Chapter 598: Growing Hardships
Alex sat on the dark, lusterless floor, his face drained of color, his eyes dull and empty like those of a lifeless corpse. The only sign of vitality was the faint rhythm of his breath, one slow exhale every few seconds.
It had been fifteen minutes since the test had ended, a battle that had stretched for seven grueling minutes, four of which he had spent beneath the crushing weight of the Monarch Aura.
Alex believed he had performed well, but Odeseus had offered nothing in return, staying silent this entire time, showing no reaction, not even lifting a finger to help him recover from his weakened state.
Alex was slowly recovering, aided by the steady burn of potions coursing through his body. He had chosen not to use the Temporal Reflection to reset his condition, knowing it would strip away the memories of the entire battle, memories he could not afford to lose.
In the past two years, he had trained with Monarch Aura, but not through battle but only through meditation, practicing restraint, and learning to rein in the storm of emotions that came with wielding the Dragon Monarch Aura.
This battle was the first true test in two years, the first time he had unleashed the Aura not to exercise, but in the crucible of real combat, where he had to prove something.
At last, after the long silence, Odeseus’s voice broke through, cold and direct. "When did you acquire that Soul Summoning mark and that Dragon Mask?"
Alex’s eyes widened faintly. ’So, it is a Soul Summoning mark,’ Alex recognized, the confirmation from Odeseues striking with the weight of certainty. ’This explains my blackout after I pushed too hard against Corpse Eater in the mythical island event,’
The truth clicked into place, explaining what had once baffled him.
Alex had the theory about the truth of the Monarch mark, a suspicion he had never confirmed, not even after reuniting with Nyla, not doing it because he didn’t want to worry about the questions that came with the truth.
He understood that if the mark allowed the Dragon Monarch to possess him, then the question was what dangers did it pose to him.
Alex had learned from his guardians that Ynnir, the Dragon Monarch, was a benefactor of the Domain. And from his own experiences, he had felt a reason to trust him.
But blind trust was another matter, especially when the price was control over his very being.
Still, he had made his choice long ago. He would leave these questions for the future, for a time when he was strong enough to face them. Now, even if he had wanted to, he lacked the power to resist the mark, let alone remove it.
"I acquired the mask about a year ago, from a Dragon Tomb hidden trial created by Dragon King Aethelmir," Alex answered slowly, his voice hollow, drained of life. "As for the Dragon Monarch Mark, I had acquired it long before I entered the Ancestral Realm."
"I figured as much," Odeseus said, his lips pressed into a hard, serious line. His abyssal gaze lingered on Alex, heavy and unblinking, carrying something between appraisal and solemn judgment.
"Young one, your display was beyond what I expected. To command the laws with such precision while a foreign will is eating away your mind, and to achieve such strength in so short a time, only a few across the ages could boast such a feat."
His tone hardened. "You have impressed me. If we didn’t already have an arrangement, I would have taken you as a student."
But then his small smile vanished. "Praise aside, your talent only makes one fact very clear. The reality is, you still lost to Zarach, which leaves us with two possibilities."
He raised a finger. "First, you used the Monarch Mark before the battle began. If so, you would have been strong enough to resist most fate spells, giving you a favourable chance at victory."
"Yet you still lost. That means either Zarach’s mastery of fate eclipses even what I anticipated, or he wields another element with equally great mystery."
A second finger lifted. "Second, you were unable to use the Mark at all. That would explain your loss just as well, and in this case, Zarach would not have wielded a second element, which should be true, since his clan prioritizes purity of fate above all else."
Odeseus leaned back slightly, his expression darkening. "Unless... Zarach is an illegitimate child, and that’s the worst possibility, because he bears the Mark of House Saelvar, and as I said, his clan places purity above all else, and they don’t make exceptions so easily."
His voice grew low, cold. "If he wields two elements, then he is a threat even if you gain great success with the way of Error."
Alex was taken aback by the new details, but he quickly collected his thoughts and decided to share his own opinion to get more insight from Odeseus.
"I knew from the moment he dared challenge me that his confidence had to come from a place of confidence." Alex swallowed and admitted, "Maybe my decision was influenced by his powers, but I am certain that I also wanted to accept his challenge."
"Zarach is strong... and unknown, knowing this, I didn’t plan to open with the Monarch Aura, because I understood I had less than a minute of control."
"Though there was always the possibility that losing myself could give me a chance at certain victory, the risk far outweighed the chance of success, so I was never planning to risk it."
He exhaled. "Furthermore, while I didn’t have Reverie, I did have Umbris, my legacy sword. It let me control several temporal skills, and one of them let me save my condition and revert to it within six minutes."
Odeseus’s eyes narrowed. "Then Zarach could have stripped that skill from you, because unless this legacy weapon of yours is of Ancient quality, he could have even taken the skill for himself...just as he could with any weapon skill."
"The true strength of a fate wilder is not just their ability to turn the world against you... but turn your own strength against you, either by crimping it or taking it for their own use."
Odeseus produced a dark book before Alex out of thin air, "Take this," he said. "An introduction to the Path of Error."
"Consider it your first true step," he said, closing their exchange.
Though Alex was eager to press further, to uncover what other elements Zarach might wield, or to learn the truths about the Fate element itself, he swallowed his questions.
Instead, he accepted the book with a nod of appreciation, equally excited about the uncharted field of Darkness that now lay before him.