Chapter 438 – Dungeon Completed
With the Seed of Protheus, Kaden managed to heal most problems inside Rudolph’s body.
Unknowingly even to himself, the young man’s body had been slowly dying, losing all his faculties in a subtle but harrowing way.
If Rudolph thought that loss of legs was the only issue with him, then he was amusedly wrong.
For a mont, Kaden was dazed, unable to comprehend how a single body could be so rotten with ailnts.
It was like most of Pandora’s box contents had fled towards him, finding him a great host. At that thought, strangely, worryingly, instinctively even, Kaden shifted his head to look at Rea standing beside him.
She stood there like a queen for the damned — beautiful, stunning, but unmistakably filled with darkness and madness too heavy for most to bear.
Her earrings, her rings, her ruby eyes with a taint of black and her whole aura...all of that, despite being a strange sight, pulled Kaden in a way he had never expected.
With that, he concerningly realized, he could no longer fool himself — he was as crazy as Rea.
’Maybe that’s why we are together.’ He thought, seeing Rea shift her head towards him, sensing his prolonged stare.
Her lips pulled out in a smile, "I don’t mind you staring a bit harder." She said, "If you wish, Sorrow bless , you can even look inside of . I would be very much happy."
With Blanche still healing Rudolph, Kaden cocked his head, "How does that work?"
"I can open my legs—!"
"You are getting freaky, Rea."
"Sorrow burn , a fiancée just wanting to please her lover is a cri now." She playfully rolled her eyes, "Then again, if you prefer another way, tell . You can open my belly and look inside or look through my mouth or even my chest. As long as you heal back, I don’t mind the thod."
Her smile widened even more,
"Just see all of , and feel all of ."
"Remind to never step foot into the Church of Sorrow." Kaden said calmly, as if what Rea just said was not worthy of nightmares.
Rea laughed at his reaction, strangely becoming more comfortable showing all of herself.
anwhile, Kaden beckoned at the corpse of the Alchemist. Even though his heart and brain were no more, his body was still very much intact and could be of use.
Especially now.
With his gesture, the two legs of the Alchemist were detached from the body — cracking sounds booming, blood still spraying — before going directly inside Kaden’s hand.
He took them, cut the stick-like legs of Rudolph with his intent, and began linking the blood of Rudolph to the two legs of the Alchemist first before using Synthesis on them.
So with blood control, Seed of Protheus, Synthesis, Kaden — no, Asclepius — began to heal the legs of Rudolph.
At his side stood his fiancée, watching the process with both indifference and awe. The contrast was supposed to be impossible, but anything was possible inside the God-Touched’s mind.
"Still thinking of my proposal?" She suddenly said, playing with her fingers riddled with rings.
Kaden shook his head, "Allow to be at your level of lunacy first."
"I fear it will take too long."
"I certainly hope so."
"Sorrow take you." Rea cursed.
"Thanks for the blessing."
...
Kaden, in his Asclepius persona, watched as Rudolph finally stirred awake, his eyelids fluttering wildly — like trapped wings of a butterfly seeking escape — before snapping wide open.
White immaculate irises with golden pupils t the world’s sourceless light.
The first thing the young man saw was Kaden’s face — his green hair, green eyes and a black mole under his left eye — making Rudolph smile.
He imdiately tried to get up, and felt the sensation of having two feet sinking on the ground. The feeling at first confused him greatly, his mind slow to understand the new information his brain was processing.
But once everything clicked; once he lowered his head in slow, chanical motion and saw a pair of legs unfamiliar to him — the skin black despite his own white skin — his eyes dilated as he fell back on the withered couch in pure dismay.
His face was aghast, ghastly pale even.
"No...am I dreaming?" He muttered, voice trembling. He constantly blinked his eyes, then slapped himself sharply as if afraid this was one of his nurous dreams.
But no. It was real.
He had legs, he could feel them. And so...
"I can walk?"
That question was accompanied by him getting up again, putting his feet down awkwardly before slowly striding away; going past Kaden and Rea alike, his mind too absorbed by this new feeling.
It was strange, like a toddler trying to walk for the first ti.
But suddenly, Rudolph halted, his face frowning, twisting in pain. It was then that his mind returned to him, making him rember Kaden and Rea. Mainly Kaden.
He smiled apologetically, though an edge of pain could be seen on his face.
"You did it, Alchemist Asclepius." He said, voice filled with overwhelming gratitude, "You actually did it."
"I promised you." Kaden’s tone was gentle and soothing, "So my promise, I kept."
Then his face beca serious, looking deep at Rudolph, "You can sense it, can’t you?"
Rudolph smiled wryly, "Yes." He nodded, "I feel pain — as if needles were stabbing these, no, my legs — constantly when I walk."
"Indeed." Kaden nodded, "I am an Alchemist, but even I can’t go towards the fundantal nature of the world."
It was a lie.
"You have wished to walk all your life, but now to walk, Rudolph, you will need to bear the pain constantly, and that until the end of your life. Is it still worthy now?"
Rudolph laughed, walking around, his face twitching from ti to ti, "Yes, definitely, it’s worth it. But eventually, I hope, Alchemist, that I will get used to this pain. However, in any case, compared to my past state..."
He smiled gratefully,
"...this is way better." Then his face darkened in sha, "However, I need to insist, Alchemist Asclepius, I want to repay you. No, I can’t do that, even my life will be insufficient. But I still need to do sothing for you."
He walked towards Kaden and bowed ninety degrees.
"Please, allow that favor. Anything. Tell anything and I will do it."
Listening to him, Kaden looked at Rea and saw the lovely girl pointing at her chest and mouthing clearly enough: ’Heart’.
Kaden rolled his eyes and ignored Rea’s ridiculous proposal.
Thinking for a bit, he parted his lips, putting his hand on the bowing young man,
"Just rember this for , if you wish to repay , and it will be more than enough."
"Yes, please!"
Kaden paused for a bit, then,
"You have lived a life of lack and suffering. You know, probably more than most, what it feels like to desperately want sothing yet can’t have it for unknown reasons." He halted for a heartbeat, then continued,
"So I expect from you to have this understanding, and be able to help others in the sa situation as you. Offer others what you have to give."
Rudolph raised his head, looking at him with shimring eyes.
’Everything to change your path.’
"That’s all for ." Kaden said, smiling, "And as an Alchemist who knew nothing but healing, that’s all I can say."
Rea stealthily rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Before Rudolph could say anything else,
"Do you then accept your fate?" Kaden asked finally.
Your fate of walking with constant pain, your fate of offering others what you have.
In a way, Kaden was conditioning Rudolph towards a certain mindset, a certain path. He was manipulating him.
But he felt like he had no other choice, if he didn’t want to save soone that could be like The Devourer of Souls or worse.
And so,
"Y-Yes." Rudolph said, eyes brimming with determination, "I accept my fate, Alchemist—!"
Rudolph didn’t continue as the world around instantly paused. Only Rea and Kaden could move, and that situation ant indeed that...
DING!
[You have completed the dungeon.]
At the words of The Will, Kaden saw how the body of Rudolph fragnted into hundreds of souls — all flying straight towards him.
His Trait, Soulbrand, trumpeted in joy.
—End of Chapter 438—
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