Born In Ashes: The Enigma

Honestly, Azrael didn't care much about the side effects of the Cold Blooded trait. For him, it was simply a power—one that he controlled to enhance the effectiveness of whatever he was doing.

A power that allowed him to erase all distracting thoughts and focus solely on the task at hand.

He was the one in control of this power, not the other way around, so he wasn't concerned about it.

"Azrael, it's been a long time since we all had dinner together. How about we all go out tonight?" Silas suddenly suggested.

Ashara's eyes lit up as soon as she heard this, and she immediately nodded. "Yes, we are all going out for dinner tonight, and no one is allowed to refuse!"

Azrael didn't refuse. He simply nodded.

"Well, I am very close to refining my first primary energy vein. I'll try to finish it before dinner."

Silas was surprised to hear that and raised an eyebrow, clearly unaware that Azrael had started learning the Cosmic Energy Breathing Method.

"You started learning the Breathing Method?" He asked with curiosity.

"Yes," Azrael nodded and stood up, preparing to head to the training room like he had the day before.

"In that case, I have something for you," Silas said, and a milky white stone appeared in his hand out of nowhere.

He tossed the stone to Azrael and added casually, "It'll help you a lot when practicing the Breathing Method."

Azrael caught the stone, but before he could check its information using his status window, he suddenly felt a heavy, suffocating aura from the front.

He looked ahead and saw Ashara glaring at Silas with a cold, sullen expression.

'Wait a second…' Azrael suddenly recalled what his she had told him in the backyard, and in the next moment, he immediately understood what was going on.

He smiled sweetly and spoke in a soft voice.

"Mom, this was the thing you were planning to give me for going shopping with you, right?…"

He pocketed the stone, and his smile grew even brighter. "Now that I already have it, does that mean I don't need to go shopping with you anymore?"

Ashara's mouth twitched at Azrael's words, but she had nothing to counter with.

She could only glare at Silas coldly, as if she wanted to tie him to a stake and set him on fire.

That damn side character had completely ruined her plan to buy beautiful clothes for her son!

She sighed and looked at Azrael with a pout.

"It's your loss if you don't go shopping with me."

Azrael shook his head and turned around to leave.

"Thanks, Dad… and of course, awesome Mom."

Ashara's sullen face brightened the moment she heard those words. "There's no need to thank us. That Mind Stone is just a simple gift."

Azrael didn't respond and simply walked to the door of the room.

'I wasn't saying thanks for the gift…' He thought inwardly as he left the study room.

He glanced back at the closed door and smiled slightly.

'I was saying thank you for genuinely caring about me and Kael.'

Azrael knew he was still far from truly accepting Ashara and Silas as people he deeply cared about—at least not like he did for Kael.

But one thing he was sure of: if both of them were really the same as they had shown themselves to be today, it wouldn't be long before they would also become anchor points for him.

Ashara stared at the closed door for a few moments before asking in a soft voice.

"Have you noticed?"

Silas remained silent for a while before finally nodding.

"The damage his existence sustained right after birth because of creating that terrifying thing… it seems to have completely healed."

"It's ironic," Ashara said with a bitter smile as she leaned back on the couch. "We've been searching for a way to heal his existence for years, yet he recovers on his own after awakening that damn trait."

Silas fell into thought for a moment, then asked in a cautious tone.

"Do you really believe that he recovered because of awakening that trait?"

"It doesn't really matter…" Ashara said calmly. "I know he is hiding something, but who in this world doesn't have secrets they don't want to share? I've already checked the soul mark on his body, which confirms he's my son. As long as he's my Azu, nothing else really matters."

Silas nodded, choosing not to press the topic any further, and instead changed the subject.

"By the way, you said your Witch Class showed a strong reaction a few moments before the Galactic Eclipse occurred. Have you found the reason behind it?"

Ashara turned to look at Silas and spoke in a serious voice.

"The last two Witch Class holders have appeared."

"What?!" Silas reacted strongly, his face turning serious as well.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ashara nodded, frowning slightly. "What's strange is that both of them appeared at the same time, almost as if they received their class at the exact same moment."

"And it happened just before the Galactic Eclipse phenomenon," Silas added with narrowed eyes.

"Azrael recovered from that accident and awakened a trait… and two new Witch Class holders appeared at the same time… Just who was behind the Galactic Eclipse phenomenon?"

He looked at Ashara and asked, "Do you know anything else about the two newly appeared witches? Their race, their Witch Class—anything?"

"No," Ashara shook her head. "I only know that the last two Witch Class holders have appeared. Beyond that, I know nothing."

"I see…" Silas nodded, then smiled slightly. "I wonder if either of these two new Witch Class holders is from the human race. If so, then you'll have a great time with her, won't you?"

Ashara ignored his teasing and replied flatly.

"It doesn't matter whether they're from the human race or the dog race—it has nothing to do with me."

She stood up from the couch and began walking away.

"I'm going to talk to that stinky, ungrateful brat. Let's see if I don't make him wear those clothes I bought for him tonight when we go out for dinner."

Silas silently clapped his hands together and offered a prayer for his youngest son, with no intention whatsoever of stopping Ashara from turning that poor boy into a fashion terrorist.