Chapter 41: Truly Alive
"Flaris, get out of the way!"
Priam’s shout echoed like thunder the moment he burst out of the darkness of the cave. He didn’t stop to explain; seeing Flaris frozen in surprise in front of him, he rushed forward and shoved her with all the strength he had left, sending her flying away from the impact zone.
**BOOM!**
Flaris had barely touched the ground when the sky itself seemed to collapse. A colossal hand, woven from shadows and pure malice, descended from above. Priam, exhausted and with no angle to escape, was struck head-on.
The impact wasn’t just a blow; it was a tectonic explosion. A massive crater opened instantly, turning solid rock into dust. The ground beneath Priam gave way, and he was buried under the weight of a force that did not belong to the world of the living.
Fortunately, Priam had acquired knowledge of the five natural elements shortly before, and understood a little of the extent of that woman’s power. Because of that, he didn’t underestimate even her smallest attack.
All that weight and impact happened because that evil woman was a Sorcerer who specialized in physical combat and had mastered the Earth element while alive. Because of that, the weight of her strikes was amplified by the power of Earth.
It was a very simple way to use that element, but it required an almost monstrous physique to be effective. After all, the Mage had to control an absurd amount of weight while moving and attacking the target. But for a Sorcerer who refined the lives of other people, improving her physique to that level was simple.
Everything happened in a fraction of a second.
Terror froze the air until the Grand Elder’s voice tore through the silence:
"FULL ACTIVATION! SEAL HER NOW!"
The command was followed by a chorus of rhythmic movements. All the Elders struck the stone pillars surrounding the entrance simultaneously. Golden runes lit up like stars, linking together into a network of blinding light that descended upon the figure emerging from the cave.
At the center of the destruction, Priam began to move.
He crawled out of the earth, one inch at a time. His body was a map of pain: cracked ribs, torn flesh, and a cloud of stars dancing before his eyes. If it had been any other cultivator at his level, nothing would have remained except a pile of ground meat.
But Priam survived. Thanks to his physical training, which had given him tremendous endurance. But of course, the main reasons were his Anima, which allowed him to make a last-second micro-adjustment, causing him to take the hit at an angle that preserved his vital organs. And secondly, he managed to gain a little control over the Earth element when it touched his body during the attack, reducing at least 30% of its power.
The Demonic Training with Ether was something incredible. Even as a beginner Mage, by strengthening the body with that power and training his body to synchronize with it, the resulting physical endurance was terrifying.
Even though Priam hadn’t changed much physically on the outside, mainly because of his genetics, his body’s defenses were already far above average.
Priam spat out blood and looked up, his blurry vision focusing on the network of light.
Hemakra was trapped.
Even beneath the black mist emanating from her charred body, her presence made everyone’s stomach churn. She was a corpse exuding an aura from bygone eras, a monster that defied death itself.
"SONS OF BITCHES! I’LL KILL YOU!!!"
She struggled against the Inscription, roaring with a sound like iron scraping against glass, but the cords of divine light were merciless upon her.
Upon finally seeing her contained, Priam’s adrenaline vanished, replaced by a paralyzing chill.
He had escaped the slaughterhouse. He was alive.
Going back a little in time
...
...
...
Within the dimness of the cave, time was a weapon that Priam shaped to his advantage. He spent the entire time immersed in learning the Blood-Feast Fists.
It was a typical Sorcerer Magic Art. Its essence was cruel: it required harvesting the life force contained within the blood of still-living victims. The result was devastating offensive power, where every strike carried a macabre and destructive vitality.
Hemakra tried to deceive him, offering only the basics to keep him under control. But she underestimated the young man standing before her.
Priam didn’t just memorize the mnemonics; he bombarded her with technical questions so detailed that Hemakra was forced to reveal secrets she had intended to hide. Whenever her fury threatened to overflow, Priam delivered his ultimatum:
"If you refuse to teach me properly, I’ll commit suicide right now. And you’ll rot here for another thousand years!"
Cornered, Hemakra swallowed her anger. She comforted herself with a dark thought. ’The moment I inhabit this body, your soul will become my feast. Giving this bastard a temporary advantage won’t change how the story ends.’
Time passed, and finally, the moment of the transfer arrived. Hemakra’s soul would be ripped out of the puppet and injected into Priam’s body.
"Place your finger between my eyebrows," the metallic voice ordered.
