Noah arrived at the gates of Solaris.
The kingdom shimred above the water like a crown of diamonds.
He stepped into the line without expression.
The sa guards from two weeks prior stood watch.
One of them looked at him, then gestured forward.
"Do you have the pass?"
Noah took it out and handed it over.
The guard glanced at it.
Then froze.
His eyes widened. His posture snapped straight.
He dropped to one knee instantly.
"We did not know royalty is coming here!"
Noah blinked, confused.
He took the pass back and looked at it carefully.
Golden stamp.
Kurugshetra’s royal seal.
He sighed internally.
It must be Nakula who did this.
He walked forward.
The guards scrambled.
"Sir, please don’t walk! We will bring a palanquin for you!"
Noah didn’t stop.
"No need. I have so other work to do."
He entered Solaris.
The kingdom was surrounded by water.
Buildings made of diamond reflected the layered sky.
Markets thrived.
People worked, earned money, and talked like normal people.
Children laughed.
Prosperity wasn’t forced here.
It lived.
Noah walked through the streets, observing quietly.
It’s different from Kurugshetra.
Kurugshetra had been heavy. Obsessed with gold. Rotting beneath its shine.
Solaris breathed.
Ahead rose the towering structure—a pillar-like castle that seed to grow higher and higher with every second people prayed inside it.
The Church of Xenovia.
Noah looked at it.
"Xenovia really made this place the best for her," he muttered to himself.
He entered.
Inside, many people knelt in prayer.
Candles burned in crystalline holders.
The air was calm, reverent.
Noah sighed and sat on one of the seats, watching the prayer unfold.
I have to et the priest of this church. I have to enter those idiot dinsions so I can take my authority back.
After so ti, the prayer ended.
Noah stood and walked toward the priest area.
He saw a man standing near the altar and approached.
"Hey. Are you the priest of this church?"
The man turned around.
He saw Noah.
His eyes widened in shock.
He instantly took water, washed his hands and eyes, then looked at Noah again.
And fell to his knees.
"Oh Great One! What should I help you with?"
Noah sighed and stepped away.
"I want to et the priest. Are you the priest of this church?"
The man shook his head in denial, still on his knees.
"I am not the priest, Great One."
Noah looked at him.
"Why are you calling the ’Great One’? Is there also so kind of prophecy too?"
The man’s voice trembled with reverence.
"No, Great One. I am calling you ’Great One’ because I can see your divinity and your divine nature that exceeds this world and shows the eternal truth to ."
Noah exhaled.
"Well, whatever. Tell where the priest is."
The man smiled, his body reacting with both happiness and fulfillnt.
"I am the worshiper of our goddess, the all-beautiful and all-knowledgeable, Goddess Xenovia!"
His tone was filled with love and devotion.
Noah sighed again.
"Okay. Now tell where your priest is."
The man nodded quickly.
"Yes! The priest is in the palace because he was summoned for so important eting."
Noah looked at him.
"Okay. So what is your na?"
The man’s smile widened.
"Oh! The Great One asked my na! I think my life is fulfilled now. My na is Claus Vintigers."
Noah looked at him for a few seconds, then turned and started leaving.
Claus called after him.
"Wait, O Great One! Let carry you—"
Noah didn’t look back. He just shook his hand as a goodbye and left the church.
Outside, he exhaled in annoyance.
"Ahh. That Claus person was so annoying. It really annoyed so much."
He rembered Claus’s words about Xenovia.
He looked at himself.
"Hmph! Mortal. I am the most beautiful and most knowledgeable in all creations."
He muttered it to himself and started walking toward the palace.
The streets were lively.
People doing their work. Earning money. Talking like normal people.
Noah observed them silently as he walked.
When he arrived at the palace gate, guards stopped him.
Noah showed his pass.
The guards’ eyes widened in shock.
They stepped aside imdiately.
Noah entered.
The palace grounds were vast.
A very big garden stretched before him, trimd to perfection. Diamond fountains reflected layered skies.
Where will they be? he thought, walking alone through the garden.
Then he noticed so royals standing near a balcony, talking.
"Hey, did you hear the latest news we just got?"
One of them leaned in closer.
"Yeah, I heard it. Well, they deserve it. Their nation was always the weakest too."
Both of them laughed.
Noah walked past them without comnt.
They must be talking about Kurugshetra. Well, it’s expected the news will travel here. But that fast?
He entered the main palace.
Suddenly, a fruit ca flying toward him.
Noah stopped it midair with one hand.
He looked ahead.
A small kid was crying and throwing fruits here and there. Maids and butlers were trying to calm him down with utmost care.
Noah placed the fruit on a nearby table and ignored the situation.
He kept walking, looking for the chamber where the priest might be.
Then—
Footsteps behind him.
"Hey! You, white-haired guy! Who are you?"
Noah turned.
A young woman stood there.
Royal attire.
Refined posture.
The mont her eyes t his, she froze.
White hair. Blue eyes. A majestic coat.
She lost her words.
She kept looking at him, stunned.
Noah sighed and snapped his fingers lightly.
She blinked and snapped out of her focus.
Her tone shifted imdiately.
"Who are you, my lord?"
Noah sensed the change in her voice. The flush in her face.
He looked at her.
By the look of it, she’s a princess. So it will be good if I use her to et the priest.
He smiled slightly.
"I am here to find a person. Can you help ?"
The woman looked at him, smiled, and stepped closer.
"I can help you. But can you tell your na, please?"
Noah sighed internally.
"My na is Noah."
She tilted her head, a small smile forming.
"Noah..." She tested the na, let it linger.
"What a beautiful na.My na is Astriye Von Elizgher."
Noah inclined his head.
"Nice to et you, Astriye."
She stepped even closer, curiosity bright in her eyes.
"So, Lord Noah, where are you from? Are you the prince of so other kingdom or from so other royal family?"
Noah looked at her.
"I am not a prince, nor am I from any royal family."
"Then—"
A scream cut through the palace.
High.
Sharp.
Panicked.
Noah moved instantly.
He ran toward the sound.
Astriye followed.
They reached the palace main zone.
The two royals who had been talking and laughing earlier lay on the floor.
Their bodies were mutilated.
Blood pooled across the marble.
And written on the ground in deep red:
KURUGSHETRA IS ALWAYS LIVE
Noah read it carefully.
He stood still for a mont, shocked and confused.
Guards rushed in.
Shouts filled the hall.
Astriye gasped behind him, covering her mouth.
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
This was not chaos energy.
Not divine.
Not minion work.
Human.
Calculated.
Symbolic.
He looked at the blood.
Fresh.
Precise cuts.
A ssage.
"Interesting," he murmured quietly.
Solaris was not untouched.
Sothing else had already arrived.
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