The Broken Halo

Chapter 1047 - 1046: An Elder’s Offer

Simon remained motionless as his mind recalled the word Sonya just mentioned.

Terra.

His affinity stirred at the name. The stones in his hands, the broken platform, even the dust around his feet suddenly felt closer.

He reached toward that feeling, briefly forgetting the difference between his badly formed sphere and Sonya’s.

There was something beneath the familiar response. Something he had been touching without properly recognising.

For a moment, he wondered how he had failed to notice it.

Beside him, Ammor stared at the ground.

”Terra...” he whispered.

His fingers loosened around his own stone.

On the terrace, Black Mountain’s eyes widened.

”I see... No wonder.”

Golden Tyrant turned toward him.

”But how?”

His gaze fixed on Sonya. Before Golden Tyrant could ask what he meant, he vanished.

Simon’s thoughts were interrupted by a figure appearing among them.

He hadn’t sensed an approach. Neither had Enigma, who immediately straightened, while Virella took a startled step backward.

Ancestral Elder Black Mountain stood before Sonya.

Up close, his broad body seemed even heavier. Grey skin folded thickly around his neck, and a dark shell rose behind his shoulders, divided into large, thick plates.

”Why do you say our element is Terra rather than Earth?”

Sonya blinked at him.

Then her gaze moved past his shoulder.

”Can you pull your head inside that?”

Enigma went rigid.

Black Mountain stared at her with a stunned expression.

He couldn’t remember anyone weaker than him asking such a question to his face. She wasn’t even trying to disguise her interest in his shell.

He looked into her bronze eyes.

There was no fear there.

Sonya tilted her head, apparently considering another question.

”Sonya,” Simon interrupted before she made it worse and angered the elder. ”Answer the elder.”

”Fine, fine. This Honourable has only just started seeing. You can’t expect me not to look.”

Her eyes returned to the shell.

”I was only wondering whether he actually needs a bed.”

Simon covered his face and shook his head.

Enigma glanced anxiously at Black Mountain.

The elder’s lips twitched.

”Anyway,” Sonya continued, before anyone could respond, ”I started wondering about the name a long time ago.”

Black Mountain’s attention returned to her.

”The human world is called Earth. The soil under our feet is called earth. But my affinity worked in the Demon Realm too. Why would something I could feel in different worlds be limited to a name that described so little?”

”A name alone does not determine an element’s nature,” Black Mountain said.

”I know. That was only what made me start questioning it.”

She gestured toward the weapons beside her.

”When I fought that woman with the ice bird, I lifted part of a mountain. She broke it. I broke the pieces further and scattered them around her.”

”Elara,” Akaza said.

”Yes, her.”

Sonya turned the spear slowly.

”Mountain, stone, dust. They all felt different, but my affinity reached the same thing beneath those differences. Even when the pieces were flying around, I could still feel them. I didn’t have to keep my feet on the ground anymore.”

Ammor nodded.

He remembered watching that happen.

”I wanted to know what I was actually reaching,” she continued. ”Then I heard something.”

Black Mountain leaned forward slightly.

”A voice?”

”Not like yours. It came through the same sense that told me where the mountain was. Through the stone beneath me and the dust around me.”

Her expression became more serious.

”Terra. That was what I heard.”

Simon looked down at the sphere in his hand with a thoughtful expression.

”And now?” Black Mountain asked.

”Now I can feel it in these too.”

She lifted the axe she had created.

”This never belonged to a mountain. I didn’t take it from the ground. But the same power is there.”

She paused.

”I think we’ve been paying too much attention to the rocks and too little to what lets us control them. There’s more to it. I just don’t know how much yet.”

Black Mountain remained silent.

Sonya watched him for a moment.

”Grandpa seemed pleased when I told him. He said I’d understood something important.”

”You discovered this before your awakening?”

”Yes.”

The elder glanced at her floating creations, then at Simon and Ammor’s imperfect stones.

”Become my disciple.”

Sonya’s hand stopped.

”What?”

”I will teach you.”

Enigma looked from the elder to Sonya. Akaza’s eyebrows rose, and Virella turned toward Simon as though checking whether she had heard correctly.

Sonya glanced at Simon, then Akaza.

After a moment, she shook her head.

”I’m not sure about that.”

Black Mountain frowned.

”Why?”

”I already have a master. I can’t take another until I know what happened to him.”

The elder’s expression eased slightly.

