Charles's hands trembled slightly as he held the letter. Instinctively, he gripped the edges of the paper tightly.
"I had already anticipated this outco, but facing it for real is still sowhat hard to accept," Charles said slowly.
For a brief mont, he felt as if the entire world before him had suddenly gone quiet, as if soone had pressed the pause button.
The surroundings seed to stretch infinitely, expanding to a size that made him uncomfortable.
Since that day.
Everything had changed. His once-proud talents were now restricted and cursed.
Those close to him had either left this world or drifted further away from him.
Charles had essentially lost everything.
Celestine had also returned to Lsengard a few months ago.
Before she left, she had asked Charles if he wanted to return with her to that small city.
Charles declined, saying he still had a promise to fulfill with Grace, needed to search for his parents, and wanted to wait to head to the Cyber Academy headquarters to see Catherine one more ti.
He carefully placed the letter into the pocket of his chest.
Charles patted his chest and turned to walk towards the library.
The constant stream of bad news seed to have no effect on him. Charles completely shut himself off, frantically studying a vast amount of material while trying to find information about Lucas.
As autumn faded and spring returned,
in the second year since arriving in Calivia, Charles had entirely removed himself from the public eye.
A new batch of students arrived at the Cyber Academy.
So curiously stared at the large screen outside the trial tower, pointing at the nas on the leaderboard and asking:
"Who is this Charles? He's amazing! He accomplished so much in such a short ti!"
The older students were montarily taken aback, struggling to recall anything about Charles.
After a while, they slowly replied, "He was once a genius, but now he's a waste."
"A waste? Soone like that has now beco a waste?" the new students said in disbelief.
The older students continued to explain, "Yes, it's been nearly two years, and he's still a Level 4 Beast Master. What else could he be but a waste?"
Almost two years was enough to change most things.
Those who once looked up to Charles had now beco Level 5 Beast Masters themselves.
The topic of Charles was no longer ntioned, it was as if everything that had happened before had never occurred.
Ti passed quickly,
and there were only two or three months left until the duel he promised Grace.
Charles was still a Level 4 Beast Master, and his strength simply could not improve. The effects of the curse exceeded everyone's imagination.
According to reliable sources,
Grace had beco a Level 6 Beast Master, rising as a new star in Genosha!
Few people rembered the promise between Charles and Grace, as hardly anyone paid attention to Charles. Even if so individuals knew, they didn't care, to them, Charles seed completely hopeless.
The once-admired genius was now left far behind by others, standing still and motionless.
The disparity between then and now was enough to drive anyone to despair.
Charles remained just as he had been before, showing no signs of despair.
Until that day, when Grace, now a Level 6 Beast Master, sought him out.
"Give up, the gap between us is too vast. You're still a Level 4 Beast Master, you can't compete with at all," Grace said, lifting her chin high.
Her gaze was condescending, and she appeared utterly relaxed, dismissing Charles entirely as she arrogantly declared, "You will beco my servant, that's a done deal. From now on, you'll focus on creating the miracle drug."
Charles did not respond, he simply raised his arm to look at the mark of the [human contract].
"Oh, are you still not giving up? Let tell you so new information: Lucas is dead." Grace was visibly annoyed by the calm expression on Charles's face.
She revealed a shocking piece of news: Lucas, a Level 9 Beast Master, was dead!
Charles's pupils constricted sharply, showing a hint of surprise as he slowly asked, "What about the staff? Lucas's golden-quality staff?"
"It shattered. Charles, the curse on you can no longer be lifted. You should just focus on being a high-level alchemist from now on." Grace watched Charles's anxious reaction with evident pleasure.
She stretched her graceful body, wearing a broad smile as she observed Charles fall into silence.
"I've told you before, you're just a commoner. So what if you once had an Level 8 Beast Master as a teacher? You will only be my servant from now on, forever obeying my commands."
Grace looked closely at Charles's expression and noticed little change. Confused, she continued:
"What's wrong? Feeling defeated? You're not about to completely fall apart, are you? Charles, you really are fragile."
Charles still chose to remain silent, turning to leave decisively.
His indifferent deanor and actions infuriated Grace, who had co to flaunt her superiority. She stomped her feet in anger and shouted:
"Charles, do you really think you're that genius from two years ago? You're just a commoner, and now you're nothing but a waste! It's been two years, and you're still a Level 4 Beast Master!"
