After Michael revealed himself as the Dark Lord, the Sun Rise sect faced several slanders from the nobles and the Guardian Guild. The rival sects used this as an excuse to isolate the sect and cause its downfall. After Noah took the throne of the Supre Guardian, he launched an extensive investigation on the Sun Rise sect and learned the Dark Lord had no more connections with the sect. As an individual, Noah knew Ghost genuinely helped the sect to grow. Just because he was the Dark Lord, Noah couldn't disregard all the good Ghost did to the Sun Rise sect and the River town. Under the Sun Rise sect's leadership, the River town beca one of the richest cities in the Elon Continent. The town may be small, but that didn't stop them from prospering. After Noah's investigation redeed the Sun Rise sect, disciples resud joining the sect. The Sun Rise sect had the highest breaking-through rate compared to the rest of the sects. Thanks to the biggest herbal garden on the continent and the talented alchemists in the sect, they refined powerful potions and pills. They continued the tradition of giving out pills and potions for free to the disciples even after Michael left the sect. Since the Dark Lord himself was a forr disciple, no one even dared to think about harming anyone in the sect. To the outside world, the Sun Rise sect had no connection with the Dark Lord. But in reality, soone in the sect still was in touch with the Dark Lord. It was none other than Elder Ella. Under her takeover spree, the Sun Rise sect had taken over more than thirty sects and beca the largest sect in the continent. Recently, Ella had been trying to broaden her horizon to the Ozer Continent.
The sky above the peaceful sect was littered with stars. Nightti brought beauty like no other ti of day. The only sound that resonated in the mountains was the wind whistling through trees, with the occasional cricket chirping here and there. In the dayti, the sect grounds bustled with disciples and staff. The nightti, however the exact opposite of the dayti. The disciples were inside their rooms, cultivating and ditating, while the outsiders were prohibited from entering the sect ground without the elders' permission. The sect beca so peaceful that it was difficult not to relax completely while looking at this particular nightti beauty. The sky was covered with blackness and speckled with millions of stars. The blue moon dazzles in the sky, bathing the jade mountain with its sparkling blue light.
Under this starry sky, a figure walked atop a lone mountain where the Dark Lord used to ditate. One could see the entire sect and the river town from this mountain peak. This mountain was restricted to the disciples as the Guardian believed the aura of the Dark Lord could still be around and influence the disciples. But it was all a hoard of bullshit. Nonetheless, only the elders and Sect Leader Claire were allowed to access this particular mountain.
"I need your help," the figure said gently. Her silky smooth skin almost reflected the dazzling moon light. The wind blew past her, making her striking golden hair flutter in the air. Claire sat on the mat the Dark Lord used to ditate. To her, the Dark Lord was like her little brother. No matter what the world said about him, she knew better than to trust the world. Looking at the world from here, tears rolled out her eyes without control. She felt a strange sense of security in this place.
"You know, my grandfather had gone missing," Claire said to the sky, hoping it would reach the Dark Lord sohow. It had been three weeks since Christopher went missing. Before Ghost revealed himself as the Dark Lord to the world, he broke Christopher's curse. Claire had never been happier in her life. She saw her grandfather finally able to sleep without groaning in pain. Although one of their disciples turned out to be the Dark Lord, everything went relatively fine for Claire and the sect. However, that was only until Christopher began discussing rescuing Claire's mother, Elasha Mortero.
She was held prisoner by the Mortero family for almost three decades. The Mortero family was based in the Kingdom of Nelnathyr. It was one of the three elven kingdoms in the Awor continent. Unlike the other two, Nelnathyr was extrely hostile against the other races. Of course, they put on a facade of being friendly and welcoming but deep down, most of the elves would kill the other races in a heartbeat. Most of the racist elves Michael t in Mazeroth hailed from Nelnathyr. Hence, they went to such an extent to hunt down Elasha and her human husband. Luckily for Claire, she inherited human features rather than eleven features. Otherwise, she would have ended up in a different prison.
