CHAPTER 137: CHAPTER 137: INHERITANCE OF A FORGOTTEN SPIRIT

William silently contemplated the objects before him. His eyes fixed on the dark pillar and the ancient, leather-bound book that seemed to pulse with a rhythm of its own. He remembered Anubis’s words as if he had just heard them:

"To connect the Pillar with the Nightmare Well... you need the world’s heart and the world’s spirit as a sacrifice."

Instead, the world immolated itself to grant him the power to confront the nightmare world; the words echoed in his mind like great thunderclaps. In his hands, he held the burden of the world’s inheritance... the last spark of a destroyed planet trusting in him. The temptation to follow his planned course assailed him, but the prospect of warring against the unknown also made his heart burn. Deep down, he seemed to have a profound hunger for nightmare monsters, so the world hadn’t lied when it told him he wasn’t one of them, but something more powerful.

It was then that Angel appeared. No longer as mere wings or a translucent sphere; she materialized before him, floating just above the ground, with an expression of seriousness she had never shown.

"William... can you give them to me?"

He blinked, bewildered.

"What...? What do you want them for?"

Angel lowered her gaze, as if containing a primal urge.

"Since I saw them... since I felt their presence... there’s something within me that tells me I must consume them. Since we arrived in this world, the Mask has changed many things in us, and I believe it gave me this desire to consume that thing."

William hesitated. His heart felt heavy. He didn’t understand what was happening... but he trusted, not the Mask, but his loyal companion.

"Do it."

Without another word, he placed the book and the pillar in front of her. Angel approached, extending her trembling hand towards the pillar; her body took on a more humanoid appearance as soon as she touched it. Then, she extended her second hand, taking the book.

Immediately, a dense energy began to emanate from both objects, enveloping her like a large, rainbow-colored cocoon of light. Everything seemed to be going well, but then she screamed.

A tearing, unnatural scream that made the earth tremble. Dark branches began to grow from the pillar. Looking closer, he could see it wasn’t a pillar but a tree trunk. It seemed to be regaining its original form, hundreds of branches emerging from the withered trunk like a large, withered vine. The branches, like living serpents, coiled around her body, piercing her eyes, her mouth... and then her ears.

William recoiled, feeling vomit rise in his throat. Even with all he had experienced, he had never witnessed anything so grotesque, so brutal. The branches entered, grotesquely disfiguring her face, muffling Angel’s moans as she convulsed violently.

The torture lasted a few hours until the last fragment of the tree was absorbed. As soon as it finished, Angel fell to her knees, the book still in her hands, but with unfocused eyes as if she were a corpse. But then her hands moved, and she raised the book toward the heavens, as if invoking something.

Whatever she was invoking seemed to respond, for a gigantic, pure beam of light descended from the sky like a divine spear, piercing the book... and piercing her as well.

Her body began to disintegrate slowly, until only a small, pulsating, living core remained floating: an emerald sphere. It shone as if it contained the eyes of the world itself.

The energy emanating from the core was overwhelming. William fell to the ground, feeling the power crush him from a distance. It was similar to Anubis’s... no, it was greater, much greater.

But suddenly, the growth stopped. The core fell gently to the ground and began to form a new body... a tiny one.

From the core emerged a girl of about five or six years old. Her hair was white as the moon, her emerald green eyes gleamed with wisdom and power. She wore a dress made of living energy, green like the newly born shoots of a pine.

Angel... had been reborn, and despite her delicate and beautiful appearance, she exuded a fearsome aura. It was like standing before thousands of Anubis.

Angel stood up, innocently waved a hand... and a fire wall hundreds of meters high emerged behind her. Then, with a mischievous smile, she made a gesture of punching the air...

A fiery meteor descended from the sky, splitting the clouds in two. Upon touching the earth, the explosion was as terrifying as a nuclear bomb; the air emanating from it was so hot that William thought he would be roasted alive.

William fell backward, scrambling on the ground as he tried to call her: "A-Angel...!"

She turned immediately, her expression changing when she saw his fear. She knelt in front of him and lowered her head. With another movement of her hand, everything disappeared as if it had never existed.

"I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I... I’m different now. I’m no longer just an artificial intelligence; now I have a soul and a spirit. I have completely absorbed the inheritance of the previous spirit. Her name was Areia, and she gave me everything. Her history, her power, her pain. Everything. With the hope that you... could destroy the nightmares."

William was speechless.

"And how strong are you now...?"

Angel looked at him with a serene smile.

"With this new consciousness... I can see Anubis’s true power. He is a Level 5 mage, a Calamity. His stats are:

Strength: 3550

Dexterity: 3990

Vitality: 3999

Magic Power: 1650"

"What...?!" William exclaimed.

"He is a Level 6 Grand Knight – Advanced Stage, but as a mage, he is only at the Mid Stage of Level 5."

"And you?"

Angel lowered her gaze.

"I have no power in myself. I am a spirit... to fully wield it, I need to absorb the Nightmare Tower. What I showed just now... was just a glimpse. I’m barely a Level 3 mage, and my strength is sealed. I believe that when I unleash all my power, I will be infinitely more powerful than Anubis; perhaps I can become a mythical being."

William sat up, his eyes blazing.

"Then there’s no time to lose!"

Both ran back. Seeing them, Anubis stood up abruptly. His sword trembled in his hand, his teeth chattering. He was terrified. Not of William, but of Angel. His gaze fixed on her showed determination; his body began to glow black and his eyes began to bleed, but his blood wasn’t red, but seemed to be made of a black, petroleum-like color.

Seeing this, Angel told William:

"He’s trying to self-destruct. His energy is accumulating excessively. He’ll try to kill me with a single blow at the cost of his life."

"Don’t worry," William laughed. "She’s with us."

The guardian swallowed and nodded, releasing all his energy. But due to the negative impact, he spat a large amount of blood onto the floor as he fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.

"Are you alright, Anubis?" William approached and extended his hand, placing it on Anubis’s shoulder.

"I’m fine, Supreme. I thought you were a hostage of an even more terrifying existence, and I used my clan’s forbidden ability to self-destruct and kill her in one blow. I’ll be weak for a while, but I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me."

William nodded, waiting for Anubis to recover, while explaining that they were there to go to the Nightmare Tower, as they would repair it. William didn’t trust the slave seal too much, so he decided not to tell Anubis the full truth to prevent him from becoming aggressive and trying to attack them.

The three arrived in front of the Tower. Angel observed it for a long moment, then turned to William.

"I’m sorry... I must go in alone. To fully absorb its essence, I need... time. According to my calculations... it will take about a hundred years."

"A hundred...?!"

"I’ll do my best to return sooner, but during all this time, I won’t be able to stop. According to the spirit’s memories, if I fail, I will cease to exist along with the Tower, so no matter what happens, this cannot be stopped once it begins. Do you agree?"

William clenched his fists. The thought of losing her for so long pained him... but he knew he couldn’t be selfish.

"Yes. Do it. I trust you’ll be fine. One day I told you we’d get a body for you, and if this is the way to achieve it, I agree."

Angel smiled at him. Her small body turned and walked towards the Tower. Upon touching it, she passed through it, as if her being fused with it.

And then... the world changed.

Debris for kilometers around began to float, rising like enchanted fragments towards the Tower. Like rings revolving around a new planet, they began to join, rebuilding it.

William watched in silence.

He understood that when the last stone fused with the Tower, when the last ring was complete... Angel would return. According to the books, a Calamity is exactly that: destruction in its wake. But a Mythical being is capable of shaping even the planet itself, and he was about to witness the birth of a true Mythical being.