On one of the deepest parts of the tunnels where the pollution was so intense that you could catch some strands of elemental chaos visible to the sight, was a young man resting with his eyes closed. There was a grey fog covering his body and protecting him from the pollution and the quality of his defenses was impressive since even under this pressure it remained strong.
He looked very tired, there were burn marks all over his body as well some laceration that reached so deep that the bone could be seen, but despite these injuries his face was calm and not counting the fact he was a little pale, he seems to be perfectly fine with no pain at all. The grey fog was purging the harming energy that was present on him and healing his injuries.
As he recovers, he frowned and took from his space ring a crystal.
There was nothing special about this crystal, but it was glowing and after a moment, a sound came out.
"Hello Gwyn, I have some interesting information that you may want to hear," The voice that came out from the crystal was that of Meinz, the Eye King that was protecting the party from the Dynasty.
"Oh, I wonder what Lord Meinz thinks it could call my attention," Gwyn eyes narrowed and although he responded with a respectful tone, there was no compliant attitude that the other Eye Lords on the team showed to the man.
Although his status on Dynasty was complex, due to his immense talent and powerful bloodline, the number of individuals that wanted to form a relationship with him was not small, but he knew to be careful at the moment of forming a connection with anyone.
"It's about an individual from the Empire, a young man that demonstrates amazing abilities and that was able to display an incredible fighting power. By what I can collect, his aptitudes are not inferior to your," There was a probing tone on Meinz's words and he didn't give any more information as he waited for Gwyn's reaction.
"Oh, do you mean the man named Zatiel, someone at Rank 1 but with powerful runes that complement his fighting style."
"You hear about him!?" Meiz could not hide the surprise on his voice, Gwyn did not get out from the tunnels, and he was sure no one of the Eye Lords had communicated with him.
"Someone mentioned his name a while ago, is that everything," The disinterest of Gwyn to this topic was obvious.
The reason for Gwyn's indifference wasn't that he finds everyone under his Rank worthless, but that he doesn't care about what genius could be out there. Although he is very talented, he never thought that there was no one who could surpass him, and if he finds such a person, as long they do not oppose him he did not see the need to antagonize them or trying to harm them just for spite, actually, he finds people that do such things disgusting.
"I would not have contacted you if that was everything I have to say. This information also has a connection with Tritus"
When Gwyn hears that name, his expression fluctuates a little before returning to normal and although it seems like nothing happens, there was a hatred so monstrous that he could not hide it from his eyes.
"If you have something to say just say it, I don't like to waste my time," Gwyn tone was indifferent and his attitude cold, although Meinz could be offended, he was not afraid of the Eye King.
"Tritus had an encounter with Zatiel, and due to the carelessness and arrogance from both he and Azel, he ended up with severe injuries that reached his heart. Although the blood snake that his father left for him has stabilized his condition, some sequels will appear." Meinz's tone was normal, and it seems he took no offense from Gwyn's words.
When Gwyn heard these words, unknowing to him a smile formed on his face but in the next moment he regained his focus and after a moment he sighed.
"I thank you for the news, but although to a glorified guarding dog as Azel, a damaged heart could be considered an irreversible wound, both you and I know that to someone with enough resources and a decent mastery over the laws can heal any damage made to the body. And I am sure Tritus' father would not spare expenses to heal his son."
"That is true, but there is something I didn't tell anyone, and it is that during my revision, I detected that the damage was able to extend to his consciousness, and the energy in the attack is special as it has a corrosive effect that as long it is not purged would continue expanding. So the more Tritus treatment is delayed the worse the outcome from his consciousness will be."
Gwyn's eyes opened completely due to the surprise when he heard the severity of Tritus` condition.
Damage to the body, no matter how great it was, it could be healed if someone at the Soul Forging Rank had the right medicines and was willing to work with all his power, but a harmed consciousness was a completely different matter.
The consciousness is intimately connected with the soul, and it is what gives us our sense of individuality. Like anything related to the soul, it is extremely precious to living beings and any damage to it was very serious. If the injury were to reach the core of the consciousness that inhabits within the soul, then developing severe cognitive impairment or a split personality will surely happen, and if the damage was too severe, then entering an irreversible coma was not out of the question.
Trying to heal such damage was something even those peak existences that reside on the Magi World would find extremely difficult, and the only ones that could perform that task with confidence were Law Beings.
Gwyn calmed the excitement that was running through his body and focused as he knew that Meiz wasn't over and only stopped so he could understand the current situation. Just like he expected, the crystal glowed and the voice of the Eye King was heard again.
"If someone of Tritus status was hurt so badly, then I should contact the members of his clan for them to bring him back to Dynasty so they can stabilize his condition before it becomes too severe," When he reached this point Meinz made a pause and after a moment he continued, " But I may be making a mistake, after all, how could someone at Rank 1 have spells that could generate such damage, even if they are using a runic set."
As Gwyn hear this, he could not stop the excitement he felt at the idea of Tritus passing the rest of his life as a mindless retard. But he knew that everything has a price on this world so he took a moment to calm down and spoke to the Eye King.
"Lord Meinz has been very busy during the last month, protecting us during our trip through the Endless Forest so a mistake with your perception is understandable, after all even with my bloodline, it is incredibly difficult for me to bring harm that severe to the consciousness of someone. If in the future, Lord has any problems, just contact me, I swear on the name of the Holy Mother, I will do anything in my power to help you," Although it wasn't a sacred oath, bringing out the name of Eve showed the sincerity and resoluteness of Gwyn.
"You are right, I must be getting old. But if in three months he doesn't wake up, then I will be forced to inform his clan."
"Of course, Lord duties can't be ignored," Gwyn knew that after three months, the damage will be so severe that there was no difference whether he was left here more time.
"I am happy you understand, take care."
Meinz cut the communication after that, and his tone was particularly joyful at the end. Although this could bring him some problems, it was only by luck that he detected the damage to the consciousness, so he can say that he didn't notice if they ask and besides his clan don't have a good relationship with the Blood Eye clan, so playing dumb for a couple of months and winning the favor of a genius with a glorious future was something he was more than willing to do.
After the glow of the crystal vanished, Gwyn made a ghostly aura appear over his hand and it started to corrode the crystal until it was only dust.
Gwyn's body started to shake from the excitement and happiness, as he began to laugh so hard that it could be heard for hundreds of meters away.
"HAHAHAHAHA, if I could only see the expression that bastard will make when he finds out that the source of his hopes and dreams has been reduced to a retard, I am sure it will be amazing!." As he pictured that image, Gwyn continued to laugh harder and the smile on his face was radiant.
Although it was commonly known that a cold head and control over your emotions were essential in the path to power, those at the peak know that a clear mind was even more important. So letting yourself lose and enjoy the victories is important and it could bring direct benefits.
Gwyn was feeling the changes right now, he felt that his understanding of the natural energies of the world was growing as he laughed and enjoyed the sweet taste of revenge.
"I must say that man named Zatiel has made a great favor to me, and you were not wrong, he is a great genius, maybe even greater than me," Gwyn looked to his left where his weapon was and after saying those word, he closes his eyes and continued resting, but now there was a smile on his face.
The weapon of Gwyn was an immense halberd, its handle was so thick that the hand of a grown man could only grab half of it and it was two and a half meters tall.
Half of the handle was buried on the ground and around it was a puddle of blood that came from the individual whose chest was being pierced by the spike on the head of arms. The person was still alive and his body would tremble for a second from time to time, but the light on his eyes was already lost.
The man whose blood was dripping through the halberd was Feiner, he was in his werewolf form and the body that was once full of vitality and life force was now modified to the point the skin was attached to the bone.
