Entering the Immortal Realm

Cate was unwilling to lose any more time in the search for the Vault of Souls. She understood the nature of the High King; there was no way he would simply lock away the five keys he now possessed. He had to be looking for the other keys as well.

"In this world, only those who do not know what the Vault of Souls has to offer choose not to seek it out."

With this understanding, Cate made her move. She was now twenty-one years old, a beautiful young woman with long black hair and blue eyes. Cate had become familiar with her family history and knew there was no way she would ever be allowed to join the Avalon Society. Yet, this was the only way for her to get close to the keys.

She decided to create a false identity. She used a spell to search for a vulnerability she could exploit to join the society with the greatest ease. She found this vulnerability in a young woman named Catherine Staranse. This young woman was an illegitimate daughter of one of the most powerful families within the Avalon Society. She was the right age, and even her build was similar to Cate's. To make matters easier, she had been banished from her family when she was only seven years old. After that, she had been forced to live in an isolated mansion in the Swiss Alps, accompanied only by a trusted maid. She was the perfect target for Cate to impersonate.

The only issue was that Catherine was a mage, and Cate was a Sorcerer. Even though there was some crossover between these two paths to magic, the differences were also evident. Cate had some understanding of most magical paths, including that of a mage, but her true power lay within sorcery. If she were to take over this identity, she would have to become a mage and avoid using sorcery whenever possible. Cate didn't see much of a problem with this, so she moved forward.

After giving Ion the location of the mansion, she took the Wandering Palace to the Swiss Alps and dropped him off. After just a few minutes, Ion returned with two people slung over his shoulder: Catherine Staranse and her loyal maid. They took the two into an isolated room and waited for them to wake up. After that, everything went smoothly.

The real Catherine Staranse would stay in the Wandering Palace, and Cate would submit an application to join the Avalon Society in her name. The maid was a middle-aged woman who had seen enough of the world. She understood that the best thing they could do was cooperate. She convinced Catherine to do just that. With the trust Catherine had in this woman, whom she saw as her true mother, she did as she was told. She told Cate everything she would need to know about her life, and to Cate's joy, there wasn't much to know. After all, the young woman had lived at the top of a frozen mountain since she was seven years old.

With all this handled, Cate sent her application to the Avalon Society. She claimed to be a master mage, and with this bait, the society could not refuse her. They were, after all, always looking for powerful supernaturals to join them. Cate received her acceptance letter a few weeks later, and just like that, they prepared to enter the Immortal Realm. This was where the Avalon Society was based. In fact, this was where most supernatural beings lived out their long lives. Even though some chose to live among humans, they were the minority.

The Immortal Realm was ruled by the High King. He claimed to have birthed this realm, and many people believed him, as it was indeed possible given his immense power. Very few knew that this realm had been birthed not by the High King alone but with help from the gods and a few other powerful supernaturals.

Cate left the Wandering Palace. She wanted to take it with her, but there was no way for her to take it into the Immortal Realm without being found out by the High King. She left it hovering above London and began walking around. She bought a few things to appear more like a rebellious bastard daughter.

After this, she visited the bank that her family, the Danescu family, had used for hundreds of years. This was not a bank for mortals but for supernaturals. The bank was established in an archaic palace that floated about two hundred feet above the ground. It had stairs that touched the ground, and this was the only way to reach the bank. The building was in the middle of London, but when mortals looked at it, they only saw a normal building and nothing more. Cate didn't understand why the palace had been built in this bizarre manner, but there was nothing she could do.

She began going up the stairs, and after only three steps, she reached the palace doors. The doors opened automatically as though they had been expecting her. She entered the darkness without fearing anything. She didn't see any other person in the bank, yet she could feel other presences. At this moment, a figure adorned in a long black robe came before her. This figure had its face covered, and a strange sound emanated from its body. The figure was tall and slender, and that was all anyone was allowed to learn about these bankers for the supernaturals.

Cate was led into a private room where she was told to place a drop of her blood onto a large translucent orb. The orb glowed after a few seconds and then began showing information about the accounts held by the Danescu family in this bank. The amount was truly impressive. It was enough for Cate to live like an empress for countless lifetimes. Among the human nations that now littered the earth, there was none with more wealth than what Cate possessed. All this wealth, which could feed the world and end world hunger, had been accumulated by Cate's parents during their rampant attacks on other supernaturals. They had not only killed their targets but also robbed them blind. This was the source of the majority of the wealth, and the rest came from the ancestors of the Danescu family.

After her identity was confirmed, Cate became the only person who could access this wealth. Even if another person with the bloodline of the Danescu family came out of the woodwork, they would not have access to these accounts. Cate gave the bankers a few instructions and withdrew just enough for her to appear as just another bastard joining the Avalon Society. Cate could entrust the bank to carry out a few payments on her behalf. The bank could do a whole lot more than this. As long as it had to do with money, Lost Hyde Bank could handle it.

Cate left the bank, and outside, a sleek black car that looked expensive was already waiting for her. "They truly work fast," she thought. The car took her to a private airfield that she also now owned. A private jet was already waiting for her. She got in and flew towards her destination.

On the plane, she continued thinking about how fast the bank had operated. She had given them instructions just a few minutes ago, and that was enough time for them to set up an entire network for her in the human world. She kept on getting messages about all kinds of things that were now in her name. This included the private jet, the airfield, countless cars, and many other things. They had even bought real companies that would take care of her assets and manage them in the human world. Cate was truly impressed.

After a few days, Cate finally reached the portal that would take her out of the human world and into the Immortal Realm. The portal to enter the Immortal Realm was located in a small town in the United States called Bodie. The humans didn't understand the mysteries of this town, but they suspected a few things.

Cate entered the town in a car that looked totally out of place. It attracted gazes from all the townspeople, but the moment the car got out of their view, they forgot about it. They didn't remember ever seeing the car. This was the same for all recording devices.

At the edge of town, Cate entered an abandoned mining shaft. The moment she stepped into this dark pit, she appeared inside an elegantly decorated hall. This was the first place one had to deal with before being allowed into the Immortal Realm. Not just anyone could enter the eternal kingdom.

There were a few people in line, and Cate didn't dare do anything to make herself a problem. This was the High King's territory, and all had to follow his rules. The man was powerful enough that no one dared disobey. The line moved very slowly, but no one complained. The silence of the room was made bearable by the classic music that was played.

Soon, it was Cate's turn. She gave her documents to the receptionist, and after a few minutes, she was given a token that would allow her to use the portal. She entered another hall, and there, a circular smooth stone was covered in countless esoteric runes and symbols from all over the world. This was the portal to the Immortal Realm.

Cate understood that this was her last chance to turn back, but she didn't take it. After she had decided to walk on this path once more, she had firmed her heart to see it through to the bitter end. She stood on the platform, and the magic circle glowed with teleportation power that took her away.

Cate felt as though her body was being separated into countless pieces, each with its own will. When she was just about to get concerned, she felt these pieces being put back together in the exact same order.

"I'm never using this thing again," she cursed out loud. She realized that inside this portal, the one who controlled it had far too much power over those within. Cate was a control freak, and giving away this much power was impossible for her.

At this moment, she felt countless eyes on her, and when she looked around, she realized that she was not alone. There were hundreds of people all gathered in the hall. It took her a second to understand that the portal was made to take each user to wherever they needed to go in the Immortal Realm. Since Cate had come to the Immortal Realm to join the Avalon Society, she was directly sent to the Avalon Society. When she looked around, all the people in this hall were of a similar age to hers. These were probably all the people who had come to join the society.