Thane swung his greatsword through the air, sweat streaming down his resolute face. His mind was clouded with countless questions. Ever since he received the SiverFang badge, he had been able to feel a profound connection between himself and it. According to Renes, the badge only reacted to Ossa blood, which made Thane question his own origins. Perhaps he was not a child of Hesmor after all, but an abandoned child of Golden. Thane gazed into the distance toward the majestic Infernic range where the warriors of SiverFang once lived. Maybe one day he would return there to seek the answers for himself.
"Hey! What are you thinking about"
A lively voice called from behind, Mira grinned and slapped his shoulder. Thane flinched. He had been far too careless. He let someone approach that close without noticing. The boy silently scolded himself. He must never let this happen again even with allies.
"It is nothing! Just some wandering thoughts". Thane replied with a faint smile.
"You should focus on your training and aim for Great Mornet. Let me tell you! You have a troublesome rival. You know Vogar right? He is already a powerful warlord. Besides he is a member of the royal family and he has already awakened the special Ability of the Hesmor bloodline. You could say his position is almost guaranteed."
Despite her words Mira did not seem worried at all. As a mage she had the privilege of direct admission. After all mages were incredibly rare. Ever since the massacre of the Hesmir fishing village by the Mulock pirate she had matured noticeably. She was no longer the innocent little girl she once was. Now she carried herself with an air of composure. Even though on the surface she acted cheerful and lively, Thane knew that deep within she was cold and lonely just like him. They were children who had lost their families and loved ones.
"I do not expect to defeat him, my body is still sealed after all. I just think giving up would be too pathetic. At the very least I should try so that when I fail there will be no regret."
Thane answered calmly without stopping his practice. His blade danced swiftly through the wind. Mira felt bored. She had only stopped by on her way elsewhere. She still needed to head to the library to study. Magic was an infinite source of knowledge and by immersing herself in it she could further refine her Will. Thinking about a certain boy who could lift a small stone with Will at the moment he carved his first core, Mira felt a sting of jealousy.
"By now you are wanted across the entire continent Exitus. I hope we can meet again someday". Mira sighed.
Not far away, inside the tallest building, two figures silently watched Thane train through a window. The man raised his head and drank a mouthful of liquor letting out a loud hiccup. Seeing the boy diligently wield his sword Renes smiled in satisfaction. The child possessed every quality of a true Hero, hardworking determined and above all he was a Champion.
"Why do you not release the seal on him Xevia? Something that trivial should be nothing to you."
Standing beside Renes was none other than the mighty mage Xevia, someone even Jester would be wary of. After receiving Renes’s message she had come at once. A Champion was an extremely rare concept. An entire race might only produce a few such individuals. But when she touched Thane’s body she realized it was still not the time to break the seal.
"The boy possesses an extraordinary physical potential. You must have noticed it as well. Ever since his birth, he has carried overwhelming strength. However, his bloodline has not fully awakened. He has only unlocked half of it."
"You mean... " Renes vaguely understood what Xevia implied.
The old woman smiled mysteriously. Based on the hereditary traits of the Ossa people, if she was not mistaken, Thane’s origins were far more complicated than the boy believed.
In the capital of Mornet, inside the magnificent and luxurious Felicitas Palace, rebuilt after Hesmor’s miraculous victory to match the status of the True Emperor Aster, the grand hall shimmered with the gentle glow of magic stones, and the walls were entirely plated with pure gold. Upon the throne, wearing a heavy crown with three sharp points jutting outward, Aster sat in gloom. How ironic that, despite bearing the noble title of Emperor, he was merely a boy still struggling at the level of Warrior.
Felicitas was nothing more than a prison to him. Here, he was confined and bound by Jacor. It seemed the merchant was far more impatient than Aster had expected. If not for the intervention of the Two Hands, Aster had no doubt Jacor would have acted against him within this very palace.
Aster still had many things he wished to accomplish, dreams far too large to be caged. If not for vengeance, he would have already become a prodigious student of Great Mornet, easily breaking through to warlord thanks to the abundant resources. Aster could not accept this fate. He craved power. He wished he had a choice.
"What a pitiful situation you are in, Aster."
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"Who is there? Guards! There is an intruder." Aster panicked as the strange voice echoed within his head.
He tried to scream for the guards, but the room had fallen into absolute silence. There was no one around. Streams of nightmarish energy seeped from the golden walls and wrapped around him like a hand gripping its prey. Aster struggled desperately, but it was useless. He could not escape. He could not even let out a whimper. He sat there, waiting for death, like cattle awaiting the butcher’s knife.
"So weak. Far too weak. I could crush you at any moment."
The spiraling energy slowly condensed into the figure of a young boy. His face was cold, and his red eyes were terrifying. He stepped forward. With each step, the body of the True Emperor tightened a little more. Bones cracked. Terror flickered violently in Aster’s eyes.
"Pathetic! Utterly pathetic! Someone like you thinks you can avenge your father. A single drop of Richer’s spit could kill you countless times." Exitus chuckled darkly, tapping Aster’s cheek as if teasing an infant.
His wanted posters had spread across the entire continent of Veynar. It was not difficult for Aster to recognize who stood before him. Fear quickly shifted into excitement. As a merchant, Aster could smell opportunity. Exitus would never come without purpose.
