Chapter 379 The Deciding Night [Part 2]: Meeting An Old Friend [Part 1]
In the depths of the river that parted Lotheliwan forestry and the desert plains of Sloria, an aquatic horror lay passive in the depths of the water.
Despite the air of devastation that was being carried around on both regions, the surface of the river was perfect and still, mirroring the two crescent moons that backed each other in the cold bosom of the sky.
Crawling on top of the river bank was a slightly big worm, almost the size of a snake. It seemed to have just finished devouring a considerable chunk of the dead monsters that lay afar the river.
It crawled on the dry sand slowly and soon dove into the water.
Towards the left side of the river bank where the worm had entered stood a small boy with black hair. He was bending down and keenly observed the worm till it entered into the river.
Then he looked at the river itself with a determined look in his eyes.
He touched the ground and could feel a slight vibration. This prompted him to quickly stand up.
He threw one more glance into the river and looked back at the direction the vibration was coming from.
Someone was coming towards him, a four-legged beast with steps powerful enough to make the earth tremble.
He narrowed his eyes, flashing a small smile,
"Let's hope this is enough to buy me time."
Then slowly, he faded into the air.
A couple of minutes later, Mr Fluffy galloped towards the river with powerful strides and steady speed.
Northern was on him, eyes sternly narrowed. He looked like he was super focused on what was in front of him but really he was deep in thought.
He couldn't help but think of Raven's eyes. He was slowly accepting what he is, who he is.
He didn't want to judge anyone anymore, didn't want to be a hypocrite and most importantly was not going to feel sorry for living the way he wanted to and doing what he wanted to do.
If it included bringing vengeance on that damned stronghold for daring to burn his mansion and kill Fluffy.
'In fact, maybe I should turn back around and show Afkon himself what happens when he crosses me.'
He frowned darkly and leaned lower to Fluffy, leading the beast to add a little more speed to its stride.
But suddenly Northern's [Sense] picked something up, causing him to stop abruptly.
He couldn't make sense of it exactly but something was wrong.
He was barely a hundred meters away from the river, the surface was calm, the air was dark and cool, cold in fact.
He turned his head, slowly observing his surroundings before turning back to his front.
'Something is definitely wrong, I can feel it.'
He narrowed his eyes, Chaos Eyes could not pick anything.
'Maybe this is the moment to evolve Soul Eyes. I don't want to risk going forward without knowing what this unclear feeling is'
Northern exhaled and looked down, summoning his panel.
Name: Northern Longguard
True Name: [Nameless]³
Attributes: [Formless], [Child of Void], [Limitless Void], [Vestige of Chaos and Void], [Chaos Eyes], [Chaos Thread], [Flames of Chaos]
Soul Rank: [Nomad]
Void Summons: [6/100]
Talent Fragments: [1299/3000]
[Copied Talents]: [1/3]
[Owned Talents]: [3]
[Attribute Abilities (Active/Passive)]: [8/11]
[Owned Items]: [Mortal Blade], [Eternal Twilight], [Death Glare] and 9 others.
'Let's see how much it costs to evolve a talent'
[Owned Talent - 3]
Talent: Advanced Cloning
Class: [A]
Talent (True) Name: [Me, Myself And I]
Description: [I am the only one, it is me, myself and I! All others strengthen me.]
Talent Ability: [Self Clone], [Other Clone]
Attributes: [All The Same]
[You can now view the information of Attributes from Copied Talents.]
Talent Progression: [0/600]
———
Talent: Soul Eyes
Class: [C]
Talent (True) Name: [The Blind Song]
Description: [A melody in the distant horizons beckons to lead the unsightly into a world beyond]
Talent Ability: [See]
Attributes: [Sense]
Talent Progression: [0/400]
———
Talent: [Windstride]
Talent Class: [A]
Talent (True) Name: [Legs Of The Wind]]
Description: [The wind has no feet, but with you, it walks pompously, lightly treading and navigating the path witj ease]
Talent Ability: [Velocity Dash], [Shunpo], [Time Warp], [Sonic Surge], [Breeze]
Attribute: [Way Of The Wind]
Talent Progression: [0/600]
———
[Copied Talent –1]
Talent: Erasure
Class: [B]
Talent (True) Name: [Forgotten Curse]
Description: [A livid curse that plagues all it sets Its eyes upon]
Talent Ability: [Lock], [Unlock]
Attributes: [Potent Seal]
Talent Progression: [0/500]
These were all the Talents he currently had in his repertoire, both Copied and Owned.
