Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2763: Chapter 2764: The Secret of Possession

These doubts can probably only be answered by the Black Earl. However, since these undoubtedly involve the secrets of the Noah Clan, Angel finds it difficult to ask...

”What is going on here? Didn’t you say you were dying? How are you now fused with the Black Earl?”

While Angel was pondering whether he should remain polite, Dox, standing nearby, directly spoke up, disregarding the occasion and atmosphere, unloading all his questions in one breath.

”And who are you now? Yourself or the Black Earl?”

Dox stared into Vay’s eyes.

Originally, Vay wanted to throw a few more sarcastic remarks or mock casually as he always did, but seeing the suppressed complex emotion in Dox’s eyes, he swallowed down his words.

”I’m still myself, naturally. I thought I was about to die, but as you saw, the Earl saved me.” Vay shrugged, showing a ’who could have predicted this turn of events’ expression.

Dox: ”You said earlier that you would become a puppet? Like Ella? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Vay’s gaze wandered: ”Oh, that... just a misunderstanding.”

Previously, Dox was firing off one question after another due to his heightened emotions, but as he calmed down a bit, he could see Vay’s responses were perfunctory. Vay clearly didn’t want to discuss what happened earlier.

After a moment of silence, Dox asked, ”In this world, there are no benefits without cost. Everything has a price. What price did you pay?”

Dox didn’t linger on the previous topic but went straight to the crux of the matter.

When Vay spoke during his ”near-death” experience, his words were sincere and earnest, definitely not an act. From those words, it was clear Vay had to pay a price, and previously Vay believed that the price would be enough for him to completely perish.

Though Vay appears unchanged now, how long will this state last? Will he become the ”puppet” he mentioned? Does he have... a future?

This was Dox’s biggest concern.

If all Vay gained was temporary well-being, what if he turned into a puppet after they parted ways, a year or two later?

Seeing Dox’s serious expression, Vay suddenly didn’t know what to say. He wanted to bluff as usual, but he knew Dox could tell if he was lying and previously chose not to expose him as a matter of mutual understanding and tolerance.

If he responds seriously to Dox’s earnestness with lies, wouldn’t that be inappropriate?

But to tell the truth, Vay doesn’t quite know where to start. Even though his lord had shared some information with him earlier, he remains confused, only realizing his past thoughts were perhaps too naive. The Black Earl following his descendant with an avatar surely has a motive, but it’s definitely not the intention for them to die.

Moreover, without permission from his lord, he cannot speak.

Vay neither blurts falsehoods nor reveals the truth, choosing silence instead.

Dox understood Vay well enough that, seeing his awkward expression, he knew his inner struggle. Dox sighed gently, ”I have many friends in the Southern Domain, but few among them truly pursue truth. I still recall when I was a wandering apprentice, the first time hearing the implication of truth, the longing and excitement surging from my soul, and it was you who explained it.”

”The road of a Wizard, seeking truth, endless and boundless. Even if you have wandered for years, I still believe only you would choose as I did.”

”I understand your concerns. I won’t ask more.”

”But on this path of pursuing truth, I will not stop, and I hope you can be there.”

Dox’s words were a confession after dissecting his heart, his genuine emotions revealed. Why he cared about Vay’s future is because the road of pursuing truth is destined to be a lonely one. Having a close friend accompany you, even if only for a short while, is a kind of fortune.

And now they don’t even have the qualifications to step on the path of truth. If someone from among them falls behind now, it would be a great regret.

Vay probably hadn’t expected Dox to speak with such seriousness at this time.

Vay always thought his demands were actually very low, belonging to the rare low-desire group in the Wizards’ Realm.

He also believed no one would have expectations for him, let alone any high standards.

With this kind of self-satisfied mindset, Vay spent his days idly. But was this truly the reality he believed? What was his true inner thought process?

During those idle days, Vay occasionally went to the highest point of Mesomyia, at the place called the ”Eternal Mountain,” and gazed into the distance.

Why he went there, what he was thinking at the time, Vay has since forgotten, or rather, chose to forget.

But at this very moment, hearing Dox’s words, he seemed to catch a glimpse of those forgotten memories.

At the peak of the Eternal Mountain, he wasn’t concerned with the matters of the divination shop nor thinking of tabloid magazines; he was thinking about himself.

Thinking of his true self, his essential self, and that imagined super self.

He too had thought of the future, it’s just...

As Vay immersed himself in self-reflection, a cold snort interrupted.

”You’re decades late with these words.” The voice came from Vay but wasn’t spoken by him.

Such a tone, there’s only one... the Black Earl!

After uttering those words, the Black Earl flew out from Vay’s face again, re-attaching to the previous slab.

Vay’s nose had a dark hole now.

The Black Earl floated gently in mid-air, its nostrils aiming at Dox: ”Had you said these words decades earlier, he might have become an Official Wizard already. But it’s not too late now.”

