Chapter 35: Aether Core
The cavern did not merely fall silent after the last monstrosity died. If anything, the silence that followed felt worse than the battlefield itself.
Moments ago, the chamber had been drowning in shrieks, explosions, clashing steel, and the thunder of collapsing flesh...
Now, all of that was gone, leaving behind only the ugly remains of violence and carnage.
The stench of burnt flesh, blood, and ruptured organs lingered thickly in the air like invisible swamp water choking the lungs...
And amidst all these devastation, the cohort stood like exhausted survivors of some ancient massacre.
Nobody spoke at first.
Only the sound of their breathing filled the chamber...
Valmyr leaned heavily against his Shield. The once imposing slab of steel was covered in dents, claw marks, and blackened streaks where acidic blood and saliva had splashed against it.
His broad chest rose and fell heavily as sweat dripped from his jawline onto the ground...
Nearby, Vaelorin sat on the ground, uncaring about the gore that stained it while his staff laid across his lap.
His arms trembled from overexertion. Thin wisps of smoke still curled around his body and residual heat escaped from his exhausted Aether Veins...
Aureleah stood silently beside her younger sister who supported her with concern visible on her immature face.
Her Cloak was torn at the edges while black blood stained her Daggers. Despite the exhaustion seeping through her bones, her silver eyes still gleamed sharply from habit...
Kaeloris adjusted his cracked spectatcles while pacinh restlessly as if trying to release the lingering terror from his bones through the movement...
And in the center of it all stood Regaleon.
His silver Halberd rested within his grasp, its blade dripping with thick black blood. His golden Armour was smeared with grime and ash from battle, yet he still stood unnaturally straight.
Like a Knight carved from old iron.
Then...
"You bastard!"
The sudden outburst shattered the suffocating silence.
Everyone turned in time to see Veyrath storming forward. The failed Alchemist’s boots splashed through puddles of black blood as he stomp toward Regaleon with fury burning openly across his face.
His usually expressive features were twisted tightly now, his shoulders were shaking violently; not from fear, but from anger...
Pure unadulterated anger.
Regaleon frowned in confusion.
Even the others stared in surprise as Veyrath stopped directly before Regaleon...
"You absolute bastard!" He practically snarled; the words echoing harshly against the cavern walls.
Regaleon blinked once. He genuinely did not get why Veyrath suddenly exploded...
But it seems the others had an inkling as their surprise turn into realization..
"You left us!" Veyrath shouted, jabbing a trembling finger at Regaleon’s breastplate.
"Do you have any idea what nearly happened after you left?!" Veyrath asked through gritted teeth.
Though Regaleon still didn’t understand, everyone else already knew what Veyrath was talking about...
Immediately after Regaleon chaser after that robed woman, the balance of the battle had collapsed as the monsters had nearly overwhelmed them.
Several times, the group had come frighteningly close to losing someone.
Especially Veyrath, who had to bear the burden of fighting and protecting at the same time. The experience was nerve-wracking and physically exhausting...
Also, there was the certainty of death at that last moment.
The memory still lingered vividly in his mind; those claws which were literally just mere inches from taking his life away...
Caelestra exhaled tiredly from where she sat and spoke.
"Veyrath... That’s enough. This is not the place for all these..."
Veyrath snapped instantly.
"No. It is not enough." His voice cracked as he spoke. "You all can pretend like it is fine if you want, but I won’t..."
The atmosphere immediately tightened again.
But that was when Sylveris spoke softly.
"But it was also not his fault."
Her voice was low and naive as she tried to defend Regaleon.
Veyrath’s gaze immediately snapped towards her, his widened furious eyes frightening the little girl so much that she shrank behind her sister.
Aureleah frowned before taking a step forward. "She is right. It is not his fault."
Steam almost came out of Veyrath’s ears now.
"Really! Are you freaking supporting him now!" Veyrath seethed.
Aureleah’s expression remained cold but she didn’t reply. Instead, it was Vaelorin who answered.
The failed Pyromancer spoke weakly from where he rested on the ground.
"That’s not what she meant." He stared inuo Veyrath’s eyes as he continued. "Though Regaleon left the battle halfway, you should know that it was for something important..."
Veyrath almost couldn’t believe his ears.
Valmyr was just about to speak when Regaleon called out...
"Veyrath..."
His golden eyes was calm as he stared into Veyrath’s furious ones.
"I understand your anger and for that, I’m sorry."
Regaleon stated simply. He didn’t even try to make excuses or shift blame, he simply acknowledged his own mistake.
"I believed taking out the person behind the creatures would end the battle faster. Instead, I underestimated the pressure you would face after I left..."
The silver-haired Knight’s voice grew quieter as he turned towards the group.