"Oh! Despite your weakness, you are quite clever, Emperor Aster."
The energy binding Aster gradually loosened. He collapsed to his knees, coughing violently, desperately trying to breathe after being strangled nearly senseless.
"I will give you a chance. I do not need failures to serve me. I need those who can surpass themselves, who can awaken from their nightmares." Exitus lifted Aster’s face. The boy’s eyes slowly turned into two pitch–black spirals, and his cold voice seeped into Aster’s mind.
"Look into my eyes, Aster, and step into your own nightmare."
The scene before Aster shifted. He found himself standing in a familiar room. The sky outside was pitch dark. He floated in the air like a ghost. When he reached out and touched the door, his hand passed through it easily.
"This is… Father’s room?"
Aster heard voices inside. Curious, he moved through the door and froze in horror as he saw his father kneeling before a fully cloaked young man.
"Please! Spare him, Aster is all I have left." Astor pleaded, his voice trembling.
The old king’s body was covered in wounds. He tried to stand, yet his body was forced back down by a powerful surge of Will. The pressure cracked the floor beneath him.
"Please spare my son. I have done everything you asked. I have honored the agreement."
…
"Damn it. Damn it…" Aster stood there in silence, witnessing everything. Tears streamed down his face. He wanted to leap forward and tear Richer apart like a beast, but it was useless. Every action was meaningless. This was only an illusion. Aster collapsed beside the golden statue of his father, hating himself for being too weak, hating how easily he had been taken hostage.
The scenes shifted over and over. He appeared in a stormy night, watching himself trampled by Couer like a mangy dog. He stood before the furnace, watching his father’s statue melt into liquid. He appeared in a merchant council, mocked by countless disdainful eyes. He appeared in the war command room, watching Ti devour Noman’s flesh. Aster relived every nightmare of his life, repeating endlessly. After an unknown amount of time, something in his eyes began to change. He realized that all of it was his fault. Yes. It was because he was too weak. If he had been stronger, everything would have been different. Aster longed for power. The scene of Mornet Bay torn apart by the Naga vortex only hardened his resolve. Aster knew what he wanted and what he must do. The scene around him cracked, fractures spreading like a web.
"Crack" A sharp sound like breaking glass rang out. Aster found himself once again in the grand hall, but the one sitting on the throne was no longer him. It was Exitus. The boy sat there with the presence of a true sovereign. His aura commanded obedience from any who looked at him. This was the true True Emperor. Exitus gazed at Aster calmly, as if waiting for him to act.
Aster clenched his teeth, resolute. He understood what Exitus wanted. The power of the one before him was terrifying. The time he spent in the nightmare felt endless, yet outside it had been only a blink. Aster stepped toward the throne and knelt, earning a satisfied smile from Exitus.
“Dear ... Master. I Aster vow to live and die in service of my master. No matter what your order is I will carry it out for you.”
Exitus smiled brightly. He enjoyed working with smart people. It meant he did not need to explain too much.
“Richer is dead. In a certain sense you may consider it a great favor I have given you Aster. However I do not mind creating another Richer.”
Exitus threw a seven colored sheet of paper toward Aster. The sheet swayed in the wind and quietly fell into the boy’s palm. Aster was doubtful and then went mad with joy when he saw the content written on the paper.
“Your task is very simple. I am being hunted fiercely by the Heroes of Sky Tower so it is inconvenient for me to appear in the mortal realm. You are the one who will work in this world in my place. For now become stronger. Nightmare energy will enhance your body. Only when you truly seize Hesmor will you be qualified to work for me.”
“On the other hand seek information for me about this girl. She is an ice element sorceress.” The image of a beautiful young girl wearing a formal white dress appeared in Aster’s mind.
Exitus stood up and stepped away from the throne. The boy gently raised Aster to his feet and calmly spoke.
“The sheet will transform you passively. Its nightmare energy is drawn directly from the Abyss. Do not use it carelessly if you do not want the Alliance to notice you. Moreover someone of mine will come here to assist you. Just tell him if you want to send a message to me.”
Exitus body gradually faded. Aster’s vision was swallowed by a pitch black vortex. When he startled awake he realized he had been sitting on the throne in the great hall the whole time. Below were the servants still slowly doing their work and far away the guards were yawning lazily.
“It is all like a dream.” Aster smiled. Was it truly a dream. No. Aster tightened his grip on the seven colored sheet in his palm and quietly slipped it into his inner robe.
“What The Triangle Order? What Two Hand? This country is Hesmor and I am Hesmor Aster.” Aster was full of confidence; with this power, he can reclaim what originally belonged to him.
“The Gloves of Madenes” (Legendary)
“One of the eight artifacts of NewGod Madenes. They were forged from the gold of Midas melted under the extreme heat deep inside Infernic volcano. They represent eternal wealth. Madenes was a wise sorcerer. On his path of research he needed a great amount of money. Moreover he often used the spikes on the gloves to scratch his back in his spare time.”
“Effect. The bearer sinks into bottomless greed. Every touch turns everything into pure gold. But when the nightmare energy fades all things return to their ordinary nature.”
“Money cannot buy everything but everything can be bought by a great amount of money” - Madenes
“The Ability of the page: "Wish of Wealth”"
“Wish of Wealth: Using the power of the gloves without any side effects”