Chapter 162: To My Dearest Calista

Calista pressed her fingers gently against the piano keys.

A clear, warm chord rang out across the glass pavilion. The sound was rich and full, without any of the stiffness you might expect from an instrument that had been sitting untouched under a cloth for two years.

Calista paused for a second, catching her breath as the note faded.

Then, her hands began to move. She played a quiet lullaby from her childhood, an old family tune her mother used to play while tending the greenhouse flowers.

Her fingers moved smoothly across the ivory keys. There was no shaking in her hands, no pain in her wrists, and no weakness in her shoulders. The nerves in her arms, once paralyzed and locked in place, now obeyed her thoughts without any delay.

Beside the pavilion, the ten-foot Star-Jade Tree seemed to wake up.

Its smooth green trunk hummed with soft mana, pulsing in rhythm with every note she played. Overhead, the star-shaped leaves glowed with faint blue light, letting tiny glowing specks drift down toward the floor like cool snowflakes.

Amber watched from the edge of the terrace with a warm smile. She leaned close to Evren and rested a hand gently on his arm as the music filled the room.

Zephyra stood quietly with her arms folded across her chest. A rare, peaceful expression softened her eyes, and even her restless shadow mana seemed to calm down while the melody drifted through the air.

Evren watched Calista as she played.

As the song reached its final notes, tears filled Calista’s eyes.

Two years of fear, cold cells, and dark memories seemed to melt away with the music. Every terrible night in the cartel’s dungeon and every lonely day in the hospital faded under the steady touch of her own hands.

She pressed the final keys gently, letting the last chord linger in the quiet air. Silence settled over the conservatory, leaving only the faint rustle of leaves overhead.

Calista sat still, her hands resting quietly on the keys. A soft sob slipped past her lips, and a tear rolled down her cheek, landing on the polished wood.

Amber stepped onto the pavilion and knelt beside the magitech chair. She reached out and took Calista’s hands in hers.

"You did it, Calista," Amber said in a gentle voice. "Your mother heard every single note."

Calista wiped her face with her sleeve and looked up with a tearful smile. Her silver eyes were filled with more gratitude than words could ever describe.

"I thought I would never touch these keys again," Calista whispered softly. "When the cartel broke my spine, they told me I was just a useless doll whose hands would rot in iron cuffs."

She turned toward Evren, looking straight into his eyes. "You gave me my hands back, Evren. You gave me my life back."

"You never lost who you were, Calista," Evren answered with an easy smile. "You just needed someone to stand by you."

Calista nodded, taking a slow breath to steady herself. She reached beneath the right side of the piano frame, running her fingers along the polished wood until she clicked a small brass latch.

A narrow drawer slid open with a soft click. Inside was a leather journal tied with a silver ribbon, resting beside a few folded sheets of handwritten music.

Calista picked up the journal and the folded sheets. "Before the cartel attacked our home, my mother told me that if anything ever happened, I should look here. This was where she kept her personal diary and her compositions."

She untied the ribbon and opened the yellowed pages. Evren, Amber, and Zephyra stepped closer as Calista turned through pages of neat, flowing handwriting.

There were old family memories, notes on caring for the greenhouse flowers, and short letters written to Calista during her childhood. Between the entries were handwritten musical scores and chord progressions designed to resonate with the Star-Jade Tree.

"What did she write?" Zephyra asked, looking over her shoulder.

Calista traced the faded ink, a quiet warmth touching her face. "Family memories... and letters she left for me. She wrote about the morning they planted the Star-Jade Tree, and how she used to play lullabies here while I was asleep in her lap."

She turned the page to an unreleased score titled Lullaby for the Starlight.

"’To my dearest Calista,’ " Calista read. "’Music connects our family to the stars. Whenever the world feels cold, come to these keys and play. Never let fear take away your song.’"

Calista closed the journal and held it against her chest. For two years, her memories of this conservatory had been buried under the trauma of dungeon cells and iron cuffs. Holding her mother’s words, the warmth of her childhood came rushing back, replacing the fear with peace.

She looked up at Evren with complete trust in her eyes.

Just then, a sudden chime echoed in his head as a golden notification appeared in Evren’s field of vision.

[HEROINE #3 INVESTMENT MILESTONE REACHED: 65% DEVOTION!]

