Bloodbound Codex: I Grow Stronger in Secret

Atlas narrowed his eyes at her statement, although there was a faint trace of amusement in his voice as he asked, ”And you think I would just let you take her away under the excuse of ’Training’?” Aurelis immediately raised an eyebrow at his question and stared at him for a moment before shifting her gaze toward Seraphiel.

”I know that it is difficult for you to trust anyone, but instead of arguing with you, let me speak with her directly.” Seraphiel frowned slightly at her words, while Atlas remained silent and continued watching Aurelis carefully.

After a brief pause, Aurelis continued, ”Look at my eyes carefully.”

Both Atlas and Seraphiel turned their attention toward her eyes, and the moment they did, they noticed a faint glow appearing within them. Strange carved symbols slowly formed inside her pupils, resembling the symbols within Seraphiel’s eyes, although they were slightly different.

”I have the Axon Spirit Eyes, which allow me to see the future of certain matters whenever I want. For example, let me tell you what will happen three seconds from now.” The symbols inside Aurelis’s pupils suddenly glowed more intensely while her irises remained clearly visible.

She looked toward Atlas and Seraphiel before calmly saying, ”That boy Kael will appear here.”

Atlas and Seraphiel both frowned at the statement because neither of them understood why Kael would suddenly come here at this particular moment. Before either of them could say anything, however, a figure suddenly blurred into existence at the far left side of the area.

Kael’s voice immediately followed as he shouted, ”Atlas! I heard the news that you brought a woman who came from another world! Is that true?” He spoke loudly enough that there was no chance of anyone nearby failing to hear him.

Aurelis turned toward Seraphiel with a small smile. ”What did I say? He arrived exactly as I told you he would.” Both Atlas and Seraphiel nodded, while Atlas’s expression remained cautious as he asked, ”What are you getting at?”

Aurelis answered immediately, while Kael looked between the three of them and an amused smile slowly appeared on his face because he found the situation interesting, ”My Axon Spirit Eyes can peer into almost every future, every single one except yours.”

She pointed directly toward Atlas, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her words. Before he could question her further, Aurelis turned her attention toward Seraphiel. ”On the other hand, her ability seems to be capable of peering into even your future, although her ability manifested on its own, I can still teach her how to control it properly.”

Seraphiel’s eyes widened slightly at those words. She had been trying to control her future-seeing ability for a long time, but she had made no progress because the ability would not even activate whenever she deliberately tried to use it.

Atlas glanced toward Seraphiel and nodded slightly because he already knew that she was capable of seeing his future. Aurelis continued, ”And on top of that, she possesses another ability that allows her to teleport anywhere regardless of distance. Surprisingly, that ability cannot be restricted by the Laws themselves.”

She paused briefly before adding, ”Her current limitation is only the amount of energy she possesses, which prevents her from using it repeatedly. Once she reaches our level, however, she will be able to travel anywhere she wants, even across dimensions and into the Realm of Astraya, without needing permission from us or Eliomor.”

Seraphiel’s eyes widened even further as she listened, realizing that Aurelis was explaining abilities she possessed without her even understanding their true potential.

Atlas remained silent for a moment before asking the obvious question. ”How do you know all that?” Aurelis answered without hesitation. ”When she was inside the Realm of Astraya, the Laws helped me decipher the abilities that had manifested within her. Even the Laws themselves were concerned about her existence.”

Atlas narrowed his eyes slightly as he once again altered the Logic of Truth and Lies to verify her words. After checking the result, he understood that she was telling the truth. Even so, his expression remained cautious because knowing that Aurelis was telling the truth did not mean he was willing to simply leave Seraphiel in her hands.

He had already tried to help Seraphiel himself, but...his own attempt had ended badly.

’I was planning to make her stronger faster by altering the speed of her cultivation, but that wouldn’t make her eye abilities grow or allow her to control them.’ Atlas remembered the night when he and Seraphiel had gone on their date.

When they had been parting ways that night, he had tried to alter the Logic connected to the abilities within her eyes and force them under her control. The backlash had been far greater than he expected. His head had felt as though it were about to burst, and blood had come from both his eyes and nostrils before he finally stopped.

Afterward, Atlas had left with the thought that he simply needed to become stronger before attempting it again. Now, however, Aurelis was standing in front of him and claiming that she could train Seraphiel to control those abilities without causing the same problem.

Atlas turned toward Seraphiel and saw her staring at Aurelis with widened eyes before eventually looking back at him. He remained silent for a moment before saying, ”Do you want to go? She is telling the truth, and although I am still hesitant to send you with her, it is your choice. I won’t stop you.”

Seraphiel immediately noticed the faint glow within his eyes and realized that he was using the Logic of Truth and Lies to confirm Aurelis’s words. She lowered her head slightly as she thought about what Aurelis had offered. ’If I can control my abilities, th-then I can get stronger. My abilities might even help Atlas a lot in the future...’

However, another thought quickly followed, ’B-But I don’t want to stay away from him either...’ The contradiction made her hesitate because the thought of being separated from Atlas, even temporarily, was difficult for her to accept.

For a moment, she wondered whether staying with him was more important than leaving for training, but she knew that if she continued choosing only what felt comfortable, she would never make the progress she wanted, ’If I let myself become too comfortable, I will never be able to become stronger and stand beside him during battles...’

Her hands tightened slightly as she continued thinking, ’I will need to sacrifice the present for a better future.’

Seraphiel slowly raised her head and looked toward Aurelis once again before turning back toward Atlas. Her hesitation gradually disappeared as she finally made her decision. ”I want to go, I want to get stronger, Atlas.”

Those were the only words she needed to say, but Atlas immediately understood what she meant. In a way, her desire reminded him of his own past, when he had only wanted to become stronger because he had a goal he wanted to achieve.

Her reason was completely different from his, but the desire itself was something he understood very well. Atlas gave her a small smile and nodded. ”If that’s what you want, then I won’t stop you.”