Chapter 639 The One Who Must Ascend

Irina furrowed her brows as she stared at Liam’s side, her expression becoming increasingly confused the longer she looked. Just moments ago, she had been the one holding her hands over that terrible claw wound, using her ice powers to freeze the damaged flesh and slow the bleeding. She remembered exactly how bad it had looked. The wound had stretched from beneath his ribs downward, deep enough that she had been genuinely worried about how much blood he had lost. Yet now there wasn’t even a mark left. No torn flesh, no dried blood, no scar, not even the faint discoloration that normally remained after an injury that severe. Irina slowly reached out and ran her fingers across his side, almost expecting her hand to pass through an illusion.

Nothing happened.

His skin was completely smooth.

"It seems you’re really healed," she murmured, still sounding as though she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. "There is no wound left."

Liam glanced down at the spot himself before looking back at her. He had already known the wound was gone, but seeing Irina’s reaction made the reality sink in even more. He gently pressed his fingers against his side, twisting his body slightly to make sure there wasn’t even a hidden trace of pain. Nothing. The pain that had followed him through the entire Gargoyle battle was completely gone, replaced by the familiar sensation of healthy muscle beneath his skin. Whatever the Seer had done to him wasn’t normal healing. It had erased the injury entirely.

Tatiana released a quiet breath beside him, and the relief on her face was obvious. She had remained tense ever since Liam emerged from the passage, even after seeing him standing on his own feet. Now that she could see with her own eyes that the wound was gone, some of that tension finally disappeared. She stepped closer and lightly touched his arm, her eyes moving over him as though she wanted to make absolutely certain there wasn’t another injury hidden beneath his clothes. Liam noticed the concern in her expression and gave her a small reassuring smile.

Agatha, however, was already thinking about what came next. She looked toward Liam with a mixture of curiosity and expectation. Their encounter with the Seer had left them with more questions than answers, but Liam was the only one among them who had received something tangible from her. The map had disappeared directly into his body, and whatever information it contained was now apparently stored somewhere inside his mind. Agatha folded her arms loosely and finally asked, "What now?"

Liam looked toward the horizon.

For a moment he said nothing.

The field stretched endlessly around them, covered in tall grass that moved gently beneath the morning wind. Their horses stood nearby, occasionally shifting their weight or flicking their tails. The mountains that had dominated their journey were nowhere to be seen anymore. It was almost difficult to believe they had been standing among those enormous peaks only moments earlier. Liam slowly turned his head, letting his eyes travel across the horizon as he tried to orient himself.

"We head west."

Everyone looked at him.

Liam glanced back at them.

"West?"

Leonid was the first to repeat the word, his eyebrows raised. He looked toward the horizon as though expecting Liam to suddenly produce some enormous landmark proving that he knew where he was going.

Liam nodded.

"Yes. We head west until we reach the city."

Agatha’s expression sharpened.

"And when we get there?"

Liam looked down briefly, almost as though he was searching through the information that had been placed inside his mind. The answer came naturally. He didn’t know how he knew it, but he knew it.

"When we reach the city, we find the blacksmith."

Silence followed.

Irina blinked.

"The blacksmith?"

Liam nodded again.

Leonid slowly pointed toward Liam’s head with one finger, his expression becoming amused.

"Let me guess. You got all of that from the map that disappeared into your body?"

Liam looked at him.

"Exactly."

Leonid stared at him for another second before slowly lowering his hand.

"Well, that’s convenient."

Liam chuckled.

"It is."

The others exchanged glances. Nobody seemed particularly comfortable with the idea of Liam carrying an entire map inside his mind, especially when nobody else could see it or even understand how it worked. But after everything they had witnessed, arguing about whether it was possible seemed pointless. The Seer had done it. That was enough.

Agatha finally nodded.

"Then we should leave."

Everyone began mounting their horses.

Liam climbed onto his own horse and adjusted the reins while Tatiana mounted beside him. Leonid settled into his saddle with considerably more ease than before, while Irina checked her surroundings one final time. Mary and Gregor followed, and Agatha took her usual position near the front of the group.

The horses shifted impatiently beneath them.

Agatha raised her hand.

Then she lowered it.

"Let’s go."

"Heyaaa!"

The group surged forward.

Hooves struck the earth as they rode west together, moving across the open field in a tight formation. The wind rushed past their faces, carrying the smell of grass and distant soil. Liam remained near the rear of the group, occasionally glancing toward the horizon.

For the first time since entering the mountains, the path ahead felt almost straightforward.

They had a destination.

A city.

A blacksmith.

And somewhere beyond that, whatever the Seer had placed on the other side of the next piece of their journey.

