Chapter 26: [Duchy of Inferna] [17] Bloody Festival [2]
I vaguely remembered how I left the room, how I returned to my own chambers, following Aron’s resolute words and the helpless acceptance on the Duke’s face.
My mind was a pendulum, swinging between the images of the massacre I had witnessed and the bloody potential of the trap Aron had laid.
Instead of lying on my bed, I threw myself onto the cool stone balcony of my room.
The night was draped over the Duchy like a velvet shroud, and the full moon, suspended in the sky, washed everything in its silvery light.
Though Iris was glad I was awake, she had left me alone to rest at Duchess Seraphine’s request.
Perhaps she understood that I needed to be alone. I was grateful to her.
Right now, I needed no one’s comfort or worried glances.
There was only me, the night, and the storm inside my mind.
The moonlight illuminated the courtyard below.
This square, usually bustling with joy and activity during the day, was now cloaked in an eerie silence, filled with the skeletons of the stalls and decorations to be set up tomorrow.
In the prophecy that came to life in my mind, it was these very stones that were washed with blood.
In every corner, in every shadow, I thought I saw the silhouettes of those faceless, black-cloaked assassins.
My chest tightened, my breath grew short.
This prophecy had settled on my shoulders like a burden, and what was to happen tomorrow...
No matter how clever Aron’s plan was, the risks it held and the mere possibility of bloodshed made my blood run cold.
As the cold night wind brushed against my bare arms, I felt the need to cling to something to dispel the chaos in my mind.
In a whisper, a voice only I could hear, I murmured:
"Status window."
As the words left my lips, translucent, blue-glowing letters appeared in the empty space before me, filtering through the moonlight.
This divine interface, suspended between reality and illusion, both astonished me and struck me like a slap in the face with the truth of my belonging to this world every time I looked at it.
— — —「∆ Status Window ∆」— — —
Name: [Cassian] (Prince of Nothingness)
Race: ???
Age: 12
Ascension: 1st
─────────────── Skills ───────────────
[Chaos Flames]
• Three times hotter than normal flames.
• Rapidly consumes the mana of enemies it burns.
[Dragon’s Pride]
• Immunity to mental attacks.
• Bestows immense willpower and an overwhelming ego, preventing submission to even the most formidable foes.
[Cataclysmic Lightning]
• Summons black-azure lightning powerful enough to disintegrate matter to its atoms.
• Each strike burns the enemy’s nervous system, disabling muscle control.
• An electric field surrounding the user deals continuous damage to those nearby.
• "Stormheart" mode: Speed and reflexes are elevated to superhuman levels, making time seem to slow down.
[Child of Nature]
• The ability to command nature.
[Rebirth Flame]
• Resurrects the user once after death.
• Cooldown: 3 years.
[Peerless Regeneration]
• Heals all wounds, dependent on mana.
• Maintains the body in its peak form.
[Absolute Zero]
• Perfect control over the ice element.
[Sovereign of Light]
• Absolute mastery over light.
• Can instantly create swords, spears, or armor from pure light.
• Neutralizes dark/shadow magic.
• "Sacred Domain": Allies heal rapidly, enemies are weakened.
[Void Decay]
• Infests the opponent’s life force and mana veins with dark mana.
• Spreads like a plague: consuming strength, resistance, and regeneration.
• Whispers despair into the opponent’s mind, shattering their will.
• Victims become vulnerable to further attacks.
[Toven’s Memories]
• The memories of Toven, the traitor chosen by the gods.
• Memories acquired: 9%.
[Serena’s Blessing: ???]
[Lilith’s Blessing: Talent Echo (Soul Thief)]
• The souls of slain enemies echo within for a moment.
• A random talent is permanently stolen.
• Power depends on the victim’s potential and the user’s affinity.
• Stolen talents can grow with mana and willpower.
[Sovereign Form]
• The body transforms into a primal predator.
• Superhuman strength, speed, and senses (hearing and smell are sharpened).
• Natural armor, claws, and elemental energy (fire/ice/lightning).
• Acts on an instinct to hunt and destroy. Risk of losing control without Dragon’s Pride.
• Magic casting is limited, but it is peerless in close combat.
• Duration per use: 3 minutes (rapidly exhausts the user).
