I am the Only Son of Nyx

Chapter 177: Body Tempering with Kaelmorath (1)

Kai came to Kaelmorath’s domain so that he could complete the Reckless Fray Ending and be able to summon Kaelmorath to the real world through the Deep Slumber Legacy Skill, as he did with Perion.

But he realized that in order to do that, he would need to complete both Ending Fragments.

It was easier with Perion since he only has one Ending Fragment, so the Ending Fragment of Stone was mixed together with the Stone Ending to create that beautiful—but overwhelming scenery of shifting nature.

Finishing the Reckless Fray Ending would not be that easy.

Kai would need to complete both Ending Fragments before he could finish the ending.

He had only come to realize it when he arrived in the House of Night earlier.

As much as he wanted to grow stronger quickly, he could not force it. Not when the decision was mainly in Kaelmorath’s hands. And since his relationship with Kaelmorath is not good at all, he came with the intention to make a compromise.

Just being able to complete one Ending Fragment would be more than enough for Kai.

His focus was entirely on making a good tie with Kaelmorath.

Forcing Kaelmorath to help him complete both Ending Fragments would not achieve that.

So, he wouldn’t mind starting with one Ending Fragment or even none.

But the condescension earlier made him furious, yet it brought him to a better deal. He was given the opportunity to complete both Ending Fragments, and that’s exactly what he needed right now.

"I need to what?" Kai asked, staring at the dark blob on the ground.

It wiggled like a slimy thing, even though there was no blowing wind in the House of Night.

"I said you need to protect it."

"Protect it from what? I don’t see anything around that could harm it."

"Protect it from them..."

Kaelmorath flicked his fingers, and the dead answered.

Across the broken cathedral’s front yard, the corpses that had littered the ground messily had begun to convulse. The blood smeared across the plain reversed its drying and slithered back toward the bodies from which it had spilled.

It was such an unnatural scenery.

Like time itself had been reversed, or there was a prominent curse that had taken the land.

One by one, the corpses rose—there was no staggering, no clumsy resurrection born from the stiffness of the dead. No, the corpses stood with a smoothness that mocked the living—spines straightening. Joints pivoted without the hesitation of muscle memory. And when they lifted their decayed faces, their eyes burned a uniform, bloody red.

Daemon-eyed. Soulless.

Some wore light standard plated armor. Some wore cracked leather. But all clutched weapons dulled by rust and neglect. Even so, in their pale hands and the lethality from their gazes, the blade did not look any less lethal.

Kai’s gaze swept across the dozens of undead now fixated on a single point.

Fixated on the dark blob that Kaelmorath had summoned.

And their killing intent was a physical weight that was aimed directly at that fragile slime.

"I’m afraid there is no gentle path through this," Kaelmorath said; his voice carried the calm weariness of a scholar who had once stood exactly where Kai now stood. Just that he didn’t have anyone to tell him what to do. "To complete the Retribution Ending Fragment, you must first temper your body."

"Temper my body?"

"Yes..."

Kaelmorath began to walk; his boots crunched softly against the grass and dry ground. "The Reckless Fray Ending is not a doctrine of blind recklessness, but it is to be able to pay the price of recklessness when recklessness is the only answer. A strong body is the foundation of that; without it, the price will bury you."

It was true that the Retribution Ending Fragment demanded that he protect another.

Only then would it be activated and enhance his next attack.

Naturally, he would need to be able to endure the attack that was directed at someone weaker or someone he cared about. The enhancement would mean nothing if he were hurt too much by the attack to continue fighting.

So, as Kaelmorath said, a strong body is key for this ending fragment.

"But I’m not steel," Kai’s jaw tightened. "My body won’t get stronger from being broken."

Even if he tempered his body by getting accustomed to the pain inflicted by these undead, there’s no guarantee that he would come out stronger. He might only get trauma that might hinder his determination to protect, knowing that doing so would be painful.

But that’s already taken into account and deliberated by the Reckless Fray Ending.

"That," Kaelmorath said, turning to face him, "is where you are wrong."

"Hmm...? How am I wrong?"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, it’d be impossible. But this is the House of Night."

Kaelmorath looked skyward—recalling the memories that still remained in his mind, "I tried every single method known and unknown to temper my body. It took me decades. A constant back and forth between suffering in pain and finding a new way to continue my path.

"But found the path I did," He added as his lips curled into a small smile.

Realizing that he was reminiscing about the past, he shook his head.

It was no time for that.

"That thing will reward you," He gestured toward the dark blob. "For every attack that you successfully block, for every blow you absorb before it reaches this fragile blob, it will mend your wounds and reinforce what was broken. Bones denser. Tissues tougher. Organs more resilient.