None of them noticed the faint shimmer that appeared behind them once they were far enough away.

The air itself seemed to bend.

Then the Seer appeared.

She stood in the exact spot where they had vanished earlier, her long white hair drifting gently despite the absence of any noticeable wind. Her white garments moved around her body like soft clouds, untouched by the grass beneath her feet. She watched the distant group disappear toward the western horizon without saying a word.

Her expression was peaceful.

But her eyes carried something deeper.

Concern.

A second figure materialized behind her.

The Guardian.

His white hair floated around his face as he stepped out of the air itself, his robes moving gently around him. Unlike the Seer, however, there was no calmness in his expression. He stared toward the direction Liam had gone, his eyes filled with frustration and worry.

"You really let him leave."

The Seer didn’t turn around.

The Guardian continued.

"After waiting this long for him, you simply gave him a map and sent him away?"

The Seer closed her eyes for a moment.

Her silence only irritated him further.

"Why didn’t you tell him who he truly is?"

The Seer finally opened her eyes.

"Because we must not interfere with his ascension process."

The Guardian’s jaw tightened.

"He doesn’t even know what he is."

"He doesn’t need to know yet."

"He’s walking around completely unaware."

The Guardian stepped closer, his voice becoming heavier.

"He doesn’t know who he was. He doesn’t know what he carries inside him. He doesn’t know what kind of attention his existence will attract once the higher realms realize he has awakened."

The Seer remained still.

"He must ascend by himself."

The Guardian shook his head.

"And what happens if they find him?"

The Seer looked toward the distant horizon.

"They won’t."

"You cannot guarantee that."

Her expression remained calm.

The Guardian’s hands slowly curled into fists.

"They will kill him."

The words hung heavily between them.

"He is powerful by the standards of his world, yes. But against them? Against even the weakest of the higher realm’s true forces? He wouldn’t last."

The Seer said nothing.

The Guardian’s voice grew more urgent.

"He could help us win this war. You know that. We have been fighting for ages and waiting for him for longer than either of us can properly describe. Now that he’s finally here, you’re letting him walk away with no one protecting him."

The Seer turned her head slightly.

"He doesn’t need a protector."

The Guardian stared at her.

"How can you say that?"

"He will overcome every challenge."

Her voice was quiet, but there was absolute certainty behind it.

"He always has."

The Guardian’s eyes narrowed.

"This isn’t another ordinary challenge."

He took another step forward.

"This is bigger than him. If THEY discover who he is, he cannot defend himself against even the weakest among them. You know what they will do if they learn that Caelus Vaelorian has awakened."

The Seer’s eyes sharpened.

The Guardian continued.

"We should be protecting him. We should be preparing him. We should be telling him the truth before someone else does."

For the first time, irritation appeared on the Seer’s face.

She gently tapped one foot against the ground.

The movement looked almost insignificant.

It wasn’t.

Boom!

The entire field trembled.

The earth shook beneath them as a deep rumble traveled across the land. Grass bent outward in a massive wave, and several distant birds suddenly erupted from the trees and fled into the sky. The Guardian’s robes fluttered violently as the ground continued trembling for several seconds.

Then everything became still again.

The Seer’s expression had changed.

Her eyes were no longer gentle.

"Enough."

The single word carried enough force to make the Guardian fall silent.

"He will survive."

Her voice echoed through the open field.

"He will ascend."

She looked toward the horizon where Liam had disappeared.

"I know he will."

The Guardian remained silent.

The Seer took a slow breath, and the irritation in her expression gradually softened.

"He must discover himself. He must understand his power through his own experiences. If we interfere now, we risk changing the very path that brought him here."

Her gaze remained fixed on the distant horizon.

"He has already begun remembering."

The Guardian’s eyes widened slightly.

"You mean..."

The Seer didn’t answer directly.

Instead, a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"He will remember everything when the time is right."

The Guardian looked toward the direction Liam had gone.

His expression remained uneasy.

"And if the higher realm finds him before that time?"

The Seer became completely still.

For several seconds, she said nothing.

Then her eyes slowly hardened.

"If anyone from the higher realm dares touch a single hair on his head..."

The air around her began to tremble.

The Guardian’s expression changed.

The Seer’s presence expanded.

It wasn’t an attack.

It was simply power.

An immeasurable pressure that seemed to descend from the heavens themselves.

"...then they should prepare themselves for me."

The Guardian stared at her.

For the first time since their conversation began, he didn’t argue.

The Seer looked once more toward the western horizon.

Far away, Liam continued riding with his companions, completely unaware that forces far beyond his current understanding were already watching his journey.