[A/n: Guys, I apologise I made a mistake in the previous draft. There was some contradiction happening that was not supposed to happen. I have now corrected. ]
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"How do you know about his revival??" William asked in surprise. The question came out with instinctive curiosity, as his mind tried to process something that did not fit within his understanding.
He had no idea how a vyker knew about a demon lord’s ability to revive. It was not something even powerhouses on Aris knew about.
The idea felt troubling. It was not a small matter. In the novel he had read, Ethan had killed a few demon lords, including Clayman, and then they had revived, which had been a very big revelation to the whole world.
William looked at Rah in surprise as he waited for an explanation, who then started to explain to him,
"That guy, when he got killed, had no core inside his body. He revived again from his nest. That is all I know." Rah spoke in a calm tone. He did not seem too concerned about it.
"Nest?? As far as I remember, demons do not make any nests," William asked with raised brows. His confusion was evident, as the concept did not align with what he knew. There were abyss wombs from where demons revived, not nests .
Rah just shrugged again, showing that even he did not fully understand the details. He seemed used to not knowing everything. "The being who told us about his revival used loose language for our understanding. It was the only way we could understand it loosely." His explanation was straightforward. He did not try to hide anything.
Then, as if remembering something nostalgic, a faint shift occurred in his tone. His voice became slightly softer. "That person was really good-natured. She even gave me this," Rah said while rattling the bone armor on his tail, the sound faintly echoing in the surrounding space.
"This thing has saved my life from enemies countless times," he spoke with gratitude, his voice carrying a rare warmth. It was clear he valued it a lot.
"Wait, who are you talking about??" William asked in surprise. His curiosity was instantly piqued. He leaned forward slightly. For someone to know about a demon lord’s secrets, that person must not be ordinary.
That much was obvious. Right now, he really wanted to know the name of this lady who had revealed such information so casually, as if it was nothing special. It felt strange to him.
"I do not know her name. No one in my clan knows," Rah shook his tail, and then, as if recalling distant memories, he spoke again. He took a short pause before continuing.
"It was during a time of war. We were being defeated and surrounded by the land of Vykers. The situation was bad for my vile father as he was about to be killed, but then suddenly a rift opened in space out of nowhere, and she stepped out of it. She seemed to be from the same world as yours and walked on two legs, although there were a few differences here and there."
"It happened very quickly. The moment she appeared, everything changed. There was no struggle after that. She waved her hand and killed every land Vyker effortlessly. My father was rescued, and that woman was invited to our nest as a guest." Rah spoke steadily, as if repeating something he had remembered many times.
"During her stay, one day she told the patriarch that Clayman had revived and to stay alert if he came back for revenge in the future. She described it loosely, comparing the place of his revival to a nest for our understanding. She did not reveal her name. She had arrived for the Primordial Vyker’s remains. Once she got her hands on them, she left." Rah did not add anything more after that.
William gritted his teeth slightly. He felt a bit frustrated. The puzzle was becoming more and more complex, with new dots appearing before he could even connect the old ones. It was getting harder to keep track. Questions kept piling up, each one leading to another. There was no clear direction yet.
"What are the Primordial Vyker’s remains??" William asked, his tone was now more serious than before. His expression also changed slightly.
Rah shook his head. "I do not know. I never bothered to ask much about it. I just know that it was a skeleton, a revered thing kept like a treasure. Half of the skeleton was with us, while the other half was with the land Vyker tribe, probably an ancestor of our clan." His answer was direct. He did not seem interested in the topic.
William nodded slowly in understanding as he accepted the answer for now, leaving it for further investigation in the future.
There was no point rushing it. For now, he needed to confirm a few more pressing matters, mainly taking revenge for his elder brother Nevin.
He made up his mind to go back to Tamasya after he was done with that.
William looked at Rah again. "Fine, let’s drop this topic here for now. Go ahead and meet your new family. This whole domain is mine, so you do not need to be shy. Fly as much as you want."
Then, suddenly, his tone became a bit colder. "After that, we have someone to kill, it will be our first hunt together."
Rah nodded with enthusiasm, clearly excited about the hunt. His energy changed instantly. He was itching to explore the realm before that.
He also noticed the sun above his head and wondered whether this was the ’star’ thing that William had asked him about earlier. The bright light intrigued him. He kept staring at it for a moment after all, his echo was related to this thing called the star.
He also tried to estimate how much time it would take to reach that thing with his speed. He made a rough guess in his mind. The thought itself excited him. It felt like a challenge. Well, he could only try to find out.
With a nod, Rah spread his wings and took to the sky. His movement was smooth. His massive body rose upward, casting a large shadow below.
The ground darkened briefly under him. For a few moments, his figure dominated the sky before gradually shrinking into the distance, becoming nothing more than a small dot. Soon, he was barely visible.
William’s gaze lingered on him for a few moments, silently observing, before he finally looked down. His expression returned to normal.
"System, show me the echo Rah has awakened." He spoke calmly.
[Sure, host.]
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Echo: Blessing of the Stars [Level 1]
The stars favor you. They are with you in every fight.
Effects:
Stellar Reversal: Your skin absorbs 50% of the impact from any attack and stores it as stellar energy temporarily. It can be reflected as a shockwave toward the enemy. The energy only stores for ten seconds before dissipating on its own if not reflected.
[Locked]
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William read the details carefully. He took his time. If it had been a doubt before, now William was pretty sure Rah’s destiny halo was justified.
The conclusion felt natural. The more he thought about it, the clearer it became.
There were too many signs. The single unlocked effect alone gave him the ability to nullify and absorb 50% of the incoming attack and then reflect it toward the enemy. That was already strong.
Now it was clear why there was a change in texture and color in Rah’s skin. It made sense now. It was directly linked to this ability. There was no confusion about it anymore.
But there was one more thing that bothered William. He could not ignore it. "System, this stellar energy, is there a relation with stellar fire???" he asked. His tone was thoughtful.
[Yes, host. The sun is essentially a star in itself. Your physique provides you control over that stellar fire, but the base of that fire is stellar energy that essentially fuels it.]
"It is so weird how connected things are to each other," William chuckled softly.
"Absorb this echo. Now that the mark of servant has been placed on Rah, it should not be a problem, right?" he asked, wanting to proceed.
[Host, you should claim the reward of Sub quest - 3 first.]