Zora’s pupils contracted. "16 years ago?"
The years matched.
The jade matched.
If nothing else had gone wrong, then this was very likely her true origin.
"Did you find out why Lucien turned against his family?" she asked quietly.
Her doubts ran deep. Lucien had once been the favored son of the House Griffin head, the most likely successor.
Soone like that had no reason to rebel against his clan.
Prince Kael looked at her, his gaze complicated. "I heard fragnts of information," he said slowly. "And if those fragnts are correct... then Lucien’s break with House Griffin was most likely because of you."
"Because of ?" Zora frowned.
He nodded. "I think so."
"This matter was buried very deeply. Even with extensive investigation, I could only piece together a few clues. But once those clues are connected, a rough outline appears."
His eyes sharpened as he then asked, "Do you rember how your mana core was shattered?"
A ripple stirred in Zora’s calm gaze. Her fingers curled slightly. "You an... the reason Lucien turned against House Griffin was that my mana core was destroyed?"
She drew a slow breath. "And that my broken mana core... was a man-made disaster?"
The thought struck like cold lightning.
All this ti, she had believed her condition to be innate.
After all, the world was vast, and anomalies existed. Though rare, there were cases of children born with shattered mana cores.
But if this had been deliberately done...
Then every year of humiliation, every mont of pain endured by the forr Zora had been inflicted by human hands.
"The possibility is extrely high," Prince Kael said, his voice dark. "That is likely why Lucien took his wife and daughter and left House Griffin entirely."
Zora fell silent for a long mont.
"So... the one who destroyed my mana core was soone from House Griffin?"
Though Prince Kael had not stated it outright, the answer was already clear.
If this were true, then the blood running through her veins carried not just a lineage... but hatred.
"I was just an infant," she said softly, her voice edged with frost. "What kind of cruelty does it take to harm a child like that?"
A newborn, unable to resist, had her cultivation path forcibly severed.
What level of malice justified such an act?
"I haven’t uncovered the full truth yet," Prince Kael replied. "This is clearly House Griffin’s highest secret. But I will continue to investigate."
Zora nodded slowly.
With Lucien’s forr status in House Griffin, whoever had dared to do such a thing must have held imnse authority.
And for a major cultivation clan like the Blues, a scandal involving the deliberate destruction of a child’s mana core was enough to shake its foundations.
No wonder every mouth remained sealed.
No wonder the truth had been buried for fifteen long years. "At the beginning, there must have been soone in House Griffin competing with Lucien for the position of family head."
Zora’s gaze paused for a breath, then a flash of clarity swept through her eyes.
She was no stranger to such struggles.
Having once stood at the pinnacle of a clan herself, she knew better than most how filthy and ruthless internal power struggles could be. For the seat of family head, countless people beca stepping stones, their blood silently staining the path to authority.
She had been fortunate. With absolute strength in her hands, she had crushed all dissent, leaving no one daring to plot against her.
But in other families, she had seen too much like sches, assassinations, betrayals, and even fratricide.
If one looked closely, every family head’s rise was soaked in blood.
Prince Kael’s gaze rested on her. He felt it again. That sharp, lucid intelligence that cut straight to the core of things. Without him saying much, she had already grasped the truth.
"Yes," he said quietly. "Lucien’s elder brother... Oswin."
Zora’s lips curved into a cold, razor-thin smile. The answer fit too perfectly.
"Oswin is the current head of House Griffin," Prince Kael continued. "His daughter, Vivienne, is a fad prodigy. Her reputation has spread across the entire Holy Mystic Continent."
"It’s said that Vivienne’s talent is extraordinary. From the mont she began cultivating, she revealed astonishing aptitude. Over the years, her fa has only grown."
He paused, his tone turning asured.
"She is highly favored within House Griffin. Many believe she may beco the first female head in the family’s history."
Zora’s eyes darkened slightly. "So this Vivienne is no ordinary figure," she said calmly. "To be grood as the next family head... she must have both ability and backing."
Prince Kael nodded. "She’s rarely seen in public. Most of her ti is spent cultivating. Even I haven’t crossed paths with her."
A soft, chilling smile curved Zora’s lips. "No wonder Lucien’s fall was so complete. The one behind it was never an ordinary opponent."
The smile lingered, yet her eyes were icy.
Now that she knew the truth, the past arranged itself clearly in her mind.
Lucien had once stood at the peak of House Griffin, the most promising successor. If her mana core had been deliberately destroyed, then another heir could be fostered in her place.
A child could be crippled...
But another child could always be born.
Lucien, however, could not be replaced.
But they need Lucien to go against the family.
For that, they destroyed the forr Zora’s core.
And to give justice to his daughter, he abandoned power, wealth, and status, turning his back on the entire clan.
Against the Supre Martial family, what chance did two people have?
In the end, their parents or one of her parents must have co to Elysia and left her at the doorstep of General Helius or given him treasures to look after her.
That was the theory Zora ford as she stitched with the facts she knew and the logic.
In Zora’s heart, House Griffin’s na was then etched into a list already written in blood.
anwhile, Prince Kael sensed the change beside him.
The murderous aura surging from Zora was so dense it felt almost tangible, sending a chill through the air.
Murderous intent was a strange thing. It was forged through strength, battle, and bloodshed.
The stronger the spirit warrior and the more carnage they had experienced, the heavier their killing intent.
Yet the killing intent radiating from her now was far beyond what her current cultivation should allow.
Even he was startled.
What had she lived through?
As Prince Kael looked at her, a trace of pity quietly surfaced in his heart.
Behind that calm, beautiful exterior lay a past far more brutal than anyone could imagine.
Such a fate...
No one could truly accept it.
If Lucien and his wife had really fallen, then the body of Zora carried nothing less than a sea of blood-deep hatred.
Just thinking of the vast, towering Blue family made Prince Kael’s heart sink with weight.
"Have you been able to find out... whether my parents are still alive?"
Zora’s voice was steady, yet beneath that calm, an unmistakable tension lay hidden.
She had never seen her parents. Not once.
Yet she could feel it, clearly and undeniably. The love they had poured into her life.
If they were still alive sowhere in this world, then there was still hope. There might still co a day of reunion.
But if they were gone...
Then even if House Griffin stood like an unshakable mountain, she would tear it down piece by piece and let it collapse upon itself.
Prince Kael t her gaze, worry flickering through his eyes.
"After Lucien and his wife left House Griffin, there were no further records of them," he said slowly. "I’ve already arranged for people to investigate, but so far... there’s been no news."
The whereabouts of her parents were the greatest knot in Zora’s heart. Anyone in her position would feel the sa.
That was why, after nearly confirming her identity, Prince Kael had imdiately begun searching for clues about her parents.
Unfortunately, House Griffin had sealed that incident too tightly.
And Lucien and his wife had clearly been fleeing pursuit, deliberately erasing their trail.
Even with Prince Kael’s reach, nothing had surfaced yet.
Zora’s expression remained composed. The result did not exceed her expectations.
If they were escaping pursuit, hiding their tracks would have been their first priority.
Naturally, uncovering such information now would be extraordinarily difficult.
Yet in her heart, she believed one thing.
If her parents were still alive, they would co back for her.
From the mont they had risked everything to protect her, abandoning status and power without hesitation, she knew how deep their love ran.
If they never returned...
Then there was only one explanation.
They died.
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