Chapter 239 — The Successor 2

Chapter 239: Chapter 239 — The Successor 2

Chapter 239 — The Successor 2

Victor’s jaw tightened.

Fine.

He opened his mouth.

"I—"

Heat suddenly erupted from his storage ring.

Victor froze.

"What?"

The temperature rose rapidly.

He immediately recognized the source.

The feather.

Victor pulled it from his storage ring.

The instant it appeared, everyone in the room reacted.

Energy poured from the black feather.

It wasn’t Spiritual Energy.

At least, not on any level Victor could understand.

The pressure rolled through the chamber, ancient and overwhelming.

Chairs scraped backward.

Several masked figures immediately rose.

"It’s a trap!"

One man shot to his feet.

"Kill the boy!"

Victor instinctively stepped backward.

The Space Witch moved.

She stood closer to him than she’d been a moment before.

Before anyone else could act, the man seated at the center slammed his hand down.

"HOLD!"

The word cracked through the room.

Everyone froze.

"Nobody do anything!"

The feather lifted from Victor’s palm.

Black energy spilled outward.

Victor stared.

The feather disappeared inside the growing mass of power.

The darkness expanded.

Folded.

Took shape.

Two enormous wings emerged first.

Then the rest of her.

A massive black Firebird stood in the center of the chamber.

Victor’s eyes widened.

"Rakasha..."

The Guardian Spirit turned her head toward him.

Then she smiled.

"I heard everything, Victor."

Victor stared at her.

"Let me take over from here."

Rakasha turned toward the room.

Her smile vanished.

"So this is what has become of Samal’s followers."

Nobody spoke.

Rakasha’s eyes swept across the masks.

"Weak-willed."

A few figures stiffened.

"Useless."

The silence somehow deepened.

"I would love for any one of you to call me a liar."

No one moved.

"Go ahead."

Rakasha slowly spread one enormous black wing.

"Tell me you can’t trust me."

The reaction was immediate.

One masked figure dropped to a knee.

Then another.

And another.

Around the chamber, bodies lowered one after another.

Even the holographic members bowed their heads.

The man at the center stood from his chair.

Then he, too, lowered himself onto one knee.

"We apologize, Guardian Beast Rakasha."

Victor’s eyes widened slightly.

Well... that worked.

Rakasha’s gaze settled on the man at the center.

She studied him.

"So you’re the current Tower Master."

Victor’s head snapped toward him.

Tower Master?!

The masked man glanced briefly toward Victor before lowering his gaze again.

"Yes, Guardian Beast."

"Ah."

Rakasha’s eyes narrowed.

"I can sense the artifact concealing you."

Her gaze lingered on him.

Then something in her expression changed.

"But what happened to your Core?"

The Tower Master stiffened.

"It’s cracked."

Rakasha tilted her head.

"You’re barely beyond the Spirit Core Realm."

Her eyes narrowed further as if seeing through flesh, mask, and artifact alike.

"Half a step into the Earth Realm at best."

She studied him for another moment.

"What happened?"

The Tower Master remained on one knee.

"Our alchemical recipe was lost."

Rakasha said nothing.

"We only possess part of the formula required to safely enter the fourth realm."

Understanding slowly appeared in her eyes.

She shook her head.

"No wonder your presence felt incomplete."

Her gaze swept over him once more.

"Half a step into the Earth Realm..."

Rakasha sighed.

"How far the Tower Master has fallen."

Nobody dared respond.

Victor, however, stared at the kneeling man.

For months, he had wondered who the Tower Master was.

Where he was.

How powerful he might be.

Now Victor finally stood in the same room as him.

And Rakasha was disappointed.

Then Rakasha turned toward Victor.

"This boy."

She gestured toward him with one wing.

"He is our successor."

Victor froze.

The room became deathly silent.

Not a whisper.

Not even one of the projections moved.

Rakasha looked across the kneeling figures.

"Whether you like it or not."

Her voice carried no room for argument.

"You will treat him with respect."

Victor stared at her back.

"Samal has chosen to place the fate of alchemy and humanity on this boy."

Several masked figures visibly stiffened.

Victor did too.

He had known Samal expected something from him.

Rakasha had made that much clear before.

But hearing it stated like this—

The fate of alchemy and humanity?

That sounded considerably worse.

"If you do not trust Victor, then you do not trust me."

Rakasha’s voice cooled.

"And you most certainly do not trust Samal."

Not a single person spoke.

Rakasha waited.

No one challenged her.

Finally, she turned back toward Victor.

"You shouldn’t have any more problems here."

Victor released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

"That’s one way of putting it."

The faintest amusement entered Rakasha’s eyes.

"This feather will disappear in a few moments."

Then she noticed the small Firebird sitting on Victor’s shoulder.

Everything about her changed.

The pressure remained.

The power remained.

But the severity in her expression disappeared.

"Hello, sweetheart."

Nala’s head shot up.

"Chirp!"

Rakasha smiled.

"Your mother has missed you."

Nala launched herself from Victor’s shoulder.

She flew straight into Rakasha, pressing herself against the Guardian Spirit’s chest.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

Rakasha lowered her head toward her daughter.

For a few moments, nobody in the room seemed willing to disturb them.

Victor watched quietly.

Then he looked at Rakasha.

"Thank you."

She turned toward him.

"Thank you for helping me."

Victor hesitated.

"I’ll come back as soon as possible."

"Don’t worry about that right now."

Rakasha’s expression became serious again.

"Take care of what you need to take care of here."

Victor nodded.

"Samal can feel the Evil God Organization moving aggressively within the Tower."

Victor’s expression hardened.

"You must stop them at all costs."

"I’ll do everything I can."

Rakasha held his gaze.

For a moment, Victor had the uncomfortable feeling that she wanted to say more.

Her body began to fade.

Nala chirped frantically.

"Chirp! Chirp!"

She remained against her mother until Rakasha became too faint to touch.

Finally, Nala fluttered backward.

A few seconds later, Rakasha disappeared completely.

The feather vanished with her.

Nala hovered in the empty space where her mother had been.

Victor watched her for a moment.

Then she turned and flew back to him.

This time, she didn’t land on his shoulder.

She pressed herself against his chest.

Victor gently wrapped an arm around her.

"It’s okay."

He rubbed the top of her head until she finally climbed back onto his shoulder.

Only then did Victor remember the room around him.

He looked up.

Every person was staring at him.

Nobody had stood.

Nobody spoke.

Only moments ago, some of them had called him a liar.

One had ordered his death.

Now they had felt Rakasha’s presence themselves.

They had watched their Tower Master kneel before her.

They had heard what she called Victor.

Our successor.

And now, for the first time since Victor had entered the room, there was no suspicion in their eyes.

Something else had replaced it.

Victor wasn’t entirely sure that was better.