Unedited*

’He remembered something,’ Edward thought immediately, noticing the change in his expression.

However, the Sanguine shook his head.

Just as Edward thought he might be able to hide it, the Sanguine spoke.

"I don’t know much about the Age of the Three Giants, because I’m not a historian. However, I know someone who might know. He’s not a historian, but he knows a lot."

Edward nodded. ’It’s not like I’m very interested in history, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to learn a few things,’ he thought.

"Although if there’s one thing I can say, it’s that you have a peculiar name," Sanguine said suddenly.

Edward frowned and looked up. "A peculiar name?"

"Yes. I’ve heard the name Lux."

"Really?" Edward almost stammered. How could it be that a legendary race like this had heard his surname?

"That man has a wealth of historical knowledge to share. If you ever meet him, I’m sure you’ll understand."

"By the way, you can call me Malakor. Malakor the Elusive One of Darkness."

’Malakor? What a peculiar name.’ Edward nodded.

"Nice to meet you, Malakor. Edward will do just fine."

Malakor smiled. "Getting back to your questions, but veering off a bit. I saved you because I want you to help me with something. Since you’re an enemy of the Corrupted and so am I, how about we work together?"

"Before that, I’d like to know about the Corrupted and about you, the Sanguine. It’s an important decision, after all, and if I have to face them..." Edward shrugged.

"Of course. Although you aren’t very strong, I’ve seen that you’re very cunning and can kill Corrupted on your own, without needing outside help. That’s valuable these days," said Malakor.

"First things first." He gestured with his hands.

Suddenly, everything that was glowing around him began to recede toward his head and then started to float above him, forming a halo of blood several inches from his head.

"We, the Sanguines, have three phases. The first is the one you saw a moment ago. It’s our normal phase. In it, we have total control over our power, but we have less power compared to our second phase. The Divine Phase."

Edward frowned. "Divine Phase... Is that the one you’re in right now? Why is it called that? And the ones outside had that too, but with their heads crystallized."

"This is the Divine Phase. We enter into perfect synchrony with our Venerated Aleskra and his supernatural powers. Our Bloody Halo becomes the root of our power and wisdom," he said. "A Divine root."

"Even his voice changed," Edward thought.

"However, it consumes a great deal of energy and is difficult to sustain. If you know anything about us Sanguines, you must know that our energy is also our immortality," he said, and suddenly the blood in his body began to rapidly cover his pale white skin.

"And this is our third phase: the Unrestrained Phase." His voice changed again, but that wasn’t the only thing that had changed.

Surprisingly, his head transformed from a human head into a completely crystallized one, identical to what he had seen before.

Now, his mouth didn’t move when he spoke because he didn’t have one. But the sound came out.

"Do you want to know about the Corrupted? Very well. I’ll tell you the reason why we call them the Corrupted."

"The Corrupted are Sanguines just like us, who have succumbed to the power of the God of the Shadows. This phase—the Unbridled Phase—makes us more powerful, but it robs us of our reason."

As he spoke, he returned to his normal state to avoid remaining in that condition for too long, so he wouldn’t lose himself in his words due to constantly having deadly visions and seeing others as prey.

"They fell into Corruption precisely because they failed to control this Phase. Some say that, in reality, the Unbridled Phase is merely a power granted to us by the God of Shadows to draw us to his side; that is why controlling it is the foundation of a fulfilling life as a Sanguine."

"The Corrupted couldn’t control it, and the energy of the God of Shadows enveloped them from within, slowly taking control of them. Now they can’t escape this state, so they’ll gradually lose their ability to reason."

"The problem is that they’ve lost something else." Malakor sighed. "Our defining characteristic as a race. They’ve lost their respect for the Venerable Aleskra, and they’ve also... lost the immortality of our blood."

Edward frowned at this. "I faced one before, and he was practically immortal. If it weren’t for the fact that the blood is phyton, I wouldn’t have been able to..."

"No. That’s invincibility. The immortality I’m referring to is the ability to live forever. We aren’t invincible; we’re immortal."

"Or well... we were."

"They were?"

"You still don’t get it, do you?" Malakor smiled. "Remember what I told you a moment ago?"

