ONLINE: Blades of Eternity-Chapter 329: A MESSAGE FROM THE CELESTIALS

Deep within the moss-laced sanctuary of the Nullcarver Hollow, time seemed to slow.

Here, beneath the hollowed mountain crowned by bioluminescent vines and breathing stone, stood the sacred Seven Statues of the Juggernauts—towering monoliths carved from obsidian-like ore, each exuding a distinct presence.

Before them, drawn into a massive circular formation inscribed into the ground—the Circle of Resonance—sat Kaelen, Kelvin, Morris, Lila, Guinevere, and Ethan. Each cross-legged. Each silent. Each drawing breath in rhythm with the pulsing heart of the Hollow.

The Circle shimmered faintly. No mana flowed here. Only Qi—raw, ancient, life-bound energy that predated the ages of spellcraft. It wasn’t granted. It was earned. Forged within.

Naena stood off to the side, her expression carved from stone yet her eyes sharp and unwavering. Her robes of barkweave and root-thread rustled faintly, arms crossed as she watched the group begin their resonance attempt.

"Close your minds," she had instructed earlier. "The Circle will test your inner self, your discipline, your desire, and the weight of your convictions. It will respond only if your Qi walks a path of clarity."

"Each statue radiated a different path of the Juggernauts" She then continued.

"The Path of Still Earth which signifies Unmovable Will."

"The Path of Flowing Waters which signifies Adaptation and Precision."

"The Path of Soaring Wind which signifies Speed and Enlightenment."

"The Path of Eternal Flame which signifies Passion and Destruction."

"The Path of Void Echo signifies Detachment and Illusion."

"The Path of Iron Blood signifies Ruthless Endurance."

"And finally, The Path of Heaven’s Pulse which signifies Balance and Supreme Unity."

"Now begin" Naena finally declared before Kaelen and the rest quickly entered a meditative state.

After some time in utter silence went by, Morris Grey sat with his palms resting on his knees, breathing slowly. His bright yellow hair glowed faintly, and the lines of Qi that gathered around him snaked toward the Iron Blood statue. The statue’s eyes lit up faintly—acknowledging his path.

’He is suited for direct endurance’ Naena noted. ’Although being suited for this path while being a mage is a bit odd, seems like our ancestors knows best’

Lila, radiant yet composed, had a wreath of soft air swirling about her as the Soaring Wind statue pulsed gently. Her attunement to speed and perception was natural. Her elegance refined.

Guinevere, surrounded by flickers of heat and trembling stone, pulled the attention of the Eternal Flame statue. The flames did not roar—they coiled and shimmered like dancers around her body.

Ethan, however, was different.

His body was still, but Naena’s brows lifted subtly as she noticed that three statues—Flowing Waters, Still Earth, and Void Echo—glowed softly in tandem. Streams of differing Qi gathered at his center, weaving in and out of one another, sometimes stable, sometimes volatile.

"He’s been through inner conflict," she murmured to herself. "But his potential lies in his ability to integrate contradictions. Fascinating..."

Then came the impossible.

Kaelen and Kelvin.

Their Qi began to thrum unnaturally—an ancient resonance echoing from their very cores. Kaelen’s serious looking face remained unmoved, but his body glowed faintly with a silver pulse. Across from him, Kelvin’s dark eyes shimmered, his muscles subtly twitching as if resisting restraint.

All seven statues unbelievably responded.

Each Juggernaut Path lit with differing hues—stone veins of their structures pulsing to life for the first time in ten thousand years.

The Circle of Resonance reacted violently, golden tendrils of Qi erupting from the runes etched into the floor and dancing up the bodies of both Kaelen and Kelvin.

The wind howled inside the Hollow.

The statues shifted. A few of the ancient stone cracked as though reawakening. Dust fell from their brows. And from somewhere unseen—an ancient chant, long lost to the world—began to echo.

"Un.....believable"

Naena’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her hands slowly lowered to her sides as she whispered:

"It’s... happening again. Two Juggernauts... no—something beyond that..."

The ancient vines above them began to sway, and the hollow’s central pillar of stone—long dormant—started to emit a deep, humming vibration. A resonance of old truths.

Naena approached slowly, stopping at the edge of the Circle since everything has begin to die down. Her voice was composed, but awe tinted her every word.

"Never in the millennia since the Seven forged this Hollow... have any been able to harmonize with all Seven Paths."

She turned, looking to the group—some still struggling, others exhausted. And then back to Kaelen and Kelvin.

"You two are not just inheritors. You are echoes of the Juggernauts themselves."

Kaelen opened his eyes. They shimmered like living mercury. For a moment, he looked dazed—as if seeing through time.

"I... I saw them," he murmured. "The Seven. Not in form. But in trial. One asked if I would bleed. Another, if I would walk alone. Another—if I’d forget love for power..."

Kelvin, sweat streaming down his jaw, panted slightly.

"They... tested me too," he muttered. "But I didn’t break."

Naena stepped back, reverently.

"You have not passed their trial... not yet," she said firmly. "But the fact that they acknowledged you... means your journey into the Crucible of Aetheris will not a perilous trial as we thought. It will be... prophecy."

A rumble echoed from the statues again, their energy slowly dimming. The Circle’s light settled into the stone once more.

