Chapter 33: The Pact

Chapter 33: Chapter 33: The Pact

Adira remained silent for a long time. The ambient light from the magic crystal actually seemed to flicker and dim, as if the mere mention of the cursed artifact was rapidly draining the mana from the air.

​"It is an artifact that predates our current era. It was not forged by human hands, nor by dragons, demons, or angels. It is a primordial relic left behind by the Ancient One."

​Krono leaned against the cold stone wall and listened closely. The Ancient One was the mysterious supreme being who had created his Ultimate Devourer System.

Adira continued,

​"The Book of Death is a grimoire that holds absolute authority over the cycle of reincarnation. With it, the user can forcibly rip a fractured soul from the void and forge a perfect, immortal vessel for it out of thin air. It completely bypasses the need for mythical ingredients like Phoenix eggs or Dragon hearts."

​Krono crossed his small arms. "That sounds incredibly convenient. So what exactly is the catch?"

​"The catch is the required price. The Book operates on an absolute, unbreakable rule of equivalent exchange. To resurrect a normal human, you might only need to sacrifice a dozen lives. But to resurrect a soul as dense, ancient, and powerful as mine..."

​She paused, seemingly testing his resolve.

​"To bring back the Godless Hero, the Book of Death would require you to sacrifice the life force of an entire kingdom. That means millions of souls would need to be completely erased from existence just to fuel my rebirth. Furthermore, the book is currently sealed within the deepest abyss of Nozax, guarded by ancient horrors that even Demon Lords fear to look upon."

​Adira waited for Krono to recoil in terror. She fully expected him to call her a monster, or to abandon the terrifying idea entirely.

After all, the scale of such a slaughter was unfathomable for any sane person.

​Contrary to her expectations, the small seven-year-old boy only tilted his head.

His youthful face stretched into a highly unsettling, predatory grin.

"Sounds fun! But if we are actually going to do this, we will do it entirely my way. Furthermore, there are a few strict conditions of mine if you want to exist peacefully inside my mind sea."

Slowly recovering from her absolute surprise at his ruthlessness, the Godless Hero nodded in agreement.

"Pray tell. What conditions do you have for me?"

Krono held up one small finger, "First, you will never attempt to seize control of my body again. If you try to forcefully hijack my vessel or mess with my soul, I will completely seal my mind sea and let your consciousness rot in the absolute dark."

​Adira scoffed slightly, though she did not sound offended.

"Fair enough. A host must protect his vessel. And the second?"

​He held up a second finger, "Rent. You are living inside my head, which means you are essentially my tenant. You will pay for your accommodation by sharing your combat experience, ancient knowledge, and magic theories. If I ask a question about this world or a specific enemy, you will answer it directly without any cryptic riddles."

​"A tenant, haha? You are actively extorting a legendary historical figure for rent? Fine. I suppose acting as a temporary tutor for a little monster is not the worst fate in the world. Is there a third?"

​"Third. You do not touch my System interface without my explicit permission. The Ultimate Devourer belongs to me now. There is no compromise in this."

Adira replied calmly,

​"Agreed. Though I must warn you, my presence alone might cause your System to behave in unexpected ways. Two old souls sharing one restricted space tends to create strange anomalies."

​Krono smirked, "I welcome anomalies. They usually come with free stats."

Krono didn’t fully trust her yet, but he had no choice but to stay with this ghost.

​With the terms officially settled, Krono finally relaxed his posture.

He sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of the cellar and focused his mind inward. It was time to see exactly what he had gained from devouring a legendary Demon Lord and a Dragon’s ultimate attack.

​"System, display my updated status and show me the assimilation rewards."

He was very excited, but—

​

[ ULTIMATE DEVOURER SYSTEM (STATUS) ]

[ Name: Kronor De Volcan ]

[ Age: 7 (39) ]

[ Race: Human (Base) ]

[ Title: Mad Slayer ]

​[ HP (Health): 200 / 200 ]

​[ Miasma (Mana): 250/ 2500 ]

​[ Satiation (Hunger): 110% (Overlimit) ]

[ Strength (STR): 200 ]

[ Agility (AGI): 200 ]

[ Vitality (VIT): 200 ]

[ Intelligence (INT): 150 ]

[ Willpower (WIL): 45 ]

[ SKILLS ]

• Draconic Fireball (D) Mind Corruption (E), Web Weaver (E), Water Breathing (E), Aquatic Camouflage (E+), Tremor Step (D)

​[ INNATE SKILLS ]

​• Adult Soul (Passive),

• Photographic Comprehension (Passive).

[ SYSTEM SKILLS ]

• Absolute Absorption (Active)

There were indeed some noticeable changes. His base stats had doubled, and he had gained a new active skill: Draconic Fireball.

​But Krono had expected far more. He should have received an explosive surge in stats and a multitude of new abilities, especially since it was his own physical body that devoured everything in the dark prison.

​He was talking about thousands of tons of Dragon Steel, dozens of elite prisoners, Dragon Lord Ignis’s ultimate Supernova, and a literal Demon Lord.

​Naturally, considering the sheer volume of raw essence he had just indirectly devoured, his overall progress should have been monumental.

​He did not have an answer for the missing energy.

​So, he asked the one person who would.

​"Adira, where exactly did all that essence energy go? Why did my stats barely increase?" he asked inwardly, keeping his outward expression completely calm.

​"Hahaha!" Adira laughed out loud, her voice ringing through his head.

​"Are you actually talking about the prisoners and the magic I devoured? Are you for real?"

​Krono tightly restrained his temper.

​"Yes, I am. It was my vessel you used, so naturally, I should be the one to gain all those powers," he demanded coldly.

​Feeling his growing anger, Adira’s amused smile finally faded. She let out a soft sigh.

​"You really amuse me, Krono. Do you honestly think I stole them from you? Tsk."

​She clicked her tongue in sheer disappointment before adding to her explanation.

​"If I had given all that raw essence energy directly to you to assimilate, you would have instantly died from the overload. Your fragile mortal body cannot absorb that much power all at once. I only gave you exactly what your current physical limits could endure. The rest of the energy... I used it to construct this Mind Sea."

​"Mind Sea?" Krono echoed in confusion.