Gabriel used the binding formation, created with his own blood on the earring, binding it with him. Unlike the Ancestral Staff of Darkness, the Earring of Strength didn't resist his control a lot. Within a few minutes, the formation was successful, granting even more information access to Gabriel.
He received all the information on how he could use the earring of strength and exactly how it affected him. All this information flooded his head. Unfortunately, all he received was the information regarding the cross-shaped earring and nothing more. There was nothing related to Alion in the new information.
"So that's what this is... I wasn't expecting it to work like that... This makes it a bit challenging..." Gabriel picked up the Silver Earring of Alion. When he was informed about this Numen initially, he expected it to make his body stronger simply by using it. However, it was only now that he realized that there was more to it.
Although the earring made his body stronger when he wore it, the strength came at a cost... The cost of immense pain. Alion went through a lot of pain, borderline torturing his body to gain this strength. After his strength, the earring became a Numen, gaining a consciousness of its own.
The way it made a person stronger was by using a similar method to Alion, just a little more concise.
"From what I can understand, this will hurt a lot if I wear it," Gabriel observed the earring, which looked very ordinary from the initial glance. "But I don't have much of a choice. The constant pain and pressure will only make me stronger with time..."
*****
"Arghhhhh!"
A pained roar echoed through the hallways, coming from the Emperor's room. Outside the room, many Royal Knights wondered what was happening and why Gabriel was screaming. They even wanted to check if something was wrong. However, they couldn't disobey Gabriel's command.
Gabriel had already informed them that no one was allowed to enter the room, no matter what happened.
The Captain of the Royal Knights and the new Saint Knight also arrived outside the room, seemingly concerned.
From Gabriel's constant screams, it was clear that he was going through soul-crushing pain. The pain should've been enough to make anyone lose consciousness by now, but Gabriel was still holding on.
"What is he doing inside...?" The Saint Knight wondered. "He said he would be doing some training, but a training this painful?!"
****
Gabriel expected pain when he wore the earring in his left ear, but even he didn't expect this much pain... It was as if he was going to lose consciousness from pain, but the earring kept him conscious so as to make his willpower stronger as well.
The room was filled with a tense atmosphere as the figure in the bed writhed in agony. Sweat beads were on his forehead, and his eyes were squeezed shut as his hands gripped tightly to the sheets beneath him.
His breathing was shallow, punctuated by low screams of pain that came from deep within his chest. He continued roaring for hours until finally, mercifully, he drifted off into sleep - exhausted from all the suffering he had endured.
As Gabriel went through the torturous amount of pain, he didn't have time to notice that his body had already started changing. His skin became clearer and smoother, which would've made a person think that his physical defense was decreasing. However, on the contrary, his physique was only becoming stronger with each passing moment!
****
"He stopped screaming. Should we check?" One of the Royal Knights asked the Saint Knight as Gabriel's screams stopped. No sound was coming from inside anymore.
"No need," the Saint Knight didn't give anyone permission to enter the Emperor's room. He believed in Gabriel. The man wouldn't have gone through it if he wasn't confident about his safety. The Saint Knight didn't think that Gabriel risked death, despite how much he screamed.
If anything, he believed that Gabriel passed out from all the pain and that they needed to let him rest.
"Just guard this place properly. No one should be allowed in. If I find out that someone went inside, I'll kill that person myself!" The Saint Knight exclaimed as he took another glance at the door of Gabriel's room. "I'll be meeting Duke Callum. If something happens that needs my attention, don't forget to inform me."
As Gabriel had just passed out, the Saint Knight didn't believe that he was going to wake up anytime soon. So waiting here was useless. He instead decided to deal with the matters of the Empire. Since so many Noble Families had been wiped out recently, there were many things that had to be taken care of.
****
Gabriel passed out of all the pain. The room returned to silence. However, even as Gabriel went into a slumber, he didn't find complete peace.
Instead, he found himself in a strange place. His physical body was still in the room inside the palace, but his consciousness was in a strange place... A dream that looked more real than the reality itself.
"Another such dream?" It had been a long time since he found himself in a dream like that. In fact, ever since he left the Tower of Challenges after going through the soul torture of Lira, he didn't have such dreams ever again.
It was the first time since that moment that he was here again.
Gabriel found himself near a waterfall. For some reason, he felt quite familiar with the waterfall. It was as if he had seen the waterfall before, and that too, recently. It's just that his mind was a bit cloudy, preventing him from remembering instantly.
"Ah, that's right! This waterfall! I remember where I saw it! In the vision induced by the Eye of Osiris! This was one of the places where Alion trained!" he suddenly exclaimed, finally remembering where this place was.
Gabriel slowly approached the base of the majestic, mist-shrouded waterfall. Its thunderous roar echoed through the air as it cascaded down from high in the mountains, sending a fine spray into the air with each plunge.
Gabriel stood there for a moment, awestruck by its beauty and power. Even though he had seen this place in the vision before, but in this dream, it was like he was actually physically present there! He took a few steps closer and reached out his hand to feel the cool droplets on his skin.
The sun was beginning to set behind him, casting an orange glow on everything around him as Gabriel gazed up at this natural wonder in intrigue. As he walked closer still, he could see rainbows dancing in each droplet that splashed against his face. It was clear to him that this waterfall wasn't normal... there was something about it... Something that broke the laws of nature…
