Born In Ashes: The Enigma

"Young Lord," Lia sighed in relief when she saw Azrael finally coming out of the training room.

However, when her gaze landed on his slightly pale face—evidence of the intense mental strain—her expression immediately darkened with concern.

"I told you not to overdo it…" She said in a slightly displeased tone, pulling out a small glass bottle half-filled with a purple-colored liquid.

"Here, drink this. It will help you recover your mental power."

Azrael's eyes rested briefly on the glass bottle, and as he accepted it from Lia, a stream of information flashed before his eyes.

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---) Mind Rejuvenate Potion (Low Grade): A low-level potion made using Purple Soul Grass and Bright Leaves. Mild in nature and suitable even for Unawakened individuals to recover their mental power.

====

After confirming that the potion wouldn't cause him any harm, Azrael drank it down in one swift gulp.

As the liquid entered his system, some color returned to his face, though even with the potion's effect, he would still need several hours of rest to fully restore his mental strength.

"Thanks, Lia," Azrael said as he handed the empty bottle back to her and walked off to change his clothes.

After taking a shower in the bathroom attached to the training room, he soon emerged dressed in comfortable clothes, feeling refreshed.

"You should rest, Young Lord. My Lady and Lord will be back by tomorrow," Lia said, her tone gentle but firm. "If they find out that you are overexerting yourself despite not being in good health, they will definitely be angry."

Azrael nodded calmly and left the training ground with Lia.

"How was it?" Lia asked in a curious voice as they walked.

Azrael glanced over his shoulder and replied lightly, "Not bad. I successfully found two primary energy veins."

"It's normal that you didn't find anyth—wait! What did you just say?"

A smile tugged at Azrael's lips as he saw the usually composed Lia nearly choking on her words.

"I said, I successfully found two primary energy veins," He repeated calmly.

Lia's eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Azrael's back, who continued walking ahead of her with an indifferent expression.

She stood there momentarily stunned but soon collected herself.

'Was it beginner's luck…?' She wondered inwardly.

After all, she knew very well just how difficult it was to find and refine primary energy veins.

She wanted to ask more, but by then, they had already reached Azrael's room.

"Thanks for your hard work, Lia. Send my dinner to my room later. I am too tired to leave it today."

"As you wish, Young Lord," Lia bowed respectfully and departed as Azrael entered his room.

Once inside, the tired look on Azrael's face vanished, and the fatigue in his eyes was replaced with calm indifference.

The reason he didn't bother hiding the fact that he had already located two energy veins was because he literally couldn't.

Once an energy vein was refined, there were clear physical changes in the user's body—changes that powerful individuals could easily sense.

He would complete the refinement of his first energy vein by tomorrow, and even if he didn't mention it, someone like Lia would undoubtedly notice it.

Azrael had no intention of slowing down his progress just to hide his true capabilities.

As long as something didn't pose a threat to his life, he wasn't afraid to take risks.

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---) Name: Azrael Thorne

---) Age: 15 Years

---) Level: 0

---) Status: Unawakened

---) Traits: Infinite Comprehension (Eternal Grade), Cold Blooded (White Grade — Evolvable)

---) Attribute: None

---) Rune: None

---) Substance: None

---) Title: ??? [Locked]

---) Bloodline: None

---) Strength: 4.3

---) Agility: 4.1

---) Stamina: 5.0

---) Cosmic Energy: 78

---) Shop: [Locked]

---) Inventory: [Locked]

---) Current Task: Learn Cosmic Energy Breathing Method to Mid Level

[Reward — A Despair Level Token of Eonrift, One Hundred Task Points]

---) Task Points: None

====

Azrael opened his status window and noted that, thanks to the Cosmic Energy Affinity Pill, his stats had finally surpassed those of an average teenage boy in this world.

What delighted him most, however, was the amount of cosmic energy he now possessed.

"From what I saw on the Internet, most children from influential families can raise their Strength, Agility, and Stamina to around ten points before awakening—using a combination of training techniques and rare medicines…" Azrael muttered thoughtfully.

"The speed at which my body is refining the remaining energy from the pill has noticeably increased since I began refining my first primary energy vein. At this rate, I should finish digesting the pill's energy by tomorrow morning."

By Azrael's estimation, his cosmic energy would reach exactly 100 points once he absorbed the entire essence of the pill.

And because this was the first time his body cells were being infused with cosmic energy, his other stats had increased significantly as well—he predicted most of them would reach around 5.5 points.

'They shouldn't be able to detect anything unusual with my body once I have fully absorbed the cosmic energy from the pill,' Azrael thought, his mind drifting toward the two people he would be meeting tomorrow.

He slumped onto his bed and closed his eyes.

"I hope they are really the people Kael described… and not just putting on an act to mess with us later on…" He sighed softly, letting his consciousness drift into the dream world.

****

Knock! Knock!

"Young Lord, My Lady and My Lord will be here in five minutes," Lia's voice came from outside.

Azrael, who had already woken up early that morning, stood in silence while looking at beautiful backyard from window.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I will be out in a minute," He responded, prompting Lia to leave after hearing his reply.

"It's finally time to meet them again," He whispered to himself, as numerous memories flashed through his mind—

Memories of two people looking at him and Kael with cold, emotionless eyes.

Being locked in a house, beaten repeatedly, treated like a test subject and thrown into an experimental lab like a lab rat... and finally, Kael's suicide.

A storm of fragmented scenes surged through his consciousness before stopping at one final image—

A scarred, expressionless man standing tall, while two bloodied figures stared at him in horror.

"Monster… Bastard… Ungrateful…!"

The two broken figures hurled curses at the man, but in the end—

Bang! Bang!

Everything ended when their heads were crushed into meat paste under the unimaginable force of the man's stomp.

"I really hope it'll be different this time," Azrael said, taking another deep breath as he stepped out of his room.

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