Free Web NovelChapter 37: Evolving To A Tier
The cavern did not simply light up.
It collapsed into brilliance.
A blinding silver radiance burst outward from Regaleon’s position, swallowing every shadow, every stain of blood, and every rough edge of stone until the world itself felt rewritten.
The light didn’t behave like fire or magic or any known phenomenon; it spread with a strange order, as it something unseen had decided the cavern should no longer look the way it did.
The air was thick with pressure as the light rolled outward.
Then... The Halberd in Regaleon’s hand trembled...
It wasn’t violent at first; just a faint vibration, like something inside it had suddenly awakened and was trying to remember how to move.
Then, slowly... It slipped free from his grasp and rose into the air as though gravity itself had forgotten it existed.
The silver Soul Essence hovered before them, rotating faintly, its edge glinting with a clear, sharpened light.
Regaleon blinked once, surprise flickering in his face...
"What’s going on?" Veyrath demanded, shielding his eyes as he stared at he floating Essence.
Regaleon didn’t answer immediately; not because he ignored him but because there was nothing in him that could produce an answer.
He had simply acted by that strange feeling and then, this happened...
The silver radiance pulsed for some moments. Then, as suddenly as it had exploded, it began to recede...
Like a tide that is withdrawing...
The brightness dimmed, folding back into the Halberd itself. Then, the Soul Essence drifted downward, gentle and controlled, before settling back into Regaleon’s hand naturally.
Silence followed... The kind that arrives after something incomprehensible had unfolded; something that couldn’t be explained by logic.
Regaleon looked down at the Halberd.
For a moment, he simply observed it.
Then like a warrior testing the weight of his steel, he moved...
Without warning, he turned his wrist and swung it. The motion was instinctive; not as a test, but as a confirmation.
The blade cut through the air with a whisper that hadn’t existed before.
The wight was gone; not reduced, but refined as it no longer resisted his movements. Instead, it followed it like a thought after intention.
Regaleon’s brows raised as he weighed the Halberd once again. Then, he swung out...
There was a diagonal slash...
Then a thrust...
Then a spinning arc that should have required effort but instead felt like guiding water through a channel already made for it.
After some time, his movements slowed; not because he was tired, but because he was trying to truly understand what had changed about the Halberd.
The others simply watched in silence...
Even Valmyr, who usually had something to say about everything, found no immediate words...
Veyrath was now squinting at the Halberd as though it might suddenly decide to reveal all its secret...
Finally, Regaleon stopped and rested the Halberd next to him...
And that was when Veyrath finally stepped forward, breaking the silence.
"...What was that?" He asked.
The previous anger on his face had long since been replaced by something else as he stared at the Halberd unblinkingly.
"What did you just do?"
The otters shifted closer, attention fully locked onto Regaleon.
He stood at the curiosity in their eyes and then looked at his Soul Essence...
"I don’t know." He said, the words almost coming out like a whisper; soft and uncertain.
"I simply followed a strange feeling and shattered the Aether Core which caused my Halberd to react the way it did."
Valmyr scratched the back of his head in confusion.
"So you’re saying that breaking the Aether Core caused all of that?"
Regaleon shook his head once more.
"I’m not sure. But I can feel something different about it."
He lifted his Halberd slightly before continuing...
"It seems light, sharper, and more responsive somehow..."
Then his fingers tightened around it.
"Also, my Armour suddenly seem to react with it. As though they’re aligned. They are not yet identical... But it is just enough for them to synchronize."
There was a slight pause...
Then Regaleon spoke calmly, as if testing the words on his tongue.
"...It feels like my Halberd has evolved into a new Tier."
At that, the cavern went still immediately.
"Evolved...?" Veyrath repeated slowly. Then his voice cracked. "Did you just say your Soul Essence evolved?"
He stepped forward instantly, invading Regaleon’s personal space without hesitation much to the Forgotten Knight’s chagrin...
"...As in Tier advancement? From Baron to Viscount Tier?" Veyrath asked in disbelief. "All because you crushed a core...?"
"Yes." Regaleon replied flatly. "Now step back. You are disturbing me with this much proximity."
Veyrath didn’t reply. Instead, the failed Alchemist simply stared at him for a long, stunned moment...
Then, his gaze flickered, sharp and calculating, as he turned to the Core in Valmyr’s hand.