The moment contact was made, the puppet’s corpse glowed. Countless runic lines appeared across its charred skin, trying to contain the spiritual power boiling within. Hemakra roared, forcing her soul to open a channel through her own forehead.
"Do not resist!" she hissed, sending her spiritual essence through Priam’s finger.
Priam relaxed his body, allowing the invasive flow to travel through his arm. He could feel Hemakra’s overwhelming power drastically diminishing within the puppet as she focused on fighting the seal and moving her soul. It was a slow and exhausting process.
She first needed to create a channel with all of her power into Priam before she could send her soul.
Minutes later, the trigger was pulled.
The moment more than half of Hemakra’s power crossed the seal and flowed into his body, Priam stopped being the prey.
THE NEXUS SEED ACTIVATED.
The core in his chest pulsed with a divine and ravenous force. Hemakra’s spiritual power, which should have dominated Priam, was suddenly subdued and sucked into the Nexus Seed.
Hemakra didn’t even have time to scream. Two-thirds of everything she had cultivated over a millennium vanished in the blink of an eye, devoured by a power she could not comprehend.
Without wasting a single nanosecond, Priam spun on his heels and ran with everything he had.
He didn’t waste Ether on the wind technique; he used the raw strength of his legs, launching himself out of the cave at the highest speed his body could achieve.
Behind him, the silence lasted only an instant.
Hemakra’s consciousness, now fragmented and weakened, awakened in a state of absolute fury.
She realized she had been used. The "Pathetic Youngster" had deceived her from the very beginning. He had never intended to become her vessel; he was a thief!
*BASTAAAAARD!*
The scream tore through the cave walls. Hemakra knew her chance at a new life was over. She no longer had another thousand years to recover what had been stolen.
In one final act of suicidal vengeance, she chose to burn the remaining third of her soul. She no longer cared about survival. If she was going to disappear, she would take Priam’s life as a funeral offering.
...
...
...
Returning to the battle in the present.
"Grand Elder!" Priam roared, turning around seriously. "I still want to fight. My test isn’t over, and the inscription is still evaluating me, correct?"
Everyone heard that and widened their eyes. Was he crazy?
They had noticed that figure was much, much weaker than it should have been. Her current total power was lower than that of the Elders, but she could still possibly kill someone at Priam’s level with ease.
The Elder snorted. "Young Priam, you..."
Priam cut him off. "Opportunities always come with risks. There are no free lunches in this world. That’s why I want to fight."
The Grand Elder stared at him for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction. "Indeed."
He thought for a moment before speaking in a solemn tone:
"The inscription and your test are still ongoing. However, you fighting this figure is completely against the clan’s rules. Therefore..." He turned toward the other Elders. "Activate the inscription’s purple runes, then release her from the seal."
The Elders were surprised, but they didn’t dare hesitate.
Within seconds, countless purple runes appeared around that figure, like ethereal chains invading her body.
Incredibly, that allowed her to release a little of her power and no longer remain completely sealed.
"With this, we can consider it halfway within the rules. This puppet possesses exactly 30% of its strength. I judge that it could easily kill a ninth-level Acolyte, but it would not be able to defeat an elementary-level Disciple."
Priam heard that and nodded. Hemakra had already lost two-thirds of her power, and now she had lost 70% of the little she had left. He immediately felt the weight of death lifting from his shoulders as he looked at her.
"Are you certain about this?" The Grand Elder’s voice was grave. "Even with strength in the same Rank as yours, this evil figure possesses techniques and experience refined over hundreds of years of life. In other words, she is far from being an opponent for someone of your Rank, even if that person were at level nine. But you... being only level five..."
"It’s perfect for me. I’ll finish this quickly."
Priam’s voice sounded calm, yet it echoed like thunder in the minds of everyone present.
Flaris, Lumiere, and Shione were completely catatonic, their eyes fixed on his back.
As for the Elders, their expressions were extremely serious. Not one of them dared be arrogant enough to claim that, when they were the same age and level as Priam, they could have defeated this figure, much less done it quickly. Worse still, they wouldn’t even have had the courage to try.
Priam took a deep breath, feeling his blood boil and his soul vibrate.
’I feel truly alive!’
He took a step forward, staring into those black eyes filled with killing intent. Meanwhile, the people behind him felt their hearts pounding like drums.
