Chapter 589: Phoenix’s Ruin

Julius was glad he was no longer trapped in his own soul space, but unfortunately, his return didn’t bring feelings of gratitude. The pain he experienced while he was stuck in his soul was of a different kind than the one he was experiencing now. Real, physical pain had a different flavor, and Julius was forced to rely on [Sage of Savagery] to help manage the pain.

On the bright side, he was greeted by a smiling Freya, so that was a plus. He gave her the warmest grin he could manage, given the current circumstances. He wanted to express his gratitude to her, who was undoubtedly a huge reason he was alive.

His healing skill definitely helped keep his soul somewhat intact, but he knew right away that she was the one who had healed him when that Tier 5 woman had destroyed most of his body. No matter if he had kept his soul together, he wouldn’t be alive if he didn’t have a body to house said soul.

He could also tell right away that she was trying her best to make him feel comfortable. Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that healing magic could handle. It was his advancement, not an infection or injury. The most she could do was give him some life mana to help ease his pain. But even that was quite limited in effectiveness.

“Hey, fancy seeing you here,” he greeted her with a chuckle that was a mixture of amusement and pain.

“Shhh. Worry about your body’s evolution. We can talk later. I’m glad you’re safe, though,” she said, holding up a hand to cup his cheek tenderly.

He gave one last smile and a firm nod before he took her advice. His body’s evolution was rapidly approaching, and with the obtainment of his Authority, he was quite certain it was going to be even more powerful than what the three had hypothesized.

His Seed of Phoenix’s Ruin had already taken the spot where his Special Emblem had resided. The small seed was but a speck of brilliant light in the dark void of his soul. However, he could feel energy leeching off it and funneling into his body, essentially powering his evolution.

Heat began to gather throughout his body. He was no stranger to this. After all, he had a fire affinity and a certain proclivity to explosions. But this was different. It wasn’t direct or simple heat, but rather felt full of life and warmth.

Of course, this pleasant feeling couldn’t last forever, and it began to feel uncomfortable. The energy was becoming too much for his current body to handle. The life mana started to create tumors all over his body. Red and purple sores the size of ping pong balls appeared all over his skin.

To make matters worse, these tumors would continue to grow so large that they eventually popped. All of the pus and flesh went everywhere. It was only thanks to Freya’s foresight that she already set up something that cleaned up the mess before it could stain the floor.

Then the warmth gradually turned into a searing bonfire. His already exposed flesh and nerve endings were set on fire. The pain took all of the air from his lungs, and he could only wheeze as he withstood the agony.

He was a mess. His healing skill was doing everything in its power to heal him. But unfortunately, his healing skill was partly to blame for the level of suffering he was experiencing. His body needed to adapt and improve in accordance with his advancement to Tier 4. That meant his body needed to be able to handle his powerful skills. Skills like [Phoenix Renewal].

Unfortunately, that meant he was plagued by dozens of tumors and had to experience his flesh getting blackened from the overwhelming heat.

It was only due to his new Seed of Phoenix’s Ruin that he was able to keep it up. The seed helped fuel his healing skill when it began to falter. His Concept of Will also pitched in. It gave him small boosts of energy and motivation to keep on enduring.

However, no matter how strong his will was. Or how stubborn he could be. There wasn’t anything to do when his mind was the first to fail. He felt blood leaking out of his orifices and felt the familiar shades of darkness creeping up on him.

He tried his best to stay conscious. He really did. He had only just woken up and didn’t want to go back to sleep, for all he knew would be his last waking moments. But there was nothing he was able to do as the abyss swallowed him once more.

***

Freya POV

She flinched when she saw another tumor pop open, and the fire wrapping around his body cauterized it within seconds. The smell of burnt human flesh was irritating her nose, and she quickly used some aura to get rid of it. Then she controlled the circle beneath her feet to remove any traces of the lingering stench.

She dug her fingers into her palm so hard that she was bleeding from her hands. She knew that Julius would experience an enormously difficult advancement. But she didn’t expect something like this.

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It wasn’t just physical either. She could tell that his newly reformed soul was in the midst of being torn apart once again. She knew that it would only be temporary and was purposeful this time around. But the pain must have been immense.

She still didn’t quite understand how Doren managed to heal Julius’s soul. The man had somehow forced his way inside of Julius’s soul space. A feat that was as ridiculous as it sounded. Then he somehow fixed Julius’s soul.

She had been warned that Julius would experience an advancement after this treatment. Doren had been thoughtful enough that he made sure it was all right with Cain and her before he began. But she didn’t think it would happen so soon. It had only been several hours since Doren began the treatment.

She had no idea what kind of Authority he had chosen, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was a powerful variant. Her own seed had been a little underwhelming, considering her other options. But she was glad that she had chosen it in hindsight. It had evolved and changed over time, becoming a pillar of her strength.