Chapter 513: His Sister....
"What did you say?" Thoren shouted as he abruptly jumped to his feet.
The chair beneath him scraped violently against the stone floor, producing a harsh sound that echoed throughout the cavern.
His usually calm expression had completely disappeared, replaced by disbelief and confusion.
When the Ancient Scorpion mentioned that she looked just like her, he had already connected the dots and realized that she was talking about his sister.
But he had never expected his sister to be connected to the Veyrath.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined such a connection.
"P-Please tell me you’re joking."
His voice trembled slightly as his heart suddenly skipped a beat before beginning to pound heavily against his chest.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Each heartbeat sounded unusually loud in his ears, while his breathing became increasingly rough and uneven.
’Godddd, what will I tell our parents?’
’How will I face them?’
The more he thought about it, the more his panic increased, causing countless emotions to spiral wildly through his mind.
For so long, he had searched for his sister.
He had endured countless dangers, entered the Abyss, fought terrifying monsters, and continued pushing himself beyond his limits because he believed that one day, he would find her.
But now, he had suddenly learned something that threatened to destroy everything he had believed.
’My sister has been devoured by the Bleeding Desert!’
The thought struck his mind like a thunderbolt.
’But how? Why?’ His breathing became heavier.
His chest rose and fell rapidly as his emotions continued spiraling out of control.
He clenched his fists tightly until his nails dug into his palms, while his eyes gradually turned bloodshot.
For a moment, the calm and rational Thoren disappeared completely. What remained was a brother standing on the edge of losing control.
And indeed, he was ready to destroy everything.
A terrifying killing intent suddenly surged out of his body and blanketed the entire cavern.
Boom!
The atmosphere trembled violently.
The surrounding air seemed to become heavier as an oppressive force spread outward from his body. Not only that, thick undead energy began pouring out of him at a visible speed.
It surged through the cavern like an enormous black tide, twisting around his body and spreading toward every corner.
The stones beneath his feet began trembling.
Small pieces of rubble fell from the cavern ceiling.
For the first time in countless years, the Ancient Scorpion was truly terrified.
’How is this possible?!’
Her enormous eyes widened as she stared at the terrifying energy erupting from the human before her.
She could barely believe what she was sensing.
This was not ordinary undead energy.
It carried a strange corrosive quality that made even her ancient instincts scream danger.
Without hesitation, she released her mental energy and formed a massive shield around herself.
Boom!
The invisible barrier immediately surrounded her colossal body. But to her shock, the undead energy began corroding her mental energy at a visible speed.
Crack!
A thin crack appeared across the surface of the mental shield.
Then another.
And another.
The Ancient Scorpion’s enormous eyes narrowed as she watched the cracks rapidly spread across the barrier.
’This...’
’What in the three moons is this?’ Alarm immediately blared inside her mind.
She had lived for countless years.
She had encountered powerful beings, ancient monsters, terrifying warriors, and countless extraordinary abilities.
Yet she had never encountered undead energy like this.
It was almost as if the energy itself possessed an instinct to consume everything standing in its path.
She wanted to knock the human kid unconscious immediately. However, a powerful gut feeling screamed inside her mind.
Doing that might cause the situation to spiral completely beyond her control. She tried to wrap her massive scorpion head around what had just happened.
How could a human possess such terrifying undead energy?
How could someone who had only recently reached Level 40 produce an aura capable of corroding her mental energy?
Crack!
Another spiderweb of cracks spread across her mental shield. The Ancient Scorpion’s expression finally changed.
She knew she had to do something before it was too late.
"Human kid, calm down!" Her voice was louder than usual, carrying enough mental force to shake the cavern.
Thoren’s bloodshot eyes remained fixed on her.
His undead energy continued surging around him.
"Your sister is still alive!" The Ancient Scorpion’s voice became even more urgent.
"She has not been devoured by the Crimson Womb!"
Hmm?
The moment Thoren heard those words, his bloodshot eyes regained some focus. His breathing abruptly slowed.
The violent undead energy surrounding his body also hesitated for a brief moment. For what felt like an eternity, he simply stared at the Ancient Scorpion.
Alive.
His sister was still alive.
From the depths of the seemingly bottomless rabbit hole he had fallen into, he suddenly saw a faint light at the end of the tunnel.
