“Is it proper for you to act like this in front of your daughter’s savior?”
A tension that shifted.
Luca took a casual step forward, his presence unshaken, speaking as if this conversation was of no greater consequence than idle gossip in a noble’s parlor.
“If that is how things are done,” he continued, “then perhaps all that talk about the Thaddeus Duchy and the people of the sea being genuine and honorable is just that—talk.”
The air coiled tight.
Even Luca could feel it now—the subtle shift in the storm surrounding Thaddeus.
Because that had landed.
That had struck deep.
Duke Thaddeus of the Eastern Seas was a man of unshakable will, of unquestionable might—but above all else, his name carried honor.
Luca had just called it into question.
The tension in the cavern sharpened.
And then—
A voice cut through the silence.
“Father.”
Cold. Sharp.
Thaddeus’ gaze flickered, moving away from Luca—
And onto Aeliana.
She stood firm.
Her body was whole. Her presence unbroken.
Her eyes burned with the fire of someone who had walked through death itself—and returned.
And she was glaring at him.
Not in fear. Not in discomfort.
But in anger.
Her next words were quiet, but they held the weight of a command.
“Drop it.”
Thaddeus did not speak.
But he saw it.
The way her arms remained crossed, the way her shoulders were tense—not from exhaustion, not from battle, but from something deep-seated.
She wasn’t fine.
She had survived. She had returned. She had healed.
But she was still angry.
And that anger—
It was directed at him.
The air did not crack.
The storm did not surge.
But something changed.
Because Thaddeus understood.
His daughter may have returned.
But their relationship had not.
The cavern remained heavy with unspoken tension, the storm between father and daughter silent but ever-present.
Duke Thaddeus had faced countless warriors, kings, and enemies who thought themselves his equal. He had stood firm against empires, led fleets through storms, and crushed those who dared to challenge him.
And yet—this was different.
This was his daughter.
Aeliana, standing before him—whole, unbroken, defiant.
Her glare was not of a child seeking approval, nor of a noble lady subdued by expectations. It was of someone who had walked through something else.
Through death.
Through change.
And she had returned not as the daughter he had locked away, but as someone reborn.
Still, anger flickered within him.
Not towards Luca.
Not towards the sea, the vortex, or even the gods themselves.
But towards her.
For making him go through this.
For forcing him to endure the loss of another loved one.
For standing there with that look in her eyes—the one that told him, You don’t control me anymore.
But Duke Thaddeus was a man of control.
And so he swallowed that rage, pushing it deep within, where it would not show, where it would not weaken him in front of those watching.
This was not the time.
This was not the place.
His golden eyes flickered back to Luca. The boy remained calm, too calm, his smirk still playing at the corners of his lips as if this were a game to him.
This kid.
The one who had survived the abyss, who stood before him without fear, who had—if the reports were true—saved Aeliana.
That alone changed everything.
And that alone was why Thaddeus did not act.
Not yet.
With a measured breath, he straightened, his presence once again shifting—not as a father, but as a Duke.
“Let us return.” His voice cut through the cavern, cool and absolute. “This is no place to talk.”
Luca’s smirk widened slightly, his gaze twinkling with something between amusement and curiosity.
“Ah, yes.” His voice carried an easy, almost lazy humor. “We need your grandiose mansion for that, don’t we?”
A sharp comment. Aeliana’s voice—cool, edged, biting—cut through the air like a blade.
She had not spoken to him like this before.
Not so openly.
Not so boldly.
For a moment, Thaddeus remained silent.
Then, without acknowledging the jab, he simply turned.
Aeliana’s lips pressed into a thin line. She had expected some reaction, a remark, a reprimand—but instead, she got nothing.
The Duke was not taking the bait.
Fine.
She would not give him the satisfaction of expecting obedience, either.
Without another word, she followed.
Luca followed, his pace slow, almost leisurely, as if none of what had just transpired mattered in the slightest. Aeliana walked ahead of him, her shoulders tense but her expression unreadable.
