Tower: Rebirth of the Absolute Demon-Chapter 40: Ch : The Sealed Truth

Ye Tian kept walking, his small, childlike body trudging through the eerie expanse of the Black Forest.

Bones scattered across the ground crunched beneath his feet.

Skulls, some broken, others eerily intact, stared blankly at him.

The trees, twisted and lifeless, clawed toward the darkened sky like skeletal hands.

Pools of muddy swamps dotted the land, the water stagnant and foul.

This was no ordinary forest. It was death incarnate.

’Lovely. Just lovely...’ he thought.

’A perfect vacation spot for masochists. Someone call a real estate agent... I bet this place sells itself.’

Not that he hated it entirely.

Death didn’t scare him... he’d dealt with enough of it for several lifetimes.

But that didn’t mean he enjoyed slogging through this depressing scenery either.

After what felt like hours of aimless wandering, something caught his eye.

The air had grown heavier, more oppressive, and the death mana around him was no longer subtle.

It pressed against his skin like a suffocating blanket.

’If I remember Diablo’s memories correctly, this death mana is supposed to be deadly. One wrong step here, one careless breath, and even a seasoned warrior would collapse in seconds.’

He glanced down at the blackened grass under his feet.

’And yet, here I am. Not dead.’

It didn’t make sense.

His current body was weaker than the average villager’s, and yet he was walking through this forest as if it were a pleasant stroll in the park.

’I’ll chalk it up to this body’s bloodline. That’s the only explanation. Thanks, Michael Eviar. Guess you’re still useful after 2,000 years.’

He pushed forward, his small legs carrying him deeper into the forest.

Then he saw it.

A massive lake stretched out before him, the largest body of water he’d seen in this world so far.

But calling it "water" would be a gross misrepresentation.

The lake shimmered with a sickly green glow, its surface bubbling slightly as if it were alive.

’This... isn’t a lake.’

The stench hit him next, a vile, acidic scent that burned his nostrils.

’This is a lake of poison. The most potent poison I’ve ever seen.’

The land surrounding the lake was barren, devoid of even the faintest signs of life.

The soil was pitch black, and the death mana here was so thick it felt like wading through a swamp.

’This is it. The core of the Black Forest. The very heart of the death mana.’

He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing as he examined the ground near the lake.

The soil wasn’t just blackened; it was carved.

Intricate patterns were etched into the earth, forming a massive design that seemed to encircle the entire lake.

’Wait a second... these carvings...’

The memory of the Arch Lich’s mana circles flashed in his mind.

’Magic circles. This... this is a giant magic circle.’

He crouched down, tracing the carvings with his finger.

The intricate lines, the complex symbols... it was far beyond anything the current magical world could create.

’But what’s the purpose of this?’

His gaze drifted back to the lake, its bubbling surface reflecting the eerie glow of the surrounding death mana.

’If this lake has been exuding death mana for 2,000 years without dissipating, then there’s only one explanation.’

The realization hit him like a thunderclap.

’The dragon wasn’t killed. It was sealed.’

His voice escaped in a whisper, tinged with disbelief.

"What the hell...?"

The thought made his blood run fast with sheer excitement. A sealed dragon, its resentment fueling this cursed place for millennia.

He turned his attention back to the carvings, his eyes scanning every detail until something else caught his attention... a stone slab embedded in the ground.

Unlike the surrounding soil, this slab was smooth and polished, its surface covered with more carvings.

And at the center of the slab was a peculiar circular design that looked strikingly familiar.

’This... this is the yin-yang symbol.’

The symbol wasn’t complete, however.

One of the spots contained a cerulean stone, while the other was empty.

’Wait a minute...’

His hand instinctively went to his chest, clutching the necklace he’d been wearing since waking up in Diablo’s body.

He pulled it out, the cerulean stone glinting faintly in the dim light.

A grin spread across his face.

’I’ve got some insane luck, don’t I?’

He tore the necklace off, snapping the thread with a quick tug.

Holding the stone between his fingers, he brought it closer to the empty spot on the slab.

’If this works, I might just start believing in fate. Or at least in my own bullshit.’

He carefully fitted the cerulean stone into the empty slot.

It clicked into place perfectly, as if it had been waiting for this moment.

He stood back, waiting for something... anything... to happen.

But nothing did.

"...Huh? Seriously? Nothing? Don’t tell me I’m supposed to pour mana into this thing."

The thought of his soul being sucked out by the stone flashed through his mind.

’Yeah, no thanks. Not happening.’

Then a phrase resurfaced in his mind, a fragment of memory left by the System...

Prove the worth of your blood.

He froze, staring at the stone slab.

’Wait... don’t tell me...’

A chuckle escaped his lips, low and growing louder until it erupted into full-blown laughter.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this going where I think it’s going?"

Without hesitation, he raised his thumb to his mouth, biting down hard enough to draw blood. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

He held his bleeding thumb over the stone, letting a single drop fall onto its surface.

The moment the blood touched the stone, the ground trembled violently.

The carvings on the slab lit up with an otherworldly glow, and the magic circle surrounding the lake activated, lines of light racing across its intricate design.

The lake of poison began to churn, its bubbling intensifying as if something beneath the surface had been awakened.

Ye Tian stood his ground, a grin plastered across his face despite the chaos unfolding around him.

"Well, looks like I hit the jackpot. Let’s see what you’ve got for me, Michael Eviar."

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