Chapter 155: Immortality

The skeleton let out a hum, giving no response to Edward’s offer to help it resurrect.

It merely stared blankly ahead, as though trying to process everything it had just learned.

The flames in its eyes flickered as it did, seemingly mirroring its inner emotions.

"Has a century already passed...?" it muttered in a low voice, its gaze slowly moving toward the floor.

"Has the time already come...?"

Its eyes remained fixed there for several seconds.

It was only then that the skeleton stared back at Edward.

"So... you’re a member of the Valor Family..."

"I remembered our agreement. As long as you provide me with enough resources for the resurrection, I will help you attain immortality..."

Edward’s eyes shone brightly as soon as he heard these words.

Immortality!

What was this concept?

Although Awakeners were powerful and their lifespans were higher than normal people, they could at most live for a few hundred years.

Only Demigods underwent a divine transformation and thus had a chance to live longer.

Still, their lifespans would only be in the thousands of years. Living forever was impossible.

The only beings that could truly be considered immortal in Nova Roma were the many Gods!

But for an ordinary person, how could they compare themselves to such beings?

The only way they had to extend their lifespans was by resorting to unorthodox methods to continuously enhance their vitality.

And in this department, who could possibly compete with the evil Awakeners and bloodthirsty cultists?

Seeing his greedy expression filled with madness, the skeleton remained silent.

The figure of a young man flashed through its mind, and it subconsciously compared him to the figure before it.

"You truly deserve to be that person’s descendant...’

’He was also as mad as you, slaughtering thousands of beings to gather the materials required for the resurrection."

Saying that, the skeleton reminisced no further.

It waved its hand casually.

A crimson stream of light emerged from the throne and fired toward Edward.

Before the Thief could react, the light had landed in his hands.

Its appearance was revealed.

It was a book bound in crimson leather belonging to an unknown creature.

Several words were written elegantly on its cover.

Although Edward could not recognize the language they were written in, he could instinctively understand their meaning.

Excitement flashed across his face. His eyes lit up.

But the very next moment, all his enthusiasm was replaced by terror.

"No! No!"

"How could that be?! How is this possible?!"

"The ancient agreement...!"

A horrified voice came out of his mouth. His panicked screams echoed throughout the underground hall.

However, they did not last for long.

Soon, Edward’s body began to disappear.

Starting from the hands that held the book and spreading to the rest of his body, he quickly transformed into black ashes that flowed into the book.

Within a matter of seconds, a grown man had vanished completely.

A Rank 2 Awakener had perished without even knowing why!

The crimson on the book’s cover deepened, gaining a black hue that represented death.

Then, with a wave of the skeleton’s hand, it flew back into its grasp.

The skeleton looked down at the book and chuckled.

"Immortality... Heh!" it sneered as it put the book away.

It leaned back on the throne.

Yet just as it seemed that the hall would regain its original silence and peace, the skeleton turned its head.

Its gaze seemed to point toward nothing.

However, the mysterious being seemed to have seen something in the empty space.

"Aren’t you coming out yet? You’ve been watching for quite a while..."

Hidden within the Shadow Realm, Aurelius felt a chill run down his spine when he sensed the skeleton’s gaze move toward him.

The next words only made the alarm bells in his heart ring even louder.

However, he forced himself to calm down.

’Even Edward failed to discover me. Although this skeleton is mysterious, its current state is not very good...’

’I refuse to believe that it can truly discover me...’

Aurelius could almost be certain that these words were a bluff.

Partly because the earlier conversation had let him know that the skeleton was currently in the middle of resurrection, having lost its memories, and partly because of the interface hovering above its head.

[Undead Knight Lv. 42 (???)]

Level 42!

Although it surpassed Aurelius’ Level and had reached Rank 3, he normally wouldn’t have been afraid of such an opponent.

The only reason he had not taken action so far was because of the bizarreness of the underground hall, as well as the mysterious identity of the skeleton.

Countless thoughts raced through Aurelius’ mind.

In the end, he chose to stay motionless, wanting to see whether the Undead Knight had truly discovered his traces.

It didn’t take long.

Mere moments later, he finally had an answer.

The skeleton rose from its throne. It raised its hand, pointing its finger at him.

Bang!

One of its five finger bones suddenly broke apart from the rest of its body. It transformed into an arrow midair and shot toward the Shadow Realm at sonic speed,

Although the Player Panel’s description had revealed that the Shadow Realm was another dimension removed from the surface world, Aurelius’ intuition told him that it could not block such an attack!

He didn’t hesitate.

Knowing that the skeleton had already discovered him and was not merely trying to trick him, he immediately stepped out of the Shadow Realm.

He didn’t choose to face the skeletal arrow head-on.

The Solar Wings appeared behind his back.

Not to help him soar into the sky, but to enhance his speed.

They flapped, pushing him forward.

The next moment, the Undead Knight’s attack finally landed at the place he had just stood.

Bang!

Thick black mist spread from the point of impact. It engulfed part of the hall and Aurelius, giving the illusion that he had perished in the aftermath.

But the skeleton did not seem to believe so.

It raised its eyebrows... or at least the bones that had once been beneath them.

"Interesting... You’re much better than that trash..." it whispered.

Before it could finish its words, the black mist suddenly parted.

A silver blade surrounded by Sacred Flames emerged from within, slashing toward the Undead Knight’s torso.