Novel Full Chapter 852: The Relic’s Indifference
Chapter 852: Chapter 852: The Relic’s Indifference
“…And why, exactly, should I?”
The words hung in the air like a cold blade.
For the first time since entering the chamber, Kain and Serena went utterly still. The air felt too still, too hollow, as if even the relic itself had stopped breathing to wait for their answer.
Kain’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again. Serena blinked once, her brows knitting together behind her calm mask of composure.
It wasn’t that they hadn’t expected to be challenged—after all, it may wonder what two 5-star beast tamers could possibly do, when even Demigods were fleeing the east—but the mocking tone felt like a slap to not only their abilities but also their intentions to help.
What did it mean, ’why should it’?!
They’d just poured out their reasons: the invasion of the Eastern Continent, the millions of lives left stranded, the ever-growing Abyssal army. How could that not be enough?
Serena crossed her arms slowly. “…You’re asking why?” she said at last. “We literally just told you. Millions of people are trapped, helpless, being eaten or turned into new soldiers for the Abyss.”
Kain added, his tone sharpening, “If we don’t go, they’ll all die. That’s reason enough.”
The relic tilted its small head, studying them with faint amusement. “Mm. You already said that.”
Its eyes—pale gold, bright and piercing—did not blink.
Something about that gaze unsettled Kain. It wasn’t childlike curiosity; it was the cold disinterest of someone ancient, someone who had seen entire worlds crumble to dust.
He tried again, speaking slower this time, as if speaking to an old artifact that might be hard of hearing or its mental faculties are in decline. “Listen… what we’re asking for is good. It’s not about us. It’s about preserving life. You were created to help fight the Abyss, right? That means it is yourjob to send us there.” He finally ordered.
The relic’s small face froze.
The next moment, the air changed.
It lifted one tiny hand, and the space around them warped.
Kain was flung backward as though struck by a mountain. His back hit the far wall hard enough to leave a crater, stone dust raining down. Pain rippled through him, but he didn’t dare move—because the thing standing across the chamber was no longer a harmless-looking kid.
Its eyes had shifted from gold to an eerie, molten red, glowing like magma beneath glass. Its tunic—simple, cream-colored cloth bound with faint silver trim—fluttered in a wind that didn’t exist. Its dark hair floated upward, moving as though submerged in invisible water.
And the pressure—
Kain sucked in a breath that refused to fill his lungs. It felt like the moment he’d first seen the Demigods fight from afar in the Brightstar Relic—when just the aftershock of their clash bent the world around them.
The relic’s voice came again, no longer one child’s but a chorus of many, overlapping faintly, like dozens of small throats speaking in sync.
“Why should I care?” it asked again.
The words resonated in Kain’s skull like the toll of a divine bell.
His heart thundered; he felt tiny, insignificant.
He couldn’t even lift his head.
“Stop!” Serena’s voice cut through the air.
And just like that—the pressure shattered.
The relic blinked. The red faded back to gold. The phantom wind died.
It yawned, covering its mouth lazily. When it spoke again, it was once again just a smug child in a tunic too big for its small frame. It looked at Kain wheezing from the blow and mumbled, “Ugh. You humans and your dramatics. I didn’t even hit you that hard…”
’Yes you did!’
Serena exhaled, stepping closer, her tone cautious but steady. “Please forgive us for being presumptuous. But you asked why you should care, and I would like to answer. Don’t you want to help us fight the Abyss? Isn’t that the purpose of these inheritance trials you oversee? Please clarify if we maybe misunderstood something.”
It studied her for a moment longer before smirking faintly. “At least you know how to show respect to your elders instead of barking orders like some spoiled prince.”
Kain flinched, mumbling an apology under his breath. Internally, he grimaced—realizing his tone earlier had probably sounded far more arrogant than he intended.
Then it shrugged. “But no. That’s not why I exist.”
Serena frowned. “What do you mean?”
The relic began to pace in slow, even steps, hands behind its back like an elder lecturing a class. Which might have been funny to have a lecturer only reaching their hips and a face that looked younger than the youngest member of Kain’s Orphanage, but the scary scene where their demeanour shifted a moment ago erased any humour entirely from Kain and Serena’s bodies.
