Chapter 671: Vilari (1/2)
Vilari came in a moment later, her eyes shielded by a black silk scarf covered in aquamarine fractals, which also held her shoulder-long white hair back from her face. Her build was still the same as the angelic girl who almost killed him in the Battle of Fates, but her aura was completely different.
Two black streaks ran down her cheeks and continued down her neck. It was a bit reminiscent of runny mascara if not for the massive amount, but its origin was rather Zac himself. When his soul cracked from the mentalist’s attack back then, a surge of Annihilation had ruined Vilari’s eyes and cracked her soul in return.
Those streaks of black blood had marked her skin, and they now formed a mysterious pattern that Zac felt had some sort of relation with the Dao of Oblivion. It gave her an oppressive aura, and one of perpetual sorrow, which was a bit unfortunate as her true disposition wasn’t like that at all. She wasn’t a ray of sunshine, but neither was she a dark cloud.
Her mental cultivation had resulted in a calm and gentle personality, though that didn’t mean she flinched in the face of carnage. She wasn’t blind like one could have expected from her appearance either, as a version of her old eyes had been grown back in the ruined sockets. It wasn’t some unique ability of her predecessor’s bloodline, but rather thanks to Zac’s experimentation over the past years.
He had used Creation to conjure something out of nothing.
The energies of Oblivion and Creation were constantly released into his body, and he occasionally needed to purge as to not get impacted by the influence of the remnants again. However, Zac had felt it was a waste to simply use his Origin Mark on nothing. He had seen how it could heal his own body and create things where only his imagination was the limit, so why not use the mark on his corpses?
His first attempt had been on the nephew of Cervantes, the mutilated and bisected corpse of the leader werewolf. Zac wanted to see if he could regrow the missing half with a Pink Flash. Unfortunately, his experiment had ended up with the corpse turning into a mutilated blob of flesh and metal as Zac let his imagination run wild for a second, making him think of the Cyborg he fought.
The following experiments went better and better as he learned to properly focus and avoid distractions. However, there were still limitations to the skill. First of all, he could only use it on himself and on corpses so far. Using it on someone living caused a clash of wills between the two parties, and things got out of control.
Secondly, the limbs he restored were weaker compared to the original, though that was slowly improved over time. Finally, it couldn't create things Zac didn't understand. One instance of this was bloodlines hidden in the depths of cells. For example, he had created two eyes for Pika as well, but she had actually scooped them out of her own head after awakening, saying that the real ones were waiting for her.
Vilari’s bloodline was thankfully not directly related to her eyes. In fact, Zac wasn’t even certain that her old eyes looked like that scary eye that had filled his vision back then. His memories of the whole encounter were a bit blurry, and he only remembered those enormous eyes. It might just have been a skill of the mentalist, but it was now a permanent feature of Vilari.
The real reason for the scarf covering her eyes was rather that her soul had grown too much in strength too quickly, and she wasn’t able to control her latent bloodline. Her living predecessor probably practiced some specific bloodline method, but the Mentalist hadn’t left any cultivation manuals inside her Spatial Ring. Most likely she hadn’t brought things like that to Base Town at all, rather leaving them back with her clan.
So, his commander of the Einherjar was in a similar situation as Zac was before he awakened his bloodline. In fact, the Einherjar with previous bloodlines were all in this situation. Their bloodlines had been partly sealed upon awakening, and they had to work at unsealing them rather than awakening them.
It was possible that a proper Lich might be able to allow their Revenants to awaken with their bloodlines intact, but Zac definitely wasn’t at that stage with his homebrewed methods. Conversely, his Mark of Creation would probably kick up a storm among Liches if they found out he had such a heaven-defying method to restore corpses.
“Lord Atwood,” Vilari said as she looked back and forth in the cave. “Such a nice place. A shame it was destroyed.”
“It’s just surface damage,” Zac said with a wry smile. “It will be restored. I’m sorry about the wait.”
”It was no problem. The atmosphere outside helped me make some progress of my own,” Vilari said.
”That's good. How are you coming along?” Zac asked.
