Chapter 178: Back from almost dying

Zac slowly opened his eyes, groaning as he clutched his forehead.

"Damn..."

He carefully pushed himself upright, leaning back against the bed as his vision gradually cleared.

That’s when he noticed Siegfried sitting beside the bed, watching him closely.

Across the room, Armani stood near the wall with her arms crossed, wearing her usual unreadable expression.

"Are you okay, kid?" Siegfried asked.

"Yeah." Zac rubbed his temples. "Other than this splitting headache and the fact that my entire body feels like it just came back from the dead, I’m fine."

Siegfried raised an eyebrow. "Really? You actually feel okay? Nothing unusual or amiss?"

Zac paused and examined himself, feeling through his body for anything that seemed out of place. After a moment, he answered, "Everything feels like it’s where it should be. And I feel like... myself."

"Good." Siegfried nodded, visibly relieved. "If you’re fine, then let’s get moving."

"Wait." Zac looked at him. "What exactly happened?"

Siegfried glanced toward Armani before looking back at Zac. "You almost died, kid. You lost the battle of wills, and we thought you were a goner."

"It was a miracle you survived, but in the end, you did. More importantly..." A small smile appeared on Siegfried’s face. "You successfully bonded with the sword."

Zac’s expression brightened immediately. "Thanks, wait. Where is the sword?"

Siegfried pointed toward Zac’s right hand. "Look at your wrist."

Zac immediately looked down. A black mark shaped like a sword was imprinted across his wrist. His eyes widened. "A tattoo? Did you tattoo me while I was unconscious?"

Siegfried slammed a hand against his forehead. "Do you seriously know nothing about bonding with a weapon?"

Zac paused, rubbing the back of his neck. "Right. I forgot. Sorry."

He looked back at the mark. "So, can I summon it now?"

"Not here," Siegfried shook his head. "If something goes wrong, I don’t want one of my bedrooms getting destroyed or worse, pulverized."

Before Zac could respond, Armani spoke, her voice as cold and direct as ever. "Enough small talk. Ask him what it was."

"Right." Siegfried nodded and turned back toward Zac. "There’s something else, kid."

He hesitated briefly before asking. "You see, at the end of the bonding process, we sensed something. A familiar presence. You can think of it as a mana signature."

"We do have a theory about what it was, but we wanted to confirm it before jumping the gun."

"My dad?" Zac answered immediately, cutting him off.

Both Siegfried and Armani fell silent, exchanging a brief glance. They had already suspected it, but hearing Zac say it with such certainty still caught them off guard.

Siegfried turned back toward him. "Are you sure? You could have easily mistaken it. After all, it’s been years. Even back then, you were only a kid who hadn’t made contact with mana yet."

He continued, "Plus, the bonding process was extremely chaotic, and your mind was under tremendous pressure."

"I know," Zac cut him off again. "But I’m sure."

His gaze lowered to the sword-shaped mark on his wrist, and he slowly traced it with his finger. "It was my father."

"I was on the verge of giving myself up. I almost did, too, because I thought I would always be a failure. That I would never be able to protect the people I hold dear."

His voice became quieter. "So I surrendered my will, giving myself up because I wanted unlimited power... power that could safeguard my family."

"You do know it was only a mirage created by the sword’s will, right?" Siegfried asked gently.

Zac nodded, lowering his eyes. "I know. But at that moment, I couldn’t think about it that way. The only thought in my mind was that I had to save my mother and sister. I didn’t want them to ever suffer again."

Armani’s expression changed. For the first time, the composure on her face cracked, replaced by a flash of extreme anger, yet she tightly restrained herself before it could turn into an outburst.

Zac continued quietly, looking at the sword-shaped mark again. "When I was on the verge of being completely swallowed by my darker side... it was my father who stopped me."

Siegfried stared at Zac, a small smile slowly appearing on his face. "Classic Eldric. Always playing the savior, huh?" He let out a quiet chuckle.

"It seems the seals weren’t simply meant to suppress the sword’s power. He must have anticipated something like this, even if he couldn’t have known exactly how it would unfold."

"Enough." Armani’s voice cut through the room.

She pushed herself away from the wall and looked at Zac. "You’re fine, and you got your sword. Now get back to the academy."

With that, she turned and walked out of the room without another word.

Zac stared after her, momentarily unsure how to react. Once the door closed behind her, he looked at Siegfried.

"What was that about? Is something wrong with her?"

Siegfried shrugged. "I don’t know. Maybe something important came up."

Zac frowned. "Can’t she be a little more concerned about me? I literally just came back from the dead."

("...")

Siegfried gave him a strange look.