“I was not created to fight anyone,” it said. “My purpose is to collect the legacies of worlds the Abyss has devoured—to safeguard their knowledge, their strength, their regrets. When a civilization falls, I take what is worthy. The rest…”
It smiled thinly. “Turns to dust.”.”
Kain, still leaning against the wall, finally managed to stand. “Then you were created to fight the Abyss indirectly. You help others fight it.”
“I preserve knowledge, not people.”
It spread its arms, as if to emphasize the point. “If this world falls, I will do as I always do—collect what remains, add it to my archive. Then, if I deem it worthy, the next inheritance trial will have five inheritances instead of four. One for this world”
Serena blinked, thrown. “Wait. So only these four worlds were devoured by the Abyss?”
The relic shook its head. “Hundreds, if not thousands were. That Queen—, ahem, the Abyss has quite the appetite. But, out of hundreds of worlds consumed, only four civilizations were worthy of preservation. The Thar’Ameth. The Blessed Sacrosanct. The Verdara. And Earth.”
Kain’s thoughts spun. He’d expected the four worlds in the inheritances to be the only ones destroyed by the Abyss, not the special ones selected after much screening. One would expect the relic to only collect powerful spiritual civilizations. But Earth? A world without magic, without cultivation, without even proof of anything paranormal or remotely special? And yet it had been preserved—its essence made an inheritance alongside Thar’Ameth and the others. What could possibly have been so valuable?
He wanted to ask but decided against it—this relic already seemed annoyed with him, and pushing further might only make things worse. Still, he couldn’t help wondering what Earth had possessed that countless other worlds lacked.
And just when and how he’d be able to get his hands on it…
The relic’s smirk widened, as if amused by his confusion. “I see the doubt in your face.” Kain perked up that maybe it’s answer without him even needing to ask! But it’s smirk only widened. “But I won’t be answering that doubt. Just know that there are qualities beyond brute strength, little human.”
Kain didn’t reply. How dare this pipsqueak call him ’little’! But said pipsqueak was also insanely powerful, so he supposed he’d let it slide… Cough, just this once! In the future when he’s surely stronger than this relic, he’d definitely teach it a lesson! Definitely!
“Anyway,” the relic went on, tone turning flippant, “you can stop with your noble speeches now. I don’t owe you anything. Moving things across continents, especially across that… delightful deathtrap of an ocean, is exhausting. Even for me.”
“So you can do it,” Serena said sharply.
“I could,” the relic corrected, “if I cared to. But I don’t. If this world falls, another will take its place. That’s the natural order.”
Kain’s fists clenched. He took a step forward, voice low but tight. “If you really preserve knowledge from destroyed worlds, then you should understand what the Abyss takes. It doesn’t just destroy—it erases. Once something or someone is consumed, there’s no coming back. Not for anyone. Not for anything.”
The relic tilted its head. “So?”
“So that means your purpose will die too,” Serena snapped, stepping beside Kain. “If the Abyss wins everywhere, there’ll be nothing left for you to collect. You’ll be as meaningless as the things you let burn.”
That, finally, made the child pause.
For a heartbeat, it said nothing. The silence stretched long enough that Kain started to think they might have struck a nerve.
Then the relic laughed—a soft, chiming sound. “Cute. Truly. But even if that were true, the chance of you two making a difference in the East as you are now is so small, it’s almost… funny.”
A moment’s hesitation, then it looked down and mumbled under its breath, “Besides…if the Abyss one day gets destroyed, I don’t know what will happen to me either. There’s no need for an inheritance relic to fight the Abyss, when there is no Abyss…”
After clearing its throat and looking back at Serena and Kain again, it waved a hand dismissively. “If that’s all you came for, I’ll send you back. Try not to trip over your own self-importance on the way out.”
The air around them shimmered, the familiar pull of teleportation building.
Kain’s eyes widened. “Wait—!”
Serena’s voice rang out with his, sharp and desperate.
“NO!”