Unsealing Emptiness

Ozul felt her emotions and realized that she seemed troubled. He placed the Spiritual Arts book aside. “I thought we were much clear on that?”

“It’s not about that. Our relationship remains the same. However, it appears you won’t be able to stay in my estate anymore.” Ember’s eyes looked for a corner she could hide her shame in.

Ozul instantly realized what she meant. He was well aware of the discomfort that their presence had caused among all the Beastkin in this estate, excluding Ember.

“That is no trouble. We will take our leave immediately,” Ozul spoke while motioning towards Raven who didn’t waste a second before their personal belongings were back in her Spatial Ring.

Ember shook her head, sighing. “I didn’t seem to comprehend that I’d lost not just my powers but also influence inside my organization. I hope you understand.”

She wouldn’t have given it a second thought if it had simply been these folks on her estate.

.....

However, word had reached the highest levels of her organization that she was collaborating with humans and sheltering them.

Clenching her fists in suppressed anger, she vowed to herself to take revenge on those old coots who were once her colleagues.

It was fine until she wasn’t allowed to have a say in the most important matters, but undermining her authority in her own place was overstepping the boundaries.

She was embarrassed in front of Ozul and the rest because of those people she once considered beneath her.

However, she wasn’t one to back down. ‘Just you wait... It wouldn’t be long now.’ Her eyes locked onto Ozul.

She had found the key to regaining her powers!

. . .

The winds swept down from the north in the center of the bustling city, carrying with them a pure air that everyone found nice to breathe.

One of the few backward areas deprived of this blessing housed a rundown hotel.

Raven found the depressing atmosphere no hindrance to the peace of her mind since she was beside Ozul.

All of them were teleported to this city after they walked out of the Beastkin’s estate.

Before leaving, Ember had given Ozul a ring that worked as a long-distance communication artifact.

Just like with all the rings, he gave it to Raven for safekeeping.

He couldn’t use it, and among the other three, he trusted her the most in being serious about it. Blaze could be trusted as well, but he occasionally made rash decisions based on the instinct to kill at first sight.

Ember had told Ozul to grow stronger until she had a task suitable for them.

In fact, she didn’t have to tell him that. He was also thinking of growing stronger first.

Raven, Blaze, and Zier also had to catch up and become sufficiently strong. To the point that they could at least protect themselves while carrying out his orders.

They had more than enough money to rent a whole house and live comfortably for years, but Ozul always chose such backward areas since there wasn’t too much noise here.

...

Inside the room, Zier stared at the silver needles in an awestruck gaze.

There were a total of five needles, and he concealed two of them in each of his sleeves and the fifth behind his back.

Without minding Blaze’s looming shadow, he experimented with this High-Tier Earth Grade Weapon. As Ember had promised, he only had to exert his Spiritual Essence and the needle immediately flew toward him.

“Pft! I doubt you can hurt a kid with that!”

A sound of laughter rang behind him as Zier’s face turned to stone in shame.

This was because the speed at which it returned to him was similar to that of a leaf gently swaying in the air until it met the ground.

And while Blaze didn’t notice any problem with him throwing the needle, Zier himself knew that it was far from efficient!

‘Seems like I will have to practice with these...’ Zier thought with crushed hopes. In the end, he was nevertheless excited because he had only ever used ordinary needles in his life.

But after a while, he put them aside. He thought it better to first master the Hunter’s Arsenal. Having a better grasp of his surroundings would improve his abilities by leaps and bounds!

Just like him, Raven and Blaze also took out their Spiritual Arts and began to study them.

It didn’t take long for them to realize that these Spiritual Arts were considerably many times harder than the cultivation technique!

Seeing them fussing over their Spiritual Arts, Ozul couldn’t help but wonder, ‘Is cultivation easier for the so-called Dragon Hatchlings since they have already gone through most of the process in their previous Realm?’

Even if that was the case, learning the Spiritual Arts seemed to have slowed down their learning speed a lot.

Shaking his head, he also opened the Spiritual Art that he had gotten from Ember.

This was the first time he was going to try and use The Purity as a normal cultivator would use their Spiritual Essence.

He tried to do the same with Mana in the previous Realm, but it had no results whatsoever.

