Of Curses and Dreams
Will walked out dejectedly. He had gained no further insight than Leylin’s encouragement. Other than that, he felt that this father whom he had never seen before was shrouded in a layer of dense fog.
“What’s wrong with Will?” Celine had instantly noticed this anomaly as she walked into Leylin’s villa carrying a silver plate.
“Freshly grounded coffee, personally made by me!” On the silver plate, white mist floated above the beige can and mug.
“Nothing much! Just a youth’s confusion!” Leylin smiled, held up a cup of coffee and said, “The taste is still as good as before!”
“You… How long are you going to be staying this time?” Celine bit her lips, watching Leylin with an evasive gaze. Compared to the previous time they met, Leylin now seemed like an ordinary man; there were no powerful energy waves being transmitted from his body anymore.
And yet, she knew that this was only a sign of Leylin becoming more powerful. It seemed like he had gained many things during his journey to the Icy Cave.
However, even if she’d known beforehand, Celine could only smile bitterly. One could only gain as much as their strength allowed them. Even if she knew about the existence of the world of ice before Leylin, any one of the giant icy creatures in there could kill her without even leaving her corpse behind.
And now, Celine keenly sensed that Leylin had already gained what he wanted, which was why Twilight Zone no longer attracted him. This discovery immediately made her uneasy.
“It may be quite some time, but it won’t be longer than a year!” Leylin took a sip of the rich and mellow coffee. However, the words he said caused Celine’s face to turn pale.
For a Magus, a year’s time was too short. Regardless of what was being done, it was not nearly enough. Even an experiment required a lot more time than this.
Seeing Celine’s unwilling expression, Leylin secretly sighed, but he did not say anything else. The entire Twilight Zone was just too barren. This place where even a rank 3 Magus could act like a tyrant and become a ruler was honestly too small. Only the larger central continent and the astral plane where there were endless profound mysteries were worthy of Leylin’s residence, allowing him to travel as much as he wanted in the future.
“In that case, can you let me follow you to the central continent?” Celine clenched her teeth.
“Of course you can, but I have to tell you a few things first!” Leylin looked at Celine with a profound expression in his pupils, “In the central continent, rank 2 Magi are merely like ants, their sheer number inconceivable. With your current strength, you will only be in the lowest rung of society there. Also, I already have a wife… Are you going to be willing to give up everything in Twilight Zone and leave with me?”
After hearing Leylin speak honestly about him already having a wife, Celine stumbled a few steps back, obviously not expecting it. And upon hearing that she had to give up the entirety of Twilight Zone, her expression darkened even further.
After a long silence, she finally made a decision. Smiling bitterly, she said, “Alright! I cannot give up on Mentor’s wish, nor on Twilight Zone. This is my home!”
Leylin smiled, “Perhaps I can make it up to you in other aspects! For example, didn’t you want my bloodline very badly before?”
This was a decision Leylin had made after long and careful deliberation. His current Kemoyin’s bloodline had already evolved to an extreme point, even reaching its genetic limits. There was no more room for improvement. Hence, the time was finally right to grow his family.
A rank 5 Warlock’s bloodline would be sufficient to form a terrifying power in a short period of time. With the restriction of the bloodline and his own ability as emperor to control all Giant Kemoyin Serpents, these bloodline descendants would become his most capable assistants in the future. Since he was prepared to grow the Farlier Family after his return, there was no harm in leaving another child behind in Twilight Zone.
“Really?” Celine’s eyes sparkled, and her face even flushed red with excitement. The terrifying innate abilities Leylin had displayed was proof enough that his descendants definitely wouldn’t turn out too bad. They might even inherit some powerful abilities from him. Such a bloodline was one that many female Magi sought, but few could obtain.
One Morning Star’s family always had a great chance of producing another among their ranks, much greater than that of other Magus clans. Perhaps one of her own descendants would be a strong Morning Star as well!
As she thought along this line, Celine’s breathing could not help but gradually get heavier.
Seeing Celine in such a state, Leylin could not help but burst out laughing. Although this woman had changed slightly, she was still that same old Celine in essence.
However, he did not hold much hope for her at all. Even if she was willing to give up everything in Twilight Zone and return to the central continent with him, she would at most be another good friend for Freya.
Furthermore, letting his bloodline grow in multiple places was also safer overall.
Leylin stroked his chin. His decision to grow his bloodline in many different places was certainly not about something as simple as expanding his influence.
