…
Izroth was transported outside the Sunstone Cave along with Ilioreas and Sychia.
"Moving on foot will be too slow. We will take my chariot." Ilioreas stated as he raised his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly.
A few seconds passed as the sound of hooves rapidly approaching echoed in the atmosphere.
Neeeeigh!
Suddenly, four warhorses made of flames that matched the sun appeared in the sky. The flaming warhorses pulled a grand chariot.
The chariot had two sizable wheels made of flames and gave off a frightening pressure as it approached.
The flaming warhorses moved at incredible speeds before landing in front of the Sunstone Cave.
The moment they landed, Ilioreas walked over to the leading warhorse and gently ran his hand across its mane made of flames.
"It has been a long time, old friend. I will have to depend on you once more." Ilioreas said calmly.
The flaming warhorse gave a small nod as the door located at the back of the grand chariot opened.
Although it was called a chariot, it was many times more spacious than a regular chariot with seating circling around the inner walls. Its appearance resembled a cross between a traditional chariot and a carriage.
"Let us depart," Ilioreas said, gesturing for Izroth and Sychia to enter the chariot.
Izroth stepped onto the chariot with Sychia and took a seat as Ilioreas joined them soon after.
'Each warhorse is not any weaker than Thanasia. The one he referred to as old friend, based on its aura alone, is powerful enough to stomp someone like Maragos to death. Are they one of the ancient races of this Secret Realm?'
As this thought crossed Izroth's mind, the flaming warhorses stomped on the ground and soared into the skies.
Their speed easily surpassed Izroth when he had Flickering Steps active multiple times over. However, the most surprising thing was that despite their speed, the chariot itself remained stable. Also, those inside the chariot were not thrown about carelessly.
In fact, Izroth could not feel the slightest vibration or wind pressure.
"This chariot is rather convenient," Izroth stated.
"You have keen eyes. This chariot was crafted by the Enati Cyclops using mystical wood from a Sacred Tree. There are not many materials that exist in this world that are worthy of being pulled by an ancient race as old as the Alogonix." Ilioreas replied.
"How long will it take us to reach the Hidden Celestial Abode?" Izroth inquired.
"Whenever those guys wake up—which should be rather soon."
"Hm?"
A couple of seconds after Ilioreas spoke, a brilliant ray of light shined down on the flaming warhorses and chariot.
The light only lasted for a split second, but by the time it disappeared, the warhorses, chariot, Izroth, Sychia, and Ilioreas all vanished into thin air.
…
Somewhere inside the valley not too far away from the Sunstone Cave…
"That's…! Ilioreas' Chariot and—the Celestial Ray?! How dare that traitor side with those rebels!"
This enraged voice belonged to the Lady of Clear Eyes, Kysamia. She had just left the Sunstone Cave not long ago after failing to win over Ilioreas. Now, he was leaving on the Celestial Ray that belonged to their enemies?! If this was not taking her as a fool, what else could it be?!
"The pillars will not stand for this! I must report back immediately!" Kysamia said with a darkened expression.
…
'What a strange sensation.'
When Izroth was encompassed by the ray of light, he felt as if he were floating weightlessly on clouds. It was a comfortable, yet unusual sensation. But, it did not last long as they reached their destination.
〈System Alert: You have entered the «Hidden Celestial Abode»!〉
'It's somewhat different than I imagined.'
As Izroth looked around, he expected to see a dark and gloomy place; however, it would not be wrong to call it a sanctuary.
The Hidden Celestial Abode spanned hundreds of meters and the bottom, as far as the eye could see, was surrounded by clouds. The area above resembled a clear morning sky and the atmosphere matched, but there appeared to be no sun or light source present.
Scattered throughout the abode were numerous buildings of various designs and sizes, but they all had a feeling of luxury to them due to the brilliant craftsmanship.
The Hidden Celestial Abode was incredibly lively with celestials moving from one place to another in the air or sprinting at speeds that one could hardly follow with their eyes alone.
With its serene atmosphere, Izroth was surprised this place was not called the Celestial Paradise!
