Guardian Islands.
Nine small-scaled islands around a single large island constituted this veritable paradise on earth.
Of course, small here meant around fifty to a hundred square miles.
The combined area of the islands was around 1,000 square miles. To put it into perspective, Guardian islands were as big as megacities of Old Earth.
A small island was dedicated to the residence of the main members of the Xander Family.
Since Blink, Monogamy was abandoned. So, every member of the Xander member had two or three wives and thus, quite a few children.
Fast forward a few generations since Blink and now, there were almost a thousand members in the Xander Family.
The talented ones would get the resources and support from the family. They would go on to reach envious positions in military and civil fields.
The less talented ones lived a well-off life by managing the vast property and networks of Xanders.
To have a right to speak, one must be at least a high awakener or be a great genius.
Reaching Level 4 in his first semester, Narcis was the cream of the crop and would have been the leading genius.
Would have been…if not for Charles.
Now, besides the Elders in Level 9, Charles had a great say in things. But he didn't bother in the internal affairs.
He only meditated. Practiced. Trained.
The place he used to visit, the person he spent time with…were now a thing of the past.
But nostalgia was hard to kill.
After finishing his practice, Charles Xander slowly walked towards an island.
At the same time…
Vroom!
Ghostship stopped in front of a huge barrier covering the Guardian islands.
Inside the cabin, Varian couldn't help but admire the beauty that seemed to be sculpted by heaven itself.
As the light blue water of the ocean glittered under the sun like starlight, nine pristine islands surrounding a large one came into view.
Looking down at the islands, Varian noticed the fog in some places. A thought came to his mind and he asked cautiously.
"Boo, is it..?"
"Yes, master. The aura concentration here is three times that of earth. Two times that of Defense Academy." Boo's cute voice answered.
"Hiss!" Varian sucked in a cold breath.
This was just the normal aura all around the islands! If they used Aura concentration formations and he was sure they had, then training in such an environment would be even better than training in Amethyst villas.
"Master, analyzing the aura concentration, there are only fifty-six locations that have more aura concentration than the room you practiced in Sarah's home," Boo answered the question he didn't ask.
"Oh." Varian calmed down a little.
Considering the number of people on these islands, fifty-six was a low number. That meant perhaps only level 9 and some level 8 awakeners were getting that treatment.
"Boo, scan the islands and find the lab facility," Varian said, seated on a luxurious black chair.
"Yes, master," Boo said and invisible fluctuations spread from the ghost ship.
Boo had limitations. It could not detect high awakeners at a distance, nor could it perform any offensive.
Scanning the islands and breaking their internal security was complex, but doable.
Meanwhile, Varian squinted at the main island.
A dreamy white fog covered the land as floating buildings stood aloof in the air.
Each of the buildings was made of smooth crystals of different colors. The only same thing was their quality.
No matter the building, it could not be broken by a mid awakener.
At the center of all the buildings floated a palace. In fact, it was a few dozen meters above them, as if it was beyond the rest.
The palace easily outsized any building Varian saw till that point. He thought the castle of Abyss Lord he saw during the entrance test was noble…but only now did he realize the true definition of nobility.
Built of red and white crystals, it looked impossibly noble. Just its presence stirred the aura.
The palace was…a star treasure! Likely 9 stars!
He found it hard to believe that a human lived in that palace. It seemed to be the abode of divine beings.
But…
"Divine being? Even if you are a Sovereign, prepare yourself for my revenge." Varian muttered under his breath and shifted his gaze.
Boo maintained a safe distance from the palace lest they be found. To remain hidden from a 9-star treasure with just a few miles was the testimony to its prowess.
In comparison, even the best stealth space shuttle could not sneak past the barrier without alerting the opponent. It would have to expend a very expensive treasure, the kind only found in ruins, to sneak in successfully.
Even then, it would be found by the surveillance that covered every inch of the land, sea, and air.
Thankfully, Ghost Ship's stealth was at another level.
"Master, the main island contains the core training and administrative faculties. Only high awakeners and the biggest geniuses live there.
The Xander members live on one of the small islands.
There are three islands having low-level, mid-level, and high-level beasts respectively. They are used as training grounds.
An island is dedicated to logistics and travel. It is filled with teleportation formations and space shuttles.
And one…you guessed it. It has a large aura crystal mine.
Then the twin islands. One is dedicated to potion-making. The other is for star treasures.
The final island, the one closest to the main island is dedicated to research. With more than seventy labs, there are forty-nine leading researchers of Earth working in the most cutting edge technologies."
Even though he expected it, Varian was still astonished by the scale and quality of the Guardian Islands.
Moreover, he knew that this was not everything Xanders had. He heard of… Secret Realms they governed.
Shaking his head, Varian said. "Boo, did you find out Roxana's lab? Who is working there and continuing her research?"
Almost every researcher had partners. If he could find Roxana's research partners, then he could get a better idea of how and why she died.
He might also get the clues as to why Roxana interfered with his mother and…Sia.
But Boo's answer came as a shock.
"Master, I hacked into the internal database. Roxana worked alone all her career. She even had her lab isolated from the rest. Now, the lab is abandoned."
Saying so, Boo steered the ghost ship towards a small island and passed above the futuristic architecture of the labs before descending in front of a large white dome.
Roxana's lab.
It was easily the size of a football field and was as tall as a ten-storied building.
"Find a way to get us in," Varian said and rubbed his sweaty palms.
As he got closer to the truth…he realized one thing.
He cared a great deal about his mother's death and wanted to kill everyone responsible for her death.
But at the same time, a growing part of him was worried about Sia. Despite trying to control himself, he would dream of the few but vivid flashbacks again and again.
And as time passed, he got more dreams filling up some gaps between each flashback.
Even just from his memories leading to fourteen years, he spent more time with Sia than with his mother.
The bond he developed with her through these dreams was hard to understand. But it remained the closest to his heart.
At some point, his mother's last wish became his own quest.
'Wherever you are, I'll find you.' Varian clenched his fist.
The surveillance around the white doom was slowly manipulated by Boo. As no one found any weirdness, a door slowly opened and in an instant, Ghostship rushed in.
The door was shut the next moment as if it was never opened.