“It’s slow but steady,” Vilari nodded. “I think it's best if I stay at my current stage for a few more years unless you need me to advance. Soul cultivation is a slow path.”
Zac understood what she meant. His recent break-through should be possible to complete while still in F-Grade, but it would probably take a longer time. Who knew, perhaps it was even possible to undergo a second reincarnation as well. The greater the foundation she built early on, the further she would be able to go on her path.
“That’s fine. Follow your instincts, and let me know if there’s anything you need,” Zac said as he threw her a crystal. “These are my insights after undergoing my first Reincarnation, it should be helpful to you as well. There were some surprises. I hope you’ll aim for a perfect Reincarnation if you decide to stick with this method.”
Vilari was the only one apart from himself who cultivated the Nine Reincarnations Manual. Zac had paid a small fortune for a Natural Treasure that allowed him to engrave at least the first section onto a one-time Information Crystal even though his understanding was a bit rickety.
She wasn’t quite as suited as himself for the method, considering she didn’t really have any affinity or relation to the Life-attunement. But the [Nine Reincarnations Manual] was still a top-tier Soul Strengthening Method, and it helped her strengthen her soul at a decent pace. In fact, her soul was already superior to Zac’s pre-reincarnation soul, but it still hadn’t reached its limits.
Whether that would lead to an easier reincarnation or a stronger end-product, Zac wasn’t sure. Honestly, it wasn’t for certain that she would stick with the current manual at all since she could easily swap to another method before she actually underwent the first reincarnation. Afterward, it might be a bit more complicated.
Still, the information was of great value to her, and Vilari gratefully nodded as she stowed away the crystal.
“Let me look into your eyes,” Zac suddenly requested, giving Vilari a start.
“Ah- Are you sure?” the small Revenant hesitantly said. “Your state after grinding your skills-“
“That was before,” Zac coughed with some embarrassment. ”I want to see the effects of completing the first reincarnation.”
“Alright,” Vilari nodded as she undid the knot at the back of her head, exposing two almost reptilian eyes.
The eyes were fashioned after the massive eyes that Zac had seen when the Mentalist attacked him during the battle of fates, with white sclera and a blue vertical scar running through them in the middle. The only difference was that the blue back then was a lot deeper, whereas Vilari’s fractured pupils were the aquamarine of condensed Miasma.
Until today Zac had found himself on the losing end to Vilari’s gaze, even when activating [Soul Guardian] or [Indomitable]. His soul wasn’t actually hurt by the exchange like back during the tower climb, but it did make him slightly dizzy after just a few seconds. Which was shocking considering that Vilari was just peak F-Grade.
But this time was different. He felt some pressure and the oceans in his soul aperture started to churn a bit, but he was still able to maintain a completely lucid mind even without activating his mental defense skill. It was like the oceans acted as a buffer, and the core wasn’t affected at all by the latent pressure Vilari exerted. It was clear; mental defense was once his weakness, but it had now turned into his strongest point.
“I can’t see your soul,” Vilari exclaimed with surprise, confirming Zac’s hunch, and a smile spread across her face.
“What’s with you?” Zac asked with confusion as he saw Vilari light up.
“I’m just happy. I can finally look someone in the eyes without hurting them,” Vilari said with a smile.
Zac weakly smiled in return, once more feeling that the familial bonds of the Undead were a bit hard to get used to. He was essentially Vilari’s father as she carried his mark, and the awakening was performed with him as the “lifegiving source”. But Revenants turned this way were adults the moment they gained sapience, though they were still a bit wide-eyed even after two years of education.
So Vilari was his child, yet she was not. She was an adult, yet she was not, and Zac had some trouble adapting to it. Triv had just told him to see it as the same sort of relationship as the one he had with his Valkyries, which pretty much was true since the Einherjar were bound to him just like Triv was bound to the Undead Empire.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to control your strength when we find a way to unseal your bloodline. It shouldn’t be long until we find a way,“ Zac said. “And if you want, I have an opportunity for you. The Crown of Despair-Inheritance. There are some risks-”
“I’m willing,” Vilari said without hesitation, eagerness written all over her face.