Deep in the night, Bryan Elric walked down the corridor of the Elric House’s mansion in the Holy Capital. In this silent building, his footsteps echoed particularly loudly. Moonlight shone through the window to cast its cold light upon his body, making him appear even more chilling.

  At the end of the corridor, Bryan took out a key, opened a door, and walked in. Beyond the door stood the item that he was looking for—a mercury mirror.

  1 reply – 13 minutes ago

  This mirror was around the height of a human, and it was designed in a manner that made it look like a door that one could pass through.

  And that was how it was intended to be used too.

  Bryan stood before the mirror and looked at his calm yet slightly livid expression. He raised his hand and knocked on the mirror.

  “Lybit, open the door.”


  There was a slight ripple on the surface of the mirror before an eye suddenly materialized in the middle of the mirror. The eye turned to look at Bryan before dissipating.

  Following that, powerful pulsations of mana emanated from the mirror before it suddenly swung open like a door, revealing a hunched old man holding a key in his hand.

  The hunched old man bowed deeply to Bryan.

  “Welcome back, vice guild leader.”


  “Mm.”


  Bryan nodded quietly to acknowledge the greeting before walking through the mirror door. The scenery around him swiftly changed into that of a dark castle.

  Connoisseur Guild Saint Mesit Theocracy Headquarters—this was the name of the castle that was permanently submerged in darkness. It was the cradle of a bunch of lunatics who were obsessed with ‘art’.

  “The Collector…… I’m referring to the guild leader, is he here yet?”


  “Yes yes, he’s already here. However, you have arrived late. We just finished an auction.

  The hunched old man followed Bryan’s footsteps as he explained with a subservient smile, hoping that he could catch the eye of this enigmatic vice guild leader with his words. That being said, he didn’t bear much expectation.

  To his surprise though, it appeared that Bryan did have an order for him to handle.

  “My bloodline, ten years old. He has lost a bit of blood. To what extent will you be able to do it if I were to entrust him to you?”


  “Ten years old? A boy?”


  “Yes.”


  “Please allow me some time to think about it. Er…… If the corpse is still intact, I should be able to get 20 more years for you with my skills!” replied the hunched old man with a fawning chuckle.

  Bryan looked at the hunched old man impassively for a moment before nodding his head.

  “Very well, I’ll leave it to you from now on then. You’ll be satisfied with the payment.”


  “Hehehe, I won’t disappoint you!

  “Are you done speaking? I have a meeting with the guild leader to attend.”


  “Yes yes, I’m done. Please go on ahead!”


  The old man dared not speak incessantly in Bryan’s presence. He lowered his back subserviently as he saw the latter off into the darkness ahead.

  —————————————-

  Bryan’s mood lifted a little after placing his ‘order’.

  The last few days had been quite vexing for him. His plan fell to shambles, and the Xeclydes and Ascarts had begun working together to exert pressure on him. Other fiefdoms also began making moves against the Elric House both in the open and in the shadows, resulting in business negotiations falling through and sanctions being imposed.

  This had caused that bunch of good-for-nothing nobles under him to fall into a fluster. They scrambled to him and wailed about how Bron had been a bad influence for their children and so on.

  Bryan knew deep down what they wanted behind that superficial act of theirs—they sought the secrets of longevity.

  Yes, this was all a trade. In exchange for their loyalty to the Elric House and their children joining Bron’s following, the ailing nobles would be bestowed with a way for them to continue living, and perhaps, even making a ‘full recovery’.

  Of course, Bryan didn’t put in so much effort just to build up his child’s influence. It was all just a part of his plans.

  “Did it fail? It’s unexpected to hear that your plan fell through. Were you unable to meet the conditions?”


  “No, a ruthless successor and a large group of followers; I already met the conditions for it. The timing was also perfect, but the prophecy still fell through for some inexplicable reason.”


  On one end of a long table, Bryan took a sip of tea as he spoke placidly. He had put in quite a bit of effort to ensure the fulfillment of the prophecy this time around, spending over a year to build up the scenario. He had also used all sorts of means during the banquet to direct others away from the scene, so as to create the necessary environment for Bron to accomplish what was expected of him.

  But, he never thought that the supposedly untalented Roel would actually be different from the rumors. They should have been able to either rally him over to their side or kill him, but his unexpected strength allowed him to stand his ground against Bron and his followers. After a grueling battle, the one who climbed out alive from the bloodstained room turned out to be him.

  An inconspicuous frown of frustration formed on Bryan’s impassive face as he thought about the incident.

  On the opposite end of the long table, however, a dark figure cloaked in shadows chuckled softly.

  “For the prophecy to actually fall through…… Labi will go on another one of his hysterical rampages once he learns about it. This is indeed a little troublesome. It’s a relief that it’s no longer possible for Carter to awaken anymore, but his son could pose a problem. Our failure to bring him over to our side or kill him might spell trouble for us in the future.”


  “But hasn’t the Ascart House already lost the method to awaken?”


  “That’s right. Based on the records, ever since Caroline Ascart went berserk at the start of the Third Epoch, the heritage of their house has already been severed. However, there’s something bizarre about that house. Once every few centuries, an abnormal individual who defies all common sense would appear amongst them. Over the past thousand years, there have already been two patriarchs who have awakened on their own.”


  The dark figure tapped his finger on the wooden table as he recalled the legendary house that was gradually being dragged into the darkness by the grinding gears of time.

  “The bloodline of that clan has been divided into seven parts ever since the Second Epoch. The only lineage that is still faring well is the Ascarts, who have chosen to seek refuge with the Theocracy. Yet, that family still manages to pull off the impossible.

  “They have already lost their heritage, yet their patriarchs are still able to pull through using just the ordinary Three Main Origin Attributes…… There’s just something peculiar about their house that allows them to continue defying fate over the past thousand years. Even when they’re in decline, I can’t help but feel unnerved by them.”


  The words spoken by the guild leader made Bryan’s frown tighten a little. He took a while to contemplate those words before he finally asked calmly.

  “Should we make a move again?”


  “No, there’s no need for that. Prophesy isn’t our exclusive domain. Besides, there’s no need to further drag your Elric House down into the swamp. The news that the Ascarts might usher in another awakened individual has already sparked the nerves of many people. We can be assured that one of them will make a move in order to stifle the danger in the cradle.”


  “But that boy has close relations with the successor of the Xeclydes. The chances of a successful assassination are……”


  “The Xeclydes are another troublesome house to deal with, but it matters not…… Here, why don’t you have a look at the painting that I have recently collected?”


  The dark figure snapped his finger, and a scroll painting slowly unfurled itself in midair. It depicted a street mired in chaos; a black-haired boy and a golden-haired girl were supporting one another as they trudged ahead.

  1 reply – 20 minutes ago

  “It looks like trouble will be knocking on their doorsteps very soon.”


  1 reply – 24 minutes ago