This time, he wasn’t expecting much either.

Going through the book only once, he opened the instructions page once again and began to rotate The Purity inside his body in the same manner that the diagram showed.

Nothing.

The Purity reached his nails, but he felt nothing new.

‘Maybe it would have worked if I had blood?’ he wondered before shaking his head, ‘Who am I kidding... If only blood was the problem, I should have at least been able to use The Purity in place for the Spiritual Essence in the Spatial Ring.’

Many thoughts slide past his mind before he decided to test a Spiritual Weapon as well.

First, he threw the Blue Claws book towards Blaze who almost dropped the catch. “Take it, I think it will complement the other Spiritual Art,” he said, receiving a grateful nod from Blaze. Blue Claws and Cold Fists both seemed like they could be used together.

Turning towards Zier, he ordered, “Expell your Spiritual Essence and pass me one of those needles.”

The needles worked in this manner. If someone had already filled them with Spiritual Essence and claimed ownership, another person couldn’t instantly take over them. Either the owner first resigned his ownership or the Spiritual Essence trace dissipated over a long period of time before another person could use them.

According to Ember, many other Spiritual Weapons worked in the same manner.

Zier didn’t question his orders. He took out the needle behind his back and retrieved the Spiritual Essence inside of it. After that, he threw the needle straight at Ozul who caught it with ease using The Purity.

Fascinated by the black substance which seemed to have a life and thoughts of its own, Zier skipped beside Blaze and couldn’t help but ask, “Hey, do you know what that black thing really is? I mean, I used to think it was some kind of magic. But it’s clearly not!”

He’d grown even more attracted by it since arriving in this new Realm. After all, even Vesta, the Sovereign of Beasts, lost her prowess, but he didn’t.

He knew there was something special about him since the moment he had decided to follow him, but he never expected it to this extent! Even the strongest being in their previous Realm lost to him!

Raven heard his queries, but she decided to ignore their conversation and instead focused on the Scarlet Eyes.

Blaze smirked and answered in a mysterious tone, “Well... He is the Devil’s Spawn,’ and shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn’t a big deal.

This remark left a wide-eyed Zier staring into the emptiness with a blank expression on his face.

Suddenly everything seemed to start making sense!

‘Black hair, deep black eyes, and an appearance that would make even men look twice. There is even that strange black familiar(Jinx)! Black means evil!’ Just as the thought crossed his mind and he was beginning to question his own reality, Zier remembered something and shook his head bitterly.

‘What am I talking about? My own blood is poisonous and a cure to other poisons. If anything, I should be the monster here...’ he gave himself a self-deprecating smile. Even regretted having such thoughts about Ozul.

That man had only ever shown kindness to him. Even if he was some kind of Devil, it didn’t matter to him!

Blaze smirked again, this time menacingly, and his expression was a little surprised as if he was expecting something that didn’t happen.

“Seems like you have chosen well.”

Zier felt chills running down his spine as if he was unknowingly a little too close to disaster just now.

Ozul only spared them a side glance. Blaze was usually hotheaded, but there were times like these that proved that he was more insightful and understanding than he let on.

Only from Zier’s expressions, he was able to roughly guess his thoughts.

He returned his focus back to the needles.

Turning a bit of The Purity into gaseous form, he focused on forcing it inside the needle.

Sadly, it didn’t turn out the way he expected. No matter how much he forced it in the needle, it wouldn’t absorb The Purity.

The needle only physically interacted with The Purity.

‘Maybe even this much is too big for the needle to absorb?’ Ozul again pondered on the matter.

In the end, it was just more likely that these tools were only made to absorb the Spiritual Essence and The Purity was nothing like the Spiritual Essence.

He also gave it a passing thought that maybe The Purity might have been created by another Realm Ego which imitated the Spiritual Essence like Mana.

Though he rejected that thought as well. ‘The Purity is definitely superior to that Spiritual Essence.’ His instinctual disgust for any other energy such as the Spiritual Essence was proof of that.

Having gone through most of what he had planned to do, Ozul resigned to his fate and dropped onto the dusty bed.

‘The only thing left to do is to try and absorb a Spiritual Core now...’

.....