Chapter 399: The Hero of Light Sleeps in a Dragon Princess's Lap!

1st Day of Messis, the Ninth Month, Year 50,001.

Throughout Valtharion, autumn had arrived, bringing a change of season across the world, something Luke would have found rather unusual compared to his previous life on Earth.

Of course, this seasonal change only affected regions where unusual weather conditions weren't already present, since certain territories continued experiencing their own unique climates regardless of the time of year.

Meanwhile, in Bravaryn, peace had finally returned following the conclusion of the ten-day battle against the Zhurkhal Tribe.

And the Hero of Light, who was responsible for ending that conflict, was currently sleeping peacefully with his head resting upon the lap of a beautiful young woman.

Her long, snow-white hair flowed over her shoulders, while a pair of elegant silver horns rose from her head, complementing her striking icy-blue eyes and delicate facial features.

She was Emberlyn Starfall, the younger princess of the Dragon Royal Family.

"Hahhh..."

Emberlyn released a quiet sigh as she looked down at Luke's sleeping face, gently running her fingers through his shoulder-length black hair.

It had already been ten days since they returned to the Dragon Palace, yet Luke hadn't awakened even once during that time.

She had remained beside him throughout those ten days, rarely leaving his company, especially since beings at her cultivation level no longer needed to concern themselves with ordinary necessities in the same manner as mortals.

"Luke, when are you finally going to wake up?"

She gently caressed his cheek, looking somewhat confused as she recalled the treatment he had received.

Rhaenyra's blood essence should have been more than sufficient to restore Luke's damaged body, and considering its extraordinary healing properties, Emberlyn had expected him to regain consciousness by the following day.

However, despite his injuries having completely recovered, he continued sleeping.

"I already told Big Sister not to feed you any more of her blood essence," Emberlyn muttered, her fingers pausing briefly against his cheek.

After Luke failed to awaken, Rhaenyra had become increasingly concerned and subsequently fed him her blood essence nine additional times, even increasing its concentration in the hope that the stronger medicinal effect would help him recover.

Unfortunately, Luke remained unconscious, while the repeated expenditure eventually exhausted Rhaenyra to the point that she needed to sleep to restore her energy.

Emberlyn couldn't understand why the treatment hadn't worked as expected.

What she didn't know was that Luke's body was currently undergoing a far more complicated process.

Deep within his unconscious body, "Eternal Titan Zero" had been continuously reconstructing his cells and internal structures, using the enormous quantity of Blood Essence he had absorbed to accelerate the formation of his new physique.

And Rhaenyra's blood essence had contributed tremendously to that process.

In fact, if Luke were conscious and able to examine his cultivation status, he would have been astonished by the number displayed before him.

[ETERNAL TITAN ZERO — BODY RECONSTRUCTION]

[Progress: 99.9999999%]

His reconstruction had almost reached completion.

Considering that his EX-Rank technique normally required him to absorb Blood Essence from slain beings, the sudden increase was extraordinary, especially since most of this additional progress had come from a living A-Rank Dragon Princess.

However, Rhaenyra's blood essence possessed such exceptional quality that even a relatively small quantity contained tremendous value.

Moreover, there was another reason for its effectiveness, one connected to a certain conspiracy involving the gods.

Unfortunately, neither Luke nor the two Dragon Princesses knew anything about that particular matter.

Meanwhile, the System was observing the situation with an expression of utter disbelief.

[Seriously...]

It looked toward Emberlyn, who was still gently caressing Luke's hair while waiting for him to awaken.

[Instead of making Rhaenyra fall in love with him, this idiot somehow managed to make her younger sister fall for him first.]

The System hadn't expected such an outcome, especially when Luke's original objective involved conquering the heart of his proud dragon wife.

However, the developing relationship between Luke and Emberlyn was no longer its greatest concern.

Its attention gradually returned to the reconstruction taking place within Luke's body.

[Was this really a good thing?]

The System sighed.

[The path of shortcuts never ends well.]

At that moment, its attention shifted toward a distant hill, where Rhaenyra had finally awakened after recovering from the exhaustion caused by repeatedly giving Luke her blood essence.

However, the moment she looked toward Luke's location and discovered Emberlyn once again behaving affectionately toward him, her expression immediately became unpleasant.

"I already told her not to touch him! Why can't that girl listen to me?!"