Someone had taught her before she came here. Given her abilities, that was hardly surprising.

”Who is your master?”

”He’s a pervert.”

Black Mountain looked at her in surprise.

”A pervert?”

Sonya nodded.

”But he’s kind, and he’s strong. He taught us a lot.”

She pointed toward Simon.

”He’s little kitty’s master too.”

The elder’s gaze shifted to him.

Simon gave a small nod.

”She’s right.”

They shared a master?

Blackmoon already had a master?

But if he did, what about the Abyss Sovereign’s offer for Blackmoon to become his sixth disciple?

Black Mountain examined Simon for another moment before turning back to Sonya.

”What happened to him?”

”We don’t know. That’s why I need to find out before I can answer you.”

This time, there was no teasing in her voice.

The elder nodded slowly.

”Then there is no need to decide now. You may come and learn from me whenever you wish.”

”Even without becoming your disciple?”

”Yes.”

Sonya smiled.

”Then this Honourable will remember your offer.”

Black Mountain gave a small nod. His attention lingered on the stone axe before he turned toward Simon.

”How soon can you begin the next awakening?”

Simon checked the condition of his heart.

”Not yet. I need to recover more.”

”Then recover.”

The elder raised one hand. Broken slabs shifted across an undamaged section of the grounds, clearing space for another formation.

He returned to the terrace, where several of the other elders were already waiting to speak to him.

Simon sat down with more Hell Stones.

Replacing the demonic energy was the easier part. The blood essence he had spent on Sonya and the strain on his heart required more care.

He circulated his energy slowly, leaving the exhausted Seed of Pride undisturbed.

Akaza waited nearby without urging him.

Time passed while Simon recovered. Sonya’s wounds continued closing, and the formations around the courtyard were checked before the next attempt.

Only when his heartbeat had steadied and he could maintain the necessary flow without forcing it did he open his eyes.

[Do you think this is enough for me to evolve Akaza’s bloodline?] he asked Lilith.

[Yes. Provided you don’t waste your strength. You will need a proper rest afterward.]

Simon looked toward Akaza.

”Ready?”

”Yes.”

The answer came immediately.

Simon stood. He wasn’t fully recovered, but he could feel the difference from when Sonya had first returned from the Bloodline Origin Path.

He could do this.

Akaza sat in the cleared space and cut his palm, letting his blood collect in the bowl Simon placed before him.

The others withdrew behind the barrier. Sonya remained looking toward them until Enigma reminded her where the protected enclosure began.

Simon drew the circle.

This time, he knew which lines needed the most care. Lilith checked each section, and he corrected a narrow curve before connecting it to the centre.

Once it was finished, he placed several Hell Stones within reach.

Akaza loosened the front of his clothes and straightened his back.

”You don’t have to go as far as she did. Just make sure you don’t die,” Simon told him.

”Don’t worry about me,” Akaza responded calmly.

Simon looked at him, then he shook his head slightly.

He knew that Akaza would surely not listen to him.

Akaza desired to be stronger and to not be the weakest amongst the three of them.

Seeing Sonya emerge with a newfound power would make him want to go further than his limits.

Akaza nodded.

Simon sat before him and closed his eyes.

Pride had already supplied its awakening imprint.

This time, he reached for Greed.

He believed that out of the four seeds he possessed, greed was the most suitable to use for Akaza.

If he had Envy, it would have been perfect but he did not.

So, he settled for greed.

Several drops of blood essence gathered within his heart. He passed them through the seed’s power, then began forming the imprint under Lilith’s guidance.

Pain tightened beneath his ribs.

His breathing grew heavier, but the markings held together more quickly than they had during his first attempt.

When he opened his eyes, the completed imprint rested within a bead of blood above his fingertip.

He traced it onto Akaza’s chest.

Akaza flinched at the first touch, then held still.

Simon joined the mark to the formation and placed both palms over it.

”Begin circulating your demonic energy.”

Akaza drew a deep breath.

The blood circle brightened.

Red lines lifted from the stone, winding around his legs and climbing across his body. Simon fed energy into his heart as they joined the imprint.

He felt the connection forming beyond Akaza’s bloodline.

This time, he was ready and his Will held it steady.

The mark flared beneath his hands, and Akaza’s entire body jerked.

”Ngh!”

Simon maintained the flow as the blood markings sank beneath Akaza’s skin.

A sharp crack sounded from within his chest.