Chapter 220: Eyes
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***
Eyes.
Singr ones.
They were everywhere.
Ten in total, gazing from all directions.
They lingered in the boundless sky.
Never blinking.
One was unwavering in its vigil.
Another radiated joy.
And another harbored curiosity.
One concealed amusement.
One glinted with avarice.
Two came in a pair, one of which was lustful and the other prideful.
An envious one whispered its discontent.
A wrathful orb smoldered with anger.
And a dark one held murderous intent.
But one eye stood out from the rest.
This unique eye had an almost translucent iris, devoid of emotion, and it gazed at the man with an unsettling nkness.
Distinguished by his sharp suit, inky ck hair, and eyes, the man who attracted these mysterious orbs'' collective gaze sat in a lotus position.
The reason for their attention was quite simple.
He was on the verge of a significant breakthrough.
One that would mark his transition into the Seraphim rank.
The true beginning of a Celestial.
And soon, this man twitched.
An action that he hadn''t done in the past months he spent cultivating.
This caught the eyes of all-not just those that floated, but those that gathered at his side.
The one to his right flinched and immediately called people over.
She was a beautiful woman, with white locks for hair and red ruby eyes.
His left was upied by his family, his mother, a gorgeousdy, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
She beckoned her daughter to get closer.
Her daughter, who was simr to her mother in beauty, quickly rushed to her side.
The duo watched their prince, both extremely worried, but one of them showed interest too.
They had long since stopped cultivating Aether and were now tensely looking around.
All in an attempt to protect the man from whatever was watching them.
A young teenager stood behind him, with silver hair in a ponytail and blue eyes.
"Come on, big bro... You can do this. We''ve got your back."
His words came in a whisper as he was the most nervous among them.
And his breaths were quick in session while his gaze flickered from one eye to the next.
The daughter, who noticed his apprehension, silently approached him and patted his back a few times, wanting to calm him down.
But mostly, she wanted to make sure that he wouldn''t disturb her brother.
This was the pinnacle moment, after all...
Soon, low-sounding footsteps approached as six people entered their backyard.
The one leading them was of the same beauty as the others in the group.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om
She had long ck hair flowing down her back and piercing blue eyes.
Those behind her were four men and a woman all decked out in E10, SS-ranked augmented suits, prepared for battle.
The first among them was an above-average-looking blonde-haired boy with blue eyes.
The second was a young woman with a cute face marred with light scars hidden by her brown hair.
Her gaze immediately tensed when they caught the attention of the massive floating eyes around them.
The same thing happened to the other three, as a green-eyed teenager with brown hair stepped back in rm.
His friend with jet-ck hair and dark brown eyes held his back, stopping him in his tracks. Thest one remained stunned in ce, his hands holding his mouth shut, his ck eyes widening.
His tousled green hair became even more so as he shook his head, trying to calm himself.
And then the same voice thatmanded them toe spoke once again, echoing in their minds:
[Everyone FOCUS! Kiera, Jack, go protect Lily and Laura....]
[Sarah, Hiro, Evan, Leo,e here, we''ll watch over Emir.]
They all nodded in unison and congregated at their specified locations.
[Lyra, do you know what caused these ''higher powers'' to show up?] Kiera calmly asked as she stepped closer to Emir.
Lyra, whose eyes never left Emir, shook her head slowly.
[I can only guess, but the fact that Emir, an Eternal Star heir, is breaking through to the next rank means that there will be higher powers interested in watching the process.]
[But how did they find out?!] Elijah asked in a panic, nervously standing next to Leo and the
rest.
[That''s what I don''t know.]
[Them knowing where we are is simple, anyone going through a breakthrough would cause enough fluctuations in Aether for those higher powers to notice.]
[But the fact they are interested is what worries me....]
[Do you think they''ll attack?] Jake asked as he joined Lyra and Lily.
[If they do, then we''re dead.]
[If they don''t, then one of them eventually will.]
[But again, thankfully for us, these guys lost their sense of time.]
[The day they send out someone, we''ll be ready to wee them.]
[Good news.... Finally.] Lily chimed in with some optimism.
Laura softly tapped Lily''s back and said:
[Lyra dear, is Emir alright? He''s taking too long....]
[You told us that the body mutation starts after his core absorbed enough Aether, but nothing
happened yet.]
Lyra nced at her for a moment while showing a tired smile.
[Yep. But keep in mind that Emir''s an enigma, so even I''m not sure what will happen...]
[What you''ll all see today had never been recorded in history before....]
[The Star were very secretive with their members, which is why those geezers up there are so
interested.]
[Just keep vignt.]
Leo, always one to add a bit of humor, couldn''t resist a quip:
[Ah-so they''ve finally got front-row seats to a show they''ve always wanted to watch but
couldn''t, and now they can''t wait to find out the ending.]
They all proceeded to look at him with nk stares and then focused back on the eyes
surrounding them.
Lyra''s gaze remained on Emir, however, as she never stopped examining his condition.
''I can''t wait either.... Please be safe Emir.''
The massive floating eyes, each with its unique emotion, continued to observe the scene, their unblinking gaze an eerie presence.
Many of them radiated a sense of anticipation as if they had waited for this moment for
millenniums.
Yet they still seemed full of ancient wisdom, as if they had seen the rise and fall of countless
civilizations.
Then suddenly Emir twitched once again... causing the world to hold its breath.