Through his endless study on bloodline mutations and gene changing, he’d come to know that, with enough descendants, there was a chance that a genetic mutation would occur, allowing the individual’s strength to rise further than normal. Although such odds were small enough to be disregarded, there was always hope.
In fact, many Kemoyin Warlocks and other bloodline Warlocks practised this method. Whenever descendants of exceptionally rich bloodlines appeared, they would perceive it as fate’s blessing.
‘I have to go back once my Kemoyin Serpent Emperor bloodline has fully matured and I develop my Radiant Moon strength.’ Leylin’s pupils dimmed…
The boiling lava boomed endlessly. Many fiery dragons splashed about, and rocks shattered to expose a passageway that led upwards. A few black figures rushed out of the place directly.
“Damned Leylin and damned Twilight Zone! Chief, don’t you know that concentrated fire elemental particles are a great enemy for a female Magus’ skin? My maintenance charges for this mission are going to increase!” Carol pouted coquettishly, taking out a mirror and looking her skin over carefully.
However, the leader and the Magus called Eugene evidently did not care much.
“As long as this mission can be completed, no one would care even if you rested for a hundred years!” the leader snorted coldly. He ignored his subordinate’s complaints, much more interested in this territory.
“Tsk… This underground… the elemental particles are already so barren… It’s simply a desert for Magi!” On the other hand, Eugene also sighed while clicking his tongue, showing his disdain towards the barrenness of the Twilight Zone.
“Compared to the central continent, this place is indeed a desert. However, the darkness and earth elemental particle concentration is still passable, even if barely. Use spells of these two elements as much as possible to conserve your soul force…” The chief’s head tilted to one side, looking at Carol, “Carol, found the opponent yet?”
“Let me see…” Carol took out a transparent crystal ball. In the core of this ball was a black wisp of air that swayed back and forth. This was Leylin’s aura, collected from Mount Asura.
Although Leylin had covered his traces very carefully, as long as such Magi had the correct location and suitable spells, finding his tracks was only a matter of time.
A black stream of air emerged on Carol’s face. After pondering for a moment with her eyes closed, she pointed towards the north and spoke confidently. “He’s in that direction, I’m sure of it.”
“Good! Now that we’ve discovered the opponent’s position, won’t three Radiant Moons like us be able to deal with a simple Morning Star?” Eugene licked his lips, “That rascal made me run about outside for such a long time. I want him!”
This leader nodded, “We can. But the target is still as strong as a Radiant Moon himself, do not underestimate him. However, I have information that the target still has a weakness. Even if he has fighting strength at the Radiant Moon realm and powerful bloodline imprints, he is still a Morning Star at his core. The strength of his truesoul is limited to the peak of Morning Star. If we cast curses or attack the soul…”
“It’ll be very safe!” Carol nodded. “Just nice, there’s been some progress in my research on soul curses recently, just leave it to me!”
“The two of us will assist!” The leader looked at Eugene, and the latter agreed with a little reluctance, “Alright! You’re the leader. Whatever you say goes!” Evidently, he was a little depressed because he was unable to draw blood directly.
……
“Leylin! Hurry to school, you’re going to be late!” A foreign yet familiar voice echoed in his ears, making Leylin a little confused.
“Where is this? A.I. Chip?” Around him was a road, cherry blossom trees in full bloom on both sides. Blossoms drifted down to the street one after the other.
The ground was very clean, without any sorts of paper scraps. Leylin looked at his own hands, his skin that was milky white without much musculature was full of youth.
“...” There was no response from the A.I. Chip, causing Leylin to fall into a deep silence.
At this moment, a large chunk of memory entered his brain. “I’m Leylin! Innocent Saints High School, year 3 student! I also have an elder sister and a younger sister in my family, I’m supposed to go to the campus festival….”
“Why… Why do I feel like I’ve forgotten something important, and what is an A.I. Chip? Why did I remember it subconsciously?” Looking at the checkered shirt on his body and the student name tag on his chest, Leylin became quiet in an instant.
“Hey Leylin, what's wrong with you?” A blonde haired student walked over, pulling Leylin’s arm along with him.
“Serway…” Leylin called out the student’s once he opened his mouth, which made him fall into greater confusion, ‘I need to calm down… Why do I know his name? Where exactly is this?’
“What are you waiting for? We won’t make it in time!” Serway stopped a taxi, shoving Leylin into it before following closely behind, “Driver, Innocent Saints High School!”
“Have you lost your mind? The famous singer, Carol has a concert at the campus festival today...”