The Forsaken Heir's Ascension-Chapter 149- Fortress above the storm

At the city’s heart, in the inner zone, a towering teleportation spire shimmered in a swirling vortex of purple light.Inside the tower, the light intensified, and three figures materialized within its glow.Selene crouched immediately, groaning softly from the dizziness.Alex stepped forward, concern written on his face. He knelt beside her and gently placed a hand on her back, channeling his wood elemental energy. A golden-green warmth flowed into her body, dispelling the disorientation like a calming wave.Selene blushed as relief washed over her. She quickly straightened and stepped away from him, her voice soft."Thanks..."Before Alex could respond, a booming voice interrupted."Come on, lovebirds! We’re moving!"Sebeth’s voice echoed through the chamber with playful force.Selene blushed even deeper and shot a glare at her aunt’s back—but followed without protest.Alex said nothing, silently joining them with Hati padding at his side, tail sweeping gently across the frosted floor.They exited the teleportation tower into the biting cold.Icy wind hit their faces like invisible daggers.Alex flinched, momentarily halting in place, but Selene and Sebeth continued walking unfazed.He pulled his coat tighter, tucking his hands into its deep pockets as he pressed forward.

As they moved through the inner zone, Alex noticed the affluence. The homes were elegant and well-kept, their rooftops only lightly dusted with snow. Strangely, no ice accumulated on the doors or roads. The infrastructure here resisted the storm.People walked by in warm coats and scarves, their routines undisturbed by the violent blizzard roaring overhead.

The middle zone came next—less ornate, more practical. The buildings here were simpler, sturdier, more densely packed, but still clean and efficiently maintained. Even here, the roads remained clear, the ice kept at bay by the same city-wide elemental formation.

Finally, they reached the outer zone.Here, the signs of hardship were clearer. Poorly constructed houses stood side by side, walls patched with wood or sheet metal. Yet even here, the roads were clean. Snow did not pile up in doorways.They passed through the bustling market area, nestled beneath protective awnings of ice and stone. Stalls lined both sides of the street, vibrant despite the snowstorm above. The air was filled with the comforting aroma of warm soups, grilled monster meat, and freshly baked bread. Vendors hawked everything from weapons forged with embedded elemental cores to winter clothes made from monster pelts, their textures rugged and warm.

Alex’s eyes wandered—not with judgment, but quiet awe.The people here... were different.They weren’t dressed in lavish silks or encrusted with magical jewelry like those in noble districts, but their clothes were neat. Clean. Well-maintained. The children laughed, chasing each other between stalls. Mothers smiled, bargaining fairly. Fathers worked, their faces calm—not desperate. Not angry.They were happy.

Alex slowed, lips parting slightly as his gaze roamed over the scene. He walked up beside Sebeth, who was leading the way toward the distant colossal wall, a shadow looming in the snowstorm’s veil."The common people here... they seem happy," he said softly, as though the sight itself deserved reverence.Sebeth turned to him, eyes wide with surprise."How did you notice that? Even most people from our own region don’t catch that... let alone visitors."Alex scratched the back of his head, a little shy."I’m a commoner myself. I used to live in Romania City."Sebeth halted in her tracks. Her brows shot up, and in the next instant, she whirled around and gripped his shoulders with both hands."You’re a commoner? A commoner with elemental powers?" she exclaimed, shaking him lightly."That must’ve been really hard for you!"Selene quickly stepped in, gently taking her aunt’s hands off Alex."Aunt, please... calm down."Sebeth blinked, then chuckled sheepishly."Sorry about that," she said, stepping back and continuing forward.

They resumed their walk. The silhouette of the great wall grew larger ahead, its presence like a slumbering giant in the storm. Sebeth glanced around at the market again, then spoke in a lower voice as she walked."We try to help them as much as we can. If we helped them openly, the nobles would rebel. Most of our army is still made of them."Alex nodded quietly, then leaned in and said something only for her and Selene to hear:"Common people don’t want nobles to give them anything. They just want to be seen as humans... by other humans."Sebeth froze in place.Her pale blue eyes turned toward the smiling vendors, the working families, the laughing children... and for the first time in a long while, she looked at them not as civilians under her protection, but as equals. As people, just like her.She whispered back, more to herself than anyone else:"Consider them fellow humans..."She nodded toward Alex and stepped closer to the towering barrier.

And then Alex saw it clearly.It wasn’t a wall—it was a mountain.So massive, so impossibly tall, it vanished into the thick smoke of the snowstorm above, like a bridge to the sky itself.In the swirling haze, dim yellow and red lights flickered, scattered like stars hiding behind storm clouds.

Sebeth pulled out a sleek blue crystal card and channeled a spark of elemental energy into it.A deep creaking sound echoed through the icy air.From within the mist, the shadow of a large square object emerged—ropes dangling from above, gears groaning.A makeshift lift appeared, swaying slightly in the wind as it descended toward them.Sebeth stepped onto the wooden platform and turned back,"Hold fast and steady!" she called.Alex and Selene quickly followed, gripping the thick, frost-hardened ropes. Hati jumped in beside them, tail low but steady.With another creak, the lift lurched upward, ropes groaning under the weight as the wind howled louder around them.The cold bit at their faces, sharp like needles, and the lift wobbled as it ascended into the heart of the storm.

Moments passed in tense silence.Then, like surfacing from water, they broke through the cloud of snow.

What lay above took Alex’s breath away.Atop the towering wall was a hidden city—a fortress carved into the mountain’s summit.Rows of hut-like houses, each small and solid, dotted the surface. Warm yellow lights glowed from within.Red lightstones were embedded along walls and pathways, casting a gentle radiance through the icy mist.It didn’t feel like the top of a wall.It felt like another world.

Sebeth stepped off the platform and turned toward the stunned newcomers, a playful smirk on her face."Come on, wide-eyes," she bellowed with a laugh."Don’t want you two getting lost up here."Alex followed, boots crunching on the hardened frost as he took in the vastness of it all. The "wall" curved endlessly, vanishing again into the storm on either end.Watchtowers rose every few hundred meters, their tops barely visible in the blizzard.Guards in white uniforms stood silently at their posts, unmoving like statues—watchful, ready.

Sebeth led them into one of the small hut-like structures perched on top of the wall.As they stepped inside, Alex was surprised to find that the door opened directly to a narrow stairwell, descending like the interior of a ship.Warm yellow lightstones lit the steps, casting a soft glow on the frosted blue ice that made up the walls.

Visit freewe𝑏nove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺 for the 𝑏est n𝘰vel reading experience