Chapter 113: Crazy and Suicidal
In the middle of the morning, Priam woke up feeling physically renewed. But internally... he felt a terrible pain in his soul.
He had vividly dreamed about the massacre of the Pristine Wild-Spirits. This time it was truly a dream, with things different from his memory happening. Which made it worse, because the worst things hidden inside him mixed with the nightmare, making it even worse.
At least, those dreams of his other lives, he already knew everything and knew what would happen.
Priam calmed himself and checked his wounds, sighing deeply... remembering Luvinah and the price he paid to possess that core.
His Primordial Pristine Core had completely healed his physical wounds, providing him with the power of nature. Besides that, the power of nature constantly nourished his meridians and body, removing impurities.
This greatly accelerated his Ether recovery while sleeping, along with other benefits.
He calmly got out of bed, and the gazes of the other three immediately turned to him. All of them seemed to have been awake for quite some time already.
"Are you feeling okay?" Shione asked hurriedly.
"I’m perfect," he answered with a nod, making the three of them sigh in relief.
Without delay, everyone left the room.
In the building’s central hall, there was a maid this time. She was also a Beast of Primordial Chaos, belonging to some unknown race, but she used metamorphosis to assume a simple humanoid appearance.
What the Beasts of Primordial Chaos considered beautiful was very different from what was common. They always chose a humanoid or demonic appearance, either very simple or very exaggerated; it was always one extreme.
Priam observed the maid and nodded discreetly, remembering what he had studied in the clan.
Using metamorphosis day and night was extremely common among many races because the stronger a beast became, the larger and heavier it grew, and its movements also began to cause disturbances around it.
In contrast, that humanoid form consumed less energy in daily life and made interacting with the environment easier.
The appearance and power of the false body depended on countless factors, such as resources and the user’s skill. Even so, Priam found the possibility of creating one’s own appearance exactly as desired interesting.
Then he remembered the last fight from the previous night. In the case of the Aether-Wood Deer, he had managed to glimpse their true forms when he gravely injured Hahho. They were only a greenish ethereal soul inside the body.
That ethereal body lacked defenses and was much more fragile than normal. This was the great flaw of spiritual races or their descendants. Because of that, they created metamorphosis bodies to serve as armor around their true body, gaining more safety in combat.
That was exactly why the fact that Priam had destroyed the metamorphosis body and still left the true body nearly destroyed — all with a single move — had shocked everyone.
The maid saw the four of them coming out and sent messages to other servants.
She had prepared a large table in the center of the building, so the four of them sat down. A few minutes later, several maids arrived bringing food.
"My mother went to the meetings early in the morning," Shione murmured to Priam. She and Flaris sat in the chairs on both sides of him, while Lumiere sat in the chair in front of Priam.
"But before leaving, she gave me an emblem. If anything happens, I can call her. Or, if you want anything, I can send a message at any time. The three of us will do whatever we can to support you, too."
Priam nodded, seeing the genuine goodwill in Shione’s blue eyes.
He quickly understood the reason. Flaris and her demonic race were the greatest support he possessed; so Shione had probably mentioned this to her mother, not wanting to allow her clan to fall behind.
Currently, Priam had become an important enough figure to the Ylisse Clan that he could ask for practically anything. If it were possible, they would do it.
Besides that, Orlaith placed great expectations on Priam to help her two children. She wanted both of them to accompany him as his followers in the divine sect, because that way, their chances of entering and growing inside would increase drastically.
Priam did not think this was bad in any way. He felt that those two siblings were trustworthy enough, since he had spent years by their side, carefully observing their personalities.
Shione was explosive, impulsive, and extremely energetic; but she trusted him enough to listen to everything he said and would hardly cause him problems. She did not deal very well with frustration, but she was easy to please, as long as Priam did not restrict her too much.
Lumiere, on the other hand, was calmer and more reflective. He liked to read and never acted without first asking or thinking carefully. In some aspects, he resembled Priam, being extremely easy to talk to. Maybe he was Priam’s first true friend.
Adding Flaris — someone he trusted and knew completely — it was almost as if Priam had become the leader of a small group, destined to increase its numbers explosively someday.
The four ate calmly.
After that, they left the building and headed north, where there was supposed to be a large meeting courtyard for the young people of the Alliance.
It was almost noon. In a few minutes, a huge open area without walls appeared in the middle of the forest. Above it, there was a gigantic covering made of violet crystals. It was very beautiful, giving off an air of nobility and nature mixed together.
A few dozen figures were indeed there, all sitting at tables. But...
When one of them noticed the group approaching and murmured something, everyone turned in the same direction at the same time, showing tense expressions.
Priam smiled faintly, already expecting that reaction.
It was obvious that their clan leaders had warned them to keep as much distance as possible from Priam and the Ylisse Clan; after all, everyone knew the Supreme General would act at some point, and no one wanted to get involved in that.
So, when the newly arrived group sat at an empty table, no one even approached them.
Mere minutes later, the tables began to slowly empty.
One by one, the young people stood up as if nothing were happening and left the place.
Shione snorted with an expression of disgust when she saw the last young people turning their backs and leaving.
"Cowards..."
Lumiere snorted. "It’s much better than them treating us like trash. Actually... I even think it’s good. They seem to be afraid of us. Making them fear us gives us safety."
Priam nodded at those words.
Lumiere indeed thought similarly to him. They did not care about having countless people as friends; it was enough to have a few they truly trusted. As for the rest, making them afraid was a great thing in this chaotic world.
"This is better. At least we have privacy," Flaris answered indifferently, turning her gaze to Priam.
Priam discreetly observed and felt the surroundings. In the forest, across a large area around that courtyard, he noticed dozens of figures attentive to any movement. He was certain they were people sent by the Grand Elder to ensure his safety.
"We’re safe here. These idiots don’t even have the courage to build a minimal relationship with us, even while feeling that they’re safe. They certainly won’t go very far as Mages," Priam said, and Lumiere beside him immediately agreed.
Becoming a Mage by itself was already like fighting the laws of the world and challenging mortal nature itself. The final goal, even for the humblest Mages, was the dream of breaking all shackles and becoming immortal.
Without willpower and courage to challenge heaven and earth, how could anyone go far? The future of those young people would be as mediocre as their own clans.
Priam drank some tea, which the maids served to everyone.
He looked at the sky, reflecting for several minutes on the next step.
’I think I’ll try something very... crazy... and possibly suicidal... well, fuck it.’
He made his decision.
He would not be a hypocrite and hide in fear like those young Mages there. He had the System, and now many weapons no one could expect.
Priam then turned his attention to Flaris and then to Shione.
"Let’s get to the point. I’ll need you to search for urgent information for me. Besides that, I’ll give you something good to study."