The Arkanveil manor, often alive with battle chants and training grunts, fell utterly silent.
Not out of fear.
But reverence.
Golden light poured from the healing chamber—thick, slow, like honey kissed by divinity. It seeped through cracks in the door, painted the marble halls in a warm glow, and turned even shadows gentle.
Lucien stood outside, arms crossed, his crimson eyes fixed on the sealed entrance.
Inside was his mother.
Lady Seraphina Arkanveil.
The Light Flower, a relic said to grow only once every ten millennia atop the Celestial Cradle, now pulsed within her. She had absorbed it not with greed, but with grace.
And the world had felt it.
---
The door opened with a sigh.
And the light came with her.
Lady Seraphina stepped out—not walking so much as gliding. Her robes shimmered with threads of living mana. Her hair glowed silver-blonde, like moonlight captured in silk. Her eyes, once kind, now radiated something ancient.
Not power.
Peace.
Lucien met her gaze. And, for the first time in both his lives, he understood what a sanctuary looked like.
She touched his cheek, smiling.
> "You've always protected this family from the outside, my little star. Let me protect it from within."
---
> [SYSTEM UPDATE: STATUS PANEL – ARKANVEIL, SERAPHINA]
Name: Seraphina Arkanveil
Age: 52
Rank: Level 95
Class: Saint of the Luminous Veil
Bloodline: Arkanveil (High Human – Tier 3)
[TRAITS]
– Blessed Radiance (SS)
– Sanctuary Field (S+)
– Spirit Thread (S)
– Lumina's Grace (SS+)
[TITLES]
– Mother of Light
– Hearthkeeper of Arkanveil
– Lightflower Chosen
[MANA CORE]
– State: Luminous Ascension
– Quality: Diamond-Tier
– Affinity: 100% Holy Mana
– Efficiency: Divine-Grade
[SPECIAL SKILLS]
– Light of Return: Revives one fallen ally per day at 50% strength
– Shield of the Last Dawn: Absorbs 99% damage within a dome for 10 seconds
– Blessing of Continuance: Doubles healing effect on blood-bound family
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: Light Flower fully integrated. Unique evolution path unlocked.]
---
Lucien read the panel as it appeared in his Eye of Data.
Then closed it with a soft blink.
No need to see numbers. The proof was already here—etched into the very air.
---
Later that evening, the family gathered in the Sun Atrium.
Aleron was first to kneel. His armor, always pristine, gleamed under her aura.
"You've always stood behind us, Mother," he said. "Today, we stand behind you."
Their younger brother followed, then the little sister, running in with petals tangled in her curls, declaring:
> "Mama's a goddess now!"
Even Elric bowed, his oath-borne loyalty guiding him like instinct.
Lucien stood last.
But when he stepped forward, she stopped him—not with command, but with a hand on his shoulder.
"You gave this to me," she whispered. "Let me return it."
And with a wordless spell, she pressed a kiss to his forehead.
His body warmed, softly. A layer of divine protection—woven into his bloodline itself.
---
That night, across the Arkanveil lands, the sick recovered without potions.
Fields grew richer.
Beasts quieted.
And a rumor began to spread: the Arkanveils had found a healer blessed by the stars.
---
But Lucien knew the truth.
His mother wasn't blessed by the stars.
She was one.
And the long game he played… had gained its shield.