Chapter 18: Abyssal Energy (2)
The mana inside Caldus, the left guardian's body had violently trembled the moment he saw the boy...no, the moment it recognized him.
As if the energy in his veins was screaming:
"This is him. This is the Primordial God."
For a moment, Caldus had felt as if he wasn't even himself. His thoughts were trapped, his body moving on instinct. A trance. A command embedded into the very essence of his being.
And then, as he stared at Naoki who stood before him a memory returned.
His grandfather's voice.
Shaky. Reverent. Etched deep into his soul.
"Caldus… remember this. The heir of salvation will appear. ."
Caldus could still remember the night his grandfather spoke of him.
That night under the flickering oil lamp, his grandfather's eyes clouded with age and worship, trembling with a madness born not from fear… but longing.
"I'm waiting for his return…" his grandfather had said gently, a faint smile on his lips.
"Not a day goes by that I don't think about it."
He placed a hand over his chest, where the mana pulsed faintly in his aging body.
"The power in our blood… it was never truly ours. It belongs to someone far greater. And one day, when he returns, we'll know him. Instantly. Without question."
The old man had spoken those words with quiet certainty, his eyes lost in a memory older than his own lifetime.
He was referring to the day when that being, a man cloaked in mystery and might had granted a portion of his mana to Ryn, the loyal subordinate of the Noctvain Founding Patriarch.
From that moment on, a fragment of that being's power flowed through the veins of Ryn's bloodline, generation after generation.
And it was said, passed down like sacred scripture
"Ὅταν ὁ φέρων τὴν ἀρχαίαν οὐσίαν ἐπιστρέψῃ… ἡ ψυχή ἐγερθήσεται πρὸ τοῦ νοῦ. Τὰ γόνατα κάμψουσιν. Ἡ κεφαλὴ ταπεινωθήσεται. Τὸ αἷμα ἀναμνήσεται."
"Οὐ σὰρξ μόνον ἔσται· ἀλλὰ τοῦ θελήματος τοῦ πέραν σκεῦος ζῶν."
"When the bearer of the ancient essence returns... the soul shall awaken before thought. The knees shall bend. The head shall bow. The blood shall stir."
"He shall not be mere flesh... but the living vessel of the will beyond."
He will not be just a man. He will be the heir to that being's will.
That was the legacy inherited by all who carried that mana.
And now, Caldus had seen him.
Huff..huff..
Caldus's breathing grew steadier, but his head remained low. The weight in the room was gone, but the truth wasn't.
This wasn't just a boy.
This was the one the mana remembered.
The one the bloodline had waited twelve hundred years to serve.
And even now, every fiber of Caldus's being still wanted to Serve him.
But Naoki, who now inhabited Aether's body, was utterly confused.
He had no idea why one of the Empire's strongest warriors, an Eight Blade was trembling before him like a servant before a god.
Before he could even ask, the Left Guardian slowly raised his head, his voice hoarse and reverent as he began to speak.
"You must be confused, young lord... Allow me to explain."
And so, he did.
He spoke of the Ryn bloodline, of how their ancestor had once been saved by the founding patriarch of the Noctvain household, an act that forged a bond of eternal loyalty.
Of how that ancestor had bowed before a mysterious being, a man cloaked in unimaginable power and received a portion of his mana.
Of how that mana was passed down through the Ryn family, generation after generation… waiting.
Waiting for the day that man's heir would appear again marked by the same unmistakable presence.
He spoke of the Evil Commandment Sword, gifted to the Noctvain patriarch by that very being.
And now, after twelve hundred years…
That same presence had appeared again within Naoki.
* * *
Naoki blinked, still lost in thought.
What was all that about?
What was this mana they kept talking about?
To clear the air, he focused inward and let his dark green mana shimmer softly around his hand.
A faint, eerie glow pulsed, twisting like living shadows.
The Left Guardian's eyes widened in an instant.
Without hesitation, he lowered his head deeply.
"This… is the mana that being gave us,he called it 'Abyssal Energy' " he murmured reverently.
His voice trembled, as if speaking a sacred truth.
"It flows in our bloodline. And now, it awakennd in you my lord. You're the absolute heir we have been waiting for."
As they were in a serious conversation from the shadow beside Naoki, a ripple of darkness stirred.
A majestic black dragon emerged, her scales shimmering like polished obsidian under the dim light.
It was Sol...quiet, elegant, and clearly bored. With a lazy stretch of her wings, she soared effortlessly to settle herself in Naoki's embrace, curling around him like a living cloak.
The Left Guardian's eyes narrowed sharply.
"A dragon," he muttered under his breath, tone edged with both surprise and caution.
Dragons were rare, extremely rare and only one family in the entire Empire specialized in taming them. Only that family had dragons as their familiars.
He fixed his gaze on Naoki.
"My lord, where did you find this dragon?"
Naoki smiled lightly, running a hand through Sol's midnight-black scales.
"Oh, it hatched from an egg I found."
The Left Guardian's eyebrows shot up.
"If the dragon kin hear of this, they will come here to claim this dragon. Such a rare creature will attract powerful eyes and dangerous ambitions."
Naoki met the Left Guardian's gaze calmly.
"Is that so?"
His voice was steady, but beneath it burned a fierce determination.
'This dragon… is a gift from my big brother, Haruto. I will face anyone who comes for her.'
He tightened his grip on Sol's scales, his eyes hardening with resolve.
"This isn't just a creature. It's family."
The Left Guardian bowed his head respectfully.
"Forgive me, my lord… I should not have referred to your companion as a mere creature."
Naoki gave a small nod.
"Very well. Take me to the Evil Commandment Sword. I want to see what it's like."
As Naoki prepared to witness the sword he had heard so much about, the very blade that had claimed Aether's life, a mix of curiosity and resolve settled over him.
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued...