Emperor's Reckoning

At an isolated island where no trees were in sight, where no animals were roaming, stood a giant door at the center. The door was made out of worn woods. It had aged with time and grown weary. Nobody knew the origin of the door and the knowledge regarding the place was lost. 

This had sparked the Mortal World's curiosity. Many cultivators believed that beyond the door was a place full of treasures. Priceless and unreachable. For the past uncountable years, only a few cultivators had come out from the expedition but none of them did reach the very end of the place.

However, they came back empty-handed. Garuda even fell into a coma until recently. Many then started to doubt the legend surrounding the door.

The strong expert cultivators that were meditating and went to a prolonged meditation to reach the next breakthrough didn't bother to inspect it. The risk and the reward were too uncertain, thus they were too afraid to be rash. 

"Aren't they here yet?" said one cultivator who came here to the island as onlookers.

"No need to rush, the door is not going anywhere," said another one as he crossed his arms proudly.

"Man, I feel so excited and I'm not even participating in it," said one of the cultivators as his hands trembled.

"Look! Over there!" one cultivator pointed out against an incoming boat. The ship was fluttering its banner and the insignia of Arunga was fluttering magnificently. 

The youth standing at the edge end of the dock was the famous noble, Porealus. The genius of the Arunga family was accompanied by an elder beside him. 

"It seems like I'm here first, I don't see any of them arriving yet," said Porealus with a smile on his face. 

The elder squinted his eyes. His vision narrowed as he could see the end of the world but not a sight of a being had come out. He shook his head in lamentation, "Youth these days, they don't know how much important is punctuality."

"I envy them, Elder Peli," muttered Porealus.

"And why is that so, young master?" asked Elder Peli as he furrowed his eyebrows.

Porealus let out a sigh, "Our family is too strict, I can't even exercise my freedom."

"That strictness is to mold you into the perfect heir. You will rule the Arunga family in the future and you need to act like it."

"Yeah, yeah sure, I've heard it a thousand times since I was a kid," said Porealus as he kept up a smile.

"Then that's good," Elder Peli nodded. "By the way, young master. Are you really sure that this trip toward that place is safe? Not even your grandfather dared to enter it all the way."

"But he did enter it did he? If he didn't enter it then, would Arunga be is as big as now? The fruitful event that he achieved inside the place changed the course of his fortune and fate for the better. I must do the same," said Porealus.

"I'm sure that you will gain a humongous boost for your cultivation, young master!" said Elder Peli.

Porealus only smiled in response. Soon enough he saw uncountable little boats surrounding the isolated island. The massive onlookers were a given and most of them were young cultivators. Hailing from various regions, he couldn't name all of them though he had learned from the lectures in his study.

The grand vassal tendered in the nearby beach. The vast island consisted of nothing but the giant door in the center. Porealus jumped before landing right on a sandy beach.

"Porealus!"

"Porealus has arrived!"

The cultivators couldn't conquer their excitement as they called out his name.

"T-That's Elder Peli and the various elders from the Arunga family."

"I-I guess it's a given that he won't be entering the place alone."

Porealus was looking at the onlookers with a smile and a nod before one of his eyebrows raised. Elder Peli and the other elders turned their gaze toward a certain direction. 

"Zet!"

"The young sword genius!"

"Argonauts!"

A huge vassal almost comparable to Arunga soon came to the shore and the youngest of the three geniuses had arrived.

"Hop!" Zet jumped out of the vassal before landing on the island. His famous sheathed curved sword was glaring and basking in its fame.

The red-haired youth was accompanied by the elders of the family and each of them had a sword placed on the side of their waists. 

"Big brother, you seem to be really punctual," commented Zet before following it with a dumb smile.

"What can I say, it runs in the family," said Porealus as he smiled wryly.

"Young master, please," muttered Elder Peli.

"I have not seen your face in a long time Peli, it seems like you have more creases than the last time I met you, haha!"

The vibrant voice came from a middle-aged man that was acting as the elder for Zet.

"That's Gunther!" said one of the cultivators.

"I didn't expect to meet such venerable figure here."

"It seems Elder Peli and Gunther had some sort of animosity based on how the latter grimacing."

Elder Peli scowled, "I see that you have not to make a significant boost in your cultivation since our last bout."

Gunther disgruntled before he made a light condescending smirk, "Don't act as if you have."

*Crack!

Zet and Porealus turned around before their eyes opened wide. A path made of a frozen sea stretched out toward a direction. The width was big enough to host two grand carriages.

"I-Is that a carriage?!"

"That's probably!"

"Ivy!"

The sound of horses neighing was heard before they saw beautiful white carriages coming toward the isolated island. The horses wore special shoes to exert their agility and speed at max without slippering on the ice platform.

"Wah! That's amazing!" shouted Zet as he put his hands on his knees and watched them coming. He couldn't believe that she would come by freezing a part of the sea into a line of a path.

"Humility? I guess not," said Porealus as he smirked looking at the cold women coming.

Ivy who was sitting inside the carriage was indifferent as she leisurely looked at the ocean. If she had wanted to, she could freeze the whole island but the one responsible for the making of the path for their horses was the driver and not her.

The driver was an elder of the Yuki clan and her appearance made both elders from the opposing sides scowled. The animosity suddenly turned into a triangle with no lines of allies.

"Elder Crystal from Yuki clan!"

"I should have known, this path can only be made by her utmost control of the ice element."

The cultivators were astonished by the power of display shown by the Yuki family. However, the main character was sitting unperturbed even with the view of the ocean until...

*Screech!

Gunther, Peli, and the rest of the elders immediately had their eyes turning sharp right after the screech. 

Porealus smiled as he took a glance against the Yukis.

Zet slowly let go of his knees and his back straightened up before a grin followed suit.

Crystal raised her eyebrows before she looked up only to discover her entire figure and a chunk part of the ocean was swallowed. Her pupils shrunk as she saw the being so close she could discern each fluttering feather.

Ivy immediately peeked from the window before her icy hair fluttered from a flap of the huge bird's wing. 

The speed of the huge bird easily overcome that of regular horses. The giant avian glided down as the edges of its wings grazed the ocean and lightly sprayed the salty water against Ivy's face that was peeking out.

Ivy scowled before pulling her head back inside the carriage. Meanwhile, Crystal furrowed her eyebrows. 

"Young Miss, is that him?" asked Crystal as she put the horse to run at the utmost muscle grinding possible.

"Yes, it's him... and her," said Yuki as the auburn beauty came into her mind together with that young man.

"That's!"

"It must be!"

"No other one but him. That stare of confidence and arrogance, that smirk and that crossed arms!"

"Lyon Torga!"

The cultivators spewed out his name in awe. Those who didn't know of his name immediately asked around. Unlike the two geniuses on the island, the elder wore a grimaced face.

The youth was standing on top of the huge bird and stood at the frontmost. His black hair fluttered from the extreme speed but his eyes didn't even bat. His name was unknown until recently where he had finally made ripples against the Mortal World.

The huge bird didn't show any sign of stopping as it swept through the air. Lyon's everlasting smirk suddenly nodded up. The huge bird immediately maneuvered and showed its chest vertically to thirty degrees while spreading its wings open. The entire thing stopped in an instant but the bellowed wind fluttered the hair below it.

Lyon jumped down as he closed his eyes. He straightened up his knees before opening them again and revealed the gaze that could charm a devil. 

"Heh," he crossed his arms as his generals already stood and ready behind him. Cecile was at his side while Lumina was at the other.