"I searched everywhere. But who am I kidding? I know where he went. I am just too weak to go there. I am afraid Ghost," Claire sobbed. Everyone advised her to go to the Guardian Guild. But Claire knew they wouldn't lift a finger to help Claire. Everyone in the Guardian Guild hated the Sun Rise sect and Claire because of the Dark Lord. Even after Noah proved the sect had nothing to do with the Dark Lord anymore, he couldn't wipe out the hatred in the guardians' minds. She was nowhere close to fighting the elves.
Due to the imnse workload and the thought of her mother, Claire's cultivation slowed down. She was stuck at the Soul refining stage level 10 for almost a year.
She had too many things in her mind that created a bottleneck in her cultivation. Because she was the Sect Leader, she couldn't afford to look weak and vulnerable. Yet deep down, she was afraid like a little girl. She had already lost her grandfather once. She didn't think she could lose him again. Every ti she felt helpless, Ghost was always there for her. She hoped he would appear before her one more ti.
She closed her eyes, praying to the Dark Lord. Worshiping the Dark Lord was a cri punishable by death in so kingdoms. The Guardian Guild ca up with this punishnt, only to get demolished by Noah. Instead of killing the worshippers, Noah captured them and asked why they were praying to the Dark Lord. Of course, Andreas outright disagreed with Noah and advised him to kill the worshippers before they could join the Dark Lord's army. Unfortunately, both Noah and Andreas were right. So of them did join the Dark Lord's army, but many who Noah captured let go of Dark Lord worshiping and returned to their normal life with a little help from the guild. Unknowing to the Guardian Guild, the Dark Lord had his underlings among the people. Whenever soone prayed for the Dark Lord, their prayers would be answered in exchange for loyalty.
"Please answer my prayers. They say you are a god. A god should answer prayers. You always answered my prayers. Please, do it one more ti," Claire collapsed her hands together and prayed for the Dark Lord. a gentle breeze of wind blew past Claire. She heard the dried leaves rustling around her. Still, she did not open her eyes. She completely focused on her prayer. Tears slowly rolled out of her eyes. For a few minutes, the only companion she had was silence. After a while, she lost track of ti.
When she was drowned in prayer, another gentle breeze blew past her. To her surprise, the breeze of wind blew against her face as though it was trying to pry open her eyes.
"Claire," Claire's neck hair stood up when she heard a voice from behind. For a mont, Claire thought her mind was playing gas.
"Did you call for ?" Claire clearly heard the voice, it was undoubtedly Ghost's. She abruptly opened her eyes. When she turned around, she saw Ghost standing before her. It felt like a dream to her. She sobbed and smiled at the sa ti. Without a second thought, she ran toward Ghost and hugged him tightly. She didn't give a damn about what everyone said about him or what anyone would think if they saw them together. No words escaped her mouth. Her mind was completely blank. The wall she erupted around her to show the world how strong she was crumbled down before Michael. In front of him, she was just a weak girl in need of help.
"What did I tell you before I left? I'd always answer your calls," said Michael. He gently brushed her back while she was sobbing.
"Yes," Claire said. It took Claire a few minutes to finally let him go.
He wiped off the tears from her face and gently smiled.
"Don't cry. I am here. You have nothing to worry about," Michael took her hands, leading her to the mountain edge. He sat on the edge and gestured at her to sit beside him.
"What happened?" Michael asked Claire as though he didn't know what made her pray for him. As a matter of fact, Sadie was tasked to get as much information as possible about the Moltero family. Even though Michael's spy network was still in the beginning stages, he could almost learn anything through the Silvermoon girls.
Sadie already sent an elf to Nelnathyr. Michael wanted to know everything he could before rescuing Claire's mother. He may be the Dark Lord, but he cared for everyone around him.
Since the elves of Nelnathyr were a bunch of racist scums, giving them the Dark Lord treatnt was just a bonus. Claire told Michael everything about her grandfather's disappearance. He patiently listened to Claire's story and felt pity for her. The elves really ssed up her life. After Claire finished her story, Michael squeezed her hand.
"If your mother is still alive, I will bring her to you," said Michael.
"She had to be," Claire's voice stuttered.
Michael did not want to make any false promises. There was a certain possibility that Claire's mother was dead. Even he wouldn't be able to bring the dead back to life. However, if she was alive, nothing could stop him from rescuing her and reuniting her with Claire.
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