Chapter 135: The Celestial Grimoire

Morning sun broke through the cold mist over the Imperial Capital, shining on the tall towers of District 1.

Down on the grand boulevards, digital screens flashed defense bulletins: Sector A cleared in forty-eight minutes with zero casualties under Apex command, while Sector B suffered broken artillery and seven hospitalized Solar Crown enforcers.

Inside their luxury armored town car, Amber looked up from her tablet and chuckled softly. "The capital media isn’t holding back. Silas Drake must be hiding in his guild hall with his comms switched off."

"His pride took a worse beating than his artillery," Evren replied with a faint smile, sipping fresh black coffee. "Walter integrated thirty-five new shield-bearers into Sector A’s line, and the Council already transferred our bounty."

Beside him sat Zephyra.

She wore a tailored black tunic with silver embroidery along the collar. Her silver-ash hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and her dark violet eyes shone with clarity.

The sickly gray pallor that had shadowed her face for four months was gone. She held her hands loosely in her lap, and her breathing was deep, relaxed, and painless.

Amber looked at her with warm affection. "How does it feel, Z? Your first morning with an unrestricted core?"

Zephyra’s lips curved into a smile. "It feels like waking from an endless nightmare. My shadow mana no longer burns. It flows where I command it to go."

"And it will only grow stronger," Evren said, gently tapping her shoulder. "Today, we start that same road for Calista."

The car pulled up to District 4’s Imperial Sanatorium.

Outside the private recovery wing, Boran and another Iron-Thistle veteran saluted, their five-foot tower shields planted firmly into the stone.

"All quiet overnight, Chairman," Boran reported with pride. "Our four sentries held rotating watches without incident. Dr. Orson is waiting inside."

"Good work," Evren nodded.

They stepped into the quiet medical pavilion, heading straight down the private corridor to Room 104.

Dr. Orson was waiting by the door with a digital clipboard. "Her vitals have been stable," the physician reported in a low voice. "However, the cervical necrosis has permanently severed the primary neural bridge. Below her neck, she has zero motor function and zero sensation. Furthermore, ninety-two percent of her mana channels remain calcified."

"We aren’t relying on standard medicine," Evren replied calmly. "Let’s head inside."

The electronic lock clicked, and the door slid open.

Morning sunlight filled the bright private suite. Propped up against firm pillows in the elevated bed was Calista Vesper.

Her long, silver hair was spread across the clean sheets. Her delicate face was calm, but under the blanket, her frail body lay completely still. Her arms rested loosely at her sides without a single movement.

Hearing the door, Calista turned her head toward the entrance.

Her large silver eyes brightened. "Chairman Evren... Miss Amber..."

Then, her gaze landed on Zephyra.

Calista’s breath caught in her throat.

As a prodigy of House Vesper, Calista possessed an innate perception of natural mana frequencies. Two days ago, when Evren carried her from the subterranean laboratory, she had sensed the dying shadow rot eating Zephyra’s chest from within.

Now, Zephyra stood before her, full of calm energy. Clear, violet mana glowed gently beneath her skin, completely free of any corruption.

"Miss Zephyra..." Calista whispered. "Your core... it’s completely healed?"

Zephyra stepped up to the edge of the bed, her expression filled with gentle warmth. "Last night, the Chairman refined the final cure," Zephyra said softly. "The rot is gone, Calista. All of it."

A tear slipped down Calista’s cheek.

For two years in Vance’s underground laboratory, she had watched broken awakeners wither and die. She had believed her own body was lost beyond hope.

Seeing Zephyra alive and radiant shattered that despair in an instant.

"It’s... it’s really possible..." Calista murmured in awe.

"I told you when I pulled you out of that forge," Evren said, stepping to the bedside with a warm smile. "Nobody under my roof stays broken."

Evren raised his right hand.

With a soft spatial shimmer, a heavy square chest materialized onto the rolling bedside table.

It was forged of celestial steel, inlaid with white jade constellations matching the star patterns of House Vesper. A locked jade lotus sealed the central clasp.

Calista stared at the chest, her breathing turning shallow and fast.

"The... Ancestral Celestial Grimoire..." she gasped. "How did you..."

"Retrieved from the Director’s master vault during the raid," Evren said smoothly. "He couldn’t open it because it requires Vesper blood."

