The Broken Halo

Chapter 55: A Flickering Heart

The purpose of the rings that formed during a demon’s Coming of Age was not just so that demons could know the rank of a demon’s bloodline.

It was also not the last step in the Coming of Age rite.

The rings had a more important purpose, and that was to completely awaken the demon’s heart and to also make some important changes to the body of the demon.

Simon did not know this in his last life, but he was given this information by the Shadowgrave Clan.

When the clan member gave him this information, the clan member mocked him that if he was talented, he could force some changes in his body and even obtain a certain benefit if his senses and intuition were sharp enough.

As Simon looked at the rotating crimson rings, he waited in anticipation, then the crimson rings slowly came together.

The eight crimson rings fused together and became a single crimson ring. The crimson colour of the ring was deeper and darker than the eight crimson rings.

Its rotation was also faster, and a few seconds later, a dark crimson mist began to flow from the ring into Simon’s heart.

Simon closed his eyes when he saw this, and what he did was to tune out every thought and distraction so that he could focus.

He went into a state where he perceived nothing. His senses were entirely on his body, or to be more specific, the dark crimson mist that was flowing in his body.

The benefit the Shadowgrave Clan member spoke of was the circulation of the crimson ring in his body.

Demons could evolve their demon hearts in several ways, but there was one method that was not common to demons.

Demonic Energy Circulation.

Because of his past life, Corey knows that one core difference between elite demons and normal demons was energy circulation.

Demons who knew how to circulate their demonic energy were always stronger than demons who could not.

But the knowledge on how to circulate demonic energy could only be found in elite demon academies, or it could be gotten during a demon’s Coming of Age rite.

When the rings of a demon’s Coming of Age began to flow into the demon, the demonic energy in it circulates throughout the demon’s body and this circulation was an innate circulation method that was engraved in the demon’s bloodline.

If a demon was perceptive enough, the demon could memorize the pathways the demonic energy went through, and this would help the demon greatly in the future.

Only a small percentage of demons throughout the entire demon realm could make use of this opportunity, and those demons could not be blamed.

Not only was a demon just turning sixteen during their Coming of Age, a high percentage of demons did not have the privilege of attending a prestigious academy and neither did many demons have backgrounds that could obtain demonic energy circulation methods.

As for Simon?

How could sensing and memorizing his demonic energy circulation be a problem for him?

He had decades of experience circulating aether which was the energy the gods gave to humans.

Aether circulation was as simple as breathing to him, so how could sensing and memorizing his innate demonic energy circulation be a problem for him?

None in the Shadowgrave Clan would have ever expected that he could perceive and memorize the innate circulation of his demonic energy, and it would be a shock to the Pallbearers once they sensed it.

However, before the demonic circulation took place, there was a change that needed to occur in his body.

Or changes to be more precise.

Crack

Crack

Crack

The sound of bones cracking echoed in the room he was in, but Simon did not so much as flinch at the pain.

He had gone through worse... A lot worse.

He didn’t even register the pain, what he was focused on were the changes occuring in his body.

The demonic energy of the dark crimson ring was strengthening his body and reforming it.

Demonic pathways that were needed to transfer demonic energy were formed inside of him. The demonic pathways attached to his loudly beating heart, his muscles strengthened and became more elastic, the horn on the right side of his head increased in size and length, his hair became longer and whiter, his cat-like eyes became sky-blue with a tinge of indigo, and Simon tried to take note of the changes occuring in his body and outside his body.

A few seconds later, he realized something surprising.

’Can I?’

Simon thought about it for a moment before he decided to do it.

He inhaled and exhaled deeply, then his tail began to slowly disintegrate.

What Corey realized was that he could force a few changes he wanted to his body, but these changes could not be anything extreme.

Because his knowledge on the anatomy of demons was little, he didn’t force much changes to his body.

The main change he made was to destroy his tail.

It was an extremely painful process, but he wanted and needed to do it.

To him, his tail was an inconvenience and he was not used to fighting with it. He didn’t need it, and since he was making this change during his Coming of Age rite, whatever defects he should normally have would be fixed by the crimson rings.

And it was.

After some time, the changes to his body stopped and the demonic energy of the crimson ring began to circulate throughout his body.

With every circulation, his breathing changed as he was mastering his energy circulation at an absurd speed due to his decades of experience.

A few seconds later, the dark crimson ring was no more and only a cloud of dark crimson mist hovered around Simon.

And with every inhale and exhale, the mist reduced and the sound of Simon’s beating heart got louder.

After approximately ten minutes, the mist was no more and Simon’s eyes slowly and calmly opened.

An indigo light flashed in his eyes, and in his awakened demon heart was a flickering flame.

No longer was he an unawakened demon, he was now a Lesser Demon with a Flickering Heart.