Hope.
"Are you telling the truth?" His voice was hoarse and deep.
It was completely different from his usual calm and indifferent tone.
The Ancient Scorpion stared at him seriously.
"Yes. Why would I lie to you?"
Her voice was firm.
"Retract your undead energy and listen to me." She glanced at the cracks spreading across her mental shield before continuing.
"Everything will become clear."
Now, the Ancient Scorpion was beginning to regret letting her mouth run loose.
She had only intended to tease him a little and punish him for his earlier arrogance. More importantly, she wanted to see the terrified expression of the human kid when he learned something about his sister.
She had expected panic.
Perhaps even despair.
But she never expected things to turn out this way.
When Thoren realized that his sister was still alive, the suffocating undead energy filling the cavern began to recede.
It happened quickly and almost unnaturally.
In just a couple of seconds, all the undead energy had completely vanished, and the terrifying killing intent that had blanketed the cavern disappeared alongside it.
The oppressive atmosphere instantly became lighter.
The trembling ground gradually settled.
The cracks spreading across the Ancient Scorpion’s mental shield stopped expanding, leaving behind a web of fractures across its surface.
As for Thoren’s expression, it had returned to normal.
His breathing had stabilized, his clenched fists slowly relaxed, and the bloodshot color in his eyes gradually faded.
Yet, deep within his deep blue eyes, the killing intent was still blazing.
It had not disappeared.
It had merely been buried beneath his regained composure.
Looking at him, the Ancient Scorpion couldn’t help but stare for several seconds before speaking in amazement.
"You surprise me again."
There was genuine astonishment in her voice.
She had lived for countless years and had encountered countless races, yet the human standing before her continued to exceed her expectations.
"Tell me about my sister."
Thoren asked without the slightest concern for her shock.
His voice was calm once again, but there was an unmistakable urgency hidden beneath it.
"If you had been patient, you would have known by now."
The Ancient Scorpion released an exaggerated sigh, her massive body shifting slightly within the cavern.
Thoren did not respond.
His eyes remained firmly locked onto her massive form.
He had no interest in exchanging meaningless words.
All that mattered to him now was his sister.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, the Ancient Scorpion stopped teasing him and continued revealing a secret known to only a handful of beings.
After the Ashen Crown’s ritual failed, the Veyrath civilization crumbled shortly afterward.
Their golden-age civilization was swallowed by the barren land.
Cities disappeared beneath the sand.
Towns were buried.
Laboratories vanished.
Academies that had once housed the greatest knowledge of the Veyrath were consumed by the endless desert.
Everything they had built over countless generations eventually disappeared beneath the Crimson Dune.
And thus, the animals that had survived the crazy experiments of the Veyrath became the only surviving lifeforms of their world.
The Beastmen.
Everything should have ended there.
The Veyrath civilization was gone, their knowledge buried, and their greatest secrets forgotten beneath thousands of years of sand.
But when their world became part of the Abyss, forgotten history began to resurface.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, a group of humans eventually discovered records concerning the Ashen Crown and their pursuit of immortality.
Those records revealed fragments of the ancient World Molting Ritual and the power of the Crimson Womb.
Driven by their desire for power and immortality, the humans began searching for the remnants of the ritual.
After countless years of searching, they finally discovered clues connected to the Ashen Crown’s ritual.
And this was where Thoren’s sister stepped into the story.
She and her party encountered the group of humans and fought against them.
The conflict eventually became so serious that they even fought against the Scorpion Clan in an attempt to destroy the final clues connected to the ritual.
Thoren’s expression became increasingly solemn as he listened.
"So you’re telling me my sister fought against your clan just to destroy the last traces of the ritual?"
"Yes."
"Then what happened to her after she destroyed the last traces?"
His voice became heavier.
The Ancient Scorpion remained silent for a moment.
"Because a higher power descended to support the group that wanted to restart the ritual, forcing her group into a tight corner."
Thoren’s pupils contracted slightly.
A higher power.
Even the Ancient Scorpion, an existence capable of terrifying him with nothing more than her presence, had described that being in such a manner.
"As for what happened between them afterward..."
The Ancient Scorpion’s massive eyes narrowed slightly.
"I don’t know."
Silence.