[Trigger Warning: This Chapter contains depictions of graphic violence, gore and distressing themes. Reader discretion is advised.]
With that thought in mind, Kael closed the skill window and shifted his attention to the final reward waiting in his inventory.
The Fragment of Silen.
With a wave of his hand, the dark violet orb appeared once more within his palm. Wisps of shadow drifted lazily around its surface while the strange pulse from earlier continued to echo through the room, each beat carrying an unsettling aura that instinctively put him on guard.
Kael ignored the unsettling aura and focused on the fragment instead, making no attempt to absorb it immediately.
His eyes narrowed as he activated Eye of Judgment.
Absolute Verdict could reveal hidden information concealed within items, information that ordinary appraisal methods would never uncover.
Kael had no intention of lowering his guard.
Not after everything he had learned about Silen.
The Lantern of Supreme Execution had already taught him a valuable lesson. Beneath its incredible power lurked a terrifying condition. If certain requirements were met, Silen’s lingering will could gradually seize control of the user’s consciousness.
That single revelation was enough to make Kael wary of anything connected to the ancient executioner.
Who was to say this fragment didn’t contain a similar trap?
Perhaps absorbing Silen’s memories would also allow some remnant of his consciousness to take root within Kael’s own mind.
It sounded absurd.
But so had many things inside the Tower until they became reality.
Caution had kept him alive this long, and he had no intention of abandoning it now.
The golden light within his eyes intensified as Eye of Judgment thoroughly inspected every inch of the Fragment of Silen. He carefully examined every piece of information revealed by Absolute Verdict, searching for even the slightest hidden condition or concealed danger.
Only after reading through everything and confirming that nothing had been omitted did the tension in his shoulders finally ease.
There were no hidden restrictions.
No concealed curse.
No dormant will waiting to seize his body.
Satisfied with the result, Kael slowly exhaled before tightening his grip around the dark violet orb.
Only then did he prepare to absorb the Fragment of Silen.
Kael tightened his grip around the dark violet fragment before focusing on it.
Almost immediately, a familiar notification materialized before him.
---
[Do you wish to absorb the Fragment of Silen?]
[Warning: Absorption may cause minor discomfort.]
[Yes] / [No]
---
He didn’t hesitate.
The moment he selected Yes, the fragment trembled gently before dissolving into wisps of dark violet smoke. The mist drifted into the air as though guided by an invisible force, slowly gathering before Kael’s face. In the next instant, it surged forward and slipped into his forehead without leaving the slightest trace behind.
A sharp dizziness assaulted him.
His vision blurred.
The room around him rapidly faded away until even the System windows disappeared, replaced by an endless darkness.
Then...
The darkness shattered.
A torrent of memories crashed into his consciousness like a flood breaking through a dam.
Kael found himself standing within memories that didn’t belong to him.
No...
He wasn’t merely watching them.
He was experiencing them.
The world around him gradually became clear.
Warm sunlight bathed a peaceful village nestled between rolling fields. Children chased one another through dirt roads while laughter echoed from every direction. Villagers chatted happily as smoke drifted lazily from the chimneys of their homes, carrying with it the comforting scent of freshly cooked food.
Among the children was a young boy.
His black hair was slightly messy, his face covered with dirt after spending the entire morning running around with his friends.
He laughed.
A genuine, carefree laugh.
His parents weren’t far away.
His father smiled while repairing farming tools outside their house, occasionally glancing toward his son with quiet pride. His mother stood beside the doorway with a gentle smile, calling for him to come home before dinner grew cold.
Kael didn’t need anyone to tell him.
He already knew.
That boy...
Was Silen.
The memories flowed naturally, carrying Kael from one scene to another. He watched Silen grow alongside his friends, watched him help his father in the fields, watched his mother gently scold him whenever he returned home covered in mud.
They weren’t extraordinary people.
They weren’t powerful cultivators or legendary heroes.
They were simply...
Happy.
For a brief moment, Kael almost forgot whose memories he was witnessing.
Then everything changed.
Without warning...
Flames swallowed the horizon.
The peaceful laughter vanished beneath desperate screams.
Black smoke billowed into the sky as countless houses were consumed by fire. The smell of burning wood filled the air, quickly followed by another scent.
Burning flesh.
The metallic stench of blood.
Kael’s heart sank.
Because he wasn’t watching this tragedy from afar.
He was standing inside Silen’s body.
Every sensation became painfully real.
The heat from the flames scorched his skin.
The suffocating smoke invaded his lungs.
The screams...
They came from every direction.
Men.
Women.
Children.
It was complete chaos.
Bodies littered the streets.
Blood flowed through the dirt roads in crimson streams while flames devoured everything they touched.
Laughter echoed through the destruction.
Not joyful laughter.
Cruel laughter.
Several rough-looking men wandered casually through the burning village with bloodied weapons resting on their shoulders. They spoke to one another as though they had merely finished another day’s work.
To them...
Slaughtering an entire village meant nothing.
One of the bandits suddenly chuckled before pointing toward a collapsed house nearby.
"There."
Kael instinctively followed his gaze.
Under several massive wooden beams lay a woman.
Blood stained her clothes as she struggled desperately against the weight crushing her lower body.
Even in such a state...
She was still alive.
She cried out for help.
She begged.
Not for herself.
For her son.
Kael immediately recognized her.
Silen’s mother.
A grin slowly spread across one of the bandits’ faces.
Without saying a word, the man casually walked toward her before grabbing her arm and dragging her away from the collapsed building.
His intentions couldn’t have been more obvious.
The hunger in his eyes made Kael’s stomach twist with disgust.
Within Silen’s body, panic erupted.
"No!"
He tried to run forward.
He screamed.
He struggled with everything he had.
Kael felt every ounce of that desperation as though it were his own.
Silen threw himself toward the man without hesitation.
He was just a child.
Weak.
Powerless.
But none of that mattered.
His mother was there.
He had to save her.