"But if a single attack lands upon it, the rewards you gain from it would be stripped away bit by bit. Only when you reach the peak physical threshold required will the Retribution Ending Fragment be complete."

Kai stared at the blob.

He did remember the description of the Retribution Ending Fragment stated that he would gain the Reckless Hardening if he completed it. And the name of it already made it clear what it would do to him.

But this was not what he had imagined.

Not how he imagined he would gain that Reckless Hardening.

Around him, the undead shifted—their red eyes burned in the gloom and their dull weapons caught the faint light. Kaelmorath raised a hand, "As promised, I will try to make it easier for you. I will divide the trial into three levels. For the first level, the pain will be muted; these living corpses will attack in turns, and the gain from the success will greatly outweigh the loss from failure.

"I tipped the scales in your favor. Consider it... an introduction." His hand lowered. "But as the levels progress, the pain will sharpen to how it should be—the attacks will come without mercy or pattern, and the scales will return to normal. Is that acceptable?"

Kai takes a look around again and then nods his head.

Even though it sounded horrendous, it wouldn’t deter him from trying his hardest, especially when Kaelmorath had already gone to such lengths to make this process easier. Noxian wasn’t that kind to him, and he passed the horrendous training.

So, he could surely pass this one.

Just that he wouldn’t have a good time doing it.

"I will be waiting inside," Kaelmorath returned to the broken cathedral. "Once you’re finished with this, we’ll start the Reckless Ruin Ending Fragment. Be ready. If you can’t complete this, then forget about the next one."

Once he said that, he flicked his fingers again.

In that instant, one of the undead’s eyes flickered, and then it attacked.

Kai was given no time to think.

He shook his head and dashed forward to intercept the first living corpse that came to strike the dark blob. And he arrived in time just as it raised its rusted blade overhead and brought it down with a gristly swing.

Instinctively, Kai raised his arms and caught the strike by the hilt.

Kai blocked the weapon’s crossguard, not the blade, because he was wearing nothing.

No scimitar. No armor.

Bringing a weapon to Kaelmorath’s domain would’ve been offensive, he thought, as he was planning to mend their relationship. So, he came bare-handed. And though the weapon was dull, it looked plenty sharp when it was pressed close to his face.

But what surprised him most was the force behind the blow.

It reverberated through his forearms, up his wrists, and into the marrow inside.

Rattling both the radius and the ulna with a bone-deep ache.

However, before the pain could fully register in his pain nerves, the dark blob pulsed right behind him. A stream of red energy lanced into his arms, and the ache transformed. The bones knitted denser. The micro-fractures sealed. And he felt the radius and ulna hardening.

Not metaphorically, but literally—the calcium lattice compressed into something denser.

A faint smile crossed his lips at the sensation.

Reckless Hardening... I hope this will increase my physical stats.

None of his Ending Fragments increased his physical stats, but he hoped this one would.

Kai threw a punch at the corpse’s liver, a reflex of his to counterattack when attacked. But the moment his knuckles met undead flesh, he immediately regretted it. A pained grunt escaped him as it felt like he was punching solid rock.

The joints of his fingers screamed with the impact of a normal human striking stone.

And though the living corpse was pushed back a step, Kai realized one thing.

He was encouraged to defend, not retaliate.

Striking back is not a part of the training.

Once he realized that, he quickly made adjustments and blocked a flurry of swings from the living corpse; staying close enough to catch each strike at the hilt, denying the blade its arc. Then, the first living corpse leaped away after another of its attacks was blocked, and a second living corpse was already mid-swing; the exchange was seamless and cruel.

Kai was given no time to breathe.

He could only raise his arms, but only one arm managed to reach its intended height before the attack came. The other arm was still climbing when the dull edge bit through his forearm with the sound of a green branch snapping.

Crack—!

Relentlessly, the dull blade kept going and slammed into his collarbone, cracking it inward.

"Grrhk!"

Kai gasped a ragged inhale as his forearm and collarbone broke easily, but the blob reacted quickly as its energy shot into him again. The forearm mended. The collarbone sealed—And the bones reformed harder, denser, woven with something that hummed at the very edge of his senses.

For the next agonizing minutes, Kai became a wall.

He defended attack after attack from every melee weapon known to mankind.

Swords. Spears. Sticks. Axe. Everything.

As for the living corpses, they came one by one as Kaelmorath intended—and none was able to slip past him and reach the dark blob. Each successful block sent that stream of energy into him like a flood.

Kai’s body became steel, the blob is the fire, and the living corpses are the hammer.

He was being tempered.