"I wish I could stay by your side to aid you in your journey, Young Lord..." As Nalvadir spoke, his tall figure began to crumble into motes of shining light. "Unfortunately, the Sanguinal Throne is almost out of energy and can’t keep this strand of my soul here any longer."
In just a few seconds, more than half of Nalvadir’s body had already disintegrated into motes of light, vanishing into the void.
"Although it was brief, I am glad I was able to meet you before finally leaving this world."
Azrael did not respond to Nalvadir’s words and simply watched in silence as his figure continued to fade away.
Nalvadir smiled faintly when he saw Azrael remain completely indifferent and gave him one last bow before his form fully disappeared.
Even after he was gone, Azrael continued to stare at the place where Nalvadir had stood just moments ago, his mind replaying the conversation they had shared.
He had asked Nalvadir many things, about Eonrift, about why the Ancient Ruins were referred to as the broken fragments of Ancient Genesis, and countless other questions he was curious about.
Yet, similar to his other inquiries, Nalvadir had refused to answer those as well. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒·𝗇𝗲𝘁
What irritated Azrael even more was that, despite possessing both Infinite Comprehension and the Cold Blooded trait, he had been unable to sense Nalvadir’s emotions.
Though Nalvadir was only a strand of soul, the power difference between them was simply too vast, and Azrael could not decipher his emotions, no matter how hard he tried.
’I don’t trust this guy...’ Azrael thought inwardly as he closed his eyes for a moment.
There were far too many things he found suspicious about Nalvadir such as how he knew about the Pocket Watch, why he insisted on calling him "Young Lord," and why he seemed so inexplicably familiar with him.
There were simply too many unanswered questions.
’He doesn’t even have full knowledge about this Sanguinal Throne.’
Azrael had asked Nalvadir directly about the purpose of the throne. Although he had already guessed it had something to do with his bloodline, he had wanted to confirm it.
But fhe answer Nalvadir gave him was something he did not expect.
"Its purpose is to awaken your Transcendent Grade bloodline."
As Nalvadir’s words echoed in his mind, Azrael slowly opened his eyes.
"Transcendent Grade bloodline..." He muttered in a low voice, shifting his gaze toward his status window.
---) Bloodline: ??? (Eternal Grade) (Unawakened)
There were five known grades of bloodlines, ranked from lowest to highest: Faded Grade, Sovereign Grade, Ancient Grade, Primordial Grade, and Transcendent Grade.
Just like with traits, there was nothing known as Eternal Grade for bloodlines either. Until now, Azrael had never heard of anyone else other than him possessing an Eternal Grade Trait, much less an Eternal Grade bloodline.
He had even asked Ashara about it once, and she too had no knowledge of anything called Eternal Grade.
What made things even stranger was Nalvadir’s own ignorance. Nalvadir had claimed to have left behind his strand of soul within the Sanguinal Throne long ago. For someone making such a claim, he seemed utterly clueless about its true purpose.
Not only did the grade of Azrael’s bloodline turn out to be completely different from what Nalvadir had spoken of, but the supposed purpose of the throne he had revealed was also entirely wrong.
According to Nalvadir, the throne’s role was to awaken his Transcendent Grade bloodline.
But what Azrael had received was an Eternal Grade bloodline. More importantly—
’It’s still unawakened.’
The throne had not awakened his bloodline at all.
Countless thoughts flashed through Azrael’s mind until one particular idea made his heart skip a beat.
’Could it be... the reason the grade of my bloodline is different is because I am not the original Azrael?’ He narrowed his eyes at the thought.
’It might be possible that this Sanguinal Throne was meant for the original Azrael to awaken his bloodline, but since I am not truly him, things have changed.’
Azrael took a deep breath and tried to steady himself.
If his speculation was correct, if things had indeed changed because he was not the original, then it would mean Nalvadir had not been lying, and everything he had said was true.
But if his speculation was wrong, and his presence was not the reason for the discrepancy, then that would mean Nalvadir had been lying to him.
’Or perhaps... he wasn’t lying, but he genuinely did not know the true purpose of the Sanguinal Throne.’
Nalvadir had mentioned that the legacy of the Enders was left behind for him by someone else.
Since it had not been Nalvadir who left it, it was entirely possible that the one who had done so had chosen not to reveal the throne’s real purpose to him, keeping even Nalvadir in dark.
If that were the case, then the question became—Why?
Was it because that mysterious person did not trust Nalvadir? Or was there another, far more complex reason?
Just thinking about all these possibilities made Azrael’s head ache.
’Things are really starting to become annoying...’ He muttered inwardly, shaking his head slightly.
At that moment, he noticed that the space around him had begun to crumble.
He remained calm, unflustered at the sight, for he knew the collapse was caused by the Sanguinal Throne running out of energy, and the spiritual space it had created was now disintegrating.
Within seconds, most of the surroundings had crumbled away, and Azrael felt a powerful force pulling his consciousness back.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he was hurled out of the collapsing spiritual space.
As he was ejected, he drew in a deep breath and recalled Nalvadir’s final words regarding the Witch and Wizard class holders.
’Seems like I will have a lot of things to do after returning to the Academy,’ He said to himself, and then, with a final flicker, his consciousness snapped back... And he found himself once again seated upon the Sanguinal Throne.