Chapter 1404: Chapter 1404 Bitterness from the Rebirth

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Several dozens of miles from Dargena City.

As instructed, Flunra and Prof. K—along with the Angels were heading to the Symposium of Upper Divinities. It is going to be a long journey, one that would take them days, or perhaps even weeks.

Other than them, there were also five more Awakened.

Most of them were Mind Elementalists to help scan the surroundings for any threat.

It would be best for them to avoid any confrontation with mutated animals or Order Beasts.

Remembering the situation of the world that they were not at the top of the food chains, the group needed to be discreet and careful. And because of that there were little to no fighters Awakened amongst them.

Even if a confrontation was unavoidable, Flunra would be the one to handle the situation.

Hence, Mind Elementalists were the best ones for the task.

Among them, there was Lady Lauren who would be leading the other four, strong Awakened.

Now, the group had come to a halt.

"Prof. K, which way?" Flunra asked, seeing that the forests were split into two paths.

Upon hearing this, Prof. K looked at the map the Elves had provided for them and pointed to the left path. Nodding his head, Flunra led the group to the left again. Atmosphere-wise, the forest was more foreboding and endless.

It was filled with vegetation.

Along the way, Prof. K found several mutated plants that he recognized.

Some of them—were considered to be very rare before the second awakening of the world, but now in the Second Breath, they have become common. Other than escorting the Angels to the Symposium of Upper Divinities, this journey also became a research journey.

Compared to the other major forces, the Clarentium Empires severely lacking in numbers.

Had it not for the affiliated kingdoms, the empire would only be several thousand strong.

Rex and the Silverstar Pack were the pillars, that put pressure on other forces, so Prof. K was not going to deny anything that could be used to strengthen the empire—and these new and fresh mutated plants might hold the key to quickening the empire's growth.

Not to mention, the group also needed to make several stops.

A lot of new mutated animals could be seen too.

Some of them were easily at the eight-rank realms—and there are one or two the group had encountered that possessed the power of a ninth-rank realm—this was completely different and somewhat made them feel puny.

Eighth-rank realm that was supposed to be respected became normal at best now.

Fortunately, since becoming the emissary for the Clarentium Empire—Lady Lauren and those close to her had gotten stronger two. Other than Lady Lauren, there were two out of the four who reached the ninth-rank realm.

Soon enough, the group found a lake.

It was not that big but managed to plastered a frown on Prof. K's countenance.

"Is there something wrong?" Lauren asked, noticing Prof. K's worry.

Upon hearing this, Flunra glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow, "What happened?"

"It's weird," Prof. K muttered, flipping the map in his hand—to multiple angles. "the map is not consistent. Everything was good until we reached this path, there shouldn't be any lake here, and the terrain also looked different"

Flunra scanned the area.

He also didn't recognize the terrain at all, he had never been here.

'Since the second breath had happened, the world changed. It should revert back to what it once was in the ancient era and I should recognize most places but since this is the Ancient Human's territory in the past, it's foreign to me' Flunra shook his head.

Had it been the Superrnaturals' territory, his mind was a literal map.

On top of that, his senses could also help him discern the place he was in.

But here, his knowledge of the past was rather ineffective.

"Everything changed," Flunra explained as he searched for alternatives. "the world you knew was no longer because of the Second Breath—the map was bound to be inaccurate in some parts. It's normal, the world has reverted back to what it once was in the ancient era"

"You mean..." Prof. K gasped and looked around.

He knew that the world changed but he didn't know about this.

Flunra nodded, "Yes, the world is beginning to resemble what it once was in the past."

Upon hearing that, Prof. K, Lauren, and the other Awakened take another good look—at their surroundings once again. All of them took in the entire world—with their senses, there was a weird feeling climbing inside them when they knew—that this was what the world looked like thousands of years ago.

Jutting trees that reached the sky and glowing vegetation in the shade, they processed it all.

Even the flowing water ahead—it was mana-infused, crystal clear and even shimmering.

It felt like their inner eyes were opened, especially for Prof. K.

Just then, Eryndor who was chained added, "It's not exactly the same, it's alike"

"I know," Flunra replied, sparing a brief glance at him.

Even though the atmosphere was beginning to mimic that of the ancient era, the terrain was not exactly the same. Navigating through this forest without the help of a map would make it impossible for them to reach the Symposium of Upper Divinities.

Since the world has gotten ten times bigger, this also become ten times harder.

However, as Flunra was contemplating, he recalled something.

Drawing blood by clawing his palm, Flunra used his own blood to create an ancient rune—on the ground. It was at least what the others thought—until they realized that he was creating, more than one ancient rune.

He created a formation that was at least comprised of eight sophisticated ancient runes.

One that even Eryndor, Radiel, and Catherine couldn't understand.

"It looked like a simple formation," Eryndor muttered—his eyes fixed on the bloody formation in shock. "a formation comprised of only eight runes, were considered a low-tier. However— that wasn't the case. Each one of these runes has more than fifteen strokes..."

Normal ancient runes would have five strokes while high-tier ancient runes would have ten.

Above that was beyond normal.

Only those who were an expert in runes could know even one ancient rune above ten strokes and not to mention, the mental strength—and focus required to create such a rune, would be immense so even if one knew how, drawing it was another thing entirely.