The commotion quickly drew a crowd. They watched Charles's departing figure and then turned their attention to the still-fuming Grace, murmuring among themselves.
"Wow, Charles really deserves his reputation. He can still stay calm even now. If it were , I would have completely broken down."
"Calmness doesn't change anything, does it? Right now, Charles is just a waste."
"That's true. Charles will probably only ever be a Level 6 Beast Master, even until he dies."
Ignoring the surrounding chatter and various taunts, Charles continued his daily routine of going to the library and practicing in the training room.
Until one night, after he finished a busy day and was about to return to his dormitory,
a mysterious voice erged from the darkness behind him:
"Charles, I've told you before, everything is a matter of destiny."
Charles suddenly turned around. He recognized the voice, it seed to belong to an elder from the [Constellation] organization, an Level 8 Beast Master!
In an instant,
Charles's muscles tensed up as he entered a state of combat readiness.
But the next second, he relaxed his combat stance,
because he felt an oddly familiar aura from this mysterious person. He asked:
"Is it you? Have you already beco a Level 9 Beast Master?"
The person nodded and continued, "I can help you lift the curse on you, and I can also help you beco a Level 6 Beast Master in a short ti!"
"Then, those so-called geniuses will once again witness your terror, the true monster!"
Charles was montarily stunned upon hearing this, and then his breathing beca rapid as he anxiously asked:
"Everything has a price. What do I need to pay?"
The Level 9 Beast Master from [Constellation] raised the corners of his mouth excitedly and replied:
"It's simple: join us, integrate with us, beco one of us!"
"Is that all? Do I not need to do anything else?" Charles felt that things couldn't be that simple.
"No need. Destiny has already arranged everything. All we need to do is follow its guidance." The mysterious man beca fervent,
his whole body trembling, his face twisted under the cloak, filled with excitent and joy.
"I have heard the holy voice of the divine, Charles. Just drink this, and the curse on you will naturally be lifted!" The mysterious man pulled out a vial of miracle drug from his robe.
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It was a bottle of black miracle drug, exuding an incredibly eerie aura. The black liquid inside the glass vial surged wildly, as if it were alive.
Charles took just one glance and imdiately felt as if soone was whispering incessantly in his ear.
The voice sounded like the cries of a newborn child, yet also like the dying murmurs of an elderly person, accompanied by chaos, fear, and despair.
It took Charles a while to regain his composure, and he hesitated.
At that mont, the mysterious man spoke again: "You can hold onto it for now, the choice is yours, Charles. The duel with Grace is about to begin. Are you really willing to spend your life as a re high-level alchemist?"
"The death of Catherine was no simple matter, and I know a bit about your parents' whereabouts. They are in great danger."
Upon hearing this, Charles hurriedly pressed, "What do you know? Tell ! Tell everything!"
The mysterious man placed the black miracle drug on the grass without answering Charles. He took a small step back, and in an instant, he vanished into the darkness.
Only a lingering voice remained: "Charles, you only have this one chance. Think it over carefully."
Looking at the eerie black miracle drug on the ground, Charles hesitated for a mont,
but then slowly walked over and bent down to pick it up.
...
In the Genosha royal palace,
Miles, Jamie, and the others stared at the screen, still in shock and unable to recover.
In the illusion, Charles had spent nearly two years, while in reality, only a little over ten minutes had passed.
The thoughts of a Level 9 Beast Master are indeed beyond the grasp of ordinary people!
What they originally thought was the entirety of the trial of the heart,
the events that unfolded on the sky bridge, turned out to be rely a prelude!
Everything that happened in the sky bridge illusion, as well as the curse transfer after erging from the illusion, was all designed to imrse Charles completely in the subsequent illusion.
Charles believed the trial of the heart was over, but in fact, the real trial of the heart illusion had just begun!
"Oh my God, even an Level 8 Beast Master wouldn't be able to sense this!" Miles instinctively exclaid, then turned to Jamie beside him.
Jamie swallowed hard and replied, "From our perspective, there might be so inconsistencies, but for soone trapped in the illusion, it's very difficult to notice. Even I wouldn't be able to detect anything unusual."
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