CHAPTER 71: Departure for Aethelgard
(ARC 5: THE CENTENNIAL ASSEMBLY & THE CENTRAL GALACTIC EMPIRE)
The departure of the imperial flagship, The Sterling Sovereign, was not kept secret.
High above the Central Capital, millions of citizens gathered in public squares to watch the six-mile-wide, dark-iron leviathan align itself with the glowing arch of the Sterling Starlight Gate. Refitted with cosmic adamantite plating from the Northern Core and powered by high-density spatial arrays, the flagship shone like a dark moon against the golden aurora of the planetary canopy.
Inside the imperial suite on the ship's upper deck, Evelyn adjusted the golden dragon-clasp on Gabriel’s dark silk coat. Her fingers moved smoothly, her touch warm and deliberate.
"The Central Galactic Court will expect us to show deference," Evelyn said softly, meeting his dark golden dragon pupils with a quiet, knowing smile. "They are accustomed to newly ascended realms trembling before their ancient pedigree."
Gabriel rested his hands gently on her waist, pulling her close. "Then they are in for a very uncomfortable thirty days."
"Dad! Mom!" Ethan’s voice echoed down the corridor before he stepped into the suite, holding his wooden spear shaft wrapped in fresh dragon-silk linens. "The spatial trajectory is locked. We’ll break through the Mid-Rim transit corridors in three hours."
Elena walked in behind him, her azure blade resting securely at her sash. "Arbiter Vael sent a final intelligence briefing from the Gilded Trade Federation. The Centennial Sovereign Assembly on Aethelgard is hosted by the Seven Primordial Clans. Among them, the Solari Dynasty—the very clan that bribed local factions five hundred years ago to keep our realm suppressed—holds the chair for this session."
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed into razor-sharp, golden slits. A cold, quiet pressure filled the room for a microsecond before smoothing out into serene dominance.
"The Solari Dynasty," Gabriel murmured softly. "How convenient."
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The Sterling Sovereign, flanked by two sleek Metal Spire escort frigates, glided into the golden maw of the Starlight Gate. The spatial rift folded around them, launching the vessels into the deep-space hyper-transient corridors bound for the central core of the galaxy.
While the flagship traversed the void, Ethan spent his hours in the gravity training chamber, refining his Void-Dragon Domain alongside Elena’s multi-dimensional sword routines.
With every passing light-year, the natural cosmic energy flowing through the ship's internal arrays grew denser. The primitive outskirts of Sector 7 faded behind them, replaced by the towering, ancient spatial structures of the Central Galaxy.
Ten days into the voyage...
The ship dropped out of hyper-space transit at the border check-post of the Aethelgard Imperial Ring.