Asterios glanced back at the tall, spiraling stairs behind them.

“Is this place the Descending Spire?” he asked.

“I don’t think this staircase has any name, not even mentioning such a profound one. But, you can never know with the naming sense of powerful people,” Lerisse answered, chuckling lightly. “The only name I know of is the Golden Gate in front of which we are currently standing.”

“And I assume it’s somehow connected to what Selene was trying to check, or the Descending Spire in general?”

The matriarch nodded. “That is true, but just a guess, honestly. There’s only one single mention of the Descending Spire in all the records we have access to. And those few short lines make it sound like that structure isn’t even part of our realm.”

Selene sighed softly. “If not for Lerisse recalling this place after noticing that the brief mentions of the Descending Spire involve draconic themes, we would have been left with nothing again. It can be anywhere, even in a world we don’t know exists. Hopefully, our guess isn’t wrong and there’s something related to our search behind these magnificent doors.”

“If we can open them, that is,” Lerisse quickly added. “Every Matriarch learns about this place but that’s all. No one knows anything about it. No one was able to open it or break inside. The gate is protected by incredibly powerful arrays and formations. It’s really weird that there’s literally nothing known about it.”

“Couldn’t it be some important legacy of Spiritual Foxes?” Miria tilted her head curiously.

“I’m fairly sure we would know at least something about it, then,” Lerisse dismissed her remark. “What’s the point of a legacy if it can’t be accessed? It’s not uncommon to leave ones for future generations but they always have some conditions with them too. Usually, extremely difficult to fulfill.”

“Considering that this vault or whatever it is has been built deep under the capital city of Spiritual Foxes, with an entrance from the most important temple, it just doesn’t feel right for it not to be somehow connected to your people. Unless…” Asterios pondered for a moment before turning his face to Lerisse. “Was Kaguya a Matriarch?”

Selene snorted. “Of course. The most powerful Spiritual Fox in the history of Spiritual Foxes? It would be stupid for her not to be one.”

“It’s truly something coming from a person soon to be equal if not greater.” The current Matriarch chuckled lightly.

Asterios smiled seeing Selene look away and brushed his hand over her side as she stood by him.

“In any way, if she was a Matriarch, she could have done anything she wanted to this place right?” he continued.

“Naturally.” Lerisse nodded. “Are you suggesting that this could be something akin to her secret personal chamber?”

“Who knows? It’s certainly a possibility.”

“The only way to know is to open the door,” Selene said. “We should at least try while we are here, right?”

Asterios turned to Lerisse again. “Anything we should know about it? Any dangerous safety measures just for approaching it?”

“None if you don’t use any force against it. Countless people are brought here after being deemed worthy, forced to swear an oath to never tell others about the gate. Only those who tried to break in have been harmed or killed.”

Asterios pondered over it for a moment. Their recent experiences with trying to uncover more about him had been very dangerous. There was of course a chance that the gate wouldn’t even budge and they would back away a few minutes later, but he couldn’t shake off the anxiety after everything that had happened.

Miria and Selene felt his mood clearly and moved closer. The former decided to leave it to her vulpine friend this time, hugging Ast’s arm from the side and tenderly rubbing her cheek into his while Selene stood in front of Asterios and brushed through his hair, gently massaging his head with a warm smile.

“I think you are worrying about this too much, my Lord. I know it’s not a baseless worry, but I feel like it won’t go wrong this time. I can’t really explain it. I just know. We are only going to try and open it, right? There’s no reason for us to be treated as intruders.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes for a short while and she pulled Asterios into a brief but passionate kiss. Aiming to reassure her mate as much as she could, Selene put as much of her strong feelings towards him into the loving exchange as she could.

She gasped a little when Ast’s fingers parted the threads of her bushy tail and began tenderly stroking it in response to her affectionate advances. A smile tried to make it harder for her to kiss him but Selene fought to tame it down. Her master could just never stay only on the receiving end for long.

He was the one to break their kiss first and created some space between their faces, releasing a quiet sigh.

“Alright. Let’s try it once. Maybe we’ll find some leads inside.”

Selene nodded and pecked his lips once more before letting go of him. She turned around and noticed a warm smile adorning Lerisse’s noble face as she stood there with her arms crossed under her ample chest.

“What?” Selene raised a brow at her friend.

“Nothing. I’m just really happy to see you finally find someone you can get along with this well.”

Selene smirked at her. “Maybe you should find a new partner yourself then if you understand how amazing this is.”