[FULL DIAGNOSTIC SCAN COMPLETE: LOWER LUMBAR & SACRAL SPINE (L1-S5)]

[REMAINING SPINAL CALCIFICATION: 45% (PETRIFIED ASTRAL STONE)]

[STAGE 3 DIVINE RECONSTRUCTION BLUEPRINT GENERATED: CELESTIAL STAR-DIAMOND NECTAR]

[PRIMARY CATALYST REQUIRED: 1x LEVEL 80 STAR-DIAMOND VOID CORE)]

[DESIGNATED LOCATION: DISTRICT 3 WESTERN FRONTIER — S-RANK ASTRAL-CHASM RIFT (DEPTH 60)]

[RIFT STATUS: DORMANT / UNOPENED (ESTIMATED PLANETARY CONVERGENCE: ~72 HOURS)]

[AUXILIARY CATALYST: 1x DROPLET OF STAR-JADE TREE LIVING SAP (AVAILABLE IN CONSERVATORY)]

[STABILIZING SOLVENT: HIGH-GRADE ALCHEMICAL BASE]𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

Evren read the golden lines with a calm smile. The System had laid out the exact formula for the next stage cure. He glanced down at his spatial ring, mentally planning how the next three days would play out... the assembly, then this rift, and maybe any other unexpected rift.

But at least, he now had two boss monster cores for his Beastlord ability to summon in combat. Whatever the next rift brings, he was ready.

"Evren?" Calista asked, noticing him looking at his ring. "Did you find something?"

Evren dismissed the screen and looked back at her. "My diagnostic scan just mapped the rest of your spine. When the cartel injured your lower back, your family’s star mana hardened the damaged nerves into solid stone. Normal medicine can’t dissolve petrified stone, but a Level 80 core from an S-Rank rift can."

Calista blinked in surprise. "A Level 80 core...? Those only drop in deep S-Rank rifts."

"Exactly... and when an S-Rank rift containing that core opens, I’ll head inside and bring the core back for you."

Calista stared at him, her chest rising and falling quickly. Most people treated Level 80 monsters like national disasters that required whole armies, but Evren spoke about hunting one down like an ordinary errand.

She heard no hesitation or bragging in his voice, only quiet certainty.

"I will wait for you, Evren," Calista said. "No matter what happens, I’ll wait."

"Don’t worry... you won’t have to wait long," Evren smiled. "Soon, you’re going to walk out of this conservatory on your own feet."

Amber squeezed Calista’s hand with excitement, and Zephyra gave an approving nod.

With the plan settled, Evren walked them down the pavilion steps toward the back of the conservatory. An iron door opened into a clean basement laboratory.

Glass cabinets, stone counters, and old glass brewing pipes lined the walls in neat rows. Protective wards had kept the whole room clean and dry, needing nothing more than basic supplies to get started.

"The lab is ready," Evren said after checking the tables. "Once we buy the standard solvents and get the core, we can brew the medicine right here."

Calista looked around the room where her mother used to work, a quiet sense of peace filling her heart.

After checking the basement, they walked back out into the bright afternoon garden. Outside the constellation gates, Guild Master Walter and his squad of Iron-Thistle veterans were standing by the black SUVs.

"Walter," Evren called out as they walked up.

"Chairman!" Walter brought a heavy fist across his chest in salute.

"Starting today, this conservatory is under Apex protection," Evren said. "Keep four veterans at the gate around the clock, and make sure nobody enters without my direct approval."

"Understood, Chairman," Walter replied firmly. "Nobody gets through those gates."

Before Evren could turn toward the vehicles, the radio on Walter’s chest beeped with a sharp priority tone. Walter pressed the receiver to his ear, listening intently as his bushy brows furrowed in disbelief.

"Say that again," Walter muttered into the mic.

Evren paused, resting a hand on the door frame of the center SUV. "Something wrong at the tower?"

Walter lowered the receiver, his weathered face filled with genuine shock. "Chairman... my men at Meridian Tower just reported an unannounced visitor."

"Who is it?" Evren asked calmly.

"Silas Drake," Walter replied. "The Guild Master of Solar Crown came alone, without a single guard. He’s standing by right now, asking to speak with you before sunset."

Amber and Zephyra exchanged a startled look, while Calista glanced up from her chair in surprise. Solar Crown was the undisputed top guild in the entire capital, yet their legendary leader was waiting on Evren’s doorstep.

A faint, knowing smile touched Evren’s lips.

"The top guild master in the capital waiting for an audience..." Evren murmured. He lifted Calista gently into the soft leather seat of the SUV and stepped in after her. "Let’s head back. Let’s see what Silas Drake has to say."