Kaelen looked toward the Flame statue, then the Void Echo. Kelvin’s gaze lingered on Heaven’s Pulse—the path of Balance.

Naena exhaled slowly and then raised her hand.

"Rest. Tomorrow, your real training begins. One path at a time. And when you leave this Hollow..." she glanced upward toward the glowing vines, "you will not be students anymore. You will be heirs to the Juggernauts’ legacy."

The wind fell silent.

The statues returned to slumber.

Rumble!! Rumble!!

But before Kaelen and the others could leave that area....

A sharp pulse reverberated through the Hollow.

Not from the Circle.

But from the stone gate far behind the sacred statues.

Naena’s body tensed. Her eyes narrowed. No one should have known how to reach this place—let alone cross into it.

A Nullcarver tribesman, cloaked in earthen tones, burst through the side tunnel that led to the outer vale.

"Elder!" he cried. "They’ve breached the warding path! Eirana... she’s brought outsiders!"

"Outsiders?" Naena’s tone dropped like stone. "Who?"

Before the tribesman could respond, footsteps echoed through the ancient hollow.

Dozens of them.

Eirana was the first to emerge, panting yet composed. Behind her followed several Nullcarver warriors—and flanking them were two distinct and unmistakable forces.

To the right, garbed in armor of glistening moonsteel, with emerald eyes and cascading silver hair braided in ceremonial fashion, were Elven warriors—tall, graceful, but visibly on edge. They held their glaives with caution, their gazes sweeping the Circle and its statues with wariness and reverence.

And to the left—moving like shadows born of light—came the Hybrids of Aetheris.

Each of them radiated a pressure that shook the air subtly, yet not one of them flared their power fully. They didn’t need to. Their bodies—imbued with both celestial blessing and mortal heritage—hummed with presence.

At their front stood a man cloaked in silver and black, no older than his late twenties by appearance, though the age in his gaze betrayed a much older essence.

Naena’s hand twitched by her side.

"You brought them here?" she growled at Eirana, voice brittle as snapping bark. "The Elves, and worse—the Hybrids? Into our sacred Hollow?"

Eirana bowed her head low, stepping forward despite the scorching disapproval radiating from her grandmother.

"Forgive me, Elder," she said, "but the balance of Aetheris is already unraveling. The Leech was only the beginning. I brought them because they are already entangled in what’s to come—whether we wish it or not."

The leader of the Hybrids stepped forward.

Kaelen stiffened.

His aura was utterly unreadable—neither hostile nor kind. A perfect, almost terrifying, equilibrium. His skin was pale gold under the hollow’s light. His eyes were twin orbs of starlight. His voice, when it came, was calm and dispassionate.

"You are Kaelen Dragonyx." freeweɓnøvel~com

Kaelen didn’t reply immediately, his back still slightly damp from his resonance session. He met the man’s gaze evenly, not blinking.

"And you are?"

"You do not need my name," the Hybrid replied. "But I have a message for you... from the Celestials."

The mere mention of the Celestials sent a ripple through the Hollow. Even Naena’s face twitched subtly, her posture tightening.

Kelvin stepped to Kaelen’s side. Morris, Guinevere, and Lila quickly got close to Kaelen, all instantly on guard.

"You carry the Magic Pandora, yes?" the Hybrid asked flatly.

Kaelen didn’t deny it.

The Hybrid closed his eyes. A faint pulse shimmered in the air—almost like a heartbeat—and then he nodded to himself.

"Confirmed. You carry the vessel."

His eyes opened. The weight behind them made Kaelen’s own mana stir instinctively in his core.

Then came the words.

"The Celestials have given you two years."

Everyone stiffened.

"Two years to end the tyranny known as Endless along with the chaos he has caused across the land of Aetheris"

"If you fail—" the Hybrid continued, his tone not cruel, merely certain— "—they will descend. And when they do, they will strip you of everything."

He paused.

"Your mana. Your resonance. Your legacy. The Pandora. All of it. You will become as hollow as the forest you now hide in."

Guinevere took a step forward, fists clenched. "Is that a threat?"

"No," the Hybrid said. "It is a cosmic truth. The Pandora is not meant to linger in the hands of those who hesitate."

Kaelen didn’t flinch. He stared back, brows tightening only slightly.

"And if I succeed?"

The Hybrid gave the faintest tilt of his head.

"Then you will ascend into being a celestial yourself."

Silence.

The wind stirred faintly in the Hollow, brushing against the statues. Even the Elven warriors had grown quiet, sensing the tension not from malice, but the profound weight of fate.

Naena finally exhaled. She eyed Kaelen, then the Hybrid, then Eirana—whose face now showed silent pleading.

"So it begins," she murmured, more to herself than anyone else. "The old prophecies that was told way back from our ancestors has finally taken form."

The Hybrid turned and began to leave without another word.

But just before vanishing into the path of carved stone, he looked back over his shoulder.

"Two years, Kaelen Dragonyx. The sand has started falling."

Then he vanished.

The Elves remained behind, casting suspicious glances between Naena, Eirana, and Kaelen. Clearly, they hadn’t come for war—but now they knew they were standing in the middle of something far larger than they could understand.

Kaelen said nothing.

He simply stared at the still-glowing statue of Heaven’s Pulse, its eyes locked on him... as though listening.