Free Web NovelChapter 1733: Aunt Caroline
The golden-haired prince nodded. "Did you forget what the Cosmic Ascension Conference is? It allows young geniuses from across the Divine Realm to enter and compete, regardless of race, faction, or territory. Even though the young geniuses from your mother’s faction were imprisoned in the elven home world, the rules of the conference still pulled them into this place when the event began. That means they are somewhere in this world right now."
Max’s eyes shone faintly when he heard that.
For a moment, something stirred inside him that was not rage.
It was hope.
If the young geniuses from his mother’s faction were truly here, then perhaps he could finally meet someone connected to his mother’s past. Perhaps he could learn more about Caelira, about why she abandoned the elf race, about what happened twenty-two years ago, and perhaps even about where his parents were now.
But almost immediately, that hope became mixed with uncertainty. He did not know anyone from his mother’s faction. He did not know whether they would recognize him, trust him, or even accept him. To them, he might be nothing more than the half-human son of the queen who had abandoned them.
The golden-haired prince saw through Max’s concerns almost immediately.
"I do not know whether you are aware of this or not," he said, "but after your mother gave up her royal bloodline and abandoned her identity as an elf, the person who suffered the most was her younger sister, Caroline."
Max froze.
"Mother has a sister?"
The shock in his voice was impossible to hide.
He knew so little about his mother’s family that the revelation struck him harder than he expected. An aunt. His mother had a younger sister. Someone connected to Caelira by blood. Someone who might have known her before she became his mother, before she became the quiet woman living on a remote planet, before she left behind the identity of Divine Queen Caelira.
The golden-haired prince nodded.
"Yes," he said. "Caroline. She was your mother’s younger sister, and after Caelira disappeared, Caroline became one of the people who suffered the worst because of her connection to her. Many elves in the second faction hated her simply because she carried the same royal bloodline and because some members of your mother’s old faction still saw her as the closest remaining symbol of Divine Queen Caelira’s legacy."
Max’s expression turned colder.
The prince continued, "Even now, Caroline and several young geniuses from her faction are being hunted by members of the second faction inside a region of this world called the Eternal Hourglass. If nothing is done, they will be eliminated from the conference. And once they are sent back to our home planet, they will once again be subjected to imprisonment, humiliation, and torture."
The word torture made Max’s gaze turn icy.
For a brief moment, the secluded area seemed to become colder.
The silver-haired elven woman instinctively tensed, because she could feel the killing intent rising from Max again, though this time he controlled it far better than before.
Max took a slow breath.
He thought of his mother.
He thought of the faction that had once followed her.
He thought of a woman named Caroline, his aunt, someone he had never met, someone who had suffered because of Caelira’s choice, and someone who was now being hunted down by the same faction that had destroyed his family.
Then Max made his decision.
"Where is she?" he asked.
The golden-haired prince looked at him.
Max’s voice was calm, but it carried an edge sharp enough to cut through bone.
"Where is Caroline?"
The golden-haired prince did not delay any longer, because he could already see from Max’s expression that the moment Caroline’s safety was mentioned, there was no chance of stopping him from going there.
"She is in a very deadly place," the golden-haired prince said solemnly. "A few hours ago, I received news that in order to flee from the elves of the second faction, Caroline and some members of your mother’s faction escaped into one of the most dangerous zones of the Eternal Hourglass, Witch God Valley."
Max’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The name alone carried a strange heaviness.
"Witch God Valley?" he repeated.
The golden-haired prince nodded. "It is not an ordinary danger zone. The Eternal Hourglass itself is already filled with countless trials and death zones but Witch God Valley is dangerous even by the standards of that place. It is said that an ancient witch god once died there, and although no one knows whether that legend is true or not, the valley is filled with cursed mist, soul-devouring winds, and strange illusions that can make even powerful geniuses lose their direction. The deeper one enters, the harder it becomes to distinguish between reality and falsehood."
Max’s expression remained unchanged.
"Then why would Caroline escape there?" freeweɓnovel.cøm
"Because she had no better choice," the golden-haired prince replied. "The second faction’s hunters were closing in on her from multiple directions, and if she had stayed in the open region of the Eternal Hourglass, she would have been surrounded and eliminated. Witch God Valley is dangerous, but its danger also makes it difficult for pursuers to move freely. Caroline likely chose that place because it was the only chance she had to delay them."
Max’s gaze turned colder. "Who is hunting her?"
The golden-haired prince’s expression became heavier.
"Two people are leading the hunt," he said. "The first is Seraphine Lareth."
Max had already heard that name once, and now that it was spoken again, his eyes became sharper.
"She is one of the most talented young geniuses of the second faction," the prince continued. "Seraphine possesses the Heavenly Luminance Royal Bloodline, though her bloodline is far inferior to the purity your mother once possessed. Compared to Divine Queen Caelira’s original bloodline, Seraphine’s bloodline can only be considered a downgraded version, but you must not underestimate her because of that. Even a downgraded Heavenly Luminance Royal Bloodline is still powerful enough to suppress most elven bloodlines, and Seraphine has trained it to a very high level."
The silver-haired elven woman standing beside him also spoke for the first time, her voice quiet but serious. "Seraphine is not only strong because of her bloodline. Her control over radiant power is extremely dangerous. She can turn light into judgment, restraint, and destruction, and among the younger generation of the second faction, very few can match her in a direct fight."
"And the second?" Max asked.