Lerisse shook her head while spreading her hands to the sides. “I’m just an old, withering lady slowly nearing the end of her lifespan, whose respect comes all from her position. I would only bring unnecessary grief to anyone who becomes my mate.”

“I might be biased as a human, but from my perspective, you are just as youthful and beautiful as all the other Spiritual Foxes I have met, if not even more,” Asterios joined their exchange.

A faint blush surfaced on Lerisse’s cheeks and everyone could see her ginger tail wag a little bit faster for a moment before returning to its neutral pace.

“Ahem. Let’s not waste any more of your time on this pointless talk and get to the gate.”

She turned around and started walking towards the golden doors with a dainty step.

Selene chuckled softly and winked at Asterios. She and Miria then both pecked his cheeks and walked behind the matriarch together, examining the breathtaking gate as they moved closer.

They all stopped in front of the marvelous and tall structure. Miria was the first one to step forward and she bounced from place to place while looking at different parts and pieces of the mysterious entrance from up close. Asterios and Selene took a slower approach while Lerisse stood on the side, already having observed it more times than she could remember.

Besides the depictions of the two huge legendary creatures, nothing much else could be seen on each massive wing of pure gold. No words, runes, or sigils. Only some decorative themes, patterns, and artistic formations ran around the edges of each door.

Asterios joined Miria by the masterfully carved image of a Dragon. Judging by its features and the resemblance to the female Dragon they had met recently, it was a True Dragon.

The mythical beast looked magnificent and ferocious at the same time, even with the shiny metal as its base. They could easily spot the difference between it and the woman from before. Its frame was slightly more massive, brawny, and generally bulkier. It was less slim and toned than the body they had seen. None of them had any doubts that it was a male Dragon

Another detail that stood out was the presence of long horns on top of the Dragon’s fierce head. They extended towards its back, angled to perfectly align with the structure of the skull, looking like its very extension.

It was just a guess but the female they had met had no such things. The top of her skull was smooth. It could very well just be a thing depending on subspecies, family, or something else, but Asterios felt like horns were exactly how one could quickly recognize the gender of a True Dragon. The bodily structure could possibly vary.

After examining the Dragon, the duo joined Selene and Lerisse in front of the Nine-Tailed Fox’s depiction.

“Could this big fox be Princess Kaguya?” Miria asked with a spark in her eyes.

“We can’t be sure about that due to three crucial facts,” Lerisse answered. “First, in the legend of our people’s origins, it is believed that we have come from a gigantic and extremely powerful Nine-Tailed Fox. In the past age, our realm was inhabited by many colossal beasts that are often assumed to be the progenitors of most of the beastfolk subraces.”

Miria kept nodding vigorously, already getting lost in the interesting story, eager to see if she would learn something she hadn't heard about yet. Asterios couldn’t help but smile at his adventurous mate and gently scratched behind her adorable ears while listening attentively too.

“Additionally,” Lerisse continued, “that huge fox with pure-white fur was and still is revered as the Goddess of the Moon. That’s why most of the strongest Spiritual Foxes are from the Moonborn bloodline, which we assume comes straight from that goddess, or is the least diluted amongst her descendants.”

“Secondly,” Selene stepped closer to the golden gate and pointed at the rear end of the depiction, “while the Goddess of the Moon is always portrayed with nine tails, which are considered the unachievable peak for Spiritual Foxes, Princess Kaguya reached up to the seventh stage according to our records. It is not impossible for her to reach a higher one after her disappearance, but this gate must have been constructed before that, right?”

“It’s always possible that whoever carved it, or the employer, wanted it to have nine tails. It’s not uncommon for people to exaggerate the art they purchase if it portrays themselves,” Asterios added.

“That is certainly true,” Lerisse replied. “But there’s one more thing. As you are clearly aware, Spiritual Foxes can’t shapeshift. We have our Awakening, but I’ve never heard of a Spiritual Fox with their bloodline being activated in a different way.”

Selene nodded. “And nothing like that was mentioned about Kaguya. So, even if we assume that the Dragon is her mate, being able to take a humanoid form, it just doesn’t really match the picture since she can’t transform. It wouldn’t have been worse to make her as a normal humanoid and her mate as a full Dragon if it was them.”

Asterios shrugged. “Again, we are just guessing a lot. She might have wanted to be portrayed like that because it looked cooler. Or maybe she believed that reaching nine tails could give her the ability to transform, reaching her final form or something.”

