Novel Full Chapter 848: Eerie Discovery
Chapter 848: Eerie Discovery
The next five hours passed in a steady rhythm of movement, battle, and discovery.
The ruin did not remain silent.
Shadows continued to emerge again and again.
The first humanoid form had only been the beginning.
Not all of them shared the same shape.
The only constant was their color, black, and faces with no features.
Just smooth, empty surfaces where expressions should have been.
The group adapted quickly.
Michael moved less often, but when he did, the tide shifted immediately.
Stronger shadows appeared as they ventured deeper. Larger. Denser. Their energy more compact and oppressive.
In those moments, Michael stepped in.
Sometimes he intercepted a strike that would have forced one of the others into a dangerous exchange. Sometimes he dismantled a creature with a single precise action, leaving the rest of the body to collapse harmlessly. Other times he allowed the others to push to their limit before assisting, ensuring none were overwhelmed.
Through it all, the orbs continued to appear.
Deep blue and faintly glowing. Carrying that same subtle hunger.
This time, the distribution was more measured.
Even Arianne gained some.
The difference lay in what they did next.
Unlike the first encounter, not all of them grabbed the orbs the instant they formed.
They discovered something by accident.
When one orb remained untouched for several minutes, the sphere hardened.
The deep blue light condensed inward, solidifying into a crystal-like object no larger than a fist.
It became an item that could be stored and absorbed later.
That realization shifted Michael’s approach, making him collect a few himself, but just like Arianne, he only kept them and did not attempt to absorb them.
When he personally dismantled a stronger shadow or assisted in finishing one that threatened to escalate beyond control, the resulting orb belonged to him by right of contribution. He did not touch it immediately.
Only when it hardened into a stable object did he store it.
He had no intention of absorbing something he did not fully understand.
As the hours passed, they gathered more than just orbs.
Several luminous herbs similar to the first flower were harvested from crystal fissures.
The spatial container slowly filled.
Twenty percent would belong to the kingdom upon exit.
The rest would be theirs.
Yet despite the steady gain, Michael’s unease did not fade.
The ruin was generous.
Too generous.
The faceless creatures appeared frequently, but rarely in overwhelming numbers. The treasures were not hidden behind impossible trials. The orbs strengthened cultivation in measurable ways.
It felt almost curated.
As if something within the realm was encouraging growth.
Michael extended his perception again as they paused atop a low ridge, scanning the crystal-lit expanse stretching into endless twilight.
*
Elsewhere within the ruin, beneath the same endless twilight canopy, was Group Two.
The tenth prince of the Lionheart Kingdom stood at its center.
Around him, the crystal-veined ground was stained darker than before.
Bodies lay scattered across the stone.
Not of faceless shadows, but of men.
Their attire, now smeared with blood and dust, marked them clearly as belonging to a neighboring kingdom. Their eyes were open. Unmoving.
Renn stood a short distance away, sword resting loosely at his side.
His expression was cold.
He did not speak.
But the air around him had shifted.
The current situation had begun due to a conflict over a single herb growing from a narrow fissure in the stone. A precious one, judging from the density of energy around it. Words had been exchanged. Tension had risen.
The tenth prince had not hesitated.
Instead of driving them back with force and superiority, instead of displaying dominance and allowing retreat, he had chosen the simplest path.
He killed them.
Renn’s gaze lingered on the fallen.
He looked more displeased than shocked.
The prince noticed.
A scoff escaped him.
His posture remained relaxed, his weapon still faintly humming with residual energy from the earlier clash. His expression carried faint disdain, as though Renn’s silent judgment amused him.
To the prince, weakness invited loss.
If the opposing kingdom’s team was too fragile to stand their ground, then they should not have contested ownership in the first place.
Renn’s fingers tightened slightly around the hilt of his sword.
He had not intervened.
The prince was stronger, and the exchange had been swift.
But that did not mean he approved.
The tension between them thickened, subtle but unmistakable. Other members of the group shifted uneasily, sensing the divide forming between noble authority and personal conviction.
Before the silence could harden into something harsher, one of their teammates stepped back suddenly.
"Look."
All eyes turned.
The fallen bodies were changing.
At first it seemed like a trick of the crystal light. Then the air above each corpse shimmered faintly.
Dark mist began to seep from their chests.
It was not blood, but the same black vapor they had seen when faceless creatures dissolved.
It gathered slowly, rising like smoke drawn upward by unseen currents.
Renn’s eyes narrowed.
The prince’s expression shifted from mild irritation to focused interest.
The mist above the first corpse condensed, compressed, and folded inward.
A deep blue orb formed in the air above the dead soldier’s body.
Then another.
And another.
Every fallen opponent produced one.
They hovered in place, glowing faintly, carrying that same subtle hunger the ruin’s shadows had emitted.
The group fell silent.
This was new.
These men had not been faceless creatures of the realm.
They had been human.
From another kingdom.
No one moved closer to the orbs for a while. It was a distinct feeling from how they had behaved before toward the orbs.
The only thing they could feel now was a chill in their spines.
It was not until the prince spoke that the silence broke.
"This should be different from the faceless monsters. These people came from outside like us, so why are they producing these orbs too?"
The prince paused for a few seconds as all eyes focused on him before he continued.
"I am not sure, but I believe these orbs exist because they belonged to the faceless monsters these people killed and absorbed their energy. Now that they are dead, their energy is returning to the ruin."