Rhaenyra cursed her younger sister under her breath, becoming increasingly irritated as she watched Emberlyn continue caressing Luke's hair.

For a moment, she even considered going over and dealing with her troublesome sister directly.

Unfortunately, Emberlyn was also an A-Rank Dragon Princess, and even Rhaenyra couldn't confidently predict the outcome if the two of them seriously fought.

Moreover, their father, mother, grandmother, and grandfather would all become furious if they discovered that the sisters had started fighting with each other.

After all, internal conflicts were strictly forbidden within their family.

"Hmph!"

Rhaenyra folded her arms, clearly dissatisfied.

"Should I just kidnap Luke again and take him somewhere nobody can find us?"

The thought suddenly appeared in her mind, and she couldn't help considering whether that might be the simplest solution.

However, the System ignored her increasingly possessive behavior, even though it was beginning to resemble the development of a rather healthy yandere.

Instead, its attention moved toward something far more troubling.

Besides the golden marriage chains, several other connections had begun forming between Rhaenyra and Luke.

These connections were invisible to ordinary beings, but the System could clearly perceive their existence.

[Karma, fate, destiny, past, future... even her death is being transferred to Luke.]

The System's expression became unusually serious.

Although Luke had gained an extraordinary amount of Blood Essence through Rhaenyra, there was no such thing as a completely free shortcut in this universe, especially when dealing with an EX-Rank cultivation technique.

Its purpose was to reconstruct Luke into an Eternal Titan Zero, and the requirements involved in that transformation extended far beyond simply collecting enough Blood Essence.

That was precisely why the System had never recommended obtaining all the necessary resources from a living, higher-ranked existence.

Although such a method could help Luke complete the first stage of his reconstruction, the following stages wouldn't necessarily accept the same shortcut.

[He obtained the Blood Essence, but he didn't personally accumulate all the karma and other requirements needed to complete his C-Rank Eternal Titan Zero body.]

The System examined the connections forming between Luke and Rhaenyra.

[And now, his technique is attempting to obtain those missing requirements from her.]

The consequences were far more serious than Luke could currently imagine.

Rhaenyra had killed an extraordinary number of beings throughout her life, and the karma associated with those deaths was now being transferred toward Luke through the connection created by the Blood Essence.

Even certain aspects of her fate and destiny were becoming entangled with his reconstruction.

[That means her accumulated killings, her karma, and everything connected to them are becoming part of his burden.]

The System sighed again.

Under ordinary circumstances, Luke's advancement should have resulted in a tribulation appropriate to the strength and requirements of his own cultivation.

However, because he had obtained the final portion of his Blood Essence from a living A-Rank existence rather than accumulating it through killing, the universal laws would no longer evaluate the process in the same manner.

Rhaenyra herself was an A-Rank being, and the value attached to her existence was naturally far greater than that of the enemies Luke had previously absorbed.

Consequently, instead of facing a B-Rank-level tribulation, Luke would now have to endure one reaching A-Rank.

And that wasn't even considering the hidden laws involved in the process.

[Well, at least Luke has canceled that possible future death of hers.]

For once, the System's voice contained none of its usual playfulness.

It had previously witnessed a possible future in which Rhaenyra would die, and the time associated with that event was gradually approaching.

However, now that Luke had begun taking on the consequences connected to her existence, including that particular death, the System expected the future to change.

If Luke survived the coming tribulation, then logically, the danger associated with Rhaenyra's predicted death should also disappear.

Unfortunately, something was wrong.

The System attempted to examine that future again, only to discover that the scene remained concealed beneath a strange ash-colored fog.

"..."

[Again? Those beings are doing whatever they want.]

The System looked at the obscured future with growing dissatisfaction.

At the height of its former power, it could have easily torn through restrictions of this nature, including certain traps capable of rendering even Eternal-Rank existences helpless.

However, in its current weakened state, it couldn't do anything about the interference.

Eventually, it withdrew its attention from the hidden future and returned its gaze toward Luke.

[Become stronger, Luke. As you need every bit of strength you can gather.]

Its expression became increasingly grave.

[Because when that time comes, it will be only you and Rhaenyra, and if you fail, you'll lose her forever.]

At that exact moment, Luke's eyelids suddenly flickered.

After remaining unconscious for ten days, his body finally showed the first signs of awakening.

Whether he had somehow heard the System's warning or had simply reached the moment when his long-awaited destiny would begin moving forward remained unknown.