Izroth and the others exited the chariot. But, the moment Sychia's feet touched the ground, a flash of light formed in front of the group.
BANG!
Out of nowhere, someone crashed into the ground a couple of meters away from Izroth.
"Who dares bring a mortal to the Celestial Abode?!" A voice of anger sounded from the person who just arrived.
It was a man donning the battle wear of a Plataean warrior. The helmet he wore made it difficult to make out his face, but the fierce look in his eyes was not hidden.
Name: Celestial Warrior Frous(???)
Level: 0
Frous glared in Sychia's direction as his eyes locked onto her.
"Who dares to question my guest? Boy, you have eyes, can you not see who stands before you?" Ilioreas stated as he stepped forward.
"Who are you?! Identify yourself!" Frous scoffed as he disregarded Ilioreas.
Izroth inwardly frowned. This person seemed like a guard, but could it be that he was not informed of their arrival? No, even then, if someone like Astratis wanted to invite Ilioreas, shouldn't this person know who they were?
Ilioreas shook his head in disappointment as he released a small sigh.
"Aye, I will have to tell Astratis to re-educate the younger generation. The celestials who are born and grow up in this place have lost their sense of the world." Ilioreas stated.
"What are you going on abou-" Frous frowned as he was growing impatient.
However, as his gaze wandered and landed on the chariot and flaming warhorses behind the group, his eyes widened in shock.
"The Alogonix…! And, this chariot, it's made of wood from a Sacred Tree! You are the Progenitor of the Sun…!" Frous exclaimed as his hostile attitude immediately underwent a drastic change.
"Forgive my poor welcome. It is as you said—I have lost my sense of the world. I hope you can overlook my offense." Frous said as he stood tall and placed his fist over his chest. This was the celestial warrior's way of expressing their sincerity.
"Oh? Not bad. It seems the younger generation still has some sense in them. But, boy, next time-" Ilioreas walked next to Frous and placed their hand on his shoulder.
The instant Ilioreas' hand touched Frous, an unbearable pressure descended upon the young celestial, causing his face to turn pale.
"You should look first before taking action. Otherwise, you may not know how you perished from this world. Take this as a lesson of life and grow from it." Ilioreas said as he removed his hand from Frous' shoulder.
Frous breathing grew heavy; however, he quickly regained his breath. Though he did not dare look Ilioreas in the eyes.
"I thank the Progenitor of the Sun for his lesson," Frous stated.
'It only lasted a moment, but that pressure… I underestimated him.'
Izroth personally experienced this kind of pressure back in the Mortal Realm when he fought against the arm of the Netherworld's Envoy. The kind of pressure that could only be emitted by someone who reached the peak of the legendary realm!
No, the aura Ilioreas released was even stronger than that! In fact, it was closer to the mysterious old man, Zhi, Izroth met in the Towering Oak Forest.
'Could it be… A Plane Ascender?'
Although it was widely believed that those of the legendary realm was the strongest existence below the firmament, in truth, there was another realm above it—Plane Ascenders.
Plane Ascenders were those who could not yet ascend to the Divine Realm due to the way the ascension was now controlled by the divine beings to prevent another damaged Divinity Line incident.
However, the reason Plane Ascenders were not included in the power realms was because of the restriction placed upon them.
Once someone became a Plane Ascender, they could not interfere with the matters of the world below the firmament. If they disobeyed this rule, they would incur the wrath of the divine beings. Ultimately, it would lead to the end of their existence.
'Is he not afraid of receiving divine retribution? Or… Did I simply sense wrong?'
Besides Zhi, Izroth had not met any other Plane Ascenders; therefore, he only had one frame of reference. But, if Ilioreas truly was a Plane Ascender, there is no way he would be unaware of the potential consequences he faced from interfering in this Secret Realm's manners.
"Old man, can you not bully the young ones too much?" An elegant voice echoed as a colorful feather appeared a couple of meters away from the group.
The next moment, a woman with a captivating appearance emerged from the feather.
"Bully? Hahaha! Rest assured, I was just teaching the boy some manners, Ierosni.." Ilioreas replied casually.
