The letter was relatively short.
However, the ssage was clear.
“We strongly urge you to surrender the ring without delay. While we are prepared to offer appropriate compensation for its return, refusal to comply will inevitably lead to consequences, ones we would prefer to avoid, but are fully prepared to enact if necessary.’
This was how I'd summarize the entire letter. It was also here that I ca to realize why everything had been so easy. The blacksmith...
He had been pardoned from the start.
“He most likely made a deal with them where they'd let him go in exchange for giving this letter."
But were things really this simple...?
Why would the Empire just hand a letter?
Was there more to it?
“There's definitely more to it.
I could tell that they deed the ring on my finger far more important than fixing the relics themselves. In that regard, I also knew why.
At the end of the day, what I believed they were truly interested in wasn't the relics, but the blood contained within them.
Whether this was sothing that the Emperor wanted, or the “God’ that was working with him, I wasn't sure. However, this was my most likely guess about the situation.
“Is everything okay? I caught a glimpse of the letter, and..."
Hearing Leon's words and seeing his expression, I put the letter in my pocket.
“I wouldn't be making a face like this if I were."
I also started to worry about Caius a little. It was clear from his actions that sothing was happening within the Empire. The fact that he'd need to pretend to cooperate with them was telling enough.
I'd like to contact him, but he's most likely monitored. Things look fine for now, but I'm not sure how long that can keep going.
This entire situation felt weird to .
The worst part of it all was that I now felt like I had a target on my back. I knew that the letter wasn't just a warning from the Empire. They had most likely already started doing sothing, and the letter was rely so sort of formality.
"Leon."
I looked at Leon.
"Does your skill detect anything?"
"My skill..2"
“Yes, anything off with the situation?"
"That's..." As if realizing sothing, Leon frowned. However, after a while, he shook his head. "No, nothing. I don't sense anything."
I see
I bit my lips, trying my best to figure out the situation.
Just as I fell into my thoughts, Linus's voice chid in.
“What are you trying to figure out?"
“That's nothing for you to be concerned with," I replied, dismissing him to so extent. I didn't think he'd be able to help us.
But Leon thought otherwise.
“The Empire sent Julien a letter. They're looking for his ring. The letter is pretty formal from what I've gathered, and it looks like they're willing to pay so money for the ring, but in case of rejection, I'm afraid..."
“They're going to try and take it by force?" Linus interjected.
“Yes, pretty much.” Leon replied, adding sothing else, "And the two of us suspect that they've already done that. But we can't prove it."
"Oh."
Linus's brows furrowed tightly as he finally understood the situation. In the end, he turned his attention towards my pocket.
"May I... see the letter?" He asked after a mont of hesitation.
I frowned, but I didn't know what I'd lose from it as I gave it to him.
"Do you have sothing in mind?"
“Err... Maybe."
Linus answered, opening up the letter and fixing the creases. He then began to read it as Leon and I stared at him in silence.
Eventually, under my surprised eyes, Linus's eyes glowed a certain hue. It looked to be between azure and white.
The mont his eyes glowed, the letter turned transparent.
it was at that mont that we all noticed the black threads woven into the letter, spiraling like so insidious parasite, each tendril shifting and coiling with a disturbing semblance of life.
oi
My eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight.
What sort of...!
“Ukht Ah, shit!"
Linus suddenly tossed the paper to the side as a tendril moved towards his hand and latched onto it.
I hurriedly reached for his hand, but by the ti I did, the tendril was gone.
A stifling silence followed.
All eyes were drawn to the letter on the floor.
"Hisss."
Drawing a cold breath, I looked at Linus.
“What was the skill that you just used?"
“Eyes of Truth." Latest content published on noⅴelfire
Linus replied shortly after, pointing at his eyes.
“It cos from a Terror Ranked bone I acquired not too long ago. It allows to see through things that the normal eye can't."
"That's..."
I pinched the middle of my brows after a mont of thought. Thinking back to the ti when we were running away, and everything else, I nearly felt like slapping him on the back of his head. However, as if reading my thoughts, Linus interjected.
“The skill is rather easy to detect when directed towards a certain direction. Even if I were to use it to see through the walls and tell if soone was present, they'd know it as well. It's still a rather new ability, so I don't have much control over it."
