The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 180

Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Alacryan Glimpse

With my stomach filled with leftovers and Alanis, my training attendant, dismissed for the night, I retrieved Sylvie from Ellie and arrived back in my room.

“Are you ready?” I asked my bond, who had been waiting on the bed while I’d taken a shower.

“So. What is it that you’re so excited about?” she replied, fidgeting impatiently in her fox form.

It wasn’t easy trying to steer my thoughts away from the “loot” that I’d gotten from fighting Uto in order to surprise Sylvie. I had to distract myself by thinking random thoughts and numbers to confuse her on our way back.

After making sure the door was locked and activating both earth and wind perception spells, I finally withdrew the two obsidian horns from my ring.

My bond’s sharp eyes widened as she gazed at the black crystals that were once embedded on a retainer. “Don’t tell me...”

“Yup,” I said excitedly. “They’re Uto’s horns.”

“Why?” she asked, confused.

Realizing that she never heard the full story, I summarized everything that had happened after she had been knocked out after saving me from Uto’s last attack.

By the time I had finished my story, Sylvie’s vulpine face was twisted to show a mixture of emotions.

“It’s scary to think how easily we could’ve been killed,” she said after a long pause.

I nodded. “I couldn’t do anything when Seris showed up. But even if she hadn’t, I’m not sure we would’ve been able to defeat Uto.”

“It seems like as we grow stronger, so do our enemies,” she sighed. Her gaze shifted back to the two horns on the bed. “So these horns supposedly contain vast amounts of mana that you can extract? Is it really safe to trust the scythe?”

“Considering the Asuras are forbidden by the treaty to help us anymore and Seris could’ve killed me whenever she wanted, I don’t think it’s too much of a risk.”

Sylvie thought for a moment as she pawed at the horns that were each the size of her head. “Well... if they help you get into white core, it’ll certainly help us.”

I picked up only one of the horns. “This will be enough for me. You extract the other one.”

My bond opened her mouth, ready to argue, but I cut her off. “You said that your body is still undergoing the awakening process that Lord Indrath made you undergo. I know your body has been constantly extracting ambient mana, which is why you’ve been sleeping more, so I’m sure extracting mana from Uto’s horn will help quicken that process.”

“To be honest. I haven’t been as active in trying to hasten the awakening process,” Sylvie replied. “I’m afraid that, with my awakening as a full asura, I won’t be able to assist you anymore.”

“You nearly died in that last fight, Sylv,” I said, putting my hand on top of my bond’s small head. “Besides, your mother cast a pretty powerful spell before you were born to conceal you. It’s why even in your draconic form, no one was able to tell you were an asura.”

“Grandfather mentioned that, but as I get stronger it’s going to get harder to hide what I am,” Sylvie replied bitterly.

A wave of grief flooded my mind and I could feel the bits and pieces of the story that Lord Indrath had told Sylvie about her mother.

“I’m not exactly sure what’s going to happen when you get strong enough to awaken, but we’ll overcome that hurdle once we get there,” I comforted.

“We always do,” my bond agreed with a smile.

Holding the black horn gingerly in my hands, I peeked a glance at Sylvie. “So...should we start now?”

Sylvie placed a paw on the horn in front of her. “I don’t see why not.”

After repositioning myself more comfortably, I took a deep breath. I started slow, probing the insides of the horn with a thread of my mana.

With elixirs, the contents stored inside would be distributed upon contact with a mage’s purified mana. With the horns, however, there were no noticeable reactions even after searching deeper.

Minutes trickled by with no sign of anything stored within Uto’s horns. I started to consider the possibility that the mana inside might’ve dispersed upon being severed from the retainer’s head, when suddenly an indescribable force pulled at my very mind.

Unlike any elixir—or any thing, for that matter—I’d used in the past, my consciousness seemed to be getting sucked in.

I felt a surge of panic as I felt myself blacking out.

Quite literally. A shroud of shadow spread, covering my vision and all of my other senses until I was simply in darkness.

Calm down, Arthur. Your body is still safely inside your room.

That didn’t help me at all. The fact that my mind had been forced into a certain state and was vulnerable scared me. Coming to this world, I was born with a new body—new physical features that took me years to adjust to—but my mind was the same through both lives. My brain, or every part of my brain responsible for my memories and personality, was mine throughout my years as Grey and Arthur.

Right now, I felt my consciousness at the full mercy of whatever force had dragged me into wherever I was.

I was surrounded in darkness, but it wasn’t pitch black. The shadows around me warped and stirred like various shades of dark ink. It was a surreal feeling—perceiving something without a body. Somehow, I could feel the force around me, slithering in the darkness, but I didn’t have a body.

After what felt like hours of floating mindlessly in the sea of darkness, the force surrounding me slowly began shifting. It was different from the erratic, chaotic movements up until now—the shadows felt like they were being pulled away. The obsidian veil slowly began lifting, and what I was left with wasn’t the view of my own room like I had been expecting.

No. I was standing in front of an unfamiliar man inside an extravagant cathedral with a vaulted ceiling, beautifully stained glass and endless rows of pews packed with observers glowing in reverence. The man, who looked no older than my father, wore a ceremonial robe and was kneeled in front of me in respect.

What’s done is done. I didn’t like the idea of my future weapon resembling Uto’s powers, but at this point, anything would help if it meant hastening the process.

Turning to Sylvie, I wasn’t surprised to find her still absorbing the contents of the horn. Unlike myself, she seemed to be having an easier time absorbing the foreign mana. What did surprise me was the fact that the sun was already coming up.