A/N; Posted my other novel recent chapter by mistake. So sorry dear readers.
*
After listening to Arianna recount everything, Michael could not help but wear an odd expression.
From her words, he ca to understand that the intense soul injuries and massive losses he had suffered in Hell had not stayed isolated there. They had reflected directly onto his other body in the Land of Origin.
That realization, while unsettling, made a certain kind of sense to him. If there was one thing his two bodies did not possess separately, it was his soul. The soul was not sothing that could be divided or duplicated. It was his true identity, unchanged no matter how many bodies he inhabited or how many worlds he existed in at once.
Because of that, any damage to it would inevitably echo everywhere. This was also why the destruction of his undead in any world affected him across all his bodies, even if the effect was usually small. A thread was still there, no matter how thin.
This ti, however, the loss had been too great.
The scale of destruction in Hell had been massive enough to throw both of his bodies into shock at the sa ti.
Returning to Arianna's explanation, she said they did not know exactly when it began. At so point during the night, strange energy fluctuations started leaking from Michael's room. When she and her father went to check after receiving no response from him, sothing she shyly apologized for, much to Michael's quiet amusent, they found him lying there without any visible injuries.
On the surface, he looked fine.
That was what made it frightening.
His breathing was steady. His body showed no obvious wounds. Yet his energy was in complete disorder, spreading unevenly through the room as if it no longer obeyed any stable pattern.
At that mont, it beca obvious to them that sothing was seriously wrong.
Arianna explained that her father had moved closer to inspect him, intending only to check his condition. The instant he crossed a certain distance, Michael's body reacted on its own.
It entered a defensive state.
If Duke Evermoon had not reacted quickly, retreating the mont he sensed danger, Michael might have left him gravely injured or worse.
Of course, Arianna did not describe it so bluntly, but Michael understood what had happened.
She then said the situation continued to worsen. The fluctuations around Michael grew so unstable that no one could approach him anymore. The pressure alone was enough to make most people retreat instinctively.
And not everyone was Duke Evermoon.
With no one else able to safely intervene, soone else was brought in to assess the situation.
Or rather, soone arrived on her own after sensing the disturbance.
As expected, it was the Great Princess, the old king's sister.
Given Michael's power and the fact that this was the capital, it was not surprising. If his condition spiraled out of control, the consequences would not stay hidden for long.
Either that, or the princess had already been keeping an eye on his location and imdiately realized sothing was wrong.
According to Arianna, the princess stated that Michael's soul was indeed damaged. Severely so. Yet at the sa ti, she noted sothing unusual.
He was benefiting from it.
She admitted that she did not fully understand what was happening to him or why his soul was suffering such extre damage. However, she could clearly see that Michael was also growing stronger through
it.
Because of that, she instructed them not to disturb him.
She said his outco depended entirely on himself and on what the world had in store for him.
Hearing this, Michael took a mont to imagine the scene.
It seed the princess had arrived at the exact point when he had begun comprehending his law, which explained why she could tell that he was becoming stronger despite the damage.
After all, part of the reason he had managed to grasp his current law at all was because of that soul injury. It had forced him to perceive things he could never have understood otherwise.
Pain had torn sothing open inside him.
And through that opening, he had finally seen what lay beyond.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
The tea had gone lukewarm. Sunlight still filtered through the tall
windows, but the warmth felt thinner now.
Arianna was the first to break the silence.
"Sir Mic," she said softly.
Michael looked up.
She hesitated, fingers tightening around the porcelain cup in her hands before relaxing again. When she spoke, her voice was careful.
"May I ask you sothing?"
"Of course," Michael replied.
She took a small breath.
"Are you advancing toward the next stage?"
The question caught him off guard.
Michael blinked once, then leaned back slightly, studying her
expression.
"Why do you think that?" he asked.
Arianna lowered her gaze briefly, then looked back at him.
"I might be naïve about many things," she said slowly, "but even I can
tell when soone no longer fully belongs to their current stage."
Michael stayed quiet.
"You were already at the peak," she continued. "That much was clear long ago. But now..." Her voice softened. "Now you are growing
stronger without changing realms."
She paused.
"That only happens when soone already has a step into the next
rank."
Michael exhaled.
"I do," he admitted.
The words were calm, honest.
Arianna stiffened for just a mont.
Then she drew in a deep breath, steadying herself, and let it out slowly. When she smiled, it was restrained, careful, but not false.
"I thought so," she said quietly.
"I'm happy for you, Sir Mic. Truly."
Michael felt sothing tighten in his chest.
Her smile did not quite reach her eyes.
"I haven't fully reached it," he said after a mont. "That step is there,
but crossing it completely won't be easy. It could take a long ti."
Arianna nodded.
"But you're already standing at the door," she said. "And given your
age... you will cross it eventually."
She looked at him again, the strained smile returning, gentler this
ti.
"That's enough for ."
Michael did not argue.
But as he watched her lift her cup again, pretending to focus on the
tea, he knew sothing had shifted between them.
He just did not yet understand what it ant. The silence lingered longer than Michael expected.
It was not uncomfortable in the usual sense. There was no tension
pressing down on the room, no hostility or unease. Yet sothing sat
between them, quiet and heavy, like a thought neither of them was ready to voice.
Michael was the one who broke it.
"By the way," he said casually, lifting his cup again though he did not
drink from it this ti, "is there any news about the ruins?"
Arianna looked up, surprised for a fraction of a second.
"The ruins?" she echoed.
"Yes," Michael continued. "The expedition the kingdom was organizing. I've been unconscious for a few days. There's no way I'd
know if anything changed."
Her shoulders relaxed slightly, as if grateful for the shift in topic.
"Oh," she said, nodding. "That."
She placed her cup down gently.
"The team has already been finalized," Arianna said. "Just as planned
before. Your na is still on the list, Sir Mic."
Michael nodded. That was expected.
"The only new developnt," she continued, "is that the departure
has been confird. In about a week, maybe two at most, the
expedition will move out."
"With other kingdoms," she added after a brief pause. Understanding settled in imdiately. So it had reached that stage.
The ruins were important enough that cooperation was unavoidable,
or dangerous enough that no single kingdom wanted to shoulder the
risk of greed. Either way, it ant complications, politics, and eyes watching from every direction.
Michael opened his mouth to respond. Before he could speak, Arianna stood up abruptly.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly. "Please excuse for a mont."
Her movent was stiff, awkward in a way that did not match her usual composure.
"My stomach feels a little unsettled," she added, offering a polite smile
that appeared just a second too late. Michael paused.
He knew imdiately it was a lie.
With her strength and constitution, a cup of tea was not enough to
upset her body. Not even slightly. Even if it had been poisoned, she would have noticed long before now.
But he did not call her out.
Instead, he rose halfway from his seat, concern softening his voice.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Arianna froze for a brief mont.
Then she nodded quickly. "I'm fine," she said. "Really."
She did not et his eyes as she turned away.
"We'll talk later, Sir Mic," she added, already moving toward the door.
Michael watched her back as she left the room, the door closing softly behind her.
The tea room felt quieter after that.
Not empty. Just... hollow.
Michael remained standing for a mont before slowly sitting back
down. He stared at the cup in front of him, the surface of the tea
barely rippling.
Sothing was wrong. He could feel it.
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