Fokay — Asterion, Royal Castle.

The room was searing. Not with heat as one might expect, but with nobility, with power, and more importantly, with arrogance. It was draped in gold, shining like celestial water under a golden sun.

The carpet was not one of the usual, it looked like silk of stars woven together seamlessly. It was soft to the touch, carrying a sweet musky scent.

What a sight it was.

Something upon which some beings stepped their feet was more comfortable than the greatest beds a common man could ever hope to sleep on.

What a life.

In the middle of this luminous room, beside a glass window, two beings sat in front of each other.

Two siblings, to be more accurate.

Sora Asterion and Sirius Asterion.

Their matching golden hair was shining more than the light of the sun itself, fluttering like fire under the wind. They wore their usual golden royal clothes, reeking of luxury and superiority.

Between them was a table, where there were some steamy pastries and golden tea. The scent was celestial, able to calm the mind of an intermediate rank being and to make the common man feel like he was in heaven amidst a sea of naked women.

It was just that delicious. That heavenly.

But to the two siblings, this tea could as well be considered water. They didn't feel anything drinking it.

That's what habit does to you.

"Are you willing to talk, dear sister?" Sirius asked, his face bearing his ever faint smile. He tended his hand, took his cup of tea and approached it toward his mouth, his eyes not leaving Sora.

"I already told you everything I know, brother. Why do you keep pestering me with this matter?" she said, her eyebrows knitted together. She was clearly irritated.

"Instead of interrogating me, you should thank me," she added, her eyes locked on Sirius's left ear. There was a blue earring there. A crescent moon-shaped one.

It was Lumina, now in her artifact form.

Sirius brushed his finger softly against the earring, his smile widening lightly.

"I already gave you my thanks, sister. And more than that, the fact I am the one speaking to you and asking you for an answer is already a mercy on my part," he said.

Sora frowned. She was confused.

Sirius shook his head, "Sister, you are so cute. If I hadn't convinced father and mother to let me be the one to talk to you, then right now you would have one of them, or even both of them, in front of you."

"Do you think they would humor you in this situation?" he asked at last, expression and face relaxed.

He didn't wait for a response.

"You know better they wouldn't."

Sora's frown deepened. She knew how her parents were. They were overbearing. The type of people that do not take no for an answer, especially her father. That man could burn the whole house for something that upset him.

'He surely has anger issues.' she whispered with an inward scoff before abruptly stopping.

She just remembered Kaden saying the same thing to her. Her face twisted into one of unwillingness.

"Oh! I must add too…" Sirius spoke again, interrupting Sora's stray thoughts.

She focused on him and saw a weird smile on her brother.

"We have your personal guard with us. What's his name again? Rue? Roel? Ro—!"

"Rome," Sora said, her voice making the very temperature rise to a blistering level.

Sirius made a mock realization face while clapping his hands.

"Yes! Rome. We have him under the underground prison, by the way," he said, his tone laced with amusement, acting like he didn't notice Sora's anger.

"He had nothing to do with what happened," she said, trying to restrain the anger threatening to erupt from her voice.

Sirius shrugged, "because of you, he is now, sister. You made him lie about your location. And do you know what's more surprising?"

He asked at last, now his tone a little more serious.

He leaned his head forward, looking more closely at his sister's face. His face didn't change at the heat she was emitting.

"Even now… he is still saying that you are in your chamber in the golden castle. Even when I told him that we found you in the middle of nowhere. His answer remained unchanged."

"My Lady is inside her chamber, resting."

He imitated the words of Rome.

Sora started to shake. Tongues of golden flame began to erupt around her as she glared at her brother with a searing expression.

"Did you touch him?" she growled.

Sirius's smile widened. "He lied to me, Sirius Asterion."

"That's a crime worth losing his life over, and having all his family slaughtered like worthless pigs." His words were cold, merciless even, but his smile was warm.

The contrast was jarring.

Sora clenched her fist tightly until her knuckles went white under the table, trying her best not to act upon the fiery thoughts that were pulsing inside her mind.