Zac noticed his expression. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"You should have seen how she reacted when you were bonding."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

Siegfried let out a huge breath and said, "Look, kid. I’ve known Armani since she first became a variant. She has always been headstrong and dominant."

"She doesn’t give a damn about anyone, rarely concerns herself with others, and simply does whatever she believes is right."

"She’s always been a wild card in everyone’s book. A wild card that people were afraid to face eye to eye."

"I’ve seen her face countless dangerous situations without so much as a flinch. I’ve watched her stand in the middle of terrible things happening without showing even the slightest sign of sympathy."

"But..."

"But?" Zac pressed.

"It’s nothing. I shouldn’t be the one saying anything about it." The old smith waved the matter away. "You should come downstairs. I still need to inspect the sword properly."

After saying that, Siegfried stood up and walked toward the door.

Zac remained seated for a moment. "Something definitely didn’t add up." What Siegfried had just said and the way Armani had behaved were almost complete opposites.

"God, women are difficult to understand."

"System, are you there?"

A familiar voice immediately answered inside his mind.

[I knew you’d call for me.]

Zac narrowed his eyes. "So you already know what I’m going to ask."

[You already know everything that happened.]

"I still have a few questions. What about the voice I heard? That strange, almost soothing voice that tried to drag me into despair? And how did my father suddenly appear inside my mind? More importantly, how did he know about my dream?"

[Whoa, whoa, whoa. One at a time, okay?]

[I already told you that your bloodline would make the bonding process somewhat difficult, right?]

"Somewhat?

[That’s not the point.]

[The voice you heard was a manifestation of your bloodline. Your negative emotions, suppressed thoughts, darkest desires, fears, and instincts were all brought together by the bonding process. It took a form that tried to drag you into despair to awaken your bloodline completely.]

Zac paused. "So... it was also me."

[Exactly.]

[And as for your father, that’s completely a different story.]

[The will you encountered definitely belonged to your father. But unlike what the old man said, it was not inside the seal.]

"What?"

[The seals were merely an activation tool for the will. The will itself had always been inside you.]

Zac was stunned by the revolution. "You’re saying my father left a part of his will inside my body?"

[Yeah. That’s what I said.]

"But why? How could he possibly know?"

[Because your father also carries the Fallen Bloodline.]

[If there is anyone in the world who knows more about your bloodline, aside from me, of course, it would be your father.]

Zac slowly connected the pieces. "So that’s how he knew what I dreamed about."

[Yes. The will may belong to your father, but the memories it used to reach you came from your own mind. Everything you saw, whether it came from your father’s will or your darker side, came from you.]

Zac nodded slowly. Now, everything was beginning to make sense.

[But from here on, you have to be careful.]

[It was only a single fragment of your father’s will, and it has already been used up. So if you fall into despair again, your father won’t be there to pull you back.]

Zac’s expression hardened.

[Instead of dwelling on that, become stronger. Strengthen your own will so you can stand against your inner demon without relying on anyone from outside.]

Zac clenched his fist and stood up. "Yes. Next time, I won’t be so easily manipulated."

Saying that, he left the room and headed toward the back of the mansion.

When Zac reached the place, he found Siegfried standing there alone. "If you’re looking for Armani, she already left."

"Why would I be looking for her?"

"Yeah, yeah. Seriously, tell me, kid. What’s been going on between you two?"

"Nothing."

"Fine. Have it your way. I’m too old to meddle in children’s affairs."

[Then why the hell did he even ask?]

"She’s a child to you?" Zac asked.

"I’m more than twice her age, kid. Now, summon your sword."

Zac nodded and raised his hand, willing the sword to appear. In an instant, a long sword with a pitch-black blade materialized in his hand.

It was terrifying, yet strangely captivating.

Zac’s eyes immediately lit up. He immediately started swinging the sword, looking like a kid who had just walked into a candy shop.

The weight was exactly what he expected from a long sword. More importantly, it felt perfectly balanced in his hand.

Zac slowly caressed the weapon, running his fingers from the handle to the edge of the blade, committing every minute detail to memory.

He then tried channeling his mana into it and the result immediately caught him by surprise.

The sword proved to be an exceptional conductor. Zac’s mana flowed through the blade with astonishing fluidity, spreading along its entire length without encountering the slightest resistance.

He then infused his mana with his lightning element and channeled it into the weapon.

The result was exactly the same. His lightning-infused mana coursed through the blade just as effortlessly, moving from the hilt to the tip without any obstruction.

"It’s awesome," Zac said, unable to hide his excitement.

Siegfried nodded. "Go on. Inspect it with your System."

Zac nodded and turned his attention toward the sword.