[Vol. 8] Chapter 206: The Heart of the Serpent
“Whew~”
As the light and illusions faded away, the world around her turned into a void without owner. In the absolute silence and darkness, only the girl remained, along with a crystal-clear, pure white gem quietly floating in the air.
“Even if you say that, I’m not planning to run around saving the world or becoming some kind of hero. There are way more suitable people out there for that…”
Violet wasn’t sure whether to laugh, but in the end, she just curled her lips into a grin. She pushed away the faint feelings of emotion and silently committed to memory the name of someone she had met for the first and last time. Then she looked up at what floated in front of her.
The gem was about the size of a human head, shaped like an upside-down triangle, giving off a faint gentle glow like the beating of a heart. Pure and mysterious energy surged from deep within it, an enormous and sacred power. Even though it was tied to a being that stood as the enemy of the world, it didn’t carry the evil or malice Violet had expected. Instead, its aura felt balanced and neutral, with no sign of corruption.
It was like...
The purest form of [Origin Power].
Without a doubt, this was the Serpent's Heart, or rather a part of the true essence of the World-Devouring Serpent itself.
The massive stone serpent battling two powerful people outside was certainly impressive in size and endurance. But no one would ever guess that the real source of its nearly endless strength, the true body of the [Magic-Devouring Flying Serpent], was hidden inside a student named Rowan Nilin.
The huge serpent bursting out from underground was indeed Tartanos. But the [Magic-Devouring Flying Serpent] was a complex fusion made up of three parts, Ashnard, Tartanos, and the will of the Serpent. Because the last two lacked clear reasoning or intelligence, Ashnard had always been the one in control.
He had the ability to purge the influence of Serpent blood from the Sword Saint back then. He could also keep the [Magic-Devouring Flying Serpent] asleep underground for 300 years. So of course, he could secretly hide its core, the source of its power, inside another person’s body to stop Tartanos from going out of control after his own soul faded away.
For 300 years, the Sword Saint had guarded this secret all by himself. Even if he didn’t know that his older brother’s soul still remained, he must have sensed that there was something unusual inside Rowan. A Heart that didn’t belong to any normal human.
That’s why he saved Rowan. That’s why he helped him escape from the inside of Tartanos’ body. And from now on, he would likely keep Rowan close, train him, and carefully protect the Heart within him.
That was exactly the outcome Ashnard had hoped for.
After all, to the Austre Empire’s Intelligence Bureau, these scholars without backgrounds were just disposable pawns. Whether they lived or died didn’t matter, so of course no one paid close attention to them.
But the Swift Sword Saint was the strongest warrior in Austre Empire. Under his protection, the secret hidden inside Rowan could be kept safe. The risks would be reduced as much as possible, and it was even possible that Rowan could one day grow into a new Sword Saint.
The only unpredictable factor... was probably a certain priestess who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and the group of companions she brought with her.
Violet had been surprised by Ashnard's presence. But really, hadn’t Ashnard also been adjusting to the situation as it unfolded?
“The Heart, huh… That guy really had guts. If it were me, I wouldn’t be able to trust a total stranger I just met so easily.”
Looking at the strange, mysterious gemstone in front of her, glowing with an almost irresistible power, Violet gave a helpless shake of her head.
Her earlier conversation with Ashnard had seemed casual, but in reality, he had been quietly testing her the whole time. Her personality, her judgment, her strength. Violet even suspected that Ashnard had let Tartanos take control temporarily, just to see if she had the wisdom and power to handle it. A test, to help him decide whether to take certain “emergency measures.”
Because Violet had shown strength far beyond the ordinary and revealed her clear attitude toward the Serpent, it was only then that this Heart, which held the true source of its power, appeared before her with no defenses.
Even so, making such a bold decision after only brief contact was impressive in itself. No wonder that three hundred years ago, he had been able to seal away such a terrifying monster underground and avert a great disaster all by himself.
“What an interesting guy... Though I guess it’s not exactly a pity.”
Ashnard had been dead for three hundred years. His body had long turned to dust, and his soul had fused with Tartanos. The one who had spoken to Violet just now was only a lingering trace of his consciousness, left behind in the Serpent's Heart. Not even a true soul remnant.
After all, when he died, he was still just a mortal. He hadn’t even crossed the threshold into a higher realm, so his soul wasn’t particularly strong. If it hadn’t been for the priestess using her Reincarnation divinity to gather and stabilize those shattered fragments, even that last conversation wouldn’t have been possible.
Life and death, joy and sorrow, all of that had already passed for him. His wish was fulfilled, and a suitable successor had been found. Since he no longer clung to the world, there was no reason for someone who should have left long ago to force himself to stay.
Violet took a deep breath and reached out, gently testing the presence that looked like a Heart.
Even though she didn’t currently have a physical body, her presence here was more like a projection of spiritual awareness, it didn’t matter much when it came to something connected to a being like the World-Devouring Serpent. Physical form wasn’t the point anymore. In fact, this kind of spiritual contact might even be more effective than touching it in person.
“Vmmm~”
The moment her pale fingertip touched the smooth, glowing surface of the gem, an invisible ripple spread outward from where they met.
“Zzzzt... zzzzzzt……”
Amid strange, broken static-like noise, the pitch-black void around her began to shift and blur. It was as if something was trying to form an image or scene. But either because the memory was incomplete or because some force was blocking it, the picture never fully appeared.
Within the messy fragments of sound, Violet heard a grand and powerful voice, full of majesty. But also cracked and on the verge of falling apart. It roared in fury:
“You cannot become… zzt… zzzzzt… even if… zzzzt… this lie will eventually… zzzzzzt… despicable one!”
“…?”
What the heck?
Violet frowned slightly. No matter how good her imagination was, there was no way she could guess anything meaningful from such broken fragments. She couldn’t even tell who the voice belonged to.
Damn it! Stop talking in riddles at crucial moments!
Just then, as if responding to her frustration and inner shouting, a glowing object suddenly emerged from within her, flickering like a star, its shape round and mysterious, radiating a bright silver light.
The silver light that wrapped around it slowly transformed, drawn by some unseen force, turning into glowing rings like orbiting stars. As they spun, mysterious and ancient power began to ripple outward like waves.
That was…
The [Anchor of Time]?