Chapter 52: Chapter 52: His Answer
"Then let me tell you... You’re the Source."
"The Source?" Vahn echoed, utterly confused.
"Yes. Your Void Refining Physique once held terrifying potential. Just after you were born, you already refined 1/1000 of the world’s entire Spiritual Energy. It was so much energy that you became a Void Shattering Realm Cultivator within just an hour of your birth."
Lilith paused, letting the gravity of the revelation settle in the quiet forest. "But here is what you need to know. Those top powerhouses from the Seven Holy Lands got news of your birth decades ago. They were prepared. They stole you away before you could even drink your mother’s milk."
Her voice became cold and flat. "After that, they, including my mother, used a forbidden marriage ritual to bind us, the Seven Saintesses, to you. This ritual allows us to continuously draw your power to strengthen ourselves. As time passed, we became extremely strong."
"But you... you were left to stay weak and sickly for the rest of your life."
Her face loomed closer.
"Now do you understand, Vahn Necrotis? You were never chosen to be the Fated Husband of the Seven Saintesses. You were just a resource. Just a little worm they could control however they wished."
Vahn narrowed his eyes.
This was it. This was the dark truth his grandfather had also told him about, but hearing it again made him sick to the core.
How could people be so selfish? How could they steal an infant from his mother’s embrace? The more he thought about it, the colder his heart became. The determination to slaughter them all solidified like ice..
"Don’t lose your composure just yet, Vahn Necrotis," Lilith’s voice rang again, cutting through Vahn’s coldness. "There’s something important that I haven’t told you yet."
Hearing her, Vahn calmed down somewhat. He looked at her curiously, wondering what else she had left to reveal.
"The ritual that binds us eight... is slowly getting broken," she continued. "I don’t know about the others, but I am not receiving your power anymore. That means something has occurred with you that broke this bond. And from what I’ve found out, your talent and potential are returning to you."
Vahn frowned.
"How do you know that? I don’t think I’ve revealed anything to people I don’t trust."
"So, there are already people you trust. Could it be Seraphina? Judging by your expression, it must be her," she guessed.
Her tone held a subtle feeling of jealousy, carefully masked by the darkness.
Vahn didn’t confirm her guess. He didn’t feel the need to.
"In any case, I learned it from Rudra, one of the Holy Sons of Darkness Creed. Just yesterday, he was about to inform my mother about you. He had a memory amulet. In it, it was clearly shown how easily you crushed all the other participants and touched the Statue of the Judge. Something no one was able to achieve."
"Regardless, what you should fear is that once those people get wind of these shocking truths, they will come for you," Lilith warned.
"And this time, they might just kill you to wipe the stain of their crimes and eliminate the possible threat from your rising potential."
Vahn nodded. She was right.
Seraphina might not have noticed the break in the parasitic ritual because she was simultaneously bound through the Divine Bonding System and still continued to receive benefits from his genuine progress.
But the other Saintesses would surely notice their own slow progress and inform their superiors. Their Golden Goose was slowly slipping out of their hands. How could they just sit idly by?
And if he had to guess, it was the Awakening of the Divine Bonding System that had broken the power-draining Forbidden Marriage Ritual.
Does that mean they are not my wives anymore?
The complex question echoed heavily in his mind.
But this was not a time to overthink about that.
Instead, he asked her another important question,
"I believe everything you said. But what do you intend to do with me now, Lilith? Although I am sure you aren’t my enemy. If you were, you would have already brought me along to your mother’s side."
Lilith, though veiled, nodded.
"You’re right. I am not your enemy. You could say I am on your side. But before that, I would like to show you my true form. If you can stand my presence after that, we’ll gladly be allies."
Though Vahn couldn’t understand why she would go against her mother, Vahn couldn’t complain. But he didn’t fully trust her either.
As per her prior terms for becoming allies, he thought nothing of it. Just how bad could her true form be? Even if her form turned out hideously disgusting, he thought he could endure it just fine.
But when he saw her true form and face, even as an old soul he was momentarily stunned.
Her skin had turned a mottled dark and purple. Eight grotesque, spider-like legs, segmented and sharp, stretched out from her back, tapping lightly on the air. Her face was truly disgusting. The flesh looked rotted, like someone had poured acidic venom over her whole head.
Worst of all, countless spider worms squirmed and crawled across her decaying face in a living horror.
Seeing this with his very own eyes, he could barely believe it. The previous cold demonic beauty had been stripped away, replaced by something very unfortunate.
"It’s time to answer the question I am waiting for, Vahn Necrotis," she thundered, her voice booming in the forest. "Would you still accept your wife, who is hideously ugly? Answer me, Vahn Necrotis."
Her eight legs lowered, bracing her massive form.
Seeing him momentarily silent, she assumed the worst,
"You must be feeling extremely disgusted right now, right? You also want to spit on my face, don’t you? You also want to run away, don’t you? TELL ME!"
It wasn’t the voice of the same emotionless woman; it was the raw cry of a little girl who was desperate for love. The kind of love she’d never received in her whole life. All this time, she had masked her desperation with a façade of cold stoicism, but today she had torn it away to seek an answer.
She wanted to find out if there was any place in this world for her accursed being or not.
Her emotions, her desperation—all were forcefully conveyed to Vahn, demanding his honest view of the world and his definitive answer.
But Vahn already had the answer ready for her. He took a deep breath, the foul, musky scent of her decay filling his lungs, and finally answered.
"I accept you."