Chapter 156: Chapter 156: Wills of Darkness

Unaware of the commotion he had caused in the aftermath of his breakthrough, Ulric stared at the slew of notifications hovering before him with a faint smile.

[Ding! You have drained your seed inside Amelia’s throat. You have gained 25,000 corruption points!]

[Ding! You have drained your seed inside... You have gained 30,000 corruption points!]

[Ding! You have drained your seed inside... You have gained 50,000 corruption points!]

[Ding! You have utilized Seed of Chaos on Shroud of Darkness.]

[Ding! Random Rebate drawing...]

[Ding! Congratulations! You have drawn a 500x rebate!]

[Ding! Shroud of Darkness has been enhanced 500 times! You have gained the peak B-rank talent: Dark Cover.]

[...]

[Total Unallocated Corruption Points: 107,300]

A glint of genuine surprise flashed across Ulric’s eyes as his brows arched slightly.

The corruption points he had gained from her were higher than he had expected. He couldn’t sense any significant change in her strength that would account for this much. Had he been looking at it wrong all this time? Was strength not the major factor when farming corruption points?

The more he thought about it, the more confused he grew. Eventually, he discarded the thought entirely. He would test his theories later.

Sifting through the notifications, he chuckled at his newly gained talent before his gaze shifted to the figure lying beside him.

A satisfied smile stretched across her lips as she lay deep in slumber. He moved to leave, but suddenly paused.

A thoughtful expression covered his face. After contemplating for a moment, he opened his system interface and browsed through the system shop.

Barely a few seconds later, most of his newly gained corruption points vanished. The energy around him stirred before coalescing into a dark ball hovering above his palm, reeking of pure darkness.

Staring at it for a while, he let out a slow breath before pressing it against Amelia’s sleeping figure.

He watched as the dark energy rippled violently around her. Streams rushed out to form a cocoon that wrapped around her frame.

Nodding slightly, he rose to his feet. Walking to the edge of the room, he waved his arm. Trails of darkness manifested around him, encapsulating his figure for a few moments.

When it dispersed, he appeared once more. Every trace of impurity clinging to his body had been instantly corroded away, leaving him fully refreshed. He draped his robe over himself once more and stepped into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

***

A moment of silence ensued as a few hours passed.

Finally, all the energy was absorbed. The last remnants coalesced into a cocoon that slowly cracked. Microfractures raced across its surface until it fully shattered, revealing the figure within.

Slowly stirring awake, her eyes fluttered rapidly before finally snapping open with a faint grunt.

"Huh?"

Amelia breathed, a tinge of confusion flashing across her eyes. For a moment, she could have sworn she felt streams of heavenly energy coursing through her body.

Was that all an illusion? It had felt all too real. She wasn’t sure. But she was certain about one thing.

She felt far better than she had ever before in her life. And the changes were clearly reflected across her body.

Her skin now looked almost flawless. With a bit of introspection, she couldn’t help but feel a little shocked. It was as if she had grown a few years younger.

"This..." she mumbled.

Multiple questions raced through her mind. All she could remember from the previous night was Ulric and how he had roughly dominated her.

The sheer thought alone caused a faint blush to spread across her face. She felt a bit of soreness between her legs. Was this because of that?

She mused, her face flushing even more. If it had been before, she could have discarded the thought. But after the last time, she had noticed a series of improvements across her body.

They hadn’t been overwhelming, but noticeable enough to make a difference. This time, however, the changes were far more prominent.

If that was the case, should she have asked for more?

As the thought crossed her mind, her heart thumped rapidly as her gaze scanned the room.

Finding no one, she exhaled softly, a little saddened. But it was to be expected. She had made her decision.

Just as she was about to explore the full magnitude of the recent changes, she suddenly froze. Everything else was forgotten as a notification suddenly popped up before her.

[Ding! Congratulations! Merging complete. You have gained the A-rank talent: Wills of Darkness.]

Blinking rapidly, Amelia stared in disbelief.

What was this supposed to mean?

She wanted to believe it was a system glitch. But what followed next was undeniable.

Her darkness reserves suddenly exploded, nearly tripling, as a sea of insights related to her new talent flooded her mind.

