Chapter 256: What Truly Matters

Lucien let go of all of his burdens just for a moment and closed his eyes, the pride and unshakable arrogance of a dragon giving way to the promise of comfort and peace. Lumina hugged her brother. For the first time in her entire life, she saw her brother truly relax. But alas, her silver-white form, glittering with a trace of gold dust, began to disintegrate after a few seconds; too much energy and influence had been expended beyond its intended limits.

Considering she was lacking much in foundation compared to strong individuals like her brother, Axel, Sophia, and others. And she knew that she was not among those exceptionally special individuals. So, she had made an unusual request to Axel, before he had made a weapon for her.

To make something that makes up for her weakness, listening to that request, Axel had made something that significantly amplified her existence, the existence named Lumina, and that’s it—pure and unfiltered amplification. Axel had used a bit of her blood when making it, though he was moderately sure he wouldn’t be able to make something powerful enough as he would like to. And yet he had made it; somehow, the world Will had helped him accomplish it.

The drawback of it was just as severe, and funnily enough, even Axel was unable to see the stats of the tool, and only she could see its details, Axel himself had admitted he didn’t know how he did it, and for some reason, he was unable replicate the effect of it even for himself, it was by far the most powerful tool he had made without a shred of doubt.

Like the cracking of a glass, thin, uneven black lines began to spread through the goldish-silver figure of hers. And she began to feel her consciousness slip; she felt like her soul itself was being torn off, and the cracks had spread all over her body by now. Eventually, the silver layer of empowerment broke apart, and what remained was an unconscious and utterly bloody body of the 5th princess.

But she did not fall, despite being unconscious; she remained standing, hugging her brother and letting him heal through the concept of peace. Eventually, after one minute, when Lucien opened his eyes, he was confused for a moment until his brain registered the utterly bloody state of his sister. His heart trembled in fear. The heartbeat of Lumina was dangerously low. Her vitals seem to be close to those of a dead person.

Carrying her like a princess, he ran off to the infirmary with all of his might. In this world, the only two people he cared for were his Mother and his little sister. All of the worries he had about becoming king, his plans, his machinations about gathering allies, and all the small and big worries he had his entire life had vanished. He didn’t even think about Axel Nomrad at this moment, who the prince could easily blame since this had happened because Lumina had used the very artifact made by him.

But no, no such thoughts passed through his head; he only wanted to save his sister at that moment. He was also oblivious to the clarity of mind he had compared to before. Lucien Suncrest, at that moment, realized again what truly mattered to him. The things he did, his entire existence, his desire to become the king, which he thought was for the sake of revenge. But it was not; it was to protect the only two people he ever cared about. And without those two women in his life. His existence would be utterly meaningless.

But alas! Bad news after bad news fell into the laps of Lucien. No one in the infirmary could identify the core cause of the princess’s condition, and soon, more and more powerful professors came, but none were able to do anything. Soon, Professor Regina, who was the best medical and healing mage specialist, had to drop off all of her other work. Of course, Lucien had revealed that this state of hers was a byproduct of her using a powerful runic tool.

When the professor asked to see the artifact, Lucien showed it without hesitation. The woman was utterly mesmerized by the artifact’s breathtaking appearance; however, she was unable to see its tool stats, as expected. Even Professor Alfred came, but the result was the same.

So, they started working on inspecting Lumina again, forgetting about the tool that had caused her to be in this condition. Professor Regina wanted to call for Axel, but Alfred intervened, pointing out that although Axel Nomrad himself had created it, it was surely a permanently bonded weapon. Something only usable by the princess, and only she alone could know the details of the artifact. After two whole days of relentless examination, they finally discovered a sliver of truth behind her strange, half-dead state, which was completely different from when people went into a coma.

Professor Regina revealed with a grave tone, “From everything we have heard and examined till now, it’s safe to say that her consciousness is likely in the realm of the false void at this moment.”

By now, Lucien was consumed by anxiety and regret, wondering why he hadn’t stopped her from using it. His face turned ashen when he finally heard the healer mage professor’s words, and he fell into the pitfall of despair. Seeing his expression, the female professor hurriedly clarified.

“No, she will not die, and there is still the connection between her consciousness and her body, and the connection remains strong. As you suspected, the artifact amplifies the existence of Lumina to a dangerous degree, and the apparent backlash of it is that her existence will face a diffusion of the void for a specific period; only if she survives through that strongly, will she come back.”

The professor took a pause and saw at least some sliver of color return to the crestfallen face of the prince, which fell again, hearing what she would have to go through to return to her own body. She added more to reassure him.

“Don’t worry, Alfred calculated that it shouldn’t take more than one or two weeks, maximum, for her consciousness to return to her body, if she can hold on properly.”

But that was barely enough to reassure him, after he knew the dangers of the void world better than anyone else, perhaps, as he asked in a trembling voice, “And how sure of it are you, about her consciousness returning?”

Regina uttered in a serious tone, “99% sure.”

A trace of relief spread through the entire being of Lucien as he nodded to the two professors gratefully, barely managing to keep the tears falling from his eyes. The two professors sighed to themselves as they saw the unyielding young prince on the verge of tears. Without saying anything more, they left the special room where Lumina was kept.

Tears fell from Lucien’s eyes. There were so many moments that he thought that he had lost his sister, that she would die, that she might never return, that he would never see her again, or hold another conversation, how he had ignored her, focusing too much on Sophia, being jealous of something secondary, ignoring what was truly important to him.

After a minute of silent sobbing in which he let the tears flow out of him, accepting all his faults, his shortcomings, and the things he did wrong, an unyielding and absolute resolution gleamed in his eyes. He stood up, bringing out a powerful, sharp knife, and he made a large cut on his hand. He made a large circle of blood surrounding the bed in which Lumina was sleeping.

He was going to perform the void ritual just like what he did for Axel Nomrad at that time and rescued him, a decision he was perhaps regretting very, very dearly at this moment. But he shook his head, disregarding that thought as anger threatened to blind him again, diverting his attention from what truly mattered. Lucien would enter the false void where Lumina’s consciousness was and rescue her. Though it will take a considerable amount of time to find her, and there is a real chance that they both could die.

He wasn’t even willing to take that 1% chance or wait for a week or two for her to miraculously come back. Because he would go mad in the meantime, overcome with fear and anxiety to the extreme. As the circle made by draconic blood was done, he used his aura to cover the circle like a dome. He began to chant in a strange, unknown language as the transparent dome, made of aura, started to darken and slowly turn pitch black.

And without waiting a second longer, he stepped inside the imitated void, breaking through the dome with his sword, and he knew that this time, he wouldn’t be able to get his sister out while the opening in the imitated void remained. This time, it would take much longer to find his sister. He would have to follow the small link that held Lumina’s body and consciousness still together, despite how far the distance between the two may be.

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