Chapter 284: What The Hell Did I Do?
Finally, we arrived... at her bedroom.
Honestly, I had expected her to take me to the throne room, or maybe some ancient research lab. But no—this was her destination.
I glanced inside, and calling it a "room" felt like an insult.
It was massive—easily the size of a banquet hall. Maybe even bigger. Bedhalls... that felt more accurate.
A grand bed sat in the center, large enough for a dozen people. In one distant corner, at least twenty meters away, was a beautifully carved study table. Everything inside was tastefully decorated—elegant carpets, crystal light fixtures, shelves filled with scrolls and books.
And portraits.
Dozens of them. Most were of her—fighting, smiling, brooding. Some showed unfamiliar faces.
She turned to me and said softly, "Wait here for a moment."
And just like that, she vanished.
I blinked, caught off guard by her sudden disappearance. Before I could even take a step forward, she reappeared right where she’d been.
"Let’s go," she said, and waved her hand.
In the next blink, the bedroom was gone.
I now stood before a wide pool of softly glowing green liquid. Bubbles rose lazily to the surface and popped with a quiet fizz.
Azalea stood beside me and spoke, "Here is your bath. I mixed in a small amount of extracted life force—it should help you recover quickly. I’ll leave you to it. If you need me, just speak my name."
Then she vanished again, just as effortlessly.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
An ex-grandmaster preparing a bath for me? That was... something.
I stripped off my clothes and dove in. The liquid was a little thicker than regular water, but it embraced me gently. I sank down, letting the warmth seep into every inch of my body. Eyes closed, I just floated there.
I didn’t know how much time had passed before I surfaced again. The green hue was gone now—replaced by clear water. I climbed up and sat at the edge of the pool, the warmth clinging to my skin.
My body felt lighter. My mind... clearer.
I looked down and saw sculpted muscles, skin faintly glowing with health. I smiled and scrubbed myself down, more out of habit than need.
The heaviness I’d carried after watching Lyrate’s memories had faded. Not entirely—but enough.
"These memories really mess me up," I muttered to myself.
To lift my mood further, I went over everything I had gained on this Phantom hunt.
First—and by far the most valuable—was the Phantom soul I had captured.
Second, the memories and comprehension I inherited from Lyrate. She had so many refined skills and insights. I was already thinking of modifying a few of mine based on what I’d seen.
Third, were the new techniques I had developed during battle—
Lotus of Annihilation, Sanctum of Judgment, Space Lock, Runic Ascent... all of them had huge potential.
Fourth, a new ability had awakened after my talent leveled up.
I let out a long breath, excitement bubbling inside me. I felt strong—really strong.
I brought up my list of skills again and stared at them.
It was time for some changes.
I was progressing too fast. My skills needed to catch up. Until now, I had been relying on brute force and Essence mastery to carry me through.
That needed to change—but before that, the new shackled soul needed to meet its master.
I placed a hand over my heart and whispered,
"Come."
The generator core within me stirred. The new Phantom core, still rotating around the Null Heart, pulsed—and in the very next moment, a torrent of crimson mist burst out from my chest.
But before I could observe that the world faded to silence.
Then came the dark.
I was no longer in the castle.
Around me stretched nothing but pitch-black space. I stood alone on a cracked pathway of ancient stone, worn by ages, suspended in the void. The air was cold and unmoving.
Ahead of me loomed a door.
I was back at the place where I had acquired Silver’s soul.
The door was colossal—impossibly tall and wider than any structure I’d ever seen. The top of it vanished into the black above, and the sides extended so far into the void that after ten feet, the path simply stopped revealing anything more.
The door stood like the last remnant of a forgotten realm.
My heart thundered once, loud enough to echo through the dark.
I braced myself since I knew what was coming and a glowing chain burst from my sternum.
Thick and ethereal, the chain pulsed a bright blue. It was massive—wide enough that I’d need both arms just to wrap around one link.
It extended forward, straight toward the door, gliding smoothly through the dark like a serpent of light, guided by some invisible command.
It didn’t stop until it reached the door.
The ancient door groaned.
Dust flared from its surface. Webs disintegrated in the tremor.
Then, with a sound like a mountain splitting, the door creaked open, just an inch, no more. But even that slight gap was enough to let something through.
From the sliver of open space floated a sphere.
Crimson. Opaque. Roughly the size of a large head. It glowed like it was bleeding light.
Inside it was the form of the elf.
Lyrate.
Her body was whole again, not the half destroyed one that I saw.
The sphere hovered silently for a breath, then the glowing chain shot forward and latched onto it with a resounding clang .
The moment the link was secured, the chain pulled back.
Hard.
The orb trembled once and then hurtled toward me, dragged by the binding now anchored to my heart.
The crimson sphere neared my chest and phased through my body.
Straight into the heart.
A final thrum shook my core.
Then the world exploded in light.
I was back in the pool and the crimson mist was surging out of my heart.
It roared to life in front of me, coiling and twisting, a vortex of dense Essence-laced mist spinning in the air. The mist grew, thickening with every breath I took, swirling like a storm trying to remember its center. Then—pressure.
The cyclone of smoke began to fold in on itself, compressing with a sharp hum.
And within that storm, shape began to emerge.
A slender form stepped out from the heart of the mist.
The first thing I saw were the glowing red eyes—piercing and clear, locked onto me with something that almost resembled recognition.
The rest followed, sculpted from the same crimson haze, rolling softly off her form in silent waves. The mist never left her, drifting from her limbs like smoke from a dying fire.
She was tall, regal, and unmistakably elven.
"Lyrate." I muttered.
Her skin remained pale, and her long ears marked her elven heritage. But her eyes, once golden, now glowed a deep, haunting red. Her face mirrored the younger Lyrate I had seen in the memories—elegant and serene.
Crimson mist wove through her hair, shaping it into flowing strands the color of blood and dusk.
An elegant dress clung to her figure, woven from living mist, ever-shifting yet perfectly formed.
Draped over her shoulders, a long flowing crimson cape billowed without wind, trailing behind her like the mantle of a monarch.
A crown—simple, thin, and angular—rested upon her head.
In her right hand, she held a thin sword—long and graceful. It shimmered faintly, as though on the verge of fading at any moment, but the way she gripped it left no doubt. It was meant to kill.
The mist rolled around her bare feet as she floated above the surface of the water.
She stood before me in silence, her eyes locked onto mine.
Beautiful and Imposing.
A faint notification shimmered above her head.
[Lyrate Evergreen – Level 193]
I blinked, staring.
"You’ve got to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath.
Was this real? Had I somehow pulled her soul back from a Phantom... and restored her? Did that mean I could bring the dead back?
Still unsure, I rose to my feet and took a cautious step closer.
"Lyrate?" I called.
No answer.
I tried again, a little louder. "Hey, do you remember anything?"
She didn’t react. Her gaze remained still.
Frowning, I stepped closer and gave a simple command.
"Come here."
The crimson mist surrounding her body shivered, and without warning, her form dissolved into smoke—only to reassemble in an instant, right in front of me.
I jerked back in surprise. "Damn."
So she couldn’t speak, didn’t seem to remember anything, and yet... she could do things like that?
’No memories. But the body’s fully functional. And the power... still insane,’ I thought.
I hesitated, then slowly raised a hand and touched her shoulder with a single finger.
It was solid. Real.