Chapter 34: Reunion of Flames – Celeste’s Return and the First Bloodshed

The night air was heavy.

Leon stood in the moonlit courtyard of the Academy, the whispers of restless winds brushing past his skin. The stars seemed dimmer tonight, as if the heavens themselves watched with bated breath.

[Selene]: "Leon… there's a presence approaching. Familiar. Powerful."

Leon didn't need Selene's analysis. His heart was already racing.

He turned toward the main gate just as the air shimmered. A silhouette emerged from the swirling abyssal mist. Slowly, gracefully, as though reality bent to her will.

Golden hair, cascading like liquid sunlight.

Eyes like twin galaxies, swirling with the remnants of abyssal trials.

A smirk that was both a challenge and a promise.

"Celeste…" Leon whispered, his voice barely more than a breath.

She stopped a few steps away, her gaze drinking him in, as though verifying he was truly real. The silence stretched, tension thrumming between them like a drawn bowstring.

Then, with the confidence of someone who had conquered the Abyss and herself, Celeste spoke.

"I thought you'd have become stronger by now," she teased, but her voice quivered ever so slightly at the edges.

Leon's grin returned. "And I thought you'd take longer to crawl out of hell."

Without hesitation, Celeste stepped forward and, for a brief moment, all the politics, power, and looming wars disappeared.

She wrapped her arms around him.

And Leon, for the first time since his betrayal, allowed himself a moment of peace.

But peace never lasts long.

As their reunion warmed the night, shadows stirred beyond the Academy's protective barriers.

In the dark recesses of the forest nearby, robed figures gathered. The elite enforcers of the Abyssal Council. Their mission was clear: "Eliminate the anomaly. The Voidbearer dies tonight."

[Selene]: "Warning. Hostile forces detected. Forty-two targets. All high-tier cultivators."

Leon reluctantly pulled back from Celeste, his eyes now sharp and calculating.

"Looks like the Council didn't appreciate my plans."

Celeste's grin turned savage. "Good. I'm eager to test my new strength."

She raised her hand, and abyssal flames burst to life, wreathing her like a living inferno. This wasn't the same Celeste who had once needed saving.

This was a warrior reborn.

The First Strike

The night erupted into chaos.

The assassins descended from the treetops and shadows, blades shimmering with abyssal poison, spells ready to tear the courtyard apart.

But Leon was already moving.

[Selene]: "Activating Void Enhancement. All stats boosted by 30% for 10 minutes."

Power surged through him like a storm. His first step shattered the ground beneath him as he appeared before the closest attacker. A single palm strike, empowered by the void, crushed the man's chest, turning bone and flesh to mist.

Celeste unleashed her flames, carving through the night like a goddess of war. Every flick of her wrist sent torrents of abyssal fire spiraling into the enemy ranks, incinerating three attackers at once.

But the assassins were no fools. They formed a tight encirclement, weaving their auras together, creating a Grand Suppression Array designed to drain Leon's void energy and trap Celeste's flames.

"It won't hold!" one of the robed figures shouted. "They're too strong!"

"Hold it!" barked their leader, a man with jagged scars across his face. "Kill the Voidbearer, or none of us leave alive!"

The Voidborn Awakens

Leon felt the array tighten around him. The very air thickened, the void struggling to breathe beneath the suppression.

[Selene]: "Leon. Now would be a good time to push past your limits."

"Glad you mentioned it."

Leon exhaled. Deeply. Calmly. In that moment, his mind went quiet. The echoes of his betrayal, the weight of his purpose, the future he envisioned—they all fused into one crystal-clear intent.

"Break."

Void energy erupted from him like a tidal wave. Black tendrils tore through the array, unraveling the woven energies as though they were threads of smoke.

The leader's eyes widened. "Impossible—"

Leon was already upon him. His hand, wrapped in swirling void essence, passed through the man's chest like a blade through silk. The leader's body disintegrated, leaving nothing behind but a fading scream.

The remaining assassins panicked, scattering like leaves in the wind. Celeste hunted them down, her flames illuminating the night, leaving no survivor.

And when the last ember cooled, the Academy lay silent once more.

Aftermath

Leon and Celeste stood amidst the carnage, both panting, both alive.

"You've improved," Leon admitted, looking at Celeste.

She smirked, wiping a streak of ash from her cheek. "You haven't seen anything yet."

[Selene]: "Victory confirmed. All hostile entities eliminated. However, the Abyssal Council will not stop here. This was merely a probe."

Leon nodded. "I expected as much. But let them come."

Celeste stepped closer, her gaze locking with his. "What's next?"

Leon turned his eyes toward the stars.

"We build. We gather allies. We carve out a space where no council, no god, no power can dictate our fate. The Voidborn Legion begins now."