Flunra, on the other hand, created eight sophisticated ancient runes with relative ease.

He was sweating a little but that was about it.

Swoosh!

Upon making the last stroke, the entire formation glowed with vibrant blue runic energy.

And once again, the amount of runic energy was surprising.

It spread on the ground like wildfire and within the formation, a symbol appeared.

A bleeding maw symbol, one that Eryndor, and the other Angels instantly recognized—it was the symbol of the Werewolf's Origin. Once the symbol appeared, the symbol shot a torrent of energy skyward.

All eyes were fixed on the energy as it pierced the sky and disappeared.

Everyone looked back at Flunra with a questioning look.

Nothing happened, but in actuality—the effect was only reserved Flunra.

Only the creator of the formation could sense the effect.

Flunra inhaled deeply—as he caught sight of a peculiar sharp scent—he closed his eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. Curious—Prof. K asked, "What are you doing? Care to enlighten us?"

"Finding our destination," Flunra answered but he refused to elaborate.

Nodding his head, he waved his hand—scorching the formation before moving again.

"I'll lead the way, stick close to me," He said and leaped ahead.

...

Meanwhile, back to the Silken Citadel.

Like a rollercoaster, the situation turned from extremely grave to calm in an instant.

Everything returned back to normal—the calm breeze from the beach hit them again.

It was as if what had happened had never happened.

Rex, Kyran, Iris, Elder Tilrith, and Mavenna were nailed on their spots—panting.

Other than Elder Tilrith and Mavenna, none of them knew how dangerous the situation was.

Flesh is the vessel for a soul, it was what made living beings alive, but the flesh doesn't only serve that purpose. Another purpose was a layer of defense for the soul against magical and Supernatural forces.

Several powers existed out there that could harm the soul.

Since the soul was extremely fragile, a defensive layer was a must.

In order for these powers, to harm the soul, they would need to make direct contact, with the flesh. Only then would these powers be capable of doing anything to the soul. But earlier, the Invincible Apparition made a shocking move.

Catching Elder Tilrith and Mavenna off guard, the little boy sent a gentle soul attack.

A delicate attack that wasn't harmful to the soul.

But instead, it only extracted the soul—knocking it out of their bodies.

Only Iris and Kyran got their souls pulled out while Elder Tilrith and Mavenna persevered.

Having their souls separated from their flesh was perilous—an open invitation to annihilation.

In the face of defenseless souls—the Invincible Apparition held absolute dominion over these souls, free to twist, torment, or obliterate them at will since this was his personal space. With their souls defenseless in the open, death was but a whim away.

Knowing the peril, Mavenna decided to activate the trinket to call for King Jorik.

From the sidelines Mavenna observed intently—her eyes narrowing—as she witnessed Elder Tilrith's hell-void energy being overtaken—presumably by the Invincible Apparition itself. The situation made Elder Tilrith effectively useless in taking down this space.

However, if the portal was opened from the other side, the space would shatter instantly.

A bubble was created to create this fabricated space, enveloping the top of the citadel.

So when the portal was opened within the bubble—the converted hell-void energy surged through, forced to spill into the other side—the world beyond. Naturally, the energy wasn't vast enough to engulf the entire world as that's essentially impossible.

Because of that, the space broke—a fast-thinking by Mavenna.

On the other hand, King Jorik stepped in from the other side and looked around in confusion.

He saw Rex standing frozen like a statue, Elder Tilrith perched at the edge of the rooftop, while Iris, Kyran—and Mavenna lay sprawled on the ground. Each of them, wore flustered expressions, their faces etched with disbelief.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

King Jorik also felt the tension in the air was high, almost as if there had been a fight.

"What happened...?" He muttered, not knowing the danger these five had gone through.

Moments later.

Other than Rex and Elder Tilrith, the others walked out of the Silken Citadel.

Elder Tilrith checked Rex's soul earlier and it had returned back to what it was once.

It was riddled with cracks again, uncleaned.

Despite their efforts in cleaning Rex's soul—and begin, the soul-strengthening process, all of that was thrown out of the window because of the Invincible Apparition's appearance. It was a devastating realization.

Rex was evidently punched by this failure since time was not on his side.

His expression says it all.

But even then, he came to a decision that he would go through with the process.

Elder Tilrith would strengthen his soul as much as she could without wounding his soul.

Due to that, the others were kicked out.

Rex commanded it himself and the others didn't argue.

He probably needed the peace to contemplate his next move, Kyran, and the others did not know exactly but that was what they assumed. But one thing is for sure—this event caused the view they had on the Emperor to change.

Just like everyone, the Emperor is also a living being with faults.

Despite his appearance, he wasn't all-powerful.

Meanwhile, inside the Silken Citadel—Rex sat on the ground and faced the beach.

His encounter with the Invincible Apparition repeated in his mind.

"How is this possible?" Rex whispered and clenched his jaw. "System, is it true?"

"What does it mean by help?" Rex asked again. "Is it because of my recent habit?"

"So then what is it...? What does that thing mean by 'help'?" Rex massaged his forehead. "And what does it even mean by realizing what I truly want? What I want is to protect the others. Nothing else..."

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