The moon sank back to sleep. The sun crawled into the blue sky, gracing the empire with a new journey.

Inside the Royal Castle, the sounds of footsteps stomping against the ground echoed as Sora walked through the gilded hallway, her face carrying a subtle irritation.

She wore a beautiful golden princess dress threaded with white embroidery woven so intricately across its surface that it formed the image of a white sun directly over her heart.

The dress was sleeveless and flowed down to her ankles, revealing her pale, fair skin that seemed to shimmer with golden luster as the chandeliers, floating above like jellyfish, cast their radiant light upon her.

Rome followed behind, his expression ever serious and solemn, a sword hanging at his waist. He wore golden armor befitting the Celestial Guards, a mark of his high station.

Neither spoke as they advanced in silence, though Rome inwardly allowed a wry smile to creep at the corners of his thoughts as he considered the mood of his Lady.

He could tell she did not truly fancy the idea of meeting the Emperor.

And who could blame her? That man was terrifying. Rome had only met him once, back when he first took the duty of becoming Sora's personal guard, yet even in that single moment, standing before the Emperor felt like standing before the sun itself.

Could you even imagine such a thing? It was as if you were an inch away from a helldawn star.

Maddening.

Rome had been certain he would burn alive.

'Ah… but my Lady too is walking that same path. I must reach Grandmaster and higher if I want to keep my place beside her,' Rome bitterly thought, cursing his own lack of talent.

His musings were interrupted when he noticed two figures approaching from the far end of the hallway.

Rome immediately recognized Luna, the personal maid of Sirius. But the other…

He narrowed his eyes. A young man with bright orange hair and deep black eyes, his luxurious robe marked with a symbol Rome could not mistake.

The youth spotted them, then stopped with Luna, both bowing their heads in respect before Sora.

"Good morning, Princess," Luna greeted, her voice calm.

Then the young man began,

"Morning, Princess. I am—!"

"I don't care." Sora cut him off sharply, striding past without a glance. She gave Luna a single nod in acknowledgment of her greeting before moving on.

The young man's face started to flush in shame.

Luna shook her head in defeat as if expecting it.

Rome's lips twitched. He offered them each a polite and sorry nod and quickly followed after his Lady.

They turned at the end of the hallway, continuing to the right.

Once no one was near, Rome finally spoke.

"My Lady."

"Yes, Rome?" she answered, her tone entirely different from the one she had just used.

To her, it was natural. Rome was her only and most loyal servant. Even calling him servant felt sour on her lips, she much preferred to call him guardian.

He deserved that much, and more.

Rome smiled faintly before continuing, "My Lady, the young man was the heir of the Fireborn, Kenan Fireborn."

"I know who he is," Sora retorted.

"Forgive me if I overstep my bounds, but… why, my Lady? Would it not have been wiser to befriend him?" He forced himself to stop there, afraid of saying too much and losing her favor.

But Sora only shook her head, her golden hair swaying gently across her shoulders with each step.

"That would be the case if I sought the throne. But I do not. I have other things to worry about than currying favor with a young heir beaten by that Kaden Warborn."

"He is not worthy of my attention."

"Oh." Rome exhaled softly.

Her words were cold, yet inwardly Sora knew very well that being beaten by Kaden was nothing unusual.

'That insufferable scoundrel could even defeat me.'

It hurt to admit it, but she was weaker than him. Kaden was simply that abnormal.

'Arghhh!!! Stop thinking about that scoundrel, Sora!' she scolded herself, for what must have been the seventeenth time.

These days, her thoughts always strayed toward him, which irritated her to no end.

'Ah, I will—!'

"We have arrived, my Lady." Rome's voice cut through her raging thoughts.

Before them stood a massive golden flaming door, tall and wide, its fire flickering steadily. It blazed with the same steadiness and unyielding force as the sun itself.

Incandescent heat poured from it, enough to make most hesitate before even approaching. But Sora was not like most.

She was the Heiress of the Sun. With frightening ease, the door parted like a veil as she stepped forward.

"Wait for me here. I will return shortly." She told Rome before sliding inside, the golden fire embracing her like a mother coddling her child.

Then she vanished amidst the flames, the door closing behind her and regaining its previous state.

Rome straightened his back, eyes cold and neutral, one hand resting on his sword as he stood guard before the blazing door, the searing hot air billowing against his face.

…

Hot.

It was hot in a way that even Sora couldn't ignore, forcing her to halt mid-step as her eyes swept over the space she had entered.

It was a garden, but not the kind a common man would ever tend to.

This garden was shaped by fire. The soil beneath her feet glowed with a soft golden light, shrouded in countless flowers that burned endlessly in golden flame yet were never consumed.

Above her, the sky was a sheet of gold with a single white sun blazing at its center, radiating a heat so oppressive Sora almost wanted to curse aloud, but she held it in.