───────────────────────────────
As my eyes scanned the lines, the storm in my mind subsided for a moment.
In its place, an icy clarity took hold.
This list was a summary of who I was. A chronicle of my pain, my traumas, and my unknown heritage...
I understood, more or less, what some of these writings meant; they described my abilities.
[Dragon’s Pride] and [Chaos Flames]... These two were Kaiser’s legacy to me.
A blessing and a curse engraved upon my soul by that ancient and wise being.
Most of my other abilities... they must have been the seals carved into my body in Dr. Aris’s white, sterile hell.
Child of Nature, Absolute Zero, Sovereign of Light...
Each was a memory of those needles, that unbearable pain, and those cold examination tables.
It was a painful legacy, but now, they were the only tools that kept me alive.
A wave of relief washed over me when I saw the [Rebirth Flame] skill. The immense pressure on my chest, the cold breath of death I constantly felt on my neck, dissipated for a moment.
It was as if tons of weight had been lifted from my shoulders.
To know that I could return from death, even if only once... In the midst of tomorrow’s hell, this knowledge was more protective than the strongest armor.
My eyes locked on one skill, and I held my breath.
[Sovereign Form].
I had read this name on the dusty shelves of the Duchy’s library, in ancient texts on the verge of being forgotten.
It was a legendary transformation, attainable only by beings who had surpassed the limits of humanity, chosen by the world or even by the gods themselves.
Those who attained this form broke their mortal chains and achieved a demigod-like power.
And now, this power was at my fingertips.
This was not something that could be explained by Dr. Aris’s experiments. This was a sign of a completely different heritage sleeping in my blood, in the depths of my soul.
But right in the middle of this legacy, there were names that clouded my mind: Lilith, Serena, Toven...
Who were they?
[Toven’s Memories]... This must have been the source of those fragments of knowledge, those moments of battle and strategy that didn’t belong to me, that occasionally surfaced in my mind.
9%... It meant there was a vast ocean of memories waiting to be discovered in the dark recesses of my mind.
And who were Serena and Lilith? I had no idea.
The three question marks next to Serena’s Blessing planted a seed of uneasy curiosity in my heart.
As for Lilith’s Blessing... [Talent Echo (Soul Thief)]...
My blood ran cold as I read it.
Stealing abilities from the souls of enemies I killed...
This was an ability both incredibly powerful and terrifyingly dark.
This was the power of a monster, not a hero.
As I wrestled with these thoughts, my mind turned to the battle tomorrow. The Obsidian Dawn Cult...
What a bitter irony of fate.
I had learned this name from Toven’s memories; it was an echo from deep within, almost from another life.
That name was an echo from Toven’s memories, leaking from another life.
In that ’game,’ this cult was not a simple group of assassins; they were a force that overthrew kingdoms, spread chaos across continents, and ultimately aimed to plunge the world into darkness.
What business could such a great power have in this duchy?
The answer again came from the misty corridors of Toven’s memories.
Their target was a legendary artifact belonging to the first Duke Ignis, the founder of the duchy, hidden in the most protected depths of the castle: the [Crown of Eternity].
According to rumor, this crown was no ordinary object of power.
It was a relic with a will of its own, turning anyone who dared to use it but was unworthy to ash in a blaze of flames.
But to the one worthy of wearing it, it bestowed a unique, almost divine power.
This was the true goal of the Obsidian Dawn Cult.
To seize that crown, fulfill their prophecies, and attain the power to rule the world...
The very thought of facing them tomorrow was enough to keep me awake.
Aron’s plan was a trap, yes.
But it was as audacious as a mouse’s plan to trap a dragon.
I took a deep breath and lifted my head to the sky.
The moon, unaware of all this chaos, these bloody prophecies, and divine powers, shone with a calm and noble grace.
Its pure, untainted beauty slowly began to untangle the knots in my mind.
My worries, my fears, the heavy burden of responsibility on my shoulders... all seemed to melt away in the silvery moonlight.
The beauty of the moon had become a sight that made me forget all my worries and troubles.
Whatever happened tomorrow, this night, this moment, this silence was mine.
And when the dawn broke tomorrow, I would have to fight for my life to protect this tranquility.