Something dangerous lit up in his eyes and Valmyr noticed it instantly...
The failed Vanguard was quick to pull the Aether Core to his chest and growled...
"I saw it first, so it is mine..."
Veyrath scoffed loudly. "...So what? I need it more than you..."
And before any of them could react, the failed Alchemist lunged...
Valmyr reacted a heartbeat too late and they ended up colliding hard onto the cavern floor...
"Get off me, you lunatic!" Valmyr snarled, wrestling him back.
"Give me the Core first!" Veyrath barked, clinging to Valmyr’s arm like a man grasping unto salvation.
"Absolutely not!"
The duo rolled across the gore in a struggle, kicking up torn flesh and splashing black blood, while the rest of the cohort watched in astonishment...
Caelestra sighed like a tired mother. "...I can’t believe these two are suppose to be adults."
Vaelorin chuckled under his breath before saying.
"They look like two nobles fighting over an inheritance..."
Then Kaeloris added dryly. "Nah! Not that, it looks more like the scene where a is man trying to steal another man’s lover."
Even during the fight, Veyrath managed to shout out.
"THAT’S NOT HOW THIS LOOKS LIKE."
With that, Valmyr finally managed to shove him off...
Then he stood, breathing heavily. And before the failed Alchemist could react, Valmyr crushed the Core in his palm swiftly...
"NO!!! MY PRECIOUS CORE!" Veyrath screamed dramatically, with his hands reaching out as if he was trying to reverse time.
Caelestra gave him a disgusted stare.
"Get a hold of yourself. You look utterly pathetic."
Then, Vaelorin smirked before adding. "As though someone just stole your lover."
Kaeloris nodded to his statement. "He’s right. You really look like a cuck."
With that, the group burst out into laughter. All except for Veyrath, and now Valmyr who was watching the shattered Core intently and expectantly...
At first, moments passed and nothing happened...
Then, a faint wisp rose. This one was amber tinged with a violet hue. It rose slowly, delicately, and lively...
The laughter died instantly as they watched the wisp drifted upward...
Then, it moved toward Valmyr...
It inched closer... Then closer... And closer...
Hope flickered across the failed Vanguard’s face as he watched...
Then... The wisp dispersed; vanishing with Valmyr’s like smoke swallowed by wind.
There was absolute silence.
Valmyr froze. Then slowly, his expression changed... freeωebnovēl.c૦m
"What the hell...?!" He said, brows creasing in confusion.
Even others were confused when the energy disappeared.
But that was when Veyrath burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! I knew it!" He wheezed. "You were not built for something fortunate. You should have given it to me!"
Valmyr glared at him sharply. "...Says the man who almost died twice this night. Between us, who actually has the bad luck?"
Then, an argument flared instantly between the duo.
But Kaeloris ignored the idiots. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Regaleon as he asked, "How did you do it?"
That drew the group back as Vaelorin nodded.
"He’s right. When you broke the Core, your Halberd evolved. But Valmyr broke it and came out empty-handed. What’s the difference between you two?"
All eyes turned to Regaleon. Even the silver-haired Knight paused as he thought hard...
What was he supposed to say?
That he didn’t know?
That something inside him had simply demanded it?
That he had followed an impulse he didn’t understand?
His mind was a whirlpool of thoughts. Then he said stated simply. "I don’t know."
He also added the only plausible explanation he could think of. "Maybe it has something to do with my Essence Runes."
The explanation didn’t sound crazy, yet the group remained unconvinced.
None of them had ever heard of Essence Runes having such a function. And though they aren’t aware of all the Essence Runes in existence, they were still sure that Essence Runes do not behave like that.
What they had just witnessed... Was something that went beyond logic.
A faint silence settled over the cavern...
And through it, Aureleah watched Regaleon.
Her gaze kept returning to him; to the way he stood with his Halberd, to the confusion in his voice when he spoke, and to the fact that something about him simply didn’t fit the world they under.
There was neither suspicion nor wariness in her eyes; only something quieter and uninformed.
Like a thought that had not yet decided whether it was curiosity... Admiration... Or something far deeper and dangerous to name.
Was he truly just an abandoned noble heir..
Or something else entirely...?
Something greater... Or far more deadly than he is yet to realize?
