Confronted by the teacher’s aggressive questioning, Cassandra could no longer remain silent.
"It’s... the Otherworld Treasure Box."
She uttered the name almost in a whisper, her voice laden with deep despair:
"An artifact left in the clan treasury by the ancestor of the King of Absurdity."
The moment that name was spoken, it felt as though the air pressure in the entire room dropped by half.
"The Otherworld Treasure Box..."
Lance’s voice revealed unmistakable fear:
"The ultimate creation rumored to grant any wish... You actually..."
As soon as this name was mentioned, the entire room fell into a deathly silence.
Apart from Eve and Ron, everyone present knew the weight of this name.
The Eye of Observation’s single eye contracted violently, its pupil focusing into a tiny point:
"That legendary dangerous item? Are you insane?!"
Gould’s face turned as pale as paper:
"The power of the Power Card concerns rewriting the laws of reality... Using such a thing for modulation of a newborn’s bloodline..."
Selena was even more shocked into silence, her mouth agape and her eyes filled with a stunned expression.
Only Uther, while equally surprised, soon understood the truth of the matter:
"So... this is why you’ve been frantically conquering the Otherworld all these years. You were collecting resources for other Power Cards..."
Cassandra saw the disappointment in the teacher’s eyes, and a great pain welled up from deep within her heart:
"I... I had no choice at the time..."
Her voice began to tremble:
"At that time, the usage period of the Power Card was nearing its end. I had to use it within the allotted time, otherwise..."
"Otherwise your soul would be devoured by the treasure box."
Gould interjected, his tone carrying a deep sigh:
"So you chose to use that card on Eve."
"That’s not true!"
Cassandra hurriedly denied, her eyes full of despair:
"My initial plan was simple, just to provide Eve with the best bloodline foundation.
According to the original plan, she should have become a genius much like myself, which was already quite remarkable..."
At this point, her voice became even more pained:
"But... but when I saw the potential she displayed during her cultivation, I wasn’t content... I wanted her to become even more perfect..."
"So you added a large amount of precious resources that could satisfy the requirements of the ’奢靡’ even when the embryo was already stable."
Uther’s voice was as sharp as a blade:
"You knew the risks of doing so, yet you still did it."
Cassandra couldn’t refute, only nodding in pain:
"I thought... I thought I could control it... I thought she could withstand it with the Crown Clan’s bloodline..."
"But the outcome exceeded her carrying capacity, leading to today’s predicament."
Selena’s voice was filled with deep disappointment and anger:
"A mother, to satisfy her own greed, pushed an unborn child into the Abyss."
Upon hearing this, Eve was thunderstruck.
Of course, she knew she was artificially cultivated by her mother; it wasn’t a secret in the Crown Clan.
But she never knew that her suffering was caused by her mother’s greed.
What should have been a normal cultivation process turned into a disaster because of Cassandra’s dissatisfaction.
Fourteen years of pain, fourteen years of despair, all due to her mother’s desire for "perfection."
Eve forced herself to maintain a composed expression in front of her mother, despite the immense impact inside.
But as she turned to face Ron, that forced strength instantly crumbled.
She gently shook her head at Ron, her eyes filled with unprecedented disappointment and despair.
That look was as empty as if she had witnessed the end of the world.
Ron felt the enormous pain inside the young girl, reaching out to gently hold her hand, offering some warmth and support.
The atmosphere in the room became exceptionally heavy.
Though the power of the Power Cards is strong, the temptations and costs hidden behind them often push the users into the Abyss.
Cassandra is a living example.
And most tragically, her daughter became the biggest victim of this downfall.
"Now..."
The Eye of Observation slowly spoke, its voice laden with deep weariness:
"We finally know the true root of the problem.
The conflict caused by the Power Cards... It is indeed far more complex than ordinary bloodline diseases."
The dead silence in the room lingered for a long time.
Only the weak humming sound from the ceremonial device reminded everyone that time was ticking away.
Uther was the first to break this oppressive atmosphere.
As the leader of this healing process, he had to redirect everyone’s focus back on track.
"At this point, it’s meaningless to pursue responsibility for the past."
The old professor’s voice remained gentle, yet carried an undeniable authority:
"We now need to focus on solving the problem instead of dwelling on its cause."
His silver eyes scanned everyone present, finally stopping on Cassandra:
"Cassandra, what is the specific type of Power Card you mentioned earlier? This is critical to developing our treatment plan."
Cassandra struggled to calm the emotional fluctuations inside her.
"Golden ’奢靡’ card."
Her voice was somewhat hoarse: "I used this card during Eve’s embryonic development stage, pouring in a large amount of rare materials for bloodline optimization."
The Eye of Observation’s single eye slightly rotated, its pupil flickering with thoughtful light:
"The power level of the Golden Power Card is indeed sufficient to touch the underlying structure of reality."