“That makes sense."
I knew firsthand how troubleso so abilities were. Especially *[Step of Suppression]**. Back before its evolution, it took a long ti to develop the skill properly. The sa went for the threads.
Maybe I can do even more with * [Eye of Existence]**. I need to practice more with it. Yet again, I was reminded of all the things that I needed to do.
“Let's leave that aside for now."
I shifted my focus back onto the letter, my brows knitting tightly as I recalled the black tendrils within the simple letter.
“What exactly was that... And did it enter my body?"
I imdiately tried to check my body, but regardless of how I looked, I couldn't sense a single thing. This made frown.
I knew that whatever had happened wasn't simple.
And yet, I couldn't do anything to check.
No, wait...
I looked at Linus.
“Check my body."
"Huh?"
“Use your skill on my body. Check if the weird black thing entered my body."
“But—"
“What does it matter? You're my brother. Don't be weird."
After pulling a few strange faces, Linus's eyes suddenly began to glow. A chill swept through my body almost instantly, and in that mont, I understood why he'd been so reluctant to use the skill.
It was quite obvious that he was using it. It would practically give our location away. “That said, I can see that the skill is extrely useful. If he can manage to train it to the point where he can do it subtly and without anyone noticing, I can see it beco an extrely valuable asset’
oi
Suddenly seeing Linus's face changed, my heart sank.
“Did you find sothing? Did it enter my body? Where is it...2"
I.
Linus looked at , his expression a mix of horror and shock. Eventually, taking a step back, he swallowed nervously.
“You... L."
“What? Spit it out."
I started to grow annoyed.
Just what—
"Everywhere."
He mumbled, his expression growing even more horrified.
“I can see the tendrils all over your body."
All semblance of thought left my mind in that mont. Staring at Linus, I eventually focused my gaze on the ring on my finger.
In the end, it wasn't like I wasn't affected. I was. I just never knew about it"
I drew a cold breath, trying my best to remain calm.
When I looked up, I saw the worried look on Leon's face. And just as he was about to say sothing, Linus continued.
"But it's strange."
"What's strange..?"
Leon asked, turning his entire attention to Linus. In the end, with a frown marring his features, Linus comnted, "While his entire body is covered in the weird black tendrils, none of them are attacking his body. It's almost as if they can't. No, wait... I see very small amounts trying to, but it's extrely small. Ughht" Linus ruffled his hair in annoyance. "I don't know. This is way too complicated."
Linus turned his attention towards Leon. "...You, on the other hand, don't have as many as him. But you do have so. But as opposed to Julien, they're entering your body and fusing with your bloodstream. Thankfully, the quantity is much lower."
“What...2"
Leon's face changed.
“I have them 100?"
“Just a little bit"
“I'm not very different. One entered my not too long ago."
The room fell silent shortly after that. Neither of us made a sound as I took a deep breath and relaxed my mind. I started to get an idea of what was going on.
A lot of things started to beco clear in my mind.
“It's like the blacksmith said. The relics are dangerous. They are called evil for a reason. They slowly corrupt the minds of everyone who wears them. The most shocking part is that they are incredibly hard to detect. If not for Linus, I would've never have known that I had such things inside of my body."
It was worrying to know.
But thankfully, it didn't look like it could affect .
At least, not to a great degree. And I knew the exact reason.
“t's most likely got to do with the blood inside of my body."
My original blood was preventing the tendrils from entering my body. However, given that I didn't have the full amount of blood inside of , so still managed to get into my body.
This brought to rise several questions.
In particular...
“When I had lost all of the blood, what happened then?"
In the mont that I went to the Mirror Dinsion and adapted a different identity... What exactly happened to ?
Did the tendrils fuse with my body? If so, to what degree?
I started to grow incredibly worried.
I had to find a way to check. Thankfully, I knew the perfect person who could do this. She was soone that I trusted quite a lot, and my... fiance.
After a lot of thought over the past months, and musing over her situation for quite so ti, I had long made up my mind.
In order to make sure no misunderstandings ca to rise, and to have her help , I planned on coming clean to her.
Tomorrow...
I planned on telling her everything about . (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)
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