The Black Earl mocked Dox with a few phrases, then turned his gaze to Vay.

”Although I don’t think Dox has the ability to step on the path of truth, he is correct in saying you have a chance to pursue truth.”

”Are you planning to continue squandering your time?”

Vay didn’t answer, but his eyes had a new gleam.

His previous self-assumptions were indeed wrong. Dox had expectations for him all along, just kept quiet, patiently waiting; the Black Earl had expectations too, otherwise, the Earl wouldn’t have stayed and let him squander the years.

Being expected comes with responsibility and burden. Although a bit troublesome, Vay now has the courage to embrace such trouble.

Though silent, his expression had already said it all, and the Black Earl snorted lightly, approvingly at Vay.

After confirming Vay’s intentions, the Black Earl continued: ”Tell him, though it’s a secret of the Noah Clan, those destined to know will ultimately know.”

”... Just like someone, if I don’t say it, he’d probably ask his mentor or my old friend and eventually find out.”

No need to name names; everyone knew the ”someone” referred to was Angel.

Angel indeed had such intentions... but! He hadn’t acted upon them yet. Isn’t it a bit excessive to blame him in advance? Hey!!

Angel was silently complaining, but outwardly remained calm, feigning complete ignorance about the Black Earl’s words, appearing unrelated.

The Black Earl agreed to let Vay explain, offering Vay some relief, since he didn’t want to hide things from his close friend.

However, even after a long pause, Vay hadn’t started speaking.

With eyes of curiosity on Vay, he awkwardly addressed the Black Earl: ”Sir, I, I honestly didn’t quite understand what I heard earlier.”

Silence from everyone: ”...”

The Black Earl had planned for Vay to finish his account, letting himself start a wave of sarcastic comments afterward, but now he wasn’t in the mood.

With a cold snort, the Black Earl took over speaking from Vay, providing an explanation.

...

Through the Black Earl’s recounting, everyone learned what had transpired.

Vay averted his death from the Ancient Gaze at significant cost... by ”sacrificing” his talent, the Death Sense.

Calling it ”sacrifice” is merely for ease of understanding. Essentially, Vay exchanged his inherited Noah bloodline’s Death Sense as a price to withstand the attack from the Ancient Gaze.

After making this choice, Vay had actually already thought through the path forward.

Either accept being ordinary, or, like Sister Ella, allow the Black Earl’s avatar to possess him, becoming a puppet.

However, what Vay didn’t expect was that he didn’t even have the right to choose. The Ancient Gaze’s death ray was too terrifying; even though he sacrificed his talent, he barely managed to save one life.

When he stepped down in critical condition, and healing techniques had no effect on him, Vay’s choice became: either die, or allow the Black Earl to possess him.

Between the two, Vay chose to let the Black Earl possess him. Becoming a puppet, akin to a living dead, was still better than completely disappearing.

As for why Vay didn’t turn into a ”puppet” in the end? This must be explained from a ”conspiracy theory”.

Many people have always been puzzled as to why the Black Earl would place an avatar near a Noah descendant. Initially, there were two speculations: one side believed the Black Earl wanted to protect the descendants, while the other thought he had ulterior motives.

Judging from the Black Earl’s actions, his avatar has protected the descendants many times. Therefore, Noah descendants lean towards the former.

When did the wind change?

When several Noah descendants died after venturing into ruins, resulting in the Black Earl’s avatar returning their corpses to the clan, rumors began to spread.

The Black Earl’s avatar indeed suggested the descendants explore various ruins adventurously, but the Black Earl was more inclined to hope the descendants would grow, not out of ill intentions...

Since then, many Noah descendants started to become cautious of the Black Earl’s avatar, and the trend of staying at home began to prevail among them.

Yet among the Noah descendants, there were indeed those who truly loved exploring the unknown. Although they were cautious of the Black Earl, this couldn’t stop them from dreaming about distant lands.

One such person was Vay’s older sister, Ella.

Once, Vay, influenced by his sister Ella, loved exploring unknown places too, which led to his interaction with Dox, becoming lifelong friends.

But one day, as Ella returned to the family, Vay saw her and realized Ella was vacant and speechless, as if a puppet, being controlled by the Black Earl...

Only then did Vay understand, the peers’ cautiousness towards the Black Earl was justified.

From then on, Vay suppressed his true desires and started staying home.

Decades passed in the blink of an eye, and they arrived at today.

During this time, Vay tentatively asked the Black Earl, and the Earl’s answer was as others speculated: possession.

Black Earl revealed the situation of sacrificing talent and then being possessed... Ella took this step.

Black Earl only stated the reason but didn’t provide a conclusion.

This caused Vay to misunderstand: once possessed, he would no longer be himself. His consciousness would die, becoming a puppet of living dead with only a body remaining.

