Chapter 81: The Emperor’s Secret

The ancient palace gates remained open, their towering frames carved from pitch-black metal and silver crystal. Rhaevia stood at the threshold, staring into the dark, silent expanse beyond them.

The blue system notification continued to glow brightly in her field of vision, casting an ethereal light over her features.

[WELCOME, SOVEREIGN.]

She could feel countless eyes watching from every corner of the surrounding courtyard. Imperial guards in heavy power armor, high-ranking military officers, and court attendants stood frozen in disbelief. None of them dared to approach her, intimidated by the sudden phenomenon.

Behind her, Raevor’s Sentinel aura remained expanded, buzzing like a coiled spring ready to strike. Her parents and three brothers stood close as well, their hands resting near their sidearms in a clear display of family solidarity.

Rhaevia took a deep, steadying breath and finally stepped forward onto the ancient stone.

The moment her boot crossed the threshold, the intricate symbols embedded along the hallway walls awakened one after another. A brilliant cascade of crimson, azure, and silver light rippled through the corridor, illuminating the path ahead.

Raevor noticed the energetic shift immediately, his dark eyes tracking the pulsing veins of raw power.

"This palace is responding to you," he murmured, stepping alongside her with his hand hovering over his sidearm.

"I know," Rhaevia replied softly, her azure eyes guarded as she observed the glowing floor tiles.

Imperial escorts silently guided them through several cavernous corridors decorated with ancient war trophies. Eventually, they arrived before a pair of towering double doors that groaned open to reveal the Imperial audience chamber.

At the far end of the vast room, elevated on a grand dais, sat the emperor.

He looked significantly older than Rhaevia had anticipated from the official galactic broadcasts. He was not physically frail, but a profound, bone-deep exhaustion hung over his shoulders, as though he had carried a crushing secret for far too many years.

His sharp gaze immediately settled on Rhaevia, holding her eyes for a long moment.

Then, his focus shifted toward Raevor and finally toward the formidable group of the Rythundeir family standing right beside her.

"Leave us," the Emperor ordered, his voice echoing off the high stone arches.

Raevor’s expression instantly hardened, his posture shifting into a combat-ready stance.

Rhaevia’s eldest brother immediately stepped forward, blocking the view of his sister with a broad shoulder. "No."

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits at the open defiance. "This strategic hearing concerns classified information that predates your family’s service to the throne."

Rhaevia raised one hand calmly, signaling her brother to hold his ground.

Her brother stopped his advance, though his posture remained tense. "I’ll decide whether I stay," Rhaevia said, meeting the Emperor’s gaze directly without flinching.

The Emperor stared at her for several long seconds, assessing the absolute resolve in her posture.

Finally, he gave a slow, reluctant nod. "Very well."

The heavy entrance doors slammed shut behind them with a booming thud, sealing the chamber. The massive room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence as the external security barriers activated.

Rhaevia crossed her arms over her chest, getting straight to the point. "You summoned me because of Project Genesis."

"Yes," the Emperor admitted, resting his elbows on the arms of his throne.

"You know something about it," she pressed, stepping closer to the dais.

The Emperor exhaled a slow, heavy breath that seemed to weigh down the air around them. "My family has known about Project Genesis for generations."

Rhaevia’s eyes narrowed into cold slits. "How many generations?"

"Not enough," he answered flatly.

His blunt answer caught her off guard, making her tilt her head slightly.

The emperor rose from his throne and walked toward a central console, activating a massive holographic display. Ancient, fragmented records flickered into existence in the air before them.

Most of the files were severely corrupted, displaying jagged lines of static. Some entries were erased, while others contained only broken pieces of ancient symbols.

"This is everything the Imperial bloodline currently possesses on the matter," the Emperor explained, gesturing to the damaged data streams.

Rhaevia stared at the flickering holographic light. "There isn’t much here."

"There used to be," the Emperor’s voice dropped to a darker tone. "Much more."

He touched the holographic interface, attempting to open a secondary file, but it dissolved into red error text.

"During the previous Imperial generation, central archives were deliberately erased," he stated, looking at the dead data streams.

Rhaevia’s expression hardened as she processed the admission. "By whom?"

"I don’t know," he admitted, turning his tired eyes back toward her.

"You’re the Emperor," Rhaevia countered coldly, unimpressed by his ignorance. "You control the royal network."

