Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

”Oath that transcends the worlds, Oath that is birthed from the genesis of the Laws, come forth — Law of the Eternals.”

The incantation spoken by him caused another unprecedented wave to spread through the entire world, directly countering the phenomenon that the new unknown man was bringing into existence.

The moment that wave spread outward, the pressure covering the surroundings suddenly changed, and even the darkened sky that had been forming above the world began reacting to it. The two completely different phenomena seemed to collide with one another without either side making a physical movement, yet the entire world could feel the result of their confrontation.

Everything froze for a brief moment before something completely unexpected happened.

The sky above the entire world cleared immediately as something descended from above, something that carried enough force to clear the darkened sky with ease.

It wasn’t some enormous object or terrifying weapon, but instead, it was a tiny golden petal, no larger than a single finger. The petal slowly descended through the cleared sky, moving at a calm and steady pace before finally reaching the Dragon Emperor’s position and landing gently on his right palm.

Everyone, including Velmira from far away, looked toward this phenomenon with widened eyes. Even though she was currently engaged in battle with the supposed Mark, her attention was drawn toward the tiny golden petal for a brief moment.

Her pupils trembled slightly as she stared at it, unable to comprehend what level of power Zaakrax had achieved for something so small to possess such an overwhelming presence. The petal itself looked completely harmless, yet the feeling it gave her was enough to make even someone like Velmira take it seriously.

When the petal finally landed on Zaakrax’s palm, Velmira shifted her attention back toward the supposed Mark once again, as she was still engaged in a battle with him. She didn’t know exactly what Zaakrax was planning, but she understood that whatever he had just summoned wasn’t something that could be treated casually. The fact that the entire world had reacted to the appearance of that tiny petal was enough evidence for her.

Kael, who had already landed several punches and kicks on the unknown man, also stopped his movement for a moment and shifted his attention toward Zaakrax.

His eyes remained fixed on the golden petal as the System immediately began relaying every piece of information it had managed to obtain to him without hesitation. Whatever the petal was, Kael could tell that it was better for him to understand it sooner rather than later, especially because even the Dragon Emperor seemed to be taking the matter seriously.

[That is the Petal of Genesis of All Laws. This petal can only be used once in a person’s entire lifetime. It binds both parties through the very Laws of the Universe directly. Host, this means that even if the planet itself were to be destroyed, the Oath will still remain.]

Kael raised an eyebrow after hearing that explanation. The information was far more extreme than he had expected from something that looked like nothing more than a small golden petal. ’Damn, that’s some crazy thing, right? Anyways, I’ve been punching and kicking this guy for a while with Soul Force, yet nothing seems to have happened to him. I get that his soul is strong because he has lived for over thousands of years, but... what in the world is his body made of?’

His attention shifted back toward the unknown man, who was still completely focused on fusing the two abilities despite Kael’s relentless attacks.

The man had already suffered multiple attacks from Kael, yet...he continued with his original action without showing any intention of stopping. Kael couldn’t help but find that strange because even the Soul Force coating his attacks should have caused some degree of damage, especially against someone whose physical body was being directly struck again and again.

Kael had already tested his strength against enough opponents to understand when an attack should have an effect, but this man was clearly different. His physical body was somehow resisting the damage, hell it even felt he had complete physical Immunity, but he knew that was not that case.

Kael couldn’t determine whether it was because of the man’s own strength, some ability he possessed, or something else entirely. Whatever the reason was, Kael knew he couldn’t continue attacking the same way and expect a different result.

He could only sigh before bringing out Vesper and Noctis from his inventory.

The space beside both of his hands glitched slightly as the two daggers emerged from within it, and the moment they appeared, Kael immediately moved again. This time, instead of coating his hands with Soul Force, he transferred the same force onto the two daggers, intending to use the technique he had learned through cheating time itself and end this man before he could take out any nasty tricks of his own.

The two daggers remained firmly in his hands as Kael moved toward the unknown man again, his expression becoming more focused than before.

Back at the position where Atlas was standing, he immediately placed his hand on the small petal floating slightly above Zaakrax’s palm. The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a wave of some unknown force directly invade his consciousness.

Atlas instinctively tried to resist that force, but he quickly realized that resisting it wasn’t accomplishing anything. The sensation wasn’t painful, nor did it feel as though something was trying to harm him, but it was still strange enough for him to arch an eyebrow before turning toward the Dragon Emperor.

Zaakrax noticed his reaction and calmly spoke, ”Do not worry. The Laws are binding you with the contract we already proposed. Laws do not need repetitive words to know what the actual contract is about. They already know everything happening here or anywhere else in the world.”

Atlas listened to his explanation without saying anything.

He had already agreed to the condition because the Dragon Emperor was the only person who had presented a method capable of saving Seraphiel, but even then, experiencing the power behind the Oath directly was something he hadn’t expected.

The fact that the Laws themselves could understand the contract without requiring either of them to repeat every detail made the entire process feel completely different from any ordinary agreement.

Atlas slowly nodded after hearing Zaakrax’s explanation. At the same time, he noticed that the golden petal in front of him was beginning to change. Its physical form started breaking apart little by little, gradually transforming into what could only be described as countless tiny motes of golden light.

The petal didn’t disappear immediately, and instead, its entire form seemed to dissolve into those motes before the Laws connected to it finally began moving toward the two individuals bound by the Oath.

Before either Atlas or Zaakrax could make another movement, those motes of light suddenly shot toward both of them.

Atlas felt the motes enter his body through his forehead. The sensation lasted only for a brief moment before the golden lights disappeared completely inside him, and at almost the exact same time, the same thing happened to the Dragon Emperor. Neither of them moved as the final connection between them was established, and for a brief moment, the surroundings became completely silent.

Atlas didn’t know exactly what had changed, but he could feel that something had been established between him and Zaakrax. It wasn’t a physical chain or visible mark, yet he knew that the Oath had already been completed. The Laws had accepted the agreement, and from this moment onward, the contract between the two of them had become something that existed beyond the destruction of the world itself.

Zaakrax also remained silent for a brief moment before finally shifting his attention away from the completed Oath. His eyes moved toward the unconscious Seraphiel and then toward the phenomenon being created by the unknown man. The expression on his face remained calm, but there was now a clear sense of purpose in his gaze.

After the brief silence passed, Zaakrax finally spoke.

”Now, let’s deal with the problem at hand.”