Last Born Of The Desdemona

Chapter 277: Chapter 277: Red Lotus

Chapter 277 – Red Lotus

Cassius applied the 80% discount ticket to the Skill Evolution Potion, bringing it down to 8,000 OP.

With that, he could easily afford all three items, even leaving him with 13,000 OP after his purchases.

He was getting excited, and waited patiently for his items to be delivered.

It didn’t take long. Soon enough, the golden realm cracked open in front of him, pouring down the three items one by one, each hidden inside a luxurious box except for the page of the True Tales.

That one was inside a white envelope.

The Origin Store’s Day was over in an instant, and Cassius fully focused on his three rewards.

”Which one should I start with?” He asked himself, rubbing his hands together like a starving man facing a table full of food.

Stella slithered all around his body, now wrapped cutely around his neck, hissing at the items with obvious curiosity.

[The Skill Evolution, I’d say.] Ananke answered his question, saying exactly what he was thinking.

”Right? I was about to.” He whispered, taking the box holding the potion. Opening it, his crimson eyes settled on the flask nestled gently inside.

The liquid inside was pristine white, and nothing else.

Cassius took it out, raised it to eye level, and studied the liquid gently swaying, feeling the dense essence emanating from it.

”Now the question is, which Skill should I evolve?” He wondered, thinking it over seriously.

He liked his Bloodflame a lot, but it was already his most advanced Skill. Evolving it would surely bring more Dragonic aspects, given the Skill’s origin, but that wasn’t what he needed right now.

He couldn’t risk unlocking more of the memories sealed in his left eye. Not right now.

The next option was his Chains, an interesting Skill that let him summon chains from an unknown realm, anywhere, anytime. Cassius was curious what its evolution would bring.

But his choice landed, undoubtedly, on his Third Skill.

”This is the Skill I got from the 3rd ancestor, yet it’s the one I use the least.” He frowned at that.

Not because he didn’t want to use it, but because it was hard to find real use for it. It was severely limited.

He could only place Tracking and Weakening Marks on people. Interesting, but the tracking range and the weakening’s power were both fairly small.

However...

”Hopefully it’ll be better after evolution.” He opened the flask with a soft pop, filling the room instantly with a sweet, lovely scent, ”I refuse to believe a Skill from my Third Ancestor is only this powerful.”

With those last words, he opened his mouth and swallowed the potion, his intention fixed on evolving his Third Skill.

Cassius expected some pain. There was always pain.

But he should have guessed something created for a lover wouldn’t involve pain.

All he felt was a pleasant warmth, almost identical to the feeling of a lover’s embrace deep in the night, skin against skin.

That sensation was followed by the gentle awakening of his Third Skill, resulting, after a few seconds, in a burst of power that rattled through Cassius like shockwaves.

He gasped, and his eyes glowed a bright crimson. Crimson like fire, wild and alive.

A crimson lotus tattoo appeared on his forehead, burning as if engraved by something unknown.

Cassius felt it, but didn’t know what it was.

By then, Stella had slipped off him, watching from a distance, unsettled by the cold, murderous yet saintly aura radiating from her master.

The Last Born fell backward onto the bed, eyes closed, his consciousness sinking inward.

And there he saw her, as he appeared inside an ocean of blood.

In the middle of that crimson world, she stood out starkly, her long white hair flapping continuously in the air.

Yet there was no wind. None Cassius could feel, at least.

The woman wore a white robe, the symbol of the Desdemona engraved brightly on its back.

She knelt on frozen blood, hands clasped in prayer, facing a great sculpture of a woman seated atop a large snake.

For some reason, that sculpture felt familiar to Cassius, though he couldn’t place why.

”That was a good choice.” The woman spoke, using the Ouroboros language, her voice so soft Cassius held his breath just to hear it.

She turned her head slowly, looking at Cassius over her left shoulder, revealing an immaculate, youthful face.

Her forehead bore a Crimson Lotus tattoo, seared at the edges — the same one now on Cassius’s forehead.