She knew her brother was provoking her. He had this habit, even if it was never about something this serious. But still… she knew him.

She knew that when he acted like this, it meant only one thing…

"What do you want?" she spat.

Sirius raised his two hands and started to clap, "perfect sister. Perfect. You have learned your lesson, haven't you?"

"Sirius. Say what you want." Sora was in no mood for his theatrics.

Stopping, Sirius made himself more comfortable on his chair, even giving a sigh of comfort amidst the heat. He then opened his lips,

"Kaden Warborn," he said.

Sora's body instinctively trembled in surprise. She immediately tried to control her body, stopping it, but it was too late.

Sirius was already looking at her with a wide open smile.

"I was right. You do know Kaden Warborn. Is that why you went to the forest of Asterion? To wait for him?" he said, not a question toward Sora but more to himself.

He continued his musing without minding Sora's shocked eyes.

"The forest of Asterion was charred. When I went there to look, all I saw was ashes. Not just any ashes… but golden ashes. These types of ashes are only possible for our noble bloodline."

He looked at her. Sora felt uneasy under his eyes.

He smirked and continued.

"Of course, that means it was done by my dear sister. But here's the thing, why would she do that? Because looking at the trail burned inside and outside the forest, it looked like you were chasing something, or rather…"

He grinned wide.

"…someone."

Sora's body shook again. This time, she didn't bother trying to hide it.

"And as fate would have it, you found yourself inside our legacy dungeon. A dungeon made for peak Master-ranked beings with moon aspect. And you tell me, you, a sun inheritor and an intermediate being, succeeded in that trial?"

He shook his head.

"You are a genius, sister, as all Asterion are. But you are not that monstrous. You did not do that alone."

"And my guess became even more clear with your flashy exit, looking like you were hiding someone." He shook his head again, wondering if his sister thought of them as fools.

Because he was sure he was not the only one who guessed all of this. Their mother did too. Even though he didn't know why she didn't act or even why she didn't tell that to father.

That was not his problem, though.

"I do not think I need to say more than this."

"So tell me, sister, where is Kaden Warborn?" he asked.

Sora fell silent. Her mind was running in dizzying circles as she tried to think of a way out of this situation.

Her brother held Rome, that was why he could afford to threaten her. And she couldn't go to her parents, otherwise it would be worse.

She was stuck.

And Sirius knew it. He was smiling faintly at her as if he already knew he was going to get what he wanted.

She bit her lip tightly.

"…Is Rome safe or not?" she managed to utter, her voice wavering, showing the state of her mind.

Sirius shrugged.

"Guess? Even if I were you… I wouldn't bet on the life of such a loyal person. I would have been very jealous if I didn't have my Luna."

Sora didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed on the flickering flames around her. The flames made by her in her anger.

As she looked at them, observed them… at how they moved… how they were… so fickle.

'Fickle…?' Sora thought. Her mind stopped for a second. Immediately her eyes hardened like metal under pressure.

'I am not fickle.' she said strongly in her mind.

She was Sora Asterion, the heiress of the sun of the empire.

How can a sun be fickle? How would the common rabble live if the sun decided to rise a little earlier than usual? Or even refused to rise altogether?

They would die in the long run.

So she couldn't afford to be fickle. That was not her nature.

She had to be like the sun.

Consistent, incandescent, unreachable, prideful…

She had to embody all of them. So much that anyone daring to approach her would realize why the sun was placed far away from the earth.

She looked at Sirius with her golden eyes burning like a midday sun.

"I do not know any Kaden Warborn," she growled,

"And Rome better be in perfect shape."

"Or else?" Sirius said.

Instantly the temperature rose to a sweltering degree, golden fire burst from Sora, enveloping her completely like a cloak of fire.

"Or else you would learn how infernal the sun could be when someone dares to approach it too closely, brother."

Sirius fell silent.

"Oh…" he whispered. Then his moon-shaped eyes glowed, plunging half the room in darkness.

He parted his grinning lips,

"The sun now think it can burn the moon?"

"Burn?" Sora scoffed.

"I will shallow it, brother."

—End of Chapter 227—

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