Soul Digger-Chapter 78: WINTER’S CHOIR

"For your actions, you're coming with us," the man boldly ordered, his chest pushed out.

Caesar was naturally dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events. He turned to Nagita, who was equally flabbergasted; her pale, stiff face resembled a mansion's gargoyle.

"Who the hell are you people?" Caesar asked in a menacing voice, furrowing his brows.

"We're Indulgers of the North Pole," the man answered calmly, pulling his Indulger pass from his coat pocket.

[Name: Bron Realmen]

[Class/Status: Subjugator]

[Faction: Winter's Choir]

[Nationality: Antarctic Circle]

"I believe I've introduced myself enough with this. Can you do the same?" the man uttered in a lazy tone, hints of mockery lingering beneath his words.

Caesar stood rigidly, reading through the card to authenticate it. The small portrait displayed a drawing of two smiling circles with intertwined horns at its center, stretching in opposite directions. From the solid material to the glistening edges of resonating wavelength, there was no cause for doubt; the pass was indeed authentic.

Nagita gazed deeply at the pass as well, her eyes reddened from stress. The contrast between the streams of snow pouring from the broken set and the burning tension growing beside her created an odd feeling around her. The air itself felt thicker, as though each breath became harder and harder to inhale.

'Shit! These guys are the real deal? But how?! And where have they been all this time?' Her mind raced in seconds. 'Does this have something to do with the people's behavior?' She gasped. 'What if this is a high-level illusion? If so, we don't stand a chance, not at our current level.'

Nagita shifted her concentration to Caesar. Surprisingly, he looked disturbingly composed; his eyes didn't shine or flicker with doubt. Instead, he seemed prepared, as though he knew what awaited him. Sweat drifted down Nagita's face as her eyes darted like a fiddled string.

"Caesar, what are you..." she whispered tensely, her breath hot.

Caesar responded with a firm expression and confident eyes. "Don't worry, I think this is a worthy gamble."

Nagita reeled back, as though she were listening to a child mutter foolish words with a straight face.

"I won't hesitate to follow you," Caesar spoke audibly. "Just leave her and my other comrades alone."

Bron and the Indulger to his left exchanged brief, doubtful glances.

Caesar noticed and quickly added, "I'll answer anything you need. All the information on why we're here and what our goal is rests with me; the others are ignorant of the truth."

Bron pressed his lips into a dubious smile. "Are you saying you're the one in charge of the Indulgers responsible for this havoc?"

Caesar took a fresh breath of the sharp, frosty air. "Yes, I am. Anything and everything you need is with me, and only me." He swallowed nervously.

'Caesar, what are you doing?' Nagita kept silent, simply observing like a clueless bystander.

Bron stretched an excited grin, his eyes lukewarm. "Fine, we'll yield to your request, but your team is not off the hook. I'll assign some of my Indulgers to monitor their actions. Does that sound fair?"

Caesar scoffed. "That's just fine."

Two Indulgers of the Winter's Choir faction stepped forward, pacing themselves until they carefully restrained Caesar, wrapping white talismans tightly around his wrists. Afterward, the two Indulgers slowly dragged Caesar through the rubble like a prisoner.

Bron folded his arms, watching closely with intrigue and eagerness.

'Any time now...' Caesar's eyes dimmed for a moment.

BADUMP!

A heavy jolt struck Caesar's body. He gritted his teeth in reaction to the exploding pain dispersing throughout his frame. Internally, he felt all his organs failing as his mind shut down like a burnt-out computer; externally, he went entirely slack, held up only by the two Indulgers beside him.

"Great timing..." he muttered in a dry, fading tone.

Since regaining consciousness, Caesar knew his body wouldn't hold up for long. The internal pain was a sign that his body would sooner or later collapse; just as the deity had warned, consequences would follow his brief awakening.

Bron recoiled for a moment before rushing toward the unconscious Caesar. He watched with a stunned expression as Caesar's eyes, nose, mouth, and ears leaked blood like a cracked pipe. The two men quickly set him down. From behind, a woman in an elegant white gown covered by a large coat darted to the scene; her red eyes assessed Caesar's condition within seconds. Of course, like the rest of the Indulgers present, she was a member of the Winter's Choir faction—specifically, a healer.

