"Huf... Huf..."
Just as Soren was about to relax, the second wave hit.
However, it wasn’t physical this time.
It was a violent surge of information that felt like it was being hammered into the very structure of his brain.
"AGH!"
Soren’s head snapped back, his eyes rolling into his skull.
Ice Emperor’s Legacy flooded his consciousness. Thousands of complex mana pathways, intricate details of the legacy, and Heaven-Treading Flash forced their way in.
It was a library’s worth of mastery being compressed into a single, agonizing instant.
He saw the rotation of the stars, the flow of glaciers, and the silent death of the absolute zero.
His legs gave out completely.
He slumped against the cold tile of the bathroom wall, his chest heaving.
[Progress: 100%]
[Integration complete!]
Finally, the pressure subsided, leaving behind a heavy, echoing silence.
Soren sat there for a long minute, staring at his hands. They were bloody and pale but also steady.
The weakness that had defined his life for twenty years was gone. In its place was a dense, cold power that pulsed in time with his heartbeat.
He looked at his injured forearm.
He reached out and slowly unwound the bandage.
"!"
Although he expected it somehow, he still couldn’t believe his eyes.
The skin underneath was flawless, as if it hadn’t been injured at all.
"I-It... It’s really gone..."
Soren muttered in disbelief.
"Ha... Haha..."
A silly laugh escaped from his lips.
He felt as if he was dreaming, that this was just a nightmare.
But... Those things he just experienced...
There was no denying it.
He has awakened!
"Haha... I did it... I really awakened."
Strangely, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.
The weight that had pressed on his chest for seven years had finally vanished.
Being a dud made his already uneventful life even worse. He had spent years as the punching bag for his siblings’ ridicule and the shadow his friends eventually stopped noticing.
This had once been his only dream, but after years of failing every test, he had buried that hope deep enough to forget it existed.
But now...
He clenched his fist, feeling the cold energy pulsing through his veins.
He caught himself starting to grin again and immediately forced his face into a neutral expression.
’Calm down. This isn’t the time.’
He still had to return and check on Ethea.
Soren moved quickly.
He turned on the shower, scrubbing away the half-dried blood and the dark, foul-smelling grime that had seeped out of his pores during the transformation.
The ’stench’ of his past self was washed down the drain.
He dried off, pulled on a fresh set of clothes, and stepped back into the bedroom.
Surprisingly, Ethea was still awake, her eyes fixed on the door.
As soon as he entered, their gazes met.
Her eyes immediately dropped to his forearm, which was now bare and completely unblemished.
A faint, surprised glint passed through her pupils, a crack in her icy mask.
Soren didn’t miss it, but he pretended not to notice and offered a reassuring smile.
"See? It’s already healed. Told you it wasn’t a big deal."
"...You..."
"...You awakened?"
Instead of replying, she asked a question.
"...Yes." He nodded. He walked to the bedside and carefully adjusted the blanket, tucking her in with a gentleness that didn’t match the new, heavy pressure radiating from his body. "Besides, you must have already sensed it, right? That was why you were awake back then."
"..."
She remained silent, her lifeless eyes tracking his every move.
Being already used to her antics, Soren continued as he stepped away from the bed.
"Don’t worry. Now that I have awakened, I will protect you even better!"
Ethea squinted at him briefly, her gaze unreadable. After a moment, she turned her head away, staring at the far wall.
Soren let out an awkward smile, realizing how that might have sounded to a former 7th Circle Ice Empress. He was a newly awakened novice promising to protect a fallen legend. And... It also sounded like a confession. But he didn’t take his words back.
"Alright, then have a good night."
He muttered and walked to his futon, positioned it across the doorway, and sat down. He crossed his legs into a lotus posture, closing his eyes to finally explore the massive, frozen ocean of knowledge now resting in his mind.
However, before that, he had to check something else.
He focused his mind on the newly acquired skill.
’Investor’s Eyes.’
His pupils flickered with a faint, golden hue.
Immediately, a faint overlay appeared around her body, and glowing text materialized in his field of view.
______ _______
Name: Ethea Morvain
Status: Critical
[Age: 21]
[Rank: 7th Circle [Crippled / Regressed]]
[Current Mana Level: 0 (Sealed)]
[Core condition: 97% destroyed - severe irreparable damage]
[Mana pathways: 4% functional - catastrophic severing]
[Physical Condition:]
-Paralysis (Near-Complete - Below Neck)
-Chronic Pain (Level 8/10 - Constant)
-Nerve Damage (Severe - Permanent without intervention)
-Muscle Atrophy (Advanced Stage)
-Core Instability (Deteriorating - Life-Threatening)
-Malnutrition (Moderate)
-Cold Body Constitution (Ice Attribute Residue - Uncontrolled)
[Authority Status: Frost Sovereign - Sealed/Dormant]
[Affliction Detected:]
[Curse: ▇▇▇▇▇’s ▇▇▇▇▇ - Grade: Eighth Circle]
[Details: Insufficient Authority - Unable to analyze]
[Effect: ???]
[Origin: ???]
[Estimated Survival Without Treatment: 8-14 months]
[Mental State: Broken Will - Suicidal Ideation - Resigned to Death]
[Investment Value: SUPREME]
[Potential: Immeasurable (If restored, can surpass previous peak)]
[Recommendation: Immediate investment in recovery resources required]
______ _______