Rivers of the Night

Theron’s eyes narrowed. "And that would be?"

"We have a Secret Realm here where most of our Bloomstone comes from. The next time it opens, you can try your luck."

"And you can’t enter?"

The Patriarch chuckled. "No, only those beneath Silver Mancy can enter for reasons I’m not quite sure of."

Theron raised an internal eyebrow. Logically, if only those beneath Silver Mancy could enter, then the logical conclusion was that that was what the rules of those that created the world stated.

But judging by the Patriarch’s tone, things weren’t so simple. It seemed that maybe it was the case that those at Silver Mancy the Sect had tried to throw in just didn’t meet a requirement of some sort.

As for what that requirement was, the Patriarch wasn’t aware, and maybe that was part of the reason for his despair.

’Despair… yes… that’s it

The Patriarch, if nothing else, seemed to actually care about the future of the Sect. How much that mattered for his ego versus a more tangible and moral reason, Theron didn’t know.

If the Patriarch was willing to do anything for the sake of the Sect, even going as far as to kill the son he raised with his own hands, what wouldn’t he do?

It also wasn’t lost on Theron that Beifong had only died after getting what the Patriarch wanted… a booklet from the tower?

A chilling realization overcame Theron. Could the old man have raised a son for no reason other than that?

Theron opened up the other booklets. The third was a method that he had already heard faint inklings about through none other than the Verdant Bloomstone: The Echo Bloomstone Forbidden Method.

This one helped one to integrate Echoes that were far stronger than yourself.

This was the third and last of the eight that Theron could understand in any sort of reasonable timeframe. And honestly speaking, after asking about the Echo Bloomstone and learning that the Sect had zero of them, he realized there probably wasn’t even a point in knowing about the others.

What good was wasting so much time on something that he couldn’t use?

"Alright, I will take my rewards now," Theron said after setting the last book down.

The symbols, runes, and such floated around in his head. He might not understand them now, but he could take his time to do so later. Unlike Beifong, he really didn’t feel the need to write them down.

Sometimes he double-checked things out of an abundance of caution, but in practice, he was more than confident in his own memory and the execution of it on tasks exactly like these.

The Patriarch chuckled, not saying much about Theron’s action. He tossed over a jade.

"This is the location of your living abode."

"The Core Disciples won’t be happy."

"They won’t bother you after I speak."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. After I tell them any one of them could become a Chosen by doing what you just did, what will they say?"

Theron smiled a gentle smile, not believing it for a single instant. That said, he did have a brother-in-law to exploit. After what he had done, maybe it was time Aeryn started paying his dues.

One of these days, Theron would get his payback for that palm. In the meantime, he would take some interest.

Theron turned to leave, but as he was about to shut the door behind him, he heard the Patriarch’s voice echo once more.

Goosebumps raked across his body, a shiver passing through his heart.

"You toe quite a dangerous line. Just know that I care very much about this Sect… Theron."

The door clicked closed behind Theron as he exhaled a breath. There was a dense sort of heaviness in his heart, but he calmed himself well.

He knew that that was a warning.

The Patriarch was aware of all of his identities now, and likely knew of how close he was to the Thistles.

Connecting how the Patriarch said his hands were tied to how the Sect seemed split down the middle by two warring factions—the Thistles and the Nightingales—Theron knew that if he really took steps to bring the Sect beyond the point of no return, the Patriarch might throw all caution to the wind for the sake of revenge.

A man that was so fiercely loyal to his convictions and his own goals was the most troublesome sort of man to deal with.

It seemed that now, Theron would have two lions looking over his shoulder.

No… three.

He couldn’t forget about the old man no matter how much the latter’s repressed aura made it easy to.

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Theron moved ahead, but the next day, a storm began to kick up that he could never avoid the center of.

…

News of the princess consort’s return to the Luminescent Moon Sect was only overshadowed by the silent coronation of Theron as the first Chosen of this generation.

The idea that a Chosen had been selected before even the Selection itself had truly drummed up an uproar. But because of what happened afterward, it was hard for people to be angry.

The day the princess consort returned, she too entered the tower. And just like that, a legend that hadn’t been broken a single time in dozens of years had been broken twice in the span of the same number of days.

The skies seemed to be shifting and a second Chosen was selected.

Those that could feel the undercurrent of it all were pressed down by its heavy weight.

After this, more and more began to start to attempt. But one after another, they failed as well…

Everyone was waiting for the same things. Would the Core Disciples step forward to try and prove themselves like Theron and Thessa had? Or would they allow a pair of Bronze Mancers to ride over their heads?

The answer came the following week as all five of them appeared at the same time.