Chapter 532: Cruoris
Vetaal walked across the quiet courtyard toward the man seated comfortably beneath the ancient tree.
Beside Leng Yuan stood another simple wooden chair. Without asking for permission, Vetaal pulled it back and sat down.
For a while, neither of them spoke. Only the cool mountain breeze rustled through the leaves above their heads.
Finally, Vetaal broke the silence. "The world has changed... far more than I expected."
Leng Yuan took a slow sip of his tea before replying.
"Of course it has. It has been three entire eras since you were sealed."
Vetaal let out a quiet chuckle.
"True."
His crimson eyes shifted toward the black-haired man. "You’ve changed as well, Leng Yuan."
A faint smile appeared on Leng Yuan’s face.
"Haha... People change over time."
Vetaal rested his chin on one hand.
"Mostly humans do."
Leng Yuan exhaled softly. "You think I’m no longer human?"
He asked the question casually.
Vetaal merely smirked. "...Are you?"
Silence followed after that.
Leng Yuan didn’t answer immediately.
The cold wind brushed gently through his long black hair as his emotionless gaze remained fixed upon the moon.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"...You’re not wrong. I’m no longer human."
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"...I’m a Devil."
His pitch-black eyes slowly shifted toward Vetaal. For the first time that night, a trace of amusement flickered within those otherwise indifferent eyes.
"But... I’ve noticed something as well."
He studied Vetaal carefully.
"You’ve changed too...Blood Devil, Cruoris."
The name echoed softly through the quiet courtyard. It was Vetaal’s true name. A name forgotten by almost everyone in existence.
Leng Yuan continued, his voice carrying faint curiosity.
"You seem more human."
Vetaal raised an eyebrow.
"Am I?"
Leng Yuan nodded.
"Yes. Ever since I brought you here after you were free... I’ve been observing you."
He leaned slightly against the chair.
"The current you reminds me of the person you used to be...before your wife died."
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Cruoris’ hand slowly tightened into a fist. Old memories resurfaced. Memories buried beneath thousands of years of bloodshed.
He laughed bitterly.
"...Why would you think that?"
Leng Yuan answered without hesitation.
"You once sought nothing except power."
"Strength. Blood. You were a monster born solely for battle full of bloodshed."
He paused.
"But everything changed after you fell in love. A Devil...falling in love with a human woman."
Cruoris smiled faintly.
"You know who she was, don’t you?"
Leng Yuan nodded.
"I do."
Cruoris looked toward the moon.
"She was..."
He stopped. A complicated smile appeared on his face.
"Different. Maybe no... maybe she was just like other ordinary humans. But it doesn’t matter. I still don’t understand why I fell in love with her."
Leng Yuan quietly replied,
"Perhaps...That’s what true love is. Falling for someone without reason. Without logic. Without understanding why."
Cruoris remained silent.
Leng Yuan continued.
"After she died...you returned to the person you once were. The Blood Devil. And then you drowned the world in blood. Or maybe just one particular island."
Cruoris let out a long sigh.
"...Let’s stop talking about my past."
He changed the subject. "Have you learned anything about the one destined to become the Moon Goddess?"
Leng Yuan slowly shook his head.
"I’ve remained isolated from the outside world. I know nothing."
Cruoris clicked his tongue.
"To think... I spent centuries preparing to ascend. I planned everything. My work, my knowledge and my sacrifices. Everything was meant for one purpose to become a Divine Being associated with the powers of the Moon."
A trace of frustration flashed across his face.
"Only to learn...that another woman is destined to claim that position. And she appears in prophecy only after I was sealed."
Leng Yuan calmly nodded.
"That was the prophecy. It was spoken by Chaos herself the day she sealed you."
Cruoris clenched his jaw.
Back then he had already been sealed. He never heard those words himself. When he finally learned of the prophecy after awakening. It was already too late.
His eyes gradually filled with cold determination.
"I’ll never allow it."
Leng Yuan simply took another sip of tea.
"I’m sure you won’t."
His indifferent tone made it sound as though the matter meant nothing to him.
Cruoris frowned.
"What about you? You once desired absolute strength more than anyone. You wanted to stand above every living being. Above both mortals and immortals. You wanted supremacy."
Leng Yuan quietly smiled.
"I did. But not anymore."
Cruoris stared at him in disbelief.
He couldn’t understand.
The Leng Yuan sitting before him was nothing like the Devil he remembered. If someone had asked Cruoris to describe the Leng Yuan of the past.
Only one image came to mind.
An utterly indifferent man.
Someone willing to commit any atrocity.
Sacrifice anyone.
Destroy entire kingdoms.
As long as it brought him one step closer to his goal. Nothing mattered. Not kindness. Not hatred. Not friendship. Not love. Not guilt.
He possessed almost no human emotions. Only an endless obsession with becoming stronger.
Yet... The man sitting before him still wore the same calm expression. The same emotionless eyes. The same indifferent demeanor.
But something fundamental had disappeared. The endless hunger for power. The burning ambition to stand above all creation. It was gone.
Cruoris narrowed his eyes.
"I’m curious. What happened to you? What could possibly change someone like you?"
Leng Yuan let out a quiet chuckle.
"I simply witnessed a few things. And I realized something."
Cruoris looked at him.
"What did you realize?"
Leng Yuan’s gaze returned to the moon.
His voice became softer than ever before.
"I realized something on my way that the desire I devoted my entire life to chasing was something I could both achieve and never truly possess."
A faint smile crossed his face.
"And... It was something I had come to despise more than anything else."
Those final words silenced Cuoris. He couldn’t help but wonder what Leng Yuan had discovered that forced him to abandon his dreams.