as the wind whipped her silver cape.

"Issue an immediate directive to all royal heroes and garrison commanders. Place the entire capital on maximum combat readiness," Evelyn ordered, her eyes fixed sharply on the black vortex consuming the sun. "Reroute all reserve mana crystals to reinforce the kingdom’s grand defensive barrier to maximum capacity."

She took a slow, deep breath, her face hardened by grim resolve as the shadows deepened around the balcony.

"Something terrible is coming," Evelyn whispered, her voice laced with bitter foreboding.

Deep down in her heart, she knew with absolute certainty that Velista and the Heretical Dark Faction were about to spring a nightmare upon them all.