Evren took a sterile lancet from the medical tray. "May I?"

Calista nodded eagerly, unshed tears brimming in her eyes. "Please."

Evren gently lifted her limp right hand. Her skin was cool, her fingers resting motionless in his palm.

With a light touch, Evren pressed the lancet against her index finger. A bright bead of starlight-silver blood welled up on her fingertip.

He guided her hand down, pressing the silver droplet against the white jade lotus on the clasp.

CLINK.

The ancient runes flashed with brilliant silver light. With a soft chime, the locked lotus unfolded petal by petal, and the lid swung open.

Inside rested a thick leather-bound codex embossed with silver foil: The Star-Weaver’s Celestial Pharmacopeia.

Calista wept quietly as she looked at the relic. "Our entire family’s legacy... everything my father wrote..."

Evren gently wiped her finger with clean gauze and placed her hand back onto the soft blanket.

He lifted the heavy codex, propping it open at her eye level and gently turning the parchment pages as she directed him with her voice.

"Page forty-two," Calista whispered, her eyes locking onto the dense silver script. "There... the Celestial Star-Jade Bone-Marrow Elixir."

Evren scanned the ancient text.

The intricate formula detailed how the precise alignment of the stars could trigger stem-cell neurogenesis in a severed spine while dissolving calcified mana channels.

"It can regenerate the cervical neural bridge," Calista said, though her voice suddenly dipped into deep sorrow. "It can fuse the shattered pathways and reconnect my body to my brain."

Amber stepped closer, catching the sudden sadness in Calista’s tone. "What’s wrong, Calista? Are the ingredients impossible to find?"

Calista swallowed hard, her eyes dimming with helplessness.

"The common reagents can be bought," Calista murmured. "Moon-frost dew, celestial lotus petals, pure silver marrow... those are expensive, but obtainable. But the living core catalyst cannot be found in any regular shop or wild rift."

"What is it?" Evren asked calmly.

"The Astral Star-Jade Root," Calista said softly. "It requires seventy years of mineral-rich celestial soil to mature. In the entire Imperial Capital, there is only one place where it was ever successfully grown."

Calista looked down at the sheets. "The House Vesper Ancestral Conservatory in District 3. A twelve-acre glass botanical sanctuary built by my great-grandfather."

"Where is the conservatory now?" Amber asked. "Did House Vance seize it?"

"When our family fell two years ago, the municipal court confiscated the estate to pay false debts Vance manufactured," Calista explained bitterly. "It was bought at liquidation by Lord Cassian Albright."

Evren raised an eyebrow. "Lord Albright? The retired grand collector?"

"Yes," Calista nodded helplessly. "He has more inherited gold than half the High Council combined. Director Vance sent men with fifty million dollars to buy the grounds. But Lord Albright had his hounds chase them off the estate."

Calista sighed with regret. "He cares nothing for money and refuses to sell to anyone. He swore that unless someone offers him something truly priceless, the conservatory gates will stay locked forever."

Amber crossed her arms. "If he has billions and hates gold, how are we supposed to get the root?"

Evren looked down at the grimoire, then looked back at Calista’s anxious face.

A calm, confident smile spread across his lips.

At that moment, a crisp golden chime sounded in his mind.

DING!

[QUEST UPDATE: HEROINE #3 PATHWAY DETECTED]

[HEROINE: CALISTA VESPER — THE STAR ALCHEMIST]

[DIAGNOSIS: SEVERE CERVICAL SPINE NECROSIS & 92% CALCIFIED MANA CHANNELS]

[IDENTIFIED STAGE 1 CURE: CELESTIAL STAR-JADE BONE-MARROW ELIXIR]`

[CORE LIVING CATALYST REQUIRED: ASTRAL STAR-JADE ROOT]

[LOCATION CONFIRMED: VESPER ANCESTRAL CONSERVATORY (PROPERTY OF LORD ALBRIGHT)]

Evren gently pulled the blanket higher over Calista’s shoulder, patting it reassuringly.

"A man who hates House Vance enough to turn down fifty million dollars already has my respect," Evren said calmly.

He turned toward Amber and Zephyra.

"Rest easy, Calista," Evren said with a steady smile. "Amber and Zephyra will stay here with you for a bit. I’ll go see what kind of deal I need to strike with Lord Albright."