Free Web NovelChapter 55: The Missing Corpse
The clearing fell into an unusual silence the moment Sylveris spoke those words.
Regaleon was almost petrified by her words...
For a brief moment, even the wind itself seemed unsure whether to continue moving. Then, the young girl continued.
"So Regaleon, tell us about your Runes." ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
That statement was said lightly, almost innocently but somehow, it carried the weight of inevitability, like a door being gently closed behind someone with no intention of reopening it.
The silver-haired Knight stared at Sylveris. The young girl was smiling again; sweet, composed, and harmless on the surface. But Regaleon had already learned that her harmless expressions often hid the sharpest intent in the group.
A faint sense of danger crawled up his spine and just before he could respond...
"Wait!"
Veyrath suddenly raised a hand, eyes lighting up like a man had just remembered something critical.
"Before you talk about any more boring Runes, can you tell us about the most important thing we need to know first. You know, about the rune that made you evolve..."
Kaeloris pushed his glasses up slightly. "You mean his evolution rune?"
"Yes!" Veyrath nodded aggressively. "That one. I think we’ve suffered enough ’average Rune storytelling’ for one day."
Caelestra immediately narrowed her eyes. "You do realize that you just insulted yourself along with everyone else, right?"
Veyrath simply shrugged. "Do i look like I care? I just want the answers."
In seconds, every gaze in the clearing shifted... And landed on Regaleon.
This wasn’t just attention in the normal sense, it was pressure. The kind that made silence feel heavy, like an armour of stone being strapped onto one’s chest without consent.
Regaleon exhaled slowly. Then with a faint metallic resonance, he retracted his helmet into his Armour...
Silver hair spilled lightly over his golden eyes as he looked at them...
"Like I explained yesterday, I don’t even know if my Halberd’s evolution is tied to a Rune." He stated calmly. "And if it is, I don’t even know the name of the Rune it is supposed to be..."
Kaeloris frowned instantly. "But that’s impossible. I mean, every awakening phenomenon has a structure. A name. A classification; at least something to identify them."
Regaleon shook his head. "What I felt wasn’t something structured. It didn’t feel like something I awakened. In fact, it was more like my Soul Essences were the ones actually feeling it and I just happen to reflect their desire..."
That single statement shifted the air instantly...
"Are you trying to tell us that your Soul Essences have... Intent? Or awareness?"
Regaleon hesitated for a brief moment, then he nodded. "I guess that is one way to put it."
Kaeloris rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, this is getting more inconveniently mysterious by the second..."
Caelestra folded her arms and scoffed. "So what? Are we suppose to stand here and listen to what Regaleon himself is unsure of? Or is he going to talk about his Essence Runes?"
"And why shouldn’t we?" Vaelorin asked with a raised brow. "If we can somehow crack the mystery behind his evolution, don’t you think it is something that would be beneficial to us than listening to boring Essence Runes?"
Caelestra didn’t hesitate as she shot back instantly. "I think you are the last person who should be talking about productivity... You depraved scumbag."
"Hey...!"
"Enough!"
For the first time, Kaeloris’ voice was stern, cutting through their bickering cleanly.
Then, he turned towards the Forgotten Knight and asked more carefully this time.
"Regaleon, has your House ever recorded anything similar? Like, have there been a precedent before?"
Regaleon’s expression did not change visibly, but something in his eyes dimmed slightly.
"I wouldn’t know..."
"And why is that?" Veyrath asked curiously.
Regaleon was unusually silent for a few moments... Then he answered.
"Because I am a bastard."
The words were simple... But the weight they carried was anything but that because instantly, the atmosphere became somber at his statement...
Regaleon continued, his voice steady but distant at the same time.
"Being a bastard, I didn’t get access to the House records. Besides, I never cared enough to dig into a history that has no place in it for me."
Silence lingered longer this time...
Then, Sylveris gently asked.
"Then, what did you do growing up as what you are?"
