The Heaven Gate Fortress stood silent above the scorched plain, its colossal form resting upon the back of the Rock Tortoise. For now, the fortress lingered just five meters above the ground — low enough for Luciel's purpose.

He extended a hand toward the earth, and stone responded like a living thing. A square aperture formed beneath the tower's base, and from it descended a spiral of rock steps, carved as if by the fingers of some patient god.

When the Rock Tortoise walked, the fortress would soar tens of meters above the ground, its shadow swallowing the land below. But when it rested like this, Luciel could almost believe it was a mountain pretending to sleep.

He stepped down the rock ladder, boots crunching softly on grit, and looked back at the creature that carried his city. From here, the Tortoise's shell rose like a craggy peak, veins of quartz catching the dull afternoon light.

If you didn't know better, Luciel thought, you'd think that was just another ridge of the wasteland.

They marched for half an hour through the ashen scrub until the landscape changed. Ahead stretched a forest of dead trees — pale trunks rising from the cracked soil like the bones of giants.

Luciel raised his hand. "Two teams," he said. "Spread out and hunt. Signal if there's danger."

"Yes, sir," the soldiers of the city defense corps chorused.

Alec and Zan Yan, both eager to prove themselves, led their groups into the brittle woods, weapons gleaming faintly under the thin sun.

Luciel turned to the others. "We'll gather wood here. The city burns through it faster than we can carry." His gaze swept across the plain. "If we ever want to keep up with demand, we'll need a dedicated logistics corps."

He was already calculating in his mind—fuel for the furnaces, wood for the kitchens, material for repairs. The Black Tortoise City had grown faster than even he anticipated.

"I'll help!" Alina chirped, dropping her invisibility and raising both hands like an eager apprentice.

Luciel smiled faintly, but before he could answer, Elara caught the girl's wrist. "Don't," she warned, her silver eyes narrowing.

Alina pouted. "Why not? I can handle a tree. Or ten."

"Look for yourself," Elara murmured, pointing ahead.

Alina turned — and froze. Her pink eyes went wide as saucers.

A thousand silver threads shimmered in the air, drifting from Luciel's outstretched palm like strands of starlight. The filaments coiled around the trunks of the dead trees, binding them in an intricate web.

"silk manipulation," Luciel said quietly. "Hold them tight."

He pressed his heel into the ground. The earth trembled, then rolled like waves on the sea.

"Earth and Rock manipulation: Weight Reduction, twentyfold."

The soil convulsed. Massive dead trees wrenched free from their roots, as though the land itself exhaled them. The trunks floated, impossibly light, tethered by Luciel's glistening threads.

With a gesture, he gathered them together. The logs slammed down in an orderly pile, forming a small hill that dwarfed the nearby ruins.

Alina's jaw dropped.

Elara smirked. "See? If you'd gone first, you'd just be in the way." She patted the younger girl's shoulder gently.

"He—he's a seventh-tier awakener," Alina breathed, her voice trembling with awe.

Elara's silver eyes glinted. She'd seen her share of sixth-tier power before, but nothing like this. Luciel's command of the elements wasn't just power—it was artistry.

The air itself seemed to bend in deference to him.

"Oh my gods," Alina whispered. "All this time, and I was standing next to a seventh-tier master."

Elara gave her a sideways glance. "You really didn't realize that during the big renovation?"

Alina's cheeks flushed scarlet. She looked away quickly. "I was… distracted that day."

Elara's lips curved faintly. "Ah. I see."

Meanwhile, deeper in the deadwood, Alec and Zan Yan had only just begun their hunt when the ground shuddered. They turned sharply, just in time to see the horizon shift.

Trees were flying—no, being torn from the ground.

"What in—" Alec's words caught in his throat.

"Look!" one of the soldiers shouted.

They all stared toward the fortress, where four enormous piles of wood now stood where there had been barren earth moments before.

Alec ran a hand down his face. "If we don't start hunting now, the noise alone will scare off every beast for miles."

Zanyan exhaled, half awe, half envy. "Every time the City Lord acts, it's like a miracle."

The two men exchanged a look—a spark of friendly rivalry igniting between them.

"Let's see who brings back more game," Alec said.

"You're on," Zanyaan replied, and the two teams split, vanishing into the gray trees.

Back in the clearing, Luciel glanced toward their retreating figures and nodded in quiet approval. "Three piles should be enough," he murmured.

But as he lifted his foot, the earth stirred again. Within minutes, a fourth hill of wood had risen beside the others.