“Yes. We can’t deny that possibility. Unfortunately, everything connected to this gate is shrouded in incredible mystery.” Lerisse smiled weakly.

“Then let’s be the first ones to uncover it!” Miria shouted excitedly.

Everyone else chuckled, causing the lively panthergirl to blush a little and giggle shyly. They turned their attention to the two hollow spots, one in each wing of the glamorous gate, stylized into the shape of a palm.

“So, we just put our hands there until something happens? Or doesn’t happen?” Asterios asked.

“That’s what we have been trying all the time. Except for the occasional attacks some idiots threw at the gate. Nothing else really comes to mind, right?” Lerisse raised a brow at him.

“Yeah.”

Asterios walked closer to the door with the depiction of a True Dragon and stopped in front of the handprint. He hesitantly lifted his left arm and slowly reached towards the hand-shaped indent. Soon, he felt the coldness of the metal under his palm.

He looked around with his enhanced draconic eyes he had activated in the meanwhile, but nothing happened. The only traces of magic he could spot were coiling around the impressive double doors. And they were powerful enough to force him to look away just after a few short seconds. The protective arrays shone like a crimson sun with blue streaks woven into its rays.

“At least nothing attacked us.” Miria giggled a little anxiously.

After a moment, Lerisse walked up to the hollow in the other wing and placed her hand on it, matching Ast’s gaze to confirm her intentions.

But, again, nothing happened with both handprints covered.

“Let me try,” Selene requested. “If this has anything to do with Kaguya, maybe my ancestry will make a difference.”

“We have tried bringing other Moonborn here, even both male and female, and it changed nothing, but be my guest.” The Matriarch stepped away.

Selene glanced at Asterios, they nodded at each other, and she placed her hand in the niche.

Nothing.

She sighed and turned her face to the side to apologize, but she noticed Asterios deeply contemplating something and swallowed her words. Everyone observed them from behind and waited in silence.

Asterios withdrew his hand and walked to Selene. She uncovered her handprint and stepped aside, letting him see it better in case that was his goal. As expected, he examined it from up close, tracing his fingers over the edges of the shape.

“Let’s try something different. Can you enter the fifth stage when I ask you to?”

She nodded. “Anytime, my Lord.”

He nodded back and returned to his spot. Placing his hand in the hollow again, Asterios closed his eyes and focused his mind. Soon, the pressure in the tunnel slightly increased as his dark crimson aura leaked a bit out of Ast’s body.

Everyone watched his left sleeve dematerializing in a flash of red flame, his bracer disappearing into the storage ring, and his skin starting to turn into tough, crimson scales. Ast’s hand and forearm slowly expanded and transformed into its draconic form, filling the slot almost completely. His slightly extended claws reached the ends of the sharp trenches meant for fingers.

“Now. Do it quickly. I can’t hold it for long,” Asterios said in a strained voice.

Selene flared her spiritual energy and entered the fifth stage of her awakening. Five cloudy tails danced behind her back as she pressed her hand into the shallow hole without the need for any further instructions.

For a brief moment, she thought that nothing changed again, until…

“Ah!”

“Ngh?!”

Both she and Asterios grunted in pain when something suddenly stabbed them in their palms at the same time. They took a step back and checked their hands. Each of them had a small cut in the middle palms. A trail of blood was left behind in their respective handprint hollows.

After a moment of silence, strong spiritual energy burst out of the gate, causing everyone’s clothes to flutter. The Dragon’s eyes shone crimson and the Fox’s eyes lit up in blue. A strand of magic flew towards Asterios and Selene, coiling around their hands. The cuts in their palms were healed in an instant.

With a light rumble, the magnificent golden gate began opening towards the outside. The duo jumped back to group up with the others. Miria and Selene immediately took defensive stances in front of Asterios, ready for anything that could come from the other side.

A few long seconds passed and the passage opened completely. Seeing that nothing else was happening for quite some time afterward, everyone relaxed. Without any immediate danger, their gazes finally focused on the unsealed chamber.

Only part of it was visible from the entrance, which was clearly located by one of the edges of the guarded room. In the area they could see, plenty of furniture made of dark wood littered the walls and space inside, mostly shelves, lockers, and cupboards.

“I didn’t think I would have ever been able to lay my eyes on the other side of the Golden Gate…” Lerisse marveled, still slightly taken aback.

Selene chuckled softly, withdrawing her awakening. “Let’s check it out instead of just looking then, shall we?”

“Wait a second, please.” Ast’s voice stopped her and she glanced at him. “How is your hand?”