Nagita stood a few meters behind, taking sluggish steps as she quivered with a frightened expression. 'What the hell just happened to Caesar... was it a result of his momentary awakening?'

Nagita's mouth went completely dry. Her words caught in her throat as formless babbles passed her lips. 'This means if these people hadn't arrived here...'

'...Caesar could have died?' The mere thought left her dazed. A faint blue aura hugged her, yet neither Nagita nor the other Indulgers noticed.

From afar, Sylzao crossed both legs and pressed his palms together as he spectated. Watching them squabble to save Caesar while Nagita remained struck in awe served as exquisite entertainment. Marter and Frank witnessed the large grin stretching from ear to ear on Sylzao's face, and a small chill took them unawares. Indeed, they were horrified by Sylzao and what he was capable of.

At the scene, the woman wrapped both herself and Caesar in a thick blue ooze that resembled a vibrant flame. She murmured concise words; each sound solidified into letters and flew from her mouth in a golden hue. The words were in a different language and disappeared a few meters above her head. Soon enough, the words glittered brightly enough to obscure her skin color and Caesar's figure.

The blood painting Caesar's face hardened, his temperature stabilized, and his heartbeat remained constant; however, he was still unconscious.

"I managed to reverse the damage to his cells; however, his mind still seems to be taking the full brunt of the effects. I've fixed what I can. Everything else is beyond my current level of expertise." Her voice was sweet yet daring, with a tone similar to a symphony of harps.

"What do you mean?" Bron asked, visibly taming his anger.

"In order to fully nullify the damage to him, I'd have to intersect his Dreamscape by trespassing into his unconscious mind—something too risky for me to perform at my current stage." She narrowed her eyes and whispered, "Also... as we discovered before, something is tampering with how much wavelength we can utilize. I couldn't take the risk even if I wanted to."

Bron clicked his tongue and shot a heated glare at the tense Nagita. He spoke in a grumbling voice, "Your friend is doing fine now."

Nagita took a sharp gasp before sighing in great relief. Her face eased up a bit as well.

"But he's still coming with us." Bron gestured to his colleagues, ordering them to carry Caesar's indisposed body with them. "Once he regains consciousness, we'll carry out the necessities."

He further added, "Be grateful I'm a man of my word, or else I would have beheaded you in a blind rage."

Nagita remained silent. In comparison to him, she was a small twig in a large forest; the aura he exuded alone spoke volumes of his experience.

The Winter's Choir faction members turned and left as they had come. Their snobbish silence and cold, coordinated attitudes left Nagita in a remorseful state. Apart from Caesar's condition and safety, the mystery of where these so-called Indulgers of the North Pole had spawned from sparked her curiosity.

Juggling so much at once, Nagita sat down and clutched her head between her palms like a basketball. Her eyes narrowed as she curled into a ball, glowering at the ruins.

"Delightful." Sylzao smacked his lips. "Martin was right; splitting up the group was the best idea!"

"So what next, sir?" Marter asked in a straightforward manner.

"Simple. We gather the rest of OUR group and complete the trial while the others get tangled deeper in the mess."

Frank slid in. "Do you think the others survived the blast, Sylzao?"

Sylzao lowered his head and shifted his eyes toward Frank, delivering a piercing gaze that penetrated Frank's demeanor. "If they die for being weak, then that's their problem." Sylzao's menacing statement crept into their ears and drilled into their minds.

Sylzao switched to a caring smile and a brilliant look. "Besides, just the three of us can complete this flimsy trial. Don't tell me you're intimidated by a couple of man-eaters?" His taunting words and considerate expression contrasted immensely.

Both Frank and Marter agreed like zombies, clearly intimidated by Sylzao's devious personality.

'Still, it doesn't make sense. Something this catastrophic happened, and there are no crowds or stampedes of panicking civilians.' Sylzao brushed over the visible scenery with his eyes. 'Everywhere is as calm as it was before the explosion. Even by my standards, it's disturbing.'