Her eyes were crimson, her mouth small and sweet. She looked twenty years old, yet her eyes felt older than anything Cassius had ever known.

She smiled at him, revealing perfectly white teeth, tilted her head, and nodded.

”I chose the Burning Crimson Lotus, thinking it would suit you.” Her smile deepened, ”I was right, after all.”

”You are—!”

Darkness.

CRACK—!

Light.

Cassius snapped his eyes wide open, gasping as if he’d gone an hour without breathing.

The first thing he saw was a succession of system panels.

[Congratulations, you have evolved your Third Skill: Red Priest of the Third.]

[The name of the Skill has been altered.]

[You have obtained the Skill: Red Lotus.]

The notifications vanished quickly, and Cassius absorbed the new abilities of his Skill.

Yet at the back of his mind, he couldn’t stop picturing that woman’s face, the one meant to be his Third Ancestor.

But...

”...she looked a lot like Mother.” Cassius whispered, frowning, ”which meant she looked far too much like me.”

He didn’t know how to explain that, especially given that his mother wasn’t a Desdemona by birth, but a Hood.

Were the Hoods and Desdemonas more closely related than they appeared?

It was rather confusing and deserved more thought. But by now, Cassius was used to questions without answers. Though it was starting to grow tiresome.

He sighed and refocused on his Skill, which finally earned him a pleased smile.

”I was right to evolve it, it seems.” He smiled.

The new Skill resembled the last one, yet was somehow different.

The Red Lotus gave him the ability to mark people. Each marked person would bear a blue lotus.

That blue lotus would track them, even across cities. But not only that.

Cassius could now temporarily seal a Skill or an Attribute of the marked, as long as his will and essence outmatched theirs.

That was an ability far beyond what he’d expected.

And one more thing: the marked would become more vulnerable to his attacks. They would hurt more, and bleed deeper.

Of course, the mark could only be applied through physical contact, and it would fade if his essence ran out or his will weakened.

Still...

”I’m satisfied.” He said, slowly rising from his lying position, joints cracking.

”I can already think of ways to use this Skill.” He smiled, utterly delighted.

No one knew he had a Third Skill. Even though he’d used it back at the Entrance Test, it had been so subtle no one had noticed.

So to everyone else, he only had Bloodflame and the Chains.

That thought put a smile on his face.

[The Lotus Mark suits you.]

”Right?” He chuckled, but let it fade from his forehead soon after, ”though let’s keep it hidden. Too high-profile.”

[Agreed.]

Hiss~

Stella hissed, seeing he was back to normal.

”Yes, yes, I’m here. Were you scared? I’m sorry.” Cassius said gently, letting her wrap herself around his right arm.

”Now let’s see the other two.”

He decided, putting aside the matter of his ancestor, and moved on to the remaining rewards. He opened the one holding the Ring of the Eternal Kingdom.

It didn’t look like a ring at all.

It was made of a thin, golden strand of hair. Cassius took it carefully, examining it closer, before clicking his tongue.

”This can only be used by the Princess herself.” He muttered.

He wasn’t discouraged. Even without being able to use it himself, simply possessing the ring gave him a real advantage against that goddess.

So he stored it away, knowing he’d need it soon enough to complete his Cursed Quest.

All that was left was Page 33 of the True Tales of the Fool.

Cassius found himself suddenly nervous, without knowing why. He first closed his window, then turned off all the lights.

He didn’t need light to see.

Next, he sat on the floor, cross-legged, back against the wall, Stella asleep on his lap.

After a quick prayer to his goddess, he took the page from the envelope. It was solid black.

Cassius unfolded the page and saw golden letters against the dark surface.

He checked first whether he could understand them, and found, to his surprise, that he could, despite the characters being unfamiliar.

Then he began to read, heart pounding.

I love it too, now.>

Cassius blinked, mouth falling open.

”What in the Queen’s name did I just read!!”

—End of Chapter 277—