"I know what my title implies," he replied, a bitter edge touching his tone. "But being emperor does not mean possessing every answer in this galaxy."

He turned toward her, resting his hands behind his back. "My grandfather inherited incomplete records. My father inherited even fewer. By the time I took the throne, most references to Project Genesis had already been erased from the core drives."

Rhaevia felt a cold chill trace its way down her spine. "Why erase them?"

"Because someone believed the information itself was too dangerous to exist," he answered grimly.

Raevor stepped forward slightly, his heavy military boots clicking against the marble. "Dangerous enough to erase from the highest Imperial archives in existence?"

The emperor looked directly at the major general. "Dangerous enough that previous emperors were willing to destroy their own legacy to keep it hidden."

Rhaevia’s mind immediately raced back to her experiences on Planet V-17. She recalled the ancient formation beneath the crust, the Sovereign Relic, the Third Sovereign Faction, and the dormant civilization.

"Your family knew about the ancient sealing," she stated firmly.

The Emperor didn’t answer immediately, his silence stretching across the hall.

That hesitation was more than enough to confirm her suspicion.

Rhaevia’s eyes sharpened with dangerous realization. "You do know."

"We possess fragments," the Emperor conceded softly.

"Fragments of what?" She demanded, taking another step forward.

"An ancient sealing protocol," he revealed, his voice solemn.

The air in the room seemed to drop several degrees in temperature.

The Emperor tapped the console again, activating a secondary projection that filled the center of the hall. An enormous celestial formation appeared, shimmering in brilliant blue light.

It looked almost identical to the massive structure buried beneath the surface of Planet V-17.

Rhaevia’s breath caught in her throat as she recognized the geometry. "This..."

"It was discovered deep beneath the Imperial capital generations ago," the Emperor stated, watching her reaction closely.

Raevor’s eyes narrowed as he analyzed the orbital schematics. "And the Imperial bloodline?"

The emperor looked directly at the general. "We were directly involved."

Rhaevia’s heart tightened in her chest as the pieces began to connect. "Involved how?"

The Emperor slowly enlarged the holographic formation, zooming in on its outer boundary. Several ancient symbols appeared glowing around its edges.

One symbol clearly resembled the modern Imperial crest. Another matched the intricate Sovereign mark floating in her vision.

And a third symbol was entirely alien, one Rhaevia didn’t recognize at all.

"The first Imperial ancestors were among those who helped build and maintain the seal," the Emperor explained gravely.

Rhaevia stared at him, horror and anger clashing in her chest. "So your bloodline helped imprison an entire civilization?"

"Perhaps," the Emperor responded, his expression darkening further. "We don’t know whether they created the seal, maintained it, or merely inherited the responsibility from someone else."

"Because the records were erased," she spat out, her hands clenching into tight fists.

"Yes," the Emperor acknowledged.

Rhaevia’s mind whirled as the painful truth hit her. Someone had deliberately erased their history, someone had hidden Project Genesis, and someone had suppressed her original memories.

Now, she was standing inside a palace whose foundations were tied to the ancient sealing system.

The emperor stepped down from the dais, walking directly toward her. "You are not the first Sovereign to awaken, Rhaevia."

Rhaevia froze, her breath catching once more. "What?"

His expression became deeply grim. "You are merely the first one our modern records acknowledge in this era."

He paused, letting the weight of his words settle in the room. "But the surviving ancient texts describe others before you."

The moment those words left his mouth, Rhaevia’s Guide core pulsed violently within her chest.

The palace foundation instantly responded to her internal wave of energy. A deep crimson light spread out beneath their feet, illuminating the dark stone floor in expanding rings.

The Emperor looked down at the glowing floor, his face paling visibly.

For the first time since she had entered, she saw raw emotion break through his composure. Fear, recognition, and perhaps even deep regret flashed across his weathered face.

"That is the real reason I summoned you here today," the Emperor whispered, staring at the light surrounding her boots.

Rhaevia stepped right up to him, staring directly into his troubled eyes. "Then tell me everything you know without hiding a single detail."

The emperor remained silent.

For several agonizing seconds, he simply looked at her, taking in her glowing eyes and the vast aura stirring around her.

Then, he asked in a low, trembling voice, "Do you even know who your real enemy is?"