Duke Thaddeus led the way, silent and imposing, his mind turning over everything that had happened.
Luca knew the Duke hadn’t let this go.
Not really.
The man had only postponed it.
Which meant Luca had **delayed the storm—**not avoided it.
Fine by him.
They moved through the cavern’s winding tunnels, past the eerie bioluminescent stones, the foreign symbols etched into the rock pulsing ever so faintly as they passed.
Luca glanced at them one last time, his fingers itching to trace over the engravings, to understand what they meant.
But not now.
Not yet.
The group finally reached the edge—the place where Thaddeus had broken into this abyss in his pursuit of Aeliana.
And the moment they stepped out—
The ocean shifted.
A barrier formed around them.
It came suddenly, seamlessly, as if the water itself bent to Thaddeus’ will.
The swirling currents parted, forming a vast transparent dome, encasing them in a bubble of breathable air while holding back the crushing weight of the deep. The light from above filtered through the dark ocean, casting eerie rays of silver through the barrier.
Luca exhaled sharply, glancing around.
“So this was the place the space was attached to,” he murmured, his voice carrying with ease through the enclosed space.
Thaddeus turned sharply.
“What space?”
Luca hummed, his fingers tapping lightly against his arm as he gazed at the rocky ocean floor.
“When we were teleported by the vortex,” he explained casually, “we weren’t thrown into the depths of the ocean. We were taken to an entirely different space. A separate dimension.”
A pause.
He tilted his head slightly, watching Thaddeus’ expression shift just slightly.
“But this isn’t the place to talk details, is it?”
His smirk returned.
Thaddeus’ golden eyes narrowed, but then—
“…No.”
His agreement was cold, decisive.
Whatever had happened to Aeliana, whatever had happened to this young man, it was clear now—
This wasn’t just about the sea.
This was something far greater.
The barrier around them shifted, the ocean currents bending to Duke Thaddeus’ presence as if obeying an unspoken command. With a single movement, the vast dome of water surrounding them began to rise, pulling them upward through the abyss.
Lucavion watched the way the water parted so seamlessly for the Duke, the way the sea creatures lurking in the shadows withdrew as if in silent reverence. There was no force, no spoken spell—just will.
The Storm Sovereign’s Dominion.
Lucavion had already heard stories of Thaddeus’ unique bloodline, how it gave him a connection to the seas that no other noble—no other warrior—could match. But seeing it was something else entirely.
Even in the crushing depths, the ocean bowed to him.
The ascent was quick, far quicker than any natural movement through water should have been. The darkness of the deep faded, giving way to a softer blue as light trickled down from above. The closer they came to the surface, the more defined the glow of the sun became, cutting through the murky veil of the ocean.
And then—
They breached.
With a rush of displaced water, the three of them emerged into the open sea. The waves lapped gently around them as the massive fleet of Thaddeus’ navy stretched out in every direction, their sails casting long shadows against the shifting waters. The flagships of the Thaddeus Duchy stood in formation, their dark banners fluttering against the wind, the emblems of the Eastern Sea Lord unmistakable against the sky.
The moment Thaddeus surfaced, a sharp horn blast echoed across the fleet.
The signal of his return.
All along the decks of the surrounding ships, knights and sailors rushed forward, their gazes locking onto their Duke as he walked atop the water like it was solid ground. His boots barely disturbed the surface, ripples spreading outward with each deliberate step.
Luca followed behind, less elegantly—though his movements were controlled, the water bending subtly beneath his weight as he adjusted to the unnatural energy lingering in the air.
Aeliana was silent. Stay connected via My Virtual Library Empire
And then—
A shift.
One by one, the knights and commanders standing along the decks froze.
Not because of the Duke.
But because of her.
——A/N———–
Sorry for the late chapters. For some reason there was a mistake in the timer, it appears that I set the wrong date for the chapters…