"Welcome to the realm of the dead who live for eternity and the living who die eternally..."

"That’s us, the Sanguines."

’The dead who live for eternity and the living who die eternally... It sounds like an analogy for something...’

’The dead who live for eternity...’

"Are the Corrupted the dead and you the living?" Edward asked, slightly confused.

"Heh." Malakor shook his head. "No. We are both the same, Lux. Our only difference now is that they can no longer leave the Unrestrained Phase and will gradually lose their blood."

"Over the course of 400 years, their consciousnesses will dissipate, and the cycle of suffering will begin anew—but now as a cycle of pain and anguish."

Seeing that Edward was still confused, Malakor tried to be as clear as possible.

"We Sanguines are like matter. We never cease to exist. We are immortal, which is why we live forever. The problem is that because of their Corruption, we were all affected. Before, we could live forever, and when someone killed us—since we weren’t invincible—our bodies would come back to life with a renewed and fresh consciousness."

"But now there’s no such thing. We’re the walking dead who live forever, and when we die... we’ll be reborn as the living who will die forever, with the same consciousness. Why both living and dead?"

"When you’re dead, you feel no pain. That’s what you saw before—none of them felt pain, which is why they fought tirelessly."

"But when your turn comes to be alive... you’ll remember the suffering every day of your life, because it will be your faithful companion."

Finally, it clicked in Edward’s mind as he understood her words. He swallowed hard; he couldn’t imagine a situation more terrifying than that.

’To die eternally and live eternally, in endless cycles of constant suffering?’

It sounded terrifying.

"Does that happen to the Uncorrupted too?" he asked, swallowing hard.

"Heh heh. I’m a living being." Malakor smiled slightly.

Edward trembled slightly. "W-what kinds of suffering do you go through?"

"You wouldn’t want to know, Lux." Malakor shook his head. "You really wouldn’t want to know."

Edward still stared at him. He wanted to know, even just a little. "You said you wanted me to help you with something, right? There are things I need to know," he replied.

"Sigh." Malakor shrugged. "I’m someone who’s managed to control the pain so I don’t feel it during the day. During the day, I suffer mentally, with episodes that could drive me mad at any moment, but these are things you should be able to control as long as you know who you are and what you’re looking for. At night... things change." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Malakor turned around. "Follow me," he said, and began walking toward an adjoining room.

"I live in this cave because I’m one of the most dangerous Sanguines on my side. In a fit of suffering, I could kill many. That’s because I suffer... with pain."

When they reached the other room, it was enormous and completely in ruins. But it wasn’t a naturally formed cave.

"Did you do this with your fists?" Edward asked, perplexed.

"Actually, I did. I made this cave with my fists. Surprised?"

’Oh my God... This is bigger than the city of Lor.’ Edward swallowed hard.

"How long have you been here?" he asked.

"Living in this cave? About 40 years," Malakor replied.

"40 years... He’s not just strong. To have carved out a cave like this, he must have struck it so many times every day that it would be enough to shatter his bones."

"You have..." Edward was about to ask something, but Malakor reached out his hand toward him.

"See for yourself."

’...’

Edward raised his hand and touched Malakor’s forearm...

’All his bones are shattered...’ He couldn’t fathom the pain of it.

These Sanguines didn’t have white bones, but red ones, and they looked much tougher than the bones of a powerful human. Despite that, they were shattered on the inside.

I’d always heard that the pain of having a bone shattered inside you was one of the worst kinds of pain you could endure. This guy had them all.

How much pain was he enduring?

"It doesn’t hurt that much, actually. You get used to it."

"I don’t know how that’s possible." Edward smiled, almost feeling the pain in his own bones.

"Well, compared to the pain I feel at night, it’s nothing."

Edward shook his head. "I don’t want to know what you’re feeling. But I’m curious—why does that happen?"

Malakor sighed. "You came here, and now it’s practically impossible for you to leave. I suppose someday you’ll understand."

Edward frowned. "Understand what?"

"The Curse of Disobedience."

Edward was even more confused. "Curse of Disobedience?"

"Don’t you get it? We’re in a temple that’s been cursed for disobedience. Sooner or later, that curse will strike you."