The auction hall's firelight dimmed as if sensing the gravity of what came next.
A hush settled across the amphitheater. Not from fear—but awe. Even the decadent nobles, once eager to display their wealth and status, now shifted nervously. The final two items approached. They were not commodities. They were legacies.
"Lot Thirty-Two," Velmaria said, her voice edged with reverence. "The Divine Egg of the Celestial Frostfeather Gryphon. Descended from the Skyborne Sovereign. Bloodline: Divine Beast—Arctic Skyfire Line."
The egg hovered gently in a field of magic, its shell a radiant blend of opal and sapphire, pulsing with glacial light and feathered aura.
"Starting bid: fifty thousand platinum."
The chamber held its breath.
"Seventy-five," Shin said calmly.
A Baron of the Icelands lifted his hand. "Eighty!"
"One hundred," came Shin's reply, smooth as frostbite.
Silence. Even the beastkin auctioneer twitched her ears and stepped back.
"Sold to the Sovereign Booth."
[Acquisition confirmed. Gryphon bloodline: compatible with both Leona and Nina's daughters. Recommend hatching in the Moonshadow Grove.]
Robin leaned forward, eyes wide. "You're building a bloodline bestiary."
"I'm building a future dynasty," Shin said softly.
Velmaria didn't even pause.
"Lot Thirty-Three," she announced, "The Divine Egg of the Eclipse Sovereign. Dual-aspect entity: Solar and Lunar. Traced lineage to the Nightlight Phoenix and the Sun Tyrant Roc. Potential inheritance: Celestial Dominion, Temporal Shift, and Dual Affinity Command."
The egg was veiled in shadow and sunlight simultaneously, its form hard to define—as if reality bent to its presence.
The starting bid was never uttered.
"Two hundred thousand platinum," Shin said coldly.
A scream rippled through the noble section—a collective gasp of ruin. No one could match that. Not without selling their territories.
The hammer fell. Not a soul in the room moved.
"Sold… to the Sovereign Booth."
[Congratulations, Master. This egg contains a nascent divine beast with the potential to evolve alongside your bloodline heirs.]
[Warning: gestation will require Eclipse Crystal Wellspring or Sovereign Womb of Night and Day.]
"Prepare the foundation for both," Shin said. "Even if I have to make them myself."
The auction was over.
But the echoes of it would last for generations.
As the nobles filtered out—some pale with envy, others already scheming—Shin remained, flanked by Robin, Leona, and Kaelira. Velmaria joined them, her expression unreadable, but her posture no longer stiff with judgment.
"You didn't just steal the show," Velmaria murmured. "You stole their futures."
"I gave them fair warning," Shin replied.
The Second Princess folded her arms. "They're going to retaliate. Not all at once. But Elarion's noble courts will not tolerate a new power seizing this much ground in one night."
"I'm counting on it."
Robin leaned against his shoulder. "So what now?"
"We shop," he said, a smile tugging at his lips.
—
The Sovereign's Circuit
The VIP vaults beneath the auction opened only to those with imperial clearance.
They entered with silent grace, escorted by Heart's soft projections and Velmaria's arcane key.
Inside, treasure upon treasure lay in floating orbs, shelves, and levitating vault columns. It was no bazaar—it was a sovereign's war chest.
Shin wasted no time.
"Show me territory artifacts, bloodline catalysts, and slave workforce bundles. I want to review for optimization."
They moved between chambers.
He acquired:
• The Sunforge Loom – capable of creating heat-tempered armor infused with light-based resistances.
• Arcane Soil Tablets – which could terraform dead land into mana-rich farming terraces.
• Guild Contract Tomes – blank but bound in divine ink, perfect for forming new trade networks with magical safeguards.
Heart pinged him mid-search.
[Master, six merchant nobles are preparing a combined effort to sabotage your ports. One intends to send a cursed shipment. Another hired a planar assassin.]
"Flag all names. I want full profiles."
[Flagged. Would you like a preemptive strike or wait until they act?]
"Let them move first. Then crush them with law and leverage."
Leona lingered near a high-security relic case. "This one's interesting."
It was a ritual plate—carved with phoenix feathers, twin eclipse symbols, and elemental runes of lightning, shadow, and fire.
"Heart?"
[Bloodline Convergence Array. Triple-aspect variant. Can fuse traits across offspring or empower them with mixed-lineage gifts. Requires high-compatibility donors.]
Robin arched a brow. "Planning for the kids already?"
Shin grinned. "Always."
He bought it.
He bought a lot.
Two hours later, they'd spent another two hundred thousand platinum—but their acquisitions would turn kingdoms to ash for a chance at half the loot.
Velmaria crossed her arms. "That's enough shopping. Come. She'll see you now."
—
The Phoenix Throne
They walked through an obsidian hall inlaid with fireglass and veined gold. The warmth wasn't just temperature—it was presence.
And at the far end… sat a throne of living flame.
From it rose Queen Seraphina Caelarys—last of the Phoenixblood, ruler of Elarion.
Her hair was living fire braided into regal arcs, her eyes eternal sunrise. Wings of flame folded behind her back, woven with stardust and cinders. She was not wearing a crown.
She was the crown.
"Shin Tempest," she said, her voice music and conflagration. "The Tempest Sovereign. The Dragon-Blooded Builder. The one who made my sister smile for the first time in years."
Velmaria blushed faintly.
Shin stepped forward. "Queen Seraphina."
"Your auction rampage was divine. Even I felt the echoes. And your restraint with the nobles impressed me. You could've broken them."
"I'll let them break themselves," Shin replied.
The Queen's lips curled into an approving smile.
[Warning: Subject is in final Ascension state. Divine emergence probable within the next lunar cycle.]
"Why call me here?" Shin asked directly.
Seraphina rose. Her fire dimmed slightly—not out of weakness, but intimacy.
"Because Elarion is fracturing. The balance between old money and new power is unsustainable. You… you are a force of convergence. Of chaos and potential."
She stepped forward.
"Swear to protect this realm, and I'll name you High Protector. You'll gain access to my Sky Vault, Flameheart Archives, and the Phoenix Spire Nexus."
Kaelira's breath hitched.
That was no offer.
That was power beyond most gods.
But Shin didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Robin. To Velmaria. To the flames that danced like memory in the queen's eyes.
Then he bowed.
"Not because of the vaults. But because your people will need someone who can face the future with more than tradition."
The Queen placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
"Then rise, Protector of Elarion."
—
As the flames dimmed and the hall emptied, Heart whispered in his mind.
[Master, the Phoenix has chosen. The nobles will rally. The gods will whisper.]
[But your empire now walks beside immortality.]
Shin didn't smile.
He didn't need to.
The storm was coming.
And he was ready to shape it.