Chapter 349 - 296: Clan Leader’s Sea of Spirit (3)
[Analysis of the combination method between the Curse Rule and the Will of the Abyss...]
Every piece of information was a precious bit of knowledge.
Every bit of Purification was a fight against the Abyss.
「Clan Leader’s Palace」
Titus Justice lay on a wide stone bed, his chest rising and falling faintly.
Dark purple lines flowed faintly beneath his skin, like countless venomous snakes slithering just below the surface.
Aidele knelt by the bed, her hands tightly clutching her father’s ice-cold hand.
Her deep teal eyes were fixed on her father’s forehead.
A one-fifth dose of the second version of the Potion had just been applied there.
The pale silver liquid seeped into his skin and vanished.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Ten seconds.
There was no reaction.
Aidele’s heart sank, her nails digging into her palms until they drew blood.
Her eyes were rimmed with red. She bit down hard, refusing to make a sound.
Just as she was about to fall into despair once more,
A faint glimmer suddenly appeared beneath the skin of her father’s forehead.
The light was weak, like a candle flame flickering in the wind.
But a light did rise—a pale, silvery radiance, like starlight.
The point of light slowly emerged from the skin, hovering three inches above his forehead.
Then... it began to spin.
The point of light spun slowly, releasing a faint silver ripple with each rotation.
The ripples spread out, washing over her father’s pale face.
Wherever they passed, the dark purple lines beneath his skin seemed to... fade slightly.
Though the change was minuscule, Aidele saw it with perfect clarity.
"It’s working..."
The words came out as a hoarse whisper as she swallowed hard.
Her hands trembled slightly with excitement.
After spinning ten times, the point of light slowly dimmed before sinking back into his forehead and disappearing.
The chamber fell into a dead silence once more.
But this time, there was something... different in the silence.
Aidele held her breath, sensing carefully.
Her father’s presence... it was truly different...
’His aura... it’s getting stronger...’ Her pupils suddenly widened.
It was so faint as to be almost imperceptible.
But the decaying, deathly aura surrounding her father had indeed faded.
In its place was a minuscule trace of the "vitality" of the living.
It was like a single drop of water seeping from a dry riverbed.
Just a single drop, but... it was hope.
"Ian..."
Aidele whispered his name.
At that moment, the emotions she had suppressed for over a year finally came flooding out.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks, dripping onto the back of her father’s ice-cold hand and spreading into dark patches.
She thought back on everything she had endured for more than a year, ever since her father had fallen into his coma.
The cold stares from the Elder Council, the schemes of her brothers, the constant backstabbing.
Every time she left home, she had to worry about being ambushed.
Every negotiation was a minefield of potential traps.
The "allies" who once greeted her with smiles had turned their backs on her, one by one.
The "subordinates" who once treated her with utmost respect now bared their fangs.
She felt like a solitary pawn on a chessboard, moved at the whim of others.
It had all changed the moment her staunchest pillar of support... collapsed.
There was no place left for her within the family.
If not for her fifth sister, Ashia, helping her in secret, if not for Delia and Naseng’s undying loyalty...
She might have already died in the Ice Sea, or in some dark alley.
"Father..."
Aidele buried her face beside her father’s hand, her shoulders trembling as suppressed sobs echoed through the chamber.
Only in this empty room would she ever reveal her most vulnerable side.
But this time, her cries held not only despair, but... hope.
She cried for a long time before slowly raising her head.
Her eyes were red and swollen, yet her gaze was brighter than ever—like stars washed clean by rain.
She wiped away her tears and looked at her father again.
That subtle spark of vitality, however faint, was definitely there.
"Ian..."
She murmured the name again, his calm face appearing in her mind.
Those deep, perpetually calm eyes.
It seemed he wouldn’t even frown if the sky itself were falling.
The first time they met was on the Skybound. He wore a simple gray robe, a small black bird perched on his shoulder.
He was shockingly young, spoke plainly, acted decisively, and possessed astonishing power.
Later, he helped her pass the family’s trial. The Potion he refined had shockingly good results.
He helped her refine the Rock Bear Potion and train Carl and Coraline.
He helped her... stabilize the situation.
Every time she found herself in a predicament, he always had a solution.
Every time she fell into despair, he always brought a glimmer of hope.
Just like tonight. Just like this very moment.
The starlight on her father’s forehead had only shone for a fleeting instant.
But in that instant, its light had pierced the deepest darkness in her heart.
’Ian... who are you, really?’
Aidele murmured to herself, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the back of her father’s hand.
In her mind, Ian’s face grew ever clearer.
Those calm eyes, that perpetually expressionless face.
And... the occasional glimpse of an almost detached Concentration.
She suddenly recalled how he looked that day in the Laboratory, head bowed as he organized his materials.
His long fingers held a Crystal Stone Pipette, his movements as precise as if he were playing an instrument.
The light from the side cast his face in sharp relief, drawing a line between light and shadow.
At that moment, she suddenly felt...
It was as if an invisible barrier separated this man from the rest of the world.
No one could enter his heart, and no one could see through his secrets.
Yet this was the person who had helped her, saved her, time and time again.
The fluttering in her chest grew stronger, joined by a... softness she herself hadn’t yet noticed.
It was like a seed, buried in frozen earth, finally feeling the warmth of spring.
It was beginning... to quietly sprout.
She didn’t know what the feeling was.
She only knew that every time she thought of him, her heart felt a little more settled.
Every time she saw him, her frayed nerves would calm a little.
The road ahead was still fraught with peril, but at least... there was hope.
Aidele took a deep breath and sat up straight.
Wiping the last tear from her face, her expression became resolute once more.
"Father, you have to hold on."
She spoke in a low voice, soft yet filled with unquestionable resolve.
"I’ve found a way."
"I will wake you up."
"And..." She paused, her gaze drifting toward the window.
The night was deep, and stars twinkled through the gaps in the clouds.
In the chamber, the candlelight burned silently.
On the stone bed, the rise and fall of Titus Justice’s chest seemed... a little more pronounced than before.
And no one knew of this, save for Aidele, who knelt by the bed.
And...
...the man in the Laboratory on Golden Statue Tree Street, meditating with his eyes closed.