Chapter 397: Pain
"Fire of Life!" Charles muttered in a cold tone and then enveloped his body and soul in a greenish-blue flame.
The next instant, the invisible ripple got dissolved by the greenish flame and soon disappeared.
Meanwhile, Charles suddenly turned his gaze towards a particular space and grinned.
It was the same place where Arch-Mage Marcus was currently hiding!
Upon sensing his cold gaze, Marcus's heart skipped a beat.
'H-How? He can see my soul form?' His mind went blank for a moment.
As if Charles had heard his thoughts, he let out a chuckle and spoke.
"I can see you now."
The next instant, he raised his hand, pointed his finger at Marcus's soul form, and muttered.
"Hand of Wonder!"
An invisible string came out of his finger a moment later, tore through the dimensional barrier, and entered the Astral Realm.
Unlike the regular invisible strings, this single string could move through dimensions and divine barriers!
As the string moved in the Astral Realm, a sharp hook appeared at the tip and soon attached to Marcus's soul!
But what's more shocking was that Marcus didn't even notice the string's presence in his soul form.
Still, he understood that the opponent had done something to his soul and became warier.
'Success.' Charles showed a pleasing smile.
But just as he was about to pull his soul, his face contorted all of a sudden.
…
A few minutes ago,
The Last Island, Azure Federation's Territory, Endless Sea, Edhen World.
In a random Inn, a 28-years-old looking young man stood before the mirror and gazed at his reflection with a smile.
He had deep blue hair, jade eyes, an oval face, and thin eyebrows.
He was none other than Charles's first clone!
Currently, he wore a regular shirt and pants and held a silver pocket watch in his hand.
Just as he was about to flip open the pocket watch's outer case, a knocking sound came from the outside.
"Who is it?" Charles asked, showing a puzzled look.
"It's me. Elias!" A male voice came from the outside.
Charles smiled as he heard Elias's voice, walked towards the wooden door, and opened it from inside.
At that moment, he saw a lean man, who appeared to be around 30 to 35 years old, stood outside the door and was waving his hand at him.
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to see Natalia?" Elias gave a light punch on his shoulder and asked.
"Isn't this too early? She is still in a depressed mood. Even if I went to confess my feelings, I don't think she would listen." Charles shook his head in disapproval.
"Don't be a coward. At least, go and talk to her for a while." Saying so, he dragged Charles out of the Inn, and both started walking on the street road.
They soon exited the small town on the Last Island and moved towards the beach.
As Charles and Elias walked on the sandy beach, both looked at the blue sea and soon turned towards the shore.
A few hundred meters away from them, a beautiful young woman in her late twenties sat on a rock and stared at the blue sea while placing her right hand on her chin.
Her long black hair waved in the sea breeze, and the morning sunlight reflected in her scarlet eyes.
Her cheeks were a little red, and there was a deep sorrow that appeared on her pretty face.
With a single look, anyone could tell that she was crying all along.
As they moved closer, Elias halted his footsteps and patted on Charles's shoulder.
"Go on! I'll be waiting for your return at the town's entrance." Saying so, he turned around and ran away.
On the other hand, Charles took a step forward and started walking towards Destiny Lady.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Soon, he appeared behind her and was about to touch her shoulder but stopped.
At that moment, he saw a crimson-winged human flying from the deep sea at a fast speed and soon moved in their direction!
He flew in a zigzag manner for some unknown reason and soon landed a few meters away from Charles.
No, he crashed onto the sandy beach.
Due to the sudden noise, Destiny Lady also woke up from the dazed state and turned her head towards the front.
At that moment, the crimson winged human also stood up while brushing the sand and turned his gaze towards Destiny Lady.
He was a young man in his 30s and appeared skinny. He currently wore an old brown shirt, torn pants and held a strange black rod in his hand.
He had long, messy brown hair, oceanic blue eyes, an oval face, and thin eyebrows.
He was none other than Joel!
As Destiny Lady saw his appearance, she stood up in a hurry and widened her eyes in shock.
She tried to speak, but no words came out of her mouth.
She stood there like a frozen statue and soon leaped towards Joel with teary eyes!
Joel was also shocked by her presence on a random island and embraced her with both arms.
After decades of separation, Destiny Lady finally managed to find her lover!
Alas, a strange pain appeared in her heart.
Although she was delighted, she also felt sad for some odd reasons!
At that moment, another young man's face flashed in front of her eyes.
'Charles!' A sharp pain appeared in her heart.
At that moment, she felt someone stabbed a hole in her heart with a needle!
It was not out of love but out of guilt!
She had many opportunities to avoid his caring love, but she did the opposite during the past five years.
In the end, she followed the Holem's Crown's advice and used him to find her lover!
At that moment, she realized that her heart had turned into a vile one and felt miserable.
Tears flew out of her scarlet eyes and soon drenched her cheeks.
Joel also noticed her strange behavior, kissed her forehead, and asked in a concerned tone.
"What happened, Natalie? Why are you crying?"
She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.
She soon backed away from his embrace, turned around, and looked at the surroundings.
Unfortunately, Charles was nowhere to be seen!
…
Meanwhile, a humanoid crimson flame appeared at the edge of a tall mountain and soon formed into a young man.
It was the Last Island's only mountain called Hill of Sorrow!
Charles soon knelt on the ground and placed his right hand over his chest.
At that moment, he felt an uncontrollable pain from the depth of his heart and went pale.
His hands and feet trembled on their own.
"Argh! What happened to me?!" Tears poured down from his eyes like a broken dam and splashed on the weeds.
As he thought about the earlier scene, he couldn't help but cry loudly.