She turned her gaze away from the flaming trees and the beasts of living fire that roamed freely through the garden, fixing instead on the solitary figure seated beside a golden river. He held a shining fishing rod, his eyes seemingly calm as they followed the movement of the water.

But his eyes betrayed him, they were clearly irritated.

That was the look of a man with no patience, desperately trying to act patient.

'Tsk. He's fooling no one.' Sora snickered to herself, then strode toward him, scowling at any fiery creatures foolish enough to drift into her path.

She was certainly not one of those girls who adored cute things.

Stopping just an inch behind her father, she finally spoke:

"You called for me, Father."

The man did not respond immediately. After a moment, he turned his head toward her, his expression unreadable.

"My daughter." His voice seemed to raise the temperature around them.

His eyes were astonishing, sclera pure and pristine, untainted by a single blemish, his pupils circular and glowing with a golden fire that flickered with intensity.

His hair was no ordinary hair but golden flame itself, bound into a ponytail by a white tie.

Tall and slender, his features bore the elegance of a man in his forties, divinely handsome, the perfect reflection of Sora herself.

He was none other than the Emperor of the Celestial Empire, Luminary Asterion.

"Yes," Sora answered.

"Are you lying to me, or do you truly not know Kaden Warborn?" he asked bluntly, his searing gaze locked on hers.

Sora rolled her eyes. "I already took the test with the artifact Fake Truth. I do not know him. But now, I'm dying to find out and to finally understand why you're so fixated on him." Her voice did not bother to hide her irritation.

Luminary's lips curved into a sharp smile. "Roll your eyes at me again, little girl, and you'll find yourself tossed into this golden lava river with my pets as company. Do you hear me?"

Sora straightened unconsciously, her body reacting before her mind.

Her father was capable of anything when irritated.

"Now," he continued, turning back toward the golden river, "I don't know how you fooled us and the artifact, but it doesn't matter."

"You gave Sirius a mythical artifact, and his mother gave him a mythic evolution stone. I need not tell you what he'll become once he succeeds in his quest."

"You don't look too happy about it, Father."

"I am happy," Luminary replied, "but his achievement means the throne will likely fall into his hands."

Sora shrugged behind him. "Then he can have it."

Luminary shook his head, fiery sparks erupting around him in a sudden flare of heat.

"Don't be a fool, daughter." His voice turned cold.

Sora shuddered.

"Since the first Emperor, the Celestial Empire has always been ruled by the Sun Inheritor, and that will not change."

"The Moon cannot rule. The Moon was made to dwell in the shadows that fortify the Sun. Its place is not in the light."

He turned his searing gaze back onto her.

"We… we are made to rule. We, my daughter, are made to openly shoulder the weight of the Empire. We are the Sun. We are the light that guides the lost, the confused, the broken."

"So, my daughter…"

He rose to his feet and approached her.

"…you will make me proud by bringing me Kaden Warborn, and in doing so you will obtain the mythical artifacts stolen by Dain Warborn."

"Do you understand me, or do I need to burn you before it sinks in?"

"You would burn your own daughter?"

"I will be gentle."

The temperature soared until Sora's skin began to sizzle. She bit down on her lip.

"What if I don't want to be Empress?" she managed to say, refusing to back down, not even before her father.

"Brother Sirius is older and stronger than me. He's always been more adept at politics. Why me? The Sun? The Moon? I don't understand any of this, Father."

Luminary fell silent for a long moment.

"Because the Moon is the second hand of the Empire, equal only to the Fireborn. It is the Sun that rules, and it must remain so."

Sora frowned. "Then how did the Moon manage to introduce themselves into—!"

She cut herself off, realization dawning.

"It was you who married into the Moon family, wasn't it, Father? I bet it was forbidden." She scowled.

Luminary's face darkened with irritation. "No one tells me what I can or cannot do. Yes, I married her. And that is why you were born. So shut your mouth and do your duty."

Sora wanted to curse aloud. But again, she held it in.

Her father had made his own mistake, and now he wanted her to bear the burden of correcting it.

It was almost laughable. He did whatever he wished because he was the Sun, so why was she being told what to do? Was she not the Sun as well?

Because truth be told, she didn't want the throne. She only wanted to sing her song.

Why did the world want to strip even that from her?

Her eyes turned cold.

"I don't want to be Empress, Father. I do not want it. I want to walk my own path. I want to create my own path. Sun, Moon, stars—whoever rules the Empire, it's all the same."

"We are all Celestial blood."

She exhaled, her voice trembling slightly.

"I… I just want to do what I love."

Her heart raced.

"And what do you love?" Luminary asked, his eyes searing hot, his anger barely contained.

But at that moment, Sora had enough.

She wanted to say it. She wanted them all to know.

What if they mocked her? It didn't matter.

The Sun does not hear the clamor of those it can burn at any moment.

So at last, with every ounce of strength in her body…

"I want to sing, Father."

Sora confessed her vocation.

—End of Chapter 249—

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