The question shifted something in him as memories about his past came rushing back.
Regaleon looked slightly past them, into the twisted trees, as though seeing something far away...
"Actually, I focused more on my Chivalries while growing up." He stated.
"Chivalries?" Sylveris tilted her head and asked. "What are those?"
The silver-haired Knight turned toward her and smiled faintly.
"You see, Chivalries are like rites of passage for a growing knight. In House Valehart, for an aspirant to become a full-fledged knight, he or she must go through twelve trials. Each trial is not just a test of strength, but a test of identity..."
Sylveris fixed her silver eyes on him as he explained further.
"The first trial is called the Chivalry of the First Quarry..."
He paused briefly, then continued.
"I was twelve when I underwent this one. In this trial, I was sent alone into the wild with no weapons or tools; I had to track and bring down a beast on my own..."
"I’m sure that it must have been tough for your twelve years old self when you went through it." Sylveris said sympathetically.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile crossed Regaleon’s lips as he replied softly.
"Actually, it was quite easy... Because then, I had the teachings of my mother. You see, she was the one who prepared me mostly before the Chivalry..."
Sylveris eyes glimmered as she asked. "Was you mother also a knight? And where is she...?"
"Sylveris, that’s enough!" Aureleah cautioned immediately.
Hearing her sister, the young girl was quick to shut her mouth before turning her head away.
Meanwhile, Regaleon snapped out of his daze like stepping out of deep water...
"Right. So what were we talking about before?"
Veyrath, unable to stay serious for long, replied teasingly.
"So basically... We were talking about your evolution before you decided to walk down memory lane, mummy’s boy."
Regaleon glanced at him cooly, then ignored the failed Alchemist’s nonsense.
Kaeloris, ever analytical, shifted the conversation back to something serious.
"Right. Regaleon, before that evolution happened... Did anything occur consistently that you feel might lead to it?"
The Forgotten Knight thought hard, then his golden eyes narrowed.
"Now that you asked, yes. I did notice something strange before that evolution. Whenever I killed those Wights... My Soul Essences tend to absorb something from them..."
"What do they absorb?"
"I don’t know exactly, but I can say that it is certainly not Aether. In fact, I don’t think it is any kind of energy that I know. Perhaps, it is something fundamental than that. Also, it isn’t just the Wights, it also happened when I killed the Drake and a monstrosity..."
Valmyr then asked. "So basically, it wasn’t just crushing those Aether Cores that made you evolve."
Kaeloris voice lowered slightly as he added. "Perhaps, the evolution was not just triggered by Aether consumption, but by essence assimilation. I mean, maybe what your Soul Essences were actually absorbing from those creatures might be their leftover life force."
"Ugh. Rather than just theorizing, how about we put it into practice." Valmyr suggested.
"And how do we do that? We already destroyed the Wight’s Breeding Nest, remember?" Vaelorin asked.
"Didn’t you hear Regaleon? It is not just wight that it happened to, he can also sap whatever it is from other creatures. So I propose we hunt for a beast."
"Uhm, guys. What if we need Aether Cores to test that theory in the end?" Vaelorin asked.
"Don’t worry about that. There is still that Drake’s corpse from yesterday, remember? Perhaps, it might have an Aether Core in it." Valmyr suggested.
"So we check out the Drake’s corpse first and if there is a Core, we take it. If there isn’t, we hunt a creature that would have a Core in it, then."
Nobody argued with what the failed Alchemist suggested and without hesitation, Regaleon led the group back to the cave behind the waterfall curtain.
Inside the cave, the aftermath of the battle between the silver-haired Knight and the twisted Drake still remainimed; shattered Essence Crystals, scattered Saintsky Roses and Rainbow Stream Sprouts, cracked scales and blackened blood staining the cave walls...
Yet, it was not all the evidence that was present because something was missing...
"Uhm guys, where did the Drake’s corpse go?"
Veyrath asked while pointing to the empty spot the fallen Drake was supposed to be.
