Chapter 91: A Morning Visit

Chapter 91: Chapter 91: A Morning Visit

Damon turned back toward the Frost Seed.

It was still absorbing.

But eventually...

The icy glow began to fade.

Pulse.

Pulse.

Then it became weaker.

Damon stopped supplying Aether.

The Frost Seed had reached its limit for tonight.

"You did well."

Pulse.

Damon smiled.

He could understand the emotion behind that response.

The Frost Seed was tired.

But it was also happy.

Damon found himself enjoying this more than he expected.

Communicating with his spirits wasn’t like having a normal conversation.

There were no words.

Just feelings, instincts, and small changes that he had gradually learned to understand.

And somehow, that was enough.

"Rest for now."

The Frost Seed gave one final pulse before becoming quiet.

Damon placed it carefully into his second core.

Then he finally let his body relax.

The exhaustion hit him immediately.

He fell backward onto the large bed prepared for him.

"That was more tiring than I expected."

He stared at the ceiling for a moment.

His body felt heavy.

His Aether Pool was almost completely drained.

But Damon was satisfied.

All three spirits had gained something tonight.

Freya had strengthened herself after her recent evolution.

Sylphie had moved closer to her own weapon evolution.

And the Frost Seed had taken its first real step toward becoming a proper Spirit Elemental.

Not bad.

Damon closed his eyes.

His thoughts briefly wandered toward Caelia and Cornelius.

He wondered how the investigation was going.

The infiltrator had been captured.

The strange crystals had been secured.

And if Cornelius handled things the way Damon expected, they would probably have answers by morning.

There was no point worrying about it now.

Damon trusted them to do their part.

He had done his.

Now he needed to do his own.

Become stronger.

Because sooner or later, another wave would come.

And next time, Damon wanted to be ready before it arrived.

He smiled faintly.

"That’s the only thing I can control anyway."

Inside his second core, his two spirits responded.

A faint spark of lightning.

A soft movement of wind.

Damon felt them through their bond.

But he also felt quiet pulse of ice from the Frost seed.

Making his smile grow slightly.

"Then let’s keep growing."

The room became quiet again.

Outside, the Winterbourne Mansion remained under emergency lockdown.

Guards moved through the halls.

Elemental users prepared for the possibility of another attack.

The investigation had only just begun.

But inside Damon’s room, another kind of preparation had already started.

And for Damon... That was enough.

*****

Damon had finally fallen asleep.

After everything that happened the previous day, his body had needed the rest.

So the night passed quickly.

By the time the first light of dawn entered through the windows, Damon was already awake.

He sat up and stretched.

His body felt much better than it had the night before.

The servants had already prepared everything for him.

Breakfast was waiting on the table, along with a prepared bath and another change of clothes.

Damon looked around the room.

"These people really don’t stop working, do they?"

Even with the entire mansion under a state of emergency, the Winterbourne servants continued doing their duties.

Damon appreciated that.

He sat down and started eating.

It didn’t take long before Freya and Sylphie came out.

The two immediately joined him.

Damon didn’t mind sharing his breakfast with them, even though it meant his portion disappeared much faster.

He watched them eat for a while before laughing.

"You two are eating like you haven’t seen food in days."

Freya looked at him innocently.

Sylphie wasn’t any better.

They both wanted more.

Damon sighed.

"Fine. Your snacks are coming today anyway."

That seemed to satisfy them.

At least for now.

After breakfast, Damon got straight to work.

Freya and Sylphie returned to his second core, where they continued consolidating the strength they had gained the previous night.

The Frost Seed remained outside.

Damon immediately continued from where they had stopped.

His Aether entered the Frost Seed through their connection, and the little Core Spirit quickly reacted.

Pulse.

The Ice essence left from yesterday was absorbed almost immediately.

Damon continued feeding it.

The Frost Seed continued absorbing.

Neither side slowed down.

Damon could feel its condition through their connection, so he carefully controlled the amount of Aether he supplied.

He wasn’t interested in forcing it.

There was no point damaging a Core Spirit just to make it grow faster.

Still, the Frost Seed’s appetite remained impressive.

It absorbed almost everything that remained before finally slowing down.

Pulse...

The light inside it became softer making Damon stop.

"Full already?"

Another soft pulse answered him.

Damon smiled.

"Alright. Digest it properly."

He stored the Frost Seed again and stood up.

His morning cultivation was done.

But he wasn’t finished with training.

He spent some time reinforcing his body with Aether, moving through the basic exercises he had been practicing since his awakening. He followed that with weapon practice, going through several movements he had developed with Freya’s spear form.

The training wasn’t intense enough to exhaust him.

It was mainly to keep his body accustomed to the changes in his strength.

After everything was done, Damon finally went to wash up.

Thankfully, the servants had already prepared the bath.

He didn’t need to call anyone.

And more importantly, they had enough sense to leave him alone.

Damon appreciated that.

A few minutes later, he came out feeling fresh.

He changed into the clothes they had prepared and had barely finished adjusting his shirt when...

Knock. Knock.

Damon looked toward the door.

"Come in."

The door opened.

Caelia stepped inside.

Damon immediately noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes.

She looked tired. Very tired.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Did you sleep at all?"

Caelia paused.

"...A little."

Damon looked at her.

"That answer usually means no."

She gave him a tired look.

"I had things to handle."

"You also have to be alive to handle them."

Caelia sighed.

"I know."

"Good. Then you should rest."

"I will."