Chapter 59: A Body Blessed By Sun
The moment Edgar’s body touched the frozen blood, an unbearable chill shot through every bone in his body.
"Hng..."
His muscles instantly tensed, feeling as though countless icy needles were piercing into his flesh.
The pain was so unbearable that his body instinctively tried to get away.
’Fuck, no!’ Edgar steeled his resolve and clenched his teeth.
He slowly lowered himself until the blood reached his chest.
The golden markings spreading through the frozen blood suddenly began glowing brighter.
And like snakes finding a hole to hide, they all began to rush toward Edgar’s skin.
Immediately, his mouth, throat, and stomach felt a searing heat, as though set ablaze and caving inward.
His blood burned inside him, and his mind began to fry itself.
A few seconds later, a mysterious and overwhelming power erupted from the jade.
The power surged toward every corner of his body before it receded into his chest, bringing him immense pain.
"URGHHHH!!"
Beside him, old man Oswald couldn’t bear to look at his master’s condition.
"Young Master--."
His words died in his throat when an overwhelming sense of fear took over him.
It didn’t affect only him but also Viera and Andrew, who were equally concerned about Edgar.
The presence of fear was so immense that all three of them subconsciously knelt down around him.
Edgar’s cries began to grow louder and louder, and all they could do was listen.
Inside the stone basin, Edgar endured the agony with only a fraction of his consciousness.
His skin had turned crisp, while all five of his organs were visible through it, red as fire.
At the same time, Edgar also felt new organs and blood vessels forming inside him that had never existed before.
Finally, the pain toned down, and Edgar felt he had reached a critical point.
His body began to emit a golden glow, and his hands felt a strange resonance.
At the center of his temples, a strange golden marking began to carve itself in like a crown.
A golden light receded into his chest that had the warmth of the sun as well as its tyranny.
Four hands, invisible to everyone, slowly took form around him, each as thick as a giant’s head.
The blood of ten different Nightmares, five positive and five negative, began to enter his body as well.
Every drop of essence within it was devoured by Edgar’s body.
Crack...
Crack...
Fine cracks suddenly appeared across Edgar’s skin.
Andrew’s face turned pale.
"Y-Young Master!"
He tried to move in an attempt to help him, but the presence of fear kept him rooted in place.
The cracks spread across his neck, shoulders, chest, and arms.
They looked exactly like broken porcelain.
Then...
Crunch.
A small fragment of skin peeled away from his forearm. It didn’t reveal flesh beneath.
Instead, beneath the broken skin was flawless new skin, smoother and fairer than before.
Crunch.
Crunch.
More pieces fell away. It was as though Edgar was shedding an old shell.
His old skin continued breaking apart until it floated across the surface of the basin like dead leaves.
The process lasted nearly ten minutes. When the last fragment finally fell... silence descended.
Edgar remained lying inside the basin with his eyes closed.
His body looked as though it had been remade from the very beginning.
The jade, which had remained floating beside him the entire time, suddenly shattered.
It broke into countless particles of golden light. Instead of falling, the particles flew directly into Edgar’s chest.
At that exact moment, a familiar translucent screen appeared before his eyes.
---
⟨Nightmare Trance Complete.⟩
⟨Body Reconstruction: Successful.⟩
⟨Assimilation Rate: 100%⟩
⟨Accessing... Order of the Sun...⟩
---
Edgar’s consciousness left his body and reached a place he had never seen before.
***
[Yamhad Clan, Main Fortress.]
Hera Yamhad sat together with the elders of her family and her father inside the main hall of the castle.
The atmosphere was unusually heavy because of the sudden summoning by the Clan Leader.
Clan Leader Theo rested both hands on the pommel of his sword while quietly looking toward the moon through an open window.
His brows had been furrowed ever since the crimson full moon had appeared.
"Care to explain why you called us here?" An elder who couldn’t take it anymore asked annoyingly. "We have been sitting in silence for so long!"
Theo slowly withdrew his gaze. "I have a bad feeling."
His honest answer made several elders exchange uneasy glances.
One of the older men stroked his beard. "Could it be related to the Forgotten?"
Theo remained silent for a few moments before shaking his head.
"No. This feels... different."
He couldn’t explain it, but as a Level Five Knight, his instincts had saved his life countless times.
And at this very moment... every instinct in his body was screaming.
It was like he had fallen into a trap, but there was no way of knowing what he was up against.
Hera also had an anxious look on her face while she rubbed her fingers uneasily.
The silence had lasted only a few breaths when suddenly a sound boomed.
DING!! DING!!
It was the sound of the bell that was used to warn about Nightmares.
DING!! DING!!
The shrill sound of the warning bell echoed throughout the entire Fortress.
Every person inside the castle immediately stood up and the expressions of the elders changed drastically.
The bell could only be rung when the situation at the first Fortress Wall was dire.
Several guards rushed into the hall with pale faces.
"Clan Leader!"
Theo’s emerald eyes sharpened.
"What happened?"
The leading guard struggled to catch his breath.
"T-The Nightmares..." His voice broke. "They have breached the first Wall!!"
Theo slumped onto his chair with a look of despair in his eyes.
With a tired sigh, he whispered, "So, that’s what it was."
Without wasting another second, Theo walked out of his castle and rushed toward the second Fortress Wall.
The other elders, including Hera, also rushed out in panic.
The scene they saw made everyone’s blood turn cold.
A city beloved by the Yamhad Clan was burning.
People were running around trying to get inside the second Fortress Wall.
"W-What should we do, Leader?" a soldier asked in panic. "They are going to kill everyone."
Theo didn’t speak.
He just turned around and looked at his daughter, who had a horrified look on her face.
With a helpless smile, he whispered, "I had always cared for you, my child."
His words made Hera go blank, her face caught between grief and confusion.
"F-Father?"
Theo didn’t respond. All he did was look beyond the first Fortress Wall.
Unlike the others, he could feel its presence.
The presence of a Nightmare that was beyond human understanding.
At that very moment, only Theo Yamhad knew.
....No one within the Fortress would walk out alive.