"...And that mistake nearly cost lives. I shouldn’t have abandoned the battlefield recklessly, and for that, I apologize once more."
Hearing Regaleon’s apology, the failed Alchemist’s anger visibly stumbled.
He opened his mouth to say something; but words couldn’t even come out...
His fury remained, but now it no longer had somewhere solid to strike, which was kind of frustrating.
Finally, he scoffed bitterly before folding his arms tightly.
"Keep your apology."
With that, he turned away sharply.
Afterward, the atmosphere eased slightly. It was not completely, but it was enough. Just enough for everyone’s exhaustion to begin overtaking the adrenaline keeping them upright.
Several moments passed before Aureleah finally spoke again.
"What happened to the robed figure?"
Immediately, the group’s attention shifted back to Regaleon.
The Forgotten Knight’s expression darkened faintly as he said. "She escaped."
Veyrath snorted almost instantly...
"All of that for what? Nothing."
Regaleon ignored his remark entirely. Instead, he continued...
"But I learned something important. Something about her."
Regaleon looked toward the tunnel entrance before speaking again.
"We should leave first. I’ll explain everything once we return to the cave."
The others nodded tiredly and slowly gathered themselves until...
"Wait!" Valmyr called out in his deep voice.
"Something is happening." He said, pointing at a dead monstrosity.
Instinctively, Soul Essences were raised and Essence Runes were activated as they prepared for another attack...
But it turns out that it was nothing serious. The dead monstrosity wasn’t reviving.
Instead, a faint yellow glow pulsed beneath it’s flesh. It was soft, rhythmic, and alive.
Regaleon narrowed his eyes instantly.
Kaeloris adjusted his spectatcles slowly before asking. "What is that?"
Nobody answered immediately as Regaleon walked toward the corpse carefully.
The reptilian monstrosity lay sprawled across the stone floor. It’s skull was seriously bashed in, having a hole through it where black blood poured and pooled beneath it’s grotesque form...
Regaleon crouched beside it silently and observe the glow. Then he answered, "It is an Aether Core."
The words froze everyone. Even Kaeloris blinked repeatedly as he muttered.
"That’s impossible. I thought only beasts could produce Aether Cores?"
And truly, it should have been so.
Throughout all of Aetherium, only beasts capable of naturally cultivating Aether developed Cores. Just like how humans possess Aether Veins, the beasts possess Aether Cores.
It was something natural. What was unnatural however was why this abomination suddenly developed Cores.
Regaleon slowly turnee upward Aureleah.
"Can you carve out it’s chest?"
The failed Assassin nodded once before crouching beside him.
Her Daggers slid into her hands and then, she began cutting...
The process was disturbingly smooth and precise. Like watching an experienced butcher dissect prey.
Flesh parted cleanly while dark fluids spilled steadily across the stone beneath them.
Veyrath grimaced visibly as he watched. Seriously, he didn’t know whether he should be amazed or terrified of her butchering skills...
Finally, the chest cavity opened fully and resting within the creature was a glowing crystal that pulsed with a soft amber light.
Regaleon teacher inside carefully before pulling it free. The crystal rested within his palm like captured sunlight trapped within glass.
Valmyr frowned deeply. "Is that really an Aether Core?"
Regaleon examined it silently and replied. "Yes. Also, by its size and glow, I would say it is a Rank One Aether Core."
Hearing that, Caelestra was startled.
"If that’s true, then doesn’t that mean these things were equivalent to Rank One Anima?"
Heavy silence followed as realization dawned upon them...
In Aetherium, there is a standard for human cultivation which goes from Rank One Etheryean to Rank Nine.
For beasts, they go from Rank One Anima to Rank Nine and one could differentiate their ranks based on the color of their cores.
The core within Regaleon’s hand is classified as a Rank One because of it’s amber glow...
But the most horrifying part wasn’t merely the strength of the creatures. It was the fact that the group had technically defeated beings equivalent to true Rank One Anima without cultivating as none of them had even stepped into the Etheryean Ranks yet.
Sure, they had awakened Soul Essences and Essence Runes, but their bodies themselves remained fundamentally human and unrefined...
While they processed these implications, Regaleon’s thoughts had drifted somewhere else.
He remembered the golden-haired girl’s hatred and the purple-haired man’s rage...
He remembered the way the Sauryean had spoken about this breeding nest and the confidence in his voice...
This place was not unique.
The implications hidden behind the man’s words suggested that these mountain was only one nest out of many...
Which meant that there were more of these creatures out there.
And worse, if these monsters were merely early stage creations, who knows how developed the rest were?
Regaleon’s grip slowly tightened around the Core as his expression darkened...
Just what exactly where the Sauryeans preparing for?
