Chapter 91: Overture to One's Demise (II)

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"Haah...haah…" Apollo and Aaron laid sprawled out on the training ground staring at the night sky. Their bated breaths from exhausting soon grew steady and they sat up. Within Aaron's eyes was a premature obscure look.

"Just how many near-death battles have you gone through to achieve that calmness? Even though I tried my hardest, I couldn't disregard the notion of dealing fatal damage towards you. And yet, you were able to easily counter all my strikes," Aaron turned towards Apollo, looking at him with veneration.

"At least 1,000 and this is a generous estimation. It's not something that will change overnight. But we have time before we leave this place. We'll just have to train harder to temper that shortcoming out of you. Maybe in a regular society, kindness wouldn't be a shortcoming but here...we can do without," Apollo stated in a candid tone.

"You're right. I'm starving though… should we head to the Dining Hall?" Aaron rose to his feet looking in the direction of an active building.

However, Apollo shook his head in response, tapping his spatial pouch, "You go ahead, I have other matters to take care of. Besides, I have my own meal."

"Alright. I won't go as far as to beg you to come. I know you don't want to be in the presence of the others. We'll continue this later?" Aaron nodded in understanding.

Again, Apollo shook his head, "Tomorrow. We'll do this once every day or at least try to. We still need to cultivate. Just increasing our combat awareness won't cut it. We need a large reserve of Natural Essence and a sufficient cultivation base as well. We don't know what the competition will be like in the future. We need to prepare ourselves.

"Also… you should claim one of those Natural Blessings. Don't let them enter the hands of Axel and company. Otherwise, it'd be a waste," Apollo's tone carried with it a foreboding bloodlust. One that Aaron caught onto.

"You don't mean…"

"Correct. I will kill them," Apollo stated with undisclosed malice. Once again, a faint yet pure murderous intent pooled from within him. This time, however, Aaron shivered. Although it wasn't directed at him, he was still affected. At this point, even he feared for their lives, however, he wouldn't dissuade Apollo from his decisions. After all, this was their own undoing.

Aaron's sighed, an empathetic one as he looked at Apollo, "I won't say I agree with you killing them but I also won't say you shouldn't. While what they did was during their childish years, I must also take into account the trauma they could've caused you…"

He placed one hand on Apollo's shoulder whereas the other balled into a fist pressing against Apollo's chest, "I hope your choice results in you settling your inner turmoil. With that, you should be able to find your own peace or at least... maybe part of it?"

"Mn," Apollo nodded before disappearing from the spot. Bidding his farewell also, Aaron entered the Dining Hall.

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Standing before the Main House, Apollo came face to face with Kayn.

"I believe you're here to enter the treasury. Before you do, I must inform you of the limits. First and foremost, you are not to take more than 20% of the pill reserve. Although we have our deal, we still have to support the other youths."

"That should be enough," Apollo nodded in response, looking straight into Kayn's eyes.

"Secondly, Ashur has told me you can absorb Essence Cores. Unfortunately, we don't have those in storage. They are usually shipped elsewhere. Also, why didn't you ask to enter the upper levels of the library?"

Apollo rose an eyebrow in response, "It slipped my mind. I'll enter it at a later time." Of course, this wasn't entirely true. Instead, the real reason he didn't' list this as a condition was because it possessed no allure to him. More specifically, the information Azridan revealed doused his interest.

After completing his racial change, trying to learn techniques of this world would prove to be increasingly difficult. Although undisclosed to him, this was just a stop in his journey. With that being said, the orientations of his meridians and such wouldn't be identical to a human after undergoing the initial change. As a result, the pathways to perform certain cultivation methods would take a lot to decipher.

Although that may be true, it didn't mean it was impossible to perform. In fact, there was a way for him to make the process innate. It just required him to unearth it.

"I see. Last but not least, in the treasury resides a collection of weapons. If you find one that resonates with you, you may keep it and use it in the trial. It may not be much compared to the progeny of the greater families but it should allow you to claim a better position."

"Very well. I'll take you up on that as well," Apollo nodded walking past Kayn, pressing on the treasury doors. As the door opened, the dimmed lighting grew brighs, torches along the wall igniting the luminance of the expansive room.

Small mounds of pills of various different colors appeared before him. Furthermore, there were a variety of weapons. Some of which seemed even stronger than his previous Vantablack Knife.

Taking a step forward, Apollo examined the carved walls and ample decorations, 'It seems the family spent a decent amount on this place. It makes me wonder, in the past, was this family's standing higher than what it used to be? How often do Heaven-Grade talents appear? They should be sought after to some degree.'

Apollo continued to ponder a few notions as he passed and inspected a few pills. Most of them didn't meet his expectations; that was until he reached the back of the treasury where it seemed the higher grade pills resided.

On top of that, he found a peculiar fruit that compelled him to take it. As a result, he claimed the fruit as well as four types of pills. However, his journey wasn't over. His attention was wrested away from the pills by a silver gleam as well as a black aura.

'What is that?" he thought to himself as he approached it. Bending down, Apollo shifted a few items revealing what seemed to be a weapon.

[Hmm? This seems nefarious. I like that feeling. You should claim it—whatever it is.]

Continuing to move aside the various pills and such, he saw the entirety of the weapon but its form shocked him. 'Are these gloves or knuckles?'

Unable to tell, Apollo continued to examine the qualities of the item. It was pitch black gloves, however, half of the fingers seemed to have been cut. Not to mention, silver lines flowed through the glove. Originating from the palm, the lines of symbols branched out to the end of the open knuckles.

To quell his curiosity, Apollo picked them up. A decision in which he didn't know if he regretted it or not. Widening his eyes, a searing pain birthed from his hands traveling to his heart.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Apollo fell to his knees holding his hands before his face in agony. He wanted to scream, however, he was unable to do so as it would alert Kayn outside. Luckily, albeit intense, the pain didn't last long.

Then again, Apollo was left with even more questions. The knuckles had burrowed into his skin and disappeared. Apart from the previous pain, there were no signs of it even being there. In the truest sense, they had vanished!

But, a few moments later, Apollo blanked as a short summary of cryptic information entered his mind. It was related to the aforementioned knuckles—more importantly, something that seemed to be a phrase. As for its history, it remained a mystery.

"He shall bring rise to the Requiem of the Umbra Crusade," Apollo muttered in a state of torpor as if possessed. He didn't understand this collection of words nor what they meant. But as he uttered this a notification appeared before him.