This is why Vay tearfully shouted a series of ”final words” just now.

Above is all content the Black Earl narrated.

It omits a lot of things, including why the inherited bloodline talent can be sacrificed, and why encouragement for sacrifice can be heard in the Earl’s tone?

Perhaps this involves the secret of the Noah Family, and Black Earl deliberately avoided these details. But this isn’t too critical, because whether or not to sacrifice talent, the final choice wasn’t made by the Black Earl, but by the Noah descendants.

Black Earl appears more like a witness, an observer.

”Why didn’t Vay end up dead? Nor become a living dead puppet?” Black Earl never explained these two questions, only saying everything was ”rumor,” which prompted Dox to ask once again.

Black Earl: ”He was never going to die, my avatar’s possession would only restore past talent, not kill him, nor turn him into a living dead puppet.”

At this time, Vay also explained: ”The Earl is right, I misunderstood him before.”

Dox: ”Then your sister Ella...”

Vay weakly waved his hand: ”Sister Ella isn’t actually dead.”

Not dead? Then what was your earlier crying and shouting about?

Dox looked at Vay, who had a complete change in attitude, still somewhat incredulous. If he hadn’t known Vay well, confirming the person before him wasn’t someone else playing him, he would have suspected everything was a performance by the Black Earl.

”I don’t fully understand the specifics yet, but the Lord has clearly told me that Sister Ella isn’t dead.” Vay explained again, he trusted Black Earl’s words, at least in this matter, the Earl had no reason to deceive him.

Black Earl also timely spoke: ”His sister Ella is accompanied by my tongue. Since my tongue possessed her, Ella rarely speaks, probably because she feels awkward psychologically, never overcoming the shadow.”

Vay then confirmed the Black Earl’s words, the Black Earl avatar following Ella is indeed the tongue.

Everyone imagined briefly, if their tongue were sacrificed and replaced by someone else’s tongue, an uncontrollable one, it would be quite revolting to think about.

Moreover, Ella, a witch, replacing with a tongue of the opposite gender, would likely cause psychological shadows.

Nevertheless, they actually all misunderstood.

Black Earl didn’t tell them that the tongue’s ability actually relates to ”speech.”

It can be understood as speaking of good things not effective, speaking of bad things coming true.

Not every avatar of the Black Earl has a character as steady as the nose; the tongue’s personality is an exception, somewhat wild, and particularly annoying, often talking about unlucky things.

Previously, when Ella had her talent ability, she wouldn’t intentionally say ”bad things,” so she was still quite normal.

But Ella sacrificed her talent, and after the Black Earl’s tongue possessed her, even though talent slowly returned, the tongue’s case of annoying speech didn’t change.

To avoid the tongue hurting those around due to speaking annoying things, Ella chose to live isolated, not speaking even when returning to the family, enduring not to speak even when Vay visited her.

This was actually to protect Vay.

But Vay misunderstood, thinking Ella turned into a living dead puppet.

It’s layers of misunderstanding piling up.

About this, Black Earl is actually quite aware, but he didn’t intervene nor explain.

Black Earl’s possession wasn’t without purpose; he sought his transcendent state. As for specific how-to, it’s a secret the Black Earl won’t share externally.

But what can be said is, he has some requirements for these descendants, but wouldn’t really deceive or harm them. Even if the Black Earl transcends into a Legend, the harm to the descendants won’t be significant, nor will he deceive and kill them. After becoming a Legend, he might even benefit them in return; overall, it’s a matter with both pros and cons, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

And for the object of possession, Black Earl is selective, only those with potential and willing to break through between life and death are truly worth possessing.

If you continue to stay home, avoiding unknowns and obscuring the path forward, then it’s better to let such people continue to misunderstand.

Now, the Noah Clan is divided into two groups: one group has been possessed, knows everything, but won’t share the truth; the other group remains unaware of the truth, using the ”home” approach to avoid and firmly believe in rumors.

Vay was once the latter, but this duel forced him into the former group.

It also opened the door to his new world.

This is also why the Black Earl specifically wanted Vay to duel; since the first battle, the Earl has noticed Vay’s sharpness hasn’t completely disappeared, his potential remains, his decisiveness remains. So, the Black Earl gave Vay a chance to make a choice between life and death.

But even the Black Earl didn’t anticipate how ruthless the opponent would be, even using the Ancient Gaze against Vay, leaving him no choice.

Either die or be possessed.

In this situation, Vay had no choice but to choose possession, after all, having been raised by the Noah Clan, he was willing to contribute a little before ”dying”.

But the result was unexpected for Vay.

Being possessed wasn’t death, but the beginning of another journey.

Although Vay mostly made a forced choice to be possessed, he eventually embarked on this path. Perhaps this could also be considered... luck?