Elara and Alina watched in silence as Luciel turned toward them. "Wait here," he said. "I'll take these back to the fortress."

Alina could only nod. Words felt small in the face of such effortless power.

Luciel pressed his palm to the ground, and the soil rippled once more—flowing like water under his command. The piles of wood drifted forward as if borne on invisible tides, following him toward the distant shape of the Rock Tortoise.

Alina stared after him until the horizon swallowed his figure. "That's… absurd," she whispered.

Then, unable to help herself, she pulled a square of animal hide from her satchel and began to write. Her quill scratched furiously across the surface.

Today, I witnessed a seventh-tier awakener. With a single breath, he lifted a thousand trees, and the earth itself obeyed his step.

After a few revisions and several muttered curses, she looked at her handiwork with pride.

Elara leaned over her shoulder. "It's beautifully written," she said dryly, "but perhaps a little… exaggerated?"

"It's not exaggeration if it's true," Alina retorted, cheeks puffing. "Besides, very few people have ever seen a seventh-tier in action. Let them marvel a little."

Elara's expression softened. "So that's what this is about—adventure hunters and their legends."

"Exactly!" Alina's eyes lit up. "That's the whole point of travel journals—to inspire curiosity, debate, discovery! The best ones are still talked about decades later."

Before she could continue, a faint gust stirred the ash at their feet. Luciel landed lightly beside them, cloak billowing with the motion.

"Done," he said simply.

Alina yelped and ducked behind Elara, her earlier bravado vanishing.

Luciel arched an eyebrow. "Talking about me, were you?"

Elara hid a smile. "She was educating me about the noble profession of adventure hunters."

"Oh?" Luciel folded his arms.

Recovering quickly, Alina straightened her back and declared, "Adventure hunters seek truth! Our greatest quest is to uncover the world's hidden wonders—the lost cities, the cursed forests, the ancient beasts, the underground world itself!"

Her voice grew brighter with every word. "There are many ultimate goals: finding the cause of the Deadwood's blight, discovering the oasis of myth, locating the Tree of Life, even meeting a living dragon—"

"Stop," Luciel said, holding up a hand, half laughing. "You'll run out of breath before you run out of legends."

Alina pouted but didn't deny it.

"There are still more," she said stubbornly. "Like the giants ten meters tall, or the beast-headed orcs. I read about them."

"Read?" Luciel's tone sharpened slightly. "There are still books in Amestris City?"

Alina nodded eagerly. "Only a few. Most are kept in the City Lord's mansion, though some can be traded."

Luciel's eyes darkened thoughtfully. He'd long wanted access to written records—something that might explain the fall of the old world, or the birth of the wasteland. Books meant knowledge, and knowledge meant power.

"I could trade for them," he mused.

"Trade with what?" Elara asked.

"Books for books," Luciel said simply.

"That could work," Alina offered. "Some people exchange handwritten transcripts. I've traded that way before."

Luciel frowned. "Copying takes too long."

"It's not so bad if several people write together," Alina said, proud of her cleverness. "I'll get Elara and Yufeier to help me. We'll finish fast."

Luciel gave her a dry look. "You haven't even finished the last one. After a full year, you've written, what, twenty pages of your travel notes?"

Alina flushed again. "I could finish it in a year! That's actually fast!" she protested. "Once it's done, I can trade it for other books in different cities."

Luciel only chuckled and turned toward the forest. "Maybe by the time you finish, I'll have invented printing."

Her jaw dropped. "Printing?"

But he was already walking away, the faintest smile on his face.

Elara watched him go, the wind catching the edges of his dark coat. "You see?" she murmured. "He's not doubting you. He's just thinking further ahead."

Alina frowned, crossing her arms. "I'll show him. I'll finish my book in less than a year."

"Good," Elara said softly, patting the girl's shoulder. "Then I look forward to reading it."

Alina puffed out her cheeks again but smiled despite herself. "He'll be stunned. Just wait."

She didn't know if Luciel had heard her, but the faint curve of his mouth as he disappeared into the forest said otherwise.

And so, beneath the shadow of the sleeping fortress, three figures remained in the pale sunlight—the pink-haired dreamer, the silver-eyed sentinel, and the man who commanded the very bones of the earth.

Above them, the Rock Tortoise shifted slightly, a low tremor rolling through the ground like a heartbeat.

Somewhere deep within the wasteland, an unseen world stirred.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.