The first thing the Hound did after tasting his freedom was to inform the Bishop. He sent him a message, telling him that he was freed and that he had broken through to the Blazewarden rank by devouring Seraphis' seed.
Hearing this while sitting on his throne, the Bishop cracked a faint shadowy smile. Still, he didn't offer a single word of praise.
'Took you long enough.' He ordered calmly, 'Now, head to the ancient site's location and find a way in… I've received information that the site is connected to the Ashora Empire. There might be a chance that the Sun Amulet is still there.'
'Sun Amulet?'
'I'll send you the details on your way… head there quickly, the site's gate should be open by now.'
The Bishop's access to information about this mission was greatly limited since he had no one inside the circle that was sent. As for sending his own people? He knew the SAS Headquarters must have sent at least a Solarbound Daywalker to guard the site.
He couldn't send anyone that was part of the Duskbound Order due to the CRS Platform's rules.
The Hound was one of his personal dogs, unrelated to the Duskbound Order, which was the reason he had been waiting for him to emerge.
'As you wish.'
No questions asked, the Hound fixed his direction to the northeast, facing the rubble of Grave'Maw's mountain. Then, he took a deep breath and bent his immense, tightened muscular thighs until his knees were about to touch the ground.
With his arms strapped tightly to the sides, akin to an asylum fugitive, he looked like he was about to crash headfirst into the ground. Yet, he didn't lose balance at all.
"Fallen king… let's have a taste of your powers."
The Hound let out a long exhale, his breath appearing as smoke escaping from the holes in his muzzle. Then, in a cold tone, he uttered, "Unstoppable Pride."
Immediately after, his deathly gray skin started glowing with a golden light until his entire body resembled a statue crafted from pure gold. As for his wild blood-red hair? It kept its luster, mixing with the golden hue, making it glow orange like it was set ablaze.
The Hound fixed his cruel gaze on the ruined mountain in front of him… and then he lunged.
BOOOOOM!!
The mountain shook hard before a loud crack split it open. The Hound pierced through the rocks and boulders, breaking through the stone like it was made of foam!
It didn't matter if a boulder was fifty meters thick or not—nothing could block his path, as the ability he used fed on his prideful belief that nothing could stop him!
The moment he hesitated or doubted himself, the enhancements would fade. But that thought never crossed the Hound's mind for even a second!
Rumble!!
Dust and rubble flew everywhere as the mountain grumbled and began to fall apart the instant he emerged on the other side, headfirst!
Yet, the golden glow only grew brighter as he kept moving, each step smashing the dirt and sending cracks across the land!
His speed kept rising until a thunderous boom echoed behind him... the sound barrier breaking!
Rumble!! Rumble!!
He tore through forests, shattered trees, and sliced through lakes without slowing down, his speed only climbing higher. Nothing could block his path... not even the strongest mountains ahead!
He was like a wild beast with a single purpose in mind... fulfilling the Bishop's order.
***
While the Hound was swiftly gaining ground, getting closer and closer to the fallen Sphinx's region, High Chancellor, Hicham, Idriss, and Madam Ysara were gathered at a classified underground facility in Heliodor's region.
The moment they received news of the Hound being freed, they headed straight to the medical room, where Seraphis was kept alive... barely.
But now, all of them stood with somber expressions as they gazed at Seraphis, who was stored inside a standing metallic silver pod with a glass window.
He was frozen solid, fully nude, but his lower body was hidden. The glass window showed only his upper part. Although he was in a cryonic state, his appearance still looked like an old man in his final hours.
"So soon… how did the Hound survive Seraphis' spiritual trial? I didn't think it would kill him, but succeeding in a couple of months?" Hicham asked with a deep sigh.
"The target of the spiritual trial matters the most…" the High Chancellor smiled bitterly. "The Hound and Seraphis shared a rich ancient past. Neither of them would have accepted losing the spiritual trial of their nemesis."
Although none of them had gone through the spiritual trial of devouring one's seed since it was extremely rare, they could tell that the Hound's personal vendetta had played a significant role.
That was because those trials might be spiritual, but they weren't for the soft-hearted in the slightest. After all, besides the Daywalker and the Nightcrawler, even the Shadowlife seed fought for itself to survive being devoured and turned into a mere fruit for another Shadowlife tree.
Shadowlife seeds were indestructible... a single seed could pass through the hands of hundreds of partners in its lifetime before one of them survived the evolutionary ordeal and reached the limit.
This meant the only way to eliminate a Shadowlife seed from existence was to have it devoured by another, concluding its cycle.
Each Shadowlife seed was believed to have two wills: a will to survive at all costs and a will to evolve at all costs.
Hence, the spiritual trials threatened its survival, which meant it would do anything in its power to make the enemy suffer.
"So… what now?" Lord Idriss asked, his eyes slightly bloodshot as he gazed at his friend. "Seraphis isn't dying on our watch."
"Idriss…"
The High Chancellor and the others looked in his direction with lips slightly parted, wanting to speak but failing to find the words.
In the end, Madam Ysara handled it with a straightforward tone. "Idriss, he's dead… You know it, and we know it."
"No." Idriss rejected it.
He stepped toward the medical pod and placed his hands on the glass, staring at his old friend of many, many years.
A friend he had fought beside through countless battles.
A friend who had saved his life more times than he could count...and whom he had saved just as many.
A friend who stood with him when everyone else turned away.
Yet, he was being told that he was dead? To make it worse, he died because Idriss involved him in a mission without sharing its full details.
Although he did it for the sake of Heliodor's citizens... to save them from a mole plotting the region's downfall... it didn't matter at the moment.
It was all an excuse to dull the guilt, and he knew it.
Seraphis died because of him.
He died because Idriss killed him.
That's how Idriss saw it.
How could he accept that? How could he accept that he was the one who killed his friend?
"No… there must be a way... must be, it can't end like this for him..."
Idriss tightened his fist until his veins bulged, and the surrounding air seemed to twist. He was bad at expressing emotion, but everyone could see... Idriss was beyond heartbroken.
He was shattered inside and out.
His face might look solemn, but the pain and grief in his eyes could never be fully hidden.
"His Shadowlife seed was devoured…" Madam Ysara said.
She didn't explain, but that single sentence was enough to shatter Idriss' heart into pieces... along with the delusion he was clinging to.
He could refuse to admit it a hundred times, but the result would stay the same. Anyone with a Shadowlife seed was pronounced dead the instant their seed was taken from their body by any means.
They were indestructible, which gave seed holders a chance to survive if they were stabbed or gravely wounded. But once the seed was removed, it was over.
After all, the Shadowlife seeds were bound to the soul... removing or devouring one was the same as tearing a Daywalker's soul out.
In Seraphis' case, his body might be frozen, but they could all see it with their own eyes.
He had no spiritual aura.
He had no soul.
He was nothing but a frozen corpse.
He was...Dead.