When everything settled, her gaze dropped to her palms. Now that she looked back, it seemed more and more as if her body had been reforged to wield this new power. It had acclimated to the change so smoothly.

Even more strangely, she felt as if she had wielded this talent all her life. She could see more applications. Do more. Restrictions that her Shroud of Darkness once had were lifted. If she were to compare the two, her new talent outclassed the last by at least a hundred times over.

Her mind raced with countless thoughts as her figure darted around, pacing restlessly. When she finally calmed down, her breath stilling, a single figure played at the back of her mind.

Ulric?

Had he done all this?

If it were any other time, she wouldn’t have even dared harbor the thought.

Across the realm, it was widely known that one could only awaken their talents during the talent awakening ceremony, with only a few anomalies capable of awakening additional talents later in life, becoming dual or triple awakened. But she doubted she was one of them.

Which only left one feasible conclusion.

The dark-robed youth had granted it to her.

Back during his ascension, she hadn’t known how, but she had seen Tara wield the power of flames so freely. Had he given her a talent as well? Even more importantly, how could he hand them out so easily, as if they meant nothing?

This... it was just against the natural order.

But then again, he never did seem bound by it in the first place. She had seen him achieve what others would deem impossible feats repeatedly, as if they were nothing. Was this just another one of them?

Whatever the case, it didn’t matter.

Her breath grew heavy. Her chest heaved as her heart swelled with countless emotions. Tears welled in her eyes.

This was no different from her fate being rewritten. She could walk further along the path of life, drawing reassurance from her own power. Which would allow her to lead the life she so desperately wished for.

Unable to hold back anymore, she burst into tears of happiness, overwhelmed by waves of gratitude.

Then suddenly, her head rose.

Feeling the air before her ripple slightly as the figure of the dark-robed youth came into sight, she blanked out for a few moments.

It seemed even with her new A-rank talent, she still couldn’t pierce through his cover of darkness.

Crouching low beside her, Ulric reached out. One hand moved to stroke her hair before trailing down to caress her face gently.

Having overseen the change, even he was a little surprised. She had integrated with her new darkness talent so perfectly that it almost felt as though it resonated with her more deeply than her previous one. That was likely why the changes across her body had been so prominent.

But that hardly mattered now.

Seeing how excited she was, Ulric smiled faintly. Before suddenly, his figure vanished into the distance.

Snapping out of her daze, Amelia’s hand reached out toward the empty space where he had been, but he was already gone.

Turning to stare at the direction his figure had vanished, she sighed quietly as her fingers clenched tightly.

"Thank... you."

***

Elsewhere, back inside the Greyson Residence within a sealed chamber.

A few figures stood in silence as they sank into their thoughts, contemplating recent events.

"Strength, huh?" Amber mumbled quietly beneath her breath as Ulric’s words echoed in her mind. It was the only thing that mattered.

Yet no matter how strong she grew or how fast her pace of advancement, Ulric was always stronger, outclassing her and everyone else around him. If anything, he seemed to embody that concept itself.

That realization seared into her as she watched his recent ascension to D-rank. Would she ever grow strong enough to stand beside him in power? Or even strong enough to protect him?

She pondered over it for a while. The answer only made her expression sink further.

Tara beside her seemed to share her thoughts, an almost equally grave expression resting on her face.

At the side, Lyra seemed different. She twirled a strand of her silvery hair playfully, a mischievous glint flashing across her face.

Before she could no longer suppress herself, she leaned to the side and whispered to the golden-armored figure beside her.

"What do you think of a challenge between the two of us?"

"Y-you..." Aelira growled, her expression tightening as Lyra’s words echoed in her ears. "You think because you harvested ice energy from Ulric’s breakthrough, you can defeat me now?"

"Yes." Lyra smirked, a shameless grin on her face as she countered with a question of her own. "You think your little hammer can stand against my mighty frost power?"

Left a little speechless, Aelira was about to retort.

Before she suddenly froze, alongside everyone else, as they sensed it.

The strand of their connection flickered.

In the next instant, the air rippled slightly before a familiar black-robed figure stepped out.