“My hand? It has been healed just like—oh...”

Turning her right palm up, Selene found a small blue tattoo of a sleeping fox curled into itself in the middle of it. She looked towards Asterios and noticed a similar one on his own after he showed it to her. A small depiction of a sleeping Dragon of a crimson shade rested in his left palm.

“Awesome!” Miria beamed at them. “I would love to get one too! I’m so jealous!”

“Is it going to remain here forever now? Ah.”

Just after Selene asked particularly no one, her marking slowly faded and disappeared from the surface of her skin. Glancing at Asterios, she confirmed that his Dragon was gone too.

“It seems to me that both of you have received the key to this gate. It would be great if just one of you was needed to be present to open it again,” Lerisse commented.

“I wonder if there’s any other use for it,” Asterios added.

“We will have to look around and find out about that ourselves.” Selene smiled and they nodded at each other with Asterios.

Everyone walked into the locked chamber together. The first thing that stood out was the already mentioned furniture. Most of the houses and rooms used white marble for as many parts of them as possible, only reaching for other materials when it just wouldn’t work.

Here, nothing else than the room’s structure seemed to be made of the white mineral. Looking around the spacious chamber, they found plenty of wooden furniture, various decorations, rugs, tapestries, and other things. Crimson shades dominated the ornaments.

“This is…”

Everyone heard Lerisse’s surprised voice and quickly arrived by the Matriarch’s side. She was checking out some notebooks of various thicknesses. Selene picked one up and flipped through it to check the contents. Her eyes widened to the brim.

“Five Celestial Strides of the Moon Goddess? How can this be?” She didn’t hide her shock.

“And this one is the Seven Principles of The Ivory Empyrean Constitution.” Lerisse closed her book.

“Aren’t those the long-lost manuals that have gone missing ages ago?”

“Looks like they aren’t so lost. Someone intentionally hid them here.”

“Master! Come look at this! This person has similar clothes to yours!”

Miria’s remark caught their attention and the fox ladies placed the notebooks down, following shortly after Asterios, who jogged to find Miria as she had escaped from their sight. He found her behind a corner, standing in front of two big paintings. One depicted a man, and the other showed a woman. Both were bust-ups.

The man on the left truly wore something similar to Ast’s altered clothes that had appeared during his visit to the weird volcano realm. He had a dark red coat and black vest, both looking even more ferocious than Ast’s.

Short dark crimson hair covered his head and a neatly trimmed full beard of the same color spread over the man's jaw. He resembled a middle-aged human with a quite manly and handsome face, decorated with a few impressive battle scars. His piercing crimson eyes seemed to drill into the observer with their fierce vertical pupils. A calm and focused expression covered his visage.

The woman on the right was an exceptional beauty and bore an uncanny resemblance to Selene. She wore a similar white dress, much closer to a qipao though, and with quite a few silvery elements and ornaments, like extremely fancy shoulder pads. Her clothing was decorated with a blue depiction of a vertically sprawled fox.

She too had pure-white long hair with soft fox ears on top of her head. The main differences were a dark blue strand in the middle of her fringe, falling onto her face, and a much longer and thicker braid resting on her shoulder and chest.

Her arms were crossed confidently under her bosom and a challenging smirk painted the woman’s lips. Her pose and facial expression made it obvious that she was looking down on whoever was viewing the painting.

“That is certainly Kaguya,” Lerisse spoke first.

“No doubt about that,” Selene added.

“Who is the man, then? Could he be Master’s father? What do you think, Master?” Miria pondered out loud but didn’t receive any reply so she glanced to the side. “Master?”

Asterios blinked a few times, brought back from staring at the picture by her voice.

“Ah, sorry. What was the question?”

“Are you okay, Master?” Miria moved closer and placed a hand on his chest.

“Yeah. I got a bit lost in myself. I just felt something… familiar when looking at the painting.”

“Miria asked if that person could be your father, my Lord.” Selene showed up on his other side.

He glanced between the two of them and sighed softly. “I don’t know but there’s something in me reacting to his appearance. Might very well be a True Dragon thing or something.”

“Let’s try to look for any hints. I’ll help you out. The manuals can wait,” Lerisse suggested.

Everyone agreed and spread out to check different parts of this underground residence. Asterios lingered behind for a brief moment, feeling like the man’s eyes followed him perfectly with those deep, ominous irises, but he shrugged it off as a painting technique and joined the others in looking for possible clues.