Chapter 432:Cassian
Cassian’s Aether erupted, the ruined houses around them shaking.
"You..."
Klaith watched him.
SSS which was far too close.
The core had almost finished its purpose.
Cassian stepped forward.
"You were involved."
"Yes."
"The potions."
"Yes."
"My father’s arrest."
"Indirectly."
Cassian’s eyes became colder.
"And his death?"
Klaith became silent.
That was the question he’d brought Cassian here to answer. It was not because Cassian deserved the truth but because anger would make what came next easier.
He reached beneath his cloak.
Cassian raised his sword.
"Don’t."
He stopped, then smiled.
"I killed him."
Cassian didn’t move.
For several seconds, nothing happened while the words seemed to hang between them.
"What did you say?"
"I killed your father."
Cassian stared as his eyes slowly narrowed into a glare.
Klaith’s voice remained almost disturbingly gentle.
"He was arrested. Interrogation had already begun. Eventually, he would have talked."
Cassian’s face slowly twisted.
"You..."
"He knew too much."
Aether exploded from him. The ground cracked from the pressure. He sword followed faster than Klaith expected from an ordinary SSS. The blade crossed the distance between them.
He disappeared.
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Cassian’s sword cut through empty air. He immediately turned to find Klaith standing behind him and attacked again. Kaith moved before the strike caught him.
Another miss.
Cassian’s anger grew.
"You murdered him!"
"Yes."
"Why?!"
"Because he became a liability."
Cassian roared, his sword coming down with a fiery momentum. Klaith raised one hand and the blade stopped.
Cassian froze.
Two fingers held the sword.
His eyes widened.
Klaith looked at the weapon.
"Impressive."
He pushed and Cassian flew backward, crashing through the wall of an abandoned house.
Dust exploded.
Klaith lowered his hand.
"But not enough."
Cassian emerged almost immediately, blood running from his forehead. His anger had changed, there was confusion now.
Klaith had hidden his strength for centuries; the quiet librarian, the historian and the elderly Dark Elf who preferred books to weapons.
Cassian had never seen him fight, almost nobody had.
"You..." he breathed heavily. "What are you?"
Klaith didn’t answer.
Cassian’s Aether surged again but something else moved with it; black-gray energy appeared around him.
Klaith’s eyes sharpened.
There it was... Death.
Cassian didn’t seem to notice. The core responded to his anger, his grief and his desire to kill. Black veins briefly appeared beneath the skin near his chest before disappearing again.
Klaith smiled.
"Beautiful."
Cassian’s expression twisted.
"What?"
"The core."
Cassian hesitated.
"What core?"
Klaith raised one hand. Cassian’s body completely stopped.
His eyes widened.
He tried moving but nothing happened. His Aether surged only for the invisible restraint to tightened.
Cassian gritted his teeth.
"What did you do?"
"Nothing complicated."
Klaith approached.
He struggled harder. His SSS-ranked Aether erupted violently enough to crack the surrounding ground but it didn’t matter.
Klaith stopped directly in front of him.
"Do you remember when you first began growing stronger?"
Cassian glared at him.
"Go to hell."
"After your father’s death."
Cassian’s expression changed.
"Your rank up accelerated." Klaith placed one hand against Cassian’s chest. "You recovered from injuries more quickly."
Cassian tried pulling away.
"You began sensing death before it happened."
His eyes widened.
Klaith knew.
"Your Aether became colder."
Cassian stopped struggling for a moment.
"How..."
"You thought it was awakening."
Klaith smiled.
"In a sense, it was."
Something inside Cassian moved. He gasped, pain crossing his face.
"What did you do to me?"
"To you?"
Klaith tilted his head.
"Very little."
His fingers pressed harder.
"Most of the work was done by this."
Cassian screamed. Something tore inside his chest, deeper. His Aether core shook violently as black-gray light erupted through his body.
Hid eyes widened.
"What..."
Klaith’s hand sank into his chest; there was no blood. His fingers passed through flesh as though reaching into a different layer of existence.
Cassian screamed again.
Then Klaith pulled and something came with him.
A black core.
Gray veins moved across its surface like living roots, while something resembling smoke constantly entered and left it.
The moment it emerged, the entire village changed; plants withered, insects fell silent and the air became cold.
Cassian stared at it, his face pale.
"What is that?"
Klaith looked almost lovingly at the object.
"The reason you’re still alive."
He collapsed onto one knee, his sword falling by his side.
Klaith held the core between them.
"The primary Death Core."
Cassian stared in confusion. He didn’t understand which was expected. Klaith had never intended him to.
"My father said it’s the hanbringer of death?"
"It is."
"The Protector said it for me, why would you go against his words and take it for yourself. "
"You are, but just a temporary host... if it helps, you are the perfect host."
"So I was just a pawn," he chuckled. "This is ridiculous."
Cassian tried standing but his body refused. Without the Death Core, his Aether circulation was collapsing. He’d grown use to it and adapted to it. His body had knowingly treated it as part of himself.
Klaith watched the black-gray veins moving across its surface. They were thicker than before. The amount of Death Aether inside was extraordinary.
Better than he’d hoped.
Klaith looked toward him.
"You’ve done exceptionally well."
He spat blood.
"Damn you."
Klaith chuckled.
"Your father had a milder temper."
Cassian reached for his sword but Klaith stepped on his hand. He grunted as his bones broke.
"Why me?"
"Potential."
Klaith answered honestly.
"Your bloodline was good. Your talent was better than most people realized. Your father provided convenient access, and after his arrest, nobody paid enough attention to you."
Cassian looked toward the Death Core.
"You used me."
"Yes."
"For what?"
Klaith looked at the core.
"To mature this."
Cassian laughed bitterly despite the pain.
"Then why take it now?"
That question pleased Klaith.
Because it meant Cassian understood at least enough to recognize the contradiction. If the core became stronger as Cassian became stronger, why remove it before he reached his peak?
Klaith crouched.
"Because you’re approaching Sovereign."
Cassian’s eyes widened.
Even through the pain, surprise appeared, he hadn’t realized how close he was but Klaith had. The Death Core made it obvious.
Cassian had begun touching something beyond SSS, Death itself was dragging him upward. If allowed to continue, he might skip stages that should have taken decades.
That couldn’t happen.
"The core needs a vessel powerful enough to withstand it."
Klaith held it between two fingers.
"But a vessel must remain a vessel."
Cassian breathed heavily.
"What happens if I become Sovereign?"
Klaith’s expression became serious.
"Then you stop being useful. A Sovereign is not simply someone with more Aether." Klaith glanced toward the core. "At Sovereignty, understanding becomes Authority. Your soul establishes ownership over the Law you’ve comprehended."
Cassian’s eyes moved toward the Death Core as realization slowly appeared.
Klaith smiled.
"Exactly."