Chapter 724: Sponsor (2)
The streets changed when he crossed into the Imperial Borough.
No noise. No clutter. Just clean lines and cleaner silence. Even the air tasted different—tinged with mana-filtered purity, as if the wind itself had been scrubbed of its imperfections. There were no shouting vendors here, no scent of steel or smoke. Only serenity, enforced by money and old blood.
He moved with ease past the first security gate. The guards glanced up—and didn’t speak. One flick of the sigil on his coat and they bowed, sharp and shallow. Protocols were observed. Not a single wasted word.
The outer walkways of the estate were paved with lunar marble, veined faintly with violet—a material rare enough that even most highborn never walked it barefoot. Twin statues of archons flanked the entrance, their gaze forever cast downward as if even they deferred to those inside.
The place was called the Sanctum of Stars—an extravagant name for what was, in practice, a gilded cage. It hosted only the finest people of the world, and only those with offers from nobles or direct imperial interest were granted entry.
Aside from the Imperial Palace and the Grand Towers of Magic themselves, this was the most prestigious place in the capital to stay.
And it was here Lucavion had been placed.
’Not bad for a boy who started with nothing,’ Khaedren mused, stepping across the threshold.
The moment he entered, three attendants in tailored robes turned in perfect unison. Their eyes didn’t linger on his face—they dropped immediately to the crest. Crimson thorns. Silver blade. The room hushed.
"Honored guest of House Varenth," the lead attendant said, bowing low. "You are expected."
He inclined his head once. No words. None needed.