The door to the room closed with a click, but to Cairen, it sounded like the weaving of a new prison.
The luxury of the chamber, the rich tapestries, the soft bed, and the dark polished wood were nothing more than a gilded cage.
He remained for a mont with his back to the door, his breath slowly trying to calm, not from physical exertion but from the powerless fury still burning in his mind.
’Marriage?’
The word echoed in his thoughts, absurd and threatening. Marriage? He stared at the room ahead, his fists clenched. There was a bitter taste in his mouth.
She had simply thrown him into the center of a storm without his consent, treating him as a piece in a ga whose rules he didn’t even understand. From the very beginning.
Marrying soone you had tried to kill was insane.
He forced his breathing to steady and closed his eyes. Staying like this would get him nowhere. He needed clarity. He needed to understand what had happened to him, what had happened to his body.
Sitting on the floor, still leaning against the door, he focused inward.
"System." He called out suddenly, his voice carrying a trace of urgency and curiosity.
"What happened to ? How can I have affinity with water? Wasn’t my affinity supposed to be with Fallen energy?"
The response ca imdiately and chanically.
[The host possesses four affinities.]
[Affinity with water originates from the host’s original physical body.]
[Affinity with poison originates from the Fallen Narakai bloodline.]
[Affinity with darkness originates from the Fallen Elthar Bloodline.]
[The Fallen affinity erged after the host awakened as a Fallen.]
Cairen frowned, processing the information.
So, it had never been a replacent but an addition. His original human body, before any bloodline or system, had a natural predisposition toward water.
The Fallen bloodlines had brought poison and darkness. And the very nature of being a Fallen was an affinity in itself, a connection to the decaying energy that defined his current existence.
He sighed, the sound echoing through the silent room. At least now, it made sense.
"And what did the inheritance, the tempering with water Qi, do to my body?"
[Physical and ntal changes detected in the host.]
[The body was tempered by water, purifying it of impurities.]
[Comprehension has been exponentially increased, and the connection with the water elent has beco possible.]
A purification. He looked at his hands. His already pale skin seed even more so, almost translucent at certain angles. And indeed, despite the exhaustion, he felt a lightness, as if a weight he had always carried had been washed away.
His mind, too, felt sharper, his thoughts flowing with crystalline clarity. And deep within his being, he could feel the presence of water throughout the ship a calm, deep reservoir he could draw upon.
That led to the most important question.
"System. The seal. The connection between and the princess. Is there a way to remove it?"
Silence.
...
The absence of response was louder than any sound. The system remained still, inert.
"System!" he repeated, his voice firr.
"Is there a way to break the bond?"
Nothing. The chanical voice of the system had vanished once again, closing itself off from answering.
"Damn it!"
He cursed out loud, frustration bubbling once more. That was the main thing he needed to know, and the system chose now to go silent?
The exhaustion, delayed by adrenaline and anger, began to weigh on him even more. His limbs felt heavier, his eyelids drooping.
The battle within the inheritance, i Ran’s death, the absorption of the false Fallen, the absorption of the water energy, the inheritance itself, the confrontation with the elders, and his capture... all of it had drained his last reserves.
With a final sigh of resignation, he dragged himself to the soft bed. The comfort was an irresistible invitation.
He lay down, his body sinking into the mattress, and before he could continue his brooding, darkness enveloped him, pulling him into a deep, dreamless sleep.
****************************************************
Outside, in a private hall aboard the ship, Princess Ling stood before the old man.
"So? What really happened in there?" The old man’s voice was grave.
Ling had no trouble explaining.
"The inheritance seed, in truth, to be a seal. A seal ant to contain a malevolent spirit. The ’inheritance’ was actually a key to reinforce the seal, using the vital essence of those who entered."
"But there was still a chance, if one was compatible and withstood the trials... Cairen and I managed to assimilate the energies."
The old guardian frowned, his wrinkles deepening.
"And this bond you ntioned?"
"Part of the pact to obtain the inheritance’s power," she explained, omitting certain details.
"Our lives are linked now. And he... he’s strong. His bloodline also seems unique. It’s more advantageous to have him under our control than to let him beco a potential enemy or a tool in soone else’s hands."
"I’ll take good care of him..."
The old man studied the princess’s face for a long mont. Seeing the determination in her eyes, he finally nodded, a slow gesture of acceptance.
"So be it. I believe the King will leave this matter in your hands anyway," he murmured.
She inclined her head slightly in acknowledgnt. Without another word, she turned and withdrew to her quarters.
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