Harem Of Eternal Yandere Beasts: My Legendary Wives

Chapter 66: The Message

A heavy, absolute silence fell over the vault. The crystal pillar continued to glow, bleeding a radiance like liquid sunlight across the chamber floor and illuminating the ancient runes etched into the masonry. The Legacy Archive had never shown this level of violent activity.

Instructor Vale looked genuinely disturbed. That detail alone elevated the situation from deeply concerning to downright dangerous. Orion had only known the woman for two days, but she had projected a wall of unshakeable confidence through every bizarre circumstance thrown their way—missing branches, ancient cultivation failures, and hidden lineages hadn’t even caused her to blink. But this had.

"The Frontier Branch survived," Selene said, finally breaking the quiet.

Vale nodded slowly, her eyes locked on the swirling gold of the pillar. "Apparently."

The silver-haired girl folded her arms, her brow furrowing. "Then why disappear? Why cut off all communication fifteen years ago?"

It was the obvious question, and one nobody in the room was currently equipped to answer. Vale stepped closer to the pedestal, her expression tightening. "That depends entirely on one factor: whether they *chose* to disappear, or if the choice was made for them."

The implication hung heavily in the air, making the underground room feel significantly smaller.

Orion mentally pulled apart the phrasing of the Archive’s warning.

*HE HAS FOUND YOU.*

It wasn’t *they*. It was *he*. It was singular, highly specific, and entirely deliberate. A lone individual connected to the Frontier Branch had tracked them down, possessing enough raw power or spiritual authority to trigger an automated threat response from an ancient legacy network. None of the unfolding scenarios were particularly reassuring.

The crystal gave another sharp, resonant pulse, causing everyone to tense. The Archive wasn’t finished with the conversation. Shimmering golden fragments drifted upward into the cool air, assembling themselves into a stark, phantasmal projection.

It was the image of a young man standing at the edge of a jagged, snow-covered cliff. He possessed long black hair, sharp features, and wore practical, dark clothing. A deceptively ordinary sword rested across his shoulder, but nothing else about his presence suggested mediocrity. His eyes held that same impossible, unyielding depth Orion had observed during his entry trials—the unmistakable signature of immense, tightly contained power. He looked to be roughly twenty years old, though cultivation parameters always made physical age a terrible metric for truth.

The phantom projection flickered for a few seconds before dissolving into a single string of glowing text: **Caelum**.

"Do either of you recognize him?" Vale asked immediately, her gaze sweeping between the two students.

"No," Orion said.

"Never seen him," Selene echoed.

Vale’s frown deepened. "Neither have I." That was a severe blind spot. If a master of Vale’s caliber didn’t recognize a lineage cultivator of that scale, they were operating entirely in the dark.

The Archive flared again, struggling to translate ancient intent into legible script. The characters shifted and warped before finally stabilizing into a longer, jagged line of text.

**THE FRONTIER BRANCH DID NOT FALL. IT WENT TO WAR.**

"What?" Selene breathed, staring blankly at the glowing words.

The text remained unyielding. The Frontier Branch hadn’t been wiped out or gone into hiding out of fear. They had mobilized for an active conflict. But the most critical question remained unanswered: *With whom?*

The Archive offered no clarification. Instead, the projection shattered into a blinding burst of golden light, sending a violent tremor through the entire library complex. Every single defensive formation carved into the room activated simultaneously, humming with lethal energy.

Vale instantly shifted into a defensive stance, throwing a barrier out. "Get back!"

Orion and Selene retreated without a second thought. Years of practical training had taught them exactly when to ask questions and when to move; this was strictly a time for moving.

The central pillar erupted, releasing an overwhelming wave of pure Sovereign energy. It wasn’t hostile, but the sheer volume of raw data was crushing. Fragmented memories and chaotic images flooded directly into Orion’s mind—flashes of a ruined battlefield, burning mountain ranges, an impossible number of summons clashing in the dirt, and a pitch-black sky where something colossal was shifting just beyond the horizon.

Then came a voice. It was ancient, distant, and heavily distorted by time.

*"If the Academy survives..."* the memory fractured violently. *"Do not open..."* another violent skip. *"Seal the..."*

The mental transmission collapsed entirely, leaving behind nothing but ringing silence and the smell of ozone. The crystal pillar slowly dimmed, returning to its regular, passive hum. Vale looked visibly troubled, Selene looked utterly fascinated, and Orion remained deeply analytical. Someone had left behind a critical warning for the lineage, and the vast majority of it had just been corrupted by time.

"That wasn’t supposed to happen," Vale muttered, rubbing her temples.

"I gathered that much," Orion replied dryly.

The instructor ignored his commentary, entirely focused on mentally dismantling decades of established historical assumptions.

Before anyone could formulate a plan, the heavy doors of the hidden library burst open. A young academy staff member stumbled into the archive, breathing heavily and visibly panicked.

"Instructor Vale!" the man gasped, nearly tripping over his own robes. "There’s a critical emergency."

Vale’s gray eyes sharpened instantly. "What happened?"

"The western cultivation district," the staff member panted, swallowing hard. "A student collapsed during a breakthrough session. It’s... it’s not a standard failure."

"Get to the point," Vale commanded.

The young man glanced nervously at Orion, then at Selene, before locking eyes back with the instructor, his skin losing all its color. "The student is completely unresponsive, but he keeps repeating the exact same phrase over and over again."

"What is he saying?"

The staff member hesitated, as if voicing the words aloud might cause a disaster. "He keeps asking for the Sovereign Heirs."

Orion’s Sovereign Core thrummed three distinct times in rapid succession—a clear internal confirmation. The timing was too perfect to be coincidental. The Frontier Branch, the fragmented warning, the phantom observer in the arena, and now a puppeted student in the cultivation halls. The pace of events was accelerating dangerously.

Vale was already moving toward the exit. "Take us there immediately."

The staff member nodded frantically, looking a mix of terrified and profoundly confused.

As they left the hidden vaults, Orion realized the System had been uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire ordeal. There had been no mocking commentary, no cynical jokes, and no witty observations. That silence alone was a massive red flag. Then, the interface finally flickered into his vision.

◈ MYTHIC SUMMONING SYSTEM ◈

*Emergency Update: Situation is rapidly escalating.*

* **Suggested Action:** Pay very close attention to the next ten minutes.

* **Additional Note:** The observer has officially made contact.

◈ ◈ ◈

Orion’s eyes narrowed into slits as he tracked behind Vale. The board was moving faster now, and judging by the uncharacteristic gravity of the System’s tone, the next play wasn’t going to be subtle.