He took a few seconds to glance through all of them then brought his eyes back to the panel that mattered right now.
Then he deposited four hundred talent fragments into the Soul Eyes Talent Progression.
Immediately a new panel appeared over it.
[Do you want to evolve Talent: Soul Eyes (C–class) to Talent: Soul Sight (B–class)]
'Sure, why not.'
[Evolving talent]
The panel persisted for a while then disappeared and appeared again.
[Congratulations]
[You have evolved Talent: Soul Eyes (C–class) to Talent: Soul Sight (B–class)]
[Owned Talent –3]
Talent: Soul Sight
Class: [B]
Talent (True) Name: [The Blind Song]
Talent Ability: [Soul See]
Description: [A melody in the distant horizons beckons to lead the unsightly into a world beyond]
Attributes: [Danger Sense]
Talent Progression: [0/500]
He didn't gain more abilities but something had definitely happened to the one that was there before and the Attribute.
Northern didn't need to be told, before he knew it. Instantly, as the ability evolved, not just did the perception from his five senses increase to an abnormal level.
And that feeling that he was having a couple of minutes earlier instantly became much clearer, and he could feel it contributing to the potency of the Void force that had instantaneously weaved itself around him.
Northern could now—not just perceive things—but explicitly perceive dangers before they occur.
It was good progress but sadly Northern did not seem to be in the mood for any celebration.
Because of his acute sense of danger was why he knew exactly what was wrong this time.
He got off Mr Fluffy and patted the beast's fur, then said to him.
"I'm sorry pal, I don't want to abandon you but I'm being left with no choice. I'll have you sit this one out."
But the beast growled in protest, eyes focused with determination.
Northern could tell what those eyes were saying: Mr Fluffy was not ready to go anywhere, not this time, not ever.
Northern was particularly concerned because he didn't just know what was in that depth, his danger sense could pick up the magnitude of the threat it imposed.
And that was why he could tell without having to look into the water.
It was a monster much stronger than the Kirithon, he didn't want to compare it to the vile monster that had caused him to lose his ship, that was on another level.
And if not for the surplus Soul cores that were wasted, it probably wouldn't be dead.
But thanks to that event, Northern gained a handsome lot and was currently reviewing a couple of uses of Soul Cores in his mind.
Although he had not really given it an extensive thought as this is not the time.
The sandworm was probably much stronger, for some reason, the nearest description he could bring himself to use was none other than the Kirithon.
But Northern knew what was in that depth, which was why the situation was even more consuming.
Except if the horror in the depth of that ocean had suddenly grown to maturity in a couple of months there's no way it should have such imposing presence.
Northern smacked his fists together and cracked his knuckles.
"Well, to what does it matter. I'm just going to kill it anyway."
He bolted and walked forward with Mr Fluffy cautiously following him.
The beast seemed to crouch lower and lower as they neared the river bank.
When they reached five meters away from the edge, Mr Fluffy refused to go any further.
The white beast slowly crouched down with its ears lowered.
Northern, concerned, observed the beast's behavior and looked back into the river.
Its surface was clean and clear, reflecting the sky and its properties.
But Northern's danger sense was even now more vivid than ever, it made his head throb and the back of his neck cold.
"There's no way I can be mistaken, there's something in the depth of that river. Something not accounted for…"
Northern was suddenly prompted to remember the monsters he fought. He had never met their type in the rift or anywhere around before leaving.
Now, this…
Northern sighed and managed to caress the silver necklace that was hidden within the layers of his armor.
After which he looked at the water and jumped into it.
Northern dropped low into the water, bubbles forming out of his mouth, it was difficult to breathe at first.
The silver necklace around his neck, however, began to glow and Northern found himself easily breathing as if it were regular air down there.
He looked down into the dark depth of the river and began to dive deeper into it.
After swimming for a few more minutes, he paused. The depth was not just any other depth.
It was very dark and ominous, Northern decided to not go further but instead use Chaos Eyes.
And he did.
Something familiar struck him.
Immediately, the reality dawned on him, he shot up, desperately propelling himself to regain air power.
But the tendrils were faster than he was, coiling around his legs before he could go far and pulling him into the depths.