Prime Originator

Wait!

Leon had been very panicky at the notion of suddenly having spent decades in the inheritance space, but upon calming down somewhat, he realized that made not be the case after all. 

He was still in the Energy Condensation realm with a 200-year lifespan. A few decades would age his appearance considerably. 

Leon conjured a water mirage to look at his own reflection with uneasy tension, but the moment he laid eyes upon himself, all uneasiness was dispelled with a big sigh of relief. He was still the same as before. His appearance had not changed.

'I don't think the feeling of spending decades was fake though…" Leon uttered doubtfully. In truth, he wasn't too confident that he had experienced decades of time absorbing Arden's inheritance that was like a filtered memory package. 

'Decades of time spent, but an appearance without change. An altered perception? Or perhaps…'

Leon began to brainstorming while rubbing his chin for a moment before his eyes lit up and blurted, "A temporal space?"

However, it was but a fleeting thought as his eyes soon dimmed again.

"No, it can't be a temporal space. A temporal would allow for time flow differently to the outside, but it would not stop my body from aging…"

At this point, Leon heaved another sigh of relief.

"Thankfully, that did not happen though. I can't imagine how my parents will react if they suddenly found out that their son had become older than them, nor how the ladies would feel about me… They might not like me anymore." 

Leon chuckled lightly at the thought. They might not even recognize him if he had truly turned into a middle-aged man.

Glancing at his woundless chest, Leon began to ponder. 

His body was unaffected by time, but his soul definitely was. At the same time, it had something to do with the inheritance room he was in, but it was not a temporal space. 

As if to help him think better, Leon began fiddling with Ravenous Black by twirling it with his fingers and tapping his feet on the ground repeatedly.

He began to ponder deeply.

'It seems to have something to do with my soul, but how did my wound disappear without notice… hm?'

Suddenly, Leon smacked his own head in understanding. 

"It was true that I received a sword wound on my chest, and it was also true that I did not tend to it, nor was there any form of restorative powers that acted upon me when I entered this space. Yet here I am in perfect condition. This could only mean one thing."

"I did not enter this space with my real body, but my soul. The body formed by my soul would always be the spitting image of my most perfect state unless I had suffered a soul attack that would in terms, cause cracks to appear on my soul body, but not any fleshly wounds like on my real body."

Once Leon was aware that it was his soul that was brought into the inheritance space, he began to survey the surroundings more seriously. 

'Everything should be fake, but it feels real to the touch. I don't know where my soul was sent off to, but my real body should be inside the real inheritance building.'

'As for this place… this is not the inheritance building's interior. It seems more like a dreamscape…'

The walls were white and plain, yes, but if it was the interior of the inheritance building, he expected it to at least be filled with many runic mechanisms. 

Although the runic mechanism could be hidden behind the walls for the interior aesthetics, Leon's divine sense did not bounce off the wall like it did when he was outside the inheritance building and directly penetrated through.

Within the walls, he found nothing. But outside of it, temporal runes covered the entire place like a sort of time bubble.

What Leon found surprising was beyond the walls was absolutely nothing but a deathly monochromatic void that threatens to swallow everything and cease all from existence.

'The temporal runes not only alter the flow of time inside but also serves to protect the space within from being swallowed by the void…'

'This is like the spiritual world of a dead person. The spiritual world collapses when they die and return everything to nothingness, everything except that which is protected…' Leon mused before his eyes flickered with understanding.

'I understand now. I am inside of the dreamscape constructed by Arden within his dead spiritual world.'

Arden was very thorough in his passing his inheritance to the future generation and his methods filled Leon with admiration.

While he had just inherited all of Arden's knowledge and skill, he was still far from being at the same height as Arden as an artificer.

It was like learning how to run before he could walk. Even if he mastered all runes, it was meaningless if he did not know how to mesh them together to create something amazing like the dreamscape time chamber, he was in.

'It seems this fake Ravenous Black is the key to getting out of this dreamscape and returning to my real body. The real Ravenous Black should be with my real body…' Leon thought.

At the same time, he couldn't help but twitch his lips when he thought that his body might be lying next to Arden's corpse.

The inheritance building wasn't just the place of Arden's inheritance but also his resting place…

"Wait a minute!" 

Leon widened his eyes at a shocking revelation. 

The dreamscape time chamber is able to alter the flow of time, but it wouldn't be able to stop it!

Perhaps, a few minutes or hours had passed outside during the decades he spent inside, but these few minutes to hours were crucial to his survival! He could be bleeding to death right now if he hadn't already did! 

'Shit...'

Even if he was able to get out of Arden's dreamscape, he might not have a body to return to…

Leon became very nervous and anxious when he realized this point.

That would be the most unjustified death!

'I hope my own body's regenerative capabilities had been enough to slow the bleeding and allow me to hold out until now…' 

'I have no time to waste! The later I get out, the grimmer my chances will be!'

…

"Captain, you don't look so good. Is everything alright? It does feel a bit humid suddenly, doesn't it?" A palace guard asked out of concern. He had noticed that his captain had been sweating profusely.

When Zorbek heard this, he gave a self-ridiculing smile. He didn't doubt that the palace guard was testing him.

"What do you want me to say exactly? Do you even still see me as your captain?" He responded sternly.

"I…" The palace guard became stumped for words for a moment before he lowered his head guiltily in apology. "Sorry, Captain."

The palace guards had their doubts. They would have been more willing to believe in their captain if their captain had acted more calmly and less suspiciously.

"Just get back to work." 

Zorbek said, unwilling to continue further. The sooner they drill their hole to the surface, the quicker he would be able to find his opportunity to escape.

Several hours had passed had really put him on edge. He did not know when the prince would recover from his wound and exit the cube building. 

Once that happens, it would be the end of him.

While he was the strongest in the group was capable of killing all the palace guards, he could not guarantee that the Old Treant would not step in to stop him. Thus, his only choice was to escape before the prince comes out.

'Almost there… just need to weaken this last layer and the rest of the earth can be moved with my ability alone. I will be able to make my escape then…' 

'Once I get to the surface, I should be close to the eastern borders… I should continue to flee east and rendezvous with those people in the Durham Kingdom…' Zorbek quietly made his plans.

After his commitment to his betrayal, he had cut off all ties with the kingdom. There was no longer a place for him in the Crawford Kingdom, nor were there any attachments in that kingdom holding him back. 

Only by joining the Durham Kingdom, will he be able to further his path. The Crawford Kingdom would soon be done for.

At the back of the treant's village, Lilith continued to wait for Leon's exit under the palace guard's watchful eyes. While they doubted their captain, they didn't believe her either. Everything would only be clear when their prince returns.

Their heartless gazes reminded her that she was alone in this kingdom. She curled up and began to miss home. While her home wasn't exactly filled with fond memories, there were still people that care about her there.

It was only because of their strict expectations that she became rebellious and ran away in pursuit of her own dream and happiness. 

The Wildlands was filled with their own records and remnants of the ancient civilization, but such records and remnants were very few and controlled by major tribes. 

However, from the clues gathered, it pointed out that a larger part of the ancient civilization's remnants and records were all located in the Human Domain. If not for the treaty of twelve tribes, the Human Domain would have long been swarmed by beasts.

Her curiosity to understand history was what led to her arrival at the unruly Skysilver Tribe, which was the closest and only tribe in a conflict with the Human Domain before joining the scout force with her clansmen.

'Hurry up and come out.' Lilith pursed her lips.